Your nose implant is crooked

Lu Jiaoyue wore a cherry-blossom pink dress that fell below her knees. Its pattern was understated, its design cute and simple. Her skin was already fair, and the dress made her look even more delicate.

Lu Xiaoxiao's fingers itched at the sight of her. She desperately wanted to pinch those little cheeks; she didn't even need to imagine it to know how nice they would feel.

[What is this? An adorable little flower fairy! A beautiful little sprite! We have to buy this one!]

Though that was what she thought, Lu Xiaoxiao showed none of it. She merely nodded slightly. "It's all right."

Hearing her assessment, Lu Jiaoyue smiled happily, revealing her cute little canine teeth. "Then I'll try on the next one for you, Sis!"

Beside them, Yue Mengqian had been frowning ever since Lu Jiaoyue appeared. At first, she hadn't known who Lu Jiaoyue was and had kept quiet. Now that she heard her call Lu Xiaoxiao her sister, she understood immediately.

Oh, so this is the Lu family daughter who came back to disrupt Xiaoxiao's life!

Yue Mengqian remembered Lu Xiaoxiao mentioning this younger sister to them a long time ago. Back then, Lu Xiaoxiao had sounded gloomy and annoyed, so she presumably disliked her.

That made sense. Who would like a sibling who suddenly appeared and competed with them for their family's affection?

Lu Xiaoxiao had been young when she was adopted, and the Lu family had never widely publicized her status as their adopted daughter. Naturally, the original Lu Xiaoxiao hadn't volunteered that information to anyone, either.

Because of this, none of Lu Xiaoxiao's friends knew she wasn't the family's biological daughter. When they heard Lu Jiaoyue was coming back, they all felt indignant on her behalf.

Yue Mengqian was an only child. She couldn't imagine how devastated she would be if her father brought home a younger sister from somewhere. The more she thought about it, the more she sympathized, developing a prejudice against Lu Jiaoyue before she even knew her.

"Hey! Stop right there!" she called out to Lu Jiaoyue, her tone unfriendly.

Yue Mengqian looked her up and down a few times with a displeased, critical gaze. "You're that little bumpkin from the slums, aren't you? You're so scrawny. Are you malnourished, or were you born sick?"

"Wh... what?" Lu Jiaoyue was clearly startled by her sudden attack, her expression suggesting she hadn't quite processed it.

Lu Xiaoxiao froze, too. She was just as surprised as Lu Jiaoyue, and along with that surprise came a flicker of irritation.

She was forced to speak harshly to Lu Jiaoyue. Yue Mengqian wasn't. She was simply picking a fight.

But to stay in character, Lu Xiaoxiao still had to take Yue Mengqian's side.

"Qianqian, don't say that." She forced a mocking, insincere smile onto her lips. Anyone looking closely would have seen how strained it was. "She's my little sister, after all. You shouldn't hit her where it hurts."

[Aaaaaah, that's so mean! So damn mean! Calling her malnourished is one thing, but what gives her the right to call my little sister sick?! Her own boobs are fake!!!]

Lu Jiaoyue was taken aback by what she heard. She instinctively glanced at Yue Mengqian's chest, then let out a snort of laughter.

Yue Mengqian: ?

Yue Mengqian couldn't understand what about their words Lu Jiaoyue found so funny. Weren't they fucking insulting her?

It felt like punching a pillow. She had only been picking on her out of boredom, but now she was genuinely getting annoyed.

"What are you laughing at?" Yue Mengqian stepped forward, her tone growing nastier. "I'm warning you, don't even dream of stealing the Lu family's affection from Xiaoxiao. Her parents and all her brothers absolutely adore her. They won't spare you so much as a glance!"

Lu Jiaoyue glanced at Yue Mengqian's chest, which had been thrust even closer to her. After struggling for a while to suppress her urge to laugh, she nodded agreeably and said:

"I won't. I won't take anything from my sister. Besides, I really like her, and I'll be good to her, too."

Yue Mengqian: ???

In Yue Mengqian's imagination, Lu Jiaoyue might have remained calm, looked hurt, broken down in tears, or even argued loudly. But whatever she did, she certainly shouldn't have agreed.

