Mrs. Wilson wanted to bang on the door, but Old Ivan held her back.

“It’s understandable that family reunions can be emotional. Let’s return to our room and give Tina some privacy!”

Such a stern old lady – how could Tina possibly like her?

Acting this way would only push Tina further away.

Old Ivan wasn’t worried at all.

Mrs. Wilson gritted her teeth.

Hotel staff walked past with lowered heads – how rare to see foreign guests locked out.

Persuaded by Old Ivan, Mrs. Wilson left with her bag.

Things would surely get heated inside!

What was Tina’s temperament like?

She’d been spoiled by Cui Yiru and Zhang Jiadong.

Over the past six months, Mrs. Wilson had also deliberately pampered her.

Though she had the face of a 19-year-old, in some matters she had the intelligence of a 9-year-old. Adults would weigh pros and cons, but a 9-year-old simply followed their emotions.

That old hag had been rude and disrespectful to her, and Tina would surely make her pay for this offense!

Mrs. Wilson was quite confident about this.

But would things unfold as Mrs. Wilson predicted?

…Truth be told, except when facing the great tide of the times, it was always Grandmother Yu making others suffer.

This old lady never considered others’ feelings when handling matters.

In the room, Tina’s face flushed with emotion:

“Why- why did you shut Aunt Cynthia out?”

The old lady sneered, “What kind of aunt is she to you? You understand Chinese, right? We’re discussing family matters now, it’s not appropriate for outsiders to listen!”

Tina was so angry she wanted to kick the door. Grandmother Yu’s expression seemed to say “Indeed not properly taught by Cui Yiru,” which nearly drove Tina mad. She pointed at Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen in the room: “They’re outsiders too, why don’t they have to leave!”

Xia Xiaolan caught this stray bullet.

What was wrong with this child?

Liu Fen was surprised – there was someone worse at speaking and with lower emotional intelligence than her.

And she was Grandmother Yu’s own granddaughter… No wonder Old Tang looked displeased when he heard about Little Ji being friends with Tina.

“Tina, how dare you speak like that? Before Grandmother found us, we relied entirely on Aunt Liu and Xiaolan’s care. How can you call them outsiders?”

Xu Changle rebuked.

Xu Zhongyi didn’t know what game his mother was playing today.

She seemed to oppose Tina at every turn.

Xia Xiaolan remained perfectly composed.

She could see that Grandmother Yu hadn’t come to please Tina, but rather to discipline this young girl. Xia Xiaolan decided to watch the show calmly.

Grandmother Yu sat on the sofa, coldly watching Tina. Though Tina had been struggling at first, somehow she gradually became less daring to move.

“You know what? I don’t like you at all.”

Grandmother Yu said word by word.

Tina clenched her fists. “I don’t like-“

“Shut up. When elders are speaking, you just listen. Even if you don’t like it, don’t interrupt with objections. You can wait until I’m finished, then present your reasoning. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to you!”

Though the old lady’s voice wasn’t loud, it carried impatience. Tina felt wronged.

She didn’t want to be a Xu family child either.

Right, why did she come to meet this so-called “grandmother” if their first meeting would be like this?

Grandmother Yu’s voice grew heavier:

“I don’t like you at all. When you were deceived into accepting a criminal as your father, I could understand! But knowing the truth now, you still wallow in self-pity and confusion – that I cannot understand. Why should I acknowledge you? Your display of devastating grief made me think you were Zhang Jiadong’s real daughter. There’s a Chinese saying: ‘If you don’t remove the roots when cutting grass, it will grow again in the spring wind.’ If not for Changle’s sake, I should have eliminated you then, to prevent you from seeking revenge for Zhang Jiadong once you grew stronger!”

Eli-eliminate her?

This old lady, speaking so directly about eliminating her?

Eliminate surely meant kill.

All along the way, Tina had wondered what kind of “grandmother” she would meet.

A weeping Chinese old woman who would cling to her?

After all, in Xu Changle’s words, Grandmother was very loving and made delicious steamed buns.

Tina had expected Chinese steamed buns.

Instead of buns, she received threats.

People said Zhang Jiadong was a gang leader, but this silver-haired old lady before her seemed more like one! It was completely different from what she had imagined. Tina’s hands went cold, and she moved closer to Xu Changle.

In this room, there was Xu Zhongyi with his expressionless face.

Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen were watching the show.

Only her brother made Tina feel safe.

Tina didn’t think Grandmother Yu was joking.

What normal grandmother would make such jokes with a granddaughter she was meeting for the first time?

Unless she was telling the truth!

This was also a terrifying, abnormal Chinese grandmother, like the wolf grandmother from Andersen’s fairy tales, and she was the poor Little Red Riding Hood…

“Mother!”

Xu Zhongyi couldn’t help speaking up. What if this first meeting traumatized Tina?

Liu Fen also didn’t understand why Grandmother Yu would frighten the child like this.

Wouldn’t that only distance the child further from the family?

Xia Xiaolan gently shook her mother’s hand and shook her head.

The old lady probably wasn’t joking.

If Tina had been someone else’s daughter, that would be one thing, but if she had been Zhang Jiadong’s daughter, Grandmother Yu, having lived to this age, would have no qualms. Arguing about a child’s innocence wouldn’t convince her, and she might really “take Tina with her” before her death, eliminating future trouble for Xu Zhongyi and Xu Changle.

As for whether Xu Changle would resent her?

Xia Xiaolan thought Grandmother Yu probably wouldn’t care at all… Well, the old lady was ruthless – Tina had dodged a bullet.

Xu Changle also smiled bitterly, “Grandmother, you promised me.”

This was quite different from what was promised.

Far from accepting Tina.

Her hand gripping his arm was trembling slightly.

Grandmother Yu sneered:

“Why are you all so nervous? The DNA results are in, aren’t they? She’s a Xu family child, not an enemy’s daughter, so even though I don’t like her, I must still look after her.”

Tina bit her tongue, “I don’t need you to look after me!”

Grandmother Yu glanced at her, her eyes full of disapproval:

“Whether you need it is one thing, whether I will do it is another. Cui Yiru had a guilty conscience, so she only spoiled you while raising you, teaching you nothing useful. I can’t just watch you remain so ill-mannered, bringing shame to the Xu family name. After I pass away, I won’t be able to face your grandfather. You may not want to be my granddaughter, but I must be your grandmother… Honestly, at my age, having to worry about you is exhausting! Your defiance makes our relationship painful, so why not cooperate with me? At least make it appear to others that we have a decent grandmother-granddaughter relationship. What do you think of this proposal?”

Huh?!

Put on an act for others?

Why should she act?

Tina was completely confused.

Grandmother Yu’s every word and action today was like playing cards, randomly throwing out bombs.

Tina had been so bombarded she completely lost her ability to judge.

Compared to being “eliminated” by this frightening old lady, she thought maintaining a superficial grandmother-granddaughter relationship wasn’t such a bad choice…