The Vicious and Vain Stepsister (Nine)

Although hitting someone felt great, Jiang Xuefu had always known how to read the situation.

If she faced Su Jiu head-on now, she might not lose, but she certainly wouldn't come away unscathed.

Damn it, why wasn't Lu Zhiyan here yet?

Seeing Su Jiu about to lunge at her, Jiang Xuefu kicked a chair into her path, then picked up the skirt she hadn't had time to change out of and ran outside.

As the host, Jiang Xuefu had been the last to finish at the party. After the time she'd spent dawdling just now, there were already very few people outside the dressing room when she came out.

She looked back as she ran, hating Su Jiu with all her heart.

I only hit her once. Did she really have to chase me like this?

Jiang Xuefu was still wearing the high heels she'd worn onstage. It was already a blessing that she hadn't twisted an ankle, much less managed to shake Su Jiu off.

They hadn't run for long before the distance between them grew shorter and shorter, until Jiang Xuefu reached a corner.

"Fufu?"

Lu Zhiyan caught the girl who had crashed into his arms, panting from exhaustion, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Lu Zhiyan, what took you so long? Su Jiu wants to hurt me!"

The moment she finished speaking, Su Jiu caught up, a red, swollen handprint still on her face.

Seeing the person hiding behind Lu Zhiyan, Su Jiu was helpless and distraught. "Senior Lu, you saw it today too, didn't you? She's the one who broke the strings, and she's the one who slapped my face. That's the kind of person Jiang Xuefu is, so bad and..."

"Xiao Jiu," Lu Zhiyan interrupted her, his face darkening. "Go buy some medicine and treat your face first. I'll give you an explanation for this."

With someone backing her up, Jiang Xuefu no longer looked as bedraggled as she had while being chased. She peeked out from behind Lu Zhiyan and raised her brows smugly the moment Su Jiu looked at her.

Well? You hate me so much, but you still can't touch me. Even when I hit you, all you can do is take it like a good girl.

Su Jiu held herself back again and again, but she knew this was all she could do today. She lowered her head and answered quietly, "Okay."

Lu Zhiyan carried Jiang Xuefu to the car without saying a word.

He took Jiang Xuefu's hand and pulled a tube of ointment from a hidden compartment in the car. After squeezing a little onto a cotton swab, he gently applied it to the girl's slightly swollen, reddened palm.

Only now did Jiang Xuefu feel a faint sting in her palm. It showed just how much force she had put into that slap.

All was quiet, and every so often the faint, fresh scent of medicinal herbs from the ointment drifted through the air.

Looking at Lu Zhiyan's lowered eyes and serious expression, Jiang Xuefu leaned closer and touched the space between his brows with the index finger of her other hand. "Are you angry?"

"Yes, I am."

Jiang Xuefu felt a little annoyed. What right did he have to be angry?

She hadn't even blamed him for coming too late yet.

She withdrew her hand, sat up straight, and turned her head away in a huff, refusing to look at him.

Lu Zhiyan finished applying the ointment, then took off her shoes and checked her feet carefully. Only when he saw that she wasn't hurt did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fufu, I'm not angry with you. I was just scared. What if I hadn't gotten there in time and something had happened to you?"

"If there's someone you don't like in the future, just tell me. I'll take care of them myself, okay?"

The young man coaxed her in a gentle voice, pulling her into his arms from behind and wrapping both hands tightly around the girl's delicate, supple waist.

"Our Fufu just needs to be happy every day. Leave everything else to me."

Hearing that, Jiang Xuefu finally stopped being angry. She turned around and was about to complain about how much her feet hurt from running in high heels when she suddenly seemed to remember something. "Lu Zhiyan, weren't we supposed to have dinner with your parents tonight?"

"Ahem, something came up for my parents at the last minute. It'll just be the two of us today. What do you want to eat?"

They had actually been going to have dinner with his parents, and a table had already been reserved at the restaurant.

His mother had said she wanted to go backstage for a look and told him and his father to wait at the restaurant. But after going there, she had come back alone and, without a word, pulled his father away.

As she left, she had told him, "Our Lu family will never accept a girl like that into the family."

His mother, normally gentle and gracious, had been unusually stern, her dislike for Jiang Xuefu written plainly in her eyes.

Lu Zhiyan had come to pick Jiang Xuefu up for dinner and ask what had happened while he was at it. Fortunately, he had arrived in time.

But it was enough for him alone to know about those things. Fufu was going to marry him, not the Lu family.

If he had to let her suffer even over marrying her, it could only mean he hadn't done enough.

Jiang Xuefu didn't think much of what he said and simply began considering what to eat later.

The Japanese restaurant on Siyuan Road was good, or the hot pot by the school's east gate was tempting too...

Her head was full of food right now, and she had no idea Lu Zhiyan was already thinking about marrying her.

But even if Jiang Xuefu had known, she wouldn't have reacted much. At most, she would have preened a little. She really was so charming that people couldn't help falling for her.

Jiang Xuefu said, "Hot pot. I feel like hot pot today."

"Okay."

After New Year's Day, because of Lu Zhiyan and Jiang Xuefu's relationship, the Su and Lu families resumed contact once Lu Zhiyan's parents returned to the country.

But whenever his mother came over, she never gave Jiang Xuefu a pleasant look, or else ignored her altogether, a stark contrast to her gentle manner toward Su Jiu.

The first time they met was fine; it could have been because they weren't familiar with each other. But after it happened repeatedly, Jiang Xuefu wasn't stupid. She could see that Lu Zhiyan's mother simply didn't like her.

But ever since Jiang Xuefu had experienced firsthand how love-brained Lu Zhiyan was, she hadn't cared much about any of that.

So what if she didn't like me? As long as Lu Zhiyan did, that was enough.

Lu Zhiyan was now handling most of the Lu Group's affairs. The whole group was going to be handed over to him anyway, and in the future, it was still uncertain who would have to listen to whom in the Lu family.

In short, Jiang Xuefu's creed was: seize the day and enjoy yourself; no matter who else has to suffer, never let yourself suffer.

Fortunately, Lu Zhiyan's mother couldn't read minds. Otherwise, hearing such outrageous, disrespectful words might have made her angry enough to cough up blood.