The words “little sister”—Zheng Miaoning simply could not bring herself to say them.
Ignoring the increasingly sour expressions on her parents’ faces, Zheng Miaoning stood up coldly. “Did you really call me back specifically for something so trivial?”
They hadn’t notified her when they conceived the child, they hadn’t notified her when the child was carried to term, and they hadn’t notified her when the child was born. Yet, now that the child was grown and it was time to inherit the family property, they suddenly knew how to notify her.
But she, of all people, had no choice but to return obediently. After all, Zheng Miaoning was a “good girl.”
Before Zheng Lihui’s reprimand could leave his mouth, Zheng Miaoning said, “I have things to do. I’m leaving.”
Zheng Pingchun’s return meant the grand finale wasn’t far off.
Zheng Miaoning lowered her gaze and, ignoring Xu Hexuan’s attempts to make her stay, hurriedly prepared to leave the house.
“Ningning!” Xu Hexuan let go of Zheng Pingchun and hurriedly reached out, grabbing Zheng Miaoning’s arm to stop her.
Zheng Miaoning cooperatively came to a halt.
Seeing her stop, Zheng Lihui also breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softening considerably. He shot a look at Xu Hexuan, who immediately understood and continued to coax her:
“Papa and Mama know you’re hurting. It’s our fault; we shouldn’t have kept Pingchun a secret from you. Ningning, don’t worry, Papa and Mama love you the most.”
Love you the most.
But Wen Zhao would only say: The one I love most is you.
Zheng Miaoning turned around and looked at her coldly, inadvertently revealing a few flashes of fragility and sorrow. Her thin lips remained tightly pressed together as she stayed silent.
What Xu Hexuan said wasn’t entirely a lie.
Seeing Zheng Miaoning’s expression, Xu Hexuan truly felt heartbroken. She hurriedly pulled her into an embrace to comfort her, actually leaving today’s true protagonist, Zheng Pingchun, standing neglected to the side.
Leaning in Xu Hexuan’s arms, Zheng Miaoning looked at Zheng Pingchun calmly.
The latter’s appearance bore almost no resemblance to her own, but Zheng Miaoning couldn’t deny that Zheng Pingchun looked more like their parents than she did.
The first time she had been in this scene, Zheng Miaoning had been furious—incandescent with rage. She had fought tooth and nail with Zheng Lihui, and even though Xu Hexuan said every kind word possible, she couldn’t mediate the quarrel between father and daughter. It lasted until Zheng Lihui uttered the words, “If you weren’t so petty, your sister wouldn’t have had to suffer for so many years,” which forced Zheng Miaoning to stand on the rooftop as the world collapsed because her beliefs had shattered.
This time, Zheng Miaoning no longer had the energy for such words.
She looked at Zheng Pingchun calmly. In Zheng Pingchun’s gentle eyes, there was resentment that couldn’t be hidden. Zheng Miaoning gave a faint sneer.
If it were her, she would certainly hate even more than Zheng Pingchun did.
Xu Hexuan was still whispering sweet words in her ear, while Zheng Lihui’s face remained as ashen as before.
But anyone could see that he was no longer so self-righteous.
Zheng Miaoning reached out to interrupt her. Forcing a smile, she said, “It’s fine. I’m not the most perfect child in your hearts. I understand that you don’t like me all that much.”
Zheng Lihui stood up in shock.
Zheng Miaoning no longer sought the last word in an argument.
She was just tired.
Too tired to argue with them, so tired she just wanted to grab Wen Zhao back, lean into her arms, and sit by a sunlit window with her eyes closed, letting Wen Zhao comb her hair.
But Zheng Miaoning could not do that.
She was also looking for the reason the System wanted her to accompany Wen Zhao.
This time, there was Wen Zhao.
So, Zheng Miaoning could not follow her heart and clash with her parents, drifting further and further away from them and losing her rights to the power and the inheritance.
Only when the power and the property fell into Zheng Miaoning’s hands could the order of this world continue to be maintained, and only then could Wen Zhao continue to live here.
