Rebirth Must Be Happy

Chapter 137 [136] The Stepmother

On a residential road late at night, three figures stood silently facing each other. But since they were facing each other, it was destined that one of them would feel like "a movie for three people, but I can't have a name."

Xu Jinhuan, who was "unnamed," was the first to break free from the atmosphere and walk towards Chen Xingzhu. Chen Xingruo wiped away her tears and followed.

Chen Xingzhu stood there in a daze, watching the two slowly approach, but her vision became more and more blurred, and finally tears streamed down her face.

As they approached, Xu Jinhuan stopped to the side, watching Chen Xingruo walk forward and hug Chen Xingzhu.

This should have been a very touching scene, but unfortunately the two people look exactly alike. If it weren't for the difference in their clothes, it would have looked like one person walking towards a mirror.

Chen Xingzhu still seemed afraid that this was a dream that would shatter at the slightest touch. It wasn't until Chen Xingruo hugged her for a while and calmed down a little that she called out "Sister~" with a nasal voice and a sob in her voice that she slowly raised her arms and gently embraced her sister.

Xu Jinhuan watched from the side, feeling a mix of emotions—a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret and delight). Then, a strange thought popped into her head: 'They're the same height and build; hugging like this, with their C-cups facing each other, doesn't it get in the way?'

Thinking about it, he suddenly couldn't control his eyes. To avoid being too lewd, he took out two tissues from his bag and handed them over, saying, "It's good to see each other. Just be a little sad and go through the motions. Don't get too carried away... Cheer up."

Chen Xingruo didn't want to pay any attention to him, but Chen Xingzhu still listened to his advice, barely stopped her tears, took the tissue from his hand, gave one to her sister, and wiped the tears off her face.

She managed to calm herself down before asking her sister, "How did you find your way here?"

Chen Xingruo glanced at Xu Jinhuan: "He brought me here."

"Let me do it; don't steal my chance to take credit."

Xu Jinhuan laughed and recounted the whole story, simplifying it, "I thought it was you, so I went to find you, and your sister pretended to be you and followed me..."

"You really know how to balance detail and summary!"

Chen Xingruo couldn't help but glance at him when she saw that he didn't mention anything about taking advantage of her or forcing her to talk about her family situation. But since she had found her sister, she decided not to hold it against him for the time being.

Or rather, there are more important things to do.

"Sis, where do you live?"

Chen Xingruo asked softly, "Is Mom home? I want to go see her."

"..."

Chen Xingzhu hesitated slightly. She had just had a fight with Li Yunxue and Kong Lingyu at home and hadn't planned to go home tonight.

Li Yunxue had been quiet lately, not causing much trouble, but tonight Li Gaoyuan and Kong Lingyu suddenly asked about Xu Jinhuan.

Although she and Xu Jinhuan grew closer, they never truly reached the point of being in love. She gave a simple answer, and Li Gaoyuan and Kong Lingyu gave her a few words of advice, but didn't say anything more.

The matter should have ended there, but for some reason, Li Yunxue suddenly began attacking Xu Jinhuan:

"Riding a beat-up bicycle, he looks dirt poor! Not handsome either, no manners at all... Only you would like someone like that!"
"You're so beautiful, yet you have such terrible taste. It's one thing to date so young, but to find such a lousy boyfriend is just embarrassing!"

After several arguments in their childhood, Chen Xingzhu rarely confronted Li Yunxue directly anymore, because she knew that the consequences would be that she would not only suffer harm from Li Yunxue, but also from Kong Lingyu.

However, Chen Xingzhu still found it unbearable that Li Yunxue attacked her by belittling Xu Jinhuan, so she retorted, "Whether he's good or bad is not for you to decide. And you can rest assured that no matter how bad he is, he won't be interested in you."

Then, Li Yunxue went berserk, hurling all sorts of insults and belittling remarks. In the end, she even yelled like she did when she was a child, "This is my house! What right do you have to live in my house? Get out!"

Kong Lingyu tried to persuade her, but Li Gaoyuan was so angry that he was about to hit her. However, Kong Lingyu stopped him, and Li Yunxue started throwing a tantrum on the ground.

Chen Xingzhu left home in a huff, intending to ask Xu Jinhuan if he had returned, but instead saw him and Chen Xingruo.

She didn't want her younger sister to go up at this time, fearing she might see something unpleasant. However, her sister said she wanted to see their mother, and if she wasn't allowed to see her, it would only arouse her suspicion.

Therefore, after a brief hesitation, Chen Xingzhu quickly smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go with you."

"Ah."

Chen Xingruo smiled brightly. She no longer needed to pretend; her smile was radiant and captivating, just like her name, as bright as a starry sea. She affectionately took her sister's arm and said with a smile, "Let's go then. Has Mom gotten old?"

Chen Xingzhu smiled and said, "I didn't feel much change..."

"Uh-huh."

Chen Xingruo nodded, then looked back and saw that Xu Jinhuan had also come over. She met his gaze but said nothing.

Chen Xingzhu also turned to look at him, but did not say anything.

Xu Jinhuan hadn't spent much time with Chen Xingruo, but he could clearly sense the stark difference in their personalities. Moreover, he had just told Chen Xingruo about her sister's situation, so he didn't believe that Chen Xingruo had gone upstairs to see Kong Lingyu.

