Returning to the Villain Omega's High School Days - Chapter 20

The dinner was Western-style.

In front of each seat was a set of tableware, including a knife and a fork.

When Su Wan reached for hers, a crowd of eyes focused on her, as if they were all waiting to see her make a mistake.

Fang Manman stifled a laugh.

Seeing that Su Wan wasn’t moving, she leaned over and whispered to Su Xingheng:

“Cousin, is she really your sister? She looks so clumsy!”

Su Xingheng chuckled, looking indifferent.

As he cut his steak, he leaned down and said to Fang Manman, “Quiet down. Don’t let her hear you.”

They were far apart.

Although Su Wan couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could guess.

She picked up her knife and fork, hesitating to begin.

Next to her, Xie Ning said, “The taste is average.”

That nonchalant attitude made Su Wan suddenly realize that this was just an ordinary family dinner.

There was no need to be so nervous.

Only a few people wanted to see her make a fool of herself.

The others didn’t pay much attention to her, and Xie Ning didn’t even watch how she held her utensils.

She had lived with the Su family for a while and had eaten Western food for a few days.

She knew how to use a knife and fork; she just wasn’t very good at cutting steak.

Xie Ning spoke to her, and she nodded in response.

She used her fork to twirl the noodles and put them in her mouth.

She was slightly stunned.

Weren’t these quite delicious?

Xie Ning was just being pretentious.

Or rather, her own taste was worlds apart from Xie Ning’s.

Su Wan remained silent.

The group on the opposite side was much more lively.

Fang Manman saw that Su Xingheng had finished cutting a piece of steak and immediately said, “Cousin, I want your piece!”

“Don’t you know how to cut it yourself?” Su Jin laughed at her.

“Why do you have to have someone else’s?”

“I just want the piece my cousin cut!” Fang Manman pouted.

“I want to eat that one piece!”

She was young, and the adults didn’t mind her fuss.

Fang’s mother even said, “Manman, I can cut it for you, too.”

“No, I want my cousin’s, ah—” she said.

Halfway through her sentence, Su Xingheng had already put the beef into her mouth with his fork.

“You’re a handful,” Su Xingheng said, stroking her head.

“You really don’t make things easy.”

Although Fang Manman was criticized, her heart was blooming with joy.

Su Jin, on Su Xingheng’s left, was unhappy.

She used her quietest voice to call Fang Manman a “little vixen.”

“She’s only seven years old. How can you call her a little vixen?” Xie Qingliu said out of nowhere.

Suddenly, everyone’s attention turned to him.

Fang Songsong was sitting to Su Jin’s left, and Xie Qingliu was next to Fang Songsong.

No one expected his ears to be so sharp that he could hear Su Jin’s quiet complaint from a seat away.

And that he would actually say it out loud in front of everyone.

Instantly, Su Jin’s face turned pale.

“Who was that? Who said that about her?” Jiang Qin asked, playing dumb after her son’s remark.

Xie Qingliu shook his head, refusing to say anything.

He had always been the well-behaved one.

He was not the kind of person who liked to cause trouble.

Moreover, on an occasion like this, he was just a little brother there to watch the fun.

It was even more unlikely for him to speak recklessly or stir things up.

So once he said something, it drew everyone’s attention.

The person involved, Fang Manman, still looked innocent.

Only she fit the description of “seven years old,” so everyone was observing her.

Feeling the malice, Fang’s mother put down her fork unhappily and frowned at Su Jin.

“Xiao Jin, did you just say something?”

“No,” Su Jin swallowed.

“I didn’t say anything…”

“Even if she did say something, it was just a joke,” Su Xingheng said.

“Auntie, why do you care about something like that?”

Fang’s mother’s face was stern.

Su’s father, Su Yuanfu, said, “Xingheng, even if it’s a joke, you can’t joke with Manman like that. Do you hear me?”

This “Do you hear me?” seemed to be directed at Su Jin.

Su Jin felt a pang of guilt.

