After Mistakenly Marking Her Stunning Omega Stepsister - Chapter 54

Wen Xiangzhu’s birthday was in September.

But more than half of the summer vacation had passed, and Lin Sui still hadn’t decided on a gift.

As the date approached, Lin Sui grew increasingly anxious.

She wasn’t good at picking gifts. The last time she’d tried was for Jiang Wanwan’s birthday.

Wait… Jiang Wanwan’s birthday.

That day, she and Wen Xiangzhu had gone gift shopping together.

Lin Sui suddenly remembered: Wen Xiangzhu had mentioned liking a white jade bracelet!

With this thought, she sprang up from bed, grabbed her phone, and called the driver.

After quickly changing her clothes, she hurried down to the garage.

“Why is the Eldest Miss in such a rush today?” the driver asked as he drove.

Lin Sui’s eyelashes fluttered. “I suddenly remembered I need to buy something.”

*******

As Lin Sui exited the mall, she carried a gift-wrapped bag from the store, containing the white jade bracelet.

The bracelet was truly beautiful, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like on Wen Xiangzhu’s wrist.

“Lin Sui?”

An uncertain voice came from behind her.

Lin Sui paused and turned around.

“Xu Jinyan?” Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she scoffed. “What a coincidence.”

Xu Jinyan chuckled from a short distance away, slowly approaching. Her gaze swept over the bag in Lin Sui’s hand.

“Buying a gift for that Omega from last time?”

Lin Sui’s brow twitched imperceptibly.

“What’s it to you?”

“Just asking. Why so defensive?” Xu Jinyan raised an eyebrow. “Come to think of it, was that… your step-sister, Wen Xiangzhu?”

Lin Sui narrowed her eyes, remaining silent.

“Ah, so it was.” Xu Jinyan’s lips curled into a smirk. “I also heard you broke off the engagement with the Jiang family.”

“Hmph, and what’s that to you?” Lin Sui sneered. “None of your business.”

“Ouch, can’t even make a casual remark? Did I hit a sore spot?” Xu Jinyan paused, studying Lin Sui’s expression, then drawled, “Oh, right. I heard something recently that might interest you. Want to know?”

“Not interested.”

Lin Sui rolled her eyes, unwilling to waste any more breath, and turned to leave.

“Are you not interested in what happened with Jiang Wanwan and Wen Xiangzhu?”

Xu Jinyan watched Lin Sui’s retreating figure with a calm expression. Seeing her pause mid-step, her eyes narrowing slightly, Xu Jinyan continued.

After a moment, Lin Sui turned around, fixing her gaze on Xu Jinyan.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Xu Jinyan casually strolled over to a wooden chair and sat down. “I did hear some… information.”

“Spit it out.”

Lin Sui glared at her.

“You want information from me, yet you’re still acting like this?”

Xu Jinyan tilted her head. “Ah, forget it. Considering we’ve known each other for so long, I’ll tell you.”

She paused before continuing. “I heard Mrs. Jiang agreed to break off the engagement between you and Jiang Wanwan because… Wanwan is in a relationship.”

Lin Sui stared at her suspiciously. “That’s good news. And what does this have to do with Wen Xiangzhu?”

“Have you not considered why I brought up Wen Xiangzhu? Your dear sister.” A hint of pity crept into Xu Jinyan’s voice. “Don’t tell me you’re unaware of what she’s done?”

Lin Sui’s face tightened as she stared intently at Xu Jinyan. After a long pause, she asked, “What do you mean?”

“How pitiful,” Xu Jinyan chuckled. “You’re being undermined by your own sister, and you don’t even know it.”

Lin Sui’s eyelashes fluttered, and she froze for a moment, her face etched with astonishment. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

“Do I really have to spell it out?” Xu Jinyan stood up and looked down at her. “Jiang Wanwan’s girlfriend… it’s Wen Xiangzhu.”

Xu Jinyan’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she observed Lin Sui’s expression. Satisfied, she smirked and walked away.

Lin Sui remained rooted to the spot, still in a state of profound shock, unable to process what she’d heard.

How could this be?

Yet the words felt like a seed planted in her mind. Even without consciously recalling them, images of Wen Xiangzhu and Jiang Wanwan together spontaneously surfaced in her thoughts.

It all came back to that first time, when Lin Sui had clearly been on a date with Jiang Wanwan, only for Wen Xiangzhu to suddenly appear, pull Jiang Wanwan into an intimate embrace.

So everything had been a clue.

Lin Sui took a deep breath, calmed herself, and sat down in the wooden chair before her.

Xu Jinyan had already left, and there was no way to get any more answers from her.

She set down the gift she’d just bought, hesitated for a moment, then took out her phone and called Zhu Huan.

“Zhu Huan.”

On the other end, Zhu Huan clearly froze upon hearing her voice.

“What’s wrong? Why so serious?”

“I have a question to ask you.”

Lin Sui lowered her gaze and asked softly, “What’s the relationship between Jiang Wanwan and Wen Xiangzhu?”

There was a pause before the response came. “Aren’t they just good friends? They both used to go to No. 3 High School.”

