Chapter 5: Dumpling

It was the weekend, and neither of them had to go to work today.

Guan Xi got up early and was sitting in the living room watching a variety show when Jiang Suizhou came out after washing up. He was surprised because she usually left his house soon after waking up and wouldn’t stay long.

But his surprise was momentary. They usually didn’t interfere with or inquire too much into each other’s affairs, so after breakfast, he went on to do his own thing. Guan Xi sat there all morning, and during that time, Guan Xinghao called her, but she didn’t answer.

As noon approached, she took a deep breath and got up from the sofa to go to the inner room for makeup. Today, the housekeeping aunt had prepared lunch. After Jiang Suizhou finished his work and came out, he noticed that besides the extravagant things left from last night in the living room, there was nothing else.

“Has Guan Xi left?” 

The aunt pointed to the cloakroom, “Miss Guan is doing makeup in there.”

Jiang Suizhou nodded and walked towards the cloakroom. He stopped at the doorway and saw Guan Xi applying lipstick inside. It was a dark red color, matching her exceptionally sharp makeup today, as if she was going to kill someone.

“Not eating?” he asked.

Guan Xi put the lipstick in her bag, stood up, and walked over, “My dad asked me to go home.”

“Oh, should I accompany you?”

He was just being polite. Guan Xi knew it well, but rare for her to neither retort nor say something sarcastic, she shook her head and walked out directly. Jiang Suizhou thought, Xianyu’s mood is not good. It seems she has offended someone outside again and is going home to face some trouble. For her, he could only think that the worst thing that could happen when she goes home is getting scolded with a black face.

He didn’t think Guan Xi would face any real difficulties in her lifetime.

“Sir, how should we handle these things?” The aunt pointed to the extravagant scene in the living room.

Today, she was surprised to see it when she came over, but since the homeowner didn’t say anything, she didn’t dare to clean it up.

Jiang Suizhou didn’t answer immediately. He reached out and took a gift box with the words “One Year” written on it. He opened it and saw a golden-plated pacifier inside.

Using this pacifier for a baby is like inheriting eight generations of bad luck.

Jiang Suizhou chuckled and said to the aunt, “Put these gift boxes in my study, and clean up the other things.”

“Okay.”

**

Driving back from Jiang Suizhou’s house to her own, Guan Xi was tense the entire way. They agreed on a two-month buffer, but she was brought back after just one month. It shows how much they missed her.

She didn’t want to go home, but she knew there was no way to avoid it. She felt upset, but this was the first time, and she couldn’t throw a tantrum. As Lang Ningyi said, her current position is just a supporting role. Does she even have the right to get angry? If others knew about this, she would be seen as a sparrow turning into a phoenix.

She reached the doorstep of her home and stopped the car.

From the entrance to the inner room, she didn’t see the usual housekeeping aunts. Perhaps they were kept away temporarily to maintain secrecy. The only one still there was Aunt Zhen, who had taken care of her since childhood. Aunt Zhen saw her and gently touched her arm, saying, “Go in, they’re in the living room.”

Aunt Zhen had emotional connections with her since she raised her, so she showed sympathy. Guan Xi straightened her back even more. Why should anyone sympathize with her?! She didn’t want sympathy!

“Xi Xi, you’re back.” Walking into the living room, she saw three people sitting there – her parents and that girl.

Guan Xinghao stood up when he saw her coming, his eyes slightly awkward. However, his smile towards her remained bright, “Xi Xi, this is Guan Ying. From now on, she’s your sister.”

Guan Xi looked at the girl sitting next to her mother. It was the first time she saw her. Jeans, a short top, simple and plain, with a shy smile. She was decent looking.

“Sister.” Guan Ying called out to her softly.

Guan Xi suddenly got goosebumps. The reality hit her, and it felt like she had entered a parallel world where everything was unfamiliar. In an instant, all her strategies to secure her position, win her parents’ favor, and compete cleverly with this new Miss Guan… all shattered with the simple and friendly words, “sister.”

What the hell… What should she do next?

Guan Xinghao probably sensed her discomfort and, to ease the tension, suggested that everyone go for lunch. The table was filled with steaming hot dishes, and there was an extra person at the table, making it four instead of the usual three.

“These past two days, you haven’t come home. What have you been doing?” Guan Xinghao brought up a topic.

Guan Xi, seeing him asking her, replied, “Nothing much, just spending time with Jiang Suizhou.”

“Oh, I see. Why didn’t you bring Suizhou home for a meal? Dad hasn’t seen him in a long time. How have you both been recently?” Guan Xinghao deliberately brought up a topic to chat with her. Guan Xi understood that he was trying to express his concern and care for her.

She understood it all too well, and it made her even more upset.

“It’s fine,” Guan Xi took a deep breath, feigning calmness. “I’ll tell him next time to come over for a meal at our place.”

“Good,” Guan Xinghao said.

