A Real Heiress Quits (GL) - Chapter 15

Family, friendship—what were those things?

Yu Xinyue had once tried to hold onto them tightly, but everything she cared about leaked through her fingers like shifting sand. She had chased after them with all her might, yet those people refused to even turn back and give her a single glance.

So, she no longer cared. By relying on herself, she could live a better life.

“You…”

Yu Xinyue placed her hand on Yin Jianghan’s shoulder and smiled slightly. “Hanhan, in this family, I ‘care’ about you the most, and ‘only’ you. You have to believe me; I just couldn’t stand the way Shu Ziyu treated you earlier.”

This time, her voice was loud enough for everyone around to hear. The classmates silently took in the drama, each harboring their own thoughts.

It seemed that between these two sisters, only one was being sincere. Even if Yu Xinyue was just an adopted daughter of the Yin family, Yin Jianghan shouldn’t be so fierce toward her. She couldn’t steal anything from the legitimate heiress anyway. Would the Yin family really abandon their own flesh and blood for someone with no blood relation?

Moreover, everyone knew that Yin Jianghan had always lived a life of glory, while Yu Xinyue was the “pitiful one”—always ostracized and struggling with her grades. Now that she had managed to get a high score on her own, Yin Jianghan was so furious. One could only imagine the bullying Xinyue faced at home. Better not to be an adopted daughter at all than to endure such abuse for nothing.

Yu Xinyue didn’t realize it, but this little performance had earned her a significant wave of goodwill and sympathy.

Continuing her “drama queen” act, she said, “Shu Ziyu shouldn’t treat you like that. You two are a couple; he can’t go after others right in front of your face.” She sniffled, her large eyes misting over with worry. “Is his character bad? Maybe I should talk to Uncle and have them call off your engagement.”

“No!”

Yin Jianghan reacted violently, her breathing heavy. “You just want us to break up so you have a chance, don’t you? Don’t think I don’t know—you like Ziyu too!”

Yu Xinyue was genuinely stunned this time. “Huh?”

The onlookers were delighted—this drama was getting more explosive by the second! They thought it was just a rivalry between sisters, but now it had turned into a cliché love triangle. How exciting! But wait, if Yu Xinyue liked Brother Shu, why did she hit him? Could Brother Shu be a masochist?

Yu Xinyue blinked, her long lashes fluttering. “But… what is there about him worth liking?”

A man picked out of a trash can would make her feel nauseous just standing in front of her.

Yin Jianghan sneered. “Stop acting so innocent and pitiful. Ziyu is so outstanding; who wouldn’t be moved by him?” Thinking of the women Shu Ziyu had on the side, she couldn’t control her agitation. “You vipers! You all harbor secret crushes on him, thinking of pulling me down so you can take my place!”

The crowd was bewildered, exchanging glances and complaining internally. No, “Sister-in-law,” we really don’t like Shu Ziyu! So that’s what you think—treating everyone as an imaginary enemy? Not everyone has a hobby of being a homewrecker!

Yu Xinyue: “…”

Her gaze turned somewhat pitying. For the first time, she felt Yin Jianghan was pathetic. So young, yet already blind, clutching a piece of trash as if it were a treasure. How tragic.

“Hanhan,” Yu Xinyue sighed. “Since you won’t listen to what I say, I won’t say any more. I’ll just offer you a piece of advice: don’t look for a boyfriend in a trash can.”

This high-and-mighty tone of pity and charity infuriated Yin Jianghan even further. “Ha! You can’t seduce Ziyu, so now you’re trying to ‘advise’ me? Your tactics are really something else.”

Yu Xinyue zipped up her bag and said nothing more. She didn’t understand how someone could be so blind. In her previous life, Yin Jianghan always loved to flaunt her “good husband” in front of her. Thinking back now, her situation probably wasn’t as good as she claimed. The Shu family was wealthy, but once divided among several brothers and a horde of grandchildren, how much would actually reach her hands? She was just showing off to satisfy her vanity.

“I’ll head out first. I’ll wait for you in the car,” Yu Xinyue said.

Yin Jianghan stopped her. “Wait.”

“What?”

“That’s my family’s car. You’re not allowed in. Aren’t you so capable? Walk back yourself!”

Yu Xinyue: “Oh.”

It seemed Yin Jianghan was driven mad with rage today, completely dropping her facade and abandoning the image she had painstakingly built in front of her classmates.

A few students began to whisper. “Walk back?”

“That’s harsh. Looks like Yin Jianghan is really pissed.”

“No matter what, she shouldn’t ban her from the car. Do you know how far that is? This is practically abuse.”

“Shh, it’s their family matter. Don’t get involved.”

Yin Jianghan was losing it. “What are you all looking at? Is there something to see?”

The students waved their hands and quickly said, “Don’t be mad, Sister Yin! We’re leaving now. Bye!” They fled faster than rabbits, vanishing in a flash.

Yin Jianghan headed back with her schoolbag. At the stairwell, she heard Jiang Nuan and Miao Wanling giggling.

“Do you have a crush on Shu Ziyu?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I don’t, I haven’t!”

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

“Then do you have a crush on Shu Ziyu?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I don’t, I haven’t!”

