Jiangg Ning led her younger sister into the bedroom. She first took an unopened package of pastries from a drawer and stuffed it directly into Jiangg Yao’s hands.

She had gone to their grandmother’s place the day before yesterday.

Her grandmother had specially reminded her that Yaoyao had loved this snack since she was a child, so she’d bought some for Jiangg Ning to bring back.

Seeing the tasty treat in her hands, Jiangg Yao’s eyes lit up. It had indeed been many years since she’d last had this kind of chestnut cake.

They opened the package and began to talk as they ate.

“You have no idea. The night before we left Sanya, I had this sudden stomachache, and Chen Yuan was just so sweet…” Jiangg Yao leaned against the desk, a blissful expression on her face as she recounted the story. “It was already the middle of the night. When he saw my stomach hurt, he wanted to go buy me medicine, but all the pharmacies on the street were closed, and we couldn’t get any delivered. So he asked the hotel staff for a glass, filled it with warm water for me to press against my stomach, and even rubbed his hands together to warm them up before placing them on my lower back.”

“I was so irritable I didn’t want to think about anything. I just lay there whimpering, acting spoiled and making a fuss for over half an hour, making all sorts of unreasonable demands and throwing a fit. But Chen Yuan didn’t say a single word of complaint.”

Jiangg Ning smiled gently. “That’s because he has a good temper.”

“Yeah. And then in the morning, he left the hotel again to find the earliest-opening shop to buy me medicine. He even came back with two servings of congee and fed it to me…”

Jiangg Yao’s lips curled into a smug smile, her eyes filled with the sweetness of being utterly doted on.

That morning, she had lain in Chen Yuan’s arms, listening to his gentle voice coaxing her.

Her heart had been fluttering so much at that moment.

In that instant, she truly felt she wouldn’t marry anyone but Chen Yuan.

Thinking back on it now, her heart still filled with a comforting warmth.

Listening to Jiangg Yao’s excited chatter, Jiangg Ning felt her own heart soften, as if she could glimpse and share in that happiness through her sister’s story.

Her only regret was that she hadn’t been able to finish this first trip with Chen Yuan.

She had left halfway through.

‘If I get the chance,’ Jiangg Ning thought, ‘if I get the chance, I hope we can travel far and wide together in the future, to see the sights of this great, wide world. Holding his hand… that would be the most romantic thing ever.’

The two sisters discussed Chen Yuan for a while.

Inevitably, the focus of their conversation shifted to Jiangg Ruxue.

“Now that we’re back, what if Mommy brings up you quitting your job? I have a feeling it’s not going to be that simple,” Jiangg Yao said, slightly worried.

Knowing Jiangg Ruxue as she did, she knew things definitely wouldn’t be resolved so easily.

Did Jiangg Ruxue really just call them back for the New Year and nothing else?

Absolutely not. Beneath this seemingly ordinary request, a deeper motive was likely lurking.

Jiangg Yao had always known her mother was the type of person who thought deeply about everything she did. Even if she had a specific goal, she would never state it outright. Instead, she would wait until the two sisters grew impatient and revealed a weakness, then coldly bring the matter to light.

The fact that Jiangg Ruxue hadn’t said a word even though Jiangg Ning had been back for so long already offered a clue.

She was waiting for both of them to be back!

“It’s hard to say,” Jiangg Ning shook her head. “In any case, no matter what Mommy does, we just need to present a united front and insist on staying in Lanjing. If she doesn’t agree, we’ll just have to make a scene.”

“And if we make a scene, we can storm out in a huff!”

“That’s more or less the idea. We have to be obedient on the surface. After the New Year is over, we’ll book our tickets and go back. She can’t possibly put us under house arrest like she did when we were kids,” Jiangg Ning said, her eyes glinting as she spoke in an exceptionally flat tone.

“We’re grown up now. We won’t be afraid of her…”

Jiangg Yao thought of those miserable childhood experiences and couldn’t help but clench her fists.

