I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 21

The curly-haired girl leading the group had sparkling eyes and a chirpy tone. “Hello, Sister! Is Modesty in this dorm? We were just coming to ask her to hang out.”

Before Ni Songan could speak, Modesty stepped forward from behind her and turned them down. “Sorry, today isn’t really convenient.”

“Eh? But didn’t we agree”

The curly-haired girl’s mouth was quickly covered by another girl with short hair. “Hahaha, alright then! We’ll come back next time.”

Songan didn’t quite understand what was happening as she watched the group of girls say a whirlwind goodbye and run off.

“I thought you said you were fine?” Songan turned to ask Modesty.

Modesty didn’t bat an eye. “I suddenly remembered I left something at Quxi Orange County that I need urgently tonight. I’ve decided to head back with you after all.”

Songan shrugged. “Alright. By the way, are they your friends?”

“I suppose so,” Modesty hesitated, which was rare for her. “Daphne and Flora were the first to befriend me, and then somehow a whole group of us started hanging out together.”

“Flora? Flora Adams?” Songan immediately caught the name.

“Yes, the short-haired girl from just now. Why? Is something wrong?” Modesty asked, curious as to why Songan cared about that particular person.

“It’s nothing. I just have some business dealings with the Adams family. I heard their next heir is named Flora, so I wondered if your friend was related. I didn’t expect it to be her.” Songan couldn’t exactly say that Modesty’s friend was an antagonist who would stir up a lot of trouble in the future.

And besides…

Songan dropped the topic. “Anyway, instead of that, let’s think about what to have for dinner. Since it’s been a while, should I have Rosalind prepare a feast?”

Modesty readily agreed.

As soon as they got into the car, Songan opened her laptop to work while Modesty sat on the other side to nap.

However, Songan found herself unable to click to the next page of her document. Her gaze remained fixed on the screen, the blue light reflecting in her eyes like a stone dropped into a deep, bottomless pool.

Right now, nothing had truly begun yet. She was handling the affairs of the Rodney family, and although Ni Tianjiao and Althea had still passed away, Songan could see from her own current situation that the plot wasn’t set in stone.

That car accident and the whispers in her dreams felt more like tricks meant to toy with her. Aside from briefly affecting her relationship with Modesty, they hadn’t caused any substantial damage.

So, what about Flora? And Hilda? Could she reach a win-win situation with them?

Hilda’s behavior at the funeral made it impossible for Songan not to worry, but she wanted to interact with those two more before making a final decision. If they had ulterior motives regarding Modesty or the Rodney family, Songan would have to be extremely cautious.

Songan was walking with such large strides that it took a reminder from Zhu Tingran for her to realize she was acting a bit too frantic.

Adjusting her pace, she stood before the closed doors of the conference hall and took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

She pushed the doors open to find all the shareholders already present.

This was Songan’s first formal meeting and analysis of the Rodney family’s corporate situation since taking over as head of the family. The shareholders had previously delayed the meeting out of consideration for how busy she would be just starting out.

Now that she had a handle on things, Songan had proactively scheduled the meeting. “My apologies for taking so long to meet with you all officially.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“…”

She shook hands with the executives as they stood up. Most of the people in the hall were familiar faces Songan had seen at funerals or past banquets. Most were quite friendly toward her, with the exception of Hilda Rodney.

“How marvelous. We finally get to welcome our ‘rare guest.’ You certainly kept us waiting,” Hilda said. Her mouth was stretched into a wide smile, but her eyes remained cold and unmoving as she stared Songan down. Her tone was thick with mockery, so much so that an older woman sitting next to her nudged her with an elbow to tell her to stop.

Hilda gave a light scoff, rolled her eyes, and turned her head away, refusing to look Songan in the face.

The surrounding elders weren’t sure how to ease the tension between them. Bertha Rodney, the eldest aunt to Songan and Modesty and Hilda’s older sister, walked from the front and smacked Hilda on the back of the head. The force made Hilda’s head snap forward, nearly hitting the conference table.

“Where are your manners, Hilda? Have you forgotten all your etiquette?”

“Sister!” Hilda clutched her head and looked at her with dissatisfaction, but though she was angry, she didn’t dare speak back. She simply went back to glaring silently at Songan.

Songan’s gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds before she turned to Bertha. “Aunt Bertha…”

The woman before her had piercing blue eyes and sharp, upward-slanting eyebrows. She carried an imposing, natural authority, and her black attire made her look even more cold and stern. She gave Songan a slight nod. “Continue. I will deal with Hilda, she won’t step out of line again.”

After acknowledging everyone, Songan declared the start of the meeting.

The Rodney business sectors included jewelry, ready-to-wear clothing, and perfume, targeting a clientele with significant financial standing. The brands operated by the Rodney family had nearly a century of history and were well-known among the elite.

