My Gloomy Stepsister Has Her Eyes on Me - Chapter 23

“Hmph.”

Zhen Zhu trembled with rage.

Her own father dared to look down on her?

She glared at the crowd, pulled aside the friend who had been shielding her, and stood boldly before them. Her fox-like eyes curved into a perfect arc as she slowly and coldly scanned the faces from left to right. “Which one of you just said I lacked love?!”

Her overwhelming presence silenced the entire room.

The sheer white gown draped over Zhen Zhu shimmered with water-kissed diamonds, making her appear less like a shivering woman emerging from the water and more like a goddess looking down on mortals.

The dim yellow rose lamp to her left cast golden lightning-like reflections from the diamonds, adding to her imperious aura. Zhen Zhu, barefoot, surveyed the sudden silence and sneered. “Weren’t you all so brave just moments ago? Why are you hiding now?”

“Just a bunch of cowards.”

“Do you even deserve to look at me?”

“But there’s one thing you said that’s true: I’ve cheapened myself by letting a pack of dogs like you even see me.”

With a cold snort, Zhen Zhu turned to her stepsister, who was staring at her in shock, and reached out her hand. “Get up!”

When Zhen Min’er didn’t move, Zhen Zhu bent down, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to her feet.

But as Zhen Min’er clung to her, even the usually composed Zhen Zhu couldn’t help but recall that artificial respiration that had felt like a kiss…

Just artificial respiration! Zhen Zhu’s hand trembled slightly as she frantically reminded herself, Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it!

“Let’s go!” Zhen Min’er declared. “If you don’t take me to the doctor, I’ll just lose my hand!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Jining Lan, who had been stunned by Zhen Zhu’s actions, suddenly regained his masculine bravado and grabbed Zhen Min’er’s other hand.

It was her injured hand. Zhen Zhu frowned, ready to slap him away.

But before she could strike, Jining Lan noticed something was wrong.

He felt something wet and sticky on his hand. Looking down, he exclaimed, “Bl00d!”

He immediately released her hand and recoiled, this tall, imposing man suddenly resembling a rabbit startled by some terrifying creature.

“……” Zhen Zhu mentally addressed the System in her mind: “I have to ask, how could you write a male lead who’s such a coward?!”

A little bl00d scared him this badly?

“Host, according to the data, male leads with minor flaws are actually easier for the female lead to move, making it easier for them to get together,” the System replied earnestly in its childlike voice.

“Like saving those Male Leads with night blindness, or the really timid ones,” the childlike voice speculated. “That’s how they form connections and develop feelings.”

Well, guess I’m just ignorant, Zhen Zhu thought.

She realized she still loved the twisted, dual-yandere stories her friend wrote—the forced love, but with two equally powerful characters!

Unlike…

Zhen Zhu glared at her stepsister, who had glanced back at Jining Lan before lowering her head dejectedly. So pathetic.

“Are you coming or not?” Zhen Zhu demanded, ignoring the onlookers and fixing Zhen Min’er with a cold stare. “If you’re not, I’m leaving.”

“She’s not going with you!” Jining Lan, having finally regained his composure, shoved his way between them, his voice dripping with fury. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“You’ve already hurt Zhen Min’er! How dare you—”

“Seriously, Young Master J?” Lin Zhi crossed her arms, her peach-blossom eyes raking Jining Lan from head to toe until his hair practically stood on end. She widened her eyes dramatically before asking, “What exactly did you do?”

“The Eldest Miss saved her from drowning! She’s the one who brought her back! What did you even do?”

“Oh, I know! You managed to call for help!” Lin Zhi clapped, her peach-blossom eyes sparkling. “Good job!”

“You—!” Jining Lan sputtered, enraged. “A real man doesn’t fight with women!”

“Tch,” Lin Zhi rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, the ‘good man’ who faints at the sight of a little bl00d!”

