She spoke, and less than half a second later…

Before Yaoyao could react.

Jiangg Ning shot to her feet, grabbed Jiangg Yao by the head, and pinned her to the sofa. Her elegant, slender fingers pinched Yaoyao’s cheeks.

“If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn who’s the big sister and who’s the little one… Always pulling these little tricks behind my back. You’re the ultimate little green tea!” Jiangg Ning said icily.

Last night, she’d been up half the night, unable to sleep after their game.

Her mind was filled with the sound of Jiangg Yao’s cloyingly sweet voice:

“Young Master, save me~”

“Oh my~~ You’re so amazing, Young Master!”

“Kisses, Young Master~”

“How about I sing for you~? My Young Master is so handsome, especially when he holds my hand! My Young Master is the best! He’s my idol!”

That affected tone of hers sounded like she had a pink shoe insole stuffed down her throat.

It made Jiangg Ning’s skin crawl. She felt a wave of revulsion, and her anger began to boil over.

If she were actually like that all the time, it might have been excusable. But the crucial thing was, she was doing it on purpose for Jiangg Ning to hear. It wasn’t genuine affection.

“I… I was wrong, Sis! Stop hitting me!”

Jiangg Yao was pinned to the sofa, completely unable to move. Her sister’s attack had been too sudden.

She felt her sister’s hand land hard on her soft bottom.

The crisp sound echoed throughout the living room!

With every slap, Jiangg Yao shrieked, each cry following the last, each one louder than the one before.

Jiangg Ning showed no mercy. She left her sister’s hair a mess, and her round little bottom, hidden beneath her pajamas, was spanked bright red.

“It hurts! I really didn’t do it on purpose, Sis! It’s just… I was so happy because it’s been so long since I got to play a game!”

“Sis, I was wrong. I realize my mistake…”

She pleaded pitifully, turning her face to look up at her sister with large, teary eyes.

But Jiangg Ning ignored her. She had finally caught her sister off guard and seized the opportunity.

She had no intention of letting her off so easily.

Jiangg Yao’s apology wasn’t sincere, either. ‘Just wait until I get up,’ she was already plotting. ‘I’ll make her pay!’

But pinned underneath her sister, her brief struggle was useless.

Just as Yaoyao was starting to despair, not knowing what to do, a phone began to ring!

RING RING RING—

RING RING RING—

The phone vibrated furiously, its buzzing loud and seemingly endless.

To Jiangg Yao, it sounded like a lifeline. She quickly switched to a placating tone. “Sis, you have a call. Is it Chen Yuan?”

“I don’t know!”

“Hurry and look! What if it’s him, or what if he’s back at the hotel and can’t find you? Let’s stop fighting for now!”

Jiangg Ning frowned slightly. She knew what her sister was up to.

Still, it couldn’t be helped.

She let go of Yaoyao’s hair, quickly pulled her phone from her pocket, and took a wary step back.

As soon as she was on her feet, Jiangg Yao moved to counterattack.

She reached for her sister’s hair.

“Wait!”

The sudden cry made Yaoyao freeze.

“Wha… what is it?”

“It’s the phone. It’s Mom.” Jiangg Ning’s expression instantly turned grim as she held up the phone for her sister to see.

Pulsing on the screen was the caller ID: Jiangg Ruxue.

What a coincidence.

It was as if it were fated. Chen Yuan’s mother had called, and now, a little over half an hour later, the same thing was happening to Jiangg Ning.

Instantly, a sense of foreboding washed over her.

“Sis…”

“Shh, be quiet.”

Seeing the fear that instantly clouded her sister’s face, Jiangg Ning remained relatively composed. She cleared her throat, taking a few seconds to steady herself.

“Mom?”

Her voice was docile, with a hint of a question in it.

Jiangg Yao’s eyes were wide, and she stared at her sister without blinking.

She hardly dared to breathe.

To the surprise of both sisters, there was a moment of silence after the call connected. Jiangg Ruxue said nothing.

The other end of the line was perfectly still.

This… was not a good sign. The eerie silence made the sisters’ hearts sink as if into a swamp.

“Oh, Ningning…”

After a long moment, Jiangg Ruxue finally spoke. She said the name, then sighed abruptly.

