"What trouble did I cause?"
Meng Ruozhao cast a cold look at this half - brother.
To be honest, she didn't feel any closeness to this younger brother at all.
She even thought more than once that even if she hadn't lost her memory, they would probably still be strangers to each other.
And he probably thought the same.
When Du Feng was around, he could barely maintain the courtesy of a younger brother.
But as long as Du Feng was absent, he looked down on her from the tip of his nose or simply ignored her.
Facing such malice and indifference, Meng Ruozhao had no intention of trying to please him.
"You just had to pick a fight with Sister Xi early in the morning. She's older than you, after all."
"Acting like this, who's going to like you? I bet even Young Master Yan will get sick of you sooner or later."
Du Changlin showed his disgust and stood in front of Du Xixi, obviously trying to back her up.
However, these words didn't hurt Meng Ruozhao in the slightest.
She even found them a bit laughable.
"It doesn't matter. People I don't like are definitely not good people. And those who don't like me, how can they be good people?"
"If just you dislike me, it's your problem. If you all dislike me, then you must have colluded."
Did this teenage middle - schooler think he could control her with "PUA"?
She wasn't buying it.
After all, someone once taught her: Blame others instead of yourself if you can!
She couldn't agree more.
In one's lifetime, there will be people who appreciate and like you, and there will also be those who dislike and slander you!
Long legs are for running, and long mouths are for arguing.
Du Changlin didn't expect that she, who looked so cold and aloof, a quiet and beautiful woman, could be so sharp - tongued when arguing.
He was so angry that he was momentarily speechless and just stared at her blankly.
Seeing that neither of these siblings was a match for her, Meng Ruozhao was too lazy to talk to them any more.
She didn't sleep well in the hospital and now just wanted to take a shower and have a good sleep.
As for Yan Qiubai, she'd talk to him after he cooled off in a couple of days.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Du Xixi, who still hadn't vented her anger, wasn't willing to let it go.
She suddenly rushed over to snatch Meng Ruozhao's phone.
"Do you think you're safe just because you've hooked up with the Yan family?"
A hoarse laugh rolled out of her throat.
"Show me what dirty secrets you're hiding in your phone if you've got the guts."
She seemed determined to pin the label of "staying out all night to meet a lover" on Meng Ruozhao.
Meng Ruozhao simply placed her phone on a nearby shelf and then pinned Du Xixi against the staircase railing.
The rosewood carvings dug painfully into the other girl's ribs, making her let out a shrill scream.
Meng Ruozhao ignored it and pinched her chin, pressing her thumb against the fever - cracked lips.
"I suggest you think about whether you're capable enough before you act."
It was strange. She should never have received any combat training.
The Du family would never train her in such things.
But her body seemed to have muscle memory. The moment Du Xixi rushed over, her body reacted before her mind.
She put down the phone, grabbed her wrist, pinned her down, and pressed her against the staircase.
She performed these actions smoothly, and even the cheongsam didn't affect her performance.
Du Xixi didn't even touch the phone before she was subdued.
Was this the ability she should have?
A flash of doubt crossed Meng Ruozhao's mind, but she quickly pushed it aside.
Du Xixi finally came to her senses, and her voice was tinged with sobs.
"Staying out all night and you still think you're in the right? You even dared to hit me! If the Yan family finds out..."
Meng Ruozhao looked down at her slowly and deliberately drew out her words.
"Yan Qiubai is my fiancé now. Sister, is it appropriate for you to be so concerned about someone else's fiancé?"
"You always want the Yan family to know my flaws. What's your motive?"
"Or have you been eyeing your sister's fiancé all along?"
Before Du Xixi could say anything, there was a roar.
"Meng Ruozhao!"
Du Changlin's adolescent voice was so loud that it made the crystal chandelier shake.
Taking advantage of Meng Ruozhao's impatient glare, he kicked over the shelf in an attempt to intimidate her.
The glass vase on the shelf swayed a few times and shattered at Meng Ruozhao's feet.
"Let go of Sister Xi! This is the Du family! You're not allowed to throw a tantrum."
The sharp edge of the glass cut across the outside of Meng Ruozhao's calf like a wild beast's fang, and a string of blood beads immediately welled up.
But since she and Du Xixi were standing together, if she got hurt, Du Xixi couldn't escape either.
In fact, because Du Xixi was standing closer, there were three or four cuts on her leg.
Meng Ruozhao didn't make a sound, but Du Xixi's shrill screams echoed through the entire villa.
The carved wooden door of the master bedroom on the second floor was suddenly pushed open, and Xia Lian rushed out in a silk nightgown.
There was still a facial mask on her well - maintained face.
"What's all this noise about so early in the morning..."
Her scolding suddenly stopped.
The scene in front of her made her facial mask wrinkle.
Her daughter was pinned against the staircase railing like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. Her son stood beside them, his face ashen but not daring to step forward.
And there were still bloodstains on Meng Ruozhao's calf exposed by the slit of her cheongsam.
"Mom!" Du Changlin was like a drowning man who had found a lifesaver. "She hit Sister Xi! And she scolded me!"
Xia Lian's fingers trembled as she peeled off the facial mask.
She saw that there were also bloodstains on Du Xixi's leg, even more in number.
But they didn't seem as deep as Meng Ruozhao's, because there wasn't as much blood.
She didn't expect the kids to start fighting and get hurt.
If the Yan family found out about this...
Irritation welled up in her heart, but at this moment, she could only put on the airs of a step - mother and preemptively shift the blame onto Meng Ruozhao.
"Ruozhao, what's going on? You come back and throw such a tantrum. Xixi has a fever but still worried about you."
Meng Ruozhao looked at Xia Lian's well - maintained face where not even a single crow's foot could be seen.
This woman was good at pretending to be a kind mother, but she was actually two - faced.
In the past six months, Meng Ruozhao had suffered at her hands more than once.
So now, she immediately shifted the blame back.
"What kind of concern? Concern about sending a video of me staying out all night to Yan Qiubai?"
"Or is she just eyeing the position of Yan Qiubai's fiancée?"
These words were quite blunt, but she had already let go of Du Xixi.
The latter immediately slumped into her mother's arms.
Meng Ruozhao picked up the phone beside her and waved it.
"Do you want me to call Yan Qiubai now and ask if it was really him who asked sister to monitor me?"
Xia Lian was at a loss for words.
She only had a rough idea of what happened yesterday. She knew that Yan Qiubai had left Meng Ruozhao and taken Du Xixi to the hospital.
This had made her very happy.
But she still wasn't sure what Yan Qiubai's attitude towards Meng Ruozhao was now.
What if Yan Qiubai was still reluctant to give up Meng Ruozhao? It wouldn't be good if she offended Meng Ruozhao now.
So at this moment, she could only force herself to smooth things over: "Xixi was just too worried."
"Concerned enough to call me a slut?"
Meng Ruozhao suddenly stepped closer, forcing Xia Lian to take a half - step back.
"Or did Aunt Xia teach her this?"
There was no memory of her mother in her mind.
According to what Du Feng had told her about the "past", her biological mother hadn't spent much time with her.
But even though she hadn't enjoyed much motherly love, she could tell that Xia Lian definitely had ill intentions towards her.