Returning to the Villain Omega's High School Days - Chapter 21

With Su Jin making such a scene, everyone suffered. The worst off was Fang Songsong, who had been sitting beside her. The direction Su Jin yanked the tablecloth was toward him, so hot soup spilled over him, and plates and utensils all crashed onto him, frightening Mother Fang into screaming nonstop.

“Songsong!” Mother Fang shoved Su Jin away in one motion, rushed over to hold the child, then turned back and cursed at Su Jin, “Have you lost your mind? Were you trying to kill our Songsong?!”

Fang Songsong looked completely bewildered. The soup spilled on him was not actually hot, and he had not been injured by anything falling on him either. But hearing his mother scold someone like that, he immediately burst into aggrieved tears.

Someone went forward to hand Mother Fang a towel, and everyone hurriedly helped wipe things clean, but their own clothes had also been dirtied. The perfectly good mood had been completely ruined.

Su Jin’s face turned green, then white. The instant she saw Xie Ning and Su Xingheng acting close, she completely lost her reason. The moment she saw something, she wanted to smash it…

Everyone was looking at her. Disbelief, anger, disappointment, amusement at her expense—all of it showed plainly on their faces.

Su Wan was also looking at her. She wore that ridiculous crown and that ridiculous dress. In Su Jin’s eyes, she was nothing but a country bumpkin!

Her mother had actually hugged her and cried? What part of Su Wan could compare to her? That cake, everything here, should have belonged to Su Jin!

Tears gathered in Su Jin’s eyes. She stubbornly lifted her chin, expressing all her unwillingness.

No one could understand her. Fang Lingyu’s face was full of disappointment, and she looked at Su Jin as if looking at a stranger before shaking her head.

Even Su Xingheng, who favored her the most, was looking at her with an extremely complicated gaze. His lips moved, but he stopped himself from speaking and only let out a soft sigh.

The angriest one was none other than Su Yuanfu. He slammed the table heavily, stood up, pointed at Su Jin, and said, “What were you thinking?! Stand properly and apologize to everyone here!”

His voice was deafening. Su Jin’s body trembled, and her hand hurriedly braced against the tabletop. Her gaze dodged, not daring to look at him. Like a startled animal, she looked as though she was about to cry, but refused to speak.

Mother Fang was still furious. She threw the dirty towel she had used at Su Jin and cursed, “Look at what you’ve done! Do you still not know you were wrong? If I’d known you were this kind of person, I would have advised Sister Ling to send you back!”

This was what Su Jin was least willing to hear. Her tears fell all at once, and she looked at Mother Fang with eyes full of tears, accusing her again and again. “Auntie, this is what you really think, isn’t it? This is what all of you think, right?!”

Fang Lingyu shook her head. Su Yuanfu frowned and was just about to speak when Su Xingheng beat him to it. “Little Sister, you caused trouble. Just apologize to everyone and it’ll be fine.”

Another aunt said in a gentle tone, “This isn’t anything major. Songsong wasn’t hurt either. The child was just frightened. Xiao Jin, admit your mistake. Don’t do this again in the future.”

They all meant to give her a way out. Only Xie Ning clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

Su Jin also gradually recovered. She lowered her head and could not stop crying. After a long while, she finally sobbed and said, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to do this…”

“What do you mean, you didn’t mean to?” Xie Ning spoke. “Did someone press your hand down and force you to pull the tablecloth?”

Su Jin gritted her teeth. “Xie Ning…”

“Answer me. Was there or not!” Xie Ning rebuked. “If no one forced you to pull it, could a slip of the hand have that much force?”

Su Jin said nothing. Xie Ning sneered. “Everyone knows your temper is bad. Everyone has already given way to you enough, yet you still act like this. Then answer me, what exactly couldn’t you stand? Was it because Younger Sister Su Wan received Auntie’s affection? Or was it because… I’m engaged to your brother?”

“Answer me.”

The moment these words came out, the whole table was in an uproar.

Su Jin’s pale face flushed red again. She looked at Xie Ning, her eyes bulging, her back teeth clenched tightly together. No matter how she answered, she would be ruthlessly mocked.

If she said she was jealous of Su Wan, that made complete sense, because Su Jin was exactly the type to easily get jealous and throw tantrums. But if she said she could not stand Xie Ning and Su Xingheng, then that would be a major problem.

In everyone’s eyes, Xie Ning and Su Xingheng were a talented man and beautiful woman, a match made in heaven. Even if Su Jin had some thoughts, she would not make trouble over them. But now that Su Wan had returned to the Su family, what exactly was Su Jin’s position in the family?

An adopted daughter? Since she was an adopted daughter, shouldn’t she avoid suspicion around Su Xingheng?

