Chapter 9: The Sound of "Chirp"

"Tanyin Yin!"

A powerful and angry shout echoed from the doorway of the master bedroom on the first floor, reverberating throughout the entire villa.

The sudden outburst startled the two sisters.

The familiar voice, seemingly engraved in their bones, made Tanyin Yin shiver involuntarily due to fear. The two figures by the stairs stopped their actions, no longer pulling and tugging at each other.

Tanyin Yin, feeling guilty due to her previous thoughts, couldn't help but sneer inwardly. She hadn't even pushed Lin Churan yet, but now it seemed as if Lin Churan had forced her to the edge of the stairs. Moreover, each time, it was Tanyin Hai who scolded her, as if it were a matter of course.

As expected, Tanyin Hai immediately spoke again, his fierce gaze fixed on Tanyin Yin. While shouting, he walked towards the stairs, "What's all this commotion on the stairs? Are you not letting your sister have her way?"

Sister? Just a two-month age gap, and she was the daughter of her stepmother Qu Fanghua, and her ex-husband. They had no blood relation, so how could she be considered a sister?

Tanyin Yin's eyes glistened with premeditated tears, appearing pitiful as if afraid of being misunderstood. She quickly explained, "I'm not stopping my sister. It's just that Ranran wants the clothes Grandma made for me. I know as an older sister, I should give everything to her, but I'm sorry, I can't bear to part with Grandma's hard work."

To avoid Lin Churan's interference in defending herself, Tanyin Yin spoke incessantly, without taking a breath. Tears hung on her face, evoking sympathy.

"And, Grandma is old, and the clothes she sews aren't that nice. I don't plan to wear them; I just want to keep them well. Even if Ranran takes them, they won't be of any use."

Finishing this sentence, she looked at Lin Churan with a seemingly troubled expression, "Ranran, really, it's not that your sister won't give them to you. I can give up anything for you, really, but these are clothes Grandma made for me, and I can't help but cherish them."

"But this isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is..." She changed her focus, adopting a convincing and advising tone, emphasizing in front of Tanyin Hai, "I know studying is boring for you, but as an older sister, I should tell you that you're already in the third year of high school. It's not right to come out and play without finishing your homework. No matter how difficult it is, you have to endure this period; it will pass."

She deliberately stressed the lack of interest in studying, playing before finishing homework, enduring, and the difficulty.

As expected, faced with her incessant talking, Lin Churan was already very impatient. Unable to restrain herself, she interrupted, shouting, "Tanyin Yin, that's enough! You talk too much every night, crying and whining. What are you crying for? You're timid, and I'm annoyed every time I see you!"

"Ranran, your sister is right. You have to listen to her and study well," Tanyin Hai also advised Lin Churan, completely ignoring the tearful Tanyin Yin.

However, Lin Churan became even more annoyed, thinking that Tanyin Hai only knew how to help Tanyin Yin scold her. So, with a disgruntled expression, she ran into the room, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

Tanyin Yin seemed downcast because of her sister's ignorance, but in reality, she was inwardly celebrating Lin Churan's foolishness, allowing her to be easily angered each time.

Seeing this, Tanyin Hai's expression darkened slightly, but he did nothing. If Tanyin Yin dared to behave like this, she would have been kicked out long ago.

Lin Churan would always be the treasured child of Tanyin Hai and Qu Fanghua, while Tanyin Yin was just the neglected one, unloved by both her father and stepmother.

"Dad, I'll go to my room to study then." Tanyin Yin politely completed her words and then ran back to her room.

She had no intention of looking at Tanyin Hai any longer.

She despised this life that felt like living under someone else's roof, hated the need to wear a facade, tirelessly seek approval, and strategically navigate every step just to barely survive in this household. She detested everyone here.

She couldn't count how many times she had overheard Tanyin Hai, in front of his relatives, friends, and business partners, praising Qu Fanghua and her daughter, while deliberately belittling her. It resulted in people giving her strange looks, constantly pointing fingers at her, and poking her backbone.

They poked her until she couldn't lift her head.

Every family gathering felt like a public execution for her. Even though she lived cautiously, afraid of making mistakes, she hadn't done anything wrong.

But why did Tanyin Hai treat her this way?

Because he liked Qu Fanghua. However, all his relatives and friends believed Qu Fanghua married him for his money, so they disapproved of him marrying her. Therefore, after marrying Qu Fanghua against their wishes, he degraded the daughter of his deceased ex-wife to make Qu Fanghua and her daughter look good.

She was a sensitive and fragile person. Such individuals often observed and felt changes in emotional dynamics more keenly.

So, she was well aware that Tanyin Hai only kept her around out of a sense of obligation, and because he feared damaging his reputation if he cast her away.

He genuinely didn't love her and only saw her as a burden.

Therefore, each time she deluded herself, rekindling that laughable glimmer of hope, reality ruthlessly and mercilessly extinguished that faint, struggling light.

Perhaps, in this place, she truly was just a burden.

She had completely given up on this family, on Tanyin Hai.

Her resilience, and her strategies, were all learned after countless times of being hurt, and nights with wet pillows.

Because only this way could she protect herself.

She desperately wanted to escape from here, even if it meant living in the deep mountains, residing in a simple and rough house, and leading a hardworking life. She didn't want to live in this opulent mansion that made her feel suffocated.

The best way to escape from here was to study hard, get into a good university, find a decent job, and never come back.

She used to be truly lonely.

But now, she felt like she wouldn't be lonely anymore.

Because she had a cat.

Once inside her room, she quickly closed the door, didn't even have time to sit down, and hastily took off her backpack, unzipping it.

The snowy white cat bed formed a ball, like a soft and squishy milk ball.

Danny was kept quite warm, breathing a bit difficult. He looked somewhat helpless as he lazily lifted his head to gaze at her.

However, he didn't blame her for covering him up for so long.

Because he probably understood that there was a bad woman trying to take him away, so Tanyin Yi delayed time to avoid that bad woman.

He seemed to have heard the name Tanyin Yin without being called directly. It sounded quite nice.

Tanyin Yin was already sitting on the chair at this point. Seeing the cat's pitiful look, her heart was about to melt. She couldn't wait to pick him up from the backpack, rubbing him in her hands and cuddling him against her face and nose.

She couldn't resist, and with a cute "chirp," she kissed him on the mouth.

Danny was completely bewildered.

They were both boys!

How could she do that?

But Tanyin Yin didn't think anything was wrong. Looking at his round and dazed eyes due to being overwhelmed, she apologetically pouted, "Sorry, Lulu, I promised to only keep you in the backpack for a while, but I didn't do it."

Fortunately, the soundproofing in the villa was excellent, so even if she did anything inside, it wouldn't be noticed outside. Danny, with his round eyes, slowly moved his gaze, looking at her slightly pouted lips. Thinking of the "chirp" sound from the kiss just now, he silently raised his paws and covered his eyes.