Chapter 3: Who Told Her to Like Him So Much…

But the next day, Xia Mi La did not receive Jin He’s apology.

Lin Cheng Hui was extremely enthusiastic about the possibility of a boy being her long-lost son.

The materials were sent to a private hospital, and the comparison results came back in less than 12 hours.

Jin Can was indeed the child she had lost over a decade ago.

Now that the results were confirmed, it became a tremendous blessing, and there was no longer any need to keep it hidden.

So overnight, the entire conglomerate circle learned that the Jin family had recovered their long-lost second son.

Jin He barged in recklessly, storming from the garden through the front hall and up the stairs, striding directly into Xia Mi La’s bedroom.

Before even steadying his feet, he angrily confronted her: “Was it you who brought Jin Can to Mom? Why? What were you thinking? How could you interfere in our family matters without discussing it with me? Who do you think you are?”

Xia Mi La sat at her dressing table, not even raising an eyebrow at his furious outburst.

She leisurely put on a pearl earring before finally speaking slowly: “Why such anger so early in the morning? He’s your biological brother. Don’t you want to see him come home?”

This question made the furious Jin He pause slightly. Staring at Xia Mi La’s reflection in the mirror, he took a deep breath, trying hard to control his emotions: “It’s not that I don’t want him back. But as my fiancée, you secretly did this behind my back, making me the last to know. Do you think that’s appropriate?”

The corners of Xia Mi La’s lips curved upward into a faint smile.

“So that’s what’s bothering you.” She stood up and walked over to him, apologizing: “I’m sorry, I overlooked your feelings. But at that time, I really couldn’t think that much. Can looks exactly like you… When I saw that face, what else could I do?”

She patiently offered her apologies, but this only made Jin He angrier.

“He is him, and I am me.” Jin He didn’t want to be lumped together with Jin Can. “We just look alike. You should know very well which side you’re on.”

Hearing this, Xia Mi La’s smile grew even more gentle and beautiful: “Of course. I’m on your side, A He.”

As she said this, she reached out and took his hand.

Xia Mi La was famously good-tempered and kind-natured. Jin He had come filled with rage, originally intending to have a big argument with her, but looking at her now, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.

But he still felt deeply frustrated. For some reason, his depressed mood felt even worse than before he came.

He pulled his hand away from hers.

“As long as you know.” Having said this, he turned and left without looking back.

Though he had left, the image of that gentle, smiling face remained etched in his mind.

He had actually come with two tasks today. One was to apologize to Xia Mi La as his father had instructed last night. The other was that their family wanted to celebrate Jin Can’s homecoming and introduce him to everyone, so they were holding a grand banquet over the weekend he was supposed to invite her to go choose evening gowns together.

In the end, he hadn’t accomplished either task.

But it didn’t matter that he hadn’t completed them, Jin He thought to himself. He didn’t consider it a big deal anyway… Xia Mi La wouldn’t mind. She would always forgive him in the end.

Who told her to be so infatuated with him?

Everyone in their circle knew that the two of them grew up together, and Xia Mi La was madly in love with him.

In the mirror, Xia Mi La’s expression remained calm, seemingly unfazed by Jin He’s earlier rudeness in front of her.

She checked her appearance, smoothed her long hair, and stood up to walk out the door.

Her stepmother and stepsister had not gone out today. The moment Jin He stormed in, Jiang Xiu Zhu and Bai You Na knew he had come for Xia Mi La. They had even overheard some of his angry questioning.

So the moment Xia Mi La stepped out of her bedroom, Jiang Xiu Zhu immediately confronted her.

She had strong opinions about this matter regarding Xia Mi La.

“Did you really bring Jin Can back? Why did you act on your own without consulting us first? You fool! Do you think this is just a simple family reunion? He’er was originally the sole heir, and now suddenly someone appears to share the family fortune with him. You’re his fiancée what good could this possibly bring you?”

How could Xia Mi La not know?

Wasn’t that exactly why Jin He had burst into her room in a rage earlier? But he was more hypocritical, not even daring to voice his true reasons outright.

Xia Mi La looked at her and smiled casually. “Auntie, after all these years in the Xia family, you still haven’t let go of your obsession with money, have you?”

Before coming to their home, Jiang Xiu Zhu had been a destitute, divorced woman. After years of living in luxury, all traces of her former poverty had vanished. High-end fashion, imported delicacies anything she wanted was delivered with a single word or command. Yet she still seemed unsatisfied, even coveting the Jin family’s wealth… How ridiculous. What did any of that have to do with her?

Jiang Xiu Zhu froze for a moment, then quickly grasped the implication behind Xia Mi La’s words. Just as she was about to retort, Xia Mi La spoke again, cutting her off.

“I actually prefer a lively household.” The previous remark seemed like an unintentional slip, as Xia Mi La continued lightly, “Another brother means another sister-in-law. With more companions around, wouldn’t that be more interesting?”

Jiang Xiu Zhu’s mind was sharp, and she immediately seized the key point in that statement another sister-in-law.

How many nights had she spent lamenting and regretting that it wasn’t her own daughter who was engaged to Jin He?

There was no chance for their You Na with Jin He anymore, but Jin Can…

Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice when Xia Mi La left.

By the time she snapped back to reality, Xia Mi La had already gone downstairs and entered the living room.

What was so great about her? Jiang Xiu Zhu couldn’t help but snort as she watched her retreating figure.

She was just a bit luckier in every other way, how could she compare to their You Na? Although You Na started from a slightly worse position than Xia Mi La, now, luck was clearly tilting in their direction.

Thinking this, she lifted the hem of her skirt and hurried toward Bai You Na’s room.

Bai You Na was lying on her spacious princess bed flipping through a magazine, with a plate of washed and sliced peaches beside her.

