The next morning, Zhu Fan was woken up by the pounding sound of someone banging on a door.
The banging went on for several minutes. She threw off her covers and opened her own door with a yawn.
Zhu Ci had her hair tied up in twin ponytails, a red Miu Miu hair clip pinned to her bangs, a little blazer paired with a dark pleated skirt, and black leather boots over a pair of delicate lace knee-high socks.
At this very moment, she had her back turned, relentlessly pounding on Zhu Yuan’s door.
Zhu Ci felt sorry for herself for a moment, noticing her hands had turned red from all the knocking. When her hands could no longer take it, she switched to kicking the door several times. “Why couldn’t you just stay in that backward little town of yours?”
The girl’s skirt fluttered with each kick.
“Why couldn’t you just stay a country bumpkin forever? Why did you have to come back and compete with me for Mom and Dad’s love?”
“Mom told me to call you down for breakfast!”
“Are you deaf?”
“I’ve been calling you for so long, just open the door already!”
Every word was spoken through gritted teeth.
The Gefe Academy uniform looked refined and innocent on a girl of this age. But such crude and malicious words twisted Zhu Ci’s innocent charm into something ugly.
Zhu Fan held up her phone, recording the whole thing. “That’s a pretty unique way of waking someone up.”
Zhu Ci was startled by the sudden voice, but only for a moment.
She turned and rolled her eyes at Zhu Fan, who was looking at her phone, then kicked the door even harder.
“Zhu Yuan sleeps like a dead pig. If I don’t knock hard, she won’t wake up at all.”
“Sorry, sis, did I disturb you? I apologize.”
“This has nothing to do with you, sis. I’ll call her up properly and finish the task Mom and Dad gave me.”
The harmless smile on the girl’s lips and her condescending words stirred up Zhu Fan’s delayed morning irritation.
“Why don’t we let Mom and Dad see how you call people up too?”
The smile on Zhu Ci’s lips froze. “You’re secretly filming me?” Once it sank in, she lunged directly for the phone in Zhu Fan’s hand.
Zhu Fan easily sidestepped her outstretched hand.
Seeing she couldn’t get the phone, Zhu Ci switched to playing the victim. “Sis, it’s Zhu Yuan who’s the problem. I was knocking politely at first—she was the rude one who wouldn’t open the door.”
“Can you just delete the video? I won’t tell Mom, Dad, or Grandma about you messing around with boys outside.”
Zhu Ci held up three fingers. “I promise.”
Zhu Fan leaned against the door, twirling the phone deftly between her fingers, completely unmoved by Zhu Ci’s words.
Zhu Ci started to panic. She reached out to tug at Zhu Fan’s clothes.
Zhu Fan stepped aside without a word.
“Did you knock on A Wan’s door like this last night too?”
Zhu Ci bit her lip under Zhu Fan’s cold gaze.
Just seeing Zhu Yuan made her irritable—even the thought of being in the same house as Zhu Yuan filled her with dread.
She wanted to drive Zhu Yuan out of this home.
“Sis, what do I have to do for you to delete the video?”
Zhu Ci crouched down, looking up at Zhu Fan with a pitiful expression. “From now on, I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll only be close to you. We’ve lived together for seventeen years—we’re the real sisters.”
“Sis, I was too willful and unreasonable before. I’ll listen to everything you say from now on.”
“Sis, please don’t hate me…”
Inside the room, Zhu Yuan sat on the bed, releasing her arms from around her knees.
The harsh banging and kicking at the door felt like a world apart from this tranquil morning.
The conversation outside filtered faintly through the door.
Last night, she’d heard the knocking and opened the door without a second thought.
Zhu Ci had kicked her in the leg without a word and declared, “In this house, you’re the outsider.”
The new environment, so different from the one she’d grown up in, made her feel like a piece of driftwood floating endlessly in water.
Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting shadows across the beautiful bedsheets.
The wardrobe was full of exquisite, pretty clothes—so many dresses she’d never once worn.
Meng Yin came upstairs and asked the two sisters, one crouching and one standing, “Has A Wan not gotten up yet?”
Zhu Fan stretched. “She’s up, just changing.”
Zhu Ci swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
Meng Yin said, “There’s still time, no rush. A Wan, take your time getting dressed. We’ll wait for you downstairs for breakfast.”
As Zhu Ci and Meng Yin headed downstairs, Zhu Ci kept glancing back at Zhu Fan, her eyes full of pleading.
Zhu Fan leaned against the door, not in a hurry to go back to her room and change.
A few minutes later, the closed door opened.
Zhu Yuan stood in the doorway and froze for a moment when she saw Zhu Fan leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her with a gentle expression.
The two rooms faced each other directly.
“Good morning.”
Zhu Yuan’s curled fingers, pressed against her pant leg, relaxed. A faint curve touched her lips. “Good morning.”
Zhu Fan raised an eyebrow. “Not going to call me sis?”
Hearing Zhu Yuan’s “sis”—neither warm nor familiar—Zhu Fan smiled. “Let’s exchange contact info.”
Zhu Yuan didn’t have any social media accounts, which Zhu Fan hadn’t expected.
“Registering for WeChat and QQ isn’t hard. I’ll teach you.”
Zhu Yuan pointed to her room. “I’ll go grab my phone.”
Zhu Fan reminded her, “Today’s your first day of school. Having a phone on you will make things a lot easier.”
Registering the social accounts was quick.
Zhu Yuan watched the whole process with focused attention.
Zhu Fan smiled and scanned the QR code with her own phone. “Once the friend request goes through, you can operate it yourself.”
Zhu Yuan held the phone, operating it with some unfamiliarity. She was a bit clumsy, yet exceptionally earnest.
The girl wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans, with faint, distant brows, a straight back, and a slender neck, carrying a fragile delicacy. Her dark eyes were like glass, her features bright and ethereal.
The two sisters looked very much alike, and even their personalities were somewhat similar.
Ji Shu stood at the staircase, not making a sound to disturb the sisters who were talking.
Zhu Fan tapped on her phone a couple of times.
She sent the video she had recorded that morning to Zhu Yuan. “Don’t let yourself be bullied.”
Zhu Yuan lifted her gaze, a barely perceptible ripple stirring in her eyes.
Zhu Fan set an alarm for herself to leave the house—she had an early class at eight today.
Timing it just right, she deliberately dawdled in her room for a while.
By the time she came downstairs, the dining table had already been cleared.
Auntie Shu handed her a packed breakfast. “The master and madam have already taken the young ladies out.”
Zhu Fan took the breakfast and sipped her oat latte. “Auntie Shu, I’ll drive myself to school today. Could you let Uncle Li know that he’ll be picking me up starting tomorrow?”
Uncle Li had always been the driver responsible for her father’s schedule, yet Auntie Shu didn’t ask why she made such an arrangement.
Zhu Fan could freely adjust the household staff’s duties as she pleased.
As Zhu Fan drove out of the garage, Uncle Liu stood by the roadside in a suit and tie, bowing his head respectfully to see her off.
Once the car had driven out of sight, he straightened up, a smile he couldn’t contain spreading across his face.
He wouldn’t be needed for the entire day today—perfect timing for him to go gamble a few rounds.
…