Su Jiaojiao wiped her tears, slipped on a pink cotton-padded coat and cotton slippers, then went to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, she saw Liu Dongmei leaning her head against it.
Liu Dongmei, forty years old, wore a brightly patterned cotton-padded jacket and had recently permed shoulder-length wavy hair that was currently in style. Well-maintained, her skin was fair and wrinkle-free.
At the sight of this face, Su Jiaojiao’s hand gripping the door tightened until her fingernails nearly gouged splinters from the wood. Her expression was icy, her eyes brimming with hatred—she wished she could kick Liu Dongmei twice right then, or even subject her to a thousand cuts.
Su Jiaojiao took a deep, silent breath and told herself, “Not yet. It’s not time to show my true colors. I have to wait until they’ve coughed up everything they swallowed from the Su Family.”
With a forced, insincere smile, Su Jiaojiao said irritably, “Step…mother, what are you doing? With that attitude, are you checking if I’ve hidden a man in here? Why don’t you come in and search my room?”
In her past life, she had called Liu Dongmei “Mom” affectionately, every time.
But in this life, facing her enemy, how could she utter the sacred word “Mom”? She could only address her as stepmother.
When Su Jiaojiao opened the door and Liu Dongmei met her cold gaze, she was startled, but the surprise quickly faded, thinking she must have imagined it.
This girl had long been coaxed into treating her as a real mother—how could she possibly look at her with such coldness?
Liu Dongmei reassured herself, then said with a smile, “Silly child, what nonsense are you spouting so early? You don’t even have a boyfriend—what man would you hide? Don’t ruin your own reputation.”
Listen—how much it sounded like the playful banter between a biological mother and daughter. Who would have guessed they were stepmother and stepdaughter?
Soon, Liu Dongmei noticed Su Jiaojiao’s red-rimmed eyes.
Puzzled, she asked, “Jiaojiao, have you been crying? What’s wrong?”
Su Jiaojiao replied, “It’s nothing. I just had a nightmare where I was beaten to death by a villain.”
“Ah?” Liu Dongmei comforted her, “Don’t worry, dreams are the opposite of reality. It means you’ll live a long life.”
Listen—how sweet those words sounded.
In her previous life, she had been deceived by Liu Dongmei’s honeyed words, losing her judgment and believing she had truly encountered a good stepmother.
People said that with a stepmother comes a stepfather.
But after her father married Liu Dongmei, not only was she not abused or beaten, her clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all meticulously arranged.
Who would have suspected that this stepmother was one of the culprits behind her biological mother’s death?
Noticing Su Jiaojiao’s somewhat cold attitude, Liu Dongmei felt slightly displeased but didn’t show it. Still smiling, she said,
“Jiaojiao, I’ve steamed two brown sugar eggs for you. Hurry and get ready to come out and eat. Make sure Yu’er doesn’t see, or she’ll throw a fit again, saying I’m favoring you.”
Her implication was: See how I treat you better than my own daughter? You should remember that.
Hearing this, Su Jiaojiao looked at Liu Dongmei with a mocking half-smile and said,
“Oh, two brown sugar steamed eggs? Stepmother, you’re really thoughtful. But I’ve noticed several times that Shen Qingyu secretly eats Chicken Cake and peach shortcakes for breakfast. Do you also whisper to Shen Qingyu not to let me see?”
The latter sentence was whispered near Liu Dongmei’s ear. Though it sounded like playful teasing, it actually conveyed that she knew everything.
In this era, pastries like Chicken Cake and walnut cookies were even more precious than steamed eggs with brown sugar.
In her previous life, she had caught Shen Qingyu secretly eating Chicken Cake and walnut cookies for breakfast a few times, but she hadn’t minded.
After all, before her stepmother and stepsister moved in, she had eaten such treats daily and no longer craved them.
But now, thinking back, this was precisely the difference in how a stepmother treated her stepdaughter versus her biological daughter.
In her previous life, she had been foolish, deceived by the superficial acts of Liu Dongmei and her daughter.
