Chapter 16 Rourou is the best girl

When this was brought up, Jiang Fei felt even more upset. She tugged on her father and glanced at Jiang Qingrou, saying, “If she didn’t pass, would her family be boiling chicken in celebration? Dad, don’t bother going over—probably already finished eating anyway.”

Jiang Yi smacked his lips. The discomfort in his heart now outweighed his craving for food. He was afraid that if he went in, he’d be dragged into congratulating Jiang Qingrou by his elder brother and sister-in-law, so he decided to leave.

Still, he comforted himself: his daughter was ranked first, after all. Jiang Qingrou could never top that.

But Jiang Qingrou wasn’t going to let them off that easily. She walked over with mock surprise and said, “Sister, that’s not fair to say. My mom started cooking the chicken this afternoon. Our test results didn’t come out until this evening!”

The implication: Even if I didn’t pass, I’d still be eating chicken. My family treats me well, not because of my grades, but because they love me.

Then she added another jab, “Uncle, you reek of alcohol. I’m guessing you’ve also got some great food waiting at home to welcome Sister back—after all, she got seventh place! Just barely behind me!”

Jiang Fei’s face turned green. At first, Jiang Qingrou’s bragging had already made her furious. But when Jiang Qingrou openly stated her ranking, panic took over.

She shot a hateful glare at Jiang Qingrou, praying that her drunken father hadn’t caught the comment. She quickly tried to pull Jiang Yi away.

But Jiang Yi flung her hand off. Jiang Fei stumbled, nearly falling. Jiang Qingrou gasped and reached to catch her, but her grip slipped, only catching a corner of her shirt before losing hold.

Jiang Fei fell hard to the ground.

Jiang Yi didn’t care at all. He stared at Jiang Qingrou in disbelief and asked, “Rou Rou, what you just said—was it true?”

Jiang Qingrou looked innocent, like she’d made a mistake, and turned to Jiang Fei. “Sister, you didn’t tell Uncle yet? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

Jiang Fei had just climbed to her feet. Hearing that, she wanted to rip Jiang Qingrou’s mouth off. She was doing this on purpose!

The look on Jiang Fei’s face gave Jiang Qingrou great satisfaction.

Guilt? If it were just a random girl, Jiang Qingrou wouldn’t have done this. But this was Jiang Fei—the one who had always compared herself to and sabotaged the original Jiang Qingrou, the one who would one day cause her entire family to become cannon fodder.

So guilt? Not even a little. She felt fantastic.

Jiang Yi, ignoring everything else, yanked Jiang Fei by the sleeve and dragged her home. He cursed as he walked, “I paid for you to train in the dance troupe, and you came back with seventh place? You’re not even as good as that useless Jiang Qingrou. You’d better give me a good explanation!”

He sounded so venomous it was like he was dragging his enemy, not his daughter.

Jiang Fei finally couldn’t hold back her sobs. She had planned to ease her parents into the news—explain how hard the test was before breaking the result to soften the blow. She never expected Jiang Qingrou to say everything first!

Jiang Fei turned back, her eyes full of hatred as she looked at Jiang Qingrou.

Jiang Qingrou gave her a pure and innocent smile in return.

“What are you looking at? Not embarrassed enough yet?” Jiang Yi pulled again. Jiang Fei stumbled after him, tears streaming down her face.

Back in the house, Jiang Qingrou didn’t hide what had just happened.

“Dad, Uncle came by earlier, and I chatted with him. I might’ve said something wrong, and he stormed off with Cousin. You’re not mad at me, right?”

She pursed her rosy lips, looking anxious and worried like she’d made a big mistake.

Jiang Yuan would never be mad at his daughter. A little tipsy now, he said righteously, “How could I be mad at you? If anything, it’s him, a grown man arguing with a child—how petty!”

Still, Jiang Yuan was worried about his brother. He never planned to support him again, but he still cared about family. His eyes drifted to the leftover chicken soup. He was about to suggest giving it to Jiang Fei when Qi Fang snatched the pot away.

Qi Fang’s expression soured. “That brother of yours probably came sniffing around when he smelled the chicken. I saw him lurking around the doorway earlier this afternoon. I told you this leftover soup is for our girl’s breakfast tomorrow—she loves chicken noodle soup!”

She shot a glance at Jiang Qingrou, signaling her to back her up.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Qingrou’s nose twitched and she looked like she was going to cry. “Dad, maybe I should just bring it to Uncle. He seemed really upset with me—he even called me a useless good-for-nothing. If he drinks the soup, maybe he won’t dislike me so much…”

Her words shocked everyone. Jiang Yuan looked at her with deep concern. “Rou Rou, are you serious?”

Jiang Qingrou bit her lip and nodded sadly.

Jiang Qingliang, already tipsy and now furious, shouted, “Dad, if you let Rou Rou take that soup over, I’m cutting ties with you! He dares call her a useless good-for-nothing? He should take a good look at himself!”

“Don’t say that,” Jiang Qingzhi tried to calm him, though his own face was pale with anger.

Qi Fang was even more upset. “Jiang Yuan, that brother of yours is completely out of line. He’s always mocking Rou Rou. Now he dares say something like that to her face? It’s not just insulting her—it’s insulting you! If you still want to bring food to his house, fine. I’ll pack your bags myself. You can go be his good brother and Jiang Fei’s good uncle!”

Everyone in the family doted on their little girl. And now some unemployed drunk had the nerve to call her useless?

Who did he think he was?

Did he have any idea what kind of emotional damage words like that could do to her?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She wrapped her arms tightly around Jiang Qingrou. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t matter. In my eyes, you’re the best girl in the world. No one compares to you.”

“I agree!” Jiang Qingliang echoed firmly.

Even Jiang Qingzhi, who never said anything insincere, added, “Rou Rou is the kindest girl I know. There’s no way she’s some ‘useless’ person.”

Jiang Qingrou’s heart warmed. But at the same time, she worried for Old Jiang.

Because of her, her father was now a target of everyone’s frustration. Still, she had no regrets.

She knew that her father would always soften toward his brother and would even secretly help him now and then. That would eventually give Jiang Yi the leverage to betray him later.

So Jiang Qingrou had made up her mind: she’d start now, making her father slowly give up on Jiang Yi. Once, twice, or a thousand times—whatever it took.