The scene was one of total pandemonium, filled with ghostly wails and wolf-like howls. The magnificent grand living room had essentially turned into a wet market.
Su Yi took a moment to appreciate the chaos before slipping away amidst the confusion.
As she stepped out, she saw the ornate iron gates slowly opening. A car glided to a halt, and the driver nimbly stepped out to open the rear door for the passenger.
A handsome young man with long legs and a well-built physique stepped out of the vehicle.
Wasn’t this her brother—of the “different father, different mother” variety?
Quite the “sunshine hunk.” A pity he was destined to be the second male lead. According to the plot, he would eventually be rubbed into the dirt by the male protagonist, ending up with nothing in both his career and his love life.
Su Yi shook her head, feeling only a mild sense of regret.
The moment Mo Xiting stepped out of the car, he vaguely heard the shouting coming from the villa. His brow had just begun to furrow when he noticed someone standing not far ahead, shaking her head at him.
His faint frown deepened into a harsh scowl.
Su Yi had expected this reaction. This “cheap brother” let his gaze linger on her face for less than a second before looking away, his face rapidly clouding over with deep, visceral loathing.
If this were the old Su Yi, she would have already hunched her shoulders in guilt, lowered her head, and retreated to the side to let him pass first.
Having spent years listening to people whisper behind her back, Su Yi had formed a peculiar perception: it was only “right” for Mo Xiting to loathe her, his stepsister. After all, her mother had hooked up with his father while his own mother’s bones were still cold, bringing her—the “baggage child”—into his home with flagrant disregard for his feelings. She felt she had to atone.
So, whether he intentionally ignored her, treated her like air, or publicly mocked and humiliated her, she had always endured it in silence.
But now…
Su Yi lifted her foot. She didn’t dodge or avoid him; instead, she held her head high and walked toward the gate with her chest out.
She had been one year old back then—an age where she was still playing with her own snot. Could she have possibly jumped up and stopped her mother from doing something so unscrupulous?
Every person should be responsible for their own actions. Debts have creditors, and grievances have sources. If he wanted to hate or seek revenge, fine—he should set his sights on her mother and his father, who couldn’t keep his lower half in check. He shouldn’t catch an innocent bystander in the crossfire. She was just a child, thanks.
Just as Su Yi was about to pass Mo Xiting, a sudden burst of dog barking and panicked human screams exploded in the air.
The sound of heavy, rapid footsteps was right on top of her. It felt as if a massive, muscular dog was going to pounce on her at any second.
In a flash of lightning, Su Yi urgently changed direction, but her left foot tripped over her right.
Damn it!
At the critical moment, she followed the momentum and lunged forward to the left, using both her hands and feet to crawl away as fast as she could.
After only two seconds of crawling, a terrifying mix of male and female screams erupted behind her, followed by a sharp, angry command: “Peter, let go!”
Su Yi didn’t stop.
That vicious dog had bullied her countless times by relying on its master’s status. Although it had never actually bitten her, the number of times it had suddenly rushed up to her, barking wildly to scare her, was more than she could count on her fingers and toes.
Su Yi crawled all the way to a safe distance before turning around.
She looked back to see the servants and Mo Xiting all staring at her with incomprehensible expressions.
What are you looking at? If she hadn’t reacted quickly, she would have been the one bitten. And shouldn’t they be more concerned about the driver, who was currently screaming in agony?
“Young Master, save me!!” the driver shrieked, sounding as if his liver and gallbladder were bursting from terror.
The Doberman Pinscher, with muscles so developed it could have competed for Mr. Olympia, had him pinned down. It was biting his shoulder, refusing to let go, while making terrifying, guttural growling noises.
Only then did Mo Xiting focus on the business at hand: saving the poor driver.
But whether he grabbed its collar to pull it back or slapped its snout, the dog wouldn’t let go. It put the dignified young master through such a struggle that he was drenched in sweat and looked utterly disheveled—like he had just finished plowing two acres of land.
The dog trainer finally arrived, nearly fainting at the sight.
“Is this the extent of your skill?” Mo Xiting’s anger found an outlet. “I pay a high price for you to be here, and this is how you train a dog?”
Since last month, the usually obedient Peter had suddenly become violent and aggressive. It always tried to pounce on him, especially when he came home. The moment it heard the sound of his return, it would immediately start barking incessantly.
The trainer broke into a cold sweat. “I’m sorry, Young Master!”
