After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Became the Female Lead's Stepmother (GL) - Chapter 15

Xu Chun casually joked around without much real interest in the matter. As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes, the son of a rat will dig holes. Given Jiang Zhaolie’s current behavior, she hardly dared to entertain any extra hopes for the rest of the Jiang family.

Lightly steering the conversation elsewhere, Xu Chun asked Tang Shiyu with a hint of confusion, “Mom, shouldn’t you be at the company right now? Why are you still at home?”

“I was just thinking it’s about time you came home,” Tang Shiyu replied, her loving yet somewhat complicated gaze resting on Xu Chun. What she didn’t say was that ever since the dating show went viral, the dramatic love triangle between Xu Chun, Yu Sui’an, and Jiang Zhaolie had become the talk of the town.

Their relatives, always quick with gossip, had bombarded them with calls and messages, even those distant aunts and uncles who rarely kept in touch. Not only did they pry for details, but they also took the opportunity to subtly belittle Xu Chun, using her as a foil to highlight their own children’s excellence and obedience. Their goal was clear: to undermine Xu Chun’s position as the heir and secure more benefits from the Xu family’s business.

Tang Shiyu wasn’t foolish, she saw right through their schemes. After brushing them off with a few vague responses and hanging up, she grew deeply concerned about Xu Chun’s current emotional and mental state. She had witnessed Xu Chun’s despondence and distraction after her breakup with Yu Sui’an.

A mother knows her daughter best. Aware of her daughter’s fragile mood, Tang Shiyu hesitated to broach the subject, afraid of accidentally touching a nerve or reopening wounds. So she kept all her questions to herself, waiting until Xu Chun herself chose to lay bare her scars for everyone to see.

“I was waiting for you to come home today. We’ll have lunch together, and then I’ll be leaving for a two-day business trip to the neighboring city this afternoon,” Tang Shiyu said gracefully, though a faint worry lingered in her eyes. Xu Chun studied her quietly for a long moment before finally understanding the reason behind her mother’s unease from her next words. “Next week is Grandpa Jiang’s eightieth birthday…”

Tang Shiyu trailed off. Conventionally, as the future daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, Xu Chun should attend the celebration. But given the tension and discord between her and Jiang Zhaolie, Tang Shiyu couldn’t bring herself to suggest it.

Jiang Zhaolie had repeatedly scorned Xu Chun even the most patient rabbit would eventually snap and bite, let alone someone as proud as her daughter.

Lately, Xu Chun had been bottling up her emotions, and Tang Shiyu had been on edge, fearing she might suddenly do something reckless. Now that her daughter had returned safely, as a mother, how could she possibly reopen those wounds?

“Grandpa Jiang’s eightieth birthday…” Xu Chun repeated slowly, drawing out the words, her expression puzzled. “What’s the issue with that?”

A moment later, she halted in shock. “That wretched Jiang Zhaolie wouldn’t dare use this occasion, when the most influential figures from all walks of life are gathered to publicly cut ties with me, would she?” The more Xu Chun thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. “What a vicious woman! I’ve completely misjudged her!”

Tang Shiyu was momentarily stunned by Xu Chun’s words, taking quite a while to process the nonsensical tirade. “It shouldn’t come to that,” she finally responded after some calm consideration. “The Jiang family comes from prestigious lineage. Even if they privately disapprove of you, they wouldn’t publicly act in such an undignified manner.”

Moreover, the only one who disliked Xu Chun was Jiang Zhaolie. Old Master Jiang Peiyuan was actually quite pleased with this granddaughter-in-law. If Jiang Zhaolie wanted to break off the engagement, Jiang Peiyuan might not even agree.

Despite this reasoning, Xu Chun felt she needed a backup plan to avoid being blindsided by Jiang Zhaolie’s potential betrayal, which could implicate her parents. The thought of the Xu family being left destitute by Jiang Zhaolie’s schemes already gave her a headache.

With growing anxiety, she followed Tang Shiyu into the villa, where a young girl was playing games on the living room sofa. The girl appeared quite young, bearing about sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Xu Chun. Before Xu Chun could search her memories, the girl turned at the sound of their entrance. Her eyes swept over them before settling on Xu Chun, her facial muscles immediately twisting into an unwelcoming frown. “What are you doing back here?”

Tang Shiyu’s expression darkened instantly. “Weiwei,” she warned sternly.

“Is that any way to speak to your sister?” The previous gentleness and warmth in her demeanor vanished, replaced by an authoritative sternness that subtly transformed her elegant features. “Come here and apologize to your sister!”

Before she could finish, Xu Wei defiantly interrupted, “Apologize? For what? I haven’t done anything wrong.” With a mocking smirk, she added sarcastically, “But if I’ve somehow offended you, I’ll just have to beg my dear sister to be the bigger person and forgive her little sister.”

