CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: SLAPPING THE FAKE RICH GIRL 13

In the residential area near the Foreign Language School, Zhao Mingzhu returned home after school.

The nanny was busy in the kitchen, and when she heard Zhao Mingzhu come back, she poked out her head to greet her, "Mingzhu is back, go wash your hands quickly and get ready for dinner."

Zhao Mingzhu responded with a smile on her face, but as soon as she entered her room and put down her schoolbag, the smile disappeared.

Zhao Mingzhu slammed her schoolbag onto the bed with force and sat down on a chair, gasping for breath.

She felt both angry and resentful inside, but she didn’t dare to show it in front of the nanny.

Now, she absolutely detested Anning.

It was all because of Anning that her previously orderly life had been completely disrupted.

Her parents had become Anning’s, and it seemed like her brother was also quite fond of Anning, which filled Zhao Mingzhu with unbearable jealousy.

All that Anning did was cry a little, pretend to be frightened, and then she had no choice but to move out of the Zhao family’s home, to live alone in such a small house.

Why?

For the past fifteen years, she was the Princess of the Zhao family, but now that the real Princess had returned, was she, the impostor, supposed to be exposed and discarded?

Thinking of the entire Liu Family bunch, Zhao Mingzhu clenched her fists.

She didn’t want to return to the Liu Family; she had to stay in the Zhao family, no matter what methods she used, she must be the only Miss Zhao family.

That country bumpkin Anning better not think of squeezing her out.

Having prepared herself mentally, Zhao Mingzhu emerged with poise and continued to smile as she ate with the nanny, looking gentle and well-mannered.

After dinner, Zhao Mingzhu did some homework for a while, then called Song Ruyi.

"Mom, are you asleep?"

Song Ruyi was taken aback upon receiving Zhao Mingzhu’s call.

These days, she had been taking care of Anning, making delicious food to nourish her body, taking Anning out to play, buying her lots of things, and also accompanying Anning for tutoring.

Anning was now unable to be without her for even a moment, especially during tutoring sessions where, if she wasn’t there, Anning would feel anxious and alarmed.

Song Ruyi felt sorry for Anning and would accompany her during the tutoring sessions every day, even if it meant doing nothing, just her presence would calm Anning down.

Because Anning was so reliant on her, Song Ruyi naturally devoted almost all her energy to Anning, filled with Anning in both sight and mind, leaving no time to think about Zhao Mingzhu.

"I haven’t slept, I just finished going over the homework assigned by the teacher with your sister."

Song Ruyi’s face brightened with a smile as she mentioned Anning, and her voice softened, "Your sister is really dependent on me right now, I need to spend more time with her. Once she gets better, I will come to see you, okay?"

Zhao Mingzhu’s eyes narrowed, a storm brewing within them.

"Okay, mom, you need to take good care of yourself. It’s important to accompany my sister, but you also need to get enough rest. Don’t overexert yourself. I’m all grown up now, I can manage on my own."

Zhao Mingzhu reminded Song Ruyi thoughtfully.

Song Ruyi was touched and chatted with Zhao Mingzhu for a few more words before hanging up the phone.

But no sooner had Song Ruyi ended the call, than Anning, who was sitting in the room doing handicrafts, was informed by An Xin about the contents of the phone call.

Her hands skillfully continued her craftwork as she curled a meaningful smile at the corner of her mouth.

"Does Zhao Mingzhu really think that just by being obedient and sensible, she will be liked by dad and mom?"

Anning raised an eyebrow, "She’s wrong if she thinks that way."

An Xin bounced twice, "Why?"

Anning simply put down her work in hand, leaned back in the chair to rest with her eyes closed, and chatted with An Xin.

"In most families with two children, it’s usually the more sensible child that ends up at a disadvantage. Being sensible means parents expect a lot from them, and if there is a conflict between the two children, when the parents’ mediation fails, they mostly ask the sensible child to give in. Once or twice isn’t a big deal, but the real fear is if it becomes a habit over time, then it becomes terrifying."

An Xin somewhat understands, yet at the same time, she doesn’t quite get it.

Anning smiles, but inwardly she scoffs at Zhao Mingzhu for being young. Even though she is cunning, her limited experience and knowledge still led her to make a poor move.

This time, Anning couldn’t withstand the fright, so Zhao Mingzhu sensibly made way and moved out of the Zhao family home.

Next time, there could be other reasons that Anning would need her to yield yet again.

If this happens over and over, when everyone in the Zhao family gets used to Zhao Mingzhu’s yielding, they would verbally praise her as sensible and considerate of her younger sister, but the moment there’s an issue, the first one they’d expect to make a sacrifice would be Zhao Mingzhu.

Getting used to such things is truly terrifying.

What Anning needs to do now is to make this habit feel natural.

When everyone in the Zhao family believes Zhao Mingzhu should be sensible and obliging, should be modest and make way, and when she finds herself backed into a corner with nowhere to retreat, she will fight back, she will stop being so understanding. At that moment, everyone will blame her, wondering in their hearts how Zhao Mingzhu has such a flawed character, how could she be so thoughtless, how could she add trouble to her parents?

Then, the time for Anning to retaliate against Zhao Mingzhu will have arrived.

In any case, there’s plenty of time, Anning is not in a hurry, and she will sort out Zhao Mingzhu bit by bit.

Once Zhao Mingzhu is dealt with, making life difficult for the Liu family will be really quite easy.

Anning has already calculated each step in her mind, and right now, Zhao Mingzhu is just a bird in a cage, unable to fly out of the palm of Anning’s hand.

After chatting with An Xin for a while, she let An Xin go play by herself.

In modern society, where the internet is thriving, it is like a playground for An Xin, where she can happily roam without a care in the world, and she wouldn’t appear for a long time.

Having sent An Xin away, Anning continued with her handicraft.

She is currently making gifts for the family.

Anning has no money, and her living expenses are all provided by the Zhao family. Her current persona is that of naive and timid young girl who is unfamiliar with the world, without friends in the Capital, and naturally, she can’t go out to buy gifts.

Thus, she can only rely on her own hands to make them.

Of course, the gifts she makes herself seem more heartfelt and are more endearing than those purchased.

Anning used the limited resources she found in the Zhao family to make a folding screen-style desk ornament, and then she found some knitting needles and yarn to knit a long scarf.

In addition to that, she also crafted two bracelets and a keychain.

A couple of days later, after finishing her night class, Anning sat in the living room waiting.

She waited a long time, almost falling asleep, when Zhao Han finally returned.

Hearing the sound of Zhao Han entering the door, Anning abruptly stood up and ran excitedly towards Zhao Han.

"Dad."

She took the briefcase from his hand, "Dad, you must be exhausted."

Zhao Han smiled, "Why are you still up so late?"

Anning rubbed her eyes, appearing very sleepy, and nodded: "I was waiting for dad."

"What for?"

Zhao Han ruffled Anning’s hair: "Where’s your mom?"

"Mom has gone to sleep, I told her to go first. Tonight, I wanted to wait for dad."

Anning went into the kitchen to warm up some food for Zhao Han and then poured a cup of hot milk and brought it out: "Dad, have something to eat."

Zhao Han was quite pleased with a constant smile on his face: "Our Ningning has learned to take care of dad."

Anning’s face turned red, looking a bit shy: "I’ve always cared about dad a lot."

While Zhao Han was eating, Anning took small steps forward: "Dad, can I take a photo with you?"