She rolled her eyes, climbed onto the kitchen counter, and began to give orders.
"Bring me fresh milk... eggs... sugar... the best fruits you have," she called out.
However, Gu Jin acted as if she didn’t hear Xia Wei at all.
Xia Wei also didn’t push this time. Instead, she took out her phone and messaged someone.
Then she put away the phone and gave a smirk to Gu Jin.
Xia Wei busied herself, mixing and stirring loudly, as if she were making a grand masterpiece.
Finally, Xia Wei stood and strode to the window. She opened it wide, reached out, and pulled in several takeout boxes from the balcony ledge.
She set them on the counter, opened each box, and arranged two perfectly rounded puddings on plates.
She turned to Gu Jin with a triumphant look. "See? I made pudding for our sisters."
Her curious look was enough to tell Gu Jin what she was expecting, and she decided to give exactly what Xia Wei was expecting.
Gu Jin raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "Wait... didn’t you say you were cooking? These are takeout puddings, right?"
Xia Wei chuckled as if Gu Jin were being too naive.
"Oh, these? I’m not that stupid. I don’t know how to cook real pudding. These are from the best pastry shop in the city. But the girls will never know, because I’ll make sure they never have a chance to look closely."
Gu Jin tilted her head. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell them the truth?"
Xia Wei pretended to be scared and shook her head,
"Lian Rou, you can’t do this! Please! Please don’t tell the sister... haha! Do you truly expect me to be frightened? If I were afraid, I would have never invited you inside."
"Then why did you invite me inside?" Gu Jin feigned a confused expression.
Xia Wei’s vanity was greatly satisfied by seeing Gu Jin’s baffled expression.
’Hmph! You will remain a country bumpkin even after trying hard. But me? I am destined to the lucky star loved by all!’
"Because... I know that even if you tell them everything, they will believe me and not you." Xia Wei’s face was filled with smugness.
She waited for Gu Jin’s reaction, and Gu Jin didn’t disappoint her.
"I will go and tell everyone! I will expose you!"
"Go ahead." Xia Wei said nonchalantly, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling excited. Once Lian Rou complained, she could execute the next step of her plan.
With that thought, she left the kitchen.
The room grew quiet again as Xia Wei placed the two pudding bowls gently on the coffee table.
She smiled sweetly. "Here. I made these with all my heart. I hope you’ll like them," she said, her voice soft like a gentle breeze.
Xia Lan and Xia Fei looked at the bowls in front of them. Their expressions were strange, almost frozen.
Xia Wei didn’t notice. She was too focused on what she thought was her moment of victory.
But just then, Gu Jin walked out of the kitchen.
Instead, she stood beside the table, looked at the two sisters, and said clearly, "You’re eating takeout. Xia Wei didn’t make these."
Xia Wei’s expression changed instantly. Her eyes went wide, and her smile faded. But only for a second. She quickly stood up and gave Gu Jin a furious glare.
"You’re talking nonsense!" she snapped, her voice sharp now.
Then she turned quickly to Xia Lan and Xia Fei, her eyes growing watery.
"You two know me, right?" she said with a trembling voice. "You know what I’ve been doing all these years. Eighteen years! I’ve been making puddings for you since you were little!"
She gave a soft, sad laugh. "Do you really think I didn’t make these today?"
The two sisters didn’t say anything. They just looked at her... then at Gu Jin.
Xia Wei continued, trying to hold her fake tears in.
"Lian Rou’s just trying to frame me again! Like last time with those officers! She keeps trying to ruin everything for me!"
She looked back at Gu Jin and pointed a shaky finger at her.
"I spent 40 minutes in the kitchen! Forty minutes making pudding with my heart! You just want to make me look bad!"
Gu Jin, still calm, tilted her head slightly and said, "You spent 40 minutes just tinkering around and making a mess to make it seem as if you were making something."
"Rou... you truly... bully me too much! What have I even done to make you hate me so much?" Xia Wei sniffed.
Gu Jin didn’t answer her; instead, she turned toward the two sisters,
She was talking about the camera footage. The two sisters nodded with an ugly expression. If they hadn’t watched the footage, they might have never known that their seemingly innocent sister... hid such an evil side from them.
To think they defended her, when she faked everything from the beginning... it was too disappointing.
However, at the same time, they weren’t hurt to the point that they wanted to break off their relationship, and hence turned toward Xia Wei.
They were intending to expose the matters about the camera and how they had seen everything when Gu Jin motioned them to remain quiet,
Her single word was enough to tell the sisters what Gu Jin was saying.
Maybe there was more to the picture than it might seem.
’If Xia Wei can lie once... then how many more times has she lied to them?’ This question took root in their mind.
Seeing that seeds of doubt were planted, Gu Jin was satisfied.
Xia Wei, on the other hand, was befuddled.
Why didn’t the sister lash out at Lian Rou? And why were they exchanging looks as if they already knew everything?
Did Lian Rou record or video call them?
’No... she doesn’t even have a phone.’ Xia Wei thought.
Seeing how the sisters remained silent and Gu Jin was smiling, Xia Wei knew it would be better to stay silent and not confront Lian Rou.
"Sisters... just forget it. I.. I should go and rest. I am very tired today. If I made any mistake today, please forgive me."
With just a few sentences, she blamed everything on her tiredness.
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow but didn’t intervene. She saw how the two sisters relaxed and knew that the road to kick Xia Wei out was a long one.
She should just focus on finding Long Yifan now.
Hence, she left the living room. She was so preoccupied with Long Yifan’s thoughts that she didn’t notice that the two sisters who had a relaxed expression became tensed after departure.
Xia Wei stared at Gu Jin’s retreating back and thought in her mind,
’Walk away! That is what you deserve!’
She then smiled at the two sisters before leaving.
Xia Lan said with a complex expression,
"I never thought Xia Wei was so smart... I almost forgave her mistake. She clearly intended to frame Rou’er; however, when she realized that we knew something, she blamed everything on her tiredness. If Rou’er hadn’t left due to her disappointment, I might not have noticed it at all."
"I have forwarded the video to mother and father. Let’s wait for their verdict and then ask Xia Wei to leave. We are already showing mercy by not asking her to pay up."
"We should buy some gifts to cheer up Rou’er, what do you think?" Xia Lan suggested her eyes shone with a bright light.
"I am in! Anyways, we are part of the reason why she suffered so much." Xia Fei said with guilt-laced words.
.............................
Gu Jin, unaware of the conversation between Xia Fei and Xia Lan, turned on the TV in her room and switched channels.
Soon she reached a news channel where the news about Long Yifan was playing.
The search was going, and the team had found essential clues. Maybe within the next 5 days he will be caught.
"I will set off at night. But if I want to leave... I need a valid reason..." Gu Jin thought.
If she left on her own, without any reason, god knows what the General might do. Not to mention... There was also Xia Wei...
Gu Jin paused, and a scheme appeared in her mind.
"Xia Wei... you can’t blame me for this... You were the one who had tried to frame me first."
.............................
Gu Jin was called for dinner, and she went downstairs. She looked sad.
Xia Wei, spotting her, stood up from her chair and said,
"Sister Lian, I will lead you to the dining room. Just think of this place as your home!"
Gu Jin stepped back and asked with tears in her eyes,
"What do you mean by think? This is my house in the first place! Why do you keep on provoking me time and time again? You want me to leave, right? I will leave!"