“Youning, this is your room. Everything happened so suddenly, there wasn’t enough time to decorate it properly. For now, just stay here. In the future, if you want to change anything or need anything, just tell me. Your brother will make sure you have everything you need.”
After bringing her back to her room, Fang Zhouyang first gave her a tour of the bedroom.
The bedroom was spacious, with windows facing both north and south, and it even had a large balcony. It was a hundred times better than the guesthouse she had rented.
Even so, Fang Zhouyang still wore a guilty expression and apologized to her.
“It’s already very good. You’ve seen the place I used to live. For me, this is the best house I’ve ever stayed in,” Fang Youning said.
Fang Zhouyang’s expression softened with pity, and he reached out his arms as if to hug her.
Fang Youning instinctively took two steps back, her eyes filled with wariness.
Fang Zhouyang’s outstretched arms froze mid-air, and he said awkwardly, “Sorry, I just wanted to give you a hug. I often hug Mingzhu like this.”
“I’m not used to it,” Fang Youning replied.
“I understand. We’ll take it slow. You’ll gradually get used to having me as your brother,” Fang Zhouyang said confidently.
Over the next few days, Fang Zhouyang was indeed very good to her.
He bought her new clothes and cosmetics.
Watching her put on a new dress, his eyes lit up as he praised, “My sister is so beautiful. You truly live up to being Fang Zhouyang’s sister. You and Mingzhu are twins, but each of you has your own unique beauty. The Fang family genes are just that good.”
“I want to move out,” Fang Youning suggested.
Fang Zhouyang was taken aback and quickly asked, “Why do you suddenly want to move out? Are you uncomfortable living at home? Did Mom and Dad say something to you? Or did Mingzhu bully you?”
Fang Youning lowered her gaze. They really hadn’t been kind to her.
Fang Dongming was somewhat better—he wasn’t home often, so they rarely saw each other. But Li Meifen was always around, frequently coming over to mock her with sarcastic remarks and veiled insults.
Fang Mingzhu had never shown her a friendly face, and today, she had even brought Shen Yunhai home to flaunt him in front of her.
Seeing Shen Yunhai surprised her too. She hadn’t expected that, even after hearing those recordings, Shen Yunhai would still be with Fang Mingzhu.
“Sister, your attempts to drive a wedge between us have failed. Yunhai and I are officially together starting today. From now on, he’ll be your brother-in-law.”
Fang Mingzhu proudly wrapped her arm around Shen Yunhai’s, leaning against his shoulder as she boasted.
Shen Yunhai looked awkward, his eyes darting around, avoiding Fang Youning’s gaze.
After a brief moment of surprise, Fang Youning quickly understood and let out a soft, mocking laugh.
Shen Yunhai must have realized that his status as a wealthy nephew wasn’t as valuable as he thought, so he was using it to find himself a wealthy girlfriend.
The only person he could get close to now, who was also interested in him, was Fang Mingzhu.
So what if Fang Mingzhu had deceived him?
As long as she could bring him benefits, he didn’t care about her lies.
“I know you’ve been wronged, but what can people like us do? The Fang family doesn’t value you, so even if you’re their biological daughter, it doesn’t matter. And even though I’ve been recognized by the He family, a wealthy family like that has too many people like me. My status is insignificant. But if I can marry Mingzhu, your parents dote on her so much—they’ll surely give her a generous dowry. That would be like uniting the Fang and He families through marriage, which could also bring some benefits to the He family and earn me a bit more respect from them.”
Just as she had guessed, Shen Yunhai took advantage of Fang Mingzhu’s absence to corner her in the stairwell and pour out his feelings.
But…
“We’ve already broken up. What you do is your own business, and who you’re with is also your own business. There’s no need to tell me.”
This was the Fang family home. He really had some nerve, saying these things to her alone—wasn’t he afraid of being discovered by the Fang family?
“Youning, I know you’re angry with me, angry that I betrayed you and our relationship. I just want to explain—I had no choice. Wait until I’ve established myself, wait until I’ve made it big, I’ll definitely…”
“Definitely what?” Fang Youning interrupted him, asking with a cold laugh.
Shen Yunhai saw that in just a few short days, she seemed like a different person.
She was now wearing beautiful dresses, her hair no longer greasy, her figure curves clearly visible.
