The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Attraction

When Jiang Zitan arrived home, she saw her adoptive mother at the entrance. Her mother pulled her along, showering her with warmth and concern, especially after noticing her pale complexion and ice-cold hands. She immediately instructed the nanny, Auntie Sun, to boil some stomach-warming soup.

Her adoptive father sat on the sofa flipping through documents; he gave Zitan a nod when she returned.

Jiang Zitan greeted him and then subtly observed the state of the house. Everything remained the same as it was a week ago; there was no indication that a new resident had moved in.

Where is Miss Tao?

Jiang Zitan did not see Tao Yitong in the living room.

“Zitan, come and eat,” Zhao Jinhui said gently to Zitan, then turned carelessly to Auntie Sun. “Go call her down.”

The “her” naturally referred to Tao Yitong. One was addressed as “Zitan,” the other as a cold “her” the gap in intimacy was laid bare in those two phrases.

Jiang Zitan’s brow furrowed. She could detect an even higher level of impatience in her adoptive mother’s tone than a week ago. Zitan already felt guilty toward Tao Yitong; such blatant favoritism only made her more uneasy. However, it was too late to talk to her mother, as she heard the sound of a door opening upstairs.

Jiang Zitan instinctively looked up. A slender figure in a white dress walked down the stairs. Compared to the photo from a week ago, Miss Tao seemed to have lost even more weight. Her face was increasingly pale, giving her an ethereal fragility as if she might collapse with a single gust of wind. Even as an outsider, Zitan felt a pang in her heart.

She pursed her lips; for a moment, she almost wondered if Tao Yitong was being mistreated at home.

“Hello…” Jiang Zitan took the initiative to greet her as Tao Yitong walked downstairs, but the other girl gave no response.

“Your sister is back, why haven’t you greeted her?” Before Jiang Zitan could smooth things over, her adoptive parents’ scolding rang out.

Zitan saw Miss Tao suddenly lift her head, her lively eyes revealing a hint of confusion. This was the first time she had met Tao Yitong face-to-face. The girl was even more endearing than in the photos, and Zitan didn’t notice herself softening instinctively.

“Sister…”

Her voice was soft and light, like a feather brushing against one’s heart. There was none of the resentment Jiang Zitan had expected; she was gentle and entirely non-aggressive, like a soft, small animal.

Sss…

Tao Yitong hissed inwardly. This “Sister” was so sweet it made her own skin crawl. “Little Fish” had told her through reliable intelligence that Jiang Zitan was weak to this specific type of behavior; she hoped the intel wasn’t wrong.

She stole a glance upward. Jiang Zitan was even more beautiful than in her photos, and she didn’t seem cold at all she even smiled at her.

However, Tao Yitong hadn’t ignored her on purpose; she truly hadn’t heard her. Jiang Zitan had instinctively lowered her voice, and the “Hello” was drowned out by a noisy, discordant voice that only Tao Yitong could hear.

Hungry…

The Jiang family’s dinner tonight was lavish. The aroma of the food wafted through the house, causing something else within Tao Yitong to grow restless.

Hungry…

Yes, so hungry. This food smells so good.

The moment that thought surfaced in Tao Yitong’s mind, the noisy voice suddenly became crystal clear!

Eat them. If you eat them, you won’t be hungry anymore! We are one. I’ll help you eat them, and then I’ll feed the power back to you!

There are only a few people here. That’s not enough for you to eat, is it?

Not enough… I want more food…

Then I’ll stuff you down the toilet later. You can follow the sewers and eat as much as you want.

Why not eat them? Look at them that man and woman are so noisy. They’re still nagging and belittling you at the dinner table. Wouldn’t it be better if I helped you eat them? Then they’d never bother you again!

Tao Yitong appeared to be eating quietly, but in reality, she was arguing with the voice in her head until dinner ended. Finally, she watched longingly as Auntie Sun cleared away the leftovers.

The noisy voice was right about one thing: both she and “it” were starving.

Influenced by her supernatural ability, Tao Yitong needed to derive energy from food. Because of this, her stomach was jokingly called a “black hole” by her colleagues. Since arriving at the Jiang house, the portions at every meal were miserably small for her. She had been in a state of starvation for a week straight.

Whenever her power showed signs of weakening, the voice she suppressed would emerge. Lately, it had been getting louder not a good omen. It seemed she really should retire after this mission.

Retirement sounded nice. Should she go back to her hometown and open a barbecue stall? Or work as a security guard at the Bureau? Both seemed good, though with the former, she might eat herself into bankruptcy. As a guard, she could eat at the Bureau cafeteria. Yes, being a guard was better.

Being hungry feels bad, doesn’t it? I can just eat a part of them. I’ll just pull a tiny piece of their souls off. Nothing will go wrong.

The apples looked sweet, the pears juicy, and the plums looked good too. Tao Yitong saw Auntie Sun place a fruit plate in front of Jiang Zitan. It looked delicious.

Jiang Zitan felt a somewhat intense gaze. She looked across the table and found Tao Yitong secretly staring at her fruit plate.

If it really doesn’t work, we can negotiate. Hey! Are you listening to me…

The noisy voice in Tao Yitong’s head stopped abruptly. The sudden silence was so unexpected it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Why did it shut up?

Before she could investigate, she suddenly caught a faint, sweet fragrance one that even seemed to slightly fill the void of her hunger.

The fruit plate was pushed toward her, and the person with the sweet scent sat down right beside her. They had kept their distance earlier, so Tao Yitong hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but now that Jiang Zitan was suddenly so close, she discovered this unique, sweet aroma.

