CHAPTER 625: CHAPTER 614: THE VICIOUS VILLAIN

Luo Sitian arrived home with Jiang Miaomiao just before evening, carrying two large bags of groceries and followed by mall staff delivering a pile of shopping bags. Ye Qiu could tell that the brands were expensive, and she was certain that not a single item inside was for her, even though she was almost out of clothes to wear—of course, there was nothing for Jiang Cheng either.

"Ye Qiu, go wash those crabs and prepare the side dishes for me," said Luo Sitian without looking at Ye Qiu, and then she and Jiang Miaomiao carried the shopping bags upstairs.

Ye Qiu pursed her lips, remained silent, and followed her instructions. She had a suspicion that if Jiang Yi didn’t often praise this cheap mom for her cooking skills, she would probably be making her cook too.

Indeed, her predecessor’s silence and introversion were not without reason. Even her own mother treated her this way, let alone other people. She had been out all day, and upon returning, didn’t even ask how her daughter had managed lunch, but instead assigned tasks immediately—an exemplary "good mom" indeed!

"Ah! Ye Qiu, didn’t you clean the house today? Why isn’t the trash bin in the room emptied?" Luo Sitian had already started yelling while Ye Qiu was washing the crabs in the kitchen.

Ye Qiu paused her crab washing, realizing she had indeed forgotten about house cleaning today. However, what did it have to do with her? Thus, she maintained her usual silence and didn’t reply.

But Luo Sitian wasn’t going to let it go so easily, continuing to shout from the top of the staircase: "I’m talking to you, did you hear me? Ye Qiu, you’re like a mute, just like your deadbeat dad, a lifetime of worthlessness."

"Don’t you dare insult my dad," Ye Qiu said gravely, dropping the crabs she was holding.

Her dad was a train driver who worked tirelessly day and night to provide a better life for them. He finally succumbed to a car accident due to fatigue driving. Actually, the property and compensation left by her father were more than enough to support her until adulthood, but Luo Sitian was reluctant to spend any money on her.

Instead, she spent that compensation on her own looks and social life, scheming to marry Jiang Hongcai.

Ye Qiu was the first to disagree when Luo Sitian slandered her own husband. What right did she have to say such things? If it weren’t for her constant nagging at home, her dad wouldn’t have had to work so hard, and perhaps he wouldn’t have passed away so early.

Luo Sitian was startled by Ye Qiu’s tone, and upon regaining her composure, her anger escalated: "You’re really turning the world upside down, who gave you the right to talk to me like this?"

"Wash the crabs yourself and from now on, take care of cleaning yourself too," Ye Qiu said, then entered her room and slammed the door as heavily as Jiang Cheng would.

"What are you trying to do? Come out, you come out right now. You think you’re defiant because your wings are hard? Ye Qiu, don’t you forget who raised you, without me, would you live so well?" Luo Sitian kept kicking Ye Qiu’s door.

"Bang!" Ye Qiu fiercely opened the room door, startling Luo Sitian immensely and almost causing her to fall, her foot still in mid-air.

"A good life?" Ye Qiu laughed sarcastically, pointing around the empty room, "Is this the good life you talk about? When there’s no holiday, I come home from school to wash dishes and clean for you. Now it’s summer vacation, besides cooking, what household chores am I not doing here? Even a maid gets paid, what about me? I don’t even have one decent piece of clothing."

Luo Sitian’s face turned from pale to green, caught in Ye Qiu’s confrontation, just as Jiang Hongcai and Jiang Yi came home. Hearing Ye Qiu’s words, they too looked embarrassed, but neither of them spoke.

Seeing Ye Qiu’s accusatory tone and hearing the voices of Jiang Hongcai and Jiang Yi returning, Luo Sitian became even more furious, pointing at Ye Qiu’s nose and said, "Haven’t I provided food and clothing for you? With such poor grades, do you know how much money I spent to get you into that experimental school? And you say I mistreat you, Ye Qiu, have you ever considered how much money I’ve spent on you over these years? Your Uncle Jiang works hard every day, don’t you think it’s only fair for you to do the cleaning?"

"Why should I? Raising me is your duty as a mom, even without you, the compensation left by my dad would have been enough. What, I still need to do housework every day to repay?" Ye Qiu continued with a cold laugh, then turned to ask Jiang Hongcai.

"Uncle Jiang, am I right? I was young back then, but I also knew how much my dad’s inheritance was worth. Half went to my mom, wasn’t the other half enough to last me till university? Also, about my studies, Uncle Jiang, do you think doing dishes and cleaning every day will help me improve my grades?"

Jiang Hongcai was suddenly confronted with these questions by his stepdaughter, finding it tricky to respond either way.

He was aware that Luo Sitian had handed most of the housework to her stepdaughter, but there was no blood relation between them. If her own mother didn’t care, what could he, as a stepfather, say? Anyway, Luo Sitian didn’t work outside, so if her daughter didn’t do the chores, she would have to, and he was only concerned that the house was clean and there was dinner every evening. Why bother about who did the chores?

"Uncle Jiang, by not answering, are you agreeing that I should do these chores?" Ye Qiu said, her face immediately turning into one of crying and bearing insults, "So in Uncle Jiang’s eyes, I am just a freeloader. Don’t worry, Uncle. Tomorrow, I will go to the police station and ask them to give me an independent household registration. I’ll move to my dad’s old house. The compensation money should be enough for my expenses over these years; you can keep it."

She said, mustering a strong smile, "Don’t worry, I will tell the police officer, I will work to support myself, I can cook, wash dishes, and clean. I can do everything."

Jiang Hongcai’s face turned from green to white. If his stepdaughter really went out and spoke to the police like that, what would become of his reputation? Would people say that the CEO of a company coveted his stepdaughter’s father’s inheritance? That he couldn’t accommodate a fifteen-year-old kid?

Jiang Hongcai smiled awkwardly, soothing her, "Uncle didn’t hear clearly just now; don’t mind me. How can a child like you live alone? About what you said regarding dishwashing and cleaning, the uncle really overlooked it before, thinking it was your mom training your independence. Here’s what, uncle says now, from today onward, you don’t have to do these chores. Of course, let’s not mention what was said just now either."

"Thank you, Uncle." Ye Qiu smiled timidly, her usual demeanor returning, and very considerately added, "Uncle Jiang, handling household chores really hinders studying. You and mom should ensure not to treat Miaomiao the same way in the future, otherwise, her grades will turn out bad like mine."

Jiang Hongcai’s face stiffened even more: "Alright, uncle will remember this."