Huh?

Yu Tian was stunned for a second before realizing that what she’d just heard wasn’t her imagination, but had indeed been said by the other passenger in the car.

She knew Yan Ming probably just said it casually without any special meaning, but…

Yu Tian felt like a helpless patient struck by a heart attack, experiencing a brief cardiac arrest before her heart, which didn’t have great stress tolerance, resumed beating through CPR resuscitation.

Like experiencing such a roller-coaster-like intense heartbeat test and life-or-death emergency rescue in just one minute.

What old brother…

Wasn’t he the one who didn’t allow her to call him brother at all, too lazy to even be friends with her?

Yu Tian couldn’t help herself: “Didn’t you say not to call you brother…”

“Do you really want to call me that?”

This was naturally a good time to show loyalty and flatter him.

Yu Tian nodded repeatedly, fawning: “Of course, actually I’ve always wanted to call you that. Brother Yan Ming, you’re right—how could new be better than old? Someone like Dai Xin in social media, how could he be as reliable as we medical professionals?”

“Whether in terms of personal quality, intelligence, or maturity, Brother Yan Ming is better!”

But faced with Yu Tian’s flattery, Yan Ming didn’t respond, instead asking a completely unrelated question.

“Our school’s Student Handbook clearly states you can’t skip classes, right?”

Huh?

Yu Tian was somewhat confused: “Yes…”

Yan Ming pressed his lips together: “Did you skip classes during your studies?”

Yu Tian frowned, feeling amazed at Yan Ming’s naivety: “Of course.”

She muttered, “Although skipping class isn’t good, everyone has emergencies sometimes. Besides, some classes are just boring, like those formalistic courses. When exam time approaches and there’s not enough study time, whose classes would you skip if not those? Anyway, for some classes like university moral cultivation, the teacher just reads from the textbook without expanding, so attending or not is the same—you can just read the textbook yourself later.”

Yan Ming glanced at Yu Tian, his voice chilly: “There you go then.”

“The Student Handbook prohibits certain behaviors, which you violated without any psychological burden. But when I don’t allow you to do something, you have no rebellious spirit at all?”

Yu Tian was stunned before realizing this was Yan Ming’s alternative sarcastic way of questioning her.

This man was quite serious: “If someone wants to do something, even knowing it’s not allowed, they’ll still insist on doing it.”

He pressed his lips: “If they don’t do it, it means they didn’t want to that much.”

Yan Ming looked at Yu Tian expressionlessly: “So you didn’t want to call me brother either.”

“If you wanted to that much, you wouldn’t care whether I allowed it or not.” Yan Ming lowered his voice: “It’s not like breaking the law.”

“…”

Yu Tian was simply stunned speechless by Yan Ming’s bandit logic.

Wasn’t this entrapment?!

Fortunately, soon the car entered the garage, and Yan Ming stopped dwelling on this topic, directly taking Yu Tian upstairs into his home.

This wasn’t Yu Tian’s first time at Yan Ming’s house, but this time her mood was complicated and uneasy. Though she shouldn’t feel guilty, she somehow didn’t have the righteous confidence she’d had when entering last time.

Fortunately, Yan Ming acted quite naturally, introducing Yu Tian to the guest room and the main functional areas of the house.

“The guest room always has disposable slippers and toiletries. Make yourself at home.”

Following Yan Ming’s gaze, Yu Tian discovered the guest room was very clean, with indeed complete amenities. Even travel-sized disposable toiletries were comprehensive, and there were quite a few skincare products and face wash, as if someone often stayed here.

Could it be that some woman had stayed here?

An ex-girlfriend? Or…

Just as Yu Tian’s thoughts were about to take flight, Yan Ming’s voice interrupted her: “Because I live close to the hospital, sometimes when Jiang Yuming works night shifts and is too tired to go home, he occasionally stays here. The skincare products are his leftovers, not what you’re thinking.”

Yu Tian gathered her hair, affecting nonchalance: “What am I thinking? I wasn’t thinking anything, okay?”