Her brazen attitude quickly made sense as Xu Chun accessed the original host’s memories. The original Xu Chun had doted on this younger sister seven years her junior to an excessive, almost spoiling degree. Bound by bl00d ties, she had indulged Xu Wei’s every whim, no matter how unreasonable.

In essence, the original host had single-handedly cultivated Xu Wei’s current spoiled and unreasonable temperament.

What was particularly ironic was that despite Xu Chun also being a celebrity, Xu Wei happened to be a die-hard fan of Yu Sui’an. Instead of supporting her own sister, she spent her days mingling with Yu Sui’an’s fans, campaigning and generating data for him even shamelessly joining them in badmouthing her own flesh and bl00d.

To support her idol, Xu Wei had even established a studio, gathering several of Yu Sui’an’s fans to form an anti-defamation support team, providing substantial material assistance for his fan activities.

From the original host’s memories, Xu Chun learned that in just the past six months, Xu Wei had splurged tens of millions on Yu Sui’an, earning herself a reputation as the wealthy heiress among his fanbase.

Xu Chun’s eye twitched at the revelation. A barely adult college student had recklessly spent over ten million in half a year to chase her sister’s rival. And technically, all these expenditures had been unconditionally funded by “herself.” The thought nearly made her hyperventilate with frustration.

The original owner was truly foolish! Isn’t earning money hard work? Isn’t acting exhausting? If Xu Wei keeps squandering money like this, even if the family had billions in assets, it wouldn’t withstand this spendthrift’s extravagance!

Xu Wei felt displeased the moment she saw her sister. How she wished she wasn’t Xu Chun’s biological sister, but Yu Sui’an’s instead. Yu Sui’an was so pure, so resilient, a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry. Though Yu Sui’an came from a poor background with no connections or backing, her determination to carve out her own success was absolutely admirable!

When Xu Wei accidentally learned about Yu Sui’an’s life story, she realized that not everyone in the entertainment industry was a carefree rich kid grabbing a slice of the pie, that smoke-filled circle still had people with dreams.

Thus, Xu Wei developed an uncontrollable admiration for Yu Sui’an. For Yu Sui’an, she felt she could sacrifice everything, even her own life.

“Why are you still here?” Xu Wei frowned deeply when she saw her sister not only refusing to leave but deliberately sitting down to annoy her. Ever since her heart leaned toward Yu Sui’an, she found everything about her sister irritating.

Xu Chun lacked Yu Sui’an’s gentle, considerate nature and her indomitable perseverance. All she had were the privileges that came with being the Xu family’s heiress.

“Is this your house?” Xu Chun lifted her eyelids lazily, turning to Xu Wei with a harmless smile.

Xu Wei was stunned. Of course it was.

“The property deed clearly has my name on it,” Xu Chun said with a faint smile. “My dear little sister seems to have a poor memory at such a young age.”

Xu Wei’s frown deepened. What nonsense was this woman spouting today?

“Oh, and I’ll be freezing those supplementary cards I gave you for now.” Xu Wei tilted her head, resting her cheek on her hand. Though she wore a smile, her imposing aura left Xu Wei speechless. “As for the money you’ve spent of mine…” She paused deliberately, her tone emotionless. “Make sure to pay me back soon.”

Xu Wei was dumbfounded. “???”

“Do you even hear yourself?” she shrieked upon hearing Xu Chun demand repayment for the money spent on Yu Sui’an. “How could a young girl like me, just an adult still in school without a job, possibly repay that much?!”

“I’m your sister!” she snapped furiously. “Are you really going to be this calculating with your own flesh and bl00d?!”

“What sister? You’re my defendant now.” Xu Chun stared at her seriously. “If you can’t pay it back… you should’ve thought about that before spending my money.”

“Earning money through acting isn’t easy. As my own sister, don’t you feel any sympathy to be more frugal?”

Xu Wei was momentarily speechless, her face flushing red with frustration. Xu Chun waved her hand dismissively as if shooing a dog. “If you can’t repay me, go get a job. Whether it’s manual labor, dishwashing, or street vending, just name it and I can arrange it for you.”

Xu Wei’s eyes reddened with rage. After glaring at Xu Chun through clenched teeth, she turned pitifully to Tang Shiyu, hoping her mother would scold her sister. “Mom, look at how sister is treating me…”

“Your sister makes a valid point,” their mother interrupted. “When your sister was your age, she had already entered the entertainment industry and earned her first five million. And you? All you do is spend money. Vivi, I’m not trying to criticize you, but you really should learn from your sister.”

Her mother might as well have outright said she wasn’t even fit to hold a candle to her sister.

