Chapter 4: Return to the Huo Family

It was getting late, not a good time for arresting people.

Jiang Ning returned to the Huo Family Villa, ready to sever her biological blood ties with the Huo family.

The Huo Family Villa was brightly lit.

The four members of the Huo family, who were previously indiscriminately thrown into the pool by Jiang Ning, apparently had cleaned up and were back to their usual humanlike (strike-through), sleek and composed appearances.

Huo Miao sat on the sofa, wearing another green skirt and her freshly washed and dried hair fluffy and emitting a pleasant fragrance.

Glancing out at the gradually darkening sky, Huo Miao's delicate and fair melon seed face showed a touch of anxiousness, "Dad, Mom, what should we do? Sister has not come back since she went out, could something have happened to her?"

Huo Song sat on the sofa with a flash of disgust in his eyes, "Don't mention her to me!"

Recalling this afternoon's event of being thrown into the pool by Jiang Ning, Huo Song was boiling with rage.

He, as the head of the family, had never suffered such humiliation!

They should have never brought Jiang Ning back in the first place. It would have been better to let her fend for herself outside rather than bring her back to cause chaos!

With a gloomy aura around him, Mother Huo sitting beside him felt equally distraught. She believed that she had been good enough to Jiang Ning, not only taking her from that shabby, low-rent housing to their current grand villa but also giving Jiang Ning pocket money every month.

She considered herself a competent mother, yet this was how Jiang Ning repaid her?

The Huo family twins, Huo Kaiping and Huo Kaian, came back from school only to hear about Jiang Ning's sudden act of throwing everyone into the pool. They, too, were indignant.

Huo Kaiping said, "We should never have brought her back in the first place. She's already an adult, and the bad habits she picked up outside can't be changed. Bringing her back now just makes everyone unhappy and embarrasses us all."

Huo Kaian quickly agreed, "She was already distressed and jealous in her heart because we treated Sister Miao well, and now she's even starting to hit people! She doesn't consider us as family at all in her heart."

Exchanging a glance that spoke volumes, they proposed in unison, "Dad, why not give her some money and let her move out to live on her own!"

They really didn't want to see Jiang Ning, this annoying woman, anymore.

"Look at the month she was in the hospital, unconscious. Our family was so happy during that time. But the moment she woke up, she caused the whole family to be upset."

As soon as Jiang Ning returned to the villa, she heard the twins speak, her clear, unwavering eyes showing no emotion.

The twins liked to play games and detested doing homework.

She remembered when she first returned to the Huo family during summer vacation, she had specially bought them the limited-edition gaming console they had longed for and even set them a target: finish their homework, and the console would be theirs.

During that period, the twins were the nicest to Jiang Ning they'd ever been because she helped them with their homework and was exceptionally skilled at gaming!

Later on... later, Huo Miao feigned tears in front of the brothers, lamenting why they only wanted to play with Jiang Ning and not include her. Was it because they did not acknowledge her as a sister?

It wasn't long before Jiang Ning saw the limited-edition gaming console she had given them thrown in the garbage, and the twins' attitude toward her gradually worsened, afraid of Huo Miao's misunderstanding.

At this moment, the words of the twins made Jiang Ning silently sneer.

If Huo Miao had been the one unconscious in the hospital for a month, would they still have been so happy?

During her month in the hospital, the Huo family's indifference and lack of concern were the ultimate coldness.

Jiang Ning stood outside the door, holding a half-drunk bottle of water. Seeing that no one had noticed her, she was not in a rush to enter the house.

She was curious to see how these people usually plotted against her behind her back.

The twins' words clearly tempted Madam Huo, yet she hesitated, "This is probably not a good idea. After we brought her back, she has always lived in the villa. Even during college, despite crossing half the city, she insisted on not staying in the dorm and returning home every day. After she graduated and started working, she spent even more time cooped up in the villa... Kicking her out suddenly might cause her to harbor resentment towards us."

Huo Ziheng, sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed, couldn't hold back any longer and scoffed, "Is that what you call working? She claims it's live streaming, but it's just an attempt to leech off Miaomiao's popularity. Out of her hundred thousand followers, ninety-nine thousand are haters. Every time she starts a stream, it's flooded with insults, completely embarrassing us, the Huo family Members! How is someone like her supposed to make money? She's just using the guise of being a freelancer to mooch off the villa, expecting to live here for free."

"She probably can't wait for you and father to die early so she can get a share of the Huo Family's inheritance and be nothing but a social parasite!"

Huo Ziheng's heart still held a grudge against Jiang Ning for kicking him into the pool earlier in the afternoon, and his words were filled with unkind implications as he interpreted her actions in the darkest light.

Both Huo Song and Madam Huo's expressions darkened.

Jiang Ning shook the water bottle in her hand.

The reason she didn't stay in the dorms, braving the wind and rain to return to the villa every day, was merely to foster a relationship with them, to close the distance between them.

But it seemed everyone thought ill of her.

"Second brother, that's too much!" Huo Miao bit her lip and stood up to say, "Sister Jiang Ning is not like that. She grew up in the mountains and had never lived in a nice villa like this. It's normal for her to be attached to this villa. It's my fault. If I hadn't taken Sister Jiang Ning's identity, she would have been the one to grow up in luxury. Then she would've been used to all the lavishness here and wouldn't have had these bad thoughts."

Although she seemed to refute Huo Ziheng outwardly, in reality, Huo Miao's words solidified what he had said, only serving to add fuel to the fire.

Seeing her pitiful, pretentious demeanor, Jiang Ning felt an itch in her hand.

She couldn't tolerate it anymore, nor did she need to.

Jiang Ning tightened her grip slightly, and the water bottle flew out of her hand, striking Huo Miao accurately on the head.

"Ah!"

"Who! Who attacked me!?"

"Damn!"

Three cries of pain rang out at once.

The first voice belonged to Huo Miao; the second and third came from the twins.

That's because, after hitting Huo Miao, the water bottle bounced off and subsequently hit the twins, who were sitting together.

Jiang Ning clapped her hands and walked in from outside, "Sorry, my hand slipped, and it flew towards those who deserved it."

Seeing her, the Huo family Members were all startled.

Huo Ziheng couldn't help but point at Jiang Ning and ask, "Why are you back? When did you show up here?"

"I came back when I wanted to. What, do I have to report to you?" Jiang Ning lifted her eyelids and glanced at him indifferently.

Huo Ziheng was taken aback, and the twins, recalling what they had just said upon seeing Jiang Ning, couldn't help feeling a flicker of guilt. But then, seeing the water bottle on the floor, they felt justified again.

Huo Kaiping glared, "Are you sick? Why do you hit people as soon as you get home?"

"Do you think I'm hitting people? Even animals know to stick together for warmth, but you're thinking of how to drive me out," Jiang Ning stepped forward, bent down to pick up the water bottle from the floor, and coldly retorted, "Who just said they wanted to kick me out?"

Huo Kaiping and Huo Kaian were furious. It was they who had proposed kicking Jiang Ning out of the Huo Family. Her words implied that they were worse than beasts?

Huo Kaiping took a step forward with his fists clenched, angrily said, "Jiang Ning, don't think I won't hit you just because you've just been discharged from the hospital."

Jiang Ning raised her eyelids, "Oh, so now you're planning to have a one-on-one fight with me?"