The Vicious, Vain Stepsister (Eighteen)

"Stop!"

Su Jing came running over from somewhere, pointing at Chen Xi, her face full of anger. "Put my daughter down!"

Chen Xi said, "M-Ms. Su?"

Su Jiu also raised her head from Chen Xi's arms, looking slightly puzzled and faintly reproachful. "Mom? Why are you here?"

And she was asking why she was here? If she hadn't come, who knew what outrageous things Chen Xi might have done!

"Xiao Jiu, how could you sink so low as to get involved with someone like him? Come home with me, now!"

As she spoke, Su Jing stepped forward to pull Su Jiu down, but Su Jiu dodged a second before she could touch her.

Su Jiu said, "Mom, you never cared about me when I needed you before, so don't start now."

"When did I ever not care about you?"

"When Jiang Xuefu bullied me, you said she'd just arrived at the Su family and told me to be sensible and more accommodating. When Jiang Sheng bullied me, you told me not to make a fuss. You felt guilty toward Jiang Sheng, so you told me to be sensible and not cause trouble, too."

When Su Jiu was very, very little, she would still tell on them when she was bullied, but after being disappointed a few times, all she felt was numbness.

Su Jiu lowered her eyes, refusing to look at Su Jing's tear-streaked face. "Chen Xi, let's go."

"No, Xiao Jiu, I was wrong before, but even if you resent me, you can't go with him. He..."

Before Su Jing could finish, Chen Xi cut her off, his face dark. "Auntie, Xiao Jiu already told you to mind your own business. What's the point of regretting it now? Where were you before?"

He had almost forgotten. There was no Ms. Su anymore; she was just Mrs. Jiang.

Su Jiu tugged at his sleeve. "Don't talk to her anymore. Let's go."

"All right, whatever you say, Xiao Jiu."

The night was soft and warm. Accompanied by the three shadows cast by the moonlight, Chen Xi carried Su Jiu away, and they were soon out of Su Jing's sight.

By the time Su Jing came looking, the engagement banquet was nearly over. Jiang Xuefu had left early and was removing her makeup in the dressing room.

"Fufu, hurry and find someone to save your sister! Chen Xi took her away, and we don't even know where she is now!" Su Jing looked at Jiang Xuefu, who was unhurriedly taking off her earrings, and was so anxious she could barely speak coherently.

After learning that Jiang Xuefu was the future Mrs. Lu, Su Jing's former business partners and friends had gone to curry favor with Jiang Sheng long ago. Now that something had happened, she had no one to turn to, apart from her remaining friendship with Mrs. Lu. But this matter concerned Su Jiu's chastity, and she was unwilling to go to an outsider.

After thinking it over, it seemed she could only come to Jiang Xuefu.

"Don't worry, Auntie. What happened to Xiao Jiu?" Jiang Xuefu asked with feigned concern, as though she cared deeply about her younger sister Su Jiu.

Su Jing hesitated for a moment and said only that she had seen Su Jiu get into Chen Xi's car.

A flicker of displeasure flashed in Jiang Xuefu's eyes. That old hag was begging her for help but still wouldn't tell the truth.

After taking off her earrings, she moved on to the necklace around her neck, still taking her time. "Oh, Auntie Su, this necklace seems to be stuck. Could you help me with it?"

Looking at the woman sitting there, a peerless beauty like a figure in a painting, Su Jing started to speak but stopped. Suppressing the sense that something was amiss, she stepped forward and gently removed the necklace, which had caught on a strand of hair.

"Thank you, Auntie Su~"

The woman's smile was as sweet as ever, giving no hint that her next words would be so... cold?

"But who Xiao Jiu goes out with is none of my business, is it? Put your mind at ease, Auntie Su. Don't meddle in things you shouldn't worry about."

Su Jing's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe those words had come from Jiang Xuefu, whom she had doted on like her own daughter since she was little.

"Fufu, you're joking, right? Xiao Jiu is your sister." Su Jing forced a smile, still unwilling to believe it. She would rather believe she had imagined those words.

"I'm not joking. If Xiao Jiu wants to go out with Chen Xi or Wang Xi, it's none of our business, is it?"

"Besides, even so, why should I save Su Jiu? How are you still so naive, Auntie Su?"

Jiang Xuefu tilted her head with a smile. Her every word was a gem, yet she sounded almost as though she were acting coquettish. Behind that angelic face lurked thoughts as filthy and vicious as a devil's.

Su Jing's heart gradually sank, as though plunged into ice, cold and numb. At that moment, she finally understood what Su Jiu had said to her before leaving, and things she had overlooked in the past gradually began to surface.

After seeing Jiang Sheng's true, wolf-hearted, dog-lunged nature, how had she dared to trust his daughter?

Under the successive shocks of the night, Su Jing's vision went black, and she fainted dead away.

Looking at the woman on the floor, Jiang Xuefu frowned in disgust. Tsk, why did she have to collapse here? How unlucky.

Su Jing remained unconscious for three days. Jiang Sheng left her in the hospital with no one to care for her, and it was only when Mother Lu came that she learned what had happened over those days.

It turned out Su Jiu had fooled around with Chen Xi in a hotel for two days. On the third day, Chen Xi's fiancée showed up.

That was right, Chen Xi had a fiancée. But he had always kept her hidden, and few people knew about her. For some reason, the woman, who had never cared about Chen Xi's private life, had suddenly shown up to catch him in the act.

She had even brought a group of friends. Some took pictures, some hurled abuse, and some got so worked up from cursing that they started hitting them, leaving Chen Xi and Su Jiu in a sorry state.

Chen Xi was no man of responsibility either. Wrapped in a blanket, he slipped through a gap in the commotion and fled alone, leaving Su Jiu on the bed without a thing to cover herself as everyone cursed her.

The incident had become a hot topic of gossip among the ladies lately. Although Su Jiu could hardly be considered a young lady from a prestigious family, she still bore the name of Jiang Xuefu's sister.

Too many women in their circle envied Jiang Xuefu, and as a result, the attention on Su Jiu and the Su family had reached unprecedented levels.

Jiang Xuefu, however, didn't care about any such stain. If she had, she wouldn't have contacted Chen Xi's fiancée.

Hearing this for the first time, Su Jing fell silent for a long while, then sighed, her eyes full of regret and hatred. "Now that things have come to this, I only hope Xiao Jiu can come back, so we can get along and support each other from now on."