That's more like it when you're calculating the costs!

Therefore, even if the two sisters tried to drive him away, he wouldn't leave right now. After all, he hadn't had much contact with Li Gaoyuan, and it was hard to say what kind of person this stepfather really was.

He worried that if things got out of control, the two sisters would suffer. He couldn't count on Kong Lingyu; not only was she incapable, she even lacked the will to protect her daughters.

"Where did you go with Dad?"

Chen Xingzhu asked her sister, "How have you been these past few years?"

“I’m doing great in Beijing,” Chen Xingruo replied with a sweet smile. “My dad’s career has been going well these past few years, and he loves me a lot. He’s married now, has a stepmother, and a younger brother. They’re both very well-behaved and obedient…”

Xu Jinhuan vaguely felt that her words were a bit strange. Her younger brother was very well-behaved and obedient, which was fine, but who did "all" refer to?

"Sis, let me add you as a friend first."

Chen Xingruo took out her phone, saved her sister's phone number, added her on QQ and WeChat, and then stepped into the elevator.

"right here."

The community environment and apartment layouts are quite nice. There are two elevators serving two apartments per floor. The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor, and Chen Xingzhu pointed to the door of their home on the left to her sister.

"It wasn't my fault to begin with..."

The door was ajar, and Li Yunxue's coquettish voice came from inside, "I didn't scold her, I just told her she shouldn't be dating so young, and she scolded me..."

Chen Xingzhu's expression stiffened slightly. Just as she was about to briefly explain the situation to her sister, Chen Xingruo turned to her and smiled brightly: "Sister, wait here for me."

Before Chen Xingzhu could respond, she went inside, and then Li Yunxue's voice came from inside: "Why did you come back again? You..."

Xu Jinhuan quickly followed Chen Xingruo to the door and saw Li Yunxue and Kong Lingyu sitting on the sofa in the spacious and elegant living room, while Li Gaoyuan stood by the window.

When Chen Xingruo entered the house, Kong Lingyu and Li Yunxue both saw her and subconsciously thought that Chen Xingzhu had returned, but they immediately realized that something was different.

They had just seen Chen Xingzhu leave, so they immediately judged from the difference in clothes and hair color that this should not be Chen Xingzhu, but she looked just like Chen Xingzhu.

Li Yunxue was incredulous and didn't know what was going on, but Kong Lingyu immediately realized who the other person was and was equally astonished.

"Li Yunxue, right?"

Chen Xingruo didn't even glance at Kong Lingyu. She walked straight up to Li Yunxue, asked a question, and then, without waiting for her to respond, slapped Li Yunxue across the face.

"you……"

Li Yunxue was stunned by the slap halfway through her sentence. After realizing what had happened, she instinctively tried to stand up and pounce on Chen Xingruo.

"Snapped"

Chen Xingruo slapped Li Yunxue across the face again. This slap was clearly harder, and combined with Li Yunxue's angry lunge, it knocked her to the ground.

"Wow!"

Li Yunxue sat on the floor, covering her face and looking up at Chen Xingruo in disbelief. After two seconds, she burst into tears, pointing at Chen Xingruo and then at the equally stunned Kong Lingyu and Li Gaoyuan who walked over from the window, crying out, "Mom! Dad! She hit me..."

"star……"

Kong Lingyu quickly got up, helping Li Yunxue up while speaking to Chen Xingruo. She had only uttered one word when Chen Xingruo interrupted her.

"you shut up!"

Chen Xingruo lowered her head slightly, her clear, bright eyes staring at Kong Lingyu. Her indifferent expression made her look like her older sister was there.

The difference is that Chen Xingzhu's indifference gives people the feeling of keeping people at a distance, while Chen Xingruo's indifference reveals a chilling aggressiveness.

"Kong Lingyu, this is your second marriage. If you still can't get along, you might as well get a divorce."

Chen Xingruo glanced at Li Gaoyuan, her tone laced with undisguised sarcasm, "Anyway, this isn't your first divorce, you're familiar with the procedures, it shouldn't be a hassle, right?"

"star……"

Li Gaoyuan clearly recognized Chen Xingruo, and seeing Kong Lingyu being scolded, he wanted to help explain.

"Shut up too!"

Chen Xingruo turned to look at him, just as she had with Kong Lingyu, "This isn't her biological daughter, so she's embarrassed to scold her, and you're embarrassed too? Could she not be your biological daughter either?"

"..."

Li Gaoyuan could no longer speak.

Xu Jinhuan, standing at the door, was dumbfounded.

He guessed that Chen Xingruo might want to seek justice for her sister, but he didn't expect Chen Xingruo's attack power to be so strong.

My sister-in-law must have mastered the number one fighting technique in five thousand years.

Chen Xingzhu was equally stunned, almost unable to believe that this was the younger sister she remembered who needed her care.

Li Yunxue was also terrified; she even forgot to cry and sat on the ground, only sobbing.

"You like to cry? Don't worry, you'll have your turn to cry later!"

However, even while sobbing, Chen Xingruo didn't let Li Yunxue off the hook, looking down at her: "She treats her own biological daughter like this, you don't actually think that you, her stepmother, are that important to her, do you?"

(End of this chapter)