People rarely thought about this layer of their relationship. Jiang Qin, clever as she was, pretended to be confused and asked Xie Ning, “A Ning, what nonsense are you saying? Xiao Jin is Xingheng’s younger sister. How could she be jealous of you and Xingheng?”

“She used to be his younger sister. Now she isn’t.” Xie Ning sat down, calmly took a sip of tea, then turned to Su Yuanfu and said, “Uncle, if Su Jin can make such a scene at a banquet today, when I marry into this family in the future, won’t she be even more unscrupulous?”

Su Yuanfu froze. A moment later, he said, “We have been lacking in discipline toward Su Jin. We will be stricter in the future.”

Fang Lingyu said worriedly, “It’s my fault for spoiling this child too much… Xie Ning, don’t be angry with her.”

“I only want to know how this kind of thing will be avoided in the future,” Xie Ning said. “Today, it was only because of a cake, only because I said a few words to Su Xingheng, yet she made such a scene. As the eldest daughter of the Xie family, I have never suffered this kind of anger before. If I come to your family in the future, will I have to look at her face every day?”

“When did I ever give you an attitude?” Su Jin said sharply. “Xie Ning, what exactly are you planning? At the stairwell earlier, I heard what you said! You said our Su family was reaching above its station by being engaged to you. You even said you wanted to break off the engagement with my brother!”

The moment these words came out, everyone’s expressions became fascinating. Fang Lingyu was so frightened she covered her face. Su Xingheng looked left and right in disbelief, as if this was absurd. Xie Minxian’s face turned stern and extremely displeased. Su Yuanfu was so angry he slapped the table and scolded her for being “outrageous.” Even Su Wan froze for a moment and tentatively looked at Xie Ning’s expression.

Xie Ning shook her head and said, “Su Jin, can you use your brain when you speak? Do you think I would say something like that?”

Su Jin was stumped. She indeed did not know why Xie Ning would say something like that. Xie Ning liked her brother so much, so why would she break off the engagement with him?

Since childhood, Su Jin had seen all kinds of girls pursuing her brother. In her heart, her brother was the existence closest to a god. Xie Ning had no reason to break off the engagement with her brother.

“I don’t know,” Su Jin said, staring fixedly at Xie Ning. “But I know there’s definitely something wrong with you!”

Her words were shocking, but she received no agreement from anyone. The adults only treated it as a farce. They shook their heads, looking disappointed and sighing.

Su Jin still wanted to argue, but at this moment, Mother Fang picked up Fang Songsong and urged Father Fang and Fang Manman to get up. She said to the Su couple, “Excuse us. We’ll be leaving first.” The other unrelated people also rose and said goodbye.

Fang Lingyu asked Su Xingheng to see the guests off. No one took Su Jin seriously.

They had just left the dining room when Su Jin also wanted to leave, but the moment she turned around, Xie Ning stopped her. “You’re not allowed to leave. Today, this matter has to be made clear!”

Su Jin smiled coldly and wiped her tears. “This is my house. Are you going to force me to die here?”

Xie Ning did not speak, and the others’ reactions were not strong either. Seeing the scene become like this, Xie Minxian only smiled and waited to see how the Su family would handle it.

Su Yuanfu felt deeply humiliated. If Su Jin had only made trouble with Su Wan, then it would merely be the Su family’s internal matter, nothing too serious. But now she was making trouble with Xie Ning, and what she said was extremely unpleasant. Where was the manner of a young lady from a good family? She was like a resentful woman in the marketplace.

His chest rose and fell with anger. Both hands braced against the table, he said sternly, “Su Jin, you still dare to act outrageously! You’re becoming more and more lawless!”

“I’m lawless?” Su Jin’s body trembled. She looked at Su Yuanfu, then at Xie Ning, her gaze vicious beyond measure. She shoved the chair aside, pushed the door open, stormed out, and slammed the door hard.

“Look at the good daughter you raised!” Su Yuanfu pointed at Fang Lingyu and cursed. “What kind of behavior is this?!”

Fang Lingyu’s eyes filled with tears. Su Wan held her hand to comfort her, and Fang Lingyu gently patted Su Wan’s hand before saying to Su Yuanfu, “I raised her, yes. But things have already become like this. Are we really supposed to send her away? How could you bear it?”

Su Yuanfu drew in a breath, his shoulders rising and falling slightly.

“It’s not like you haven’t gone to see what the Liu family’s hometown looks like. Are you really going to make Xiao Jin live that kind of life?” Fang Lingyu cried. “No matter what, as long as I can still support her, I won’t let her go back to the Liu family!”

Su Wan watched this scene expressionlessly. Seeing Xie Ning force Su Jin away, her feelings were somewhat complicated.

Originally, Su Jin’s spearhead had been aimed at her. But with just a few words, Xie Ning had shifted the conflict onto herself, while Su Wan, as the key person involved, was safe and sound, completely avoiding a direct confrontation with Su Jin.

