Bai Shuqin never expected that the person who had just been kicked out of the house would appear in the Jiang family's garden less than an hour later.
Her face showed clear astonishment, but in just a second, her gaze fell on the middle-aged woman beside her, who was clearly dressed as a maid. It dawned on her immediately.
This woman must be Guan Xu Xu's biological mother.
A maid.
After all, someone from the mountains wouldn't have many opportunities for decent jobs. Working as a maid in a place like this could be considered respectable.
Guan Ruirui seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
She was inwardly disdainful and amused, but her face showed nothing but sympathy and concern.
"Sister, so your family member works here? But this is the Jiang family, so you'd better be careful not to touch anything or cause trouble, that wouldn't be good."
The butler, who was leading them, slightly frowned when he heard this. Just as he was about to explain, he heard Guan Xu Xu's indifferent voice.
"No need to worry."
She paused for a moment before noticing the faint gray shadow almost glued to the back of Guan Ruirui. Guan Xu Xu's brows lifted slightly, and she added,
"If I were you, I'd stay at home right now and not wander around aimlessly."
At home, the protective charms she made would keep ordinary dark energy away. But once outside, things could be different.
Bai Shuqin's face contorted with anger as she heard the tone of Guan Xu Xu's words, but she barely restrained herself due to the presence of the Jiang family's butler. She turned to Guan Ruirui and sighed, pretending to be concerned.
"Ruirui, you have a good temperament, but you need to know who you're dealing with. A thankless, ungrateful person like this, why bother trying to help her?"
She then turned to the butler, explaining helplessly,
"Please excuse us. This is a child we once adopted. I never expected that after raising her, now that she has her biological parents, she would turn her back on us. Sigh. This child was never good at learning, always careless. We tolerated her when she was with us, but now that she's with someone else, I don't know what trouble she'll cause."
Bai Shuqin wore a worried expression, but the underlying meaning of her words was clear: the Jiang family was making a mistake by keeping such a person in their home.
The butler, however, felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Didn't this Mrs. Guan realize that the person she was slandering was the very young lady the Jiang family had just managed to find?
She was openly insulting the young lady in front of him. The butler couldn't help but wonder what kind of life the young lady must have had at the Guan family's house.
Originally, the butler had treated the Guan family's adopted daughter with respect because of their history with the family, but now, his attitude towards them grew cold.
Bai Shuqin thought the butler was upset because of her words, and she smirked inwardly.
She was going to enjoy watching this ungrateful girl get kicked out, and then see if she still dared to act so arrogantly in front of her in the future.
As for the quota that needed to be relinquished, Bai Shuqin was confident that with the Jiang family's connections, she didn't have to waste any time arguing with Guan Xu Xu. One quota was nothing. If Ruirui wanted it, she could just take it.
The maid, who had been standing quietly since Bai Shuqin and Guan Ruirui arrived, suddenly felt something was off. She wasn't supposed to speak to guests, but she couldn't ignore the odd comments.
The things Mrs. Guan had just said seemed to be criticizing the Jiang family's newly found young lady.
What was going on?
The butler, noticing the shift in the conversation, couldn't help but speak up.
"Mrs. Guan, Miss Guan, you..."
Before he could finish, a voice suddenly cut him off.
"What's going on?"
It was Jiang Huai, who had just finished his phone call and had come looking for them. Upon seeing the people standing near Guan Xu Xu, he instinctively quickened his pace and soon reached them.
The moment she saw Jiang Huai, Guan Ruirui's eyes lit up.
Bai Shuqin also sized up the young man in front of her, her eyes scanning his diamond cufflinks and his multi-million-dollar watch. She couldn't help but wonder which young master of the Jiang family he was.
The butler's expression stiffened as he saw Jiang Huai, but he was about to respond when he realized that Jiang Huai was asking about the young lady. He quickly bit his lip and stayed silent.
Guan Xu Xu, unsure if it was because Jiang Huai had stood up for her earlier or for some other reason, couldn't help but report what had happened.
"Oh, they were just making things difficult for me."
Her words were sharp and concise, but the air suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Bai Shuqin reacted immediately, screeching, "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand to slap Guan Xu Xu.
Jiang Huai, who had been watching his sister "reporting" what had happened with curiosity, saw Bai Shuqin's raised hand and his smile instantly faded into something colder.
Before he could act, however, he saw his supposed "little sister" quickly raise her hand and grab Bai Shuqin's wrist with precision and decisiveness.
Bai Shuqin froze for a moment, clearly surprised that Guan Xu Xu dared to resist. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Guan Xu Xu's grip was firm, and Bai Shuqin couldn't shake it off.
Guan Xu Xu, holding her wrist, looked coldly at Bai Shuqin.
"Don't forget, I'm no longer your daughter. I won't let you hit or scold me anymore."
She said this with finality, releasing her grip. Bai Shuqin's sudden lack of resistance caused her to stumble backward.
"Mom!"
Guan Ruirui rushed forward, grabbing her stumbling mother, and when she looked at Guan Xu Xu, her face was filled with disbelief.
"Sister, no matter what, Mom raised you. How can you just lay your hands on her like that? You... you're too much!"
Even at this moment, Guan Ruirui continued to try to paint Guan Xu Xu as the villain.
After all, anyone who laid a hand on the woman who raised them could never be trusted.
Guan Xu Xu had long since grown tired of Guan Ruirui's hypocritical act. She lifted an eyebrow and retorted coldly.
"Which eye of yours saw me lay a hand on her? If you're blind, don't assume everyone else is too."
Jiang Huai, standing by, couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. He had always thought his sister was soft and easy to bully, but she sure knew how to throw a good retort.
Not bad, really. She was truly a Jiang family child.
While he was amused, Bai Shuqin, enraged that Guan Xu Xu dared to retaliate, was livid. She had raised this girl, so when she tried to strike her, she expected her to stand still and take it.
But not only did Guan Xu Xu resist, she also dared to scold Ruirui. Bai Shuqin, no longer caring that they were on Jiang family grounds, shoved Guan Ruirui aside and rushed toward Guan Xu Xu.
"You little brat! You're a vile little thing..."
Guan Xu Xu looked at her expressionlessly, taking a step back and preparing to move, but before she could act, someone faster than her stood directly in front of her.
The man's back was broad and solid, exuding a sense of safety and protection.
His smile had vanished completely, and a chilling, oppressive aura surrounded him.
"This is the Jiang family, and it's not a place for anyone to act wildly."