Even these people were making fun of her. Yin Jianghan’s lungs nearly burst with rage. She rushed down and furiously slapped Miao Wanling across the face.

“Mocking people behind their backs—you really deserve a beating!”

Slap.

Miao Wanling was stunned, clutching her face as tears began to fall. Jiang Nuan shielded her friend. “What are you doing? We just said a few words and you hit her? You’re being completely unreasonable!”

Both girls were from ordinary, moderately wealthy families who could barely afford the tutoring here. They didn’t dare provoke people like Yin Jianghan or Shu Ziyu, so they could only swallow their anger.

“If I hear this again, just you wait,” Yin Jianghan barked before leaving.

“What kind of person is she, really?” Miao Wanling cried into her friend’s arms. “Why take her anger out on me?”

Jiang Nuan patted her back. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll buy you some spicy strips later.”

Yin Jianghan stormed back to the car, throwing her bag into the backseat. Recalling the day’s events, she felt everything was terrible. She shouldn’t have been so impulsive just now—who knew what those people would spread? But she was just so angry! So angry!

That “White Lotus,” that “Green Tea” bitch—she definitely did it on purpose! Intentionally driving a wedge between her and Ziyu to take him and everything the Yin family owned for herself! She could forget about it!

“What are you waiting for? Start the car!”

The driver replied timidly, “But, what about Xinyue?”

“Yu Xinyue, Yu Xinyue! Is she the only one you care about? Do you not respect me at all? If you don’t drive now, I’ll have my uncle fire you!” Yin Jianghan screamed.

The driver looked worriedly at the villa but eventually started the engine and slowly drove away. The Yin family’s favoritism was obvious to all; he couldn’t afford to offend the one in the back. As for Xinyue… he’d just come back for her later.

Shu Ziyu stood with a cigarette in his mouth, watching Yin Jianghan get into the car. Since only one person had left, did that mean the girl was still in the villa?

He pulled down his baseball cap, pushed open the villa doors again, and picked up a baseball bat that had been leaning by the entrance. The students and teachers had all left; the living room was empty and the lights were out, making it feel a bit eerie.

Where is the brat?

Shu Ziyu shouldered the bat, took a puff of his cigarette, and moved silently through the corridor. In the dim interior, the red tip of the cigarette glowed and faded. He pushed open room after room. Just as his patience was running out, he suddenly heard the crisp sound of a piano from upstairs.

A smirk played across his lips under the cap. Found you.

He crushed his cigarette, dragging the bat as he headed for the third floor. The bat tapped against the steps—a muffled thud, thud, thud mixing with the melodious piano music.

Yu Xinyue was completely unaware. Her mind was only on the piano. Failing to finish the Turkish March that day had been a lingering regret, and with the piano at home gone, she couldn’t even satisfy her craving to play. Yin Jianghan had forbidden her from taking the car home… and she was actually…

So happy!

She finally had a legitimate excuse to stay at the villa and use the piano. She wanted to go back to The Violet tomorrow to play again; it would be even better if she ran into Qin Qing!

The march was spirited and light, mirroring her mood after being reborn—reclaiming control over her life and no longer wasting it on unworthy people. Realizing this, Xinyue’s lips curved upward into a gentle smile, her playing becoming even more buoyant.

Behind her, someone slowly raised a baseball bat.

BANG!!!

The hair on the back of Yu Xinyue’s neck stood up. Her physical reflexes outstripped her conscious thought as she instinctively leaned to the side. The bat grazed her shoulder and slammed heavily into the piano!

“Heh, nice dodge.” Shu Ziyu laughed.

Meeting the girl’s stunned and furious gaze only made him smile wider as he hefted the bat. “Yu Xinyue, so you’ve been hiding your true colors all this time.”

“You know, you’re the first person who’s ever dared to hit me,” Shu Ziyu said, touching his jaw. It still hurt, damn it. “I’ve always been a ‘don’t poke me and I won’t poke you’ kind of guy. But if someone crosses me, I pull them up by the roots. Apologize nicely, and I might consider going easy on you. Tsk, or maybe if you become my girlfriend, I might just let it slide.”

Shu Ziyu wore the grin of someone about to get his revenge. He assumed the strike in the classroom only landed because he wasn’t prepared. This kid looked frail and weak—how strong could her “decorative” martial arts really be? He had underestimated the enemy in the classroom; now that he was serious, he was determined to beat her into submission.

Besides, the Yin family didn’t value this daughter much anyway. They certainly wouldn’t start a feud with the Shu family over her. Heh, just a stepdaughter. If even her own family didn’t care, didn’t that mean she was fair game? What right did she have to resist?

“Hey, where’s the apology?” The boy raised an eyebrow, his tone threatening.

Yu Xinyue looked down. A black piano key had bounced a few times on the floor and come to a stop in the corner. Her eyes fixed on the piano. Shu Ziyu’s strike had carried a lot of force, smashing several keys in the bass register. The black keys had flown off under the impact, leaving a gray scar behind.

She touched the gray wound, her heart aching for the instrument, and her gaze turned instantly cold. Her lips pressed into a tight, hard line, radiating a chilling intent to kill.