Xu Zifan drove his flashy supercar home smoothly. He hadn't driven a car in ages, and if he hadn't wanted to go home and check on things, he would have loved to drive around Beijing a few more times.
The Xu family lived in a secluded villa halfway up the mountain, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, making it naturally a place where it was difficult to hail a taxi. As Xu Zifan drove into the yard, his fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. He remembered how Wang Mengyao had once been bullied by Xu Yalin so badly that she had to walk all the way down the mountain from the Xu family's house to where she could get a taxi. The Xu family had so many cars in their garage, yet they didn't provide Wang Mengyao with one, a driver, or even let her get a driver's license. They were truly indifferent. In contrast, Xu Yalin was pampered in every way at the Xu family's home, practically their little princess. Tsk, these parents must have lost their minds.
"Young Master," a servant greeted respectfully as he parked the car.
Xu Zifan got out of the car, tossed him the keys, and walked inside with a nonchalant air, saying, "Wash the car, it smells like alcohol."
"Yes, young master." Upon receiving the order, the servant hurriedly drove the car to be washed, not daring to delay the young master's affairs. This was the master with the worst temper in the entire Xu family, and if he was not served well, he would be in trouble.
As Xu Zifan entered, several servants came forward to greet him. Xu's mother, Feng Xiangjun, who was reading a magazine on the sofa in the living room, looked up at the sound and frowned, saying, "Where did you go gallivanting again last night? Can't you give me a break? Your sister got second place in the whole grade yesterday and was waiting for you to come home so we could celebrate together. But you, you're so crazy that you won't even answer the phone."
Xu Zifan took out his phone and looked at it. "Tsk, it's out of battery, it wasn't on purpose. Besides, what's the point of celebrating second place? When she gets first place, I'll book the entire top floor of Royal Palace to celebrate for her."
"So what if you came in second place? You were first in your class back then, but last in your class!" Feng Xiangjun glared at him, annoyed. "Don't talk like that when your sister comes back later, or you'll upset her."
Xu Zifan unbuttoned his suit jacket, relaxed on the sofa, crossed his legs, and spread his arms on the back of the sofa. "Okay, I'll congratulate her later, alright?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yalin and Wang Mengyao walked in one after the other. Xu Yalin walked in first, wearing a light yellow dress suitable for a young girl, her long, smooth black hair cascading over her shoulders, her face rosy and her lips slightly upturned—she was clearly a wealthy young lady. Wang Mengyao, on the other hand, had slightly yellowish hair, casually tied in a ponytail, her head down so her expression was unreadable. Her clothes were designer brands, but they didn't suit her at all; she looked awkward no matter how you looked at her. Feng Xiangjun's eyes immediately showed disdain upon seeing her.
Xu Yalin's eyes lit up when she saw Xu Zifan. She ran to sit down next to him near Feng Xiangjun and said in a coquettish tone, "Brother, where did you go yesterday? I couldn't get through to you on the phone. You have to eat at home today and try the new dish I learned."
"Oh, okay, that's perfect, I don't want to go out today anyway," Xu Zifan replied casually.
Wang Mengyao walked over and called out softly, "Mom, Big Brother."
Feng Xiangjun waved her hand casually, "Dinner will be a while later, go back to your room and study." Then she took Xu Yalin's hand and said, "You can just tell the servants to do it, what if you burn your hands? Your brother eats whatever he wants, there's no need to make anything special for him."
Wang Mengyao's fingers tightened slightly as she held her schoolbag. She glanced at Xu Yalin, who was standing between Feng Xiangjun and Xu Zifan, and felt like an outsider. She took a deep breath and turned to go upstairs. Suddenly, Xu Zifan leaned over, grabbed her sleeve, and pulled her to sit beside him. "What's the rush? I haven't even congratulated you yet! You're amazing, little girl! You just transferred schools and already got second place? Much better than me! This weekend, I'll take you to show off and let those brats see how amazing my sister is."
All three of them were taken aback. Feng Xiangjun frowned and said, "Zifan, what nonsense are you talking about? Yalin got second place in the whole grade."
Xu Zifan asked in surprise, "Is it Ya Lin? Oh, you didn't explain clearly. You kept calling me my sister, I thought it was Yao Yao."
Xu Yalin's expression changed, and she looked at Xu Zifan in disbelief. Did he mean that Wang Mengyao was his sister and she wasn't? How could he say such a thing?
Xu Zifan looked at Xu Yalin and said, "Yalin, you did well on the test. Keep it up and try to get first place next time. I'll celebrate with you then. I won't take you out to play; those guys all know you. By the way, what number did Yaoyao get?"
Feng Xiangjun glanced coldly at Wang Mengyao, her face showing displeasure. "Her? She got the lowest score in the class! I should have known better than to let her be in the same class as Yalin. Coming from a small place, she simply can't keep up with the intensity of the elite class. It would have been better if she had gone to the bottom class from the beginning, at least her grades wouldn't have been so embarrassing."
Xu Yalin suppressed her anger, took Feng Xiangjun's arm and smiled, saying, "Mom, don't say that about Mengyao. She's working very hard."
"Hmph, that means you don't know how to learn. I'll contact a few tutors. These grades are no good." Feng Xiangjun was not polite at all, not considering Wang Mengyao's discomfort in the face of the sudden change. She only felt that her arrival had disrupted their happy and peaceful life.
