Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Towards Jiang Xu, her biological older brother, Jiang Yiyan had not the slightest bit of goodwill. She was even unwilling to be courteous, too lazy to feign politeness.

"How did you come here?" Without any title, her tone was unkind.

The siblings seemed to have naturally conflicting auras; Jiang Yiyan disliked Jiang Xu, and Jiang Xu detested his own younger sister to the extreme.

He had long been suppressing a surge of anger, which erupted at this moment.

"Why didn't you answer my calls?" Jiang Xu still held back somewhat, intending to give her a chance to explain. If her explanation was reasonable, he could overlook it. But what she had done to their father was something he had to address.

However, Jiang Yiyan didn't care about the so-called opportunity to explain. She simply ignored him with a dismissive laugh, embodying indifference to the fullest.

"Why should I answer your calls? Just because you called, do I have to pick up? Answering or not is my right. What qualifications do you have now to stand in front of me and criticize me? It's ridiculous." Jiang Yiyan genuinely found him ridiculous. As her biological older brother, he never cared about her before, and in the end, he was the one who pushed her to the brink.

Since he never valued their sibling relationship, why bother pretending now.

But Jiang Xu believed that when their father wasn't around, he was the head of the family, and his sister must listen to him. Besides, she had done something wrong!

"Having done something wrong and still being so defiant, you're utterly malicious! How did you become like this? Having a sister like you is truly embarrassing." Jiang Xu had never looked at her favorably, and his disdain for her was displayed to the utmost at this moment.

His words were venomous, without restraint. He said whatever came to mind, only caring about venting his anger, regardless of whether his words would hurt his sister.

Jiang Yiyan was almost amused by her anger.

She had no desire to interact with Jiang Xu. Since they couldn't stand each other, they should go their separate ways. Keeping to their own paths would be better for both.

But now, this person she despised had come uninvited, lecturing her with an air of superiority. It infuriated her!

With others, Jiang Yiyan could be patient or tactfully navigate the situation, trying not to cause a scene. But with this person in front of her, she couldn't maintain any rationality.

Without hesitation, she unleashed a torrent of scolding: "Jiang Xu, how dare you say these things to me? You, a cold-blooded and heartless person, think you have the right to lecture me? Running over here to say these things out of nowhere, what madness has gotten into you! Get lost; you're not welcome here."

Seeing her reveal her true colors and start lashing out, Jiang Xu sneered.

"Now you're not pretending anymore? Weren't you acting so convincingly in front of Dad?" After a bout of sarcastic remarks, Jiang Xu's expression suddenly turned cold. "Jiang Yiyan, if you could keep up the act for a lifetime, I'd actually admire you. But what are you doing now? Playing with Dad's feelings? Acting as a filial daughter for a few days and then quitting? Then what were you doing in the first place!"

After all that talk, it turned out to be about this matter.

It was also at this moment that Jiang Yiyan remembered that she hadn't contacted them for several days.

Perhaps it was her oversight, but it was none of Jiang Xu's business to lecture her.

Jiang Yiyan retorted sarcastically: "Jiang Xu, as far as I know, you don't usually visit unless there's something you want. Now that Shu Yao is back, you've been visiting Dad more frequently. Are you after Dad, or do you have some ulterior motive?"

Based on her understanding of Jiang Cheng, even if he was angry with her neglect, he wouldn't complain to those around him. Either Jiang Xu noticed something amiss when he visited Jiang Cheng, or Cai Wenqing and her daughter told him.

Regardless, such behavior disgusted her.

Jiang Xu's intentions towards his stepsister Shu Yao were no secret in the original novel, known even to readers outside the story. With her omniscient perspective, Jiang Yiyan knew this. However, in this world, currently, even Shu Yao herself was unaware, let alone others.

Jiang Xu thought he had concealed his feelings well, but his sister saw through him at once. With his secrets exposed, he became even angrier!

Jiang Xu didn't have a good temper, much like his father Jiang Cheng, and was very fiery. Seeing that he was losing the argument, he became enraged and wanted to resort to physical violence.

However, just as he raised his hand, he was stopped by Wen Mochuan, who had come looking for his wife and daughter.

Today, Wen Mochuan witnessed something unexpected. He always knew that Jiang Xu had a fiery temper, but he never imagined that one day, he would raise his hand against a woman, and that woman was his own sister.

Wen Mochuan despised such people and looked down on them.

He calmly approached, shielding his wife and daughter behind him. His gaze firmly fixed on Jiang Xu, his voice cold: "What does Mr. Jiang intend to do?"

Wen Mochuan carried himself with a gentle demeanor, yet beneath this veneer lay a commanding presence. Standing before Jiang Xu, he didn't falter but instead subtly outshone him.

Perhaps it was due to Shu Yao's involvement, but Jiang Xu had no goodwill towards Wen Mochuan.

Furthermore, since Wen Mochuan had chosen to step back from the family competition early on and was no longer destined to be the successor of Wen's Group, Jiang Xu saw no need to maintain a good relationship with him. Thus, his attitude towards Wen Mochuan wasn't particularly friendly.