Hearing Su Jiaojiao’s words, Liu Dongmei’s expression shifted slightly before she forced an awkward smile and said,
“That girl Xiaoyu is greedy. When she sees others eating Chicken Cake and walnut cookies, she insists on trying them. Don’t worry, I won’t buy them for her anymore.”
Inwardly, she cursed, “That wretched girl, can’t even eat without being careless and getting caught.”
“Don’t do that,” Su Jiaojiao immediately interjected. “How about this: from now on, whatever Shen Qingyu eats, I’ll eat the same. No more special treatment for me.”
She deliberately emphasized the words “special treatment.”
“This… Jiaojiao, isn’t this inappropriate?” Liu Dongmei said with a strained smile. “You were once a young lady from a wealthy family, but Yu’er isn’t as delicate as you.”
“Stepmother, being a ‘young lady from a wealthy family’ is a capitalist attitude. Are you deliberately trying to label me as a ‘capitalist young lady’ and make everyone despise me?” Su Jiaojiao said sternly.
Liu Dongmei’s expression stiffened as she feigned a smile and replied, “This… I wasn’t thoughtful enough.”
“Mm, from now on, don’t refer to me as a young lady from a wealthy family or anything like that,” Su Jiaojiao waved her hand dismissively. “Since we’re a family, there’s no distinction between who’s delicate and who’s not. If I don’t mind, why should you? Stepmother, you may leave now. I’ll tidy up and join you shortly.”
Before leaving, Liu Dongmei pondered to herself.
Eating the same things? How could that be possible?
The three of them always indulged in delicacies behind Su Jiaojiao’s back—items like malt extract and other precious pastries, all paid for with her money.
As for Su Jiaojiao, they merely gave her a little meat and two boiled eggs, treating it as her exclusive portion.
This fool used to be so easy to deceive and never suspected anything. Why did she suddenly seem enlightened this time?
It couldn’t be.
She knew Su Jiaojiao’s nature all too well—she was nothing but a fool.
Perhaps she felt resentful after seeing Yu’er sneakily eating delicacies. Heh, she could just buy something at noon to deceive her again.
Most importantly, there was a crucial matter to attend to today.
Once Su Jiaojiao entered her room, she leaned against the door, eyes tightly shut, two streams of tears tracing down her cheeks. Her palms pressed firmly against the wood, consumed by hatred so intense she wished she could make them vanish on the spot.
But not yet.
She sniffled, wiped her tears, and with a gaze firm and filled with resentment, declared, “Liu Dongmei, Shen Jianguo, just you wait.”
Then, she quickly composed herself, tidied up, and headed to the living room for breakfast.
When she arrived, Shen Jianguo and Liu Dongmei were already seated at the dining table. Shen Qingyu was nowhere to be seen, but another place was set with steaming brown sugar eggs.
The moment Su Jiaojiao laid eyes on Shen Jianguo, she nearly lost control of herself. Her gaze burned with fury and resentment, and she wished she could stab him right then and there.
In her previous life, while her mother was still alive, Shen Jianguo had already begun transferring part of the Su Family’s assets. What infuriated her most was that he had brought his mistress to her mother’s sickbed and even allowed the mistress to personally pull out her oxygen tube.
The murder of one’s mother is an unforgivable enmity!
If she did not avenge this, she would be unworthy of being called a child!
Seeing Su Jiaojiao standing motionless, Shen Jianguo’s expression turned displeased. He sternly barked, “What are you doing standing there like a wooden post? Hurry up and sit down. Your mother steamed brown sugar eggs for you—eat them while they’re hot.”
Liu Dongmei immediately tugged at Shen Jianguo’s sleeve and softly scolded, “Old Shen, why are you yelling at the child? Jiaojiao just had a nightmare and probably hasn’t snapped out of it yet.”
She shot Shen Jianguo a meaningful look, and he immediately caught on.
“Ahem,” Shen Jianguo cleared his throat, then put on a fatherly expression and said, “Jiaojiao, finish the brown sugar eggs first. Later, Dad has something to discuss with you.”
Something to discuss?
No sooner had Su Jiaojiao taken her seat than Shen Jianguo’s words triggered a memory of what he intended to bring up.
That enormous fortune her mother had left for her!