"Who are you looking for?"
"My name is Shi Jin. I spoke with my parents on the phone yesterday."
"Come in."
A clear, unhurried female voice came from inside.
As Shi Jin entered, a well-maintained woman was trimming lilies in a vase.
She was Shi Jin's biological mother, Liu Fang.
Liu Fang did not show any signs of excitement or joy at Shi Jin's arrival.
She carried herself with elegance, and an innate pride emanated from her refined face.
She slowly trimmed the flower branches with scissors, her every movement exuding her high cultivation. Time seemed to slow down with her every gesture.
"Aunt Xue, please take these flowers to Xinyu's room. She loves the scent of flowers in her room the most."
After Aunt Xue took the flowers, Liu Fang finally turned her attention to Shi Jin, her beautiful eyes scanning the girl from head to toe.
The girl before her was tall and slender, with a baby face that made her look like a teenager.
This child bore a fifty percent resemblance to herself in her youth, especially her eyes.
However, there was a glint of ferocity in her gaze, which Liu Fang found very displeasing.
Just then, a girl of similar age to Shi Jin walked down from upstairs, dressed in an exquisite dress, looking like a porcelain doll.
She immediately linked arms with Shi Jin, saying with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Sister is back. Please sit down." This was Jiang Xinyu, the adopted daughter of the Jiang family.
"How did you find us?" Liu Fang asked.
"DNA database matching."
"Heh."
Liu Fang let out a faint, displeased snort and nodded.
"This is quite impressive. You must have someone helping you from behind the scenes."
Liu Fang had already noticed that the clothes Shi Jin wore were expensive. How could a twenty-one-year-old girl afford them? It was obvious someone was backing her.
Moreover, she had investigated and found that Shi Jin was neither studying nor working, and her bank account only had a few hundred yuan.
Shi Jin nodded, not denying it.
"Someone is indeed helping me."
Liu Fang's gaze gradually sharpened as she said coldly, "Our Jiang family is a prominent one. Since you are home now, you must sever ties with your past associates. Anyone or anything that brings shame to the Jiang family is unacceptable."
"Yes, I understand," Shi Jin replied obediently.
Seeing this, Liu Fang had nothing more to say.
Just then, Aunt Xue came down from upstairs, and Liu Fang instructed, "Aunt Xue, have the servants prepare a room for Shi Jin." She added, referring to the website, "You are not to touch anything in the house. If you want to stay, you must behave yourself."
Her mother's icy attitude chilled Shi Jin to the bone.
She was treating her with the same strictness as she would a servant, showing no maternal affection for her daughter.
"Mom, can I call you that?"
As Shi Jin spoke these words, a deep bitterness welled up inside her.
"I am twenty-one years old. I haven't seen you since I can remember. Why don't you ask me how I've lived all these years? Why are you so cold to me? Why are you treating me like this?"
Why? Because she was a harbinger of doom, a jinx who brought misfortune to her relatives and the family's fortunes.
She had been abandoned in such a terrifying place shortly after birth, and she had still managed to grow up safely and return. Wasn't that terrifying enough?
Liu Fang glanced at Shi Jin.
"Since you're back, this house will provide for your food and clothing. What more do you want?"
Jiang Xinyu intervened at this point to smooth things over.
"Mom, Sister has finally returned. Let me take her upstairs to rest."
"Sister, let's go."
Jiang Xinyu took Shi Jin's hand and led her to the second floor, stopping in front of the room with the poorest lighting.
"Sister, come and see your room."
Shi Jin pushed the door open, and a strong smell of mold assailed her nostrils.
Opening the wardrobe, she found it filled with clothes of various colors and styles. Even the pajamas and slippers were all there.
With the keen observation of a professional assassin, Shi Jin could tell that these clothes had all been worn by Jiang Xinyu. Everything in this room was the same.
A shrewd glint flashed in Jiang Xinyu's eyes as she said with a smile, "Sister, if you need anything, just tell me. I have it all. As long as you don't mind that I've used it."
Jiang Xinyu left.
Shi Jin had returned home with great joy to reunite with her family, only to receive such treatment.
Looking at the room full of second-hand items and its cramped size, Shi Jin realized her family was deliberately targeting her. The reason remained unknown.
Shi Jin's short temper could no longer be contained.
Rolling up her sleeves, her hands adorned with manicured nails, she grabbed clothes from the wardrobe and threw them into the hallway. Her slender legs kicked and stomped, and the bed was smashed to pieces and thrown out along with everything else.
After finishing, Shi Jin brushed off the dust from her clothes and walked out.
At this moment, Jiang Xinyu and Liu Fang, alerted by the commotion, were already standing in the hallway, looking at the scene before them in disbelief.
Shi Jin, with her small arms and legs and her harmless baby face, looked delicate. How had she managed to throw out all these things? It was truly unbelievable.
Liu Fang's elegant composure vanished, and she angrily reprimanded Shi Jin.
"What are you doing? Why did you throw everything out for no reason? Are you dissatisfied with something?"
She could understand her mother's indifference as a lack of shared life and emotional distance.
What she couldn't tolerate was being given such a small room in such a large villa, and being palmed off with Jiang Xinyu's used belongings.
"These are all used by someone else. I don't want other people's trash," Shi Jin said in a clear voice.
Her bright eyes were both lively and innocent, so pure that it was impossible to associate her with the person who had just violently thrown things around.
Jiang Xinyu, looking at the mess on the floor, said sheepishly.
"Sister, don't misunderstand. How about I give you my room?"
"Xinyu, how can you give her your room? Look at her behavior, she doesn't deserve a good room," Liu Fang said.
"Shi Jin, your room has been arranged. If you're not satisfied, that's your problem. But I'm telling you, we don't have extra money to buy you new things. You'll have to figure it out yourself."
Hearing these words from her own mother, Shi Jin felt a pang of pain and confusion.
"What happened?"
A deep male voice boomed from downstairs. The man, disheveled from his travels, quickly approached Shi Jin.
Jiang Huating, dressed in a smart black suit, was radiant and exuded the steady aura of a successful man.
"Husband, Shi Jin is unhappy with the arrangements and has thrown everything about. She's simply uncultured."