“Control your facial expression.” Yan Ming looked at Yu Tian expressionlessly. “You might as well hang a banner with your thoughts on your face.”

“I’m so busy, I don’t have time to bring women home.”

Yu Tian couldn’t help muttering: “But didn’t you also steal time from your busy schedule to bring me home? Thank you.”

“…”

Yan Ming looked somewhat speechless but resisted rubbing his temples. He said concisely: “I often work night shifts, and sometimes when patients have emergencies, I’ll rush over. I don’t stay here much. Tonight I’m here, but I probably won’t be here tomorrow or the day after. Live comfortably by yourself. If you have work needs, you can use the study directly.”

He checked the time: “It’s late. I need to sleep.”

Just as Yan Ming was about to turn and go to his room, his phone rang inopportunely.

Yu Tian inadvertently glimpsed the phone screen.

Chen Xi.

The daughter of Yan Ming’s father’s current girlfriend.

Yan Ming’s expression showed some surprise, and then he answered.

Soon, his expression became somewhat serious: “Send me your location, find a place with streetlights where it’s brighter. I’ll be right there.”

Yan Ming hung up, grabbed his jacket, and prepared to go out.

Yu Tian was somewhat curious: “What happened?”

“After Chen Xi finished the gathering with my dad and the others, she went to hear a late-night concert at the grand theater. She couldn’t get a taxi and wandered several streets randomly, encountering a stalker following her. She’s now not far from the community outside. I’m going to find her.”

Hearing this, Yu Tian also became serious: “I’ll go with you.”

Yu Tian thought she was being very considerate—when a woman encounters a stalker late at night, filled with terror, another woman would surely be more comforting.

But when Yu Tian followed Yan Ming rushing to the location Chen Xi had given, and saw Chen Xi, she realized she shouldn’t have come.

Because Chen Xi barely noticed Yu Tian. Seeing Yan Ming, she ran toward him with tears of joy, looking aggrieved and frightened—

“Brother Yan Ming! Thank goodness you live nearby!”

Her voice carried a slight sob, as if she’d reached the limits of helplessness: “I didn’t expect to be followed. I called several classmates, but they all had things to do and couldn’t come. Fortunately, I suddenly remembered Uncle Yan mentioning you live around here, so I tried calling you desperately, and luckily you answered.”

She looked at Yan Ming with tearful eyes: “Thank goodness for you, otherwise I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

The weather in Rong City this month had extreme temperature differences between day and night. At this hour of the evening, you’d need at least a thick jacket, yet Chen Xi was still wearing a very short skirt, dressed very meticulously and elaborately, even wearing extremely high heels.

Yu Tian had also attended concerts at the nearby grand theater. That venue was rather old with poor air conditioning, and large events with many people made it stuffy and hot inside. Generally when coming out, people wouldn’t look very good—everyone would be somewhat disheveled and sweaty.

But Chen Xi was fresh all over, her hairstyle carefully arranged. According to her story, she’d been walking around lost for half an hour, yet her hair remained impeccable in such a strong night wind.

However, Yu Tian observed carefully while Yan Ming didn’t pay such attention. He didn’t particularly notice Chen Xi’s outfit, just took out his phone to call a car: “Where do you live? Give me the address, I’ll call you a car. After I see you get in safely, I’ll leave.”

But Chen Xi quickly stopped Yan Ming: “Don’t, Brother Yan Ming. My mom has been troubled by insomnia these past two days. When I contacted her just now, she didn’t reply—she must have fallen asleep. Just now I checked my bag and realized I didn’t bring my house key. If I go back at this hour, I’d have to wake her up to open the door, which would disturb her. I’d better not go back.”

“Then I’ll book you a nearby hotel.”

Faced with Yan Ming’s new suggestion, Chen Xi again became tearful with a choked voice: “Brother Yan Ming, I’m scared.”

She looked up at Yan Ming with deer-like eyes, fragile and helpless: “I was frightened by that stalker tonight. I don’t dare stay alone…”

Now Yu Tian understood very clearly.

