“Why is only Qingqing allowed in?” Sister Xu asked, puzzled.
The security guard naturally couldn’t answer that.
Su Qingqing unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. “It’s fine, Sister Xu. You head back to the company first. I can go in alone. Thanks for the ride today.”
Sister Xu still looked worried. “Um, after you get home, make sure you keep your temper in check, alright? And… watch what you say too. After all, if you can regain the Su family’s help, that would be good… good…”
What she really wanted to say was—the newly found young lady of the Su family wouldn’t let her go in, only allowing Su Qingqing alone. Could it be that they knew Su Qingqing had no filter and would say something foolish, and that her presence would stop her from making a fool of herself?
Maybe they deliberately kept her out so that Su Qingqing would embarrass herself…
But Su Qingqing remained perfectly calm. “Don’t worry. They’re not worth me saying anything I shouldn’t.”
With that, she walked toward the Su residence.
It was just about lunchtime. Today, the Su family was hosting a grand homecoming banquet for their newly recovered biological daughter, Su Xuxu, and the place was bustling with excitement.
From a distance, one could see the Su family’s standalone courtyard decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, beautiful little flags strung all around the exquisite yard. The entrance was lined with luxury cars.
To formally introduce Su Xuxu and help her integrate into the upper circles of S City, and to show how much they valued her, the Su family had specially invited quite a few prominent figures from high society.
Although it was held at home, it was done with great extravagance—an understated luxury, the kind with real class.
The original owner had stormed off after a huge fight with the Su family. She left empty-handed, and deep down, she had still thought that Father Su and Mother Su, out of consideration for their fifteen years together, would miss her and eventually persuade her to come back.
But she hadn’t expected that the moment she walked out the door, the Su family would throw a lively homecoming banquet for Su Xuxu. Not only did they not come looking for her, they even blocked her phone number.
Su Qingqing had moved out without even taking her clothes. Today, she was wearing something Sister Xu had prepared—an ordinary designer outfit, a white tracksuit for easy movement.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this was a brand-name outfit, but at an occasion like this, where everyone was dressed in gowns and luxury cars lined the driveway, her outfit looked quite plain—plain to the point of being shabby.
She walked in uninvited, straight from the entrance to the main hall, with such an easy, natural air, as if she were just coming home like any other day. She drew nearly everyone’s gaze.
People were whispering among themselves.
“Isn’t that the adopted daughter who was kicked out of the Su family? Why is she back on a day like this? To humiliate herself?”
“Could she be here to cause trouble out of jealousy? She was always known as the Su family’s brainless heiress—arrogant and domineering, causing trouble outside every day.”
“Tsk, she was adopted from an orphanage, you know. The Su family fed her and clothed her for fifteen years—that’s already generous. She’s not shameless enough to come back and make a scene, is she?”
“…”
The murmuring in the room never stopped. No one bothered to hide it from her; even when they lowered their voices, they deliberately made sure she could hear every word.
Many of them were the original owner’s former “sisters.”
The original owner was a brainless show-off. She’d post anything she had on social media, and Father Su and Mother Su knew about it but never once taught her that it was wrong.
So many of the friends around her pretended to get along with her, but in their hearts, they either envied her or simply looked down on her.
Su Qingqing stood calmly in the center of the hall, gracefully accepting the pointing and whispering around her, unmoved and composed.
As if those hushed voices had no effect on her at all.
After the crowd had gossiped for a while, Su Xuxu finally made her way down from the second floor.
She was the star of this grand banquet today, and every inch of her attire, from head to toe, screamed expensive and luxurious.
She had a naturally sweet look, and today she wore a custom-made princess gown with a puffy skirt, adorned with a jeweled crown worth tens of millions. She looked like a true, noble princess.
She descended the stairs slowly, stopping on the second-to-last step, standing face-to-face with Su Qingqing—towering a full two heads above her.
Combined with her beautiful, extravagant dress, while Su Qingqing wore only a simple tracksuit, at first glance, the contrast was like a young lady versus her maidservant.
Someone nearby sighed softly: “Indeed, like father, like son. Bloodlines carry genes. Look at the real daughter the Su family found—so elegant, clearly a refined young lady. That adopted daughter, raised for all those years, still looks like a wild pheasant.”
Su Qingqing heard all these remarks, yet she still showed no reaction.
Su Xuxu heard them too. She had actually known Su Qingqing had arrived long ago. Father Su and Mother Su were afraid she’d come to cause trouble and wanted to have her thrown out directly, but Su Xuxu had stopped them, saying that would reflect poorly on the Su family’s image and that she’d handle it herself.
She had deliberately kept Su Qingqing waiting for a while before slowly coming downstairs, just to let her hear more of the crowd’s mockery.
But Su Qingqing’s reaction now disappointed her. Tsk, why wasn’t she flying into a rage? If she didn’t, how could she keep making a fool of herself?
She smiled at Su Qingqing with an innocent, friendly expression. “Sister, you’re back. Why didn’t you let us know beforehand? If you’d called ahead, you wouldn’t have been kept waiting outside for so long!”
Su Qingqing didn’t respond right away. Her slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes were bright and sharp, as if she could see right through her with a single glance.
Su Xuxu felt a little unnerved by her gaze. She asked, “Sister, why are you looking at me like that? Are you blaming me for not coming out to greet you right away?”
“So that’s it!”
Su Qingqing clenched her left fist and struck it into her right palm, with the look of sudden realization: “I get it now. I understand why the Su family adopted me! So that’s how it is!”
Su Xuxu’s brow twitched at the words that came out of nowhere. Could she have heard some rumors?
But she quickly dismissed that thought. Only Father Su, Mother Su, and herself knew about this. Apart from the great master back then, no one else knew. How could Su Qingqing possibly know?
What ability did she have?
Su Xuxu steadied her emotions and played dumb with a smile. “Sister, what exactly are you talking about? I don’t understand.
The reason Mom and Dad adopted you back then was because after I got lost, you looked a lot like me when I was little, right?
Didn’t you already know about that?”
Her words, both overt and covert, were meant for others to hear—that Su Qingqing had been her substitute from start to finish. It was also a deliberate jab at Su Qingqing’s heart.
But Su Qingqing still showed no reaction. She found her annoying: “Excuse me, move aside. I didn’t come home to chat with you. I’ll grab a few things and leave.”
Her demeanor made it all too clear she didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
Su Xuxu’s heart sank. Why did it feel like she had become the one being looked down on?
She spoke with a troubled tone: “Of course, you can come back to get your things, sister. It’s just that since we don’t have many rooms in the house, and you said before that once you left, you’d never come back, your room has already been converted into mine. All your belongings have been moved to the storage room in the backyard…
If you want to get something, why not have Auntie Ju accompany you? After all, besides your things, there’s quite a lot of other stuff in there too.
Ah, I don’t mean I’m worried you might take things you shouldn’t. I’m just afraid there’s too much stuff in there and you’ll have a hard time finding what you need.”
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