“Dad, Lu Ming and I truly love each other, but Xiaoke is still young. As her older sister, it’s only right for me to be a little more understanding,” Feng Ning said kindly, playing the role of a generous and understanding older sister.

Seeing through the false faces of this mother-daughter duo, Wang Xiaoke had completely lost any illusions about these people. She stormed back to her room, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.

Wang Chengyao, seeing that his daughter was treating him like air, pointed at her retreating figure and roared with fury, “Come back here! If you dare walk out that door, I, Wang Chengyao, will pretend I have no daughter!”

“Dad, for someone like her, you’re willing to give up your own flesh and blood?” Wang Xiaoke just wanted to find somewhere to catch her breath. She didn’t want to show weakness in front of those she despised, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Lu Ming, holding a large bag of breakfast, entered just in time to witness the scene.

He quickly stepped forward, blocking her way and trying to soothe her, “Xiaoke, I know I’ve mishandled things between us, and if you’re upset, you can take it out on me. But you can’t blame Feng Ning—she’s your sister. How can you call her an outsider? She’ll be so hurt if she hears that.”

“Get away from me…!” Wang Xiaoke was furious, unable to comprehend how shameless this person could be!

“Xiaoke, we all know you like Lu Ming. Now that Feng Ning is having a child, it must be hard for you. We also know that you were just saying things in anger. Let’s sit down and talk things through, so you don’t hurt the relationship between you and your father,” Feng Jin said, her voice soft and soothing, but every word felt like a knife to Wang Xiaoke’s heart.

Yes, I do like Lu Ming, and I am jealous that Feng Ning is having a child. But what I can’t tolerate even more is how you’ve all been deceiving me with your false faces for so long, and still have no self-awareness. Is this your way of reminding me how much of a failure I am? Wang Xiaoke scoffed inwardly.

“Xiaoke, I really appreciate your feelings, but matters of the heart can’t be forced. I hope you can support me and your sister. I didn’t reject you clearly before because I was afraid of hurting you. I thought I could handle things between us well, but now I realize I was wrong. No matter how persistent or passionate you are, I should have rejected you from the start. Please forgive me for the pain I caused,” Lu Ming said sincerely, bowing in apology.

But every word he said felt like a blade twisting in her heart. Wang Xiaoke felt numb with pain and could only laugh bitterly.

“Lu Ming, who do you think you are? Does the whole world have to love you? You really think too highly of yourself,” Wang Xiaoke said, her disdain for the man evident. “Lu Ming, I must have been blind to fall for you in the first place.”

Seeing Wang Xiaoke’s angry expression, Lu Ming instinctively took a step back. He hadn’t forgotten the blow she’d given him the night before. When this woman went mad, she really could be dangerous.

“Xiaoke, calm down. This is your home, where are you going?” Feng Ning’s voice came from behind, almost like a taunt, cutting through the air with a threatening tone.

“Let her go. I, Wang Chengyao, will pretend I never had such a shameless daughter.”

Wang Chengyao, thinking that his daughter was frustrated by unrequited love, was now consumed with anger, and seeing his daughter’s stubbornness, he couldn’t hold back his harsh words.

Hearing those words, Wang Xiaoke paused for a moment, then ran out without looking back.

She wandered aimlessly on the street, her eyes red. She took deep breaths, trying hard not to let the tears fall.

Why was it that every time something happened, she just wanted to escape? Since she couldn’t expose those two deceitful people, maybe beating them up to vent her anger would feel better, Wang Xiaoke despised herself for thinking that way.

But as soon as she thought of Wang Chengyao’s disappointed gaze, she hesitated again. Her sensitive nature made her unsure of how her father would choose between his kind and gentle wife and her, the unwanted daughter. So, her first instinct was not to fight, but to quickly escape from the center of it all.

Ding ling ling…

The phone rang urgently.

Wang Xiaoke rummaged through her bag, and the screen displayed the name: Su Man.

“Hello, Xiaoke, have you finished the script you promised me?”

“You said you’d have it done by noon. How much time has passed already?”

“I called you several times last night and you didn’t pick up. Don’t tell me it’s still not ready. I’m telling you, this script is urgent. If you tell me it’s not done, we’re going to have a serious problem,” a crisp, businesslike female voice fired off like a machine gun.

“This…”

When it came to this, Wang Xiaoke felt guilty. Last night, she had been so focused on those two despicable people, Feng Ning and Lu Ming, that she completely forgot about her work. After waking up this morning and going through a series of shocks, she completely threw the script out of her mind.

“Stop stuttering! I’m not buying it. You’d better give me a good explanation, or don’t expect me to forgive you,” Su Man said. She and Wang Xiaoke had been friends since childhood, and they were as close as sisters. Su Man knew her like the back of her hand.

“I… something happened on my side, the situation is a bit complicated,” Wang Xiaoke tried to make her voice sound normal.

“Are you crying?” Su Man immediately noticed the difference.

In Su Man’s mind, Wang Xiaoke was definitely not the type of girl who would cry. On the contrary, whenever she showed her immense strength, she was a total tomboy. But now, through the phone, Su Man could hear the suppressed sobs. It was clear that Wang Xiaoke was really in a difficult situation she couldn’t resolve.

“Where are you?”

Wang Xiaoke gave her an address, and Su Man’s voice came through the phone, urgent, “I’m coming to find you now. Stay where you are and don’t move.”

Wang Xiaoke didn’t have many true friends, and now, feeling extremely depressed, she wanted someone to talk to. Su Man, who appeared at just the right moment, felt like a trash bin where she could unload all her frustrations. Without caring about the curious stares from bystanders, Wang Xiaoke hugged Su Man and burst into tears.

Su Man was dressed in a women’s professional suit, with mid-length, slightly wavy short hair, big eyes, a delicate nose, and red lips. She looked both sharp and eye-catching, standing in front of the disheveled Wang Xiaoke, instantly overshadowing her.

Hearing Wang Xiaoke’s horrified sobs, which sounded like a pig being slaughtered, Su Man, who was 1.67 meters tall, froze like a bamboo stick, unsure of what to do.

Finally, after Wang Xiaoke cried herself out, Su Man spoke, “Are you done crying? If you’re done, let’s go to my place.”

Wang Xiaoke wiped her nose and absentmindedly wiped her hand on Su Man’s clothes. “Okay.”

Su Man turned to look at her action, her expression frozen for a while before she turned her head.

Heaven knows how much self-control she used to hold back from punching this girl.