“What do you think?”

Father Xu scolded without hesitation, “Her current behavior is the result of your indulgence.”

Xu’s mother was left speechless.

Xu Zhijia’s face turned an alarming shade of pale, as if she might collapse from the shock at any moment.

Xu Zhilu, observing from the side, calmly reminded him, “Dad, the focus now should be on checking the other watch first.”

Father Xu refocused his attention.

The group examined the contents of the small box, finding it contained the same Xingchen watch as the one Xu Zhilu was wearing.

After seeing this, Father Xu said, “Do you see? Zhilu didn’t steal Jiajia’s watch.”

Xu’s mother frowned. “Then how could she afford it?”

Just then, a young man’s voice came from outside. “Aunt Pei, I can answer that question.”

Everyone turned to look.

Xu’s mother saw Shen Siyan and Shen’s mother and was surprised. “Why are you here?”

Shen’s mother smiled slightly. “Shen Siyan wanted me to verify something.”

Upon seeing Shen Siyan, Xu Zhijia’s legs went limp, and she sank into a chair.

Xu’s mother was taken aback. “Verify with Shen’s mother?”

Shen Siyan smiled. “Aunt Pei, you were asking about the watch Xu Zhilu is wearing, right?”

He raised his chin and said, “I gave it to her.”

Xu’s mother was shocked. 

She stared at Shen Siyan in disbelief. “What did you say?”

She pointed at Xu Zhilu’s watch. “Is this a gift from you?”

Shen Siyan nodded.

Aunt Liu, who had been an unnoticed presence, spoke up. “Yes, this watch was given to Zhilu by Siyan on her birthday. I checked the box, and it’s from the same brand.”

Father and Mother Xu exchanged uncertain glances.

Shen Siyan smirked. “Aunt Liu, you’re mistaken.”

“Pardon?” Aunt Liu was confused. “How could I be wrong? I remember it clearly. I took it from you at that time.”

Shen Siyan nodded. “But Aunt Liu, did you personally give it to Xu Zhilu for me?”

Aunt Liu was stunned, and she shook her head. “No, Jiajia came back earlier and said she would take it to Zhilu.”

Shen Siyan smiled. “That’s right.”

He turned to Father Xu. “Uncle Xu, I did buy this watch for Xu Zhilu’s birthday, but it’s not the one she’s wearing now.”

Father Xu frowned. “What do you mean?”

Shen Siyan sneered and explained, “The watch Xu Zhilu is wearing was bought by me yesterday and given to her. The one for her birthday was never received by her.”

He looked at Father Xu confidently. “So, Uncle Xu, do you understand now?”

Father Xu was stunned and looked at Xu Zhijia in disbelief.

Tears streamed down Xu Zhijia’s face as she shook her head. “No, no, I didn’t steal her watch.”

Xu’s mother also protested. “How could Jiajia take her watch? I bought it with the money I gave her.”

“You bought it together, or did you just transfer money to Jiajia?” Father Xu asked.

Mother Xu replied, “Of course, I transferred the money directly to Jiajia.”

“Then let’s use Jiajia’s name.”

Mother Xu didn’t think further. “What do you mean?”

Shen Siyan addressed his mother. “Mom.”

Mother Shen cleared her throat and said, “Mr. Xu, it’s not appropriate for me to involve myself in your family matters. However, Shen Siyan asked me twice for money to buy this watch, so I investigated.”

Father Xu nodded. “Please, go ahead.”

Mother Shen smiled. “Certainly.”

She handed over some information. “I am familiar with the person in charge of this brand. After several dinners with him, I asked him about it.”

She continued, “This watch is a limited edition, with only 100 pieces in circulation. More than half have been sold. However, there is a watch with the same name as Jiajia’s, but the owner is from a northern city and has a different phone number.”

…

When these details were revealed, it was clear to everyone what had happened.

Xu Zhijia shook her head vigorously, desperate to deny any wrongdoing. But faced with the stern looks from Father Xu and the shocked expression of Mother Xu, she couldn’t find her voice.

