Yanzhu walked leisurely down the stairs, only for a provocative voice to abruptly pierce her ears.
Yanzhu thought to herself: *Looks like my ears are about to be dirtied today, how utterly annoying!*
"Well, well, if it isn't the Yan family's fake heiress, still clinging to the Yan family for dear life." Jinyue laughed at Yanzhu with unmasked mockery.
Now what else do you have left? No status, no standing, just a pitiful drowned rat.
"What, can't even afford to come to the Jinghui Pavilion anymore? You're quite the famous laughingstock all over Luocheng now." However famous you used to be, that's how miserable you are now.
Yanzhu, right now you're just a down-and-out nobody, what right do you have to compare yourself to me?
Ever since they were little, Jinyue's father had always loved comparing Jinyue to others, especially Yanzhu. And Jinyue, raised in a wealthy household, would never allow anyone to bring up Yanzhu in front of her—especially when she couldn't even measure up to her!
Yanzhu had always been pretty, excelled at her studies, consistently ranked first in school, occasionally winning municipal and provincial competition awards. She was an obedient, well-behaved good child, sweet-talking and universally liked—a classic example of "other people's children."
The more comparisons were made, the more Jinyue loathed her, glaring at Yanzhu, waiting for her to stumble, waiting for her to fall short of herself.
People are just like that: the more comparisons are made, the more they care, and the deeper their hatred grows.
Yanzhu, what do you even have to compare with me now? All those young ladies are mocking you now; however nice they used to pretend to be with you is however much they are putting you down now.
Gaoshu couldn't stand it anymore and opened his mouth to speak, but Yanzhu grabbed his sleeve, sending him a voice transmission: *I'll handle this, just watch.*
Yanzhu stopped, her voice soft and gentle as she replied, "Paying so much attention to me, are we? What, does this little thing make you so happy that you couldn't wait to come and show your face in front of me? I thought it was some big deal, but it's just trivial chicken-scratch human nature. Do you really care this much, or could it be—" Yanzhu deliberately paused for a moment, then slowly continued, "Don't tell me you have a crush on me? Too bad, my sexual orientation is completely normal."
"You... you—" Jinyue was left speechless by this retort, never expecting Yanzhu to be so narcissistically shameless. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Who would ever like a pest like you!
"Miss Jinyue, you really are considerate, looking out for the Yan family like this." With that, Yanzhu turned around, slowly pacing over to Jinyue's side, and whispered softly, "Could it be that you're the long-lost daughter of the Yan family returned home?"
Everyone around couldn't help but sense the heavy sarcasm.
"You—" Jinyue was furious, but with so many people watching, she couldn't afford to throw a tantrum. "Distorting the truth! I... I'm just standing up for the real heiress! What right do you have to occupy her things!"
"Me? Ah, right, I took someone else's things, I'm heinous, I'm unforgivable, I'm guilty. Come on, punish me, happy now?"
"I... what I wanted to say—" wasn't what I meant!
"I, what about me? Ever since I was little, I've known to eat my own family's food and mind my own family's business. As for anything else, don't go adding fuel to the fire, just because you're so unlikable." Yanzhu looked at Jinyue with a smile as the other girl fumed with rage. "Miss Jinyue, is there anything else you'd like to say? Please." Yanzhu made a graceful gesture, welcoming her to 'begin her performance.'
Honestly, the most annoying kind of people are nosy busybodies who put onions up their noses to pretend to be elephants.
"Boss, Boss," Xing Yi called out to Xingluo, who was lost in thought.
Xingluo snapped out of it, answering Xing Yi, "I know. You go on back." She hesitated for a moment, then walked outward.
Xing Yi was utterly baffled. Could it be that she knew them?
Cultivators possessed exceptional hearing, and Xingluo guessed that Yanzhu had run into trouble.
As an older sister, shouldn't she step in? Besides, she had called her 'older sister' after all, and letting word get out wouldn't look too good for the Yan family. Since everyone liked Yanzhu so much, it wouldn't do to let her suffer humiliation right under her own nose.
"Miss Jinyue, my family's affairs hardly seem to require your intervention." Xingluo looked at Jinyue, her brow and eyes sharp and stern. "Please refrain from making random accusations against my sister, outsider."
Xingluo's voice rang out abruptly, causing an uproar among the crowd.
Everyone present was startled, never expecting Xingluo to stand up for Yanzhu.
Well, they had run right into the main characters of the drama.
Jinyue gritted her teeth. Were these people doing this on purpose one after another?! Maintaining her facade as a lady, she turned and walked upstairs. As she passed Xingluo, she spat:
"How magnanimous, defending a thief who occupies another's nest in every possible way. Truly an eye-opener."
