Lu Chao whispered, "Xiao Su'er, your stepmother is only trying to trick you out of your bracelet."
CHATTER CHATTER CHATTER...
Cheng Yunsu's teeth chattered uncontrollably. She couldn't accept it—or rather, she refused to believe it.
'This is awful. Is there not a single good person around me?!'
Just then, Bai Xin's voice drifted over from a distance...
"Guards! Someone, help!"
"That damned country bumpkin and that bitch Cheng Yunsu ran away! They even hit me! Someone get over here, now!"
As she spoke, Bai Xin ran toward them, clutching her swollen face in a fury.
The smiles on Cheng Gai and Cheng Yunxiang's faces froze. Yunxiang rushed forward to ask, "Mother, what happened?"
Bai Xin's face was a mask of savagery.
"That country bumpkin escaped from the dungeon! I finally managed to fool that little bitch and trick her out of her precious bracelet, but then the bumpkin snatched it right back."
"They've run off and are definitely trying to escape the Cheng Mansion! Call for help! We absolutely cannot let them get away!"
Stunned, Cheng Yunxiang and Cheng Gai also began shouting for help.
Up in the tree, held in Lu Chao's arms, Cheng Yunsu's mind was buzzing. Bai Xin had admitted with her own mouth that she was tricking her.
"Why? Aunt Xin was always so good to me before," Cheng Yunsu murmured, her expression crumbling.
Lu Chao watched her, his heart aching as her tears flowed uncontrollably. He sighed inwardly.
'It's just like what happened to me. Lu Dingtian used to treat me like his own son, but who could have known he was only nurturing a bone?'
'The human heart is impossible to predict. You were the shining pearl of the Cheng Mansion, a genius. Would she have dared to treat you poorly back then?'
'But now that you've fallen, her true colors are on full display.'
After a moment's hesitation, Lu Chao decided against saying more. Instead, he said gently, "Ask her yourself. Then you'll understand."
With that, Lu Chao leaped down from the tree with Cheng Yunsu, landing in front of Bai Xin and the others.
The shouting trio froze, stunned.
When Cheng Yunxiang saw Lu Chao and Yunsu clearly, he exploded with rage. "You damned pair! How dare you hit my mother! I'll kill you!"
He charged toward them, but—BAM!
A single kick from Lu Chao sent him flying.
Seeing this, Cheng Gai was scared out of his wits and tried to flee, but he forgot one of his legs was broken.
With a THUD, he fell from his chair, landing flat on his back.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yunsu stepped out from Lu Chao's arms.
She looked at Bai Xin and asked, "Why? Didn't you just say that we're family and should speak as one?"
Bai Xin took a few fearful steps back, but immediately lifted her chin and puffed out her chest.
"Who the hell is family with you?"
"I was just saying that. Did you actually take it seriously? You heard me. I just want your precious bracelet."
Bai Xin knew, of course, that Cheng Yunsu must have overheard her conversation with Cheng Yunxiang, so she stopped hiding it.
Swaying slightly, Cheng Yunsu asked again, "So, even if you had taken the bracelet, you would have never saved Lu Chao, right?"
She already knew the answer in her heart, but she still needed to hear Bai Xin say the words herself.
"Save him? My ass! Only a fool would save him."
"If snatching it directly wouldn't make your father give me the cold shoulder, why the hell would I have needed to trick you?"
"If your father wasn't still protecting you, I would've snatched it long ago, in the month since you became a cripple."
"To be honest, I wish you'd just hurry up and die."
Bai Xin's true colors were now completely exposed.
Cheng Yunsu squeezed her eyes shut, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. But then, she felt a hand take hers.
It was a large, warm hand. It was Lu Chao's, of course.
Feeling the warmth of his palm, it was as if Cheng Yunsu's shattered heart finally found a sliver of comfort.
"Actually, you should have died over a decade ago. It was me who deliberately abandoned you among the refugees outside the Great Wu Imperial City. But damn it, after more than ten days, you still hadn't starved to death!"
"Your father actually managed to find you. Absolutely infuriating!"
As she spoke these words, Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu both shuddered violently. They subconsciously met each other's eyes.
Over a decade ago—that was precisely when they had met outside the Great Wu Imperial City.
A little beggar and a little girl who had been starving for three days and three nights—that was how they had first met.
And it turned out Bai Xin had been the one to cause it all.
"Then you came back and were even found to possess an Earth Tier Heavenly Fire Sparrow Bone! Fuck me!"
"The entire family treated you like a treasure, and I had to keep pretending to be your good stepmother. Do you have any idea how hard I had to act all these years? Haha! But finally, my time has come!"
"You're crippled! You suffered a cultivation deviation, and your Heavenly Fire Sparrow Bone shattered!"
"It's exhilarating! Simply exhilarating!"
Finally free from her act, Bai Xin's face was a mask of pure, unadulterated glee, her beautiful features twisting into a hideous sneer.
But suddenly, a figure rushed toward them from the distance, drawn by Cheng Yunxiang's shouts.
The figure drew closer, revealing itself to be Cheng Chuming.
Seeing him, the crazed smile on Bai Xin's face instantly froze.
Before Cheng Chuming even landed, she suddenly burst into a loud wail. "WAAAH! Chuming, my dear husband! Cheng Yunsu and that country bumpkin beat me! They beat Yunxiang so badly he's coughing up blood!"
Saying this, Bai Xin collapsed onto the ground, looking up pitifully at Cheng Chuming.