After Marrying the Cold and Elegant Beauty, I Fell in Love (GL) - Chapter 24.1

Shi Nianxue’s exquisite doll-like face was currently twisted in a frown. She grabbed Han Shuangshuang’s hand and led her toward the second floor, pushing her into a room and slamming the door shut behind them.

“Didn’t you say you knew the way home? How can you know the way but not remember which room is yours? Do you have to be so eager to throw yourself at Shen Yuru and lose face in front of the Shen family?”

Han Shuangshuang didn’t know where Shi Nianxue’s explosive temper came from, flare up at her the moment they met.

Han Shuangshuang was usually kind and always smiling.

But facing Shi Nianxue, her body instinctively surged with anger, as if she had to go against her no matter what.

Han Shuangshuang felt uncomfortable all over; a rebellious urge clawed at her heart, making her want to pick a fight. “I’ve told you, don’t mind me. Who I like and who I want to be around has nothing to do with you. You chose to go abroad back then, which meant you gave up on me. Why are you acting so hypocritical now?”

At the mention of “going abroad,” Han Shuangshuang paused as a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her rushed into her mind.

[System: Friendly reminder to the Host: This is the plot between the original host and Shi Nianxue. Please receive it.]

Segments flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern; she wasn’t influenced by the memories, but rather felt like she was watching a movie.

The original host’s father had been fooling around with a mistress long ago, but the host’s mother was still alive then, though in poor health.

The mother had adopted Shi Nianxue from an orphanage to give the host a companion. But after the mother died and the father remarried the mistress, life became increasingly difficult for the host.

The host placed her hope in Shi Nianxue, but Shi Nianxue chose to side with the father and mistress, taking the father’s money to study abroad and disappearing without a word.

Until recently, she suddenly reappeared on campus, saying she had returned as an exchange student in her sophomore year at the same university.

Han Shuangshuang sighed. No wonder the host’s body instinctively rejected Shi Nianxue. For the high-school-aged host, Shi Nianxue was her only emotional pillar, the last straw.

Yet, at that time, Shi Nianxue had abandoned her without mercy.

With no one to rely on, the host was bullied by her stepmother and stepsister, and as rumors of her bad reputation spread, she became more rebellious, leading to her tragic end.

Shi Nianxue looked at Han Shuangshuang with an expression of “failing to meet expectations.” “When will you grow up? You’re already in university; you can change your own destiny. Why are you still fooling around? Do you think Auntie’s spirit in heaven will be at peace seeing you like this?”

Knowing the history between them, Han Shuangshuang felt Shi Nianxue had even less right to criticize her.

“By status, you are just a child my mother adopted; we have no blood relation, so you aren’t really my sister. By sentiment, when I was at my lowest and darkest, you abandoned me for a better life. You have no right to boss me around now.”

Shi Nianxue sighed and softened her tone, attempting to be persuasive. “You’re always clinging to the past. Auntie has passed away, and Uncle has a new life. Why can’t you accept it? Look at your room—it’s brand new. No one is mistreating you. Why can’t you look on the bright side?”

Han Shuangshuang looked where Shi Nianxue pointed. Indeed, the room was decorated with a “princess” theme—pink walls, pink curtains, even a pink mosquito net over the bed.

The room was spotless, with plush carpets in the corner and cartoon dolls placed on them.

It was very large, with a private bathroom and a walk-in closet filled with various clothes. There were even expensive cosmetics neatly arranged on the vanity.

But Han Shuangshuang suddenly let out a self-mocking laugh.

If she hadn’t lived under someone else’s roof in her original world, she might not have seen through it.

Because this room was a display of the stepmother’s total hypocrisy and facade.

Han Shuangshuang looked at Shi Nianxue with a look of pity. “I used to think that even if no one else believed in me, you would. But I didn’t expect you to be just as stupid and ignorant as the rest of them.”

She channeled the host’s emotions, her voice calm and devoid of ups and downs, as if the pain was ancient history.

To her, she was an outsider who found it all laughable. “This room is indeed nice, but don’t you think… it’s missing something? It’s missing any trace of my life. The tissue box on the nightstand was just opened; the first sheet is sitting there, unused. Those cosmetics are brand new, only the packaging is removed. The clothes in the closet aren’t my style at all—they’re just Han Ruhua’s old clothes stuffed in there for show. The room is clean, but the plunger next to the toilet is covered in dust. If you looked closer, you’d see the tags on the bedding haven’t even been removed. She’s just putting on a show for all of you, and every one of you believed it. Everyone tells me my life is good enough and I should be grateful for such treatment from a stepmother. But who remembers this woman was a mistress who moved up? Everything she has belonged to me and my mother—even the business my father built was originally my mother’s. They stole what was hers and are now acting sanctimonious. And you, you’re a beneficiary of all this, yet you turn around to criticize me, the one who lost everything. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Han Shuangshuang spoke a long string of words, something she rarely did.

