"Heh..." From the side, Jiang Huai suddenly let out a soft chuckle, clearly amused by Guan Xuxu's sharp retort.
Jiang Han's expression, however, darkened instantly. "You're just being unreasonable! How is that even possible?!"
Guan Xuxu looked at him with a gaze as calm as still water. "Isn't this your own logic? I'm merely using your logic to set my own conditions. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Can an item from the National Museum be compared to a single bedroom?" Jiang Han was so frustrated he was nearly driven to laughter.
Beside them, Jiang Su couldn't help but chime in. "Guan Xuxu, why are you so petty? It's just a room. It's not like they're kicking you out of the house. Is it really worth all this?"
Guan Xuxu only smiled.
Indeed, there were so many rooms in this house, so why did they insist on taking hers?
Jiang Cheng, representing the third branch of the family, stepped forward as well. "Jiang Han isn't wrong. That dreamy princess style was originally designed for a child. You might not even like it that much,
so why fight a kid for it? If it's really that big of a deal, I'll give you my room, and you give yours to Yingying. That's it everyone stop arguing. Making a scene over a bedroom for two days straight... it's making us look like a joke."
Jiang Su grumbled under his breath, "It's all because of her. We never had this much drama before she showed up."
His words, both subtle and overt, were a direct complaint that Guan Xuxu had been nothing but trouble since her return.
Even though the room arrangements had been Yao Lin's doing from start to finish, everyone seemed to agree that Guan Xuxu was the problem.
As Jiang Huai listened to their relentless tagging on her, the smile on his lips slowly froze over. But before he could speak, Jiang Han spoke up again with growing impatience.
"At the end of the day, you just don't want to give it up..."
"That's right. I don't want to."
Guan Xuxu's clear, cold voice rang in everyone's ears. Jiang Han and the others hadn't expected her to refuse with such blunt confidence.
But Guan Xuxu said it anyway. She simply stared at them, her almond-shaped eyes clear, calm, and bordering on indifferent.
After all, she had heard similar accusations her entire life.
"Ruirui is your younger sister, you're the older one, so you should give in to her!"
"How can you keep this fox in the house? What if it scares Ruirui? Throw it out right now!"
"You're living here for free, and now you want to raise a beast? Guan Xuxu, are you trying to make this family miserable on purpose?"
She had long since grown accustomed to such "reproaches."
However, being used to it did not mean she accepted it.
This was everyone's first time being human; why should she have to yield just because someone else was younger?
Moreover, that room had been decorated by her biological parents with their own hands, fueled by the anticipation of her birth.
Someone had once waited for her arrival with great hope, a fact she had only discovered yesterday.
Jiang Ying had assumed that with her brothers backing her up, the room would surely be hers today.
She never imagined that Guan Xuxu, this "bad woman," would still refuse to budge!
It turned out that Sister Xuexi was right. As soon as this woman returned, Yingying would no longer be the only girl in the family. Everyone wouldn't favor her like they used to.
Look, even Brother Jiang Huai wasn't standing on her side anymore.
The more Jiang Ying thought about it, the angrier she became, until she burst into a fresh wave of loud wailing.
"Waaaah! I hate you! Get out of my house! Get out! Get out!"
The moment those words were shouted, the hallway fell into a sudden, heavy silence.
Guan Xuxu's eyelashes trembled slightly. She stood there, her expression unreadable.
Jiang Su and the others were also stunned.
Arguments were one thing, but even Jiang Su, the most impulsive of the lot, knew that there were some things you just didn't say.
Sure enough, a cold, sharp shout of warning followed a second later.
"Jiang Ying!"
Jiang Huai glared at Jiang Ying with a severity none of them had ever seen before. The sheer intensity of his gaze made Jiang Ying shudder.
She instantly forgot to keep crying.
At that moment, two figures walked up from downstairs Jiang Yucheng and Jiang Yutong. The two brothers had clearly just returned from the office. Jiang Yucheng's face bore its usual cold, majestic authority.
"What is all this noise about?"
Yao Lin's heart skipped a beat. Without giving anyone else a chance to speak, she quickly pulled Jiang Ying over and offered a strained, apologetic smile.
"The children are just having a little spat. It's all my fault. I didn't think things through when I prepared Xuxu's room. Yingying was acting up because she wanted to switch with her sister, but Xuxu refused..."