Miss Chen Xi had come here to set a trap for Yan Ming.

She’d said she didn’t mind even being step-siblings, said she planned to pursue Yan Ming—she was a woman of action.

“Since you’re so afraid of staying alone, I’ll stay with you!”

Yu Tian didn’t know where this impulse came from, but by the time she realized it, the words had already left her mouth.

Only then did Chen Xi seem to notice Yu Tian standing not far behind Yan Ming. She looked at Yu Tian with apparent timidity, appearing vulnerable and anxious: “Brother Yan Ming, who is this…”

Without giving Yan Ming a chance to answer, Yu Tian preemptively replied: “Oh, I’m Brother Yan Ming’s old sister, and you must be his new sister, right? I think we’re quite fated—how about we have a sister team-building event? Let’s establish the organization first. Maybe even newer sisters will join in the future.”

After speaking, Yu Tian glanced up at Yan Ming: “Looks like while I was looking for a new brother, my old brother wasn’t idle either—he quickly found a new sister.”

“…”

Yan Ming looked somewhat helpless, but before he could say anything, his phone interrupted with its ringtone.

After walking aside to answer the call, his expression became serious: “One of my patients at the hospital suddenly had an emergency. I need to rush over for emergency surgery now.”

“Chen Xi, this is Yu Tian. Let her take you back to my house.”

After speaking to Chen Xi, he pulled Yu Tian aside: “I might not be able to come home tonight. Perfect that you two can stay together—there are two spare guest rooms at home, so no need to book hotel rooms at the last minute. I don’t have time to take you there now either.”

Yu Tian couldn’t say why, but she was somewhat unhappy: “Not trusting your new sister alone, so you’re using me as a favor to accompany your new sister? As the old sister, I’ve been laid off—do I get paid for this temporary work?”

“I’m not worried about her.”

Yan Ming glanced at Chen Xi standing slightly away at the intersection looking toward them, then turned to look at the ground in front of Yu Tian.

His voice became somewhat low, as if it might be swept away by the night wind.

But Yu Tian still heard his voice.

He said—

“I’m worried about you.”

Yu Tian’s heart suddenly felt attacked by this night wind, beating rapidly and restlessly under its influence.

Yu Tian bit her lip: “What’s there to worry about me? Why don’t you worry about your new sister?”

Yan Ming glanced in Chen Xi’s direction: “There’s nothing worth worrying about her—she looks more shrewd than you.”

“…”

Just as Yu Tian was about to express her dissatisfaction, she heard Yan Ming continue matter-of-factly—

“You just experienced your mother’s ordeal today. Having someone to accompany you at home is good—you won’t overthink as much.”

He stared at Yu Tian, instructing: “So don’t cause trouble, don’t make a fuss, stay home well. I’m leaving.”

The night wind carried coolness and early autumn’s bleakness. The dim yellow streetlights and desolate streets made people feel cold. Chen Xi, in her ultra-short skirt, was already constantly moving her legs, trying to generate body heat.

Yet Yu Tian only felt her cheeks burning, her heart like a dormant volcano with rolling hot magma inside, already showing signs of erupting back to life.

But ten minutes later, the volcano in Yu Tian’s heart had cooled again.

She and Chen Xi sat silently in Yan Ming’s living room.

The old and new sisters faced each other. Having someone for company in an unfamiliar environment did make it feel more lively, but due to not being very familiar, Yu Tian also felt somewhat embarrassed. She’d been a bit too reactive earlier, showing too much hostility toward the other person.

To ease the awkwardness, Yu Tian took initiative: “I’m a bit hungry and planning to have a late-night snack. Would you like something to drink? I’m planning to make pear water—would you like a glass? If you’re hungry, I’m planning to stew some millet porridge and can make you a bowl too.”

Chen Xi paused, then smiled sweetly: “No thanks. I’m a bit tired and want to rest first.”

Yu Tian didn’t mind. She ordered pears, green olives, honey dates, and tangerine peel online, also bought some millet, then went straight into the kitchen to start cooking.