God help me. They said the smartest dog is the Border Collie, but this Doberman was no slouch. It had actually learned to play nice and act to deceive him; the moment he turned his back, it had bitten through the cage and rushed out.
“Awooo! Why are you pulling me? Let me go! Dad, you’re such a moron! Man bites Lu Dongbin—you don’t recognize a good dog’s heart!”
Just as Mo Xiting lost his patience and delivered a heavy slap that sent the dog’s head reeling—giving the trainer a chance to snap a muzzle on it at lightning speed—a tragic, indignant howl rang out across the courtyard.
Su Yi, who had been planning to “wave her sleeve and leave without taking a single cloud,” paused.
There’s a story here!
“Take it back! No dinner for it tonight!” Mo Xiting shouted, wiping sweat from his brow. “Help the man up and call a doctor.”
He threw his suit jacket to a servant. His taut muscles looked like they were about to burst through the constraints of his shirt.
Wow, that muscle density is exactly the same as the Doberman’s. They really are like father and son.
Su Yi imagined a scene where Mo Xiting and his “dog son” competed on the same stage for the title of Mr. Olympia, and she burst out laughing.
Mo Xiting turned his head at the sound. His face was longer than a donkey’s, and sweat clung to his tan complexion. The more she looked at him, the more he looked like he’d just come back from plowing two acres.
Su Yi laughed again.
“Is it that funny?” He stared at her, his tone hostile.
“It’s very funny. Don’t you think so? Your sense of humor must be pretty high then,” Su Yi said.
“…You dare talk to me like that!”
Mo Xiting hadn’t expected his “cheap stepsister” to talk back. Seeing that she actually dared to look him in the eye—instead of shrinking away as if she wanted to crawl into the dirt like she usually did—he felt a sense of oddity, which was immediately followed by a surge of rage.
The way she held her chin high with such fearlessness was practically a carbon copy of his “good stepmother”!
Can’t keep up the act anymore, can you? After all these years of pretending, the fox’s tail was finally showing. He knew it; how could a cunning, shameless fox ever give birth to a timid quail?
“Su Yi,” Mo Xiting said coldly.
Su Yi: “Yes~ Why are you calling for ‘Daddy’?”
“You little—”
Mo Xiting was furious, but he only managed to start his “charging animation” before another commotion broke out, forcing his “ultimate move” to be canceled.
Su Yi looked back and saw Zhang Jie supporting Mrs. Chen—who had “awakened from her faint”—as they struggled and hurried out. Her mother followed behind, offering a stream of “comforting” words. “Oh, Mrs. Chen, don’t be in such a hurry. Look on the bright side. You might have lost a sister-in-law, but you gained a daughter-in-law and a grandson! This is a good thing! Don’t go fainting from anger again—”
“You! Wan Lingzhen, you—”
Mrs. Chen’s plump body was shaking. Noticing the scene ahead, she abruptly cut herself off and forced a smile. “Xiting, you’re back. What’s going on? Did your sister upset you?” She shot Su Yi a subtle, venomous glare.
At the word “sister,” Mo Xiting’s expression soured further, but he quickly switched to social mode. “I’m fine. Just a disobedient dog. What happened to you, Auntie? You don’t look very well.”
Mrs. Chen forced a thin smile. “It’s nothing. Just a joke with your aunt. I’ll be leaving now.”
The car sped away, or more accurately, it fled the scene.
Wan Lingzhen held her chin high, unable to hide her smugness. She looked at her stepson. “Xiting, you’re back. Your father said we’ll have dinner together tonight.”
Without waiting for his reaction and without inviting Su Yi, she cast a quick glance at the struggling large dog and the driver, who was whimpering while clutching his bloody shoulder, then turned and ran inside.
Mo Xiting’s jaw was clenched tight when a phone was suddenly shoved right under his nose.
Are these two mother and daughter teaming up just to make me miserable?!
The words “get lost” were on the tip of his tongue, but his eyes instinctively glanced at the screen.
It was a lewd-looking Panda-head avatar.
@Heaven Above, Hangzhou Below: Animal Language Decrypted, Online Pet Consultations & Q&A~~
Below it was a screen full of videos, many with over a million likes.
“If a child won’t eat, they’re usually faking; a good beating will fix it. But if a child is disobedient, they’re usually feeling wronged,” Su Yi said in a sincere tone. “This streamer is very famous lately. She can understand animal language and talk to creatures. If you really can’t handle Peter, you can connect with her. But lots of people are fighting for a slot, so you might not necessarily get a consultation ticket.”
