Actually, she didn't do anything today, just changed a few details, but she didn't expect it to cause such a big change in the Wen family elders' attitude towards the protagonist.
It's worth noting that in the original story, this meal was what made Wen's parents see through the protagonist's "unrefined" country bumpkin nature, and it was also the beginning of their decision to abandon their biological daughter.
But what did the protagonist do wrong?
She was switched at birth and grew up and was educated in the countryside. While she was simple and kind, her perspective was also limited to her small town. After leaving her familiar hometown and entering the wealthy Wen family, she experienced the gap in living standards and lacked self-confidence. Even if she forced a smile, these shrewd people would quickly see through her.
If she absolutely had to close this gap, Wen Yun couldn't think of a better way than to work even harder.
She genuinely didn't understand why the Wen family elders, knowing that the education and environment of the real and fake daughters were worlds apart, would still despise their already unfortunate biological daughter.
The Wen family believed in "not speaking while eating," so Wen's parents were only polite and hospitable at the beginning. After putting the first bite of food into their own mouths, they stopped talking, maintaining their elegant demeanor while observing Ruan Yu with their eyes.
Wen Yun was also secretly observing Ruan Yu.
The housekeeper chose a short-sleeved nightgown for Ruan Yu, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting her sleeves dirty when picking up food. Ruan Yu's demeanor at this moment was entirely expressed through her movements, which made Wen Yun's eyes light up.
She noticed that the protagonist was making sure she didn't make any mistakes, but she wasn't so reserved that she seemed insecure or timid; she actually seemed quite composed.
As the meal was drawing to a close, Wen's mother put down her chopsticks and asked Ruan Yu, "Xiao Yu, do you like the art studio upstairs?"
Ruan Yu quickly put down her chopsticks, smiled, and said, "I really like it. Thank you, Yunyun, for letting me stay there."
Wen's mother nodded with satisfaction and then asked, "Does Xiaoyu have any hobbies or interests? Mom wants to know more about you."
“I… don’t have any hobbies or interests yet.” Ruan Yu shook her head and said apologetically, “Our school focuses on academics, and I’ve always been focused on my studies.”
These words almost made Wen Yun choke, and she looked at Ruan Yu in astonishment.
Didn't they just agree? They'd just tell their parents what they liked, and Ruan Yu clearly agreed, so why suddenly...?
She unconsciously glanced at Wen's mother, only to see embarrassment on her face and a hint of disdain in her eyes.
—According to the original setting, for a wealthy family like the Wen family, if their children don't have any special talents, it's equivalent to them lacking manners and being unpresentable.
"Xiaoyu, you just played 'Für Elise' for me!" Wen Yun couldn't help but remind her, "Don't you like playing the piano?"
"Xiaoyu can play the piano?!" Wen's mother was surprised.
"I've only learned a little bit from the teachers at school, I don't know if that counts as liking it." Ruan Yu nodded slightly, her voice softening. "What Yunyun just heard is all I know."
"It's alright, Xiaoyu!" Wen Yun quickly said. "Your parents love you so much, they will definitely hire the best tutor for you."
She then looked at the two elders, her voice tinged with a smile: "Right, dear Mom and Dad?"
The two elders of the Wen family exchanged a glance, and it was still Wen's mother who spoke: "Of course, as long as Xiaoyu is interested in playing the piano, I will arrange a tutor for her tomorrow!"
Wen Yun noticed that Ruan Yu's gaze kept changing, as if she was thinking.
After a long silence, she solemnly said, "Mom and Dad, I want to learn both piano and painting. I'll follow your arrangements for the lessons, and I'll definitely try my best! I just don't know if this will be too much trouble for you..."
“It’s great that you have your own hobbies, and your parents support you!” Wen’s mother nodded hurriedly, then asked with concern, “But you’ll be a senior in high school soon, will Xiaoyu be able to keep up with your academic classes?”
"No problem, please don't worry," Ruan Yu replied, giving a shy smile.
Wen Yun knew perfectly well that her mother had only asked casually and hadn't taken these matters to heart at all.
For the Wen family elders and their brother who was far away in another country, Wen Yun, whom they had watched grow up, was their most important family member, while Ruan Yu was just an outsider pawn, useless and discarded, and not even worthy of being given the surname "Wen".
