How to Make My Villainous Omega Stepsister Turn Over a New Leaf - Chapter 2

The faint rustling stopped, meaning Zhu Letao had finished the biscuits.

Yet she still did not say a word. She merely stared at Ye Chengji with that cold, emotionless gaze that sent a chill down one’s spine.

The sheer weight of her presence made Ye Chengji, who had originally planned to lie down and take an afternoon nap, feel irritated.

She could not tell whether it was because she was wary of being ambushed by the villain while defenseless in her sleep, or because her pride as a self-proclaimed mature adult did not want the newly arrived brat to think she spent all day doing nothing.

In any case, Ye Chengji sat down at the room’s only desk and chair and theatrically pulled her mathematics textbook from her schoolbag.

After staring at a page full of unfamiliar material for a short while, she quickly lost interest. Taking advantage of the fact that Zhu Letao could not see her face, she secretly glanced to the side and began zoning out while staring at a pig’s head that some unknown previous owner had carved into the surface of the secondhand desk she had scavenged from a junkyard.

Her mental laziness did not interfere with her physical performance. From behind, she genuinely looked as though she were holding her pen seriously, occasionally making a few marks as she pretended to study diligently.

“Are your grades good?”

Zhu Letao suddenly spoke.

Ye Chengji looked up and saw that the girl had somehow moved from the floor to her newly claimed territory. She was sitting on the freshly made bed with her knees hugged to her chest, one hand tightly gripping the ear of her rabbit doll.

Her posture was peculiar. Her entire body was curled into a tiny ball, her chin resting on her knees, with only her eyes visible above her folded arms.

Most of her face was hidden, leaving only a pair of dark, bottomless eyes.

However, because Zhu Letao’s features were excessively delicate, even such a strange posture gave her an eerie, gothic sort of beauty.

Creepy.

That was Ye Chengji’s only thought.

“Of course.”

Although she had placed near the bottom of the class in her last exam, that did not stop Ye Chengji from boasting in front of a child who knew nothing about her.

She had moved several times in the past. Being raised in a single-parent household with a mother like Zhang Lan naturally made it difficult to fit into a new environment.

However, those experiences had not only honed her fighting skills but had also gradually helped her develop a personal set of survival rules.

When a stranger invaded your territory, you had to strike first and display strength in every possible way so they would not look down on you.

Showing weakness was the worst possible option.

Even if she had to injure herself in the process, she would still tear off a piece of flesh from the other person and make sure they remembered the lesson of provoking her.

But Zhu Letao was not only physically frail, she was also younger.

If Ye Chengji fought her, it could not even be called a fight. It would simply be one-sided bullying, and Ye Chengji disdained such underhanded behavior.

Strength, however, was not limited to physical force.

She could also display her intelligence and status.

In other words, as long as she maintained the impression that she was a top student, this childhood villain would surely look at her with admiration.

Ye Chengji thought this without the slightest trace of guilt.

She was a mature person about to enter middle school. Fooling a third-grade brat should be effortless.

Unfortunately, Zhu Letao shattered her lie in the very next second.

“But I saw the score on your test paper just now. It was only thirty. Why? The full score should be one hundred, right?”

Zhu Letao stared at her.

Unlike the emptiness from before, there was now a faint hint of mockery in her eyes.

Ye Chengji fell silent for several seconds as her mind raced.

In the end, all she managed to say stiffly was, “You must have seen it wrong.”

Upon hearing that, a trace of a smile finally appeared on Zhu Letao’s expressionless face.

It was very obviously a mocking smile.

The atmosphere in the room immediately sank into even deeper awkwardness.

Ye Chengji turned back toward the page of problems she did not understand.

The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became, her embarrassment mixed with anger.

She could not stand it anymore!

Why could she not do whatever she wanted in her own home? Why did she have to care what some newly arrived brat thought of her?

The angrier Ye Chengji became, the more worked up she felt.

She abruptly stood, pulled a dusty piece of cloth from beneath the wardrobe, then used an old clothes hanger as a makeshift frame and hung the cloth between their beds.

It barely covered most of the beds, dividing the room into two separate spaces.

The fabric itself was very thin, so vague silhouettes could still be seen through it. But that did not matter.

Ye Chengji only wanted to make her position clear: she and Zhu Letao were not to disturb each other.

Once she firmly decided to treat this future villain as though she did not exist, the last of Ye Chengji’s discomfort quickly disappeared.

Zhu Letao merely watched her work the entire time.

