Chen Liuyue sat comfortably on the rocking chair in the courtyard.
She watched as Chen Ruanruan followed the Tao cousins into the house.
Silently counting the beats.
Her red lips parted lightly:
"Three, two, one..."
In less than three minutes, sharp shouts and the sound of angry crying from Chen Ruanruan came from the room.
Tao Tian and Jin Minjia, who were in the main hall, saw the commotion and hurried out.
Noticing Chen Liuyue sitting in the courtyard, they couldn't help but demand:
"What's going on? Where is Ruanruan?"
Chen Liuyue swayed leisurely in her chair again, then pointed a finger towards the not-so-distant direction.
Only then did she say slowly:
"I don't know. Tao Hui said she was taking Ruanruan-jiejie to play."
"Why don't you ask Tao Hui?"
Jin Minjia shot her a glare, but had no time to scold her, and rushed like an arrow in that direction.
Tao Tian followed closely behind. Tao Tu and Old Man Tao and Old Mrs. Tao also came out, trailing after them.
Seeing the whole group heading over in a grand procession,
Chen Liuyue then reluctantly got up from the rocking chair and prepared to amble over and watch the drama.
Tao Hui's room was less her own room and more a small section partitioned off by a curtain inside a large room.
The inside part was hers.
The majority of the space and area on the outside belonged to Tao Cong.
On the floor, a delicate pink suitcase lay open, its contents scattered everywhere. There were many high-quality tailored clothes, high-end cosmetics, skincare products, and some disposable travel items.
"Isn't this Ruanruan's suitcase?" Jin Minjia was stunned.
Hearing the voice, Chen Ruanruan fled towards her as if escaping, her voice choked with sobs:
"Mom, they are just too much!"
Tao Tian frowned and asked, "What is all this?!"
Tao Hui glanced at Tao Cong, and the siblings spoke in unison: "Ruanruan-jie looks down on us, says we're country bumpkins."
Hearing this, Old Man Tao and Old Mrs. Tao, who were at the back, darkened their expressions.
"Oldest son, is this the biological daughter you brought back?!"
"If she looks down on Xiao Cong and Xiao Hui, does that mean she looks down on us too?"
Tao Tian said anxiously, "Dad, there must be some misunderstanding. Ruanruan, you tell us, what exactly happened?"
Chen Ruanruan looked at her elegant and amiable biological father as if she had found her pillar of support.
Sobbing, she choked out:
"Just now, Tao Hui said she would bring me to her room to play. I didn't expect it wasn't just her room, but Tao Cong's room too."
"I just said one thing about them."
"That they shouldn't be sharing a room at their age. Then Tao Cong suddenly rushed at me, wanting to hit me."
"And Tao Hui somehow pushed my suitcase in here without me knowing, violently opened it right in front of me, pointed at the clothes and said I should give them all to her..."
"She also said the Tao family will belong to her brother sooner or later, and that I'll have to support Tao Cong in the future."
Jin Minjia's face was grim as her gaze swept over Tao Cong and Tao Hui.
Tao Cong immediately said, "That's not true! It was Ruanruan-jie who mocked us for being country folk, said our family was poor, and laughed at us siblings for squeezing into one room."
Tao Hui nodded and also started crying:
"It was Ruanruan-jie herself who said she brought gifts for me in her suitcase."
"But as soon as it was opened, I just curiously touched the dress she was going to give me, and she started screaming."
Tao Cong then looked at Tao Tian, lowering his head with an air of inferiority:
"Uncle, I know you're all city people, and we're from the countryside."
"It's normal for Ruanruan-jie to look down on us, but she shouldn't lie and slander us."
Old Mrs. Tao immediately charged out from the crowd, shielding Tao Cong, and pointed at Chen Ruanruan, scolding:
"You worthless girl?! How dare you bully my precious grandson!"
"Our oldest son has no boy; he'll have to rely on our Xiao Cong to carry the funeral incense burner for him in the future. The Tao family will belong to Xiao Cong."
"You're just a girl who'll be married off someday!"
Chen Ruanruan never expected the seemingly simple and honest Tao cousins to be capable of twisting the truth.
Having grown up in the Chen family, where had she ever suffered such injustice?
She couldn't help but wail even louder!
All the poise of a young lady from a good family, all the grace and gentleness, were gone.
Chen Liuyue stood not far away, picked up her phone, silently recorded a short video and took a few photos, found a phone number, and clicked send.
Chen Ruanruan also spotted Chen Liuyue at the very back of the crowd, as if finding a lifeline.
"Liuyue, please help me."
"They're the ones lying!"
Chen Liuyue was speechless.
Seriously?!
Did Chen Ruanruan think she was some kind of good person? Why on earth would she help her?
Tao Hui seized the moment to become even more vigorous.
"Liuyue-jie, I realize now that you're still the good one."
"Even though you're not Uncle's biological daughter, you've always been good to me and Xiao Cong since we were little."
"Not like Ruanruan-jie, who seems gentle and mild on the surface but actually looks down on us in her heart."
"Wahhhhh..."
Chen Liuyue shot her a glance that was half-smile, half-sneer.
Tao Hui's body involuntarily trembled slightly, and her pretend crying paused for a second.
With both sides sticking to their own stories, the truth no longer mattered at this point.
Tao Tu suddenly rushed to the center as if to kneel down.
"Big brother, it's all my fault for not raising the two children properly. I'm sorry, niece Ruanruan."
Tao Tian quickly held him up, saying, "Don't. This matter isn't clear yet, and it might not necessarily be Xiao Cong and Xiao Hui's fault."
"Besides, this kind of bickering among kids is normal. Wasn't it the same for us brothers back then?"
"When they're older, they'll understand it's good to have siblings."
Tao Tian smiled with great affability, and Tao Tu was immensely grateful.
Old Man Tao and Old Mrs. Tao nodded in satisfaction.
Chen Ruanruan: "..."
No way?!
Clearly, she was the one who got bullied, and the matter was just brushed aside so lightly.
Dismissed as mere childish squabbles?
From the corner of her eye, she could still see Tao Hui and Tao Cong exchange a look and flash smug smiles.
"Mom, I'm not..." Chen Ruanruan placed her hopes on Jin Minjia.
But she saw the other woman frown and say:
"Enough. When we brought Liuyue back before, there wasn't this much trouble."
"How come Liuyue could get along fine with Xiao Cong and Xiao Hui, but as soon as you come home, there's all this drama?"
"Ruanruan, it seems the Chen family really spoiled you. That princess temperament—you need to work on changing your ways."
After all, Jin Minjia also came from a rural background.
She believed Tao Hui's divisive words, feeling that her biological daughter Chen Ruanruan secretly looked down on her too.
Chen Ruanruan found it impossible to defend herself.
"I..."
Her gaze unconsciously sought out Chen Liuyue again.
A chill ran through her heart: this old home was simply a dragon's den and a tiger's lair.
And this pair of parents, the Taos, claimed to have her best interests at heart, but in reality, they didn't care about their child in the slightest.
Compared to her Mom and Dad from the Chen family, they fell far short.
What kind of bitter days had Chen Liuyue been living all this time?
