“Why are you wearing my clothes?”
Fang Youning’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, a deep sense of crisis rising within her.
Fang Mingzhu giggled and said, “My dress got splashed with red wine, so Yunhai-gege lent me this one. He said since you’re always working, you’d never have a chance to wear such a beautiful dress anyway, and it suits me better than it does you.”
“Fang Mingzhu, I already know everything.”
She had grown up in luxury, given the best of everything by her parents. She couldn’t possibly care about this dress. The only reason she took it was to make her feel miserable.
“Know what? Jiejie, why are you being so mean? Yunhai-gege, look how she’s scolding me.”
Fang Mingzhu turned her head and coquettishly complained to Shen Yunhai, who was walking over from behind.
Shen Yunhai’s gaze swept past Fang Mingzhu and landed on Fang Youning, who wore no makeup, her hair loose and damp, clinging to her face. She was dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, both soaked with sweat, making her look as disheveled as if she had just been pulled out of water.
Immediately, a displeased expression crossed his face, and he complained, “How could you come dressed like this? Didn’t I tell you on the phone that there’s a party at the apartment? Couldn’t you have dressed up a bit? Don’t embarrass me. Look at Mingzhu, then look at yourself. Can’t you learn from her?”
“Learn from her? She was carefully nurtured by our parents, while I grew up like a weed. How could I possibly learn?” Fang Youning’s heart ached with bitterness.
“What are you being so sarcastic about now?” Shen Yunhai frowned, his tone impatient.
Fang Mingzhu quickly smiled and soothed him, “Yunhai-gege, jiejie is just angry with me. Let me take her inside to change first. You go ahead and entertain your friends.”
With that, she warmly took Fang Youning’s hand and led her into the house.
Someone spotted Fang Youning and curiously asked Shen Yunhai, “Yunhai, who is she?”
“A friend.”
Shen Yunhai replied indifferently.
Fang Youning’s heart stung at his answer.
In the past, he would have proudly told everyone she was his girlfriend. Now, she was just a friend?
“Fang Mingzhu, stop pretending. I already know everything. Our family isn’t poor at all, and you’ve never suffered. I’m the only one who has.”
Once they reached the room upstairs, Fang Youning shook off Fang Mingzhu’s hand, unwilling to continue this charade of sisterly affection.
If Fang Mingzhu truly cared for her as a sister, she wouldn’t have deceived her alongside their parents.
“Mom called me and said you found out. Otherwise, why do you think I’m here?”
With no outsiders around, Fang Mingzhu no longer felt the need to keep up the act. She disdainfully brushed off the hand that had held Fang Youning’s and sneered.
“Don’t any of you feel even a little bit guilty about what you’ve done to me?” Fang Youning asked sadly.
A month ago, when she had come to rely on her, she had her doubts but still gave her the best she had. To make her happy, she even spent her meager savings to buy her a pair of branded shoes.
Even now, she knew that those shoes, which she herself couldn’t bear to wear, must have seemed cheap in Fang Mingzhu’s eyes and were probably long thrown in the trash.
But she had done everything she could to be a good sister.
And yet, did Fang Mingzhu truly feel no remorse at all?
Fang Mingzhu sneered, “Guilt? Fang Youning, it’s your own bad luck. Why should I feel guilty? This is your fate. I advise you to stop struggling, accept your destiny, and work hard to endure hardships. That way, the whole family will be happy because of you. You won’t have wasted your time in this world or your parents’ effort in giving birth to you.”
“I wish they had never given birth to me,” Fang Youning said angrily.
Fang Mingzhu snorted coldly, “That’s not up to you.”
“Did you suddenly appear by my side a month ago because of Shen Yunhai?” Fang Youning guessed again.
Fang Mingzhu curled her lips into a smile and said, “I have to admit, you’re not completely brainless. Yes, you were living a poor, lower-class life just fine. Who would have thought you’d have the luck to meet a rich second-generation heir like He Zhenting? That won’t do. If you end up with a rich second-generation heir, how will you bring prosperity to our family?”
So, her parents sent her to step in and get close to her.
Thus, she became familiar with Shen Yunhai and stole him away from her side.
Now, it seemed the plan was working well.
Although she and Shen Yunhai hadn’t yet crossed that line, she could feel that Shen Yunhai was gradually falling for her.