“Ying Ying, do you have a boyfriend?” Wei Shaomin, after a month of communication with his daughter, finally remembered to ask this question.

Guan Ying shook her head, “Not yet.”

“In that case, mom can help you look for one later,” Wei Shaomin suggested.

Guan Ying felt a bit embarrassed, “No need…”

“It’s nothing. You’re a bit older than Xi Xi,” Wei Shaomin said, his expression turning somewhat sad. “It’s been so many years… mom owes you too much.”

Guan Xi ate her meal with her head down, listening to their conversation without saying a word. She had been informed about the details of Guan Ying’s background before.

Back then, when Guan Ying was just two months old, the nanny who had some mental issues took her away and jumped into a river, resulting in her death. The child’s body was not found despite a prolonged search, but her clothing was discovered downstream. Thus, everyone assumed Guan Ying was dead.

Unexpectedly, the nanny had a moment of remorse before her death. Instead of taking the infant with her, she gave the baby to someone else. Later, the baby was sold privately and ended up in a place far from the capital. Guan Xi’s mother, Wei Shaomin, already had health issues and couldn’t conceive after her first child. Believing that her child had died, she was heartbroken and went abroad for recuperation.

A year later, in an attempt to console Wei Shaomin, Guan Xinghao went to an orphanage and brought Guan Xi back home. They spent several years living abroad, and when they returned to China, Guan Xi was around eight or nine years old. Time and age became blurry, and the past was fading from everyone’s memory. Few knew about Wei Shaomin’s inability to conceive again, so Guan Xinghao simply stated that they were fortunate and expecting another daughter at the time.

No one doubted the story.

The truth of the matter, apart from the grandparents, remained unknown to anyone else.

Guan Xi had no memory of these events, leading her to believe that her mother’s distant demeanor was just her personality. She dared to be lively and rebellious in front of her father but restrained herself in front of her mother. She always tried to please and gain her mother’s love and attention, not realizing it was all in vain.

But now, she knew it was useless. Her mother had never spoken to her in such a tone. Guan Xi’s mind buzzed with jealousy and envy, but she also understood that she was the least qualified to feel that way.

After dinner, Guan Xi went upstairs to her room. At night, Guan Xinghao knocked on her door. It was the first time they faced each other calmly since their last conversation.

“Dad, if you have something to say, just say it.” Guan Xi didn’t want to beat around the bush.

Guan Xinghao looked awkward, “Dad promised you to wait for two months before bringing back Guan Ying, but now…”

“Sooner or later, she would have come back,” Guan Xi said. “She’s your biological daughter; her return was inevitable.”

“You are my biological daughter too,” Guan Xinghao said. “Xi Xi, don’t overthink it.”

But this “kinship” was not the same. Guan Xi’s eyes were slightly red; she loved her parents very much.

“Okay,” she nodded.

“Ying Ying has also suffered a lot, and we owe her a lot.”

“I understand.”

Seeing her nod, Guan Xinghao sighed in relief, “Dad is happy to see that you can accept it so quickly. In the future, treat her as if you’ve gained a sister and get along well. She has a lot to learn, and you can guide her.”

Guan Xi smiled at Guan Xinghao, “Got it.”

For the first time, the once willful and exasperating Guan Xi achieved the concept of “restraint.”

**

Lang Ningyi said that in the initial stages of a novel, when the female protagonist returns from exile, she tends to be cautious, a bit timid, feeling that she can’t integrate into this magnificent world. Guan Xi had no doubt about Lang Ningyi’s experience in novels.

Because Guan Ying was indeed like that—introverted, timid, speaking softly. Her well-behaved appearance made the malicious supporting character, who had thought of plotting against her secretly for hundreds of encounters, give up the idea.

Recently, Wei Shaomin and Guan Xinghao had been mostly staying at home with Guan Ying. To avoid any awkwardness with her parents and to avoid having to act out the sisterly bond with Guan Ying, Guan Xi spent her days at the company, only returning home in the evening for dinner and sleep.

In the past few days, Guan Xi’s attendance and time spent at the office shocked all the puzzled employees below: Miss Guan is back in action!

One day, at the end of the workday, Guan Xi leisurely returned home. As she entered, she heard laughter in the distance. When she reached the living room and didn’t see them, she followed the sound towards the kitchen. There, she unexpectedly saw her parents surrounded by dumplings.

Her mother was a neat freak and never entered the kitchen. Her father was busy and didn’t know how to cook. It was the first time Guan Xi saw both her parents in the kitchen. Clumsily holding the dumplings, they happily showed them to Guan Ying after making them. Guan Ying quietly remarked that they did a much better job than the previous attempt.

Dumpling making? A surprising family activity.

Guan Xi instinctively took a step back, not saying anything.

It was truly a heartwarming and… alienating scene.

She didn’t know how to react, going upstairs directly seemed awkward, and joining them in making dumplings made her feel awkward too. By the time she figured out what to do, she had already walked out the door and driven away.

It felt like an escape.

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