Mo Xiting: “…”
“Get lost.” The words finally came out. He let out an exasperated sigh and started to walk away.
At that moment, the Doberman started barking again, nodding frantically as it barked: “The baggage child is right! I’m being wronged! I was trying to warn you to be careful of the driver, and you hit me and cursed me! Waaah! Dad, go find that streamer!”
After barking, it gave Su Yi a look of approval. “I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly looking back, the one who knows my grievances is actually the baggage child. What a twist of fate.”
Su Yi: [Sweating Emoji]
She also wanted to give it a slap across the snout.
But, be careful of the driver?
Su Yi looked at Mo Xiting—with his narrow waist, long legs, and firm backside—and then at the burly driver. Could it be? A case of “the one closest to the water gets the moon”? Was the hunk of a driver secretly lusting after the young master?
At the thought of this possibility, she giggled to herself.
Just as she was about to shove her phone back into her pocket, she saw a call coming in.
What a great day this is; everyone is calling me.
“Come back immediately for the funeral. You’re the only one missing, and everyone is waiting for you. Hurry up.” Her father’s voice, which was usually gentle to others, was filled with nothing but dissatisfaction.
Su Yi’s eyes widened. A funeral??
Whose funeral? It couldn’t be Old Lady Cheng…
It had only been a few days. She was such a spirited old lady—was she gone already? It couldn’t be, right? Just because she found out from a fish that the old man had a white moonlight and a secret son he never forgot?!
Su Yi was about to ask whose funeral it was, but the call was hung up. When she tried to call back, no one answered.
Heh, that bastard.
She immediately called for someone to take her to the Cheng residence.
Amitabha. Hopefully, this debt wouldn’t be settled on her, a poor little streamer. After all, she was just the translator. If it weren’t for her, Old Lady Cheng might have gone to her grave without ever knowing.
In the book, that vigorous old lady lived until nearly the end of the story… but then again, she was just a translator, a mere mouthpiece. Could they really blame her?
With a heavy heart, Su Yi hurried along and arrived at the Cheng residence nearly an hour later.
The edge of the long, wide pool was crowded with people. It was silent. Everyone was dressed in black formal wear, their faces solemn—exactly like the expression they wore when Old Mr. Cheng died.
She took a closer look: the old lady was standing there just fine. She took another look: Holy crap, a funeral for a fish?!
Su Yi: [Confused Nick Young Emoji] x 100
On the surface of the pool floated a cushion made of fresh flowers. A guppy—apparently just taken out of the refrigerator—lay quietly in the center, looking very peaceful.
Is this a remake of “The Elegant Family”?
Su Yi looked around for cameras.
“Yiyi! Why are you only getting back now? Go change your clothes.” Su Ye scolded her in a gentle tone, walking over quickly as if to put his arm around her shoulder.
Cheng Lele let out a displeased huff.
Su Yi shifted to the side, causing his hand to miss its mark.
Su Ye’s expression faltered for a moment before turning even more gentle. “What’s wrong, Yiyi? Did your mother scold you again?”
“Yeah. Are you going to get justice for me, Dad?” Su Yi looked at him askance.
Su Ye looked about twenty percent like her. His features were clean and handsome, and he was very well-maintained—looking not even forty. He had a tall stature and refined manners; one could say he outshone the vast majority of middle-aged men.
No wonder Cheng Lele’s mother had taken an interest in him and was completely under his thumb, helping him—a graduate of a bottom-tier university—climb to the position of a professor at a prestigious school.
“What are you saying, Yiyi? I wouldn’t dare provoke your mother,” Su Ye said with a bitter smile after only a second’s pause. At the same time, he cast a quick glance at the others. Seeing they were far enough away and likely couldn’t hear their conversation, his expression shifted instantly. The mask of the loving father vanished in a heartbeat.
Su Yi wanted to give him a round of applause.
This tactic of “retreating to advance”—acting like a loving father in front of the Cheng family and performing his “deep concern” for his daughter from a previous marriage—not only didn’t displease them, but instead made them feel he was a man of sentiment and integrity.
Is the Cheng family made of idiots?
She was truly impressed.
By the time the absurd funeral ended, it was nearly dark. The lights in the garden came on one by one, making it as bright as day.
Su Yi watched as the crowd surrounded the calm and healthy-looking Old Lady Cheng to lead her inside. She wanted to turn and leave, but was stopped by Cheng Lele.