Yet what was going on now? Was this little sister an idiot? Couldn't she recognize any of the malice directed at her?

Faced with that sincere gaze, Yue Mengqian really was at a loss for words.

Lu Xiaoxiao, who had watched the entire exchange from the side, was practically petrified.

She was utterly stunned by just how sweet and naive Lu Jiaoyue was. She could hardly believe it, and she was overwhelmingly frustrated with her inability to stand up for herself.

[How can anyone be this forgiving? Just imagine how easily people will bully her out in the world. Baby, pleeease don't be so gentle!]

Yue Mengqian's face flushed red. She pointed at Lu Jiaoyue and stammered "You, you, you" for ages without producing anything coherent. Finally, in a fit of anger, she shoved Lu Jiaoyue hard and declared:

"Fine! You like putting on an act, huh? I'm a two-faced bitch myself, so I know your game. Don't think I'll believe you just because you say all the right things. I'll be watching you!"

Seeing Yue Mengqian resort to anything to pick a fight, even getting physical, Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly changed the subject at the top of her voice.

"Ah! Qianqian! I think your nose implant is crooked!"

Although Yue Mengqian appeared to be standing up for her, Lu Xiaoxiao had read the original story and knew she simply enjoyed picking on people. Her friendship with the original Lu Xiaoxiao had been pretty fake, too, held together entirely by their shared bullying of Lu Jiaoyue.

The original Lu Xiaoxiao might have liked hanging out with people like that, but she didn't!

Lu Xiaoxiao's shout was so loud that everyone in the store immediately turned to look at them.

Unable to tell whether it was true, Yue Mengqian went pale with fright. She shrieked and covered her face. "Really, Xiaoxiao? It looked fine when I left home!"

Lu Xiaoxiao nodded with a concerned expression, secretly delighted, while her tone grew even more exaggerated. "Really! Your false eyelashes look a little crooked, too!"

"OMG, Qianqian, your face looks so fake! And you spent so much money on it. I honestly feel awful for you!"

That was just the kind of person Lu Xiaoxiao was. Anyone who upset her had to pay a price.

Hadn't the system told her to play a two-faced bitch? Since she couldn't be a good person anyway, she might as well attack everyone indiscriminately.

Everyone could get hurt together. That was fair!

In her panic, Yue Mengqian couldn't tell whether Lu Xiaoxiao sounded concerned or subtly mocking. She kept her face tightly covered, so mortified she wished the ground would swallow her up.

"Xiaoxiao, I'm heading home! I'm heading home! We'll hang out another time."

Lu Xiaoxiao tried to keep her there. "Don't go! Didn't you want me to help you pick out clothes?"

"Next time, next time! Definitely next time!"

Yue Mengqian fled so fast that she was already out of sight before she finished speaking.

[Great, I finally got rid of that nuisance. Lu Jiaoyue is so oblivious and innocent, she probably can't tell I was helping her out, right?]

With her scheme a success, Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't help curling her lips upward. She pushed Lu Jiaoyue into the fitting room with satisfaction and put on a fierce tone.

"What are you dawdling for? You have one hour to try on all these dozen or so outfits. Don't waste my time."

"And you have to spend more than five million on clothes today, or don't bother coming home. We can't have you embarrassing the Lu family in cheap clothes again!"

[Ugh, I'm regretting it a little. Five million seems too conservative. I should've said ten million. Dad said the black card has no limit, anyway.]

[There are so many pretty clothes. I really want to buy out the whole store for her. Oh my god, this feels amazing. It's finally my turn to experience the joy of bankrolling someone, hahahahahahaha!]

Lu Jiaoyue didn't resist and obediently did as she was told.

Where Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't notice, Lu Jiaoyue lifted her head slightly to glance at her. Remembering how Lu Xiaoxiao had just complained in her thoughts about her being too gentle, she pressed her lips into a small smile, then quickly schooled her expression.

Sis, I'm not the fool you think I am.

That was what Lu Jiaoyue said in her heart.

I like you because you're so good to me.