When Tao Yitong looked at Jiang Zitan, there was a hint of poorly hidden surprise in her eyes. The combination of a close-range “beauty attack” and the temptation of the sweet scent made her reflexively swallow. Jiang Zitan didn’t think much of it; she simply felt that Tao Yitong, neglected even in her biological parents’ home, was pitiful.

There really is something wrong with the Jiang family! After lurking for a week, she had finally caught a lead. No wonder Jiang Zitan had been attacked outside. However… the anomaly currently radiating from Jiang Zitan made her feel that the possibility of Zitan colluding with the Ogres was slim.

“Want some?” Jiang Zitan asked softly.

Tao Yitong lowered her head to hide her joy at capturing a clue, then nodded gently.

“Thank you.”

The fruit should have been excellent, but after smelling that sweet scent, the fruit tasted like wax to Tao Yitong. That didn’t stop her from eating them at high speed.

Jiang Zitan looked up at Auntie Sun. Her expression lacked the gentleness she showed Tao Yitong. When she was angry, she didn’t need to scold; her expression alone exerted immense pressure.

Auntie Sun lowered her head guiltily, pretending to be busy in the kitchen. She knew exactly who she needed to please in this house. Having been here a long time, she understood better than Jiang Zitan what Tao Yitong meant to this family. Since the masters disliked this biological daughter, she naturally ignored her as well.

Earlier, when Jiang Zitan asked why she hadn’t prepared a portion for Tao Yitong, Auntie Sun had vaguely lied, saying Tao Yitong didn’t like fruit. Seeing her eating so enthusiastically now, she didn’t look like someone who “didn’t like it” at all!

How could Jiang Zitan not see through Auntie Sun’s true intentions? From this alone, she could guess what kind of life Tao Yitong had been living in this house for the past week.

Her expression darkening, she went into the kitchen. There were things she couldn’t ask her adoptive parents directly, but Auntie Sun, having been with the family for so many years, ought to know something.

“Oh, my eldest lady, just stay out of this.” Auntie Sun peered outside, and after ensuring no one else was at the door, she lowered her voice. “Until she leaves, just stay at your apartment. Don’t worry about the household affairs; the Old Master will handle it.”

The “Old Master” referred to Jiang Hong.

“Auntie Sun, you know why the family doesn’t like her, don’t you?” Jiang Zitan asked.

Auntie Sun began to stammer. “The Master and Madam won’t let me say…”

“Auntie Sun, I am the one paying your salary now.”

Auntie Sun choked for a moment before finally revealing what she knew: “The Master and Madam don’t like her because… she has bad luck.”

Jiang Zitan had imagined many possibilities, but she never expected to hear such a superstitious answer.

“Eldest lady, don’t disbelieve it. She is a jinx! When she was born, she caused the death of the Madam’s mother. At age four, she caused the death of your biological parents! Even the kind person who picked her up and raised her later was jinxed to death by her!” Auntie Sun added mysteriously, “The Old Master had someone read her fortune; they said she is a ‘Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter’. Anyone who gets close to her will be killed by her bad luck.”

…Ridiculous.

Since when did Grandpa start believing in that? Her adoptive parents too neglecting their own child just because of a charlatan’s words?

Jiang Zitan wasn’t sure if her parents were truly capable of this, but her Grandpa wasn’t that senile. There had to be a hidden story behind this that even Auntie Sun didn’t know.

“Auntie Sun, Tao Yitong is the daughter of the Jiang family, and… she is my sister. I understand that your generation believes in fortune-telling, but if you find it inconvenient to continue working for our family, I can provide a suitable sum of money for you to retire now.” Jiang Zitan’s tone was flat and polite, but Auntie Sun broke into a cold sweat.

“No, no, no! I’ve worked for the Jiangs for so many years, I have feelings for the family. Sigh, I’m just an old fool…” She could hear that Jiang Zitan truly intended to let her go. Auntie Sun never expected Jiang Zitan would protect the “true” heiress so fiercely.

Everything that happened in the kitchen was recorded by a hidden camera in the corner. Certain important information was immediately relayed to Tao Yitong.

Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter? Fortune-telling?

Tao Yitong frowned in thought. This person was suspicious; she would investigate later.

Unexpectedly, the first person to stand up for her after returning to this house was Jiang Zitan, the person she had been cautiously wary of. Tao Yitong looked toward the kitchen. In truth, the feeling Jiang Zitan gave her was very similar to her Tao parents not just in appearance, but in an inner temperament.

She was the only person in the Jiang family who made her feel relatively comfortable.

When Jiang Zitan came out carrying some small desserts, she saw Tao Yitong staring blankly toward the kitchen. When the girl saw her, she instinctively flashed a sweet smile.

Jiang Zitan’s heart softened, and a thought occurred to her.

Since the girl already called her “Sister,” having a cute and obedient younger sister wouldn’t be bad. If her adoptive parents truly couldn’t set aside their prejudice, and if Tao Yitong didn’t mind, she had several properties of her own…

Jiang Zitan set down the plate of desserts. Her gaze accidentally swept across the previous fruit plate; it was completely clean. Did my sister not get enough to eat at dinner? Then more desserts should be enough, right?

But Jiang Zitan knew nothing of Tao Yitong’s true appetite. Late that night, while handling an emergency work task, she noticed a dim light in the kitchen. She thought it was Auntie Sun, but when she walked over, she locked eyes with Tao Yitong who was crouching in front of the refrigerator, a cold bun in her mouth, staring back at her in pure terror.

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