Seeing Jining Lan standing like an enraged club, Zhen Min’er lowered her head and remained silent. Zhen Zhu waited for a response, but none came. Meanwhile, the System’s childish voice urged in her mind: “Host! Don’t worry about the Main Lead! The Male Lead is here now—he’ll take care of her!”

“Host, no need to fret!”

“Who’s fretting?!” Zhen Zhu retorted irritably in her mind, deciding to ignore Zhen Min’er. As the System pointed out, why should she care about the Main Leads?

All that mattered was monitoring Zhen Min’er’s Happiness Value for any changes.

“Lin Zh, let’s go,” Zhen Zhu called to her friend, who was still arguing. “There’s no point in staying.”

After all, I’m the villainess. Why should I care about the Main Lead? If I leave, her injuries might even heal faster.

Her skirt was tugged.

She couldn’t take another step.

She tried again, but the resistance persisted, growing stronger.

Zhen Zhu turned to see Zhen Min’er, who had been hesitant moments ago, now clutching her skirt. It seemed she had initially grabbed with one hand, but now, to prevent Zhen Zhu from leaving, she had reached out with her injured hand as well, leaving crimson stains blooming across the white fabric.

It was like painting vibrant red blossoms onto the sprawling pale green vines.

Zhen Zhu pressed her lips together, averting her gaze from the glaring color. Her eyes shifted from the bloodstained hand to Zhen Min’er’s tearful eyes. “Didn’t you want to stay?”

“…Elder Sister,” Zhen Min’er sobbed, her dewy deer-like eyes fixed on Zhen Zhu. “I’ll go with you.”

“Elder Sister, don’t abandon me.”

The plan had failed again.

Failed yet again.

Elder Sister had become even more beautiful.

Zhen Min’er lowered her head, her sobs continuing, but slowly, gradually, she moved closer to Zhen Zhu.

Until she finally grasped Zhen Zhu’s arm, pressing her bl00d-soaked palm against her sister’s pale skin.

Only then did the hollow feeling of Elder Sister not belonging to her begin to ease slightly.

Why is Min’er so feverish?

Zhen Zhu had been about to say something, but when the girl, burning with fever, pressed against her, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

No wonder. Injured, soaked, and terrified—it would be strange if she didn’t catch a cold and develop a fever.

This is supposed to be a romance novel, so why is the main lead always getting into so much trouble? Zhen Zhu thought, annoyed. She glared at Jining Lan, who was being restrained by his father. That idiot doesn’t have a scratch on him.

“Lin Zh, help me support her,” Zhen Zhu said, gripping the feverish, limp hand on Zhen Min’er’s arm and steadying her. Her fox-like eyes narrowed as she called out to her friend for assistance.

“Oh~” Lin Zhi raised an eyebrow, her voice teasingly drawn out. Before Zhen Zhu’s gaze could land on her, she moved to support Zhen Min’er’s other side.

Hmph, Zhen Zhu resisted the urge to slap Lin Zhi’s hand away and turned to Zhen Hongbo. “Father, Zhen Min’er has a fever. I’m taking her home.”

“Zhen Zhu.” Before she could take more than two steps, her father blocked her path.

Zhen Hongbo frowned at Zhen Zhu, reminding her, “You are a daughter of the Zhen Family. You must not be so impolite. Today is Grandfather J’s birthday banquet. Go to the guest room to change your clothes and return.”

“…Father.” Zhen Zhu pressed her lips into a thin line, her fox-like eyes meeting her father’s gaze directly, unflinching. “Yes, Grandfather J’s birthday banquet is important, but my presence won’t make a difference. My absence won’t be missed either. There’s no need for me to stay. Besides, your presence alone is the Zhen Family’s greatest show of respect.”

With that, Zhen Zhu steered Zhen Min’er around Zhen Hongbo and walked away.

For the first time, she saw with crystal clarity: her father didn’t truly love her.

Or perhaps Zhen Zhu had never been so clear-headed before. Her grip on Zhen Min’er’s arm tightened slightly. Her father loved the child who brought him honor, not her—not her as a person.

