Chapter 5: Fairy Sister, Save Me!

Without lingering, she went straight back to her room.

The room the Jiang family had prepared for her was in the furthest corner of the second floor. Though it was small and sparsely furnished, she had never minded. After all, the overly extravagant, pink, and frilly princess style of Jiang Qingyan’s room was not to her taste anyway.

Initially, she hadn't felt there was anything wrong with that.

A few simple changes of clothes and some talisman papers she drew in her spare time—that was the entirety of her possessions in this world. She packed everything into the tattered backpack she had brought with her three years ago and turned to leave without a shred of nostalgia.

As she passed through the hall, a burst of joyful laughter echoed, sounding harmonious in a way that had nothing to do with her.

Seeing her come downstairs, a girl wearing a bow in her hair and a princess dress ran over enthusiastically to grab her arm: "Sister, when did you get back?"

Having said that, she covered her mouth, feigning the look of someone who had just made a slip of the tongue.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sister, I didn't mean it. It’s just that I went to find you last night because I wanted to ask you to go shopping today, but when I found you weren't in your room, I got a bit worried."

Jiang Zhiyue kept her face cold. She pressed a finger against Jiang Qingyan’s forehead and pushed her aside. "You are blocking my way."

"I'm sorry, Sister. Did I do something wrong?"

Watching this crybaby start to tear up again, Jiang Zhiyue took a deep breath, wishing she could just wring her neck.

"Zhiyue, come here."

The speaker was Mother Jiang, her biological mother in this world. After a moment of thought, she decided that if she were going to leave, she should at least formally bid the Jiang family farewell. She walked over.

Seeing her slouching posture, Mother Jiang frowned slightly before letting out a soft sigh.

"Zhiyue, how many times have I told you? A young lady should behave like one. I know you were used to being free and unsupervised when you were living outside, but things are different now. I don't want to see a repeat of last night, where you didn't come home at all. Do you hear me? You are a young lady of the Jiang family; you must follow the rules in everything you do. Take some time to learn from Qingyan; it won't hurt you."

Jiang Zhiyue curled her lip. Learn from Jiang Qingyan? Learn to cry every day until the family's luck was drained away? As a mother, she hadn't even asked where she went last night before slapping a label of "unruly" on her. What a wonderful mother indeed.

"Alright, later you and Qingyan will take Xiaoyu to the mall to buy some clothes and daily necessities. The poor child is blind and will be staying with us for a while."

"No," Jiang Zhiyue refused flatly.

Jiang Chen, who had been gloating on the side, jumped up in agitation: "Jiang Zhiyue, what is your problem? Am I giving you too much face?"

Jiang Zhiyue rolled her eyes at him, ignored him, and looked at Mother Jiang: "I came back to get my things. I am officially telling you that I am leaving the Jiang family."

Mother Jiang looked visibly bewildered. "What do you mean, leaving the Jiang family?"

"Exactly what you think it means. I know you haven't liked me for all these years, and that’s perfect, because I don't like you either. Over these past three years, I have repaid the debt of my birth. From now on, let’s treat each other as strangers."

As she spoke, she placed a copper coin into Mother Jiang’s palm: "You are my birth mother. In the future, you can use this coin to find me, and I will grant you one final request, free of charge. Goodbye."

The cold coin landed in her palm, and Mother Jiang was momentarily dazed, though she didn't take it to heart, assuming Jiang Zhiyue was just throwing a tantrum because she had been scolded. "You child, what nonsense are you spouting? This is your home, where else could you possibly go?"

Where else could she go?

Jiang Zhiyue took in the expressions of those around her. It turned out that in their eyes, she was someone who couldn't survive without the Jiang family.

*Sigh.*

She looked toward the front door and said faintly: "Whatever. The world is vast, and I want to go see it."

She thought to herself that she must surely possess a haunting, charming sense of brokenness at this very moment. Isn't that how it’s written in novels? Once the heroine is heartbroken and leaves, the supporting characters eventually remember her kindness and start slapping themselves in the middle of the night, cursing themselves for being wretched.