As she was thinking this, she heard Mr. Wen say, "Xiaoyu, I've heard about your adoptive parents' situation and I know how well the Ruan family has taken care of you. Logically, you should change your surname to Wen after you return home, and your household registration should be transferred to our family. But since you will be an adult in a year, I want to give you the choice. What do you think?"
Here it comes, the choice that's no different from empty promises!
Wen Yun cursed inwardly, but kept her mouth tightly shut.
Perhaps because of the psychological trauma left by the suffocating original text, she inexplicably didn't want to advise the protagonist to stay in the wealthy family.
“Thank you, Dad. You’ve gone to so much trouble.” Ruan Yu replied without hesitation. “I will think it over carefully and give you an answer in a year.”
The protagonist's caution relieved Wen Yun.
Mr. Wen was somewhat surprised, and his eyes revealed astonishment.
However, he didn't say much, but just nodded and instructed the butler: "Take Xiaoyu to the guest room to tidy up in a while, see if there's anything missing, so we can buy it as soon as possible."
-
The guest room had already been tidied up, with a table, bed, and all the necessary amenities. The room was decorated in a minimalist style, with white and dark brown as the main colors. Square, cool-toned lights were embedded in the ceiling, casting a clean, bright light that looked like newly installed bulbs.
Just as Ruan Yu finished telling the housekeeper her clothing size and was pushing her suitcase to the corner of the room, she heard Wen Yun's voice from behind her: "The new clothes won't arrive for another day or two, Xiao Yu, you can wear mine for now!"
As she turned around, she saw Wen Yun carrying several sets of clothes in one hand and holding a small bear doll dressed in exquisite clothes in the other, smiling brightly: "You shouldn't mind, right?"
"I wouldn't mind at all! Thank you, Yunyun!" Ruan Yu waved her hand hurriedly, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the teddy bear in her hand.
Those were Wen Yun's favorite Rena Bears. Each one was custom-made from overseas and cost a lot of money. She usually kept them by her bedside and never showed them to anyone.
She saw the housekeeper take the clothes and head towards the wardrobe, while Wen Yun stepped forward and shoved the Rena Bear directly into her arms.
"This is my little Reggie, I'll give it to you from now on!" she heard Wen Yun say with a smile. "This is your first time going to such a far place, having it to keep you company while you sleep will make you feel less lonely at night."
Holding the fluffy teddy bear, Ruan Yu was taken aback at first, then smiled and nodded: "Thank you, Yunyun, I will take good care of it."
After Wen Yun politely said "Goodnight" to her and left the room with the housekeeper, Ruan Yu's eyes suddenly changed as soon as the door closed. She immediately checked the teddy bear in her arms, not even sparing the pockets and small accessories.
...There was nothing there.
There were no cameras or sharp objects.
There's no problem at all; it's just a normal Rena Bear plush toy.
Ruan Yu breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason. She placed the teddy bear on her bedside table, then opened the wardrobe and took out the clothes that Wen Yun had lent her one by one, examining them carefully and even touching the fabric and seams.
Wen Yun gave her a total of five sets of clothes: three sets of loungewear and two sets of outerwear. They were different colors, but all of them were ones she liked. They looked fresh and energetic, and all of them had their tags removed and were clean, just like the nightgown she was wearing.
Based on her aesthetic sense and experience, she couldn't see anything wrong with these clothes.
Gently closing the wardrobe, Ruan Yu sat on the bed, hugged the Rena Bear tightly, and sighed silently.
She actually wanted to believe that Wen Yun in this life was genuinely good to her.
Chapter 6
According to the original text, today's plot has ended. Wen Yun thought about giving the protagonist time to adapt to the new environment, so she returned to her room after delivering the clothes and dolls.
Even though she already knew that the original owner's room was decorated with a "girly pink" theme, the overwhelming pink still made Wen Yun feel awkward every time she saw it.
The chandelier shade and curtains are pink, as are the carpet, wardrobe doors, and curtains; even the blankets and pillowcases are pink.
In contrast, the row of Rena bears placed on the bedside table looked quite colorful.
Wen Yun sighed, sat down at her desk, and began organizing the original owner's study materials.
Today is August 20th, and there are only a few days left before the start of the senior year of high school. When Wen's mother asked Ruan Yu if she could keep up with the academic classes, Wen Yun was actually quite nervous.
