The Beloved One Is Always Coveted - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

◎I’m a Mom, Too◎

Meanwhile, Yu Li dared not move recklessly, as the driver had taken her directly to the head of the Tang family.

The Tang family head: Tang Nianyi.

Yu Li worked up the courage to steal a glance. Mmm, it was impossible to tell her age; just by looking at her face, she was a beautiful, very elegant older sister. But putting that face aside, Yu Li felt like she needed to kneel. The Head’s imposing aura was too heavy, almost suffocating her, a little chick who hadn’t even left the school campus yet.

“Yu Li, is that your name, Yu Li?”

The Tang Family Head cordially asked Yu Li about her studies. Yu Li, clutching her backpack straps nervously, gave a formal reply.

“Why aren’t you looking up? Are you afraid of me?”

Just when Yu Li thought she could brush the matter off, she didn’t expect the Tang Family Head to completely deviate from the usual elder’s script. Yu Li instinctively tightened her grip on the backpack straps, mentally picturing a certain fierce female gangster boss from a blood-splatter movie.

“N-no… not at all,” she stammered, raising her eyes to meet Tang Nianyi’s fox-like eyes, which were curved in a smile.

“Good, then. I heard about your background from your mother. You really are a poor child.”

Yu Li’s eyes widened slightly. This was completely different from what she had imagined. The Tang Family Head’s expression was gentle, her eyes full of pity, and she even reached out a hand to gently brush aside Yu Li’s thick bangs.

Yu Li wanted to lower her head again. She had a deep red, crescent-shaped birthmark on the left side of her forehead. Although it was only the size of a fingernail, when she was little, thoughtless classmates often called her an ugly monster, which was why she kept her bangs long to cover it.

Now Tang Nianyi had seen it.

“I… I’m sorry,” Yu Li mumbled, her voice unwittingly tinged with fear as she lowered her eyes.

The shadow of her childhood trauma still lingered in her heart. She didn’t dare look at Tang Nianyi’s expression, afraid of seeing disgust in her eyes.

If that happened, she might cause trouble for her mom.

“How adorable,”

Unexpectedly, Tang Nianyi didn’t show any sign of annoyance. Yu Li felt a hand gently pressing on the birthmark. The warmth seeped from the fingertips to her temple. She heard the Family Head’s voice, which was so kind it almost made her cry.

“I saw your admission photo. You’re a very pretty child.”

Yu Li’s admission photo was taken when she was transitioning from ninth grade to high school. Her ninth-grade homeroom teacher was the photographer, and it was humiliating to have to lift her bangs and expose her whole face in front of her classmates, with the “ugly” birthmark revealed.

The strange looks from her classmates followed, and sure enough, she wasn’t even notified about later class gatherings.

It’s nothing, really. Everyone was just thoughtless. Mom said Yu Li isn’t ugly, it’s really nothing.

Hearing the Tang Family Head’s words, her face flushed red. It was the first time she had been called cute and pretty by anyone other than her mother. She was utterly flustered and at a loss, so she could only slightly raise her eyes, looking at Tang Nianyi with gratitude and admiration, and after a great effort, she managed to whisper a tiny “Thank you.”

Tang Xi happened to walk in with a piece of cake just as she heard that “Thank you.”

Just as she had expected, the girl in the school uniform was small, her eyes were already red like a little rabbit.

Her face was quite fair and clean, though, and that little crescent mark on her temple was actually quite unique.

The only difference from her expectation was probably Tang Nianyi.

No wonder she was brought in by Yang Zhuo; so she came in through her mom’s connection.

I thought she was here for me.

“Xiao Xi, this is Yu Li, Rong-yi’s daughter. She has the same birthday as you.”

Seeing Tang Xi who had just brought in the cake, Tang Nianyi immediately introduced the two to each other. She smilingly took the cake from Tang Xi’s hand and insisted on giving it to the even more constrained Yu Li.

Yu Li hadn’t even turned around to look at the newly arrived Tang Xi before Tang Nianyi pressed down on her shoulder.

The Family Head’s authority, subtly and unintentionally, weighed down on her, making her afraid to move.

“I haven’t had a chance to wish you a happy birthday yet.”

Tang Nianyi’s voice rang out above her head. Yu Li felt that something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

The tall girl on the other side was clearly the Tang Family Head’s daughter, yet right now, it seemed like Yu Li was the main focus among the three of them.

“Yu Li, happy birthday. I hope you’re happy every day in your new year.”

Footsteps gradually approached from behind, finally stopping right beside her, and a cool, indifferent voice also said, “Happy birthday.”

Yu Li’s body stiffened. She glanced at Tang Xi, who had completely chilled her face, then looked back at the smiling Tang Family Head, and forced out another “Thank you.”

The eldest daughter’s expression was terrible. Will she leave me behind on the way to school? She must have a bad impression of me. Will she incite her followers to isolate Yu Li at school?

How far is it from here to Huizhi High? Is there a bus nearby? Will I be late for school from now on?

Yu Li’s mind raced with fantastical thoughts of a miserable life at school when she was caught off guard by a soft, gentle “Jiejie” (older sister).

Her eyes widened, turning toward the source of the sound it was Tang Xi, who looked like she had a bad temper.

How could I possibly accept that? The difference in identity and social standing was clear. Even if she had ten thousand times the courage, she wouldn’t dare call herself the Tang family’s eldest daughter’s older sister.

She helplessly looked at Tang Nianyi, not knowing how to respond.

“You share the same birthday, but Xiao Xi is one year younger than you, so calling you ‘Jiejie’ is appropriate. Yu Li, you’ll be living here from now on, so you need to get used to it.”