Lin Sui pressed her lips together, realizing she wouldn’t get any further. She hung up.

She scrolled through her contacts and called Jiang Qing.

“Sister Jiang Qing, I remember you were the one who told Auntie Jiang about me breaking off the engagement with Wanwan.”

Jiang Qing hadn’t expected Lin Sui to bring this up. “Right, why do you ask?”

“I have only one question,” Lin Sui said, pausing. “I hope you won’t lie to me.”

“Okay, ask,” Jiang Qing replied.

“Is Jiang Wanwan really with Wen Xiangzhu?” Lin Sui asked softly.

After she spoke, there was a long silence on the other end.

Just as Lin Sui thought the call had dropped, Jiang Qing finally sighed. “So you know already.”

“So it’s true.”

Lin Sui tightened her grip on the phone.

“Mm-hmm,” Jiang Qing said. “Wanwan and Wenwen told me themselves that day. To be honest, I was surprised too.”

She paused. “We kept it from you because we were afraid you’d get the wrong idea… but you would’ve found out eventually.”

“…”

Lin Sui didn’t hear anything Jiang Qing said after that.

She mumbled a few half-hearted responses before hastily hanging up, her mind blank.

How could this be? She and Wen Xiangzhu were still… How could Wen Xiangzhu have been with Jiang Wanwan at that time?

No, it might not have been then… It could have been earlier, when Lin Sui wasn’t aware.

Lin Sui lowered her head, unsure of her own feelings.

She only felt anger, intense anger.

What was she angry about?

Probably because Wen Xiangzhu had seduced Jiang Wanwan.

Her fiancée had been stolen by her own sister. Even though she had no feelings for this fiancée, she couldn’t tolerate this deception.

After a moment, Lin Sui stood up and turned to look at the gift she had just bought, sitting on the wooden chair. She found it bitterly ironic.

Forget it…

She still took the gift with her.

From the moment she got in the car, she remained silent. Even the driver noticed her foul mood and tactfully kept quiet.

As the car slowly came to a stop in the garage, the driver watched Lin Sui open the door and get out, relieved.

But suddenly, he saw a gift bag on the back seat through the rearview mirror. He quickly picked it up, ran after her, and called out, “Eldest Miss!”

Lin Sui turned to look at him.

“Your things.”

The driver pushed the bag forward.

Lin Sui looked down at the gift bag, stared at it for a moment, paused silently, and finally took it.

“Thank you.”

Lin Sui took the elevator straight to the second floor. It was quiet, but when she was about to go back to her room, Wen Xiangzhu came out from the next room over.

“Sister, where did you go?”

She froze, then pretended not to hear and opened the door to go in.

Wen Xiangzhu blinked in confusion and followed her.

“Sister…”

She suddenly noticed the bag in Lin Sui’s hand and asked,

“What’s that?”

“None of your business.”

Lin Sui held back her anger. “Stop bothering me.”

“Sister, what’s wrong?”

Wen Xiangzhu’s eyelashes trembled, but instead of backing away, she stepped closer. “Did something happen? You can tell me.”

“Tell you? What’s there to tell you?”

Lin Sui sneered and turned to stare at her. “Why are you always following me? Why are you always imitating me? I don’t want to talk to you, okay? Can’t you see that? Why are you crawling all over me? Are you that desperate for attention?!”

“I…”

Wen Xiangzhu stared blankly at Lin Sui, her face pale, her eyes reddening, her lips trembling as she tried to speak.

“What?”

Lin Sui looked at her, her voice cool. “Still here? Do you need me to kick you out?”

As the words hung in the air, Wen Xiangzhu’s eyelashes quivered, her eyes brimming with hurt. She quickly lowered her head, clutching the hem of her skirt, and shuffled slowly out of the room.

She paused, tilting her head slightly, as if waiting for something.

But the next moment, the sound of the door slamming shut echoed behind her.

Wen Xiangzhu flinched, startled, and finally burst into tears. Turning to stare at the tightly shut door, she murmured, “I’m sorry…”

After standing there for a long while, she wiped the tears from her face and trudged back to her own room.

On the other side of the door, Lin Sui sat at her desk, staring at the gift bag resting there, her expression darkening.

She had even gone out of her way to pick out a present for Wen Xiangzhu.

How utterly laughable.

She scoffed bitterly, stood up, and tossed the gift bag into the corner of the desk.

Along with the bell-adorned puppy plushie that Wen Xiangzhu had insisted she display earlier.

Lin Sui pressed her lips together and shoved the plushie back into a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind.

After the anger subsided, Lin Sui sat motionless, her heart feeling hollow.

Had she said something too harsh just now?

Little Calico, the calico cat, slipped into the room at some point. Meowing twice, it leaped onto the desk and gazed curiously at Lin Sui.

Lin Sui looked at the kitten.

No, it was no longer a kitten. It had grown quite a bit.

She had found it with Wen Xiangzhu in the Laboratory Building, and they’d brought it back out of pity.

She remembered it had a name, given to it by Wen Xiangzhu: Suizhu.

It combined both of their names.