Therefore, Zheng Miaoning displayed a fragile posture that she had never shown even when she was at her most isolated and helpless.
In the past, Zheng Miaoning had looked upon her parents’ guilt with contempt.
Now, she had to rely on their guilt to quickly gain control within the Zheng Corporation.
After saying those words that could be described as “self-abandonment,” Zheng Miaoning’s tears fell like rain.
Perhaps the reason her parents insisted on forcing her home to welcome Zheng Pingchun, this younger sister, was because they wanted to see her like this—to prove that she was still the bird with the most beautiful feathers in the palm of their hands.
It was they who had cultivated Zheng Miaoning’s pride and self-esteem.
Naturally, it should be they who crushed it.
Zheng Miaoning continued to lean in her mother’s arms and cry, refusing to open her eyes to look at them no matter how Xu Hexuan coaxed her.
“Sister…” Zheng Pingchun, who had been treated as air for a long time, hesitated repeatedly before taking the initiative to walk to Xu Hexuan’s side, wanting to comfort her.
But before she could finish, the silent Zheng Lihui suddenly spoke: “Forget it. Butler, take the Second Miss over there to rest.”
“Over there” referred to a villa nearest to Bishan Manor.
As soon as Zheng Lihui’s words landed, the old butler stepped forward, adopting a respectful posture toward Zheng Pingchun as he invited her to walk out.
Zheng Pingchun was somewhat panicked; she hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
Wasn’t Zheng Miaoning supposed to stand up, give both parents a piece of her mind, and then leave home in a huff, leaving her to step in and offer comfort?
Zheng Pingchun couldn’t figure it out, but she didn’t dare to defy her majestic father.
She obediently followed the butler away. In the huge living room, only the family of three remained. If Zheng Miaoning hadn’t been crying, the scene would have looked as harmonious as it used to be.
Zheng Lihui stood up and sighed.
His eldest daughter had constantly contradicted him since returning to the country. Even so, seeing Zheng Miaoning’s tears, Zheng Lihui’s heart softened.
Zheng Miaoning had always been competitive; she wanted to be first in everything. Even if she lost, she never cried, silently working hard while holding her breath until she became the winner.
Always striving to be first in her dealings meant that Zheng Miaoning could not tolerate a single grain of sand in her eyes; as a child, she had wished she could monopolize her parents’ time and energy every single moment.
Precisely because of this, Xu Hexuan hadn’t dared to mention it to her daughter after getting pregnant again.
Bringing Zheng Pingchun back was not only because Zheng Pingchun was getting older and needed experience, but also because Zheng Miaoning had become much more disobedient lately.
Zheng Lihui simply wanted to tell Zheng Miaoning: Don’t think that just because you are the only daughter, you can still be so arrogant and domineering toward your parents!
But seeing Zheng Miaoning cry, Zheng Lihui didn’t feel good either.
More importantly, he didn’t feel physically well either.
Xu Hexuan’s face had turned somewhat pale from her crying.
Enduring the discomfort, Zheng Lihui walked up to his wife and daughter with a stern face and offered a few cold words of comfort.
Every word carried the implication of: “As long as you are obedient, you will always be our most beloved child.”
This was the first time Zheng Miaoning had received comfort from Zheng Lihui at this plot point. Usually, by this step, Zheng Miaoning would have already stood up and exposed all the couple’s dirty laundry, leaving Zheng Lihui wishing he could slap her to death on the spot.
Amidst being “overwhelmed by the favor,” Zheng Miaoning knew when to stop.
The tears couldn’t be stopped for a moment. Her face still wore a haughty expression, and her eyes still held resentment as she looked at her parents. However, when she spoke, she inevitably carried a hint of caution: “If I’m not obedient, will you stop liking me?”
Words like these were something the Zheng Miaoning from before meeting Zheng Pingchun would have disdained to ask.
In every previous iteration, Zheng Miaoning had asked indirectly a few times, and her parents would always lose themselves for a moment before brushing her off with vague words.
But this time, Zheng Lihui and Xu Hexuan actually gave an answer without a second thought.