Looking at her this way, she was indeed more beautiful than Fang Mingzhu.
Perhaps because she rarely wore makeup, her eyes were bright and clear, her skin fair and glowing, her lips moist and tenderly red. The longer he looked, the more he wanted to lean in and kiss her, to see if she tasted as wonderful as he imagined.
Come to think of it, the two of them had grown up together and were tacitly considered a couple.
But aside from holding hands, they had never kissed.
Unable to help himself, he swallowed and said, “Once I’ve established myself, I’ll definitely break up with her and come back to you.”
As he spoke, he leaned in, his eyes intoxicated as he tried to kiss her.
“Fang Youning, what are you doing?”
Fang Mingzhu indeed appeared, shouting loudly and startling Shen Yunhai into stepping back.
“You shameless woman, you actually took advantage of my absence to seduce my boyfriend.”
Fang Mingzhu rushed over in a rage, raising her hand to slap Fang Youning across the face.
However, Fang Youning caught her wrist and threw it aside.
Then she raised her own hand and slapped Shen Yunhai, who was standing beside Fang Mingzhu, saying, “It’s your boyfriend who’s trying to seduce me. I don’t have the habit of picking up trash I’ve already thrown away.”
“Brother Yunhai, how could you do this to me? Wuwuwu…”
As Fang Youning walked away, she heard Fang Mingzhu’s crying behind her, along with Shen Yunhai’s attempts to comfort and apologize to her.
She felt deeply frustrated. She was still young, with a bright future ahead. She didn’t need the Fang family to lift her up. As long as they didn’t deliberately trip her up or hold her back in the future, she believed she could live well on her own.
So why stay here and waste her energy on these people?
That was why she wanted to move away—out of sight, out of mind.
But this idea would be useless to discuss with Fang Dongming and Li Meifen. She had to tell Fang Zhouyang.
Although it had only been a few days, she could already see that Fang Dongming and Li Meifen valued their son highly. Whatever he said, they would seriously consider.
Moreover, by proposing to move out, she also wanted to test something.
Now, having said it, she looked at Fang Zhouyang with a deep, thoughtful gaze, waiting for his response.
“Youning, wait for me a moment.”
Fang Zhouyang’s expression darkened as he went downstairs.
Soon, he came back upstairs and said, “Youning, I know everything. It was Mingzhu who upset you, right? I scolded her harshly for this. How could she slander you without knowing anything, not trusting her own sister but believing an outsider instead? Don’t worry, this kind of thing won’t happen again. Also, I’ve told them to try not to date at home, so you won’t feel uncomfortable anymore. Youning, I’m sorry. This is all I can do as your brother. Shen Yunhai is He Zhenting’s nephew, and our Fang family can’t afford to offend him. If it were anyone else, dating one sister and then another, I wouldn’t let them off so easily.”
Fang Zhouyang clenched his fists, looking indignant and righteous, truly resembling a responsible older brother.
“But I still want to move out, and it’s not entirely because of these things. I’ve been living alone for years, and suddenly having family around feels unfamiliar. If you truly care about me, please agree to let me move out. There’s plenty of time ahead for us to build our relationship.”
“Do you really have to move out?” Fang Zhouyang asked with a frown.
Fang Youning nodded firmly. “Please agree.”
“Alright, since you insist, I’ll agree. But I’ll help you find a place, and you must promise to let me visit you often. Also, Dad just told me he’s meeting friends for dinner and wants us to accompany him. Go change into something nice and dress up a bit. As Fang Zhouyang’s sister, you can’t let anyone look down on you.”
“Okay, I’ll go change.”
Since he agreed to let her move out, her suspicions were temporarily set aside.
Although her parents and sister were difficult to describe, at least there was someone in the family willing to treat her well, and she didn’t want to let him down.
“Wear the dress I bought you yesterday. I think it suits you perfectly,” Fang Zhouyang reminded her with a smile.
Fang Youning nodded.
While changing into the dress in her room, she accidentally knocked her bag from the closet onto the floor.
The Marriage Proposal Plan inside fell out, reminding her of her one-week agreement with He Zhenting.
However, she had no intention of agreeing.
As long as the Fang family didn’t cause her trouble, she wouldn’t need He Zhenting’s protection.