Making delicious food could calm Yu Tian down. After experiencing quite a lot today, Yu Tian needed to divert some attention.

Besides, she’d had a poor appetite earlier and only now at this hour felt hungry.

While cooking, she didn’t forget to film the process as material, planning to edit it later into a therapeutic tea and stomach-nourishing porridge video for dietary therapy.

Yu Tian made a lot—she could always eat well. After finishing her late-night snack, there was still one person’s worth left, perfect for when she got hungry again before bed.

After handling everything, she returned to her room, planning to rest.

But Yu Tian had some trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places. In the strange environment, she inevitably had some insomnia. After randomly grabbing her hair several times, Yu Tian decided to simply go to Yan Ming’s study to find a book to read—maybe she’d get sleepy quickly.

But Yu Tian hadn’t expected that entering the study would make her more energetic rather than sleepy.

Yan Ming’s study had an entire cabinet of recorded surgical video materials!

Plus, many precious medical materials and case records.

Yu Tian returned to the guest room almost joyfully and excitedly. She lay in bed waiting, wishing Yan Ming could immediately finish surgery successfully and return home, so she could immediately get his permission to browse these precious materials.

She didn’t know that in another guest room, Chen Xi was equally sleepless with the same mood.

Tonight was also a do-or-die attempt for Chen Xi.

Chen Xi had fallen in love with Yan Ming at first sight. Later, as her mother and Yan Ming’s father grew closer, she had several more opportunities to see Yan Ming, but unfortunately, despite Chen Xi using all her skills, Yan Ming remained unmoved like an insulator.

Tonight’s family dinner, Yan Ming had stood them up.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Since heaven hadn’t created opportunities for Chen Xi, she decided to take control herself.

She had deliberately rushed to near Yan Ming’s home at midnight, calculating that someone like Yan Ming, cold on the outside but warm inside, wouldn’t ignore someone being “stalked.” Not to mention that his moral sense would make him help even a stranger, especially since she had a potential future family relationship with Yan Ming.

Chen Xi felt her plan was very meticulous.

But despite all her calculations, she hadn’t anticipated there would be another woman at Yan Ming’s house.

The daughter of Yan Ming’s father’s ex-girlfriend.

Chen Xi was very puzzled why this person would be there, and she raised her guard and vigilance to the maximum.

After all, this girl named Yu Tian was extremely beautiful.

However, after brief observation and interaction, Chen Xi’s heart gradually relaxed.

This Yu Tian was beautiful indeed, but didn’t know the first thing about attracting men—she was practically beginner level.

For instance, when Yan Ming left, she finally just said “oh” and told him, “Then go quickly,” then turned and left without looking back. Nothing like herself, who was reluctant to part with Yan Ming, with endless instructions and expressions of both attachment and heartache for Yan Ming’s hard work.

Chen Xi might not be the most beautiful, but in terms of handling men, she felt few could surpass her.

A woman’s appearance was certainly a plus, but gentle, considerate personality, pitiable and appropriately fragile demeanor, the whole-hearted trust when needing to rely on someone, occasional displays of vulnerability, worship of the other person, and childlike innocence—these were all weapons that made men fall.

The best hunters always excel at disguising themselves as prey.

Having successfully moved into Yan Ming’s house today, Chen Xi wouldn’t give up without some progress, without taking Yan Ming down in one fell swoop.

Although the two-person world she’d originally anticipated hadn’t materialized—Yan Ming had an emergency at the hospital, and there was now an oversized human light bulb at home—

Chen Xi was confident in herself. Being able to perform well in advantageous situations wasn’t a skill; being able to turn disadvantage into advantage was real kung fu.

Yu Tian was indeed strikingly beautiful, but that couldn’t hide her stupidity.

Late at night like this, she ordered a bunch of ingredients to make late-night snacks.

Eating these things at this hour, her face would definitely be puffy tomorrow; moreover, using someone else’s kitchen so familiarly—someone like Yan Ming who had clear internal and external boundaries, would probably have a poor impression of her when he returned.

