Staying Over at the Yun Family Residence

The servants of the Yun family watched Yun Fu lazily and leisurely stroll around the house, completely unaware that a murderous intent was already surging in her heart.

By the time she finished her tour and returned, Yun Ye had long since finished eating. Seeing her like a puppy spotting its owner, he rushed over eagerly.

"Sister, sister, let's go out and play tonight! Are you free?"

Yun Fu looked up and saw Yun Ye's excited smiling face before her, as well as Yun Zhi's stiff expression not far behind him.

She smiled slightly. "Mm."

"That's great, sister! We're going to play something super fun tonight. I'll take you to see my babies!" With that, he excitedly pulled Yun Fu toward the garage.

Parked there were his most cherished cars, which he normally let no one approach.

Yun Zhi clenched her hands fiercely, her nails digging into her flesh without her even noticing. By the time she snapped back to reality, Yun Fu and Yun Ye were already gone from sight, leaving deep, crescent-shaped nail marks on her palms.

Inside the parking garage, Yun Ye introduced his treasures to Yun Fu with boundless excitement.

"Sister, look, I won this car in a race. Throughout all of Hecheng, my racing skills are the best."

"..." Yun Fu glanced at the car, choosing not to tell him that parked in her own garage was a top-tier model of that exact series.

It seemed Han Qiling had placed it there; she had almost forgotten about it.

"Mm." She gave a lazy response, at least saving the little brat from losing his confidence.

"Sis, we have another race tonight." He leaned close to Yun Fu's ear and whispered, "Let's sneak out to play without Dad finding out. He's always stopping me from doing this and that."

The two chatted for a while in the garage—though in reality, it was just Yun Ye chattering away by himself.

Upon returning to the Yun family mansion, they discovered that a few more people had arrived, sitting lively on the sofa and crowding around Yun Zhi.

Seeing the newcomers, Yun Ye furrowed his handsome brow, his expression turning unpleasant.

He uttered a dry, perfunctory greeting, "Aunt."

The person on the sofa looked up—a middle-aged woman who bore several similarities to Yun Hao.

She forced a fake smile.

"This must be Xiao Fu. It's been so long since I last saw you. I heard you've become a big celebrity." Without waiting for Yun Fu to respond, she took Yun Zhi's hand. "The entertainment industry is hardly a good place, after all. You're not young anymore; you should learn to think about the family. Look at Yun Zhi—she's a year younger than you, yet she's already such an accomplished designer."

She looked at Yun Zhi with a radiant smile, her face brimming with pride. "Right, Zhi'er? I heard the jewelry you designed was selected by Like Company. That's a huge corporation..."

Yun Fu: "..." Oh, so her company was that impressive.

Yun Zhi looked at Yun Fu, who was casually resting her chin in her hand nearby, her heart filled with irony.

She probably didn't understand a single word she was saying anyway.

The only useful thing about her was that face.

"Yes, Like Company places a great deal of emphasis on details, so this time I adopted a horizontal-setting method, making the design somewhat more understated."

"Oh my, you are simply amazing! If you hadn't gone to Like, Auntie would have wanted you to be the design director at my company."

Yun Hao, sitting nearby, could not help but swell with pride as well. "Sister, stop praising her. She hasn't even graduated from high school yet."

The praised Yun Zhi sat beside them with a shy expression, looking obedient in every possible way.

Compared to the rebellious and slouching Yun Fu beside her, she truly was the epitome of a "other people's child."

Yun's aunt glanced at Yun Fu, her eyes full of disdain.

Yet she still put on the airs of an elder to lecture her: "Xiao Fu, I really don't mean to criticize you, but look at you—you should learn more from your妹妹 [younger sister]. Jewelry design isn't something achieved overnight, but you're a young woman; shouldn't you learn things like musical instruments too?"

"..." Yun Fu lazily raised her eyes, a hint of wild rebellion in her gaze. "So, Aunt, how many kinds of musical instruments do you play?"

Yun Ling's mouth twitched. She had never had those conditions when she was young; their family's current lifestyle only rose with the tide thanks to Yun Hao's success.

"Auntie is already this old, you two are different. You aren't married yet—learn from your sister and pick up more feminine skills. Just having a pretty face isn't enough!"

"Oh," Yun Fu replied nonchalantly, lifting that breathtaking face of hers. "I suppose Aunt and I might just be generations apart. Whatever I do isn't to please men. I have money and fame; even if I knew nothing at all, I'd still live a carefree and unrestrained life."

She lifted her eyes, those beautiful, deep pupils concealing an overflowing pride, as if silently saying: *I can, but can you?*

Of course Yun Ling couldn't. Her entire life, she had relied on her father when she was young, her younger brother as she grew up, her husband after marriage, and her son in her old age.

Her whole life was lived for the sake of pleasing men.

Before she could speak again, Yun Fu stood up, a chill creeping into her tone. "It seems I truly have nothing in common with any of you. I'll head back first."

"Xiao Fu!" Before she could walk out, Mrs. Yun called out to her.

"Xiao Fu." Mrs. Yun hurried over and took Yun Fu's hand, a pleading look in her eyes. "Mom has already cleaned up a room for you. Didn't you say you were going out with Xiao Ye tonight? Just stay here for the night."

For some reason, Mrs. Yun always felt a deep sense of sorrow whenever she looked at her daughter today.

It was as if something important had already slipped away from her.

Yun Fu gave her a deep look, and under Yun Ye's equally pleading gaze, she leisurely nodded.

Mrs. Yun's face instantly bloomed with a smile.

Not far away, Yun Zhi clenched her hands once more, gripping them hard and fierce, as if she were holding Yun Fu in her palms.

In her eyes, uncontainable malice lurked. To her, as long as Yun Fu remained, sooner or later, she would snatch away everything that rightfully belonged to her.

She had worked hard for so many years; she hadn't endured it all for this outcome.

Yun's aunt sat to the side. Seeing that Yun Hao said nothing, even though she felt deeply resentful, she knew it wouldn't be appropriate to say anything further.

Yet, thinking of something, she patted Yun Zhi's arm. "Xiao Zhi, didn't you mention recently that you learned a new piano piece? Auntie hasn't heard it yet, why don't you play it for me?"

"This..." Yun Zhi put on a coy, reluctant expression. "Aunt, I'm not sure that's quite appropriate."

"What's inappropriate about it? You can play for your parents, but you can't play for your aunt?"

Yun Zhi bit her lip, looking shyly toward Yun Hao and Mrs. Yun.

Yun Hao waved a hand. "Since you've newly learned it, go ahead and play it for your aunt."

With that permission, Yun Zhi happily stood up. She glanced in the direction of Yun Fu.

She had expected to see what she always saw before—a look of disgust mixed with envy.

But—there was none.

Yun Fu kept her head lowered, seemingly replying to someone's message, her expression entirely gentle.

She didn't glance at her at all, instead leaning lazily against the sofa, as languid and proud as a haughty cat.