She got into the car first, then said to Ian Donovan, "Get in."
Her gaze shifted to the boy's slightly pale face. His hand was subconsciously clutching his stomach, and only then did Nina Donovan remember that he hadn't eaten last night.
The servants hadn't made his portion of breakfast this morning.
It was because Mrs. Donovan had ordered them to starve him for a full day to teach him a lesson.
He probably hadn't eaten lunch either.
Nina Donovan cursed him again in her head. 'He's too honest. With so many rich kids at school, couldn't he just use someone else's meal card and freeload for once?!'
Thinking about the two months he had left.
Nina Donovan felt a small pang of pity for him.
After Ian Donovan got in the car.
Nina Donovan rummaged through her bag.
She had brought several small snack buns, but she had taken a nap this afternoon and hadn't gotten around to eating them.
She tore open the packaging of one, sniffed it, and said with a disgusted look, "Why does this bun smell so weird?"
The next moment, she tossed the unwrapped bun into Ian Donovan's hands, ordering with a raised eyebrow, "Eat it. Help me see if it's poisoned."
The bun looked tempting, and he subconsciously swallowed.
The cramps in his stomach were causing him some pain.
Ultimately unable to resist his hunger, he stuffed the bun into his mouth and began to eat in large bites. On closer inspection, he was practically inhaling it.
Nina Donovan clicked her tongue inwardly. 'Poor kid.'
The driver up front saw Ian Donovan's miserable state in the rearview mirror and sighed silently.
'Familial affection in these wealthy households is truly superficial.'
He had never encountered a family like the Donovans, who were so harsh to their own son.
Seeing that he was finished, Nina Donovan opened a bottle of water and looked at the label. "Huh? Why isn't this the mineral water air-freighted from Germany? I'm afraid I'll get an upset stomach if I drink this."
So she shoved it into Ian Donovan's hands. "Help me check if this water has gone bad."
Ian Donovan glanced at Nina Donovan and silently took a sip.
Only then did he pull a White Rabbit creamy candy from his pocket and pop it into his mouth.
He had to eat at least seventeen candies a day to finish them all within two months.
It was thanks to these candies that he hadn't fainted from hunger at school.
Nina Donovan watched him with a smile. "Is it good?"
Ian Donovan lowered his gaze. "It's terrible."
"Tch, not cute at all," Nina Donovan grumbled, pouting. She suddenly reached out and ruffled his hair. He looked up in surprise, only to see Nina Donovan smiling at him. "Let me hear you call me 'sis'."
It was as if Ian Donovan had just processed what happened. He quickly turned his head away, avoiding Nina Donovan's touch. The words that tumbled out were laced with unstoppable malice, "I only have one older sister, and it's not you."
He waited for Nina Donovan to explode in anger. Ever since he was old enough to understand, he had never once called Nina Donovan "sister." She didn't deserve it.
The sister he truly acknowledged, however, had been driven away by their mother.
No one knew where she had gone.
Their mother disliked their eldest sister, and she disliked him too.
But Nina Donovan, also a girl, received all of their parents' affection.
The explosion of anger he expected from Nina Donovan never came. She just shot him a look. "Stingy."
Nina Donovan felt a little regretful.
In her original world, she had become an orphan at the age of six.
She grew up being fed by the various families in her village, then worked her way through college. She had lived to the age of twenty-three, and only her first six years had been happy. The rest of the time, she didn't even have a moment's rest.
She was always alone during the holidays. Back then, she had been especially envious of a coworker from her part-time job. The coworker had loving parents, healthy grandparents, and a younger brother four years her junior who would pick her up from work every day, rain or shine. At the time, Nina Donovan had wondered if she would be as happy as her coworker if she had a younger brother too.
But...
The fantasy was beautiful, but the reality was harsh.
She had a family now.
She couldn't help but glance again at Ian Donovan, who flew into a tizzy at the slightest touch, and looked out the window, feeling speechless.
'Having a brother is about the same as not having one.'
As for this sister Ian Donovan mentioned.
Nina Donovan dredged through the original owner's memories.
They did have an older biological sister, five years their senior.
But Nina Donovan's memory of her was fuzzy. She only knew that Mrs. Donovan had treated this sister even worse than she treated Ian Donovan, to the point of hatred. She had been kicked out of the house when the original Nina was still young, and no one knew where she went afterward.