She did not speak again or show any curiosity. She simply sat quietly on the bed like a rag doll.

After dividing their territory, Ye Chengji finally felt comfortable.

Then she became hungry.

Thinking of the last few biscuits Zhu Letao had eaten, Ye Chengji felt the heartache of throwing a meat bun at a dog and getting nothing in return.

Still, Zhang Lan was busy fooling around with the man, so this was the perfect opportunity to go out and buy some snacks.

Using the motion of picking up her schoolbag to block Zhu Letao’s view, Ye Chengji reached into the side of her mattress and pulled out several small-denomination bills.

One could never be too careful.

Although the child appeared quiet and obedient, Ye Chengji would not lower her guard.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual about the mattress. But if one felt it carefully, there was a slit cut into the side.

Ye Chengji had hollowed out part of the interior and used it to store the money she usually saved.

Most of it consisted of one- and five-yuan notes, along with a few scattered coins.

Naturally, Zhang Lan would never give her pocket money. Ye Chengji had earned it all herself.

As for how she earned it, half came from selling recyclable waste and occasionally scavenging valuable items from the junkyard.

The other half came from the voluntary tribute offered by her little followers…

Ahem.

Leading a group of idiots and weaklings as their boss was very hard work.

Of course, a clever rabbit had three burrows.

To be safe, she had several other secret hiding places. The money inside the mattress was the smallest stash, so even if Zhang Lan discovered it at home, it would not matter much.

Leaving the cramped, sweltering room and getting away from that strange child who constantly stared at her with large, dark eyes without speaking, Ye Chengji’s embarrassment vanished completely.

The whole world suddenly seemed bright and open.

Even the blazing sunlight that made it difficult to open her eyes appeared warm and friendly.

Ye Chengji quickly passed through the alley and headed toward the old street.

Several children were playing marbles in the distance, the glass beads producing crisp sounds as they collided.

That immediately reminded Ye Chengji of Zhu Letao’s eyes.

She suddenly felt as though the girl’s ghost were haunting her and rubbed her arms before quickening her pace.

The small shop Ye Chengji often visited was located in a somewhat remote spot.

Precisely because of this, it stocked some items slightly cheaper than the supermarket to attract customers.

Ye Chengji familiarly greeted the hard-of-hearing old woman sunbathing by the entrance, then went inside and picked out several packets of cheap but filling crispy noodles and some fruit candies.

If she rationed them carefully, they would last a long time. She planned to store them in her room and slowly eat them.

She had developed this habit because, when she was younger, Zhang Lan had once become so caught up in having fun outside that she completely forgot she had a child at home and did not return for more than a week.

At the time, Ye Chengji had not yet started elementary school and was still shy and afraid of strangers.

After eating all the food in the house, she survived by drinking water and waited another two days for Zhang Lan to return.

In the end, she finally gathered the courage to go outside and knock on a neighbor’s door.

That was the only reason she had not starved to death.

After that incident, Ye Chengji understood that she could rely only on herself.

It was also from that day onward that she overcame her timid, introverted nature and began hoarding food in her room.

Ye Chengji stopped in front of a small section containing more delicately packaged and expensive snacks.

After hesitating and considering for a long time, she finally picked up a box of cheese biscuits and a small bag of milk candies.

“Boss, I’m ready to pay!”

The shop owner was the daughter of the old woman sunbathing outside.

She was warm and cheerful, and whenever Ye Chengji came to pay, she often gave her extra snacks or asked her to sample new products.

This time was no exception.

The shop owner, whose hair had been styled in fashionable curls, slipped an enormous lollipop as large as Ye Chengji’s palm into her schoolbag.

She also reminded her to brush her teeth properly after eating it.

Ye Chengji sincerely thanked the shop owner for her generous gift.

Wearing a solemn expression, she slung the schoolbag over her shoulders and walked outside.

Before leaving, she did not forget to wave goodbye to the old woman at the entrance.

One should finish what one started.

However, after receiving such an enormous lollipop, Ye Chengji could not entirely suppress her happiness.

As she walked away, she secretly bounced twice.

Her little-adult act of forced maturity had already amused the shop owner. After seeing those two cheerful hops, the woman collapsed over the counter, laughing so hard she could not make a sound.

Unfortunately, Ye Chengji, who believed her manners that day had been perfect and beyond criticism, never looked back.

She therefore had no idea that her undignified display had been witnessed in full.

By the time Ye Chengji returned home with her heavier schoolbag, the two adults who had claimed they were going to unpack were still inside the bedroom.