Besides, when Yan Ming went out to work overtime all night, she showed no concern or sympathy, actually going to sleep in the guest room after eating her snack.

She treated Yan Ming’s house like a hotel.

But this was good too.

The worse she performed, the more it highlighted Chen Xi’s goodness.

People’s goodness came from comparison.

Chen Xi was very confident that after just a few days together, Yan Ming would discover that compared to Yu Tian—this type who was good-looking but didn’t understand social etiquette and completely didn’t know how to care for men—she, who stayed awake all night waiting for Yan Ming, was more touching.

This Yu Tian person had simply come to serve as a foil for her goodness.

Chen Xi took out a face mask, applied it beautifully, and lay in bed waiting for Yan Ming to return home.

The moment the password lock activation sound came from the door, Chen Xi quickly jumped out of bed. She was about to arrange her appearance, creating a slightly haggard but still beautiful makeup effect to greet Yan Ming.

But then she heard a door opening from the adjacent guest room, followed by someone rushing out like a rocket from the next room.

What the hell was this development?! Wasn’t that Yu Tian supposed to be asleep?!

Chen Xi panicked.

With no time to dress up, afraid of losing the initiative to the other party, she rushed out disheveled.

But it was still too late.

Yu Tian had already run to the entrance like an excited little dog hearing its owner return home, her eyes full of enthusiasm and affection as she looked at Yan Ming.

Her hair also looked somewhat messy, but the messiness carried a hint of laziness, and within the laziness was some ulterior motive.

Before Chen Xi could perform, her lines were stolen by the other party. She only heard the other person looking at Yan Ming with shining eyes, saying—

“Brother Yan Ming, you’re back! I waited for you for so long! I never slept!”

“…”

Yan Ming had probably just finished surgery and looked somewhat tired, but seeing that both Yu Tian and Chen Xi weren’t asleep was surprising.

While changing shoes, he walked straight toward the kitchen. Just as he was about to open the refrigerator, he saw a serving of pear water and millet porridge set out nearby.

Even someone as unsmiling as Yan Ming rarely showed a smile: “Just finished surgery, both thirsty and tired. Perfect timing. May I eat this?”

Yu Tian smiled even more like a scheming little dog competing for favor: “Of course! I made it!”

Looking at Yan Ming sitting down to eat porridge and Yu Tian sitting across from him, saying something, Chen Xi’s intestines turned green with regret.

So that’s it!

This Yu Tian was clever!

She’d feigned by saying she was eating a late-night snack, but she prepared it for Yan Ming!

Saying she was going to sleep was actually to lull Chen Xi into complacency. The moment Yan Ming returned home, this person rushed out first!

This was a high-level player.

But Chen Xi would never admit defeat. She would definitely clear this woman out of Yan Ming’s life.

Although Yan Ming had mistakenly eaten the late-night snack Yu Tian had prepared for herself, considering he’d very generously agreed that Yu Tian could freely browse the materials in his study, Yu Tian decided not to care about anything else.

She almost immediately rushed back to the study, turned on the computer, and began studying diligently.

She’d stayed awake waiting for Yan Ming until now precisely to get his permission first thing and use his study to browse the literature materials there!

It was nothing to mistakenly treat Yan Ming to her late-night snack! He’d worked hard finishing surgery, too!

Yu Tian didn’t think about anything else. She was soon overwhelmed with happiness by the feeling of being surrounded by literary materials in the study.

Many surgical videos were filmed during Yan Ming’s overseas study visits—very precious materials that couldn’t be found online.

But some discs were placed rather high, and even standing on tiptoe, Yu Tian couldn’t quite reach them.

She had to jump up, hoping to grab exactly the video material she wanted.

Yu Tian bounced like a rabbit, stubbornly glaring at the bookshelf.

Just as she was about to get a chair, she suddenly heard someone approaching from behind. Before Yu Tian could react, she felt another person’s gradually approaching body heat behind her, then saw a hand with distinct knuckles appear above her upward-looking, hopeful line of sight.

