Chapter 2: And also my fiancée

There was a hint of reluctance in his eyes, but he still forced the card into Qiao Nian's hand, making her take it. Looking at her fair face, he asked softly, "Did you get everything? You can wear the necklace I bought you for your 10th birthday. That was my gift to you. Once given, it's yours! It's fine to wear it."

He Yujuan immediately frowned at these words, glancing displeasedly at Qiao Nian standing there. Constrained by her status, she ultimately didn't speak up over a three-thousand-yuan necklace.

Qiao Jiao stood obediently beside her, echoing Qiao Weimin's words gently: "That's right, Sister. Dad gave it to you, so just wear it. In the future... maybe it'll come in handy..."

She didn't finish the rest, but Qiao Nian could hear the implication. She lifted her eyelids and glanced coldly in her direction—wild and untamable!

Qiao Jiao returned a haughty smile. That condescending, charitable expression was cast from the same mold as everyone from the Qiao family present.

Qiao Nian lifted her shoulder bag and returned the card to Qiao Weimin, saying indifferently, "That necklace is in my room's drawer. You can go check if you don't believe me. Except for the laptop I bought myself, I didn't take a single thing from the Qiao family."

Once these words were spoken, the Qiao family members present all lost a bit of face.

Especially He Yujuan and Qiao's mother, who had just been too proud to speak—their expressions changed simultaneously.

This Qiao Nian never knew how to be obedient, always making people lose face.

Qiao Jiao glanced at the backpack Qiao Nian carried, her eyes flashing with a trace of disdainful contempt. She spoke as if casually: "Sister, Dad, Mom, and Grandma didn't mean it that way. You're too sensitive. We've lived together for over ten years. Even if you found your biological parents, you're still my sister. We all hope you do well. If you don't want the necklace, you should still keep the ten thousand yuan Dad gave you. Luohe County isn't like Raocheng—there are many places you'll need money."

Qiao Weimin came back to his senses, his expression ugly as he reluctantly chimed in: "Yes, keep the money."

"No need." She had some money.

Qiao Nian didn't take his card and didn't intend to have any further connection with the Qiao family. Just then, her phone rang. She placed the thin bank card Qiao Weimin had forcibly shoved back at her onto the table, glanced at the caller ID, and said to the Qiao family: "My family's here. I'm leaving first."

Watching her straight-backed figure walk away, He Yujuan couldn't help but coldly snort at the air, mocking: "Hmph, truly an ungrateful wolf raised in vain! You raised her for over ten years, and when she leaves, she doesn't even call out to you."

"Grandma, Sister probably just really wants to see her biological parents." Qiao Jiao's voice drifted lightly into their ears.

Too bad Qiao Nian's biological parents were poor people who couldn't even enter the villa district—truly laughable!

"Sister just said she only took her laptop, but her backpack looks stuffed. It doesn't look like it only holds a laptop..."

Qiao's father shook his head, sighing hypocritically: "Forget it. We raised her for over ten years anyway. If she wants to take things, let her. Our family doesn't lack that little money."

Leaning on her cane, He Yujuan watched the departing figure with contempt: "It's good she's gone. She was never a Qao by blood to begin with."

"Jiaojiao, don't call her sister anymore. That kind of person isn't worthy of being your sister! Go change clothes quickly. We're dining at Shui Xie Xuan later—you must seize this opportunity..."

There are always people better than you, skies beyond the sky.

The Qiao family might be decent in Raocheng, but compared to families like the Jiangs and Tangs, they lacked heritage.

Qiao Nian couldn't hear the rest clearly, only faintly catching Qiao Jiao's barely concealed delight and the Qiao family's harmonious voices.

*

The sun was blazing hot, like fire burning outside. Wave after wave of heat rolled off the roads. Except for a few elderly people cooling off under tree shade, there was hardly anyone on the streets.

Outside Rose Garden, a black Phideon was parked quietly by the roadside.

Jiang Li raised his wrist to check the time. The minute hand had already turned half a circle, yet no one had come out of the villa district.

Impatient, he rolled down the window to look outside.

The outside heat immediately rushed in. The car's AC was blasted by hot wind, and a low, hoarse command came from the back seat: "Close the window!"

The voice was faint, pressed with bloodlust, yet carried an undeniable authority.

Hearing the voice from the back, Jiang Li anxiously turned his head, obediently rolling up the window, but couldn't help muttering

"I'm saying, Fourth Master, if it weren't your sister, you wouldn't be this anxious! I should've arrived the day before yesterday, but you insisted I go to Lin City to pick you up, delaying until today! My old man just called to reprimand me, gave me a death order—if I can't bring her back tonight, don't bother coming back either. He'll come get her himself..."

Ye Wangchuan hadn't slept in three days. His head ached and he was irritable. The chattering voice beside his ear was like an electric drill buzzing in his ears. He suppressed the rising restlessness, leaned back, lifted his eyelids, and glanced emotionlessly at the young man in front, his voice raspy: "She's also my fiancée."

Also my fiancée. Those few short words silenced the car.

Tracing back three generations, the Jiang family was considered decent.

But compared to the Ye family, there was a world of difference. He and Ye Wangchuan had grown up together in that grand compound. Over the years, he'd gradually realized Ye Wangchuan was different from him, and the Ye family was different too.

In this generation, the Ye family's most beloved was this young master sitting in his car, the notorious prince of the Beijing circles.

If it weren't for his old man and that person having a life-and-death bond, that person feeling he owed them a life—how could the matter of Ye Wangchuan's fiancée have fallen to their family...

A trace of worry involuntarily rose in his eyes.

His little cousin had been missing for over ten years. He'd investigated—she was mediocre in every aspect, hardly a match for Fourth Master.

...

"She's out!"

Jiang Li, lost in worry, suddenly caught sight of a figure through the corner of his eye. On the villa district's asphalt road, a silhouette was walking out slowly.

"Looks like my sister. I'll go check."

Jiang Li quickly called out to the back, unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and stepped out.

In the sunlight, that slender figure drew closer.

The first thing that caught his eye was a pair of slender, fair legs—well-proportioned and straight.

So white.

Jiang Li usually gallivanted outside and had seen countless beauties in the entertainment industry, yet he was momentarily stunned.

The girl walking over was only seventeen or eighteen. Her skin was impossibly white, almost translucent in the sunlight, revealing purple-red capillaries beneath. A porcelain face, jet-black eyes, eyelashes long like tiny brushes. Three parts cold detachment, with a trace of unintentional wildness.

Even having seen countless beauties, he couldn't help but exclaim at this moment—absolute perfection!

(End of Chapter)