My Gloomy Stepsister Has Her Eyes on Me - Chapter 27

Had Zhen Min’er sent her a message and then immediately deleted it?

What does this mean? Zhen Zhu stared at the retracted message, feeling annoyed.

Suddenly realizing something was off, she removed the block. How did Zhen Min’er know so quickly that she had unblocked her?

Zhen Zhu scrolled through their chat history.

It consisted almost entirely of Zhen Min’er’s cautious, one-sided inquiries:

Zhen Min’er: Elder Sister, are you awake?

Zhen Min’er: Elder Sister, what would you like to eat today?

Zhen Zhu scrolled through the messages, finding no replies from herself to these one-sided inquiries.

How did Zhen Min’er know I’d unblocked her?

A quick online search revealed that WeChat still allows blocked users to send messages, though the recipient won’t see them. Sent messages will be marked with a red exclamation point.

So…

What message did Zhen Min’er want to send me? Zhen Zhu frowned in thought.

And why did she retract it?

Zhen Zhu opened the chat window, typed “What did you just send?” and immediately deleted it.

Hmph, Zhen Zhu pursed her lips, squeezing the panda plushie beside her. Her slender legs kicked at the blanket. I don’t care. Let her send whatever she wants, Zhen Zhu thought, biting her lip. If she sends another message and retracts it, I’ll just ignore it. I’m not curious at all!

Hmph, I’m not curious at all.

And she has the nerve to send and retract messages late at night? Zhen Min’er must be in a good mood! Jining Lan’s visit must have made her very happy!

Zhen Zhu finally managed to fall asleep around 3 or 4 in the morning.

She woke up yawning and groggily checked her phone.

A mountain of missed calls from Lin Zhi greeted her.

Too lazy to read through the string of messages, Zhen Zhu returned the call.

“Seriously, Eldest Miss?! You were the one who asked me to wake up for a massage at dawn last night!” Lin Zhi grumbled over the phone. “I’ve been waiting here since 8:30!”

“Ah…” Zhen Zhu stared blankly at her phone screen. “It’s 10:30 already?!”

“Exactly!” Lin Zhi’s anger flared. “Eldest Miss, you made me wait two hours!”

“You’re usually so punctual. What happened?!”

What happened…

Zhen Zhu paused mid-motion as she got out of bed. Zhen Min’er wasn’t here, that’s all.

“Nothing happened. Contact the last masseuse and have them come home.”

Zhen Zhu kept her tone clipped. “Pay her ten times her usual wage.”

She hung up.

Rising to choose her outfit, Zhen Zhu opened her walk-in closet that spanned two walls. Spotting a long blue dress, she instinctively called out, “Blue.”

No one answered.

Zhen Zhu paused, then reached out and took the blue dress. Hmph, just because Min’er isn’t here doesn’t mean I can’t dress myself!

After changing her clothes, Zhen Zhu went to the piano room to practice. She had just begun composing a new piece when she realized something was off.

Her mouth felt dry, and she instinctively opened it…

But the familiar figure who used to feed her fruit wasn’t there.

Her throat was too parched to continue playing.

“What’s Zhen Min’er’s current Happiness Value?” Zhen Zhu asked the System in her mind, simply curious about her progress.

“It’s still the same as yesterday, Host. I’ll notify you if there are any changes~”

“Did you forget, Host?”

“…No, I didn’t,” Zhen Zhu replied irritably.

Getting up, Zhen Zhu decided she needed to bring Zhen Min’er home. After all, if Min’er was alone in the hospital, she might get sad, and if her Happiness Value dropped, that would be very bad and troublesome.

As she stood, Zhen Zhu told the System, “I’m bringing Zhen Min’er home to prevent her Happiness Value from decreasing.”

“Huh?” The System’s childish voice was filled with confusion.

Once Zhen Zhu made up her mind, she acted immediately. She told the driver to take her to the hospital and hurried downstairs.

Just as she reached the front door—

A black luxury car pulled up and stopped at the entrance.

It was very familiar.

It was Jining Lan’s car.

Lifting her gaze, Zhen Zhu stared coldly at the vehicle and summoned a bodyguard. “Escort Young Master J away,” she ordered. “He’s blocking the way.”

Zhen Zhu had always disliked Jining Lan, but for some reason, she found him even more irritating now. He was like a disgusting rat that kept reappearing, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get rid of him.

“Miss, Young Master J’s car is only taking up a small amount of space,” the bodyguard hesitated.

“Miss… Alright, I’ll take care of it right away.”

Zhen Zhu withdrew her cold gaze and watched impassively as the bodyguard approached the car. The door swung open—

A pale, slender leg emerged first.

It wasn’t Jining Lan.

Zhen Zhu should have felt relieved, but she knew exactly who it would be if it wasn’t him.

Sure enough, the door opened to reveal familiar, dewy-eyed fawn eyes, brimming with surprise and delight at seeing her.

At the same moment, Master L’s car pulled out of the garage and stopped at the gate.

Zhen Zhu turned, her red patent leather heels clicking on the cobblestone path, and strode back into the villa.

She sent Master L a message: No need to come out.

Zhen Zhu’s abrupt departure seemed deliberate, as if she were leaving precisely because she had seen her. Zhen Min’er’s heart, which had suddenly slowed, instinctively chased after her, grabbing Zhen Zhu’s arm. Only then did her pulse steady. “Elder Sister…”

“What do you want?” Zhen Zhu snapped, glaring back at Zhen Min’er and shaking off her hand. Her expression was icy.

With that, she turned and stormed toward the stairs, her anger flaring anew.

Zhen Min’er’s heart tightened at the fox-like eyes, utterly devoid of warmth. Without hesitation, she chased after her sister—

Only to be met with a closed door.

Why?