This was something she had not expected at all.

If Xie Ning intended to use her to deal with Su Jin, she should not be acting like this. She should not be letting Su Wan hide behind her while taking on the storm of blades and bullets herself.

Even now, Su Wan still did not know what Xie Ning’s goal really was.

The day Su Wan watched Xie Ning deal with Nanny Zhang, she had known Xie Ning was someone with methods. It was just that this kind of method was used on Su Jin today. Would it be used on herself tomorrow? Su Wan could not know.

There were not many people left in the room, and they all counted as their own people.

Fang Lingyu sat down and asked Su Wan to get her a lighter. She lit a cigarette, then instructed Su Wan to go back to her room.

Su Wan looked at Xie Ning, said nothing, closed the door behind her, and left.

Xie Minxian was also smoking. He sighed and said, “Yuanfu, your household matters are not easy to handle.”

“It had only settled down for a few days.” Su Yuanfu held his head with both hands and pushed his hair from front to back, saying irritably, “It’s understandable for a child to get jealous, but she also has to look at the occasion and who she’s facing!”

Xie Minxian held his cigarette and only kept smiling. He was a smiling tiger. Even after drinking all night, his mind was still very sharp.

Xie Ning sat sideways, one hand resting on the back of the chair, her expression also unhappy.

Jiang Qin spoke. “A Ning, did you really say something about breaking off the engagement?”

Before Xie Ning could speak, Xie Qingliu hurried to interrupt. “Mom, that was a misunderstanding. Sister Jin heard wrong.”

Jiang Qin was displeased. “Why are you still here? You go out too.”

Xie Qingliu got up and left.

Xie Minxian pointed at Xie Ning with his cigarette and said to everyone with certainty, “If she wanted to break off the engagement, she wouldn’t be sitting here today. Who doesn’t know she’s a love-brained fool?”

Hearing this, Su Yuanfu felt a little more at ease and laughed. “It’s normal for girls to pursue love. You can’t exactly call it love-brained.”

Everyone laughed, and the room gradually quieted down. After more than ten seconds passed, Xie Ning spoke. “I have thought about it.”

The moment her voice fell, everyone froze.

Su Xingheng returned after seeing off the relatives and saw exactly this scene. He smiled faintly and said, “What’s wrong?”

After another moment of silence, Xie Ning said, “Maintaining this marriage arrangement is possible. I have one condition.”

Su Yuanfu leaned forward and looked at Xie Ning, his expression grave. “Child, if you have any condition, just say it.”

Fang Lingyu nodded. Sitting beside Xie Ning, she held Xie Ning’s hand and said, “You and Xingheng have been engaged for half a year, and you’ve never asked for anything. Since things have already reached this point, just say it. We will satisfy you as much as possible.”

Su Yuanfu remained silent in thought. Xie Minxian put down his cigarette butt and exhaled smoke.

Xie Ning lowered her eyelids, worried. She pressed her lips together, then said, “I won’t say something like ‘it’s either me or her.’ I only want to ask Uncle and Auntie, how do you plan to settle Su Jin in the future? Is there a possibility that you will marry her to one of your own people?”

Su Xingheng immediately said, “What do you mean, one of our own people? Xie Ning, what are you talking about?”

Xie Ning lifted her face to look at him and smiled, then said to Father Su and Mother Su, “Times are different now. It’s no longer rare for Alphas to marry multiple wives. You would consider this kind of thing too, right?”

“This…” Su Yuanfu had just started speaking when Xie Minxian stubbed out his cigarette and said, “That won’t do. There’s no need to consider it.”

Fang Lingyu asked, “Xie Ning, is this your condition? Not allowing Xingheng to marry a second wife?”

The Su family was not surprised by this condition, and it was something they could accept.

Right now, the Xie family was strong, so the Su family could only be forced to make concessions. Once Xie Ning married in later, there would still be room to maneuver.

Xie Ning shook her head. “He can marry, but it absolutely cannot be Su Jin. My condition is that I hope Uncle and Auntie will arrange an engagement for Su Jin as soon as possible.”

Su Xingheng: “…”

Fang Lingyu was surprised. “Xiao Jin is only sixteen and a half…”

“She isn’t young,” Xie Ning said. “They can date first. Settle it, then wait until she’s an adult. Isn’t that what you all said about me back then?”

Su Yuanfu laughed slightly, as if feeling relieved. He said, “The condition you’re raising is completely understandable, and it can be accepted.”

Su Xingheng said, “I don’t understand. I can agree to marry only you, but what does this have to do with whether Xiao Jin gets engaged or not? Are you determined to make me promise that I can marry anyone except Xiao Jin? Isn’t that too insulting? My relationship with Xiao Jin is entirely a sibling relationship. You’re exaggerating things too much!”