In the past, Jiangg Ruxue had always used the excuse of love and discipline to force and control her. But during her time in Lanjing, both her sister and Chen Yuan had let her experience what true love was.

Love wasn’t control, nor was it indulgence.

Love was about using your true heart, about embracing and cherishing another person with the attitude that they were an equal soul.

She was going to be Chen Yuan’s bride. She would marry him in the future, holding a bouquet of pure white flowers! And she would slice through any obstacle she met before then with the sharp blade of true love!

And Jiangg Ruxue was the first target she would slice through!

Jiangg Yao took a deep breath and looked at her sister with a resolute gaze. From the moment she’d begun her journey back to Mingzhu City, she was no longer afraid.

…

「The night deepened.」

Accompanied by the CLICK-CLACK-CLICK of slender high heels on the floor, a woman with a graceful figure appeared in the villa’s main hall. Her face was full of arrogance and indifference. She casually slipped off her fluffy, round-collared coat and tossed it aside, and the housekeeper immediately caught it.

The makeup on her face was bewitching, her lips a dazzling red, and her beautiful hair was styled in curls that cascaded over her shoulders.

Her entire aura was nothing like that of a forty-year-old woman.

Her sophisticated charm was enough to leave any man utterly mesmerized.

If Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao had distinctly different auras, then Jiangg Ruxue was a perfect blend of the two. Furthermore, with her narrow brows and thin lips, she actually appeared more “alluring” and even more bewitching than her two daughters.

In her youth, Jiangg Ruxue had been a famous socialite among the wealthy circles of Mingzhu City.

Now in her forties, one could still see traces of her former beauty.

“President Jiangg, the younger miss and the eldest miss have returned. They’re upstairs. I’ve also prepared dinner,” the housekeeper said respectfully from the side.

She didn’t dare to even lift her head.

This showed just how harshly Jiangg Ruxue disciplined the household staff on a daily basis.

“Yaoyao’s here?”

“She was picked up an hour ago.”

“Then quickly call them down to eat together.”

A trace of gentleness appeared in Jiangg Ruxue’s eyes, and the vexing matters from the office today were pushed aside.

She had always favored Jiangg Yao and was rather cold toward Jiangg Ning.

After all, she was her own daughter, and Yaoyao resembled her so much.

Jiangg Ruxue went to change her clothes and wash her hands. By the time Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao walked down the stairs together, she was pacing in the living room. She looked up.

The three women’s eyes met.

It had been nearly three years.

A mix of unfamiliar feelings instantly welled up inside them, and they all stood stunned for a few seconds.

Yaoyao, of course, froze because it had been so long since she’d interacted with Jiangg Ruxue. Seeing her now gave her an almost physical sense of unease.

As for Jiangg Ruxue, who hadn’t seen Jiangg Yao in three years, she suddenly felt that her biological daughter had changed.

She looked… a little plumper than before, with a healthy complexion. It seemed she’d gotten even prettier.

“Mommy.”

Jiangg Ning’s voice broke the brief silence.

“Mommy, I’m back…”

Jiangg Yao called out nervously. Her voice was quiet, but thankfully audible.

“It’s good that you’re back. Hurry down and eat.”

Almost imperceptibly, the corners of Jiangg Ruxue’s mouth lifted into a smile. The smile then spread across her beautiful face like ice melting in a spring river, leaving anyone who saw it slightly dazed.

Jiangg Yao’s body stiffened.

A few seconds later, the light in her eyes quickly dimmed.

She had seen Jiangg Ruxue smile like this more than once before. Whenever she did, Yaoyao couldn’t help but wish her own mother could be as gentle as other people’s mothers.

‘Who would have thought that such a beautiful mother could be a vicious woman with a near-psychopathic need for control?’

‘If Chen Yuan were to meet her, he’d probably get the impression that Jiangg Ruxue was a genuinely “kind and approachable” and “classy” elder.’

…

The table was laden with a dazzling array of delicious delicacies.