Xingluo remained silent.
She couldn't be bothered to engage. Some people always loved to blow trivial matters out of proportion, magnifying petty malice. It was just human nature, human flaws—understandable.
Jinyue looked at that non-committal, arrogant expression, a wave of helpless fury surging into her heart. Grived and with nowhere to vent, she finally concluded: the Yan family members were utterly hateful!
Yanzhu hadn't expected Xingluo to be here, let alone step up to speak on her behalf.
Yanzhu found it all a bit strange. The opening setup didn't seem right at all; according to novels, she ought to be the villainous supporting female character—so why on earth was this person helping her?
Had her identity somehow crossed over into the wrong script? Logically speaking, the real heiress should stand by coldly, quietly watching as a spectator, only stepping out at the opportune moment to slap the fake heiress across the face while flexing her dominance.
Yanzhu flashed a sweet smile at Xingluo, and Xingluo responded with a gentle nod.
Yanzhu was even more bewildered. With a move like that, was the script wrong after all?
Suddenly, Gaoshu loudly proclaimed, "If you're not a descendant of Archimedes, stop trying to split hairs." He even bared his teeth in a grin.
"Gaoshu!" Jinyue yelled in exasperation.
"Who's calling this young master?" Gaoshu feigned ignorance, looking around blankly.
Gaoshu, do you really have to pick a fight with me, and you two have to side together like this, is that it?!
Yanzhu placed a hand on Gaoshu's shoulder, only to find that despite her own height of one meter seven, she could barely reach across Gaoshu. Her expression shifted slightly, and she pushed Gaoshu aside without a shred of mercy, walking off on her own.
*Humph, being tall is such a big deal.*
Xingluo chuckled softly. How interesting, and rather cute too—no wonder her parents liked Yanzhu so much.
In the private room, Xing Yi still hadn't recovered his wits. So that younger sister was the Boss's sister? Weren't they saying she was arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable? She was actually quite pretty, and a bit different from what people had described. Could it be—
It was all just a facade, a deceptive tactic! Boss, danger!
"Where is Luomingjing?"
"Her? Out there playing confidence games and swindling people. By the way, you still haven't told her you've woken up yet, have you?"
Yanzhu let out a soft "Mn." *Playing confidence games and swindling people?* What on earth? How come over the past three years none of these people seemed to have done anything proper?
Gaoshu leaned closer to Yanzhu, flashing a mischievous grin. "Bamboo, let me discuss something with you."
With that, the two of them put their heads together, plotting something aimed squarely at Luomingjing.
Gaoshu laughed chirpily, "I bet Luomingjing is going to cry."
Yanzhu pressed a hand to her forehead. If it was Luomingjing, it would be a miracle if she didn't cry.
Still, Yanzhu wanted to see how Luomingjing was going about her swindling, and how the things she herself had taught could somehow turn into a confidence scam.
"The day after tomorrow, don't forget," Gaoshu added. The day after tomorrow, Luomingjing would be demonstrating her mystical arts at the underground tavern, showcasing her superb—what was it? Scamming skills?
Yanzhu smiled and replied, "Got it. I'm going shopping now."
Yanzhu harbored a faint, ominous premonition. Luomingjing wasn't affiliated with any faction in the Hidden Realm; once her influence grew large enough, it would inevitably attract attention from all sides. After all, having a few extra brawlers in the Mortal Realm was better than having none at all.
Gaoshu hurried to keep up with Yanzhu, grinning, "Do you want me to keep you company?"
His tone was tentative yet bubbling with eagerness.
"Gaoshu, if you have something to say, just spit it out. Acting like this is really weird," Yanzhu said, crossing her arms.
Now even talking required beating around the bush—how annoying.
Gaoshu rubbed his nose, knowing he couldn't pull the wool over Yanzhu's eyes, and came right out with it. "It's Yanshang. He wanted to ask me to buy a few things to coax that female friend of his. He begged me, so I had no choice but to help."
"What?! He's dating?"
"No."
Gaoshu tacked on another sentence, "Just the kind of thing you'd expect."
Gaoshu didn't even want to bring up Yanshang—sigh, it was utterly humiliating.
Yanzhu was even more baffled. Did that mean her friend was being—strung along?!
Wait, was Yanshang alright in the head?
Yanzhu resolved that the moment she saw Yanshang, she was going to slap him twice.
Three years had passed, and the world was indeed becoming more fantastical by the day.
Yaojiu piped up, "So worked up, little Bamboo?"
Yanzhu snapped, "If you don't know how to speak, get lost."
Yaojiu instantly clamped his mouth shut and squatted down to the side. *Get lost it is, why be so fierce about it?*