The Vicious, Vain Stepsister (Thirteen)

Couldn't she see that the two of them were eating? She was asking why they were together!

Su Jiu said, "Don't play dumb with me, Jiang Xuefu. You know perfectly well what you've done."

Jiang Xuefu hadn't felt like arguing with her, but those words fired her right up. "I don't know what I've done. Why don't you spell it out for me?"

She did want to do something, but Jiang Huaiyu was like a block of wood and wouldn't give her the slightest chance.

"You-you're shameless!"

"How am I shameless? I'm so pretty I'd never bear to lose my face. You, on the other hand, are so ugly it wouldn't matter whether you had a face or not, would it?"

Su Jiu's face turned red with anger. Lu Zhiyan was one thing, but why was she trying to get her hands on Jiang Huaiyu now too?

When it came to trading insults, Su Jiu, who was always inarticulate at home, was no match for Jiang Xuefu. She only knew a handful of insults, unlike Jiang Xuefu, whose little mouth could run nonstop all day.

Seeing their argument grow fiercer, Jiang Huaiyu pulled Su Jiu behind him to shield her and said to Jiang Xuefu with a complicated look, "You should leave. Don't make trouble here."

"Hmph." Jiang Xuefu folded her arms, rolled her eyes in disdain, and refused to let it go. "You tell me to leave and I just leave? Wouldn't that make me lose face?"

"You saw what happened today, didn't you? I didn't even get a chance to do anything before she suddenly barged in and started questioning me like a lunatic..."

Before Jiang Xuefu could finish, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door. "Hey, what's wrong with you, Jiang Huaiyu? I haven't got my bag!"

Jiang Huaiyu went back for her bag, opened the door, pushed her out, and shut it, all in one smooth motion.

Locked outside, Jiang Xuefu was so angry she nearly laughed. Fine, Jiang Huaiyu. Well done.

"Xiao Fu, didn't you need to see Brother Jiang about something? Why did you come out so suddenly?" Yang Shen, who had been quietly watching Jiang Xuefu from his desk, came over and asked with concern.

It was all because of that damned Su Jiu. She was furious!

She was going to get even for this!

"I'm fine. Go back to work." Jiang Xuefu wasn't even in the mood to fake a smile now. Her little face was cold as she spoke flatly, then left without looking back.

Yang Shen watched his goddess's graceful figure retreat, his face full of confusion. When had he upset Xiao Fu?

That was it! Everything had been fine before Su Jiu went in, and Jiang Xuefu had come out as soon as she did. Su Jiu must have bullied Xiao Fu again!

Convinced he had discovered the truth, Yang Shen grew even more dissatisfied with Su Jiu. He planned to find a time to have a proper talk with her and tell her not to keep bullying Xiao Fu and looking down on her just because Xiao Fu wasn't her biological older sister.

If Su Jiu had known what he was thinking, she probably would have laughed in anger too, regretting that she had ever trusted Yang Shen's character.

So stupid. Another fool bewitched by Jiang Xuefu.

The office fell silent after Jiang Xuefu left. Jiang Huaiyu was the one who finally led Su Jiu to the small sofa at the side and sat down with her.

He held his girlfriend, who was clearly feeling insecure, in his arms and patiently explained what had happened that day.

That morning, his cat had suddenly started vomiting and having diarrhea, but he had been in a hurry to sign a contract with a partner company. Everyone had worked hard to finalize the deal, and he couldn't let all that effort go to waste because of him.

Pressed for time, Jiang Huaiyu had dropped the cat off at the veterinary clinic and hurried to the company. When he had finally finished his work and was on his way back, the clinic suddenly called to say the cat was missing.

He had searched for a long time. In the end, he had happened to open Jiang Xuefu's WeChat Moments and learned that she had found Xiao Mi and even taken him to a clinic for treatment.

To thank Jiang Xuefu, Jiang Huaiyu had offered to grant her one request.

But he hadn't expected the woman's request to be a meal with him.

And that was how Su Jiu had come to see them together.

After listening to his explanation, Su Jiu said nothing. She took her phone from her bag, found Jiang Xuefu in her WeChat contacts, and opened her Moments. Sure enough, she saw a video Jiang Xuefu had posted that morning.

In the video, Jiang Xuefu was sitting on a park bench with a chubby cat in her arms. The cat kept nuzzling her face, and the woman didn't mind. Instead, she affectionately lifted the cat and rubbed against his soft cheek.

Su Jiu knew the cat well. His name was Xiao Mi, and she had given him to Jiang Huaiyu as a graduation gift.

Seeing her watch the video, Jiang Huaiyu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "There's nothing going on between me and her, Xiao Jiu. Don't overthink it."

Su Jiu remained silent. After a long while, she finally managed to ask, "When did you add her on WeChat?"

Why had he added Jiang Xuefu when he knew full well that she hated her? And why would he happen to open her Moments?

Jiang Huaiyu never posted on Moments and rarely looked at it.

If the two of them weren't in frequent contact, she couldn't think of any other reason.

But that meant they had already formed a bond where she couldn't see it.

The man with his arm half around her stiffened slightly. "I'm sorry, Xiao Jiu. She kept pestering me, and I got so annoyed that I added her. But believe me, she's always the one sending messages. I've never reached out to her first."

As if afraid she wouldn't believe him, Jiang Huaiyu quickly opened WeChat on his phone. Su Jiu was pinned at the top, saved under the name "Baby."

Seeing that, Su Jiu's expression eased slightly.

But the chat immediately below Su Jiu's was Jiang Xuefu's. She opened it and saw that the latest message had been sent just a few minutes ago, when Jiang Xuefu had left.

"Brother Huaiyu, this meal doesn't count. I'll come find you for another one next time."

Su Jiu's face darkened again at once. How shameless!

She kept scrolling up to read the earlier messages. The vast majority were from Jiang Xuefu. Most said good morning or good night, and she also sent messages at mealtimes. Occasionally, she sent subtly suggestive photos, like ones supposedly taken of her food but with a bit of her leg showing in the corner.

Jiang Huaiyu only replied with a word or two of no importance when he grew too annoyed with her pestering.

"See? She's the one sending them all. If you don't like it, I'll delete and block her right now, okay? Don't be angry, Xiao Jiu."

With the person she liked coaxing her, and since he really hadn't done much wrong, Su Jiu's expression softened and her anger gradually subsided a little.

She handed the phone to Jiang Huaiyu and was about to nod and tell him to delete her, but froze when she saw the dishes on the table that the two of them had only half finished.

The next moment, tears streamed down the woman's face. "Jiang Huaiyu, you're not picky when you eat the food she brings, is that it?"

Every one of the delicately plated dishes on the table contained scallions and garlic.

Jiang Huaiyu's expression froze completely, and in that instant, he was left speechless.