Su Xingheng took the blame for her and apologized, “I know I was wrong. I’ll never joke with Manman like that again. Manman, I’m sorry.”

Fang Manman grinned.

“It’s okay! I forgive you!”

The girl was playfully adorable, making everyone laugh.

Su Jin was startled but relieved.

She reached her hand under the table to touch Su Xingheng, placing it on his thigh.

Su Xingheng put down his fork and held her hand.

Xie Ning watched this circus of human emotions, filled with delight.

Xie Qingliu was trying to catch her eye, seeking credit.

Xie Ning knew her brother was a ruthless character.

Before they came, she had told him to pay attention to who was on which side.

She hadn’t expected him to immediately figure out who Xie Ning wanted to protect.

Besides the main courses of steak and noodles, the other dishes were served on a rotating platter, and everyone took turns serving themselves.

Su Yuanfu showed courtesy to the Xie family guests.

Xie Minxian loved to drink and poured himself one glass after another.

Jiang Qin watched from the side and didn’t stop him.

Xie Ning was far away.

She frowned deeply but didn’t say a word.

Seeing the old man so alive and kicking after twenty years, she felt very complicated.

She had thought that taking care of him in his old age in her previous life was fulfilling her filial duty and that she no longer owed him anything.

But in this life, she had to watch the old man ruin his health all over again.

Oh well.

He was still years away from having a stroke.

She would let him do as he pleased and deal with it in a couple of years.

The dishes on the platter rotated to Xie Ning and Su Wan.

Su Wan reached out to get some food, but someone suddenly turned the platter with force.

Su Wan almost dropped the dish.

Luckily, her hand was very steady.

She managed to grab the food without spilling a single drop of sauce.

It was just one slice of white mushroom, but it was enough.

Just as Su Wan was about to put the serving utensil down, the dish on the platter came back toward her in the reverse direction.

Her first reaction was to look at Xie Ning.

Sure enough, Xie Ning had her hand on the platter and made a gentlemanly “please” gesture.

Su Wan’s lips moved slightly.

She continued to get food, her demeanor not impolite in any way.

At that moment, Su Yuanfu asked her, “Su Wan, are you used to the food here?”

“Yes,” Su Wan nodded, but didn’t say anything more.

The second and third courses were served.

Su Yuanfu only then remembered to introduce Su Wan to everyone.

He picked up his glass and said, “Today, the main reason you’re all here at my humble home is to welcome a new member of our Su family, Su Wan—”

Everyone applauded.

Su Wan stood up slightly and bowed to everyone.

When she sat down, Xie Ning picked up a bottle of red wine and poured a small amount into her glass.

Su Wan had never had alcohol before and naturally didn’t want to drink it, so she reached out to stop her.

Xie Ning naturally held her fingertips and smiled at her.

“Just a little bit.”

Her middle and ring fingers were held.

Su Wan froze for a moment, as if Xie Ning had touched a place deep in her heart.

Undoubtedly, Xie Ning was born with a face that could bewitch all living things.

Anyone who looked at her would be “confused.”

She stayed silent, waiting for Xie Ning to let go.

Only then did she slowly move her hand to the wine glass.

Su Yuanfu was still speaking.

He simply explained Su Wan’s situation, but he emphasized that even though Su Jin was not their blood, the Su family would still treat her as their own daughter.

“Uncle is so generous,” Xie Ning said.

“If it were anyone else, they would have sent the child they took in by mistake back.”

Xie Minxian, his face flushed from drinking, leaned against the back of his chair and laughed.

“A Ning, if you had raised a child for sixteen years, would you just send her away like that?”

“If you find a mistake, you should correct it immediately,” Xie Ning said without changing her expression.

“I just want to ask, don’t Su Jin’s biological parents want her back?”

This question made everyone at the table uncomfortable.

For a moment, Xie Minxian didn’t know how to answer.

He just laughed and said, “Good question, but no more questions.”