After all, she had graduated many years ago, and her university major was a liberal arts subject that was easy to pass. It had been far too long since she had experienced this kind of sprint period.
Fortunately, the original owner's elective subjects were politics, history, and biology. The questions mostly tested comprehension and memorization skills, which were her strengths. The relevant question types and fragmented knowledge points were also in the original owner's memory. Otherwise, she would have been worried that she might have given the Wen family a fright.
Referring to the original owner's memories, Wen Yun roughly categorized the review materials and neatly placed them on her desk. Just as she was considering whether to do some practice questions before bed to get used to the routine, her phone on the desk lit up.
She picked up her phone and unlocked it, only to find that she had 99+ unread messages on WeChat. Looking at the pinned message, she saw that a group chat named "The Secret Observation Team" was showing 99+ messages, and right below it was a chat box with the nickname "Cute Sweetheart Xiao Qiqi", which also showed unread messages.
Upon seeing this note, Wen Yun instantly recalled a character from the original story.
The original owner's vicious best friend, Lin Qiqi, the daughter of the Lin family!
If the original owner was a seemingly innocent but actually manipulative woman, then Lin Qiqi was a highly toxic and domineering woman who would unleash her malice on anyone she disliked, relying on her status as a wealthy heiress to act arrogantly and domineeringly.
The Wen and Lin families were on good terms in their early years. Lin Qiqi and the original owner had been friends since childhood, and she always blindly sided with the original owner no matter what. Most of Wen Yun's anger when reading the novel stemmed from her.
After roughly recalling what this person had done, Wen Yun suddenly felt her head buzzing.
Many of the things the protagonist experiences are thanks to Lin Qiqi.
She was publicly ridiculed and mocked as a "country bumpkin," ostracized by her group, and accused of having an affair with a young man in a WeChat group and school forum...
Wen Yun: I'm so tired.jpg
After mentally preparing herself, she clicked on Lin Qiqi's profile picture to see what kind of mischief the little devil was planning.
[Yunyun, don't worry. Since your uncle isn't in a hurry to change her surname and transfer her household registration, he definitely doesn't intend to acknowledge this country bumpkin!]
I heard there's an entrance exam for transfer students tomorrow, and the results are released immediately. If the family members need them, they can find out the results in about half an hour after the exam!
I plan to go to school tomorrow to check her grades, take pictures, and post them in the group chat so everyone can see what kind of trash this country bumpkin who dreams of marrying into a wealthy family really is!
Wen Yun:......
This speech doesn't sound like that of a rich heiress; it's clearly from someone with chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)!
She scrolled up through the history messages and checked the posting times. She discovered that before picking Ruan Yu up from school, the original owner had told Lin Qiqi about the real and fake heiresses and even played the victim. With that little devil's keen senses, she must have already figured out the original owner's true thoughts.
After glancing at it briefly, Wen Yun thought for a moment and quickly tapped the screen.
The little villain is still just venting online, so there's still a chance to salvage the situation. We absolutely cannot let her bully the main character anymore!
-
Meanwhile, the wealthy Lin family...
Lin Qiqi had just finished applying a face mask and was about to watch a drama to help her fall asleep when she picked up her phone and saw that Wen Yun had replied to her message.
【Qiqiqwq It's all my fault. I said so many harsh things to you, which made you misunderstand Xiaoyu!】
Lin Qiqi was startled, and her heart pounded with nervousness.
Why would Yunyun say something like that? Could it be... that she was threatened by that country bumpkin?!
Wow! This country bumpkin dared to embarrass Yunyun on his very first day back home. What a big mouth he has!
She grew angrier and angrier, trembling all over. Her hands were shaking as she was about to type when she saw another message from Wen Yun:
Xiaoyu is such a good girl, so understanding and sensible! I want to spoil her like my parents spoil me. Please don't scold her because of what I said before, okay?
Lin Qiqi: ? ? ?
She fell silent, racking her brains for a long time, but still couldn't connect the "country bumpkin" with the "understanding fairy".
After much hesitation, she tentatively replied:
[Hugs] Yunyun, you're so kind! Look at you, you've been bullied so badly, and you're still defending that country bumpkin!
Tell me the truth! I only acknowledge you as the daughter of the Wen family, and no matter what you say, I will side with you!