In just two sentences, she glossed over how the brothers had been ganging up on Guan Xuxu, making it seem like Xuxu was the one being difficult.
Jiang Huai frowned, intending to explain, but Jiang Yutong beat him to it. "Isn't it just a room? Weren't the arrangements settled yesterday?"
Jiang Yucheng's brow furrowed as his gaze shifted to Guan Xuxu. When he spoke, however, it wasn't about the room. "Let's put the matter of the room aside for a moment. Xuxu, I have something to ask you."
Guan Xuxu looked up at him instinctively. He asked in a deep, serious voice, "Did you go to the Song Family house today?"
Xuxu's eyes flickered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded. "Yes."
Jiang Yucheng's frown deepened, his expression turning even more solemn. "Didn't I tell you yesterday not to get involved with the Song Family's affairs? I will handle things on their end."
Jiang Huai, sensing his father's unusual attitude, stepped forward to stand in front of Guan Xuxu. "Did something happen?"
Beside them, Jiang Yutong explained, "President Song called Big Brother. He said Xuxu sought out Madam Song this afternoon and said some very strange things. He wanted to know what was going on."
As soon as those words were uttered, nearly everyone's eyes snapped toward Guan Xuxu.
Those gazes were filled with shock or condemnation, clearly blaming her for being a meddler.
Because of her previous talk about a "Wisdom Swap," the Jiang Family already had to tread carefully regarding the Song Family's daughter. Yet, she had actually gone to their house to spout nonsense? Was she afraid the relationship between the Jiang and Song families was too good?!
"What exactly are you trying to do? It's one thing to talk about ghosts and spirits at home, but to actually go to the Song Family? Did you not take your eldest uncle's words to heart yesterday?!" Jiang Han snapped.
"Xuxu, you're being far too immature. The Song Family still has ongoing business projects with us," Yao Lin added in a tone of disappointed exasperation.
Jiang Su added fuel to the fire. "Look at how much trouble you've caused and you've barely even been home!"
Guan Xuxu stood her ground, ignoring the mockery from the side. She kept her eyes on Jiang Yucheng. "I didn't say I was a Jiang."
Jiang Yutong countered, "If the Song Family wants to investigate someone, they will find out. I heard you even arrived in a car from the Chu Family."
Guan Xuxu pursed her lips. She had indeed been reckless in that regard.
Jiang Yucheng asked her what she had said to the Song Family. President Song's tone over the phone had been suppressed, sounding quite irritated.
Xuxu briefly summarized her visit, including her observation that Song Yuli might be in imminent danger.
The crowd looked at Guan Xuxu with even greater shock.
Going to someone's house just to tell them they were about to meet with disaster? That was no different from placing a curse on them!
This Guan Xuxu was truly beyond sensible!
Jiang Yucheng looked at her, his expression tightening. After a long silence, he spoke.
"You were reckless in this matter. Even if you truly understand such things, you shouldn't have gone to their door with those words. I will explain things to the Song Family, but you are not to involve yourself with Miss Song anymore."
Jiang Yucheng truly did not want his newly returned daughter to get dragged into such trouble.
Guan Xuxu opened her mouth to speak, but Jiang Yucheng continued.
"As for the room, since Yingying likes it, just let her have it. I'll have the butler pick out another room for you. You can redecorate it however you like."
To Jiang Yucheng, a room was just a room. In the past, it had been a vessel for his longing for his daughter, but now that she was back, the physical space was no longer important.
More than the room, he didn't want Xuxu to cause a rift with the rest of the family so soon after her return. If they stayed at odds, she would never be able to get along with the other children.
Jiang Yucheng had no idea that his casual remark would cause Guan Xuxu to freeze.
After a long pause, the light in her almond-shaped eyes seemed to retreat, inch by inch.
It was like a fleeting spark of fire in a dark midnight forest flickering for only a moment before being swallowed by the darkness.
Hearing this, Jiang Huai urgently called out, "Dad!"
He was about to explain that the issue wasn't as simple as his father thought, but Guan Xuxu had already spoken. Her voice was thin, calm, and steady.
"There's no need."
Her tone was light, but compared to yesterday, it held a strange, undeniable sense of detachment.
She looked directly at Jiang Yucheng and said softly, "I will move out."
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/kleinmoretti to access 100+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).