Chapter 22

The moment Qiao Ya entered the mansion, she tossed her branded handbag, which costs tens of thousands of RMB, aside. Her expression was dark as she sat on the couch.

Yu Tingyun was sitting on the couch and reading a fashion magazine. She raised her head to look at Qiao Ya. “What’s wrong? Did anything unpleasant happen at work? Why are you throwing a tantrum at home? You’ve just started working at the company. You should take it slow.”

“No, mum. I met Qiao Mu outside. I feel annoyed whenever I see her. Can you stop her from coming home?” Qiao Ya’s eyebrows were furrowed. She really hated Qiao Mu.

The smile on Yu Tingyun’s face faded, and she said flatly, “You shouldn’t simply say things like this. What if your father hears it? He’ll get angry. I’ve told you before not to make things difficult for that girl. You just need to remember that you’re the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, and that you won’t be affected no matter what Qiao Mu achieves.”

There was disdain on Qiao Ya’s face. “What can she achieve? She’s just a beautiful but foolish girl, a shameless one at that. I feel annoyed whenever I think of her!”

Yu Tingyun’s expression turned cold. Things would have been easier if Qiao Mu was really a beautiful but foolish girl. Yu Tingyun despised Qiao Mu even more than Qiao Ya. Qiao Mu’s existence was proof that her husband had cheated on her, and no woman would be able to withstand seeing her husband’s illegitimate daughter every day. No matter how good her mindset was, she could not stop herself from feeling furious and disgusted every time she saw Qiao Mu. But she had no choice but to pretend to be a good-natured wife and stepmother who did not mind that her husband had made such a mistake.

Qiao Ya was still talking about Qiao Mu, and Yu Tingyun cut her off a little impatiently. “Stop talking about her. She only comes home once a week. Just live with it, and she’ll be gone before you know it.”

They could hear the sounds of the door being unlocked. Qiao Mu was back.

Qiao Mu greeted Yu Tingyun with a smile. “Aunt Yun, I’m back.”

Yu Tingyun obviously did not treat Qiao Mu as kindly as she usually did whenever Qiao Jiannan was around. She nodded indifferently and continued reading the fashion magazine she was holding.

Qiao Mu did not mind. She said, not caring if Yu Tingyun was listening to her, “I’ll head to my room first. We can eat dinner together when dad is back later.”

Qiao Mu did not linger in the living room and went upstairs. Because of how tired she was after what happened the night before, she fell asleep the moment she lay down on her bed. It was already evening when she woke up.

After she went downstairs, she realized that her father was not back yet. Yu Tingyun’s expression was cold as she said, “Your father has an emergency business trip. He won’t be coming home tonight.”

This was when Qiao Ya said, “Someone really doesn’t know her place. She doesn’t even know that she’s not welcomed here.”

“Young Ya!” Yu Tingyun called out, but her tone was not accusatory at all. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

There was disdain on Qiao Ya’s face. “Mum, am I wrong? She doesn’t belong in our family, anyway. She pollutes the air at home every time she’s back.”

Qiao Mu clenched her fist, and a hint of anger flashed past her eyes. She said slowly, “Big sister, it’s not a problem for you to say something like this privately, but things won’t end well if dad ends up hearing it. Aunt Yun, don’t you think so?”

Qiao Mu could put up with a lot of things the members of the Qiao family did, but this was too much. She would be a pushover if she did not fight back!

“You!” Qiao Ya’s expression was dark.

Yu Tingyun said nothing as she looked at Qiao Mu. ‘Is she a so-called beautiful but foolish girl? If she is, she’s definitely being foolish at the right times!’

Qiao Mu grabbed her backpack. “Aunt Yun, I have a class tomorrow, so I’ll be heading back to campus first.”

Qiao Mu opened the door and saw that someone was standing outside the mansion.

The man outside the door was tall and muscular, and Qiao Mu could feel a slight breeze as she stood in front of the door. But the breeze was a little cold, and this made Qiao Mu stop in her tracks.

It was Li Yan!

Qiao Mu did not expect to see him again so soon. Did he not ask her to look for him on Monday?

She immediately became anxious. She lowered her head and said politely, “Uncle, why are you here?”