What concerned Songan was that under Althea’s leadership in recent years, the Rodney brand had begun a transition, gradually developing new business lines. Although the scale was still small and the profits were low, Althea’s previous arrangements made it clear she wanted to expand this scope.

However, based on today’s meeting, several shareholders believed they should cut some of these production lines, specifically hinting at the daily necessities production Althea had insisted on maintaining.

Indeed, after reviewing the records, Songan found that Althea’s work in this area was currently a money-losing venture.

But she couldn’t just say she was giving up, she wanted to see the situation for herself first. She didn’t understand the intricacies of business, but she could understand the materials Althea left behind. Althea had wanted to create a sub-brand dedicated to making clean, reliable daily products, aiming for high volume with low profit margins.

The direction seemed right, she just didn’t know where the problem lay. The documents she had were incomplete, but according to Zhu Tingran, more detailed information was at the factory.

Songan mused, “Prepare for it then. We’ll go for a site inspection soon, but don’t tell the people there. We’ll treat it as a surprise inspection.”

She had heard of, and seen, many people who only did the bare minimum for appearances while acting differently behind the scenes.

In theory, telling Zhu Tingran her thoughts carried a risk of a leak, but Songan chose to trust her for now.

Another plan in Althea’s legacy was to create a sub-brand focused on “fast fashion” for young people. The pricing would be significantly lower than Rodney’s usual ready-to-wear lines, with a slight decrease in craftsmanship detail to focus on design innovation.

Unfortunately, this plan was still in the draft stage. If Songan intended to see it through, it would require a lot of effort.

She decided to put it on hold for now. Perhaps Modesty could take over the company’s business quickly once she reached adulthood? Until then, Songan just needed to protect the Rodney family enterprise. It was best to be a little conservative for the time being.

***

Modesty had been coming home very frequently lately. After asking, Songan realized that during the time she had been neglecting her, Modesty had unilaterally assumed Songan hated her and didn’t want to deal with her, which was why she hadn’t dared to come back.

Since Songan had sought her out immediately after finishing her work, it was obvious she didn’t dislike her. With the misunderstanding cleared, the frequency of their meetings skyrocketed. More often than not, Modesty would burst into the study or the company office to find Songan.

Cordus had added a new sketching class for Modesty’s grade, so Modesty wanted to show off her new skill. As soon as she returned to Quxi Orange County, she scurried into the study and told Songan to sit at the desk and not move, acting as a quiet model.

Songan had never studied drawing systematically, she’d only ever done simple doodles as a kid, so she didn’t know how to sit still as a reference model. She felt like her hands and feet were constantly out of place.

Modesty eventually ran over to guide her posture. “Actually, I don’t quite get it either. Sometimes the teacher brings in a model, and sometimes they just give us a photo. Just do whatever makes you comfortable. Weren’t you flipping through files? Just go back to what you were doing!”

“Alright.” With those words, Songan went back to her documents, only looking up at Modesty during her breaks.

It was supposed to be a “quick sketch,” but Modesty spent ages sketching on the rattan chair, her expression full of frustration.

Songan was amused. “Is it really a quick sketch? I feel like it’s a slow-motion drawing.”

“My skills are just lacking…” Modesty hid her face behind her sketchbook in shame, leaving only her eyes visible, looking quite pathetic.

She specifically kept the side with the drawing of Songan facing her, so Songan couldn’t see what she had actually drawn.

Songan’s interest was piqued. Her work was at a stopping point anyway, so she pushed back her chair and sat down next to Modesty. The girl, who had been peeking out, immediately covered her face completely. “You can’t look!”

“I really can’t see? Oh well…” Songan said, her tone laced with a bit of feigned disappointment. After spending so much time with Modesty and knowing her true nature, she had occasionally picked up Modesty’s habit of acting pitiful.

Modesty was silent for a moment before reluctantly revealing a corner. “I’ll only show you this tiny bit.”

The paper revealed only the hand holding the document. It was a bit rough with some smudged lines, but the shape was captured well.

The lines extended along the curved paper, and Songan couldn’t see any more. “I think you’re doing great. The hand looks really good!”

Modesty gave a rare, bashful smile, but she refused to give an inch on the rest, mysteriously hugging the sketchbook and walking away.

Songan guessed she was taking it back to her room and would likely be back soon. Sure enough, Modesty returned a short while later.

“By the way, Sister, do you want to go out for dinner?” Modesty asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Songan didn’t mind what she ate, she was mostly interested in what Modesty wanted. “Do you want to go out?”

“Not exactly,” Modesty said, tapping away on her phone. “My aunt invited me out for dinner.”

“It’s strange. She never used to care much about me, but now she’s being so enthusiastic.”

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