Zheng Miaoning was truly surprised this time.
However, even in her surprise, she didn’t forget to continue acting. Pushing Xu Hexuan away and shaking off Zheng Lihui’s hand, she walked indignantly to the sofa and sat down with a thud, refusing to respond with a cold face.
If Zheng Miaoning had easily forgiven them for suddenly bringing back such a big sister, they—who were sharper than foxes—would have noticed something was wrong.
Since the atmosphere hadn’t deteriorated to the worst possible state, Zheng Miaoning decided to play the part to the fullest.
While acting, Zheng Miaoning didn’t forget to observe them secretly.
The Zheng Lihui couple were acting strange.
As for what specifically was strange, Zheng Miaoning had been too lazy to care before, but now she remembered she should give it a good guess.
Zheng Miaoning saw Zheng Lihui’s fist clench and then loosen. Xu Hexuan urgently gestured to advise him. Finally, the couple sat down to the left and right of Zheng Miaoning, coaxing her with even more gentle words, even going as far as to say things like, “At worst, we’ll just send Zheng Pingchun back.”
Zheng Lihui’s temper was usually alright.
But they had brought Zheng Pingchun back precisely to make her yield. Now that Zheng Miaoning hadn’t fully yielded, why were they being so easy to talk to?
Zheng Miaoning listened while sobbing. The voices of the two big grasshoppers in her ears made her head throb; her pained expression didn’t need to be faked at all.
Only when her expression softened slightly did a bit of relief appear in Xu Hexuan’s eyes.
Zheng Miaoning was lost in thought.
It wasn’t until the couple had talked until their lips were almost frothing that Zheng Miaoning somewhat haughtily accepted her parents’ “apology.” She even magnanimously stated that when she was in a better mood, she could see Zheng Pingchun one more time.
The implication was that until she was in a good mood, Zheng Pingchun had to stay honestly in that little villa and was not allowed to come out and act up.
Even if the media had already spread the news everywhere.
Xu Hexuan looked troubled, while Zheng Lihui nodded, though he seemed quite frustrated inwardly.
After her crying fit, Zheng Miaoning was exhausted in both body and mind.
Having suppressed Zheng Pingchun for now, Zheng Miaoning had no desire to stay and keep acting with the two of them. She gave an obedient response before going upstairs to rest.
The moment she closed the bedroom door, Zheng Miaoning’s expression changed instantly.
The tears—her acting props—hadn’t even fully dried when the expression vanished from her face. She looked much more terrifying now than when she was weeping.
However, in the spacious and luxurious room, Zheng Miaoning was alone.
She sat in a chair, opened social media, and casually scrolled through today’s trending topics.
Zheng Lihui had moved quickly. In just a few minutes, nearly half of the trending searches creating momentum for the youngest daughter had been removed.
After a few glances, Zheng Miaoning found it boring again and stood up to pace.
If Zheng Miaoning had quietly accepted things today, or made a huge scene, the couple would have immediately and rapidly thrust Zheng Pingchun into the social scene, clearing all criticism for her and solidifying her status as the Second Miss of the Zheng family.
Xu Hexuan might even let it slip after a few drinks that Zheng Pingchun was more suited to inherit the company than Zheng Miaoning.
But now, before Zheng Miaoning gave her nod, none of these plans could be executed.
Zheng Pingchun would just have to be wronged and hide in that villa, enduring the humiliation for a few days.
Zheng Miaoning cupped some cold water and splashed it on her face.
The cold water made her mind a bit clearer.
With the Zheng family’s status and wealth, it was impossible for Zheng Pingchun to have lived a bad life over these years.
Yet today, Zheng Pingchun had taken the initiative to wear a set of plain clothes.
This detail was different from before.
Zheng Miaoning still remembered that the first time she met this sister, the girl couldn’t wait to drape herself in all the high-end jewelry their parents had bought her over the years, just to let Zheng Miaoning see how favored she was.
However, there were truly too many different things this time.
Thinking of the person who was the most different of all, Zheng Miaoning looked into the mirror and actually saw a hint of a smile in her own eyes.