Yan Ming easily retrieved the disc Yu Tian wanted for her.

“Is this what you want?”

Well-fed Yan Ming seemed in quite a good mood, leaning casually against the bookshelf, lazily playing with the disc in his hand.

Yu Tian stared at Yan Ming, wondering what he was up to.

Was he going to make some conditions?

But just as Yu Tian was speculating, Yan Ming simply handed the disc to Yu Tian.

“Here you go, shorty. Next time, just ask me to get it for you.”

After speaking, Yan Ming also gently tapped Yu Tian’s head with the disc.

Only then did he stuff it back into Yu Tian’s hands and turn toward his room.

But Yan Ming’s plan to rest was soon interrupted by a phone call.

Before long, he emerged from his room again, looking serious: “Someone came to the emergency room, I need to go.”

He’d just returned, and Yu Tian was somewhat confused: “What about the emergency room staff?”

“They can’t handle it. It’s an employee from the seafood market who was processing sea fish at midnight. A fish broke free and jumped up, and its dorsal fin spine went right into her eye. There’s bleeding inside the eye and pus accumulation. Many of these sea fish have toxic spines on their dorsal fins. If it enters the eyeball and gets infected without quick, accurate treatment, the eye might not be saved.”

Ophthalmology was highly specialized, and eye surgery required extremely high precision. Night-shift ophthalmologists might not have experience handling this, and the hospital’s attending physician on duty might not necessarily be from ophthalmology.

It was completely normal for Yan Ming to be called in at times like this.

Without any complaints, Yan Ming grabbed his jacket again and rushed out.

Once in work mode, doctors weren’t glamorous at all. After staying up most of the night, Yan Ming’s face already showed fatigue, but he still rushed unhesitatingly to perform surgery for the patient.

Just as Yan Ming was about to leave, Chen Xi called out to him.

She volunteered somewhat shyly but dutifully: “Brother Yan Ming! You’re rushing around all night like this. I happen to be unable to sleep, so let me drive you to the hospital. Otherwise, driving while fatigued is very dangerous. You can rest in the car and gather your strength—it’ll be a tough battle when you arrive!”

Yu Tian also urged Yan Ming to go with Chen Xi, saying fatigue driving wasn’t safe since he’d been awake almost all night.

Yan Ming naturally refused, but ultimately couldn’t resist Chen Xi’s insistence. Plus, he was indeed exhausted, so he finally left with Chen Xi.

Yu Tian knew this was for Yan Ming’s good.

But once the two left and she was alone, Yu Tian felt lost and upset inside.

If her hand hadn’t been injured, she could have driven Yan Ming. But since the injury, her right hand’s flexibility had greatly decreased, and for safety, it was better to drive as little as possible.

This emotion became even more obvious an hour later when Chen Xi returned.

Despite driving late at night as a chauffeur, Chen Xi’s face couldn’t hide her excitement: “I chatted so much with Brother Yan Ming in the car. He took initiative to tell me many things, shared many interesting hospital stories, and even said he’d take care of my eyes from now on!”

Chen Xi pouted coquettishly: “So funny, who talks like that? Who would want to see a doctor for no reason? I don’t want to see him at the hospital.”

“But he treats me like a sister, caring so much about me. When I encountered that stalker tonight, he was so angry—somehow even angrier than I was myself.”

As she chatted, she mentioned seemingly casually: “Oh? I heard you’re the daughter of Uncle Yan’s ex-girlfriend.”

“But your mother and Uncle Yan broke up some time ago, right? Although I don’t mind, my mother cares quite a bit about this. Tomorrow she and Uncle Yan will come here together to pick me up…”

At this point, Chen Xi bit her lip, looking somewhat embarrassed: “I wouldn’t overthink it, but my mother will probably fight with Uncle Yan when she sees you. She’ll think Uncle Yan still has lingering feelings for his ex-girlfriend. My mother can be quite dramatic…”

She sighed: “I don’t know how to prepare her or explain this to prevent misunderstandings. I’m really afraid she’ll misunderstand Uncle Yan and they’ll fight again.”