Lin Sui watched it for a while. The kitten was quietly licking its fur, and watching it somehow lifted her mood.

She’d been holding onto anger earlier, her emotions unstable and irritable. She hadn’t been able to stop herself from snapping at Wen Xiangzhu.

But when she thought about it, even if Wen Xiangzhu really was with Jiang Wanwan now… it didn’t really matter.

Right?

Yeah… it was just a small thing. She wasn’t anyone special to Wen Xiangzhu, so it wasn’t her place to care… even if she was angry.

Forget it.

It wasn’t a big deal!

But for some reason, Lin Sui was still furious. She couldn’t accept it.

And the main reason she couldn’t accept it wasn’t because of Jiang Wanwan, but because of Wen Xiangzhu.

They’d done… such intimate things together. How could Wen Xiangzhu just turn around and get involved with someone else?!

Or was Wen Xiangzhu already with Jiang Wanwan all along, and she’d shamelessly done those things with Lin Sui?!

Lin Sui’s thoughts were tangled.

Suizhu yawned, then gracefully leaped onto her lap and licked its paw.

Lin Sui: “……”

She looked down at the cat on her lap and sighed.

“You’re so lucky,” she said, pausing. “Being a cat is great—no worries, no stress. You just eat and sleep, and that’s it.”

Suizhu ignored her, closing its eyes as it licked its fur.

Lin Sui thought for a moment. “Did I go too far just now?” she asked.

She looked at Suizhu, not expecting an answer, but still felt compelled to say, “Should I apologize…? No, why should I apologize? I’m the one who’s been kept in the dark!”

“……”

“Whatever. I’ll just take a bath and go to sleep.”

Meanwhile, Zhu Huan, after much agonizing, finally called Jiang Wanwan and asked to meet.

“What’s this about? You’re being so mysterious,” Jiang Wanwan said, exasperated as she sat down in the coffee shop.

“I just… wanted to ask you about En’en,” Zhu Huan said, coming up with an excuse.

“You mean Xu Nianen?” Jiang Wanwan’s eyebrows arched. “You didn’t actually… abduct her, did you? Aunt would never let you off if she found out!”

“Ah…” Zhu Huan fidgeted, struggling to find the right words. “I think En’en likes me. If your aunt were a little more easygoing, I would have asked my mom to approach the Xu family about this ages ago.”

Jiang Wanwan nodded, taking a sip of her latte. “I think you should be careful about that.”

Seeing this, Zhu Huan sighed, stealing a glance at Jiang Wanwan’s expression. Seeing nothing amiss, she continued.

“How can I wait? You don’t have a crush, so you don’t understand.”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Wanwan paused, then snapped, “Who said I don’t have one?”

“Then… do I know him?” Zhu Huan pressed.

Jiang Wanwan considered for a moment. “Well, you’ve met him before. Remember when Wenwen took us to celebrate Sister Sui’s birthday? You were there!”

Zhu Huan blinked. From the tone, is her crush not Wen Xiangzhu?

Then… who else was there that day?

“Wait… you mean… Sang Shinian?” Zhu Huan’s expression froze.

“Yeah. Surprised?”

Jiang Wanwan chuckled softly.

“Ah…” Zhu Huan opened her mouth. “Yeah, I am surprised.”

But didn’t Jiang Qing say it was because of Wen Xiangzhu? Why is it Sang Shinian now?

And… isn’t Sang Shinian Jiang Qing’s friend?

Zhu Huan had a good guess, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

She hesitated before asking, “How’s your relationship with Wenwen?”

“It’s pretty good,” Jiang Wanwan said with a smile. “Wenwen even taught me how to get closer to Sister Sang!”

“How did she teach you?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Alright then…”

Zhu Huan lowered her head in thought for a moment before asking, “Do you know who Wen Xiangzhu likes?”

“That… she never told me,” Jiang Wanwan replied. After a moment of pondering, she shook her head. “I really don’t know.”

“Then do you feel that Wenwen and Suisui are a little too close?” Zhu Huan pressed.

At these words, Jiang Wanwan froze, genuinely considering the question for the first time.

She had always felt this way, but she had long ago dismissed it as a natural closeness between sisters who shared compatible personalities—a perfectly normal bond.

But now, with Zhu Huan bringing it up, the feeling had taken on a different, unsettling tone.

“What are you implying?” Jiang Wanwan blinked, looking at Zhu Huan in surprise.

Zhu Huan smiled. “Just wild speculation. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Zhu Huan,” Jiang Wanwan frowned, sensing something was off. “Did you ask me out today just to get information out of me?”

“No, no, you’re overthinking it,” Zhu Huan said, rubbing her nose and smiling sheepishly.

“Hmm?” Jiang Wanwan clearly didn’t believe her. “Zhu Huan, did you know you’ve always rubbed your nose when you feel guilty, ever since you were little?”

Zhu Huan froze, then awkwardly lowered her hand.

“It’s really not… Ah, don’t overthink it.” She paused. “I just mainly wanted to know how En’en was doing, that’s all. Nothing else.”

“…”

“Really.”

“…”