Xie Ning knew this family was a lost cause.

Maybe only Fang Lingyu was a little better.

After all, she was Su Wan’s biological mother.

A child was stolen from her by someone with bad intentions, and she had raised someone else’s child for so many years without knowing it.

And now she was being morally blackmailed.

They would tell her things like, “Even though Su Jin isn’t your biological daughter, she’s like your own,” and “You’ve raised her for so many years, how could you abandon her?”

She was an indecisive woman.

She couldn’t even see the harm that had been done to her and was blindly making excuses for the perpetrator.

Xie Ning observed her expression.

She saw Fang Lingyu frowning deeply, not even looking up at the person across from her, who was Su Jin.

Su Jin’s face was extremely pale.

Every single word Xie Ning said hit a nerve.

It was a complete humiliation in front of everyone!

She had never experienced such a humiliation in her life.

It was outrageous and too much to bear!

Although… her brother had repeatedly said that Xie Ning wasn’t a bad person, how could she stand this kind of humiliation?

What kind of person would ask, “Why don’t you send Su Jin away?” over and over again in front of so many adults?

It was simply outrageous and overbearing!

Su Jin’s eyes welled up with tears.

Her fists were clenched, and she clutched her dress.

She had perfected the look of being wronged.

Her loving mother and her brother would surely feel heartbroken just by looking at her.

Her tears fell onto the back of her hand, and then a cheer erupted.

“Wow!” Fang Manman yelled.

“Cake! I want to eat cake!”

Fang Songsong also stood up and started to clap and scream.

What they saw was a French chef pushing in a small cart with a beautiful five-tiered cake on it.

The top layer of the cake had candles on it and said, “Welcome Home, Su Wan.”

The cart came to a stop in front of Su Wan.

Su Wan was flustered and at a loss.

She stood up.

The chef took a paper crown and placed it on Su Wan’s head.

Xie Ning led the applause, and everyone else followed, cheering.

Fang Lingyu’s face broke into a smile.

She stood up and walked past Xie Ning to Su Wan’s side.

She first took her hand, then excitedly hugged her.

Tears streamed down her face.

She covered her face and didn’t know what to say, then started crying even more.

Su Wan watched this scene.

Her breathing was rapid, and she couldn’t believe it was real.

Xie Ning handed a handkerchief to Su Wan.

Su Wan quickly used it to wipe away her mother’s tears.

Everyone else was moved as well, sighing with emotion.

Even the rambunctious Fang Manman didn’t say anything.

She licked her lips and looked at Su Jin with a blank expression.

Su Jin’s eyes were fixed on the plate on the table.

Her expression was numb.

She couldn’t squeeze out the tears she had been holding back for so long.

The only emotion she had left was rage.

She saw the housekeeper following behind the chef.

For some reason, she was also on Su Wan’s side, applauding and celebrating.

This was not how it was supposed to go!

In her plan, Su Wan was supposed to sit next to her brother at the dinner table and be humiliated.

Aunt Zhang had promised to help her and intentionally spill soup on Su Wan.

But none of that happened.

Everything had been wrong from the very beginning!

Everything had gone wrong from the moment Xie Ning sat down and let Su Wan sit next to her!

Xie Ning was helping Su Wan at every turn.

She seemed to be doing nothing, but without her, Su Wan would never have had any presence at all!

Seeing the deep affection between mother and daughter, the last string in Su Jin’s heart snapped.

It was as if she had missed a step and was falling off a cliff.

She looked around in a panic.

The only straw she could grab was Su Xingheng, but when she turned around, Su Xingheng wasn’t there.

He was standing, holding a wine glass, toasting Su Wan.

He said a few polite words.

Then, he toasted Xie Ning, laughing and chatting.

Xie Ning leaned in and whispered in Su Xingheng’s ear.

Su Xingheng laughed.

Su Jin’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

She grabbed the tablecloth and pulled hard.

With a crash, plates and silverware fell everywhere.

Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, and a scream filled the air.