Shi Nianxue stared at Han Shuangshuang’s distant eyes, stunned. She looked shocked, as if she had never considered that this was how Han Shuangshuang felt.

She believed she was doing everything for Han Shuangshuang’s sake.

Years ago, they were too young. She knew Han Shuangshuang was unhappy, but she also knew then that she couldn’t bring about any change or protect her.

So she had to endure. She wanted to teach Han Shuangshuang to endure too, telling her that if she could bear it for a while, better days would come.

That’s why she chose to study abroad—to grow as fast as possible so she could give Han Shuangshuang a good life or at least help her escape this family.

But she didn’t expect that in three years, Han Shuangshuang would change so much.

Han Shuangshuang used to be so dependent on her, following her around calling her “Xue-xue.” She tried to make her call her “Sister,” but Han Shuangshuang never would, saying sisters couldn’t be together.

She used to treat Han Shuangshuang like a child, pampering her as a younger sister.

But after going abroad, she realized how much she missed her and understood her true feelings.

When she returned and went to the Han house, Han Shuangshuang wasn’t home. After finishing her enrollment and going to campus, she saw Han Shuangshuang with Shen Yuru, and the rumors were everywhere.

Her remaining logic crumbled. Miss and jealousy merged; she just wanted Han Shuangshuang back by her side like before.

But a grown child cannot be controlled; the tighter she tried to grip, the further she pushed her away.

“Shuangshuang…” Shi Nianxue’s throat felt dry. So much had happened in three years. She wanted to explain everything, but didn’t know where to start. All her words were stuck in her throat.

When she was abroad, she did nothing but study and miss Han Shuangshuang. She didn’t dare spend much money because she wanted to save for their future together.

Every morning when she woke up without her, she would go outside and look at the sky, wondering if Han Shuangshuang was also looking up and missing her. Only then could her lonely and restless emotions find some peace.

Han Shuangshuang sighed. After that long vent, the host’s emotions were finally released. She could now face Shi Nianxue rationally. “Forget it. It’s all in the past. There’s no use saying this to you. I have a new life now.”

At the mention of a “new life,” Shi Nianxue’s head spun as if something had exploded.

Her eyes turned red as she grabbed Han Shuangshuang’s wrist forcefully. “What new life? Being with Shen Yuru? Her parents are dead; she’s a puppet. What kind of good life can you have with her?”

Han Shuangshuang frowned. She didn’t like people slandering Shen Yuru.

“What happens between me and Shen Yuru is our business. Three years ago, we cut ties. Three years later, you have no right to interfere. Don’t boss us around, and I don’t want to hear you slander Sister Shen again.”

Han Shuangshuang didn’t want to be entangled with Shi Nianxue anymore; she wanted to check on Shen Yuru.

Even Shi Nianxue, who had been gone for three years, knew Shen Yuru was a puppet.

One could imagine how much Shen Yuru was walking on thin ice.

She couldn’t let her departure increase the Blackening Value.

As Han Shuangshuang tried to open the door, Shi Nianxue instinctively tried to block her but failed.

She remembered why she had sought her out.

After the incident with Han Ruhua, the father was furious, and the stepmother was looking for Han Shuangshuang to blame everything on her.

Today’s banquet was meant for the stepmother to make Han Shuangshuang appear.

She had sought her out to tell her to hide and stay out of sight.

But before she could speak, Han Shuangshuang had vanished from her view.

The Han house was a detached villa with a large garden.

Many servants were busy preparing food for the banquet.

Shen Yuru was still sitting in the room where the Shen family was being hosted.

After Han Shuangshuang left, the Shen relatives began to talk amongst themselves with underlying sarcasm.

“Yuru is quite capable, making friends with the Han daughter at school. Though I’ve heard this Han Shuangshuang’s character isn’t great…”

The sharp female voice belonged to Shen Yuru’s eldest aunt.

Her eyes held a mean, mocking glint. A person from a rural background who suddenly came into money—the tackiest kind of nouveau riche, because the money wasn’t earned through her own effort.

“Yes, the Han family’s status in the business circle is significant now. If we can secure a partnership, our Shen family’s status will rise. A year’s profit could be tens of millions.”

The second uncle chimed in.

The company Shen Yuru’s parents had painstakingly built was weakening because these relatives didn’t know how to manage it, but a “starved camel is still bigger than a horse,” and they could barely maintain it.

Moreover, since entering university, Shen Yuru had been quietly reaching into the company. One day, she would take back the management rights.

“Since Han Shuangshuang likes our Yuru so much, it would be great if the Han and Shen families could have an engagement.”