From time to time, Zhang Lan’s slightly shrill laughter could be heard, just as Ye Chengji had expected.

Only the child remained outside.

She should be easy to fool…

Forget it. If she was caught, Ye Chengji could simply share a little of the cheap orange candy with her.

In a good mood, Ye Chengji opened the bedroom door.

Ignoring the girl who remained in exactly the same posture as before she had left, she placed her schoolbag on the chair beside her bed and reached into the mattress to return the leftover change.

The moment she touched it, however, she sensed that something was wrong.

Empty.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The dozen or so yuan that should have remained inside the mattress were gone.

Refusing to believe it, she felt around again.

It was definitely empty.

How strange.

She was certain she had not taken all the money before leaving. Every amount she spent had been carefully calculated.

Even if she added together the money she had spent on snacks and the change she had brought back, the total still did not match.

Although her school grades were terrible, Ye Chengji was extremely sensitive when it came to numbers.

She was certain she could not have miscalculated.

Ye Chengji abruptly looked toward the small silhouette visible through the cloth curtain.

Could it have been Zhu Letao?

She pulled aside the curtain she had only just installed and looked toward the little villain sitting innocently and blankly on the bed.

“What is it?”

Ye Chengji looked at the dress Zhu Letao was wearing, which could not possibly conceal anything, and then at the empty bed.

She could not help frowning.

The more innocent Zhu Letao appeared, the more suspicious Ye Chengji became.

“Get down.”

Zhu Letao tilted her head as though confused.

Seeing Ye Chengji’s faintly anxious appearance, she happily curved her lips.

The gloomy expression from before disappeared at once, and she became unusually talkative.

“Why do you want me to get down? Don’t you want me sleeping on the bed? Is it because I stole your home?”

Ye Chengji immediately understood that her missing money had to be connected to this brat, who had failed to completely conceal the smugness in her eyes and brows.

Once she confirmed it, Ye Chengji did not indulge her in the slightest.

She grabbed Zhu Letao by the arm, lifted her, and tossed her onto the floor.

She thoroughly searched the pillow and bed, feeling through every place where something might be hidden.

She even checked the gap between the bed and the wall.

In the end, she found nothing.

“That hurt! You’re horrible! What did I do wrong? Why are you bullying me like this?”

The brat began pretending to cry.

Her pitiful sobbing was surprisingly convincing.

Ye Chengji noticed the rabbit doll Zhu Letao had tightly clutched in her hand without letting go for even a moment.

Her eyebrow suddenly rose as a suspicion formed in her mind.

With one swift pull, she snatched the rabbit from the unprepared Zhu Letao.

She opened the zipper on the doll’s back.

Sure enough, apart from the fluffy white stuffing, there was also a dented metal box inside.

“That’s mine! Give it back!”

Ignoring the little villain’s instantly transformed expression, piercing screams, and frantic attempts to snatch it back, Ye Chengji opened the metal box.

Inside were several pretty, sparkling stones, colorful hair ties, a dried and oxidized flower, several coins…

And Ye Chengji’s missing money.

The moment Ye Chengji saw the inconspicuous pencil marks she had drawn on the corners of the bills, she knew for certain they were hers.

But before she could beat the thief who had stolen her money, the world before her eyes suddenly distorted.

Then it began spinning counterclockwise.

It felt like riding a long-distance bus filled with the smells of gasoline and dust.

A wave of intense dizziness and nausea struck her.

In the final instant before everything turned black, Ye Chengji saw Zhu Letao staring at the metal box in her hand.

For the first time, the girl displayed anger and panic.

Ignoring the difference in their size and strength, she charged forward recklessly and sank the hardest and most dangerous weapon on her body—her teeth—into Ye Chengji’s hand.

Those beautiful, large black eyes remained fixed fiercely on her.

Her pupils gleamed with intense fury and hatred.

Yet deeper within those eyes was a complete indifference toward life.

It was an innocent cruelty suspended somewhere between that of an ignorant child and a wild beast, containing a viciousness and faint murderous intent that would make most people’s hearts tremble and instinctively retreat.

Ye Chengji, however, was not one of those people.

Her only thought was that once the motion sickness passed, she was going to beat this brat senseless.

Villain or monster, it did not matter.

She had dared to steal from Ye Chengji.

If Ye Chengji did not spank the brat’s bottom until it swelled up like a peach, then every fight she had fought over the years would have been for nothing!