Chapter 5  : A Country Bumpkin

Qin Man scowled at the young woman. She had been speaking for god knows how long, and the girl wouldn’t even listen? All her small brain could think about was entering the house?

Then again, she wasn’t surprised. After all, this Yao Tang grew up in the countryside. The last thing she had was proper upbringing.

She shouldn’t have set the bar too high.

Even then, Qin Man still couldn’t help herself as she gazed at her supposed daughter with disdain. “If you don’t want to return to that terrorizing mountain again, then I’d suggest you drop the act and listen to me,” she snapped.

“I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. You may not be able to control anything that you’ve gone through, but the moment you step inside, you don’t have the luxury of becoming careless. If you’ve done nothing but hold us back, then you shouldn’t blame me for sending you back where you came from!”

As soon as the words slipped her lips, Qin Man turned her head to the side, refusing to look her in the eye.

Despite this, Yao Tang’s face remained indifferent from her sneers and insults. Her dark eyes were as calm as the wind. It’s as if she was simply watching all of this on-screen.

“Butler Shen will be calling someone to send the luggage in.” She sniffed, turning away. “You may greet your sister when you head inside.”

Yao Tang suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she headed into the mansion.

When Qin Man saw the familiarity in her steps, her face shadowed over with even more disdain. The young girl didn’t even wait for her to show her inside! Her fingernails dug into her palms.

How rude!

That country bumpkin was nothing compared to their adopted daughter! All she brought back to them was a series of potential problems and misfortune. If it weren’t for their Feng Shui Advisor stating otherwise, they wouldn’t have retrieved her from the mountains. As long as she was predicted to bring fortune to them all, she’d have to bite her tongue and live with it.

Let’s see if that old bastard was right.

If this girl was nothing but trouble, then Qin Man would find another reason to send her back to Yingxiu Village.

Yao Ran, who was sitting in the mansion, couldn’t help but overhear a pair of footsteps coming to the front entrance. A graceful smile slipped into her lips as she ran towards the door. However, what she didn’t expect was to see the stranger in front of her.

One look at her mother’s helpless face did she know what was happening.

“Mom, this woman is...”

Yao Ran immediately looked the woman up and down, feeling a sense of worry brewing in her chest.

“Ranran, meet Yao Tang.” Her voice wasn’t as gentle as it had been. Her eyes were also quite void of any warmth. “She’ll be staying with the Yao Family from this point forward.”

“I...” Her eyes widened in surprise.

When she glanced back at Yao Tang once more, she had to suppress another gasp. She blinked. Of course, she had known that her parents were planning to bring their actual daughter back from the countryside. She couldn’t really care any less than.

After all, the girl was nothing more than a country bumpkin. She’d survive.

Even if this Yao Tang was their biological child, she was nothing compared to her stature.

What Yao Ran didn’t expect was for this country bumpkin to actually be beautiful. She bit back her words, suddenly feeling a bit faint from the revelation. Even her seemingly naive smile and friendly gaze couldn’t hide the trace of hostility in her expression.

“Yao Tang!” she exclaimed. “I’m Yao Ran. I’ve heard so many stories about you from Mom and Dad, and now, I can finally meet my sister.”

She may be flustered, but she wasn’t going to make it obvious.

She smiled sweetly, extending her hands. “From now on, we can finally be a family. We’ll have our backs from this point forward, okay?”

This time, Yao Tang lifted her eyes. Her patience had already worn out from the exhaustingly long lecture she had from her “mother”. The indifference fell away from her expression, replaced with a small and mocking smirk. “A family, huh?” she said softly.

“I...Yes.” Yao Ran blinked. “Is there a problem?”

Yao Tang pursed her lips, shoving her hands far deeper into her pockets. Ignoring her small hand, she sneered. “I’m sorry, but we’re nowhere near to becoming a family.”

Seeing her confused expression, she added, “After all, we both have different parents, and this is the first time we’ve met.”

Yao Ran turned even paler as the next batch of words slapped her across the face. “Wouldn’t be a little hypocritical to say that we’re a family?” Yao Tang’s smirk widened even further.

“I...Sister, how could...” Yao Ran stuttered, staring at her in disbelief.

“I–how could you be so rude?” the old woman sputtered out, looking like a burning pot. “Your sister was already kind enough to welcome you, and you have the nerve to treat her like this!”

Seeing the apple of her eye being ridiculed like this, Qin Man could feel her heart burning with anger.