The Tang Family Head smiled as she brushed aside Yu Li’s bangs, her finger stroking the birthmark repeatedly.

Yu Li felt like she was a piece of glassware.

She uncomfortably took half a step back, her bangs once again covering her eyes, and her sense of security gradually returned.

Beside her, Tang Xi raised an eyebrow, a smile instantly appearing in her eyes. She looked at her mother, who had been indirectly contradicted, and her mood suddenly brightened.

Tang Nianyi’s expression remained unchanged. She raised her hand to smooth her long hair, which fell to her shoulder, and then said unhurriedly to Yu Li, “I have an online meeting to attend, so I can’t stay with you. Yang Zhuo will take you to find Sister Rong. Yu Li, let’s meet again next time.”

Finally permitted to leave, Yu Li wished she had roller skates to rush straight into her mother’s arms. She quickly followed the black-suited Yang Zhuo and scrambled out.

As the door opened and closed, only the mother and daughter were left in the study. Tang Nianyi’s smile subsided somewhat, and she made a perfunctory show of concern for her daughter: “How was your birthday party? Did you have fun with your friends?”

“What about that girl just now…” Tang Xi, however, was determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Her tone was flippant, but her gaze was sharp: “Mom, she wouldn’t be the young stepmother you found for me and Jiejie, would she?”

“Rong-yi’s daughter… it looks like you’re not just robbing the cradle, you’re going after the grass near your own nest.”

It wasn’t that Tang Xi couldn’t accept her mother finding a young stepmother, but this Yu Li was only a year older than her, not even old enough to legally marry, and was in the same grade as her. Isn’t this just ruining the girl?

Tang Nianyi merely glanced at her, the smile in her eyes replaced by coldness. She said, “This is not your concern.”

Tang Nianyi had two children, but she hadn’t invested much emotion in them. Both children were selected by her, a case of choosing the best of the best from the gene pool, to be the future heirs of the Tang family.

It was just unexpected that Tang Nianyi, who was usually insightful and ruthless, would misjudge her children. Her eldest daughter, Tang Fei, had received an elite education since childhood, but unexpectedly went to Italy to study art when no one was watching. Her whole personality had become dark and gloomy.

She had seen Tang Fei’s paintings: dim, lightless worlds, interwoven with pain and death, where tentacled monsters with vertical pupils emerged from the deep sea bizarre and dark.

The artwork was good, but this child was essentially a failure.

As for her younger daughter, Tang Xi, she hadn’t shown any business acumen since kindergarten. Tang Nianyi no longer placed her hopes on either of her children.

However, she was still her daughter. Thinking it was her daughter’s birthday today, the Tang Family Head softened her tone and wished her, “Xiao Xi, happy birthday.”

Happy birthday?

Was Tang Xi happy?

Boring parties year after year. A group of friends she was tired of seeing, and cakes she was tired of eating, with the same birthday gifts every year. Was she happy?

Of course, she was happy. This year’s birthday was different—she had discovered her mother’s secret.

Soon, she would have to keep this secret with Tang Nianyi.

The estate was vast. Yu Li followed Yang Zhuo, winding left and right until they stopped in front of a small, detached villa. Her mother, Yu Rong, had been waiting for a long time.

Yang Zhuo didn’t escort Yu Li all the way. A short distance from the villa, the sharp woman in the black suit stopped and gestured with her eyes for Yu Li to walk over by herself.

Seeing her mother’s figure from afar, Yu Li no longer hesitated. In the unfamiliar hillside estate, her mother was the only person she knew best. Yu Li was like a tired bird returning to its nest, immediately wanting to rush over for comfort.

But she first said thank you to Yang Zhuo. Yang Zhuo remained expressionless, glanced at the cake in her hand, and coolly said, “Happy birthday.”

Yu Li had already walked a distance by then. She half-turned, her eyes, hidden beneath her bangs, looking carefully and sincerely at Yang Zhuo.

She’s so tall. She looked like one of those powerful bodyguards that a president would have. She was a woman of few words, yet she would wish a stranger a happy birthday.

Their eyes unintentionally met. Yang Zhuo’s consistently cold and calm black eyes were like an arrow shot at high speed, instantly pinning Yu Li on the forehead.

Ah, I’ve been caught!

She hurriedly withdrew her gaze, threw out a “Thank you” without caring if Yang Zhuo could hear her, turned, and ran.

This was the third person to wish her a happy birthday. Yu Li clutched her backpack straps and jogged toward her mother, feeling that the Tang family wasn’t as bad as she had imagined.

The Tang Family Head looked very amiable and even called her cute. Yang Zhuo, though outwardly cold, wished her a happy birthday. What about Miss Tang?

Yu Li felt a little nervous. Tang Xi didn’t seem to like her, and even the cake she held was forced upon her by the Tang Family Head.

And that “Jiejie”?

Yu Li wasn’t quite sure, but her sixth sense told her that life here might not be so comfortable in the future.

After all, she was in the Tang family’s home, which was far less comfortable than being in her own home.

“Xiao Li!”

As soon as she reached her, her mother immediately pulled her into a hug. The late summer evening was getting cooler, and the heat was gradually fading, but her mother’s embrace felt like a warm stove in the dead of winter.

She had to hold one hand high up to prevent the cake from staining her mother’s clothes while struggling to get out, half-jokingly complaining, “Mom, you’re so clingy.”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m a mom, too. How long has it been since we last saw each other? Don’t you miss your mom at all, Xiao Li?” Her mother looked hurt, clutching her chest and pouting, looking incredibly distressed.

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