Chapter 13: The Way of That Person

“You!”

Xu Xingyue was furious at Lu Yao’s words.

Her original intention had been to assert her dominance in front of Lu Yao.

But instead, Lu Yao responded with a sarcastic tone that infuriated her deeply.

Having lived in the Xu family for three years, she had never endured such treatment before.

How dare Lu Yao behave this way toward her?

A fleeting shadow of resentment crossed Xu Xingyue’s eyes.

“Smack!”

Before Xu Xingyue could raise her hand, Lu Yao swiftly slapped her across the face.

“You hit me?”

Disbelief filled Xu Xingyue’s eyes.

In her three years with the Xu family, she had always been the one to strike others, and no one had ever dared lay a hand on her.

Not even Xu Yanran would treat her like this.

Had Lu Yao gone mad?

“Lu Yao, I’m going to kill you!”

With her eyes reddened and no longer playing the fragile victim, Xu Xingyue lunged at Lu Yao like a wild beast.

But Lu Yao ruthlessly kicked her hard in the stomach.

“Ah!”

Grabbing her belly, Xu Xingyue collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain.

This clearly showed how forceful Lu Yao’s kick had been.

She had wanted to do this for a long time but never found the chance.

Now that her opponent had practically delivered herself, how could Lu Yao let her down?

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Unfortunately, at that moment, urgent knocking came from outside the door.

“Yao Yao, Xingyue, what are you two doing?”

Outside, Mrs. Xu heard the screams from the room and instinctively knew something was wrong.

Anxiously, she called out repeatedly, fearing Xu Xingyue was being bullied by Lu Yao.

“Yao Yao, Xingyue!”

Lu Yao ignored the knocking and calling at the door.

“Is this what you wanted?”

She glanced down at the fallen Xu Xingyue and spoke.

“Satisfied?”

Without waiting for a reply, she opened the door.

With a creak, the door swung open, and Mrs. Xu immediately stepped inside with a swift stride, as if she had been ready to rush in at any moment.

“Mrs. Xu, Miss Xingyue just lost her footing and accidentally fell,” Lu Yao quickly explained before Mrs. Xu or Xu Xingyue could speak.

“Mom!”

Xu Xingyue called out to her mother in a pretended tone of grievance.

She hadn’t expected Lu Yao to lie straight to Mrs. Xu’s face.

But so what?

Did she think this would stop her from finding an opportunity to make things difficult for Lu Yao?

“It’s really not Yao Yao’s fault. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t provoked her with my words, she wouldn’t have hit me or kicked me to the floor,” Xu Xingyue said, almost pointing at Lu Yao and accusing her of abuse.

Mrs. Xu’s face paled. “Yao Yao, you…”

“Mrs. Xu, are you really going to believe only one side of the story?”

Before Mrs. Xu could finish, Lu Yao interrupted her.

“There were only Miss Xingyue and me in the room. If I really wanted to hurt her, would I wait until now?”

“Miss Xingyue, if you don’t like me, you can say so directly. There’s no need to slander me like this.”

Lu Yao’s expression was calm and honest, showing no sign of guilt after hitting someone.

For a moment, Mrs. Xu looked at Xu Xingyue with a hint of doubt.

“Mom, I didn’t!”

Xu Xingyue hurriedly and anxiously defended herself.

She never imagined Lu Yao would use her own usual tactics against her to clear her name.

This only made her seem petty and scheming, unable to tolerate Lu Yao living in the Xu household.

How despicable.

“Enough, Xingyue, stop talking.”

Mrs. Xu’s expression was complicated.

Though she didn’t know exactly what had happened inside the room, she believed Lu Yao’s words.

If Lu Yao had wanted to lay a hand on Xu Xingyue, she would have done so when Xu Xingyue was first brought back to the family, not waited until now.

The real fear was that this was all a drama concocted by Xu Xingyue to drive Lu Yao out of the Xu family.

“If you don’t want Yao Yao to stay in your room, I’ll take her downstairs first. You should rest properly in your room.”

Better to avoid causing more trouble.

“No, Mom!”

Seeing her mother’s disbelief, Xu Xingyue was nearly enraged to death.

She hadn’t expected Lu Yao’s few words to completely change her image in Mrs. Xu’s mind.

She was almost on fire with frustration.

If only she hadn’t brought Lu Yao upstairs in the first place.

Now, not only had she been slapped and kicked for no reason, but her reputation with her mother had also been tarnished.

Mrs. Xu no longer listened to Xu Xingyue’s explanations.

She was already overwhelmed with the company’s affairs, with no time to waste on trivial matters.

Lu Yao smiled slightly at Xu Xingyue.

Since you like to play the fragile and pitiful card, maybe now you’ll understand how silenced I felt in my past life.

Seeing Lu Yao’s amused expression, Xu Xingyue truly wanted to rush forward and tear her apart.

But glancing at Mrs. Xu nearby, she held back.

In the living room, Mr. Xu was sipping tea when he suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs.

Looking up, he saw Mrs. Xu coming down from the second floor with Lu Yao.

A shadow darkened his black eyes.

He set down his teacup and motioned to them.

“Come and sit.”

This time, Mr. Xu’s tone toward Lu Yao was no longer cold but surprisingly gentle.

“Mr. Xu, if you have something to say, please speak plainly.”

Did he think this would bring them closer?

Did he believe they could all sit down and talk things through?

“Yao Yao, your father wants you to sit, so sit.”

Mrs. Xu frowned at Lu Yao’s stubborn refusal, trying to pull her onto the sofa, but Lu Yao declined.

“I’m not tired.”

She looked straight at both Mr. and Mrs. Xu.

“Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to what I was doing.”

She didn’t want to stay here and listen to their nonsense any longer.

“Stop.”

Mr. Xu called out in displeasure.

“What kind of attitude is this?”

Why had she become so disobedient?

“Sheng Hai!”

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Mrs. Xu quickly grabbed his arm.

The Xu family still needed Lu Yao to save them.

What was he so angry about?

“Yao Yao, your father actually wants to discuss your marriage with you.”

Mrs. Xu smiled at Lu Yao.

“You’re already eighteen. Your eldest sister has a marriage engagement with the Liao family, Xingyue is betrothed to the Jiang family, and now only you remain.”

“This is the Huang family’s invitation.”

Mrs. Xu had said enough, and Mr. Xu could no longer keep his face cold.

He handed the invitation over to Lu Yao.

“In a few days, the head of the Huang family will celebrate his sixtieth birthday. You’ll have to come with me.”