Mrs. Donovan never asked about her, and no one in the family was allowed to mention her.
Over time, everyone came to believe that the Donovan family only had two children.
While she was lost in thought, the car pulled into the villa's courtyard.
Mrs. Donovan and Mr. Donovan were both home.
This was also Nina Donovan's first time seeing the original owner's father.
He had a small potbelly, but even in middle age, Mr. Donovan's face was still quite refined. The most striking thing about him was his head of black hair. It was so exceptionally thick that you couldn't even see his scalp. It was hard to imagine a middle-aged man possessing such a full head of hair, and Nina Donovan shot him an envious look.
Mr. Donovan was reading the newspaper. Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw Nina Donovan had returned.
His eyes crinkled into a smile. "My darling Nina is back."
In her memories, her parents doted on the original Nina, so Nina Donovan also put on a smile. "Dad."
"Yes," Mr. Donovan replied, his gaze landing intentionally yet unintentionally on Ian Donovan. He cleared his throat. "Ian, take your sister's bag and go sit to the side."
Facing his father, Ian Donovan became much more docile; at least his attitude wasn't so cold.
Nina Donovan breathed a sigh of relief.
'Looks like there's at least one normal person in this family.'
Mrs. Donovan disliked her son, but Mr. Donovan didn't.
Out of consideration for Mrs. Donovan, while he wasn't particularly good to his son on a normal day, he wasn't bad either.
Mrs. Donovan came out of the kitchen wearing an apron. It was a rare occasion for her to cook. Ignoring Ian Donovan completely, her attention was focused solely on Nina Donovan. "Nina, you're back! Mom made your favorite dishes. Go wash your hands. Old Donovan, call the family doctor and have him come over to change the dressing on Nina's foot."
"Alright, I'm on it."
Seeing Nina Donovan on crutches, Mr. Donovan's face filled with distress. "You were fine. How did you get hurt this badly?"
Nina Donovan used her original excuse, "It's just a small injury. I just kicked a rock."
Mr. Donovan silently stared at her foot, which was wrapped up like a steamed bun, and asked uncertainly, "Was it a meteorite?"
Nina Donovan: "..."
Fuck!
'No wonder Austin Sutton gave me that look at the hospital. So my 'kicked a rock' excuse was that ridiculous!'
Nina Donovan gave a dry laugh. "Maybe... perhaps... it was."
Mr. Donovan: "..."
By the time Nina Donovan's dressing was changed, it was time for dinner.
Mr. Donovan, perhaps aware that Ian Donovan had been forbidden from eating yesterday, quickly called out, "Nina, Ian, time for dinner! After you eat, go to your rooms and do your homework. You're seniors this year, so you have to work hard and get into a good university!"
Nina Donovan thought about the original owner's abysmal grades, which weren't even good enough for a vocational college.
She couldn't help but ask, "Do I have to take the exam too?"
Mr. Donovan: "..."
He chuckled, and fearing he might hurt his daughter's pride, he quickly tried to smooth things over. "Actually, it doesn't matter whether you take the exam or not. It's the taking part that counts. Dad will just donate a building and get you into Aethelgard University!"
Nina Donovan: "..."
'This kind of ridiculous stuff could only happen in a novel.'
After dinner, Nina Donovan eagerly returned to her room, pulled out her phone, and started looking for her hottie to chat with. She'd been holding it in all day and was about to burst.
Just as she opened the chat interface, before she could even type, there was a knock on the door.
"Nina, it's me."
It was Mr. Donovan's voice.
Nina Donovan was puzzled. Why was Mr. Donovan looking for her so late?
She slipped on her slippers and went to open the door.
Mr. Donovan snuck into Nina Donovan's room like a thief.
"Dad?"
Mr. Donovan made a "shushing" gesture.
Before Nina Donovan's shocked eyes, he lifted his own skullcap... oh wait, no, he lifted his wig, revealing a balding, "Mediterranean" head. From inside it, he fished out five hundred yuan and solemnly stuffed it into Nina Donovan's hand.
"Help me give this to Ian. Don't tell your mother."
With that, he quickly left.
Nina Donovan: "..."
'Insane. This whole family is completely insane.'