Just listening gave Jiang Chen a headache. He couldn’t imagine trying to reason with people like that. He stole a glance at Lu Chiyuan’s face, which, unsurprisingly, looked grim.

Uncle Lin, whom they’d seen that morning, stood at the door to greet Lu Chiyuan. His expression remained calm, a faint smile on his lips, showing no displeasure despite the Shen family’s tantrums.

He had already reported the situation to Lu Chiyuan over the phone, so he didn’t elaborate further. With a glance, he signaled security to pull the Shen family members aside and led Lu Chiyuan toward the living room.

The living room was a mess—shattered cups, a smashed vase, debris scattered across the floor.

Shen Zhiyi sat on the sofa, her wrist, which she had cut, already bandaged by the family doctor under Uncle Lin’s direction. The doctor sat quietly nearby, a medical kit by his side, fully equipped.

Uncle Lin wasn’t fazed by Shen Zhiyi’s antics. Even if she stabbed herself, there was a doctor on hand for emergency treatment—she wouldn’t die.

Such childish threats didn’t impress Uncle Lin.

When the Shen family saw Lu Chiyuan enter, their loud wails gradually quieted. They had some sense, knowing who they could provoke and who they couldn’t.

Jiang Chen found it amusing but quickly felt exasperated.

In the original story, the Shen family later caused Shen Zhiyi plenty of trouble, playing a significant role in her growing rift with the Lu family.

Lu Chiyuan walked straight to Shen Zhiyi. Standing in front of her, he didn’t lose his temper but first asked about her injury. “How’s your hand? Is it serious?”

Shen Zhiyi turned her head away, refusing to engage with him.

The family doctor spoke up. “It’s not serious. It won’t affect her hand’s function.”

Hearing it wasn’t severe, Lu Chiyuan understood. He sat on the opposite sofa and glanced at Jiang Chen, gesturing for him to sit as well.

Shen Zhiyi looked at him, seeing his cold expression, and felt a twinge of fear. But thinking of her relatives’ tearful pleas, she felt Lu Chiyuan was being unreasonable and heartless.

“Are you firing them because of the peanut in the soup I brought you yesterday? I already said it wasn’t intentional, and you didn’t even eat it. Just fine them some money. It’s not a big deal. Why kick them all out?”

“Then ask them if they’re willing to be fined.”

Lu Chiyuan gave Uncle Lin a look, and Uncle Lin went to fetch the aunt who had cooked the meal.

The moment the aunt saw Shen Zhiyi, she started wiping away tears, whining pitifully. “Xiaoyi, I really didn’t mean it. Please put in a good word for me. You know my family’s situation—my husband’s bedridden, and my son got into trouble a few years ago and can’t work. The whole family depends on me. I just thought I’d take care of you for a couple more years, and once you’re grown and don’t need me, I’d go back to look after my husband and son.”

Jiang Chen pursed his lips. If he hadn’t read the book, he might’ve believed her.

[Her husband’s a lazy bum who refuses to work, and her son molested a girl and got his hand broken. How does she have the nerve to complain here?]

Shen Zhiyi grew anxious seeing her cry, but Lu Chiyuan remained unmoved, listening quietly.

Shen Zhiyi felt stifled. In this house, as long as Lu Chiyuan was around, she had no say.

Was it just because she was only an adopted daughter? As others had said, the Lu family only took her in for the sake of their reputation.

“Brother, her family really is struggling. Can’t you show some compassion?” Shen Zhiyi complained. “She made a mistake. Fine her some money, give her a chance to make amends, and she definitely won’t do it again.”

The aunt, who had been crying, immediately bristled at the mention of a fine. She stopped sobbing, jumped up, and snapped, “No way! Why should I be fined? Xiaoyi, your family’s loaded. A little slip from your fingers would feed us for a lifetime. You’re really after my measly pennies?”

Shen Zhiyi’s face stiffened. Lu Chiyuan gave a cold laugh. “Looks like she doesn’t want your kindness.”

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement. Snowball hopped onto his shoulder, digging up more dirt on the family and tsking as it shared with Jiang Chen.

[Not just ungrateful—she’s hoping to squeeze more out of Shen Zhiyi’s pockets. Her son got a new girlfriend and is pretending to be a rich kid to impress her, bragging about buying luxury cars and villas. He’s been pestering his mom to scam money from Shen Zhiyi.]

[Shen Zhiyi’s money is running dry from supporting that punk and the Shen family leeches. This aunt, seeing nothing left to extort, is planning to sell the villa’s jewelry. Right now, she’s got Shen Zhiyi’s eighteenth birthday gift in her pocket—a ruby necklace Lu Chiyuan bought at an auction, worth about twenty million.]

Jiang Chen was shocked, and Lu Chiyuan couldn’t help but glance at the aunt.

[She’s got an eye for valuables, picking the priciest one.]

Shen Zhiyi was unaware that the Shen family had been dipping into her pockets. Humiliated by Lu Chiyuan’s words, she retorted defiantly, “Brother, you were born with a silver spoon, so of course you don’t understand how much these ‘pennies’ mean to ordinary people. They scrape by just to survive.”

“Shen Zhiyi, before you say that, shouldn’t you settle the accounts first?”

Lu Chiyuan glanced at Uncle Lin, who handed over a tablet with a chart of the villa’s expenses over the past few months. From wages to purchases, anything handled by the Shen family was at least double the usual cost.

Lu Chiyuan pointed at a few data points. “You’re paying every Shen family member a five-figure salary. This aunt gets twenty-five thousand. You say I don’t understand ordinary people, but do you know that their monthly wage is more than many ordinary people earn in a year?”

Shen Zhiyi shot back, “How could anyone earn less than twenty thousand a year?”

In her mind, society was thriving, prices were rising, and clothes or shoes easily cost thousands. How could a family survive if they didn’t make at least twenty thousand a year?

Lu Chiyuan hadn’t expected to hear this from Shen Zhiyi. His gaze toward her turned unfamiliar.

Shen Zhiyi had only been with the Lu family for a few years.

In that time, she never lacked for food or clothing. Her bank account never dipped below a million, and she had Lu Chiyuan’s unlimited secondary card. Anything she wanted, as long as money could buy it, was never an issue.

The Lu family, afraid of wronging her, gave her the best. Had that made her forget her roots?

[The female lead in CEO novels has such bizarre views on money—treating it like dirt one moment, then looking down on the poor the next. She just hasn’t gone hungry. A couple of missed meals would set her straight.]

Jiang Chen stared at the ceiling, silently ranting in his mind.

Lu Chiyuan, sitting nearby, swiped through the tablet. It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back.

Shen Zhiyi had been brought into the Lu family from rock bottom, thrust into the clouds without transition. She wasn’t mature enough, hadn’t experienced enough. Her rebellion and naive cruelty were just for the sake of throwing herself into someone else’s arms, pursuing a reckless love that disregarded others’ lives.

Lu Chiyuan didn’t argue with her. He laid out the expense details for Shen Zhiyi. “You should understand this chart. I’m rich, not stupid. Why would I pay exorbitant prices for cheap labor and waste money pointlessly? All the villa’s staff will be sacked today. And from now on, you’ll cover all the villa’s expenses yourself.”

Shen Zhiyi stared at the soaring expense curves, unable to recall where the money had gone. She vaguely remembered some of the spending, or maybe not.

Before she could sort it out, Lu Chiyuan made two decisions.

Shen Zhiyi’s face alternated between pale and flushed, like a color palette. She no longer cared about pleading for her aunt because she realized another problem—she was broke.

The aunt shrieked, “On what grounds are you firing me? I didn’t do anything wrong! I signed a labor contract. You have to compensate me—a lot of money. If you don’t, I’m not leaving!”

She flopped onto the floor, throwing a tantrum and hurling insults.

Lu Chiyuan’s expression grew darker. Uncle Lin quickly signaled security to drag out the uncooperative woman.

[Why are they taking her away? The ruby necklace is still on her!]

Seeing tens of millions being dragged off, Jiang Chen panicked and turned to Lu Chiyuan. “Shouldn’t we check her? What if they took something they shouldn’t have?”

“What do you mean? You think they’d steal?” Shen Zhiyi exploded, feeling Jiang Chen was mocking her.

She cut him off, jumping up from the sofa. “They’re poor, but they’re not as low as you think. What gives you the right to suspect them? Just because you’re rich? Does money give you the right to slander them?”

Jiang Chen, bombarded with her outburst, hesitated to respond.

He wasn’t just suspecting—they had actually taken things from the villa.

Lu Chiyuan raised a hand to stop Jiang Chen, signaling he didn’t need to argue with Shen Zhiyi. Her words weren’t really aimed at Jiang Chen but were meant for Lu Chiyuan to hear.

The more Shen Zhiyi thought about it, more she felt wronged. Crying, she said, “I know you’re not kicking them out because I gave them money. It’s because they’re my relatives, and you look down on them—and on me. You’ve never taken me out all these years. Aren’t you just afraid people will say you have a sister picked up from the countryside, reeking of poverty and unfit for high society?”

To outsiders, Lu Chiyuan was the perfect heir. As a child, Shen Zhiyi had admired him and wanted to be close, but he was always rushing off. Even when he was home, they barely spoke.

His kindness toward her was based on solving problems, as if their relationship was purely transactional, with nothing beyond money.

Gradually, Shen Zhiyi realized Lu Chiyuan didn’t like her. Her presence seemed to steal a portion of their parents’ love.

She was always cautious around him. Before their parents went abroad, they entrusted her to Lu Chiyuan’s care.

But he was out all day, rarely seeing her. Later, he even bought her a new house and had her move out.

He always kept her at arm’s length.

Shen Zhiyi didn’t know what she’d done wrong or how to make him happy. Until one day, when she got into trouble, Lu Chiyuan rushed to her side and comforted her.

That’s when she realized he couldn’t tolerate flaws or accidents in his life. No matter how much he disliked her, he’d always clean up her messes for her.

This gave Shen Zhiyi an idea. She’d started causing trouble just to see him come running to her.

But lately, her troubles had grown too big to cover up, and Lu Chiyuan was growing impatient.

Shen Zhiyi panicked. She didn’t want to be left alone again. She craved the feeling of being surrounded by people.

Lu Chiyuan was surprised she saw it that way. He and Shen Zhiyi were nine years apart. When she was back, he was already in college, starting a business with friends.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take her out—he was attending work-related events. How boring would that be for a little girl like Shen Zhiyi?

Besides, their parents adored her back then, taking her everywhere. She didn’t need him to take her out.

“I fired them because they took your money and still disrespected you, not because I look down on them,” Lu Chiyuan said calmly. “Adopting you was a family decision. I was happy to have you become my sister.”