The family’s chef was quite skilled; the feast they had prepared was, by all accounts, perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

Jiangg Ruxue continuously placed food into Yaoyao’s bowl, asking in a gentle voice, “The food in Lanjing isn’t as nutritious as what you get at home. Eat more. Seeing you in such good shape, Yaoyao, makes me so happy I don’t even know what to say.”

“Thank you, Mommy…” Jiangg Yao stared at the chicken wing coated in a thick sauce in her bowl, pursing her lips as she spoke softly.

“Ningning, you eat more too. You’ve been so busy these past few days, it must have been hard on you.” Jiangg Ruxue wore a kind expression, and her voice was gentle and magnetic.

To an outsider, the atmosphere created by this family of three would seem incredibly warm and loving.

Especially since the mother and daughters were all so beautiful.

Not only was the food a feast for the eyes, but their beauty was also incredibly alluring, each possessing her own unique charm.

But Jiangg Yao didn’t feel any warmth at all. On the contrary, she felt a deep-seated resistance to her mother’s false affection. It was all an act—the serving of food, the solicitous questions, all of it.

There wasn’t a single shred of sincerity.

Sometimes they’d be talking just fine one second, and the next, someone would touch upon one of Jiangg Ruxue’s taboos.

And her expression would change in an instant!

“You two have no idea. With you not at home, I’ve been so lonely these past three years. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly think of you—my two lovely daughters.”

After eating a little, Jiangg Ruxue suddenly let out a sigh.

Her tone was endlessly lonely as she added, “It’s been happening more and more lately. I just keep thinking how wonderful it would be if the three of us could stay together. I hate being separated at opposite ends of the country.”

“Well…” Jiangg Ning paused her chopsticks.

“At night, I often think of you two all by myself and can’t stop crying. You never talk to me, as if you’ve forgotten all about your mommy… I…”

As Jiangg Ruxue spoke, she began to sob softly.

Her eyes filled with tears.

It was as if she truly had cried countless times at night, thinking only of her family of three being reunited.

Shimmering teardrops slid down her exquisite cheeks. For a moment, her tear-filled eyes were incredibly moving.

“Mommy, don’t cry. How could we ever forget you? We just figured you’re usually so busy with work that when you finally get some time off, you should rest. We were afraid of bothering you,” Jiangg Ning said, taking the hand Jiangg Ruxue extended and comforting her softly.

“That’s right,” Jiangg Yao added flatly, her smile forced.

“Ningning, Yaoyao, don’t laugh at your mother. Lately, I think I’m getting older and my emotions are too sensitive… That’s how it is when you get old. You always need someone to be with you, don’t you?”

Jiangg Ruxue didn’t wipe her tears away, and teardrops clung to her eyelashes.

She looked pitifully at the two sisters and spoke in a hoarse voice.

‘Heh,’ Jiangg Yao sneered inwardly. ‘I’m starting to understand Mommy’s intentions.’

‘After all that, isn’t she just circling back to the fact that we’re not in Mingzhu City?’

‘Fake crying?’

‘This must be Jiangg Ruxue’s first wave of attack.’

After mulling it over for a few seconds, Jiangg Yao swallowed the food in her mouth.

She cleared her throat. “Ahem—Mommy, sis and I didn’t consider that. You do have a point. It’s a problem that we can’t be here to keep you company. A mother always needs companionship.”

Jiangg Ning frowned. ‘What on earth is my sister up to? At a time like this, I’m afraid even silence would prompt Jiangg Ruxue to press the issue. Why is she playing along?’

“Yaoyao, that you can think that way truly moves me. You’re the one who understands how I feel, my good girl~” Jiangg Ruxue blinked, a smile touching her lips and even lifting the reddened corners of her eyes.

“Mhm… I think, how about…”

“How about you two—” Jiangg Ruxue clapped her hands, about to seize the opportunity to suggest the sisters stay in Mingzhu City.

But before she could finish, Jiangg Yao suddenly cut in, “How about you find another man, Mom! That way, someone will be here to keep you company! And sis and I can go back to Lanjing with peace of mind!”

Jiangg Ruxue froze instantly, her expression changing in a flash. “What nonsense are you talking about!?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep