I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 26

“So, are you really carrying that mascot suit back to the drama club?”

Ni Songan leaned against the doorframe, watching Modesty pack away the costume. Beside her stood the robot, now stripped of its fabric skin and reduced to a bare, metallic skeleton.

The cold luster of its mechanical limbs looked a bit comical, but Ni Songan chose to look on with affection.

Modesty had given the robot to her as a gift. It was a project Modesty had built for a competition while following her mentor, designed specifically to entertain audiences. Now, Ni Songan was its new owner.

Watching Modesty’s clumsy attempts at packing, Ni Songan couldn’t stand it any longer. She stepped forward to help. “Here, let me hold it down for you while you pull the zipper.”

“Thank you, Sister,” Modesty said, flashing a sweet smile that only deepened the maternal warmth in Ni Songan’s eyes.

Even though it wasn’t Ni Songan’s birthday today and Modesty wasn’t actually her sister, for a brief moment, Ni Songan truly wished they were family.

“I’m the one who should be thanking you. Is there anything you want? I’ve decided to grant you one wish,” Ni Songan promised solemnly, before adding, “You can tell me whenever you think of something. This promise is valid forever.”

Ni Songan silently added in her heart—even if she and Modesty eventually went their separate ways due to unforeseen circumstances, she would still honor this vow.

“Then I’ll have to think long and hard about it,” Modesty mused, propping her chin on her hand. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were brewing a little scheme.

To Ni Songan, she just looked full of mischievous, quirky ideas. Ni Songan looked down to hide her smile, fixing her gaze on the mascot suit as she changed the subject. “By the way, I have a lot to do today, so I won’t be eating at home. If you get bored, you can go out and play with your classmates.”

Usually, Modesty would spend her weekends with Ni Songan at the Quxi Orange County estate, but today Ni Songan had other plans. She needed to inspect a production line that Rodney had been pouring money into at a loss. The other executives didn’t know much about it, and Zhu Tingran hadn’t offered much explanation.

Based on Ni Songan’s recent understanding of Zhu Tingran, the woman wasn’t just the assistant to the head of the house, she also carried out Althea’s mission: to groom Ni Songan. Zhu Tingran likely wanted Ni Songan to conduct a field inspection so that her own words wouldn’t bias the decision-making of the person in power.

Such a mysterious project piqued Ni Songan’s curiosity. She had set the time last week to visit the outskirts and see the situation for herself. Since the commute was long, she figured she might as well stay overnight at the factory dorms to save time.

However, Ni Songan had been so busy she completely forgot to tell Modesty in advance, only remembering as the moment arrived.

“Where are you going?” Modesty asked, trailing after her. “It’s your birthday, aren’t you going to take a break?”

Ni Songan patted her head. “That’s just how the adult world is, there are always things to be done.”

“Can I come along? I don’t really want to hang out with friends anyway,” Modesty said, clapping her hands as an idea struck. “I’m very well-behaved, you know that.”

“This…” Ni Songan paused, her thoughts momentarily stalling. “I suppose you could, but you have to stay by my side at all times. Don’t go running around the factory touching things, some of those machines are very dangerous.”

Seeing she had gotten her way, Modesty nodded eagerly. “I’ll stay with you the whole time!”

“Then we’re leaving soon. Go check if there’s anything you need to pack.”

As soon as Ni Songan finished speaking, Modesty went bouncing off to get her things ready.

The outskirts, a factory under the Rodney name.

A group of people, heavily bundled in protective gear, stood in the workshop. Beside them, many workers were busy with the finishing stages of the assembly line.

Ni Songan didn’t dare breathe normally until they emerged from the dust-filled zone. Modesty had entered the work area without her mask properly fitted and had let out several loud sneezes, her eyes were still watering uncontrollably.

Seeing the factory director and the staff accompanying them remove their goggles and masks, Ni Songan followed suit and began observing the facilities.

“This area is mainly for finished product packaging. Our workers are responsible for labeling and shipping the orders to warehouses across the country,” the manager explained to the group, which included Ni Songan, Modesty, Zhu Tingran, and several subordinates.

After the factory director and the workshop manager finished giving them a tour of the entire production line, Ni Songan finally understood why Althea had never halted operations here.

Most of the workers hired here were people with disabilities; some wore prosthetics, while others had mobility issues due to illness.

The director explained that, to this day, Nanzhou’s employment protections for the disabled remained inadequate, making it extremely difficult for these workers to find jobs.

In the world Ni Songan originally came from, things were better developed. At the very least, there were policy subsidies for disability employment, and many companies specifically created roles for them. This helped them integrate into society while also easing some of the financial pressure on the businesses.

This small discrepancy was likely due to the novel’s author being unfamiliar with such policies, leading to these differences in the story’s world.

Ni Songan looked over the report the director handed her. Finding no issues, she nodded. “Thank you for showing us around today. I’ll speak with the other board members and try my best to adjust the factory’s business strategy.”

