Comparison only makes it hurt

Wasn't I just copying that cutesy voice his goddess Xu Mingyue uses? How is that disgusting?

Xu Ziming really does have double standards when he's lovestruck!

Xu Ziming abruptly stopped and turned to look at Shen Banxia. She had already lowered her head and gone back to her practice questions, seemingly without saying a word.

Xu Ziming scratched his head awkwardly, utterly baffled.

Have I been gaming too much these past few days and not getting enough sleep? Is that why I keep hearing things?

When Xu Mingyue saw that Xu Ziming had actually turned and left without giving Shen Banxia a hard time, disappointment flickered in her eyes.

Since when had Xu Ziming become so nice that he wouldn't even pick on the weak?

Especially Shen Banxia, who had crossed him that morning.

What the hell!

Shen Banxia made it through her first day at her new school with a few scares but no real trouble.

After school, she returned to the Shen Family home with Xu Mingyue.

They had only just reached the living room doorway when they heard Shen Shuyi raging.

"If it weren't for this appraisal and review, I wouldn't even know that our Shen Family home was practically being emptied out."

"I'm sorry, madam. I failed in my duties," Uncle Liang replied, looking embarrassed.

As the Shen Family's butler, he had failed to notice that some of their decorative pieces had been switched for fakes. It truly was a dereliction of duty.

"Investigate this thoroughly. Whoever did it won't get off lightly!"

"Yes, madam. I'll report to you as soon as I have any findings."

Shen Shuyi nodded and did not give the butler any further trouble. She simply told him to update Xu Junshan as well, then sent him back to work.

"Mom, what made you so angry?" Xu Mingyue entered the living room and approached Shen Shuyi, asking in a wheedling voice.

"Nothing! How was school today?" Shen Shuyi replied with a smile, her expression changing in an instant.

Xu Mingyue immediately grew nervous and turned to Shen Banxia, afraid she would bring up the stolen pen that afternoon.

"It was great. The new school is beautiful!" Shen Banxia answered with a smile.

Shen Shuyi nodded, looking pleased.

"As long as you like it."

Yet inwardly, she felt a pang of sorrow.

Her daughter should have grown up pampered and privileged, but because of that monster Xu Junshan, she had suffered so much.

Xu Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing how much Shen Shuyi cared about Shen Banxia left a bitter taste in her mouth.

I'm better than Shen Banxia in every way. Why does Shen Shuyi favor her?

Do blood ties really matter that much?

During dinner,

Xu Mingyue deliberately brought up Shen Banxia's unusual answer in their foreign teacher's class that afternoon, then added an embellishment at the end.

"Banxia, did you say Vivian was the murderer because you couldn't understand the clues in English?"

She had felt so frustrated that afternoon that she had to score a win tonight, no matter what.

"Maybe!" Shen Banxia did not argue. She looked up and replied with a faint smile, not wanting to explain further.

"Banxia, can't you understand English? Then we should hire a couple of foreign teachers to tutor you," Shen Shuyi said with concern.

If she could not understand English, how would she keep up in class?

"There's no need, Mom. I'll study hard and catch up," Shen Banxia said with a smile, shaking her head.

It's not that I couldn't understand. You just can't take things at face value!

A moment later, she turned to Xu Mingyue.

"Mingyue, your English is so good. Help me with it from now on!"

Xu Mingyue froze at that.

The nightmare of tutoring Shen Banxia before still haunted her. She had no desire to put herself through that torture again.

"I'm actually not that good! Otherwise, I wouldn't need a foreign tutor either," Xu Mingyue hurriedly replied after recovering.

"You're being far too modest. I heard you rattling away in English in class this afternoon. You were so fluent."

"I was just talking nonsense!" Xu Mingyue denied it, waving her hands.

In the past, praise like that would naturally have made her feel smug.

But coming from Shen Banxia, it was an entirely different matter.

Shen Banxia was not praising her at all. She was digging a pit for her to fall into!

Shen Shuyi watched her two daughters with a smile. One was serene and composed, while the other was flustered and at a loss.

One advanced with careful calculation, while the other retreated at every turn.

She had once put a great deal of effort into raising Xu Mingyue, attending to every aspect of her development, inside and out.

Only now did she understand that what mattered most was a person's values and character. No matter how beautifully someone dressed, it could not conceal the viciousness within.

A person's face really did reflect their heart!

"Is Dad working late again tonight?" Xu Mingyue could only change the subject awkwardly.

Their monthly exams were the day after tomorrow. She barely had enough time to revise herself, much less the energy to tutor Shen Banxia.

Even if she did, she would never help Shen Banxia study. She was waiting for Shen Banxia to fail so she could laugh at her.

"He said he has a business engagement tonight. Let's eat. We don't need to wait for him," Shen Shuyi replied calmly.

He's gone to that old woman's place to discuss a solution. Now that they've discovered the originals were replaced with fakes, and he sold the originals for next to nothing ages ago, it'll be hard to account for them!

Shen Shuyi paused, her grip on her chopsticks tightening involuntarily.

Xu Junshan had actually dared to sell off the works by great masters that the Shen Family had painstakingly collected over more than a century, all for a pittance.

The utterly unscrupulous things he had done were enough to warrant ten deaths.

"Dad's been so busy lately. He's working so hard!

Mom, you should remind him to look after his health!" Xu Mingyue said coaxingly to Shen Shuyi, sounding every bit the caring daughter.

If Shen Shuyi had not possessed enough self-control, she would have rolled her eyes right then. Instead, she merely smiled and nodded.

"All right. I'll be sure to take very good care of your father!"

When she went to work at the company that day, Xu Junshan had looked as though he had seen a ghost. Though that reaction and the look in his eyes had passed in a flash, she had caught them immediately.

At the time, only one thought had come to her-

Xu Junshan, your days are numbered!

Now that Xu Mingyue had made such a request, she certainly could not disappoint this illegitimate daughter who was firmly on Xu Junshan's side.

Shen Banxia lowered her head and ate, almost bursting out laughing.

Xu Mingyue still doesn't know the Xu Family's plot has been exposed. She's still putting on an act, which only makes her look more ridiculous.

What's even funnier is that Mom sees right through it but doesn't say a word. She's even playing along. This is a cat toying with a mouse!

She finally managed to suppress her laughter, and Xu Mingyue finished dinner first and went upstairs.

Now only Shen Shuyi and her daughter remained in the dining room.

Shen Shuyi looked at her daughter tenderly and asked why she thought Vivian was the murderer.

"Because Vivian is a hopeless romantic!

A lovestruck woman can do anything for the person she loves, and she can also stop at nothing to protect that love.

On the surface, all the evidence points to her husband being the murderer, but the absence of any flaws is itself a flaw.

Mary orchestrated this murder, not only getting rid of her romantic rival but also making the husband who betrayed their love pay the price. Two birds with one stone.

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.-Sherlock Holmes

Once you've ruled out everything impossible, whatever is left, no matter how impossible it seems, must be the truth.

That's one of Sherlock Holmes's famous quotes." Speaking to her mother, Shen Banxia did not evade the question but explained earnestly.