Chapter 14

He had always deliberately tried to provoke Yan Ning by comparing her to the school beauty, yet Yan Ning, that bad woman, didn’t say a word. The reason she was still in seventh grade at seventeen was ultimately because of her swapped identity with Yan Wan—she couldn’t afford to go to school.

He had been constantly poking at her sore spots. How should he treat her from now on?

Wait, no!

“If Yan Ning really did live in poverty in the countryside like you said, then how do you explain that pile of jewelry?” Shi Lei’s mind suddenly clicked.

“This is what’s so interesting. From what I know, Ningning went missing when she was twelve, the cause unknown. But five years later, she suddenly appeared in B city, and that’s when the Yan family found her,” Qiao Yingxue said.

“You investigated her?”

“Because I was a bit curious, I casually looked it up,” Qiao Yingxue said nonchalantly. “No one knows what happened during those five years she was missing. But she doesn’t seem like someone who’s been wandering around alone for five years. Something even more unbelievable might have happened to her. And the Yan family doesn’t seem to have realized this, treating her like a fool. The school beauty, Yan Wan, also seems to have missed this point. The beauty pageant is getting more interesting the further it goes.”

Shi Lei shuddered. “The young lady is really terrifying.”

Zhao Xiaolu and Zhou Ye were used to Qiao Yingxue’s behavior and didn’t find it particularly shocking.

“Compared to the school beauty, I actually prefer Ningning. So, for the second round of the competition, I’ll do my best to help her,” Zhao Xiaolu suddenly declared.

“I have no objections. I’m also curious to see how far Ningning will go,” Qiao Yingxue said with a smile.

Yan Ning had no idea about the discussions behind her back. When she returned to the Yan house, both Yan Wan and Yan Yu were downstairs, sitting together and talking about something. Yan Yu looked very happy, completely different from how he acted around Yan Ning.

“Ningning, you’re back. How did the interview go?” Yan Wan greeted Yan Ning warmly, acting like a competent older sister.

“I’m not sure, the results won’t be out until the afternoon.”

“Oh, I forgot. Auntie just cut some fruit. Come on and have some, let’s chat for a bit.” Yan Wan pointed to a large plate of fruit on the dining table, all peeled and neatly cut.

Yan Ning walked over and sat down. She guessed that Yan Wan had probably been waiting for her.

“I didn’t talk to you this morning, you’re not mad at me, right?” Yan Wan said, her tone soft and gentle, with a slight furrow in her brow, looking quite apologetic.

“How could I? I’m not angry,” Yan Ning said expressionlessly.

She wasn’t really angry, but since no one else was home, she was tired of pretending, so she stopped managing her expressions. As long as her words conveyed her feelings, that was enough.

“Sis, you didn’t do anything wrong. Why bother talking to her about this? I already told her, not getting close to you at school,” Yan Yu frowned.

This little brat, she would catch him sooner or later and give him a good lesson.

“Ningning, don’t overthink it. Xiao Yu is still young and doesn’t understand. When he grows up a bit more and you spend more time together, he won’t act like this,” Yan Wan said, sounding like a parent defending her child.

Yan Ning thought of a few of her classmates. One of them, who was even a year younger than Yan Yu, was blunt and direct, but at least he wasn’t as thoughtless as Yan Yu.

“I’m not overthinking it, and neither should you,” Yan Ning said dismissively, not wanting to waste time with Yan Wan, her tone indifferent.

“Ningning, do you not like talking to me?” Yan Wan’s voice suddenly carried a hint of tears.

What? Really?

Yan Ning was caught off guard but quickly responded, “How could that be? How could I not like talking to you?”

Uh… she said it too quickly.

Well, actually, she did it on purpose.

Tears suddenly flooded Yan Wan’s eyes without any warning, not giving her a chance to explain. She raised her hand to cover her face, looking devastated.

Yan Yu shot Yan Ning a harsh glare and leaned over to comfort Yan Wan.

“What’s going on?” Tang Minrou’s voice suddenly appeared, “Why is Wanwan crying?”

Tang Minrou was wearing a bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head, probably having just finished a shower. She held a cup of water, looking like she had come downstairs to get a drink.

“Mom,” Yan Ning called out.

Tang Minrou casually placed the cup aside and walked over to check on Yan Wan, not hearing Yan Ning call her: “Wanwan, what happened? Tell Mom, don’t cry.”

“It’s all her fault for making my sister sad,” Yan Yu pointed at Yan Ning and said.

“Mom, I’m fine,” Yan Wan said, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t blame Ningning. We’re sisters, so it’s normal to have little disagreements sometimes. It’s all my fault for being so useless, it’s just some small things, but I couldn’t stop crying.”

“Ningning, come over and apologize to Wanwan,” Tang Minrou said sternly, looking at Yan Ning.

Yan Ning finally understood. Tang Minrou had probably already known about this when she got home today. She hadn’t seen Tang Minrou’s shoes at the door, which meant they were likely put away. Yan Wan had intentionally waited downstairs for her, setting up this situation.

“I didn’t do anything, why should I apologize?” Yan Ning stood her ground. It was her mistake today, allowing Yan Wan to manipulate the situation. She knew that apologizing now was the quickest way to resolve it, but she didn’t want to indulge Yan Wan.

Honestly, she didn’t mind having one more person in the house, and she would accept her parents’ favoritism. But Yan Wan was too calculating, always trying to push her down.

If coming back was for enduring this kind of nonsense, she’d rather go back to Xinghua Village to help her grandfather feed the pigs.

“Yan Ning,” Tang Minrou said sharply, using her full name.

“Mom, I really didn’t do anything. She asked me if I didn’t like talking to her, and I said, ‘How could I?’ Then she cried, and that’s when you came in.”

“Yan Ning!” Tang Minrou’s voice was firm, not willing to listen.

Yan Wan stood up, sobbing so hard her voice was shaky: “Mom, don’t force Ningning, it’s my fault. I wanted to get along well with Ningning, but I really don’t have the right to. It’s all because you and Dad are kind-hearted and took me in.”

“I thought you didn’t know,” Yan Ning blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Yan Ning, go upstairs!” Tang Minrou shouted as she held Yan Wan in her arms, pointing at Yan Ning.

Yan Ning turned and walked away, and Tang Minrou didn’t stop her. She lowered her head and gently comforted the crying Yan Wan.

Yan Ning returned to her room, closed the door, and walked to her favorite balcony, picking up a cushion and sitting there in a daze.

It would be a lie to say she hadn’t fantasized about her parents’ love.

When Tang Minrou and Yan Zhengjun came to Xinghua Village to pick her up, she thought that since they were willing to travel such a long distance to get her, they must really love her—much deeper than they had shown.

After learning about Yan Wan’s existence, she quickly adjusted her mindset. As long as the other person didn’t actively cause trouble, she could get along peacefully with her. But it was clear Yan Wan didn’t think that way.

Right now, it was just a bit of playful trouble, but one day, she and Yan Wan would become irreconcilable.

She collapsed helplessly onto the blanket, and her phone suddenly rang. With little energy, she took out her phone and saw a text message: “Congratulations, Miss Yan Ning, number 216, for successfully passing the preliminary selection of the individual event in the school sports competition. Your number has been changed to 20. The second round of the competition will be held on the evening of April 30th at the Minghua Middle School Auditorium. The competition theme is talent, and we impose no restrictions. There will be a live audience vote, and the top ten contestants with the highest votes will directly advance to the next round. We look forward to your wonderful performance!”

Yan Ning sat up. Now was not the time to be discouraged.