“You’ve been at your mom’s place lately. Have you heard any rumors?”
Su Yi raised an eyebrow. “What rumors? Are you talking about the rumors that the old man’s first love wasn’t the old lady, but someone else he couldn’t forget until the day he died, and that he had a secret son who died young?”
Cheng Lele’s face changed dramatically; her entire bright face was trembling. “Shut up! What nonsense are you talking? Who told you that!”
“Does anyone need to tell me? Isn’t it all over the internet? I knew who it was as soon as I saw that livestream clip,” Su Yi shrugged, her tone light.
Cheng Lele bit her lip.
Loathsome! Even though they had contacted all the major social platforms that night to strictly forbid any spreading of the story, they still hadn’t managed to block it… No, wait. The netizens were likely blocked; there wasn’t much noise currently. But acquaintances would definitely recognize them. She had tested her friends, and they all seemed not to know—it looked like they were lying to her!
“Oh, and also, Mrs. Chen’s eldest son is with his ex-aunt, and she’s pregnant. Does that count?” Su Yi said slowly.
Cheng Lele was stunned at first, but then her eyebrows soared with delight. “A child?! They even have a child?! Hahahaha…”
Stopping her elders from going after the streamer was indeed the right choice!
If her family’s privacy had become a conversation piece, why should only her family’s privacy be a conversation piece? Other people’s secrets had to be brought out for the masses to use as gossip over tea and meals!
“Lele, what are you talking to your sister about that’s so happy?” Su Ye walked over with a doting look, but lowered his voice. “Grandmother is in a bad mood right now. Keep it down.”
Cheng Lele took his arm. “Dad, we’re talking about the gossip involving the Chen family.”
She looked at Su Yi provocatively, but the expected envy and dejection didn’t appear. Su Yi’s expression… looked like she was watching a monkey show??
Impossible! She must be faking it.
“Speaking of which, the business with the Chen family was actually also revealed by that streamer,” Su Ye frowned. “How does she know things that even the families involved don’t know? Using animals’ mouths to spill secrets and causing such unrest in people’s homes. Anyway, it’s suspicious. Just watch it in the future, but don’t connect with her again.”
Cheng Lele pouted and countered, “Dad, how can you say that? If I hadn’t connected to let Xiangzhang communicate with Little Su, we still wouldn’t know… And look, Grandmother was always unhappy after Grandpa died, crying every few days and unable to eat. But once she knew… she was only heartbroken at first. Now, not only does she have an appetite, but she can play eight rounds of mahjong at once.”
Su Yi heard this and suddenly felt like the “red scarf” on her chest was glowing even brighter.
She flashed a mysterious smile.
She leaves after the deed is done, hiding her merit and fame. This was her: a great altruist who did good deeds without expecting reward~
Noticing Cheng Lele’s expression, Su Yi’s eyes darted around. “Dad is right. That streamer is clearly just a charlatan. Likely, there’s a team planning things behind her—”
“You shut up! What do you know? Don’t stand here slandering people with your bare teeth; everything Little Su said was true! If you don’t have any worldliness, don’t talk nonsense.” Cheng Lele’s face dropped, her tone angry and disdainful.
Su Yi feigned shock. “Really? Then the things she said about the old man’s first love were also true?”
Cheng Lele: “…”
She got played!
Su Yi: 《My Younger Sister Who Hates Me Intensely Is Actually My Iron-Clad Fan》 (～￣▽￣)～
Su Ye looked displeased. “Those are just wild rumors from the internet. Don’t speak of them again.”
Just as he finished, a phone rang; it was Su Ye’s.
“What did you say? Taxue is sick? Have you had a vet look at it? How can they not find the problem… fine, I understand.”
The moment the call was hung up, Cheng Lele suggested excitedly, “Dad, let’s find Little Su for a livestream! She’ll definitely—”
“Lele, whether it’s a person or an animal, if they’re sick, they need to see a doctor. Believe in science,” Su Ye refused, diplomatically but firmly.
“Just try it. There’s no loss in trying—unless you have some little secret you’re afraid will be spilled, Dad. Haha.”
“You child, what nonsense are you saying…”
Su Yi looked at Cheng Lele with “motherly” affection, watching as her sister refused to give up, determined to bring her business.
Good kid.
Spilling their family’s secrets wasn’t in vain after all.
When Su Yi saw that white horse on the screen, her smile became even more “kind.”