Xie Ning said lightly, “Since that’s the case, agree to my condition.”

“I won’t agree,” Su Xingheng paused, “and even if I did, Xiao Jin would never agree!”

“If she doesn’t agree, send her away,” Xie Minxian said loudly. “What’s there for her not to agree to?”

Su Xingheng was momentarily speechless. Xie Ning said, “Uncle, Auntie, what do you think?”

Before Fang Lingyu could speak, Su Yuanfu smiled. “Xie Ning, you’ve already compromised to this extent. How could we not agree?”

After the banquet ended, Jiang Qin helped the drunken Xie Minxian stand and called Uncle Ling to come pick them up.

They had driven here themselves, but both Jiang Qin and Xie Minxian had drunk alcohol, so neither could drive. They had no choice but to ask Uncle Ling to send them.

Uncle Ling had not expected their banquet to end so early. He said it would still take him more than half an hour to come over and told them to wait first.

Xie Ning stood up and said, “I want to take a shower. Is that convenient here?”

She was still wearing her school uniform. After Su Jin’s farce, her skirt had also gotten dirty. She did indeed need to wash.

“It’s convenient. You can even stay here tonight,” Fang Lingyu said, standing up. Then she asked, “Do you have clothes? Is it all right if you wear mine?”

Xie Ning said, “Anything is fine. Wearing Younger Sister Su Wan’s is fine too.”

“Hers won’t fit. I’ll have Nanny Zhang get clothes for you.”

Xie Ning took the clean clothes to the bathroom. Su Wan had just finished showering and came out from inside. She lifted her head to glance at Xie Ning, then turned sideways and leaned against the wall to make way.

When Xie Ning passed by, she could not help stopping. Seeing Su Wan fresh from the shower and still damp, she could not help wanting to touch her hair and ruffle it twice.

Su Wan wore a loose nightgown that reached past her knees. Her shape looked like a little sea cucumber. She only stared at people and never spoke first.

“I’m staying at your house tonight,” Xie Ning said, finding a topic.

Su Wan gave an “mm.” Her eyes moved slightly, and Xie Ning could not tell what she was thinking.

“I’ll sleep with you. Is that okay?” After Xie Ning said this, she swallowed.

Su Wan looked at her carefully, frowned, and hesitated before saying, “My room is too small. It won’t fit.”

“Oh.” Xie Ning stared at her and smiled. “So you do know how to talk.”

Su Wan said nothing, lowering her head and wanting to walk away. Xie Ning added, “Your accent is nice. It sounds like you’re acting spoiled.”

Su Wan’s heartbeat missed a beat. Being stared at by Xie Ning like this made her legs go a little weak.

“Is it because of your accent that you don’t like talking usually?” Xie Ning pressed.

“No.” Su Wan said one thing while thinking another. Having her secret exposed made her feel secretly annoyed.

“You can talk to me more. Use me for practice. I’ll help you correct your accent,” Xie Ning added. “Free of charge.”

Su Wan lifted her eyelids to look at her. After thinking for a moment, she still walked past her.

Xie Ning entered the bathroom, sat on the toilet, took cigarettes out of her school uniform pocket, and lit one.

Slowly taking a drag, she lifted her face to look at the ceiling.

Her eyes were very dry, faintly sore, unable to shed tears.

So being forgotten was actually such a painful thing.

She smoked one after another, not because she was that addicted, but because her heart suddenly hurt, and she wanted an outlet.

The current her could easily do many things she had not been able to do before, yet she had no one to share her feelings with.

She missed Su Wan, especially when Su Wan was standing right in front of her.

“Knock, knock.”

A thin, small shadow stood outside the bathroom’s frosted glass door. It was Su Wan knocking.

Xie Ning’s voice was low and hoarse. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot something inside,” Su Wan said quietly in Mandarin with a local accent. “How much longer will you be?”

Xie Ning said, “What did you forget? I’ll get it for you.”

Su Wan hesitated for a while, then said in a tiny voice, “Underwear.”

Xie Ning looked toward the shower area. There was indeed a pair of white underwear left on the rack, very small, like something a child would wear. The material looked very cheap, and the surface of the fabric had even pilled. Because it had been repeatedly scrubbed and dried, it had lost its shape.

As if sensing Xie Ning’s hesitation, Su Wan said from the doorway, “How about I come in and get it?”

Xie Ning stood up, finished undressing, then opened the door and handed it to her.

Su Wan accepted it, not knowing where to look. Her gaze flickered from Xie Ning’s legs up to her face, and she silently drew in a breath. She said, “You… how many cigarettes did you smoke?”

Xie Ning closed the door, shutting her outside.

She clearly felt the gland at her neck react faintly.