Xu Wei: “……” Fuming with anger.

Did you all conspire to mess with my head?

Seething, she grabbed her phone and stormed off. “Who even wants your money?!”

“Don’t forget to return those tens of millions to me soon,” Xu Chun kindly reminded. Xu Wei’s steps faltered for a second before she quickened her pace, stomping so hard it seemed she wanted to crack the floor tiles.

Tang Shiyu didn’t intervene or comment on Xu Chun’s discipline. In fact, she approved. “You should have been stricter with Vivi a long time ago. Unlike you, she’s never been sensible or considerate toward us. If you keep indulging her behind our backs without firm guidance, she’ll easily be led astray by bad influences.”

Tang Shiyu had always felt Xu Chun spoiled Xu Wei too much and had hinted at it multiple times. But Xu Chun would always brush it off with, “She’s still young, it’s fine.” Over time, as long as Xu Wei didn’t cross the line, Tang Shiyu let it slide. Who knew Xu Wei would grow increasingly ungrateful, even disrespecting her own sister?

Under her mother’s reminder, Xu Chun recalled “her” past leniency and was overwhelmed with regret.

Xu Wei didn’t show up for dinner. Tang Shiyu mentioned she had packed her bags in a rage and left home, as if cutting ties with the family. Then, shifting the topic, she added, “I’ve already contacted the brand for the gown you’ll wear next week. If you’re free this afternoon, go take a look and finalize the design.”

Jiang Peiyuan’s birthday banquet would draw half the elite families in attendance. Even if a marriage alliance with the Jiangs didn’t work out, Tang Shiyu saw it as an opportunity for Xu Chun to meet other promising young talents, no need to fixate solely on Jiang Zhaolie.

“Alright,” Xu Chun agreed.

After briefly updating her agent, Xu Chun followed repeated reminders and donned a cap, sunglasses, and a mask. In this getup, even her own mother might not recognize her.

She picked a simple, low-key car from the garage. Tang Shiyu had booked an evening gown from a high-end C-brand for her. Upon hearing of Xu Chun’s arrival, the brand immediately sent a specialist to greet her.

Xu Chun followed the manager to the VIP lounge but barely had time to steady herself when a surprised voice called out, “Xu Chun?”

She turned toward the voice. The speaker added, “You’re here to pick out clothes too?” Then, Zhou Yuying seemed to realize Xu Chun was likely selecting a dress for Jiang Peiyuan’s banquet next week, and her expression darkened.

Matching the face to the name in her memory, Xu Chun replied indifferently, “Hmm, what a coincidence.”

Her tone was flat, devoid of any excitement or warmth one would expect from old friends reuniting after a long separation. Sensing Xu Chun’s blatant indifference, Zhou Yuying immediately took offense. “I heard Jiang Zhaolie publicly rejected you on national television,” she said, her delicate face lighting up with glee as if recalling something delightful. “But don’t take it too hard.”

She offered consolation, though her words dripped with malice: “It was bound to happen sooner or later. Though if I were you, I’d have bowed out gracefully long ago to avoid losing both the man and my dignity in the end.”

Zhou Yuying was one of Jiang Zhaolie’s admirers and had been Xu Chun’s classmate from kindergarten through university, over a decade of shared history. Xu Chun felt no particular affection for this old acquaintance. While Zhou prattled on with ten sentences, Xu Chun would casually respond with one or two vague remarks. Soon enough, her indifferent attitude infuriated Zhou, who dropped all pretense. “Xu Chun,” she demanded, “is it true about Jiang Zhaolie and that Yu Sui’an?”

Xu Chun’s eyebrows lifted slightly. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled sweetly. “Of course it is.” Zhou Yuying’s heart plummeted into an icy abyss. Xu Chun swore she’d never seen such utter despair on anyone’s face before in her life.

“Didn’t you watch the show? Jiang Zhaolie and Yu Sui’an are real. Jiang Zhaolie and I are real. Yu Sui’an and I are even more real. The three of us even went on a date in front of millions of viewers nationwide. As Jiang Zhaolie’s admirer, how could you have missed all this news?”

Xu Chun heaved an exaggerated sigh of melancholy. “What a dilemma we’re in, the three of us loving each other so deeply like this.”

Zhou Yuying’s expression froze completely. She stood motionless like a stone statue, clearly unable to process Xu Chun’s words.

Having successfully thrown this unnamed supporting character into complete turmoil, Xu Chun cheerfully picked up her chosen evening gown and headed for the fitting room. But as she turned, she saw Jiang Zhaolie and Yu Sui’an standing shoulder-to-shoulder right behind her, silent as statues. Judging by the looks on their faces, they’d heard every word of her conversation with Zhou Yuying.

Xu Chun: “…”