“But after all, your mother and Uncle Yan broke up long ago. Your sudden stay at Brother Yan Ming’s house is indeed hard to explain. According to our family’s upbringing, if my mother wasn’t dating Uncle Yan, I definitely wouldn’t stay at Brother Yan Ming’s house…”

What was coming would come eventually.

Yu Tian hadn’t expected that at this moment, she’d be quite calm.

No matter how desperate her situation was, which led her here with nowhere else to go, knowing it wasn’t good to stay at Yan Ming’s house, Yu Tian owed Yan Ming a favor. Why should Chen Xi boss her around with veiled criticism here?

Yu Tian sipped her tea and showed a look of sudden realization: “Oh, so there are such particular rules.”

She smiled: “So are your mother and Uncle Yan getting married soon? Which hotel is the wedding banquet booked at? Have they decided where to honeymoon? Have they found someone to calculate an auspicious day for getting their marriage certificate?”

Chen Xi paused, then put on airs again: “It’s not that fast yet. Our family isn’t casual about these things. We’ll continue getting to know each other before deciding.”

“Since you haven’t gotten certificates yet, may I ask how your relationship with Yan Ming differs legally from mine?”

Yu Tian smiled: “Your mother and Uncle Yan haven’t married and gotten certificates yet, so you’re not a legal step-sister. Relationships are hard to predict. Your mother is so non-casual, surely a cautious person with high standards for partners. If, while getting to know each other, Uncle Yan doesn’t meet her expectations and she breaks up with him, that wouldn’t be surprising, right?”

“And my mother is currently single too. She had a relationship with Uncle Yan before, with an emotional foundation. If Uncle Yan becomes single again, reconciling with my mother isn’t impossible.”

Yu Tian smiled without warmth: “So what difference is there between us in Yan Ming’s eyes?”

Chen Xi was indeed so angry her features nearly twisted, but Yu Tian wasn’t planning to stop there.

“Oh, I forgot—there is a difference. I’m the one Brother Yan Ming took the initiative to bring home.”

“You, on the other hand, appeared mysteriously outside Yan Ming’s community at midnight wearing high heels, with makeup still perfect and meticulous after supposedly attending a concert. You claimed to be stalked but didn’t even call police, refused to go to a hotel alone when Yan Ming offered, and forced your way into following him home.”

Yu Tian didn’t like being aggressive, but that didn’t mean she’d let people walk all over her.

“Right now, the property deed owner of this house isn’t you—it’s Yan Ming. Even if you become Yan Ming’s legal step-sister in the future, Yan Ming isn’t someone with limited civil capacity who needs you as spokesperson, is he? Is he deaf or mute?”

Chen Xi hadn’t expected Yu Tian to counterattack so directly. For a moment, she was so angry she trembled, but still didn’t forget to stay in character, her eyes tearfully accusing: “I was kindly reminding you that my mother and Uncle Yan are coming tomorrow, but you’re misunderstanding me like this…”

“What reminder—aren’t you just trying to kick me out?”

Yu Tian was too lazy for pretense: “Who kicks out whom in the future remains to be seen. Right now, I’m not Yan Ming’s sister anyway. Maybe I’ll get promoted to be his wife in the future. Life’s circumstances are quite wonderful, right?”

“I stayed here yesterday, I’m staying here today, and maybe I’ll keep staying here in the future.”

Yu Tian’s staying at Yan Ming’s house was originally a stopgap measure in desperation—partly having no money for hotels, partly being genuinely frightened by Old Dai’s threats. She’d originally planned to leave first thing the next morning after this chaotic temporary stay, but Chen Xi had triggered her competitive spirit.

She decided: Chen Xi wouldn’t leave, so she wouldn’t leave either!

Besides, she hadn’t finished watching that cabinet full of surgical videos in Yan Ming’s study yet!