Jiang Chen laughed: "If you're going to leave, hurry up and get out. Don't stand here and bother us. Besides, the only sister I, Jiang Chen, recognize is Qingyan. If it weren't for that DNA test, someone like you wouldn't even be fit to stand in front of me."

"Brother, don't say that. It will hurt Sister's feelings." Jiang Qingyan tugged gently on Jiang Chen’s arm, and his expression softened immediately.

"Qingyan, she bullies you like this, and as soon as she returned to the Jiang family, she kept trying to get us to send you away—why are you still speaking up for her? That talk about 'incompatible horoscopes,' I think that’s just her own ghost story to drive you out."

"Oh, Jiang Chen, your friend’s face is very pale. And haven't you noticed that the clothes she's wearing look very familiar?" Jiang Zhiyue suddenly spoke up. After saying this, she tossed her hair and walked boldly out the door.

She had no interest in watching their display of sibling affection. This was the final hint she would give Jiang Chen; if he had any brains at all, he would realize something was wrong.

Unfortunately, Jiang Chen was brainless: "I’m telling you, Jiang Zhiyue, can you act normal? If you want to please us, can’t you just be a well-behaved girl like Qingyan? Always acting so mystical and weird—what is wrong with you? What’s wrong with Xiaoyu’s clothes? Just because they’re a bit old? Look at what you’re wearing yourself before you criticize others."

"And another thing, aren't you leaving? Don't you want to cut ties with the Jiang family? Every single thing you own was bought by us—have some pride and leave it all behind!"

"Jiang Zhiyue, don't make me look down on you!"

Jiang Chen went on a tirade as if someone had stepped on his tail.

Jiang Zhiyue wasn't about to indulge him: "So, even you know the clothes on my back aren't worth much? What have you ever bought me in all the years I’ve been back? Everything I wear or use was something Jiang Qingyan didn't want. All my clothes from the last three years combined aren't worth a single pair of Jiang Qingyan's panties, and you have the nerve to argue with me?"

"Furthermore, for the past few years in this house, I’ve been summoned at your beck and call, under the guise of 'settling my temperament' and 'testing my character.' Are you all sick? If you hired a servant as obedient as me, you’d be paying more than a thousand a month, wouldn't you?"

"You, you, you..." Jiang Chen stammered, unable to come up with a retort. At the beginning, they truly had intended to test this sister's character, but as time went on, they had simply grown used to it.

Mother Jiang stood by, looking a bit guilty: "Zhiyue, so you knew? Don't blame Mom. I only wanted you to feel the warmth of this home. As for material things, you are my daughter; how could I ever truly wrong you? I have already spoken to your father—once your brothers all return, we will officially announce to the world that you are our biological daughter. Everything a young lady of the Jiang family is entitled to, you will have."

Jiang Chen objected: "Mom, didn't we agree to only recognize her as an adopted daughter? If you do this, what about Qingyan? How is she supposed to hold her head up in our social circles?"

Jiang Qingyan said nothing, merely standing there with reddened eyes, looking uneasy.

Seeing them like this, Jiang Zhiyue felt truly exhausted. She really wanted to catch a few malicious spirits and kill them. She checked the time; she had no desire to argue with these people any longer. It was meaningless. What did it matter if she was the "true daughter" or the "adopted one"?

They didn't want this suddenly appeared daughter to share their wealth, and she didn't want to carry the karma of this group of fools any longer. Whether the Jiang family faced fortune or disaster in the future, let it follow the will of heaven!

She cast a cold glance at them and walked out the door without another look.

After leaving, she pulled out her phone and decisively blocked and deleted every single member of the Jiang family. Once that was done, she got into Pei Heng’s car, and the driver took her toward the Pei residence.

On the way, she accepted Pei Heng’s friend request. As soon as it went through, a flood of messages came pouring in.

[Fairy Sister, something has happened!]
[>>> 60'']

Looking at the 60-second red dot, Jiang Zhiyue felt a headache coming on. She had only heard half of the voice message when Pei Heng’s video call request popped up urgently.

As soon as she answered, she was met with a visual assault of his handsome face: "Fairy Sister, help me!"