She closed her eyes, suppressing the stinging sensation rising from her throat to the tip of her nose. When she opened them again, she was once more the aloof and dignified Eldest Miss. As Zhen Zhu led Zhen Min’er away, the crowd, intimidated by her imposing aura, slowly parted to make way.

Though whispers inevitably followed, Zhen Zhu ignored them—just a rabble of commoners.

First, she needed to get this fragile stepsister to the hospital.

Along the way, she overheard:

“Tch, just a woman. What’s she got to be so arrogant about?”

The voice was barely audible, deliberately lowered, yet unmistakably familiar.

It was the same man who had just claimed she lacked love and that he wouldn’t mind being her partner. Having trained in music since childhood, Zhen Zhu’s auditory perception was honed to perfection.

Hmph.

Her fox-like eyes widened into round pupils as she turned her icy gaze back. “Lin Zh, support her for a moment.”

She gently detached Zhen Min’er’s hand and transferred the nearly unconscious stepsister to Lin Zhi’s care.

She could tolerate the others, but this foul, disgusting trash? She wouldn’t stand for it.

Barefoot on the lawn, Zhen Zhu quickened her pace, following the sound to its source—a man.

She looked down disdainfully at the man, who was barely 1.7 meters tall. “Just you?”

Balding, pot-bellied, and dressed head-to-toe in designer brands, he was as greasy and repulsive as ever.

“What do you want?!” The blustering, cowardly fat man, caught off guard, immediately tried to preemptively claim victimhood. “What do you want from me for no reason?!”

“Even if your Zhen Family has all the money in the world, you can’t do anything to me!” he added hastily, as if afraid the Zhen Family might come after him, betraying his guilt with his desperate denial.

Zhen Zhu ignored his words, her gaze fixed on a girl in a qipao standing nearby. “Lend me your gloves.”

The girl froze, but at her mother’s prompting, she removed her white gloves and handed them to Zhen Zhu.

The tear in Zhen Zhu’s white dress had widened, revealing more of her exquisitely seductive curves.

Though intimidated, the crowd couldn’t help stealing glances in her direction.

Having been the center of attention since childhood, Zhen Zhu was long accustomed to such scrutiny.

She felt no shame in this moment. The ones who were dirty and vile were them, not her.

Zhen Zhu slowly pulled on the white gloves, carefully inserting her fingers into each one. The gloves were a bit small, requiring some effort to put on, but she couldn’t do without them.

Because…

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Slap!

Zhen Zhu swung her arm forcefully, delivering a stinging slap to the repulsive man before her.

“You—!” The man clutched his face, his entire head twisted by the blow. Instinctively, he raised his hand to retaliate.

Zhen Zhu didn’t flinch. Instead, she stepped forward, her gloved hand striking again, slapping his raised arm aside.

“If you dare touch me,” Zhen Zhu’s aura as the eldest daughter of the wealthiest family fully manifested as she looked down at the short, greasy man, “you’ll regret it.”

“You’ll be begging on the streets.”

“I assure you.”

Zhen Zhu moved through the silent crowd, her gaze settling on her father, Zhen Hongbo, her expression calm. “My father will never allow the Zhen Family’s reputation to be trampled by trash like you.”

After a cold laugh, Zhen Zhu removed her gloves and tossed them onto the sweating, repulsive pig.

Before leaving, she paused to address the qipao-clad girl who had been watching her, her cat-like eyes shining. “What’s your name? Come visit the Zhen Family later. I’ll prepare a gift for you far more valuable than these gloves.”

“These gloves are already soiled.”

“I’m Gu Anhe!” The girl bounced slightly, her shoulder-length hair swaying with her movement, her eyes sparkling. “Okay! I’ll definitely come! Thank you, Elder Sister Zhen!”

“Ouch—!” Lin Zhi, who had been eagerly watching the drama unfold, suddenly winced as her arm was pinched painfully.