The Vicious, Vain Stepsister (Five)

Su Jiu and Lu Zhiyan had met as children, back before Jiang Xuefu came to the Su family.

The Su and Lu families had been neighbors, and Su Jiu had loved trailing after Lu Zhiyan since she was little. Although Lu Zhiyan rarely spoke, he was very fond of the little girl next door. The two families had gotten along very well.

But the good times did not last. Tragedy struck.

Su Jiu's father died in a car accident. Afraid the familiar surroundings would stir up painful memories, Su Jing took Su Jiu away from North City and back to Shanghai not long afterward.

It was only after transferring here that Su Jiu saw Lu Zhiyan again.

Because she had gone to bed a little late the previous night, Su Jiu got up much later than usual the next morning.

By the time she got ready and went out, the driver and Jiang Xuefu were long gone from the garage.

Su Jiu clenched her fists angrily. Jiang Xuefu was a master of deception. Senior Lu must have been fooled by her appearance.

She had to show Senior Lu Jiang Xuefu's vicious true face!

At the entrance to the student council building.

Su Jiu had been lying in wait for a long time during her PE class. She had heard that Senior Lu was often away from school, so she had only come to try her luck.

She had never expected to actually run into the person who was said to rarely come to school!

Delighted, Su Jiu rushed straight out, not noticing the girl accompanying Lu Zhiyan at all.

"Senior Lu, I have something to tell you!"

Su Jiu rushed up to Lu Zhiyan and lowered her head slightly. She was so excited that her voice trembled.

Her words held surprise, delight, and excitement at the prospect of exposing Jiang Xuefu's true face.

But the voice she had expected did not come. Instead, another laugh rang in her ears, one she loathed, like a nightmare.

"Xiao Jiu, what are you doing here?"

Su Jiu looked up sharply and, sure enough, saw the graceful, exquisite figure behind Lu Zhiyan.

The girl giggled, her smile bright and lovely as a flower in bloom, yet the sight sent a chill through Su Jiu's whole body.

Jiang Xuefu glanced at her, the smile on her face growing wider. "Xiao Jiu, if you have something to tell Senior Lu, you can tell me."

"After all, I see him every day, so you won't have to go to the trouble of waiting."

Every word flaunted how close she was to Lu Zhiyan. If Su Jiu knew what was good for her, she would stay far away.

But Su Jiu merely raised her head and summoned her courage, stubbornly fixing her gaze on the young man standing before her, aloof as a snow-clad cedar.

"I have something private to tell Senior Lu. Senior, can we talk over there?"

She believed the young man she liked would never be so easily swayed as ordinary people.

Unfortunately, the outcome was bound to disappoint her.

Lu Zhiyan walked behind Jiang Xuefu. He said nothing, but he had already silently expressed his support.

"Xiao Jiu, it's class time." Lu Zhiyan's voice was faint, like a merciless wall that forcibly shut Su Jiu out, drawing a clear line between them.

"I know."

With those few words, the courage Su Jiu had struggled to muster slowly ebbed away. She lowered her head again, unwilling to explain even though she knew he had mistakenly thought she was skipping class.

Seeing her like this, Jiang Xuefu finally felt some of her anger dissipate. She turned and linked arms with Lu Zhiyan.

"If there's nothing else, Xiao Jiu, you should go back to class. Senior Lu and I have things to do, so we'll be leaving now~"

The girl's voice was sweet as honey, like sweet ice cream on a summer day, delightful and intoxicating.

Su Jiu silently watched the two figures leave. At some point, tears as large as beans began falling again.

Inside the student council office.

Jiang Xuefu still had her arm linked through his and did not let go until Lu Zhiyan pressed her against the desk.

"Senior, what are you doing?" The girl opened her innocent eyes, her gaze at once pure and seductive.

Lu Zhiyan said nothing. He simply gazed at her in silence, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. Deep in his dark eyes was a desire that felt unfamiliar even to him.

The atmosphere suddenly turned intimate, the scent of gardenias growing stronger in the air.

As though she had found something amusing, Jiang Xuefu gently raised her hand.

Her slender, fair finger came to rest on his prominent Adam's apple, giving it a gentle touch.

Bang!

Something exploded in his mind. Unable to control himself, Lu Zhiyan pulled the girl tightly into his arms, hiding his slightly discomposed expression.

His chin rested against Jiang Xuefu's neck, their bodies pressed tightly together. Where they touched, all they could feel was each other's warmth.

The girl's curves were truly beautiful and alluring. Lu Zhiyan endured the heat in his reddened ears and held her even tighter.

"Fufu." He murmured softly in her ear, like a lover's whisper.

"Hmm?"

She responded softly, as though entirely innocent of it all. Or perhaps the girl was a demoness born to toy with love in the palm of her hand, unwilling to stop until she had tormented someone into restless, unbearable suffering.

Lu Zhiyan took a deep breath and suppressed every thought he had about Jiang Xuefu.

It was still too soon. There was no hurry. He would wait a little longer.

He could not frighten her away.

"Where's Su Jiu?"

As soon as Jiang Xuefu got home, she tossed her schoolbag onto the sofa. Her face darkened, impatience flashing across her features.

Jiang Sheng came out of the kitchen carrying soup. Time had etched fine lines into his face, but they did nothing to diminish his good looks, instead lending him an added air of elegance.

No wonder he had Su Jing so thoroughly captivated.

"What's wrong, Fufu? She went straight to her room when she got back."

Looking at the father who had doted on her since childhood, Jiang Xuefu leaned against him, aggrieved.

"Dad~ That little bitch Su Jiu insists on going against me at school. You have to teach her a proper lesson!"

At that, Jiang Sheng's gaze flickered, a trace of malice flashing through his eyes. "I understand. I'll go teach her a lesson in a little while. Be a good girl and eat first."

Come to think of it, Jiang Sheng's indulgence throughout Jiang Xuefu's life had played no small part in her ability to act so arrogantly before Su Jiu.

In Jiang Sheng's eyes, the entire Su family would one day belong to him and his daughter. What did Su Jiu amount to?

At that moment, in a room on the second floor, Su Jiu was doing her homework for the day.

Suddenly, the locked door was forced open from the outside, and the butler, Uncle Zhang, barged in.

"What are you doing?! Get out!"

Ignoring her cries, Uncle Zhang seized Su Jiu's arm and dragged her out.

"Sir said that since Second Miss won't behave, he'll teach Second Miss some manners himself."

Su Jiu struggled constantly to escape, but it was no use. A slender, frail girl pitting her strength against a grown man was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, hopelessly overestimating herself.

"Let go of me! I don't want to go there!"

There was a small dark room in the basement of the Su family villa that even Su Jing did not know about. Jiang Sheng had prepared it especially for Su Jiu.

When Su Jiu was little, whenever she made Jiang Sheng or Jiang Xuefu unhappy, she would be locked in the dark room while Su Jing was away, for at least a day and a night, without food or water.