"The actions of Mr. Wen are truly baffling," Jiang Xu indeed found his behavior strange. Initially, he chose to abandon Shu Yao for the sake of responsibility, yet in the following five years, their marriage didn't seem particularly loving.

Now, Jiang Yiyan merely put on an act of virtue, and he fell for it so easily? He started to love her?

Jiang Xu thought him foolish and deserving of his fate.

Wen Mochuan and he truly had different paths. Therefore, Wen Mochuan didn't bother with further arguments and directly issued an order to leave.

"Regardless of whether it's baffling or not, since Mr. Jiang came with ill intent, don't blame us for not welcoming you. For today's incident, considering it's the first offense, we won't hold it against you. But if it happens again, I assure you I won't be polite."

Wen Mochuan used the softest tone to deliver the harshest words. After issuing the order to leave, he no longer bothered with Jiang Xu, instead turning to his wife and asking, "Do you want to continue walking, or shall we go home?"

Jiang Yiyan deliberately echoed him: "Forget it, our good mood is ruined. What's the point of walking anymore? Let's go home."

Although Jiang Xu had a bad temper, he knew his limits. Since Wen Mochuan took his family away, he didn't pursue them to continue lecturing.

Instead, he stood still, staring at the family of three for a while with an indifferent expression before leaving with an unclear expression.

But Jiang Xu didn't return directly to his current residence; instead, he drove back to the old house.

At the old house, ever since Shu Yao made that call, the mother-daughter pair spent the entire afternoon waiting for news from Jiang Xu.

They knew Jiang Xu well enough to understand his fiery temper and the strained relationship between the siblings. Therefore, after learning the truth, it was inevitable that he would confront Jiang Yiyan.

Cai Wenqing was waiting to watch a good show, while Shu Yao couldn't help but worry.

She was afraid to see Jiang Xu and Jiang Yiyan argue. They had quarreled many times before, always causing chaos at home. Being a guest in someone else's home, she often felt helpless and afraid of getting involved whenever she witnessed such scenes.

But Cai Wenqing was different; she hoped to see them argue, preferably never reconciling.

Only the Jiang siblings had always been at odds, which allowed her and her stepdaughter to reap some benefits as the stepmother and stepsister. If the Jiang siblings united and stood together, she and Yaoyao would have even less standing in this household.

Therefore, she hoped they would argue, preferably returning home to have a big fight right under Jiang Cheng's nose.

This way, Jiang Cheng would see that his precious daughter was still the same as before, never having changed at all.

Only if she remained as unreasonable as before could it highlight Yaoyao's goodness.

Only when Jiang Cheng was thoroughly disappointed with his biological daughter would he place all his attention on Yaoyao.

Unfortunately, by the time evening came, she did not get what she wanted; she only waited for Jiang Xu to return.

When Jiang Xu arrived home, it was already past seven in the evening. He hadn't informed them of his return in advance, so the Jiang family didn't wait for him to eat dinner.

Due to his anger, Jiang Cheng didn't come downstairs for dinner either. He stayed in his study upstairs, refusing to let anyone in no matter who knocked on the door.

Noticing that Jiang Yiyan wasn't following behind Jiang Xu, Cai Wenqing felt a fleeting disappointment. But quickly, she adjusted her emotions.

She approached Jiang Xu and asked with concern, "Why didn't you give us a heads up about your return? If we had known, we would've waited for you to have dinner together." She then called out to Sister Zhang, "Quickly check what else is available to eat and prepare something for Xu to eat."

Jiang Xu wasn't back just for dinner, besides, he currently had no appetite.

"There's no need to bother," Jiang Xu stopped her. In front of Cai Wenqing, he knew how to rein in his temper and remain very polite. "I ate before coming back, I'm not hungry." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Shu Yao standing nearby. After greeting Cai Wenqing, Jiang Xu looked over at Shu Yao.

Seeing him look at her, Shu Yao walked over.

"I went to find Yiyan, but she's..." Jiang Xu didn't finish his sentence, merely shaking his head to indicate that he had given up completely. "Forget it, let's not worry about her." Then he asked, "How about Dad?"

Shu Yao replied, "Dad is upstairs, his mood has been bad, and he didn't come down for dinner. Mom went to knock on the door and call him for dinner, but he wouldn't even open the door. He's just locked himself in his room like that, I'm really worried about his health."

"Don't worry, I'll go check on him." After comforting her, Jiang Xu turned and headed upstairs.

The concern in Shu Yao's eyes was genuine: "I hope Dad will listen to him and won't be angry anymore."

Cai Wenqing glanced at her daughter, feeling that her daughter was still too naive.

Certainly, kindness was an admirable trait, but there came times when one must fight for what they were due. After so many years of sacrifices and endured wrongs, would it all prove to be in vain in the end?

After more than a decade, they had finally entered the wealthy circle, and she didn't want her daughter to end up back where they started.

The Jiang family was immensely wealthy, so what if they wanted a share?