“Rich second-generation heir? Do you know how long we’ve known each other? We grew up together since childhood. How many years of feelings do we share?” Fang Youning said.
When she met Shen Yunhai, he wasn’t a rich second-generation heir.
He was once as poor as her. When he was eight, he and his mother moved to the village and lived next door to her.
At first, the mother and son had nothing but three mud huts. It was she who, behind Grandmother’s back, gave them a quilt and some of the family’s stored grain, for which she was severely beaten by Grandmother.
Aunt He discovered that she was eight years old and still hadn’t started school, so she took her and Shen Yunhai to enroll in the village elementary school.
And so, she and Shen Yunhai relied on each other, working part-time while studying, eventually becoming top students at Rong University.
Two months ago, a man named He Zhenting appeared. He said he was Shen Yunhai’s uncle and the head of the He Group, the wealthiest family in Rongcheng.
“Your mother has passed away. Come back to the He family with me. You are my nephew, He Zhenting.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
Shen Yunhai agreed excitedly, and in an instant, he became a rich second-generation heir.
“I know you grew up together, but so what? Feelings are never about who came first. Whoever he loves is the final winner,” Fang Mingzhu said smugly.
The music downstairs had stopped, and soon, Shen Yunhai came upstairs looking for them.
“Youning, Mingzhu.”
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Fang Mingzhu curled her lips into a smile and suddenly fell backward.
When Shen Yunhai pushed the door open, he saw Fang Mingzhu lying on the ground.
“Mingzhu, what’s wrong?”
Shen Yunhai rushed over, his expression panicked as he cradled Fang Mingzhu in his arms.
Fang Mingzhu leaned against him, tears welling in her eyes as she said pitifully, “Brother Yunhai, please don’t blame Sister. It’s all my fault. I said the wrong thing, and Sister got angry and pushed me. It’s all my fault.”
“Fang Youning, how could you be so cruel? Mingzhu is your sister. How could you lay hands on her?” Shen Yunhai was furious, looking up to scold Fang Youning.
Fang Youning looked at the anger in his eyes, unable to believe this was the person she had known for over a decade.
Her heart grew cold as she asked, “Shen Yunhai, do you really believe I pushed her?”
“I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false?”
Fang Youning staggered backward, her heart aching to the extreme!
Suddenly, she remembered when Fang Mingzhu first came to her side, how Shen Yunhai had shown increasing concern for Fang Mingzhu. At the time, she thought it was because Fang Mingzhu was her sister, so Shen Yunhai was caring for her out of love for her.
She was wrong—she had let a wolf into the house and remained completely in the dark.
Yet, she still couldn’t believe that their more than ten years of friendship could be so fragile.
Unwilling to accept it, she reminded him, “Shen Yunhai, don’t forget whose boyfriend you are.”
But Shen Yunhai replied impatiently, “Fang Youning, why are you so narrow-minded now? Mingzhu is your sister, not an outsider. Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m good to your sister? You’re even jealous of your own sister—you never used to be so envious.”
Fang Youning laughed through her tears.
She was envious?
As her boyfriend, he was now holding her sister in his arms, yet he had the nerve to accuse her of being envious?
“Oh, so Sister is jealous. I’m sorry, Sister. Brother Yunhai, please let go of me quickly, don’t let Sister misunderstand. It’s all my fault, it’s all my mistake.”
Fang Mingzhu pushed Shen Yunhai away, blinking her eyes pitifully as she apologized to them.
Shen Yunhai immediately said with concern, “Mingzhu, you don’t need to apologize. I know it’s not your fault.”
After comforting Fang Mingzhu, he continued to criticize Fang Youning, “Fang Youning, look how understanding Mingzhu is. Can’t you, as her older sister, be a little more tolerant?”
“I’m not tolerant?” Fang Youning said angrily. “Shen Yunhai, it’s only today that I’ve finally seen what kind of person you are. I think I’ve been very tolerant by not slapping both of you. Since you despise me so much, let’s break up! But before we do, I still have to tell you what kind of person Fang Mingzhu is and why she appeared by your side.”
“Sister, please don’t say it. I know Mom and Dad wronged you. I apologize to you on their behalf. Please, don’t say it, okay?”
Fang Mingzhu panicked immediately, crying as she apologized to her.