Chapter 62: Rules

Xiao Miaomiao stood at the door waiting for her parents to come home, a happy smile on her face. When she saw her father-in-law and mother-in-law returning, she immediately went to greet them, warmly saying, “Dad, Mom, you’re back, just in time for dinner.”

Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Xiao Miaomiao, Ouyang Xuan felt very comforted. She smiled at Xiao Miaomiao and said, “Okay, let’s go eat. Miaomiao, in the future, if you’re hungry, just eat first, no need to wait for us to come back, there aren’t that many rules in this house.”

Li Chen also echoed, “Yeah, Miaomiao, listen to your mom, we don’t have those rules here, do whatever makes you comfortable.” He was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law, loving her like his own daughter.

Xiao Miaomiao looked at her father-in-law and mother-in-law with gratitude, smiling and replying, “It’s okay, it’s more lively when we eat together.” She knew their good intentions, but she preferred to share warm moments with her family.

Ouyang Xuan and Li Chen exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly. They understood Xiao Miaomiao’s thoughts, although they felt sorry for her, they also respected her decision. After all, eating together was indeed more lively and had a better atmosphere.

Li Chen suddenly remembered something and seriously said to Xiao Miaomiao, “I’ve already told the butler, from now on, don’t let anyone from the Xiao family come over, if you don’t want to see them, don’t see them, don’t force yourself.”

A trace of emotion flashed in Xiao Miaomiao’s eyes, she softly said, “Okay, thank you, Dad.”

Li Chen gently patted her shoulder, saying warmly, “You don’t need to thank me, we’re all family.”

Xiao Miaomiao also felt warmth in her heart looking at them, yes, family, only this is family, as for the Xiao family, they were just irrelevant people to her.

Xiao Zhao didn’t know how he got back home, the words of the Li family couple were indeed a huge blow to him, their status and position didn’t need to lie, so it was most likely true.

If that was the case, then it made sense why Xiao Miaomiao didn’t like her stepmother’s family, he really had no right to ask Xiao Miaomiao to do anything.

Thinking about this, Xiao Zhao felt a pang of sadness, all these years, he had always been puzzled why his sister suddenly changed, but now he finally understood the reason.

Seeing his son return, Xiao Lin immediately went to greet him, asking, “Xiao Zhao, how is it? Did your sister agree to you? Did she agree to let Jiang Qi give up the position of president to me?”

Xiao Lin could only pin his last hope on his son, if Xiao Miaomiao could help him get the position of president, then he could continue to control the company and wouldn’t be kicked out of the house.

Xiao Zhao shook his head, his expression somewhat weary.

“Did you talk to Miaomiao? If she doesn’t agree, you’ll disown her as your sister, she will agree.” Xiao Lin said, looking at him, he could still tell that Xiao Miaomiao cared most about Xiao Zhao in the Xiao family.

Xiao Zhao looked at Xiao Lin, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, “Dad, Miaomiao doesn’t want to see me, you said you wouldn’t acknowledge her as your daughter, and you wouldn’t go look for her anymore, the current head of the Li family said, anyone from the Xiao family, including me, if we appear in front of Xiao Miaomiao again and make her unhappy, our Xiao family won’t be able to stay in Yun City.”

Xiao Lin frowned, displeased and said, “So what? Are you still afraid of them? As long as Miaomiao is willing to come back, everything will be fine.”

Xiao Zhao sneered, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger, “Dad, when Miaomiao was born, you wanted to kill her, right?”

Hearing these words, Xiao Lin’s face instantly turned pale, his eyes flickered, not daring to meet Xiao Zhao’s gaze.

Xiao Zhao studied psychology, how could he not see Xiao Lin’s avoidance and nervousness? His heart felt as if it had been pierced, the father he had always thought of was actually so cold-blooded and ruthless.

Xiao Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing the pain and anger in his heart, and slowly said, “I’m going back to my room.” After saying this, he turned and left, leaving Xiao Lin in a state of shock.

“Big brother, did Xiao Miaomiao say something? That’s all slander! The Jiang family blames Dad for marrying Mom, that’s why they said that! Don’t believe what they say! We’re a family!” Xiao Yuyan explained anxiously, her eyes filled with panic.

However, Xiao Zhao remained unmoved, he slowly opened his hand, his eyes cold as he looked at Xiao Yuyan in front of him, at this moment, he suddenly felt that his sister had become so unfamiliar.

“True or false, he knows in his heart.” Xiao Zhao said expressionlessly, turning and leaving.

Back in his room, Xiao Zhao laughed at himself, he finally understood why Xiao Miaomiao hated the Xiao family so much, it turned out that from the beginning, the Xiao family had never treated her as family.

Xiao Zhao sat silently by the bed, his gaze involuntarily falling on the family portrait on the table.

This family portrait had him, his father, and his stepmother’s family, but it was missing Xiao Miaomiao. Xiao Zhao suddenly felt a sense of panic, he hurriedly opened the cabinet to look for another photo, thankfully, it was still there.

It was a precious photo, only him and his mother, his mother was pregnant at that time, Xiao Miaomiao was still in her mother’s belly, only five months old, not yet born.

Xiao Zhao held this photo tightly, an endless wave of guilt and self-blame surged through his heart. He realized that he had been ignoring Xiao Miaomiao’s feelings all these years, causing her to suffer too much injustice and pain.

In the photo, a little boy gently placed his hand on his mother’s belly, a pure and determined smile on his face.

That little boy had once vowed to protect his sister, but now he felt like he had lost her. Now, the relationship between him and his sister had become so tense, it could even be said to be enemies.

Xiao Zhao hugged the frame tightly, as if he wanted to hold onto the warmth of those memories, but reality made him feel extremely heavy.

Xiao Zhao, who had not slept all night, sat there silently, his thoughts surging like a tide. When the sky gradually turned pale, he finally realized that a whole night had passed.

Xiao Zhao slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked blankly into the distance. Suddenly, his eyes were caught by a familiar figure.

Seeing Xiao Miaomiao running out of the house, Xiao Zhao put down the photo and ran out.

When he caught up, there was another person and a dog accompanying Xiao Miaomiao running, they were accommodating Xiao Miaomiao’s running speed, deliberately slowing down to keep pace with her.

Xiao Zhao felt a surge of impulse, wanting to call out to Xiao Miaomiao, but when he opened his mouth, he found that he didn’t know what to say.

Zhang Jie had noticed Xiao Zhao from the beginning, but thinking of Xiao Miaomiao’s dislike for the Xiao family, he didn’t say anything.