“No…”

“Not what?” Xu Zhilu asked, aggressively. “Didn’t you buy this watch, or did you steal the one Shen Siyan gave me?”

She smiled slightly and said seriously, “As long as you admit it, Aunt Shen and Shen Siyan can find out. If necessary, Dad can too.”

Shen Siyan chuckled. “Or we could check the community surveillance footage.”

He looked at Father Xu. “Uncle Xu, if you don’t believe me, I can have my dad send you the footage.”

“No need,” Father Xu said, after a long pause, his voice full of anger. “Xu Zhijia! Are you out of your mind? Why did you take your sister’s birthday present? Don’t you have one yourself? You even asked your mother for 10,000 yuan. Where did that money go?”

Xu Zhijia was too terrified to speak.

She hid behind her mother, tears streaming down her face. “Mom… I didn’t mean to. I just made a mistake. I planned to return it later.”

“You haven’t.”

Xu Zhilu looked directly at her. “If you had, you wouldn’t have acted so arrogantly.”

She continued, “Even if you had secretly returned it to my room, I wouldn’t have done this to you. But you never returned it, did you?”

…

Shen’s mother and Shen Siyan did not stay long, as it was inappropriate for them to witness the ensuing punishment.

Before leaving, Shen’s mother offered a final piece of advice. “Mr. Xu, a family should treat all its members equally. Zhilu is also your child. You can’t favor one over the other. This may seem blunt, but it’s sincere advice.”

Father Xu nodded. “I understand. Thank you for your help. I’ll come by your house to thank you in person when I have time.”

“No need for thanks,” Shen’s mother replied. “Just don’t mind me interfering in your affairs.”

“Rest assured.”

After Shen’s mother left, Father Xu turned to Xu Zhijia and said, “Come here.”

Xu Zhijia hesitated, too afraid to move forward. She had never seen Father Xu like this before.

“Come over!” Father Xu’s voice was stern and commanding, though he wasn’t yelling.

Xu Zhijia trembled as she approached cautiously.

As soon as she was close enough, a loud slap echoed through the restaurant.

Xu Zhijia was stunned by the force of the blow, and even Xu’s mother cried out, “What are you doing? She made a mistake and just needs to correct it. Why did you hit her?”

Father Xu raised his hand again, but then stopped. 

“Do you think hitting her is unnecessary?” he said, his voice filled with anger. “If I don’t punish her, she’ll never learn her lesson! I can overlook the fact that she targeted her sister before, but now she’s even stolen her sister’s gift! What on earth was she thinking?”

For Father Xu, Xu Zhijia’s actions were infuriating, especially since the gift was from Shen Siyan, who was well-known to both Shen Siyan and Shen’s mother.

Father Xu cared deeply about his reputation and financial matters. He was particularly sensitive to how the Shen family would view him. Shen’s mother’s comments had made him fear that the Shen family might see him and his family in a negative light in the future, which could harm his business dealings with them.

More importantly, he felt he had lost his face, which he couldn’t tolerate. Xu Zhijia’s actions had pushed him to the edge.

Father Xu pointed at Xu Zhijia and ordered, “Go back to your room and reflect on your behavior. From now on, you’re grounded except for school.”

“I…”

“What?” Father Xu sneered. “Don’t even think about going to your training course. You clearly have too much idle time on your hands!”

He turned to Xu’s mother. “If you continue to shield her, just wait and see.”

Mother Xu’s hands clenched at her sides, her lips trembling, but she chose not to argue.

Father Xu handed the watch back to Xu Zhilu and said, “Don’t accept such expensive gifts from Siyan in the future.”

Xu Zhilu nodded. “I understand.”

“I’ll give you the money for the watch later. You can pass it on to Siyan.”

He glanced at Xu Zhilu. “After breakfast, you should get on with your day.”

“Thank you.”

Xu Zhilu accepted the money without protest, feeling it was only fair.

_