Zhen Min’er pursed her lips. Could it be that Elder Sister saw the message I sent last night?

From the doorway, she could hear Jining Lan’s angry reprimands to his bodyguards. Zhen Min’er knew she should go downstairs to appease him; after all, she had begged this disgusting man to bring her back.

Later, I’ll need to…

Click. The door opened.

Zhen Min’er turned toward the sound.

It was the side bedroom next to the master suite.

Her mother emerged, instinctively recoiling at the sight of her.

A faint smile curved Zhen Min’er’s lips as she gave her mother a sweet smile and moved closer.

Zhen Zhu returned to her room and sank into an armchair, pulling the panda plushie into her lap. She squeezed it roughly twice. “Hmph!”

“Why should I answer?”

“The Male Lead’s here!”

“Exactly, Host! The Male Lead’s here~” The childish voice chimed in immediately in her mind. “Don’t worry, Host! The Main Lead and Male Lead together? No problem at all~”

“……”

A strange urge washed over Zhen Zhu, making her want to crush the cutesy, saccharine voice that was cooing in her head.

I definitely hate that childish voice, Zhen Zhu thought.

Zhen Min’er lay on the chaise lounge until Lin Zhi arrived.

A knock.

At first, Zhen Zhu assumed it was Zhen Min’er and didn’t open the door.

It wasn’t until Lin Zhi called that Zhen Zhu finally opened the door.

But instead of Lin Zhi, her stepsister stood there, looking like she was being punished. She gazed up at Zhen Zhu with a surprised expression. “Elder Sister, about yesterday’s WeChat…”

“Cut.” Zhen Zhu slammed the door shut.

Realizing her mistake, Zhen Zhu reopened the door, remembering Zhen Min’er was referring to their WeChat exchange from the previous day.

The reminder only irritated Zhen Zhu further. She raised her gaze coldly. “I unblocked you yesterday for convenience.”

“I only saw what you retracted yesterday this morning.”

“Don’t message me again unless it’s important.”

“Hmph.” Zhen Zhu tossed her head and strode past Zhen Min’er, descending the stairs with elegant, haughty indifference.

So, Elder Sister didn’t see? Zhen Min’er’s eyes flickered as she followed.

“Young Master J, aren’t you supposed to dislike our Eldest Miss? What are you doing here?”

“What’s it to you?”

“I’m here for Min’er. The Zhen Family doesn’t belong to Zhen Zhu alone.”

“Tch, the Zhen Family does belong to Miss Zhen alone.” Lin Zhi’s peach-blossom eyes narrowed, contempt dripping from his voice. “The entire Zhen Family is Zhen Zhu’s.”

“Even your beloved Zhen Min’er.” At the mention of Min’er, his gaze flicked up the stairs, catching sight of Zhen Min’er trailing behind Zhen Zhu. A sly grin spread across his face. “She’s Zhen Zhu’s too.”

Zhen Min’er’s steps faltered slightly.

She lowered her head, a faint smile curving her lips.

What does he mean, “Zhen Min’er is hers”? What is this guy saying?! Before Jining Lan could retort, Zhen Zhu, who had overheard the remark, stormed down the stairs, glaring at Lin Zhi. “What are you talking about?!”

“Zhen Min’er doesn’t belong to me,” Zhen Zhu said coldly. “She belongs to herself. She’s her own person.”

“She doesn’t belong to me.”

She belongs to Jining Lan, Zhen Zhu thought, but didn’t say aloud. She turned to Jining Lan. “What are you doing here? The Zhen Family doesn’t welcome you.”

“Host! The Male Lead is here to boost the Main Lead’s Happiness Value!” a childish voice clamored in her mind.

“Hmph, I’m just not in the mood for Jining Lan today,” Zhen Zhu retorted. “I’ll find a way to get the Main Lead and Male Lead together later. Since they’re destined to end up together anyway, what’s the rush?”

“But Host,” the childish voice interrupted cautiously, “if the Main Lead’s Happiness Value doesn’t stabilize, the world’s consciousness in the novel will become unstable too. That’s what caused the incident before.”

“…”

“What, you actually think the Zhen Family belongs to you?” Jining Lan scoffed, rising to his feet and towering over Zhen Zhu. “Uncle Zhen said I can come here whenever I want.”

“…Do as you please,” she replied coldly.

Zhen Zhu’s gaze shifted to Zhen Min’er, who stood behind her with her head bowed, lost in thought. Zhen Zhu couldn’t help but feel her recent actions had been absurd.

Had she been manipulated by the plot again?

She called out to Lin Zhi, instructing her to take the masseuse to the reception room to prepare.

Ignoring Jining Lan and Zhen Min’er as if they were air, Zhen Zhu narrowed her fox-like eyes, briefly closing them before reopening them, regaining her usual calm indifference. She turned to leave—

“Zhen Zhu, how can you still act so arrogant?!”

“Don’t you realize that without our engagement, you’ll never find another match? No wealthy family would ever accept someone like you.”

The thought of Zhen Zhu’s relentless pursuit of him in the past, now suddenly treating him like trash, made Jining Lan deeply uncomfortable. He had come today hoping to see her humiliated, but instead, she showed no shame whatsoever, maintaining her haughty demeanor!

“Ha?”

Her suppressed anger finally erupted. Zhen Zhu whirled around, tilting her head back to glare up at Jining Lan, who towered over her by a head. She sneered, “What, you think you’re some kind of noble now?!”

“Who do you think you are?”

“You’ve said so much, but has it dissolved the engagement? No matter how much you talk, the J Family will never give up their engagement with the Zhen Family.”

“Hmph, I’m begging you! You trash, hurry up and dissolve this engagement and take Zhen Min’er with you. Get lost!”

What plotline? Get far away from me! Don’t let me see it.

And don’t ruin my mood.