“Well, would you look at that—the sun must be rising in the west today. This is certainly a first.”
Tang Jin cast them a half-smiling glance.
Tang Zhiyuan’s smile stiffened slightly, while Zhang Xiuli quickly put on a gentle expression.
“Xiao Jin, listen to yourself. Your father really does care about you. Men just aren’t very good at expressing their feelings.”
“Mom…”
Tang Meiyu spoke softly, sounding aggrieved, tears already shimmering in her eyes.
At last, Zhang Xiuli realized what felt so strange. She forced another smile and said dotingly to Tang Meiyu,
“This fried egg was made as an apology for your sister. I’ll fry another one for you later.”
Tang Jin watched the mother and daughter perform their little act with an amused smile.
Seeing that Tang Jin still hadn’t touched her chopsticks, Tang Zhiyuan’s face darkened.
“What? Do you expect me to kneel down and beg for your forgiveness?”
Even now, he still wanted to put on airs as her father.
Tang Jin scoffed inwardly, though she was curious about what scheme they were plotting.
So she picked up a small piece of egg and dropped it into Tang Meiyu’s bowl.
“Eat.”
Her tone was harsh and commanding.
“Mom…”
Tang Meiyu glanced at the cleaver beside Tang Jin and instinctively shrank back.
Zhang Xiuli and Tang Zhiyuan exchanged looks.
They hadn’t expected Tang Jin to be this wary.
Zhang Xiuli subconsciously reached for Tang Meiyu’s bowl.
“Xiao Jin, Meiyu likes fried eggs. I can make her another one later…”
“What’s the matter? Are you so scared because there’s poison in the egg?”
Tang Jin curled her lips into a mocking smile.
The sarcasm in her beautiful eyes made Zhang Xiuli’s hand tremble. She hurriedly set the bowl back down and explained awkwardly,
“Of course not, Xiao Jin. You’ve misunderstood me. Meiyu, hurry and eat.”
It was only a tiny piece of egg. It shouldn’t matter.
Still, Zhang Xiuli was so nervous that her palms were slick with sweat.
Tang Meiyu didn’t really know what her parents were planning.
Her mother had only warned her earlier not to fight Tang Jin over the eggs.
She had assumed it was because Tang Jin might lose her temper.
Since her mother was now telling her to eat, it must be safe.
So she quickly swallowed the piece of egg in a few bites.
Unable to hold back any longer, Tang Zhiyuan slammed his chopsticks onto the table.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“Very.”
Tang Jin clicked her tongue.
“But looking at all of you ruins my appetite. I don’t want to eat at the same table as you.”
With that, she picked up her rice and egg and returned to her room.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Outside, Tang Meiyu immediately started whining.
“Mom, Dad, look at her. She doesn’t respect either of you at all.”
“That ungrateful brat!”
Tang Zhiyuan’s patience with Tang Jin was nearing its limit.
Zhang Xiuli gripped his hand and soothed him.
“Zhiyuan, calm down. We can’t ruin everything at the last moment. Meiyu, there’s another fried egg waiting for you in the kitchen. Eat it, then go rest in your parents’ room.”
“Okay.”
Spoiled as she was, Tang Meiyu knew how to read the room, especially when it came to listening to Zhang Xiuli.
She obediently finished her egg and returned to the master bedroom.
Meanwhile, in her room, Tang Jin sniffed the food.
This drug was laughably crude.
Just what were they trying to do?
She casually tossed all the eggs into her space.
She had already eaten noodles earlier and wasn’t hungry anyway.
After preparing another medicine of her own, Tang Jin lay leisurely on the bed.
Before long, she heard someone picking the lock.
Closing her eyes, she pretended to be unconscious.
“Keep it down. What if the drug hasn’t taken effect yet?”
“No way. This stuff is strong. I’ll get the door open—you check first.”
The two whispered furtively.
Soon, the lock clicked open and footsteps entered the room.
Tang Zhiyuan looked at Tang Jin’s stunning face.
She resembled Du Qingfeng by five parts and the old man by three.
He had always hated that his father forced him to marry Du Qingfeng.
Because of that, he had always disliked Tang Jin as well.
But now, he hesitated.
“I haven’t gotten my father’s inheritance yet. Is it too early to hand her over to Wang Bin?”
“That inheritance is just your own guess. For all you know, it doesn’t even exist.”
Zhang Xiuli was ruthless.
“The deputy factory director is retiring soon. Wang Bin promised to help pull some strings for your promotion. Don’t you want your salary grade increased?”
“I do.”
In the end, Tang Zhiyuan wasn’t worried about his daughter.
He was worried about losing out on his father’s inheritance.
Seeing his wavering, Zhang Xiuli gently persuaded him.
“Xiao Jin has always listened to you. Once everything is settled, you can just coax her a little. Tell her it’s meant to be part of her dowry. She’ll definitely let you retrieve it. Whatever it is, it’ll still belong to you.”
“I’m afraid she’ll give it to Wang Bin.”
Tang Zhiyuan’s words chilled Tang Jin to the core.
Her father truly didn’t care about her—not even a little.
Fortunately, she had already given up on him.
No expectations meant no disappointment.
From this day forward, she would consider herself an orphan.
“She won’t.”
Zhang Xiuli snorted.
“Wang Bin is old and ugly. No young girl would ever fall for him. Xiao Jin is beautiful—she’s certainly not blind.”
“Fine. Get a sack and cover her with it. Then stand watch at the entrance. I’ll go find a tricycle.”
Tang Zhiyuan finally made up his mind.
After confirming once more that Tang Jin was unconscious, he slipped out into the night.
Zhang Xiuli reached out and traced Tang Jin’s beautiful face with her fingertips.
Then she sneered.
“Du Qingfeng, Du Qingfeng. So what if you were prettier than me?
Your man became mine.
And your daughter… she’ll be ruined by my own hands. Hahaha…”
She hated Du Qingfeng.
If not for her, she would have married Brother Zhiyuan long ago.
She wouldn’t have ended up bearing Tang Meiyu for another man and losing the ability to have more children.
That was why she wanted to destroy Du Qingfeng’s daughter.
Everything belonging to the Tang family would belong to Meiyu.
Tang Jin listened speechlessly as Zhang Xiuli ranted like a madwoman.
A woman’s jealousy was truly terrifying.
Then again, none of the four of them were decent people.
Perhaps worried about Tang Zhiyuan, Zhang Xiuli soon left the room.
Only after her footsteps faded away did Tang Jin quietly free herself from the sack.
She didn’t know why the version of herself in the novel had seemingly lost all intelligence.
But she wasn’t someone who suffered losses without striking back.
If people schemed against her, she would retaliate.
So Tang Jin headed straight next door.
The drug really was potent.
Even though Tang Meiyu had only eaten a small amount, she was already fast asleep.
Tang Jin took out the medicinal liquid she had prepared in advance.
Then she forced half a bowl of it down Tang Meiyu’s throat.
Afterward, she dragged Tang Meiyu into what had originally been her own room and stuffed her into the sack.
The night was pitch black.
Whether Tang Zhiyuan and Zhang Xiuli would realize who was inside the sack depended entirely on fate.
As for Tang Jin, she changed into Tang Meiyu’s clothes and lay down on the bed.
Not long afterward, Zhang Xiuli returned.
Seeing that the sack looked exactly as it had before, she relaxed considerably.
When Tang Zhiyuan came back, the two of them hoisted the sack onto their shoulders and hurried downstairs, afraid of being late.
Tang Jin eagerly anticipated the expressions on their faces when they finally discovered that the person inside the sack was Tang Meiyu.