Today was the day to return to the Tao family home.
Qin Xuanye had been waiting outside the Chen family's gate early. When he saw Chen Ruanruan pushing a large suitcase over, he got out of the car and opened the trunk.
He asked, as if casually, "Where's your sister?"
The smile on Chen Ruanruan's face froze.
"She said Young Master Wei would take her to the Tao house."
"She told us to go ahead."
Qin Xuanye's movement of lifting the suitcase into the trunk paused slightly before he closed it.
He returned to the driver's seat as if nothing had happened.
Just as Chen Ruanruan was about to open the car door to get into the passenger seat, he suddenly said,
"The seat's broken. You should sit in the back."
"......"
Chen Ruanruan glanced at the pink cushion and the plush toy seatbelt buckle she had previously placed on the passenger seat—both were now gone.
She bit her lip in frustration.
She was furious, desperate to vent.
But she had to hold it in. It wasn't the right time yet.
"Okay," she replied obediently, getting into the back seat.
The car started, and Qin Xuanye drove according to the navigation, remaining silent the whole way.
Chen Ruanruan ventured tentatively, "Liuyue seems to be dating Young Master Wei now. Mom and Dad are both very happy."
"Screech—"
There was a red light ahead. Qin Xuanye had been driving too fast and slammed on the brakes.
The car lurched forward with the momentum.
Caught off guard, Chen Ruanruan's head bumped against the back of the car seat in front of her.
She winced in pain, rubbing her forehead.
Qin Xuanye turned his head:
"Sorry."
"Ruanruan, are you okay?"
Chen Ruanruan forcefully swallowed her resentment and anger, gritting her teeth.
She shook her head and replied, "I'm fine."
Silence fell in the car once more.
Chen Ruanruan spoke up, "Xuanye, could you stay with me and Mom and Dad a bit longer later? I'm still not very familiar with them."
Qin Xuanye nodded. "Sure."
Chen Ruanruan let out a sigh of relief.
...
Tao Tian and Jin Minjia had already packed two large suitcases filled with gifts for their relatives back home.
Jin Minjia had been busy since morning, one moment cooking breakfast in the kitchen, the next applying lipstick in front of the mirror.
Tao Tian sat on the sofa reading the newspaper, glanced up at her, and advised,
"Don't be so nervous. We're just going back to our hometown."
Jin Minjia adjusted the angle of her scarf in the mirror to her most satisfactory position before turning her head to respond,
"This is different. We're taking Ruanruan back to our hometown!"
"I heard she's already won over twenty dance competition awards despite her young age, and last time she even won a provincial award from the neighboring province."
"I always said her genes come from me. If my family hadn't been poor back then, I might have been able to pursue an arts path too."
Tao Tian shook his head helplessly.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Jin Minjia hurried over, saying, "That must be our Ruanruan."
But when she opened the door,
standing outside were her adopted daughter, Chen Liuyue, and an unfamiliar young man.
He was very tall and handsome, so much so that even the usually stern Teacher Jin couldn't help stealing a few extra glances.
"Liuyue? Why are you here?" She frowned.
Hearing the voices, Tao Tian got up and walked over to welcome them. "It's Xiaoyue! You haven't been home in so long."
"And this is... your friend?"
Chen Liuyue introduced with a light smile, "Uncle Tao, this is my good friend, Wei Miao."
Wei Miao greeted him with a "Uncle."
The two were ushered inside.
Jin Minjia frowned, displeased that she had been ignored. "Liuyue, why aren't you saying hello?"
"Oh, it's Auntie Jin. My apologies, I thought since we're so familiar, there was no need for a special greeting."
Chen Liuyue tilted her head at her in a seemingly apologetic manner, though there wasn't a trace of actual apology in her eyes.
Jin Minjia instinctively started to scold her as she used to.
"You child, you've always been rebellious, haven't you?! I see nothing has changed. I raised you for so many years after all."
"Last time you said you'd call me Auntie Jin, and you really have kept calling me 'Auntie' ever since."
"Do you have any conscience at all?!"
Chen Liuyue curved the corners of her lips slightly, retorting calmly,
"Chen Ruanruan has a conscience. She bears the Chen surname, yet she hasn't come to see you either."
Tao Tian fell silent. "..."
Jin Minjia was left speechless.
Only then did she realize that several days had passed since the recognition banquet, and Ruanruan hadn't even called them once.
She was both angry and upset, though she couldn't tell if she was angrier at Chen Liuyue for her sharp words or at Chen Ruanruan for also being ungrateful.
Ding-dong—
The doorbell rang again.
This time, Tao Tian went to open the door. Outside were Chen Ruanruan and Qin Xuanye.
Tao Tian beamed. "Ah, Ruanruan is here! And Xiao Qin too."
Chen Ruanruan said gently, "Dad, I'm here."
Then she looked into the room and said to Jin Minjia, "Mom, you look really beautiful today. The scarf is lovely."
Jin Minjia was still simmering with anger.
Hearing this flattery not only failed to please her but instead annoyed her further.
She chuckled dryly twice and said,
"Beautiful, what beauty?! With a biological daughter who doesn't care about me, dressing up just makes me a laughingstock!"
Teacher Jin loved using words to assert control over her children.
Chen Liuyue had witnessed it many times before.
But this was a first for Chen Ruanruan.
She was a bit bewildered, not understanding why her perfectly ordinary compliment had provoked such an intense emotional reaction and rebuttal.
Somewhat frightened, she stood at the doorway, not daring to enter.
It was Tao Tian who shot Jin Minjia a look before saying to Chen Ruanruan,
"Come on, come on, everyone come inside first."
"Your mom just had a little spat with Liuyue earlier."
"She didn't mean to upset you."
Wei Miao glanced discreetly at Chen Liuyue's expression and found her calm.
When he first entered the Tao house, he had thought only the adoptive mother had a difficult temperament, while the father seemed gentle and polite.
It turned out they were cut from the same cloth deep down.
Once inside,
Chen Ruanruan, of course, also noticed Chen Liuyue and Wei Miao beside her.
After greeting them, she said with a bright smile,
"Liuyue, I didn't expect you to arrive earlier than me."
Then she turned back to Tao Tian and Jin Minjia:
"Mom, Dad, it's my first time going back to our hometown, and I'm a bit shy about meeting relatives I've never seen before, so I asked Liuyue to come back to the hometown with us."
Tao Tian smiled warmly. "I'm relieved to see you two sisters getting along so well."
Jin Minjia shot a glance at Chen Liuyue.
She seemed to have a headache.
She couldn't help saying, "If we really take Liuyue back to the hometown, won't the relatives... Ah!"
Chen Liuyue curved her lips into a smile.
"Don't worry, Auntie Jin. Before, they were relatives, so I was a bit more 'familiar' with them."
"Now that we're not really related anymore, I'll certainly be polite."
"Mainly, I'm going to accompany Sister Ruanruan to meet everyone. Of course, if you'd prefer I didn't, I won't go back with you."
Hearing this, Chen Ruanruan became agitated, stepped forward, and grabbed her hand, saying,
"No! Liuyue must come with me, otherwise I'll feel too nervous."