Hearing footsteps, she didn’t turn her head. “Mom, did you go teach Xia Mi La a lesson?”

At this point, she also snorted: “What an ungrateful girl, stirring up trouble for no reason. Who knows where she found that wild boy, daring to compete with Jin He…”

Then her mother slapped her heavily on the back.

“Mom!” Bai You Na turned her head in surprise to look at her.

“Mom was being narrow-minded.” Jiang Xiu Zhu reached out and rubbed her back. “Jin Can’s return to the Jin family is your opportunity. Jin He is already engaged, but Jin Can isn’t!”

Bai You Na looked incredulous: “Mom, are you saying…”

“Yes.” Jiang Xiu Zhu smiled and praised her daughter, “Our You Na is so clever.”

“I don’t want to!” Bai You Na protested unwillingly, “That wild boy from the orphanage!”

“He is the second young master of the Jin family. Born from the same mother as Jin He, they’re full brothers.” Jiang Xiu Zhu’s face turned stern, becoming slightly stricter. “They’re having a banquet this weekend. Try talking nonsense like that then.”

“Mom!” Bai You Na felt wronged, “What’s going on with you? This morning you clearly didn’t talk to me like this.”

She didn’t understand why her mother had changed her mind in such a short time. During breakfast this morning, she had completely sided with Jin He, but now she seemed to value Jin Can more!

Seeing her daughter’s expression, Jiang Xiu Zhu’s heart softened again.

“Silly child,” she cupped her face, “Mom knows you like Jin He. But he’s already engaged to Xia Mi La – what chance do you have? Meanwhile, this Jin Can has just returned, with no foundation or friends. If you approach him now and take care of him, with your beauty and skills, wouldn’t he fall for you? Make him love you, marry you, then you’ll truly be equal in status to Xia Mi La. I heard that child is Jin He’s twin – they look very similar. Since Jin He was possible, why can’t Jin Can be?”

That’s not it… Bai You Na gently bit her lip. It wasn’t because of appearance that she liked Jin He.

There were plenty of good-looking boys at school besides Jin He… She genuinely liked him as a person.

But despite such strong feelings, she didn’t refute her mother’s words. The prospect of being truly equal in status to Xia Mi La was still very tempting to her.

So in the end, she nodded: “Let’s wait until the weekend banquet and see first.”

Jiang Xiu Zhu was very satisfied and ruffled her hair twice: “You Na is really mom’s good daughter.”

*

Xia Mi La took a car to the company. She had an appointment to meet Xia Shuzhen today.

Xia Shuzhen, Xia Mi La’s grandmother, the true current power holder of Xia Hong Group, famous for her decisive, ruthless, and strong-handed style.

The moment Xia Mi La entered, Xia Shuzhen noticed the bandage on her arm.

“What happened there?” she asked.

Xia Mi La smiled and repeated the explanation she had given her father yesterday.

Xia Shuzhen’s face darkened as she quickly identified two key points from her words: “Your stepsister immediately asked about your fiancé upon seeing you, and she can casually push you down even in your own home.”

Her tone carried authority mixed with disdain – both for that scheming mother-daughter pair and for her own granddaughter who was as soft as dough.

Every time she thought about her successor problem, it made her so anxious she couldn’t sleep.

Xia Ying Cai was her only child. Though he had no major flaws, he wasn’t particularly bright easily befuddled and deceived by petty people. His only daughter was even worse, having completely inherited her mother’s traits: timid, unassertive, purely kind-hearted and easily bullied. Even within their own home, she allowed that outsider mother-daughter pair to trample over her, showing no backbone whatsoever and failing to inherit any of her grandmother’s qualities.

She didn’t like this granddaughter and usually avoided seeing her, but this time she had summoned her because she’d done well in Busan.

She believed in clear rewards and punishments. Even if she didn’t like someone, she would still acknowledge when they did well.

Xia Mi La kept her head bowed, appearing humble and docile.

“These minor matters I can handle myself,” she said. “If I encounter major situations beyond my control, I’ll seek Grandmother’s assistance.”

This response surprised Xia Shuzhen.

Kindness itself wasn’t a flaw. The cowardice that allowed someone with top-tier connections and resources to be bullied without fighting back that was the real problem.

After all, a tiger’s kindness is still kindness, but a sheep’s kindness is merely weakness.

Jiang Xiu Zhu’s pretentious act couldn’t escape Xia Shuzhen’s sharp eyes. For her only granddaughter, she had both assisted and taught, but none of it had yielded significant results.

In the past, faced with such criticism, Xia Mi La would only hang her head in speechless shame and self-blame, as if being bullied was her own fault that she couldn’t bring herself to mention. Unexpectedly, today she had learned to face it directly.

Xia Shuzhen studied her carefully before continuing, “You did well in Busan this time.”

The photographs were excellent and provided positive publicity for the group.

“It wasn’t particularly difficult,” Xia Mi La replied. “The children were lovely, and the director was a kind and conscientious person.”

Xia Shuzhen nodded, then brought up another matter: “You weren’t wrong to bring Jin Can back, but it wasn’t handled prudently enough.”

Look at Lin Cheng Hui’s frantic intensity about this matter as a mother, it was understandable. But if Jin Can turned out not to be the child she expected, her disappointment could become dangerous.

Xia Mi La understood her meaning.

“I’ve considered this,” she responded. “It was only because I had great certainty that I brought Jin Can back directly.”

Whether to give Lin Cheng Hui the authenticated report to prepare her psychologically or let her experience the entire process firsthand these would naturally produce completely different outcomes.

Xia Shuzhen gave her another deep look.

“Stay for lunch,” she told Xia Mi La. “We’ll eat together.”

Author’s Note:
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