Wang Mengyao's face was pale, and she gritted her teeth, remaining silent. She had just transferred from an ordinary school in a small city to the elite class at Yanjing International School and was struggling to keep up. She studied hard every day, and her grades had improved significantly since she entered the school, but they didn't care at all; they only thought she was a disgrace. She had clearly returned to her biological parents' side, so why couldn't she feel even a tiny bit of parental love?
Xu Zifan sat up straight and looked Wang Mengyao up and down in surprise. Wang Mengyao felt very embarrassed and turned her head away, thinking that her brother was going to mock her again. But Xu Zifan patted her shoulder and laughed.
She was overjoyed. "Oh, I finally have a companion! No wonder she's my sister, she got the same last place as me! Mom, that's not right of you. It would be fine if I were the only one, but now that we both have these grades, it just means there's something wrong with your and Dad's genes. How can you blame us? No wonder Yalin has always been an excellent student all these years, it turns out it's a Wang family trait. I'm relieved now. My poor grades aren't because I'm stupid."
Xu Yalin was now certain that Xu Zifan truly treated Wang Mengyao like a younger sister and her like an outsider. Wasn't this implying that she was a member of the Wang family? She couldn't believe that her brother, who had always doted on her, would say such a thing. She suddenly stood up, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked at Wang Mengyao, then at Xu Zifan, and ran upstairs with a wronged expression.
"Ya Lin!" Feng Xiangjun stood up and angrily said to Xu Zifan, "What nonsense are you spouting, you scoundrel? Look how upset you are with your sister! What Wang family heredity? Ya Lin is a daughter of the Xu family. Have you forgotten how it was decided before?"
Xu Zifan looked back at the stairs, surprised and puzzled. "Mom, what's wrong with her? Did I say something wrong? Yalin is our adopted daughter, but isn't she related to the Wang family by blood? I was praising her when I said she inherited good genes, so why is she angry? This... does she not like me mentioning the Wang family? No, didn't she keep saying she wanted to go back to the Wang family to visit? Or is she jealous because she saw me chatting with Yaoyao? No way, didn't we say that the three of us siblings should love each other? Yalin even said she was happy to have another sister. Tsk, young girls' minds are so strange, I don't understand her."
Feng Xiangjun was taken aback, wanting to scold him but unable to think of a rebuttal. Everything he said made sense, but he simply didn't understand the sensitive feelings of girls. She said irritably, "We did leave Yalin behind, but Yalin still feels insecure. Can't you see I've been trying to comfort her all this time? What kind of brother are you? Don't mention the Wang family again, understand? Yalin is my daughter, your own sister. Take better care of her and stop hurting her!"
Feng Xiangjun didn't even glance at Wang Mengyao before quickly going upstairs, clearly to coax her good daughter. Xu Zifan took a sip of water and threw the cup on the coffee table. "That's so unreasonable. What did I say wrong that you're scolding me?" He stood up abruptly. "Dad will scold me again when he gets back. Yaoyao, come on, let's go play."
Wang Mengyao was a little confused. Why was this brother who used to dislike her suddenly willing to talk to her? And why was he talking to her so much all at once? She hugged her schoolbag tightly and looked at Xu Zifan warily. Was he going to embarrass her like Xu Yalin had? She pursed her lips and said, "No need, thank you, brother. I'm not very good at etiquette and I'm afraid I'll make you a laughingstock. I'll do my exercises at home."
"What etiquette? You'll understand everything once you've seen more of the world. Come on, come on, you'll definitely get scolded at home. I got scolded every day when I was ranked last in my exams. What's the point of staying at home? You can do your exercises outside. Let's wait until they're asleep before we come back, so we won't get scolded." Xu Zifan grabbed Wang Mengyao's wrist and walked out, acting as if the two siblings were on the same side.
Wang Mengyao wanted to refuse, but this was the first time her brother had taken the initiative to approach her, and she still craved this warmth, hoping that her brother could truly treat her as a sister. So even though she was afraid that Xu Zifan would embarrass her, she didn't refuse and obediently followed Xu Zifan to the garage.
Xu Zifan chose a comfortable car and drove Wang Mengyao out. They hadn't been gone long when he glanced at Wang Mengyao and said disdainfully, "Who bought you these clothes? They're so ugly!"
Wang Mengyao glanced down at her clothes and clutched her schoolbag tightly. "The clothes were given to me by the housekeeper. I... I think they're fine."
Xu Zifan shook his head. "Tsk, go get dressed up first, otherwise it'll be too embarrassing for me to take you out. My sister, Xu Zifan's sister, has to be a princess if she's not a queen. You'll have to change your whole outfit."
Xu Zifan drove directly to the most famous shopping mall in Yanjing, told Wang Mengyao to put her backpack in the car, and took her to the women's clothing floor. "So, is there anything you like?"
Wang Mengyao hadn't shopped in Beijing yet, and seeing all the high-end women's clothing stores made her feel a little awkward. Hearing Xu Zifan's words, she quickly shook her head. Xu Zifan glanced around and entered a women's clothing store with lively styles suitable for young girls. The sales assistant, seeing his designer clothes, immediately approached with a smile, "Sir/Madam, what can I do for you?"
Xu Zifan pointed to Wang Mengyao behind him and said, "Pick a few outfits for my sister that suit her."
The sales assistant glanced at Wang Mengyao, and was taken aback when she saw her clothes. They had absolutely no sense of style. Knowing this, the sales assistant smiled and said, "Miss, please come this way. We have some new arrivals that would suit you perfectly. Do you like them?"
Xu Zifan sat down on the sofa and looked at Wang Mengyao. So what if she's never seen anything like it? It's not a big deal. Going from frugality to luxury is easy, isn't it?