“Thanks, Mom!” Ruanruan said with a sweet smile. Hugging her snacks, she ran back to her room with quick little steps.
Su Xiaomei followed slowly behind. Seeing her mother carrying the fish with a face full of joy, she pressed her lips together.
Her mother had always been strict with her and had never smiled like that.
Yet she treated a stepdaughter so well!
She bit her teeth resentfully, jealousy growing wildly in her heart like poisonous vines.
When she saw Su Ting carrying the fish into the kitchen, Su Xiaomei’s eyes rolled slightly and she followed in as well.
“Mom! I just saw Ruanruan bring back a lot of snacks other kids gave her. Did she go asking them for food again?”
Su Ting frowned and turned to look at her.
Summoning her courage, Su Xiaomei continued, “Mom, I just think what Ruanruan did is wrong. Other people will say the children in our family have no manners.”
Seeing Su Ting still expressionless, she bit her lip.
“Mom… aren’t you going to teach Ruanruan a lesson?”
Just like she used to teach her.
But she was destined to be disappointed.
Su Ting poked her forehead hard and said irritably, “Ruanruan already told me. Those snacks were all exchanged with fish. Why are you stirring up trouble again? Didn’t the last incident teach you anything?”
Seeing Su Ting’s expression gradually turn stern, Su Xiaomei’s face went pale with fright. She didn’t dare say another word and ran away.
But the more she thought about it, the more resentful she felt.
She was the biological daughter, yet her mother sided with an outsider.
Looks like her mother couldn’t be relied on either!
Su Xiaomei clenched her fists secretly, her eyes dark as she stared at the door of Ruanruan’s room.
The next day, while Ruanruan was out fishing again, Su Xiaomei secretly slipped into her room.
At a glance, she saw the snacks and small toys placed on the table—things other children had given Ruanruan. Next to them was a cloth bundle, though she didn’t know what was inside.
A trace of malice flashed in Su Xiaomei’s eyes.
She quickly grabbed a handful of the prettiest fruit candies and a colorful glass marble and stuffed them into her pocket.
Then she grabbed some of the remaining candies and half a pack of peach pastries.
Seeing the cloth bundle, she couldn’t resist opening it. Inside she only found a small packet of powder. She didn’t know what it was, but instinctively felt it wasn’t anything good, so she secretly took a small pinch of it as well.
After finishing, she mixed the leftover food crumbs with rotten meat broth and deliberately scattered them in front of Ruanruan’s door and beneath the windowsill in the courtyard!
Hmph! It was the height of summer now, and the island was full of insects.
They would definitely smell it and come bite her to death!
Su Xiaomei’s heart pounded like a drum—half frightened, half thrilled in a twisted way.
She hid in a corner, waiting to see Lin Ruanruan surrounded by ants and bugs and then scolded by her mother in a miserable state!
Ruanruan returned with a full haul again that day.
But the moment she got home, the system notification sounded in her mind.
[Warning! Detected abnormal transfer of the host’s personal items (Candy x15, Peach Pastry x½ piece, Basic Anti-Inflammatory Medicine Powder x0.5g). Location: Su Xiaomei’s pocket.]
[Warning! Food scraps have been placed at the entrance of the host’s room, attracting a large number of ants and sugar-seeking insects. Please be cautious.]
Ruanruan had just been organizing today’s “points earnings.” Hearing the alert, her little eyebrow lifted.
Oh?
Su Xiaomei moved pretty fast.
She even managed to steal the system’s medicine powder?
Quite bold.
Ruanruan pretended not to notice anything. Instead of returning to her room, she deliberately avoided the areas where Su Xiaomei had scattered the food scraps and skipped over to the kitchen to get some water.
Hiding in a corner, Su Xiaomei watched Ruanruan pass by completely unharmed. She scratched her head anxiously.
What was going on?
Where were the bugs?
Why weren’t they biting her?
Unable to resist, she stepped closer to where she had scattered the crumbs to check the situation.
But the moment she approached—
“Ahhh—!”
A piercing scream split the small courtyard!
Su Xiaomei clutched her neck and arms, jumping and thrashing around as tears streamed down her face from the pain.
Several large black ants and a few unknown flying insects had appeared from somewhere, desperately biting the exposed skin on her body.
It was painful and unbearably itchy!
Su Ting rushed out of the room when she heard the scream.
What she saw was her daughter jumping around like a monkey, scratching wildly. Several swollen red bumps had already appeared on her neck and arms.
“Xiaomei! What happened to you?!” Su Ting was startled.
“Mom! Bugs are biting me! It hurts! It itches! Waaah—!” Su Xiaomei cried uncontrollably.
Following the direction she pointed, Su Ting saw the ants gathered on the ground, the flying insects in the air, and the obvious candy and peach pastry crumbs!
She immediately thought of the pile of things Ruanruan had brought home earlier, and anger surged instantly.
She turned sharply toward Ruanruan—who had just poked her small head out from the kitchen doorway with an “innocent” expression—and shouted fiercely in her usual loud voice.
“Lin Ruanruan! Did you do this?! Throwing food around and attracting bugs! Look at what they did to your sister!”
Ruanruan narrowed her eyes.
Her stepmother was accusing her without even checking the facts. If that was the case, then she shouldn’t blame Ruanruan for making a scene!
Ruanruan rushed forward and pulled her stolen items out of Su Xiaomei’s pocket while she was still crying.
Then her little mouth puckered, her big eyes instantly filling with tears. She puffed out her small chest and shouted loudly and clearly:
“Mom! Look for yourself! Su Xiaomei stole my things!”
“I just came back from fishing! Su Xiaomei not only stole my things, she also threw food scraps at my door to attract bugs. Then she got bitten herself! I saw everything!”
Her words came out in a rapid stream—clear, organized, and full of direct accusations.
Her voice was so loud that even the neighbors two houses away could hear it clearly.
Su Ting was stunned by the sudden barrage of words. She subconsciously looked at Su Xiaomei, whose face was covered with tears and snot.
“Xiaomei? Is what Ruanruan said true? You… you stole her things? And deliberately scattered them in the yard?”
Su Xiaomei was terrified out of her wits. She had been caught red-handed stealing, and now she had been bitten so badly by bugs.
How could she dare argue?
She could only sniff and nod weakly, her voice as quiet as a mosquito.
“…I… I was just curious… wanted to take a look… I didn’t mean to hurt her…”
Only then did Su Ting realize she had gotten too emotional earlier and wrongly accused Ruanruan.
But she didn’t want to admit it. Frowning, she scolded Ruanruan unhappily.
“That’s enough! It’s not a big deal. Your sister was just curious about your junk. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Curious?!”
That was the last straw.
Ruanruan’s little face turned red with anger as she retorted fiercely in her childish voice.
“If she was curious, why hide it? If she was curious, why throw it at Ruanruan’s door? She did it on purpose! She’s jealous that Ruanruan has candy! Jealous that everyone likes Ruanruan! Mom favors your real daughter! Ruanruan doesn’t have a mom who loves her! Waaah—!”
She wanted to make the situation bigger so her stepmother couldn’t keep favoring Su Xiaomei.
Especially since Su Xiaomei had been secretly causing trouble lately.
This time, Ruanruan was determined to make a big scene.