After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: She Is Not a Wicked Stepmother

◎ It’s like I went to bed too early yesterday and am now having a nightmare in broad daylight. ◎

The fine rain beat against the car window, forming a curtain of water. The rain continued all the way to the entrance of the largest Louis Vuitton store in the heart of the port city.

Several employees in black suits rushed out of the store.

Leading them was a woman in light makeup. She was wearing a Louis Vuitton jacquard blazer, and her attire was sharp and professional.

Beside her, a person held an umbrella, tilting it slightly to cover the bags in her hands.

A row of people behind her did the same.

The store manager stood in front of a black car in the rain. The car was black and shiny, and its tinted windows reflected her cautious and anxious expression.

The manager bent over, holding up a bag with both hands. “Miss Song, all the new-season bags and accessories are here.”

The car window was slowly rolled down. The manager bravely looked up, but all she saw was a professional female bodyguard in a suit.

The bodyguard’s face was cold. After the manager finished speaking, she turned her head and looked at the person seated next to her. The manager then cautiously raised her eyes, and finally, she saw the main person she was serving this time.

She only saw half of that person’s face.

The side of her face was covered by loose hair. Her hair was smooth and straight from the top of her head to her ears. From below her ears, it curled into an exquisite arc on each side.

This only revealed her small, delicate chin, which was so pale it was almost transparent. It was further accentuated by the slightly curled black hair on the side of her face, reaching a stunning degree. This made the manager recall a rumor.

She lightly waved her hand. Although she didn’t say a word, her condescending, high-ranking demeanor was fully revealed.

The bodyguard immediately received the signal. She turned to the manager and said, “Please wait a moment.”

The manager quickly lowered her head after a brief glance, not daring to meet the bodyguard’s gaze. Several bodyguards immediately got out of the cars behind them. They took the items from the employees and placed them in the row of cars behind.

The cars drove away as the group watched.

“Manager,” the employee holding the umbrella next to her asked curiously, “Who is she? Such a big entourage?”

The manager’s demeanor changed instantly. After confirming that the cars were gone, she dared to slightly lift her chin towards the CBD center building nearby. “That’s her family’s.”

Then the manager casually drew a circle in the air. “And that’s also her family’s.”

The employee gasped in surprise. “She’s…!”

The manager nodded slightly. “Song Zhi. Her temper is not good. Speak softly.”

The employee whispered cautiously, “I heard she has anorexia. If I could get her to eat a bite of my cooking, I’d be rich, right?”

The manager shot a look at the employee, scanning her from head to toe. “Do you think you could even get in?”

The few people, who were speaking cautiously, were completely unaware that a slender figure was standing under the row of trees used for landscaping.

She held a white transparent umbrella and stood there rigidly, not moving.

The person slightly raised the umbrella above her head, revealing a pair of cold eyes.

They were phoenix-like eyes with upward-slanted corners, appearing frigid in the person’s normal, unmoving state.

The person watched the row of cars that had long disappeared and uttered two words, “Song… Zhi?”

Inside the car, Song Zhi suddenly sneezed. The bodyguard next to her immediately tensed up and prepared a wet wipe for her.

Song Zhi waved her hand dismissively. “That’s not necessary. Hey, why did they put my bags in the back again? Seriously, I’ve been wanting this batch of bags for a long time, and now I haven’t even touched them.”

The bodyguard’s stern face showed a hint of apology. “I apologize, Miss. It’s for your safety.”

Song Zhi didn’t hold back and gave him a big eye roll. “Heh.”

The bodyguard lowered his head slightly, not backing down.

Song Zhi: “I really don’t know why I came all this way in the rain.”

Bodyguard: “If you like them, Miss, we can also have them delivered to your door.”

Song Zhi: “Can you leave? Just leave me alone. I want to be by myself, not with a group of people, with dozens of eyes staring at me.”

“I apologize, Miss, this is Mr. Song’s arrangement.”

Song Zhi fell silent in frustration.

She knew that no matter what she said, this person would only repeat these two sentences. She was still foolishly trying to poke a hole in the bubble that surrounded her.

It’s like she went to bed too early yesterday and was now having a nightmare in broad daylight.

The motorcade following her slowly entered the manor.

The cars were all the same black, reflective color as the lead car. This row of cars moved silently in the rain, looking almost solemn.

After driving for nearly thirty minutes through the thousand-acre garden, the Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the foot of the steps in front of the fountain statue and the villa’s main entrance.

This was as far as the car could go. Driving directly into the garage was a privilege reserved for the family head. Unfortunately, Song Zhi was a little bird still living under her parents’ wings.

Although these wings were currently her biggest crisis.

Song Zhi refused the umbrella offered by the bodyguard and casually pulled a black umbrella from the car, opening it herself.

The bodyguard’s lips didn’t move, but his voice came out, his eyes not daring to fall on her as he looked into the distance. “Miss, your manners.”

Song Zhi’s eye-roll, which was halfway done, was held back. She folded the umbrella and threw it at the bodyguard next to her.

The bodyguard, with one hand behind his back, tilted the umbrella towards her. “The boss is waiting for you inside.”

Her smiling expression immediately disappeared.

Song Zhi entered the villa with a blank face.