Director Fang shook her hand gratefully. “Thank you. I’m saying thank you on behalf of everyone here!”

“We’ll come back tomorrow to discuss some of the finer details,” Ni Songan said, setting a time for the next meeting and instructing Zhu Tingran to keep a detailed record.

Zhu Tingran walked over to Ni Songan and asked, “Should we head back to the motorhomes to rest then?”

The outskirts were mostly factories and low-rent housing. There were a few small village guesthouses, but the conditions were subpar, which is why Ni Songan and the others had brought several motorhomes.

However, Director Fang misunderstood, thinking they were all squeezed into a single vehicle. She let out a small “Oh!” and tapped her forehead. “You all arrived so suddenly that we didn’t have time to prepare accommodations. The local guesthouses are in poor shape, so if you don’t have enough space, I can arrange something.”

“Many of the workers rent apartments in the nearby complexes. Surely those motorhomes can’t fit everyone? I’ll go ask if there are any spare rooms for you to stay in.” Having said that, she happily hurried off to make arrangements.

Ni Songan stopped Zhu Tingran from explaining and shook her head.

“You and the others stay in the motorhomes. I want to go see their living environment.”

Modesty immediately raised her hand to catch Ni Songan’s attention. “No, I’m going with you.”

Seeing her determination, Ni Songan agreed.

Director Fang returned quickly, accompanied by a woman with a slight limp. She introduced her to the group. “This is one of our workers. She has a spare bed at home and can host you.”

“My name is Qian Duoduo. Hello, bosses.” The woman, who looked to be in her thirties or forties, flashed a bright smile and waved at them.

Ni Songan shook her hand and introduced herself. “No need to call us ‘bosses,’ just call me Ni Songan. Sorry for the trouble tonight, my sister and I might need to borrow your room for a bit of rest.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I live alone, so the guest room is just sitting empty anyway.” Qian Duoduo had a warm, outgoing personality—the kind of helpful, “big auntie” type that Ni Songan felt most comfortable with. “I know the area well, so feel free to ask if you want to know anything.”

Since the preliminary work for the day was finished, Ni Songan said goodbye to Zhu Tingran and the others, then followed Qian Duoduo to her home with Modesty in tow.

Along the way, Ni Songan learned a bit about Qian Duoduo. She was a Nanzhou local, and her two mothers lived in the same complex but in a different building.

Qian Duoduo’s limp was the result of a childhood illness that couldn’t be cured. After growing up, she lived alone, taking part-time jobs that were willing to hire people with disabilities to support herself. She saw her mothers occasionally and lived a fairly comfortable life. Later, when the Rodney factory announced it was hiring disabled workers, Qian Duoduo saw how close it was and applied. That was when she finally gained a stable job.

“Little sister, can I ask you something?” After chatting about her life, Qian Duoduo stared at the elevator doors and turned to Ni Songan. “I’ve got a bit of an uneasy feeling. In all these years, I’ve never seen anyone come down here for an inspection…”

“Is it that the big bosses at the top want to lay off the workers?”

Director Fang hadn’t explained Ni Songan’s true identity to Qian Duoduo, only saying that people from the company were coming. Naturally, Qian Duoduo saw them as fellow young people working for a living and was trying to fish for information.

Ni Songan hesitated. She hadn’t expected the worker to be so sharp in sensing something was wrong. To an extent, what Qian Duoduo said aligned with reality, but Ni Songan wasn’t planning on following the path most people would take. After seeing the place for herself today, she was even less willing to play the villain.

However, she didn’t have enough power to overrule the others yet. This was merely a stalling tactic, unless she could find another way to save this factory that specialized in daily necessities.

“That’s not the case,” Ni Songan said. She couldn’t tell her about the board’s considerations or Althea’s original plan, so she simply promised, “If there are any changes, I’ll try to give a few months’ notice.”

As she spoke, she saw the trust in Qian Duoduo’s eyes and felt a momentary urge to look away, but she forced herself to remain calm, loathing her own hypocrisy in her heart.

Qian Duoduo’s question was a timely reminder to Ni Songan: she needed to think carefully about how to handle this “hot potato” that wasn’t making any money.

Ni Songan had already reviewed the strategy Althea had set, and from her perspective, there were no obvious issues. Operations in the factory seemed normal, so could it be the external marketing?

Ni Songan didn’t want to give up, not just for Rodney’s sake, but for every employee in that factory.

Qian Duoduo gave them the keys to the apartment and told them about the local food, recommending a few places they should try. Qian Duoduo usually ate her mother’s cooking and had initially wanted to invite Ni Songan and Modesty along, but Ni Songan declined, afraid of disturbing her family.

“Alright then, suit yourselves. I’m heading over to see my mothers now!” Qian Duoduo waved goodbye and walked toward the neighboring building with a light step.

Ni Songan and Modesty shared a look and a smile, though it was tinged with a bit of sadness.

“Shall we go out to eat?” Ni Songan patted her on the back.

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