“Sigh… why didn’t you tell your mother?”

“Tell… tell you what?” Jiangg Ning asked with difficulty, her expression freezing on her face.

In that instant, all sorts of possibilities flashed through her mind.

‘Could it be that Mom found out I’m dating someone?’

‘Or does she even know we went on this trip?!’

Jiangg Yao’s breathing seemed to stop altogether. Her reaction was even more pronounced—her rosy lips parted slightly.

“Why did you resign from your professorship at Lanjing University? Wasn’t that the job you always wanted? You were the one who insisted, who begged me for it,” Jiangg Ruxue said, her tone laced with accusation.

Hearing this, Jiangg Ning’s heart went cold.

‘So, the news of my resignation reached Mom after all.’

‘The university president must have approved the application. It’s a done deal, so of course Jiangg Ruxue would find out quickly.’

“I… I wanted to try a different line of work. Being a professor and teaching students is pretty tiring,” she explained.

“That’s fine. But why wouldn’t you tell me before making such a decision?”

“Well…”

Jiangg Ning hesitated.

The frigid words seemed to travel across an impossible distance.

The voice in her ear made her suddenly remember her childhood, when she and Jiangg Yao would be forced to kneel by the sofa.

Jiangg Ruxue would be sitting there with her legs crossed, her face a mask of cold, glamorous makeup, her tone identical to how it was now.

In an instant, the shadows of her childhood resurfaced.

The normally rational and mature Jiangg Ning was so crushed by the pressure that she couldn’t utter a single word.

She lifted her chin and bit her lip hard.

After being stunned for a long moment, Jiangg Yao snapped out of it. She stepped forward, grabbed her sister’s hand, and stared at her intently.

Their eyes met.

Jiangg Ning stared, astonished, into her sister’s eyes and seemed to draw a sliver of courage from her gaze. Gradually, her rationality returned.

“As for my career, I don’t think I need to trouble you, Mom. I can make my own decisions. You’re very busy with your own work.”

It was a proper response, and her sister breathed a sigh of relief.

“I see. So, Ningning, you don’t want your mother to interfere. You think I’m too controlling, is that right?”

“No.”

“Haven’t I told you time and again to think things through before you act? Not long ago, I even arranged a new position for you, and now you just up and quit… Jiangg Ning, you think you’re all grown up now, don’t you?”

Her initially gentle tone turned frigid after a brief pause.

Laced with a suffocating resentment, her voice suddenly dripped with venom.

After that accusation, Jiangg Ruxue gave her no room to explain, adding, “From the moment you took Yaoyao to Lanjing, I’ve seen it all. I just chose not to interfere because I was busy with work. Do you really think you’re qualified to make your own decisions now? Huh?”

Her words were utterly baffling.

They laid bare Jiangg Ruxue’s pathological need for control and her twisted nature.

Nothing was held back.

Jiangg Ning felt like she was suffocating, as if her heart had stopped beating.

She held the phone to her ear, waves of numbness washing over her body, her expression shifting constantly.

“Cut the vacation short. Bring Yaoyao and come back right now! I’m going to have a serious talk with the two of you!”

“But—”

“No buts! I said right now! Immediately! Do you not understand me!?”

Jiangg Ning was on the verge of giving in.

It was a subconscious capitulation.

A reflex conditioned into her over many long years.

One she couldn’t control!

‘She was already wondering how she would explain this to Chen Yuan.’

Just a few hours ago, this trip had been so warm and ordinary. She had been basking in happiness and sweetness, thinking it was the most carefree and joyful time of her life.

But it was one moment in heaven, the next in hell.

The unexpected phone call plunged both sisters into an icy despair!

“I understand—”

Jiangg Ning was halfway through her sentence when the phone was suddenly snatched from her hand.

“I’m not going back! I’m staying in Lanjing with my sister!”

She roared.

Jiangg Ning stared, dumbfounded, at Yaoyao, whose cheeks were flushed. She never imagined that the little sister she had always protected could possess such courage.

For the first time, she was seeing her sister stand up to Jiangg Ruxue.

In the past, whenever their mother scolded them, Yaoyao never dared to say a single word out of turn.

She would just hide behind her big sister like a little kitten.

But right now, an incredible energy was erupting from within her.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep