I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 7

In truth, unless it was absolutely necessary, Ni Songan didn’t want to contact anyone associated with Quxi Orange County.

The conversation she’d overheard between Ni Tianjiao and Althea during her last visit had rung an alarm bell. From now on, she had to be extremely careful with her words and actions whenever she was around them. Her intuition told her that Ni Tianjiao might have already sent someone to keep an eye on her.

However, since they were still family on the surface, she couldn’t just sever all ties immediately. Besides, that would be incredibly cruel to Ni Tianjiao. Songan had no intention of hurting a mother who had lost her child, the blow was already devastating enough.

Unfortunately, she still couldn’t find any trace of where Heloise had gone.

Songan gripped her phone tightly, the sharp line of her brow casting a shadow over her eyes, obscuring her expression.

Rosalind replied quickly after finishing her work, sending over a list of trinkets that Modesty was said to enjoy.

[Rosalind: These are pretty much the things she likes.]

[Rosalind: If you don’t mind, I can prepare the gifts for you in advance.]

[Ni Songan: Great, I’ll leave it to you then. Thanks.]

After a busy stint in the lab, Songan finally checked her phone and found several text messages and one missed call.

The texts were from Modesty, who had returned to school. She was pouring her heart out, complaining about how dreadfully boring it was to be alone and urging Songan to come visit her soon.

As for the missed call…

Looking at the name “Ni Tianjiao” on the screen, Songan felt a wave of reluctance. But since Ni Tianjiao didn’t know Songan had overheard the lounge conversation, failing to call back would be suspicious and would likely deepen the woman’s doubts.

“Hello, Mom. I was busy in the lab just now and didn’t notice my phone. I’m free now, so I wanted to see what’s up,” Songan said after replying to Modesty, finally dialing Ni Tianjiao back.

The call was answered almost instantly, and the topic made Songan’s nerves tighten: “Honey, when are you coming back to Quxi Orange County? Are you free tomorrow?”

Why does she want me there tomorrow?

Songan glanced at her schedule. “I have two classes tomorrow. If I come back, it’ll probably be in the evening.”

“That works,” Ni Tianjiao sounded visibly relieved. “Evening it is then. Althea and I were so busy last time that we forgot to mention something important to you.”

“What is it? Can’t you tell me over the phone?” Songan asked, trying to sound casual. Unfortunately, Ni Tianjiao remained tight-lipped and wouldn’t reveal a thing.

“Alright then, see you tomorrow, Mom. Bye.”

The call ended. Songan felt a heavy weight in her chest, like a cloth soaked in water pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.

No matter how she looked at it, this didn’t feel good.

If she hadn’t overheard that conversation, she might have dismissed this as a normal chat. But after that experience in the lounge, it was hard to convince herself that Ni Tianjiao just wanted to “catch up” with her daughter.

Then there was Althea… Songan wasn’t sure of her stance yet. Last time, she didn’t seem to buy into Ni Tianjiao’s suspicions, but time had passed. Who knew if the couple had reached a consensus by now?

Songan returned to her dorm feeling like a walking ghost. Seeing the stacks of study plans on her desk, she forced herself to suppress her anxiety and dive into her work.

Whatever happened, tomorrow only had two outcomes: either she’d be exposed and forced to explain her origin, or they’d all act as if nothing was wrong and she could continue her life.

If it was the former, her studying might be for nothing, but if it was the latter, life would go on, and being prepared would save her from having to play catch-up later.

The following evening, a car arranged by Ni Tianjiao picked Songan up from Nanzhou University and drove her back to Quxi Orange County.

Songan felt a strange sense of irony. She had only just left this place, yet fate was forcing her back so soon.

Since she had eaten before leaving, her arrival coincided with their dinner time. Not wanting to disturb them, she simply greeted them and headed up to the study to wait.

It wasn’t long before Ni Tianjiao and Althea joined her. The three of them sat together, much like their previous conversation.

“Why don’t you stay over tonight?” Ni Tianjiao noticed the backpack Songan had kept close by, sensing her urge to leave quickly. “Do you have something urgent at school?”

Looking at her mother’s concerned eyes, Songan found it hard to lie. “…No, I just thought about heading back early to get a head start on a course project for this semester.”

“We have computers here too. If you brought your files, you can work on them here,” Ni Tianjiao said. They chatted briefly, and the atmosphere softened.

Seeing that Songan was no longer as stiff as when she first walked in, Althea, who was smiling beside them, helped transition to the main topic. “By the way, Xiao An, is it alright if I call you that? We noticed you didn’t seem to like the name Heloise very much, so your mother and I decided to stick with Xiao An.”

“That’s fine.” Even though she didn’t know why they suddenly decided to change the way they addressed her, Songan forced herself to stay calm, refusing to let her mind spiral toward the worst-case scenario.

Althea was usually quite stern in public, but she was warm toward the younger generation. “Good. It’s like this, Xiao An. Your mother and I see that you’ve reached adulthood and are doing excellently at school, so we wanted to ask what your plans are for the future?”

Regarding her future, Songan knew she had transmigrated into this world after her death in her previous life. Her main goal was to survive and avoid the tragic ending from the original story. After that, she wanted to build a life of her own.

More than anything, she wanted to continue her education.

Sharing this with the original host’s mother shouldn’t have any negative impact, provided the original host hadn’t already shared a different dream with Ni Tianjiao.

She had to bet that the original host hadn’t discussed this much.

“I plan to pursue further studies after graduation,” Songan told Althea and Ni Tianjiao. “I’ll likely stay in research.”

Ni Tianjiao remained silent. Songan couldn’t tell from her expression if that was the “correct” answer or not.

Althea nodded, seemingly understanding and supportive. “That’s quite good.”

Songan wasn’t sure if Althea genuinely meant it or was just being polite, so she simply offered a faint smile.

After a moment of silence, Althea and Ni Tianjiao exchanged a look. Althea continued, “Even though we know your plan now, your mother and I still wanted to ask you something.”

“If we asked you to help learn how to manage the Rodney family business, would you be willing?”

“What?” Songan thought she had misheard.

The Rodney family business? They want me to manage it?

“Children of the Rodney family usually start learning the ropes once they come of age. Your mother and I discussed it and felt it wasn’t too late to ask for your opinion,” Althea explained. Since Songan was already an adult when Ni Tianjiao brought her into the family, the matter had been sidelined by the wedding preparations. They had only just found the time to address it tonight.

If Songan agreed, they would arrange for her to enter the company and start from the ground up.

However, seeing as Songan had her own plans, they didn’t want to interfere too much. They simply wanted to lay the options out for her.

“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine. We fully support your education,” Ni Tianjiao said softly. “Or, don’t feel pressured to answer right now. You can come to us whenever you’ve made up your mind.”

“…It’s okay, I can answer now,” Songan said, her emotions steadying after the initial shock. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have much interest in business affairs. Besides, isn’t there still my sister, Modesty?”

At the mention of Modesty, Althea’s gaze softened. “True. There are two children in the family, perhaps she’ll want to try.”

But what if Modesty didn’t want to? Songan thought for a few seconds before saying to Althea, “If Modesty doesn’t want to manage those affairs in the future, I can try to learn then.”

It was her way of saying she’d step up if needed.

Both Althea and Ni Tianjiao looked at her with a hint of approval. “Alright then, thank you for being so understanding, Xiao An.”

They dropped the subject and chatted about Songan’s daily life before concluding the talk.

Songan nodded to her mothers and stood to leave the study, but was suddenly stopped by Ni Tianjiao. “An-an.”

“…Yes? Is there something else?” Songan turned back with a smile, her attitude warm and natural.

Through their interactions, Songan had noticed that Ni Tianjiao seemed particularly easy to talk to when Songan smiled.

She was still torn, did this mean the original host smiled a lot, or not at all? Was this the detail that made Ni Tianjiao suspicious?

Unfortunately, she still had no answer. She could only take it one step at a time and maintain the persona she had built.

“It’s nothing, I just wanted to say, don’t push yourself too hard at school,” Ni Tianjiao walked over and affectionately touched Songan’s face. “Look at you, you’ve lost weight.”

“Eat well at school, and get enough sleep.”

Hearing the motherly advice, Songan felt an unexpected sting in her nose. “I will.”

“Remember to come to Mom if you have any problems. If anyone bullies you, you have to tell me.”

“Okay.”

“Mom loves you. Don’t hide your sorrows from me, I’ll worry.”

“I know.”

“I saw your schedule, you have an eight o’clock class tomorrow morning. If you’re heading back, you’ll have to leave early. If you stay here, you need to go to bed soon.” Ni Tianjiao withdrew her hand, her eyes filled with a tenderness as clear as water.

“Okay. Goodnight.” Songan gave both Althea and Ni Tianjiao a hug before leaving the study.

Support