The villa was located on high ground. The cars could only park next to the fountain, and she had to walk up nearly a hundred steps. The villa was already brightly lit. When she entered the main hall, the well-organized servants wisely and quickly exited through the main door.

A person was already sitting on the leather sofa in the hall.

It was a man in a casual suit, who looked to be in his forties. He had a smile on his face from the moment Song Zhi entered, looking quite amiable.

Song Zhi stood next to him with a cold expression.

The man slowly put down the newspaper in his hand. He meticulously folded the newspaper and then placed it on a tray held by a maid.

After the bodyguards and the last maid left, he said, “Sit.”

Song Zhi sat down opposite the man. Her hands rested naturally on her legs, but only she knew that her body had momentarily tensed up the moment she saw this person. To avoid being noticed, she quickly relaxed, then straightened her back and sat gracefully opposite the man.

The man looked up. Song Zhi happened to meet his gaze for a moment, and she quickly looked away, but it was too late.

As expected, the man’s expression changed instantly. He said coldly, “Who taught you to stare at your elders?!”

Song Zhi secretly rolled her eyes, but on the surface, she lowered her head slightly. “I’m sorry, Father.”

Song Guan’s expression softened slightly. “I’ve already transferred your school records back. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be attending school here in the port city. Also, I’m going to the mainland for an inspection today. While I’m away, don’t do anything to your brother.”

Song Zhi looked up and met his gaze directly. “The last sentence is the real point of you being here today, isn’t it?”

Song Guan ignored her. “The bodyguards will send you to school on time tomorrow.”

Song Zhi stood up, her voice casual yet clear. “I’m not going.”

Song Guan: “That’s not up to you.”

Song Zhi knew he always kept his word, but what did that have to do with her?

She turned and left. Eight bodyguards had appeared behind her at some point. As soon as she turned, four of them reached out and blocked her way.

Seeing that the path was blocked, Song Zhi turned and headed for the villa’s elevator.

The main villa had four floors. The first floor was the hall and the servants’ quarters. The second floor was where she and her nominal younger brother and mother lived. The third floor was for large entertainment facilities, soundproofed for privacy. As for the fourth floor, it was, of course, where Song Guan lived, who was afraid of being murdered even in his dreams.

The bodyguards followed her closely, blocking her path and not letting her move forward.

There was no doubt this was Song Guan’s order, but coincidentally, what Song Zhi hated most was being restricted. The more she was told not to do something, the more she wanted to do it. She could handle a little show of compliance, but this kind of blatant command, this high-and-mighty attitude, was too much. The fact that she hadn’t flipped the table was a sign that she was in a good mood today.

She ducked under the bodyguards’ arms and dashed towards the elevator. The quick-reacting bodyguards immediately followed her and closed the distance. Just as a bodyguard reached out, she slid, smoothly changing direction, and ran to the red wooden staircase railing.

Then, with a turn, she flipped onto the railing and walked up the stairs without looking back.

Without looking, she knew how bad Song Guan’s face was right now, but what did that have to do with her?

The bodyguards stood downstairs, their heads lowered, not daring to look at Song Guan or go upstairs. Song Guan sneered. “You can’t even catch her. What good are you to me?! You’re all fired.”

Then he shouted upstairs, “Your card has been frozen.”

The response was the sound of a door slamming shut upstairs.

Song Guan closed his eyes tightly.

It seemed she hadn’t been taught a lesson in a long time, and her spirit had run wild.

As soon as Song Zhi got upstairs, she regretted it.

She regretted not splashing the cup of tea on Song Guan’s face. Today was a rare opportunity because Song Guan was in a hurry to leave and didn’t have time to “discipline” her.

Threatening to freeze her card at every turn, that’s all Song Guan was capable of.

Well, tomorrow, she wouldn’t be so polite.

When she entered her room, her phone on the table rang twice.

She picked it up. It was a message from her friend Xie Chu.

She looked at her phone. It was 4 p.m. She took her phone and sat on the balcony by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, a fine drizzle fell. The entire villa was shrouded in a light gray haze, which helped her tense heart relax a little.

After not seeing him for a few years, Song Guan was still the same. He only knew how to threaten her with so-called “lessons.”

She hadn’t read the messages yet. She replied first: “Don’t you care about your life?”

Xie Chu was in South Korea. She was a college friend from a day ago. The time there should be 3 a.m.

As for why “a day ago,” it was because today, her school records were transferred back to the port city by Song Guan.

As for why Song Guan was going crazy again, she wasn’t interested in knowing. She just didn’t want him to be happy. If Song Guan was unhappy, she was happy.

Xie Chu replied quickly, so she was clearly still awake. “Miss Song, you can still sleep?”

Song Zhi: “?”

Xie Chu: “You didn’t look at the message, again? Peacock, your spotlight has already been stolen, you know.”

Song Zhi: “…”

She turned off her phone, not bothering to read Xie Chu’s nonsense.

She didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding Xie Chu had about her, always thinking she was like the wicked stepmother from Snow White, unable to tolerate anyone more beautiful than her.

How could she be like that?

She picked up her phone again. Xie Chu was still relentlessly sending her messages. She ignored them all and scrolled to the very top, where she saw a message she had missed—”Shen Ying.”

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