A Real Heiress Quits (GL) - Chapter 9

The Yin family lived in a suburban villa district.

Deep into the night, the lights in the courtyard were still on. An elderly woman sat in a rattan chair by the door, her head nodding—she had likely fallen asleep while waiting for Yu Xinyue and the others to return.

Yin Hongfei signaled for the girls to move quietly so as not to wake Aunt Xu.

Aunt Xu had been with the Yin family for over twenty years, caring for two generations. She treated the children as if they were her own and was considered half a member of the Yin family.

Yu Xinyue slowed her pace, silently took off her shawl, and draped it over Aunt Xu.

Watching this, Yin Hongfei suddenly felt that since he had picked the girl up from The Violet, she seemed to have grown up a lot. It was as if she had matured into an adult in a single instant.

Yu Xinyue’s movements were very light, but Aunt Xu, whose heart was heavy with worry for them, was a light sleeper and woke up immediately. She rubbed her eyes. “Hongfei, you’re back.”

Yin Hongfei nodded. “Mhm.”

“Where’s Xinyue?”

Before Yin Hongfei could speak, Yin Jianghan lunged into Aunt Xu’s arms, acting spoiled. “Aunt Xu, why were you sleeping out here? It’s so cold.”

Aunt Xu laughed heartily. “It’s not cold, not cold. Jianghan has grown up; she knows how to worry about my old bones now.”

Yu Xinyue observed the scene from the side. Just like in her past life, she seemed like an outsider, someone who could never truly integrate into the Yin family. But her state of mind was different now. Today, she didn’t care, and she certainly wouldn’t lower herself into the dust just to accommodate others.

In Jianghan clung to Aunt Xu’s arm. “Of course! Aunt Xu is so good to me, I wouldn’t want you to worry!”

On the surface, it sounded like a sweet remark, but it was a hidden jab at Yu Xinyue for constantly causing trouble for everyone. Aunt Xu just laughed it off. No matter how excessive their words were, the elders would only ever see them as the temperamental talk of an ignorant young girl.

“Is Xinyue back?”

Yin Hongfei massaged his temples. “Isn’t she standing right next to you?”

Aunt Xu turned her head, and when she saw the girl standing quietly to the side, she froze on the spot. She blinked once, then rubbed her eyes again.

“Xin… Xinyue?”

Yu Xinyue stood in the dim light. Her long black dress made her skin appear white as snow. She smiled and nodded. “Aunt Xu, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Aunt Xu gently pushed Yin Jianghan aside and stared blankly at Yu Xinyue, tears shimmering in her cloudy old eyes.

“So similar,” she said to Yin Hongfei. “Hongfei, look. Xinyue looks so much like your elder sister.”

With one look, she recognized her as biological.

Aunt Xu had never felt this way before. The young girl brought back from the countryside had always been timid, like a skittish little mouse that would be frightened by the slightest noise. Furthermore, her taste was poor; she dressed tackily, wasting her own stunning beauty.

But the change in the girl under the lamp was obvious. She was poised, her temperament extraordinary, and she was radiant. Suddenly, she overlapped perfectly with the image of the Yin family’s eldest daughter in Aunt Xu’s memory. The young lady she had raised with her own hands was once just as noble, beautiful, and gentle.

“She really is biological. The resemblance is too strong.” Aunt Xu wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. “It’s as if the Eldest Miss has come back to life and is standing right in front of me.”

While the speaker was casual, the listener was not. Yin Jianghan’s face darkened instantly. This sentence poked exactly at her sore spot.

Yu Xinyue didn’t need to curry favor, didn’t need to act spoiled, and didn’t even need to say a word. She only needed to wash her face and stand there to serve as a constant reminder to Yin Jianghan of who the real heiress of the Yin family was.

In Jianghan bit her lip, her expression twisting slightly. In her eyes, the smile on Yu Xinyue’s face was hypocritical and mocking, as if she were scoffing at In Jianghan’s overestimation of her own strength.

Impossible! This country bumpkin was clearly under my thumb. How did she suddenly become a different person? It must be an illusion, In Jianghan thought. She believed that as long as she continued as before—instigating the girl to do a few stupid things—she could make everyone hate her again.

Everything was still under her control.

Since both girls had tutoring the next day, Yin Hongfei urged them to wash up and go to sleep while Aunt Xu went to the kitchen to warm some milk.

The living room felt exceptionally empty; a sudden gap had appeared in the center. The place where the piano used to be was now vacant.

Yu Xinyue remembered why she had quarreled with Yin Hongfei. She had loved music since she was a child and could sit by a piano all day without feeling bored. One could say music had saved her, allowing her to escape a suffocating life and fly into a different sky of freedom. To her, music possessed an immense charm. It was her soul, her dream, and her hope.

But to others, music was merely a pastime for after-tea conversation. If one wanted to make a living from it, it was seen as “not doing proper work.”

Thus, the conflict was born. She wanted to apply for the Middle School Affiliated with the Qingying Academy of Music, aiming for direct admission into Qingying—the top music conservatory in the country. But the Yin family wanted her to attend a regular high school, study finance or management after the college entrance exam, and help manage the family business.

To cut off her ambitions, Yin Hongfei had given away the household piano. The only piece of “pure land” Yu Xinyue had in this house had been tossed away casually. That was what led to her running away from home.

In the past, Yu Xinyue had felt indignant. She only wanted to pursue her dream and live the life she liked; she wasn’t bothering anyone. Why was she mocked, despised, and blocked? Meanwhile, Yin Jianghan could do whatever she wanted—debuting, singing, and coming back to play the rich heiress whenever she got bored. Yin Jianghan was clearly less talented than her, yet everyone catered to her. Why?

The current Yu Xinyue still didn’t understand. Perhaps, as Yan Ji said, to the Yin family, she was just a tool for making money.

Yin Hongfei saw the girl standing dazed at the spot where the piano used to be. His eyes darkened, assuming she was going to start another fight. Children in their rebellious phase are a headache—selfish, with no regard for the adults’ hard work.

Just as he was about to scold her, the girl let out a soft sigh and turned toward the second floor. Her sudden sensibility left him somewhat bewildered. Had the kid finally seen reason? At this moment, it was Yin Hongfei who couldn’t figure things out.

Yu Xinyue’s bedroom was on the second floor. She locked the door and sat at her desk, which held a spread-out copy of Junior High Mathematics.

Her schoolbag was filled with a thick stack of books—all third-year textbooks and supplementary materials. Every book was carefully covered in book jackets, appearing colorful and gaudy at first glance. Looking at the flashy “Pretty Girl” covers, she had to admit her taste twenty years ago was indeed not very good.

Yu Xinyue took a deep breath, resisting the urge to tear the covers off. What’s wrong with being flashy? This is youth! she thought sentimentally, stroking the math textbook.

Those years of writing furiously, the silhouette of working hard for the future, the dense notes in the notebooks, the carefully wrapped covers… these were all traces of youth, droplets of memory to be cherished in the future…

Drop.

A sheet of musical staff paper tucked inside fell lightly to the floor. Yu Xinyue leaned down to pick it up, only to see a flash of snowy white inside the book. Flipping through a few pages, she discovered that her textbooks—both inside and out—were exceptionally clean.

Forget notes; there wasn’t even a single underlined key point.

Yu Xinyue: “…” Truly, I haven’t changed.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.