After Mistakenly Marking My Ex’s Older Sister, the Disabled Alpha Stood Up - Chapter 3

Sometimes, Jin Yunxi felt she didn’t truly understand Yan Qingruo.

Within the Yan family, Qingruo was never valued. Even the household staff treated her with indifference.

Strictly speaking, their first meeting wasn’t at the wedding, but earlier—on the day Jin Yunxi came to the Yan residence looking for Yan Qingmei.

Sunlight streamed through the carved windows of the Yan family’s grand hall. Yan Qingruo, dressed in a pale blue dress, sat quietly in a corner, reading.

“Miss, you’re in my way,” a servant said bluntly, without the slightest respect.

Qingruo didn’t show the least bit of temper. She simply stood up and walked to the garden terrace to play the piano.

Another servant deliberately raised her voice. “Well, if it isn’t our elusive eldest miss. What brings you down from the attic today?”

Several others burst into laughter, treating her as though she were invisible.

Passing by, Jin Yunxi frowned.

“How dare you? She is the eldest daughter of the Yan family. Who gave you the right to be so insolent?”

Her icy aura made the servants pale and bow their heads, too frightened to meet her eyes.

The Jin family was the foremost financial power, and Jin Yunxi, their legitimate daughter, was the future head of the Jin Group. She was not someone they could afford to offend.

After scolding them, Jin Yunxi turned slightly, her tone softening as she asked Qingruo, “Are you alright?”

Qingruo looked up at her, startled for a moment. A flicker of emotion crossed her gaze—something Yunxi couldn’t decipher—before she shook her head gently and replied in a low voice, “Thank you.”

Watching her calm, unruffled demeanor, Jin Yunxi couldn’t help thinking: Why doesn’t Yan Qingruo ever fight back?

She herself was the legitimate daughter of her family, yet after falling ill she had nearly been cast aside. The position she held today was won through relentless struggle and calculated effort.

Later, she would learn it wasn’t only because Qingruo was a Beta. The day Yan Qingmei was born, the family had already abandoned Qingruo.

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After the press conference, the banquet began.

“Secretary-General, Miss Yan has changed.”

Seated on the second floor, Jin Yunxi rose. From her vantage point overlooking the ballroom, she noticed the sudden shift—all attention was drawn to the entrance, like autumn winds sweeping leaves into a single current.

Camera flashes converged like fireflies drawn to the moon.

A woman appeared in a cloud-white backless gown, the skirt as airy as mist. Her long hair was swept into an elegant updo, with a few loose strands curling softly at her ears.

Her brows were like distant green peaks, her eyes as clear as autumn water. She possessed a beauty so precious it made one’s heart stir—irresistible, unforgettable.

“She’s stunning!”

Since her marriage, Miss Yan had almost disappeared from public view. Yet the woman before them was ten times more beautiful than memory allowed.

Indeed, a good marriage seemed to nourish a woman’s radiance.

The reporters surged forward, flashes crackling like lightning.

Lifting her face, Qingruo expected to see Jin Yunxi. Sure enough, she did—her severe business suit replaced by a gown of dignified pale blue, highlighting her tall, straight figure and the proud line of her chin, now only slightly lowered.

Qingruo was keenly aware of it—the fleeting glimmer of heat in Yunxi’s eyes when she saw her. It was gone almost before it appeared, so quickly she wondered if it had been her imagination.

Was Jin Yunxi… captivated by her appearance?

She knew she was beautiful. But wearing makeup styled after Yan Qingmei was still a disguise, never something she truly liked. A faint, self-deprecating smile touched her lips.

“You look beautiful,” Jin Yunxi said, striding toward her—her pace a little quicker than usual.

Beautiful?

Qingruo lifted her gaze, her peach-blossom eyes carrying a turbulent undercurrent that Yunxi could not read. Yet in the next instant, it was gone, calm and smooth as still water.

Almost immediately, Yunxi’s tone cooled. “Why are you wearing Qingmei’s dress?”

Her eyes swept over Qingruo once, then she shook her head with a frown. “It doesn’t suit you. Don’t wear it again.”