SYLFS 06

Chapter :6

 The Sister Who Finally Learned to Complain.

Bai Shuqin never would have imagined it.
The very person she had just kicked out of her house—barely an hour ago—was now standing right in front of her again, here in the Jiang family’s garden.

For a moment, surprise flashed clearly across Bai Shuqin’s face. But her eyes quickly shifted to the middle-aged woman standing beside Xu Xu—someone dressed obviously like a housekeeper—and she immediately put the pieces together.

So this woman must be Guan Xu Xu’s biological mother.

Just some “auntie,” then.

Well, people who come crawling out from the mountains usually can’t get any decent job. If she’s working here as a servant, at least she’s managed something “respectable,” Bai Shuqin thought with disdain.

It seemed Guan Rui Rui had reached the same conclusion.
She looked on, hiding her mockery behind an expression of sympathy and concern.

“Big Sister,” Rui Rui said softly, “your family works here, huh? But you know, this is the Jiang residence. You really shouldn’t be touching things without permission—it might cause trouble for them.”

The butler guiding them stiffened slightly at her words.
He was about to say something when Xu Xu spoke up, calm and cold.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Her voice was quiet but steady. Then, after a pause, her clear apricot-colored eyes shifted past Rui Rui—toward the faint, gray shadow clinging behind her like a stain. Xu Xu raised an eyebrow slightly and added,

“If I were you, I’d stay home right now. Wandering around outside isn’t a good idea.”

At home, Xu Xu had set protective talismans to ward off evil energy—ordinary spirits couldn’t come near. But out here… that was another story.

Bai Shuqin’s face twisted. Even after being disowned and reduced to nothing but the daughter of a mere housekeeper, this girl still dared to talk like that! But with the Jiang family’s butler present, she swallowed her anger and instead turned to Rui Rui with a sigh.

“Rui Rui, I know you’re kind, but you must learn to choose the right people to be kind to. Some people repay kindness with spite—there’s no point wasting your breath on them.”

Then she turned toward the butler, adopting a look of dignified embarrassment, as though explaining an unfortunate situation.

“I’m terribly sorry you had to see this. This child used to be under our care. We took her in and raised her as our own. But once her biological mother appeared, her attitude changed completely—she treats us like strangers now.”

“She’s always been a troublesome child—breaking things, behaving badly. We endured it for years, but now that she’s out in the world… well, who knows what sort of trouble she’ll cause next.”

Bai Shuqin’s tone was full of false concern, but her real message was clear: Keeping this girl around the Jiang family might bring nothing but trouble.

The butler’s expression subtly changed.
Did this so-called “Mrs. Guan” not realize that the young woman she was belittling was in fact the Jiang family’s long-lost daughter—the very one they’d spent years searching for?
To speak so viciously about her in front of him… it spoke volumes about how Xu Xu must have been treated in the Guan household.

The butler, who had initially treated Bai Shuqin with respect out of courtesy for raising Miss Xu Xu, now felt his warmth toward her vanish completely.

But Bai Shuqin misunderstood his silence.
She thought the butler had believed her words and now viewed Xu Xu with suspicion.
A triumphant smirk flickered briefly in her eyes.

Good. Let that ungrateful brat get thrown out again. Then we’ll see if she ever dares talk back to me.

And as for that university recommendation slot—there’s no need to argue anymore. I have ties to the Jiangs. If Rui Rui wants it, she’ll get it, one way or another.

Meanwhile, Aunt Sao, who had been standing quietly behind Xu Xu since the two guests arrived, clenched her hands nervously.
The Jiang household had strict rules—servants were forbidden to speak freely to visitors.
But what this woman was saying… it was unbearable.
She was slandering the Jiang family’s true daughter, right in front of her!

The butler finally couldn’t stand it either.
“Madam Guan, Miss Guan, you two—”

He didn’t get to finish before another voice cut sharply through the air.
“What’s going on here?”

It was Jiang Huai, returning after finishing a phone call.
He saw the people standing by Xu Xu and instinctively quickened his pace, striding directly toward her.

The moment Rui Rui saw Jiang Huai, her eyes lit up brightly.
Bai Shuqin, too, looked him over—his diamond cufflinks, the luxury watch worth millions—and instantly realized this must be someone important from the Jiang family.

The butler straightened when Jiang Huai appeared, but seeing that his question was directed at Xu Xu, he held his tongue.

Xu Xu herself didn’t quite know why, but maybe because of Jiang Huai’s earlier attitude toward her, she suddenly opened her mouth and—shockingly—complained.

“They were bullying me just now.”

Just one short, simple sentence.
But it froze the entire atmosphere instantly.

Bai Shuqin was the first to react.
“What nonsense are you spewing, you ungrateful brat!” she snapped, lifting her hand to strike Xu Xu across the face.

Jiang Huai had initially looked amused—his usually quiet sister actually complaining to him was unexpected and kind of endearing.
But the moment Bai Shuqin’s hand moved, his smile vanished completely.

Yet before he could step in—

The “poor, timid little girl” everyone thought Xu Xu was suddenly reached out and caught Bai Shuqin’s wrist—precisely, efficiently, and with surprising strength.

The sudden movement stunned everyone—including Bai Shuqin herself.
This girl—defying her?

She tried to yank her hand back, but Xu Xu’s grip was firm and unyielding.

Xu Xu’s eyes went cold.
“I’m no longer the Guan family’s daughter,” she said evenly. “So you have no right to hit me.”

Then she released her grip.
The recoil sent Bai Shuqin stumbling backward, nearly falling.

“Mom!”
Rui Rui rushed to catch her and then turned, eyes wide with outrage.

“Sister… how could you? No matter what, Mom raised you! How could you get physical with her over a simple argument? That’s just cruel!”

Even now, Rui Rui was desperate to make Xu Xu look like the villain.
After all, who would side with someone who attacked her own adoptive mother?

But Xu Xu had long grown tired of Rui Rui’s hypocrisy.
She lifted her bright eyes and shot back, bluntly,

“Which eye of yours saw me hit her? Don’t assume everyone’s as blind as you are.”

Jiang Huai, watching the scene, narrowed his eyes and let a faint, amused smile return.
He’d thought his sister was the quiet, obedient type—but seeing her fight back like this… yes, this was definitely a Jiang.

He looked on with interest, but Bai Shuqin, on the other hand, was livid.
How dare that girl defy her! She had raised her—if she wanted to slap her, the girl should just take it quietly.
And now she was even insulting Rui Rui?

Enraged beyond reason, Bai Shuqin shoved Rui Rui aside and lunged toward Xu Xu again.

“You wretched little brat! I’ll teach you—!”

Xu Xu simply watched her approach, expression blank, taking a step back but not moving otherwise.

Before she could react further, though, a shadow moved swiftly in front of her.

The man’s back was broad and steady, radiating an unshakable sense of protection.
The faint trace of a smile had completely disappeared from his face, replaced by a cold, cutting aura.

“This is the Jiang residence,” Jiang Huai said icily.
“It’s not a place where you can throw your tantrums.”