According to Su Junxin's current memories, the original owner's father should have been a successful businessman, and the family was very wealthy.
He left behind a villa and a sizable inheritance when he passed away. The inheritance was to be equally divided among herself and her stepmother and stepsister, while the villa was solely hers.
However, the original owner was rather naive and timid. She had been tricked over and over again by her stepmother and stepsister, Lou Ya even used the reason that Su Junxin was still underage to take all of her share of the inheritance and the property deed of the villa into her own hands.
Thinking about the huge amount of wealth, Su Junxin's fingers tightened unconsciously around the pencil she was holding, a chilly glint flashing in her eyes.
As she expected, just after noon, a brand-new car stopped at the entrance of the villa.
Lou Ya and Su Yi got out of the car one after the other.
As soon as Lou Ya entered the door, she subconsciously looked around. Only when she saw that the living room was cleaned very thoroughly did she withdraw her gaze in satisfaction. But when she entered the kitchen and found the refrigerator empty, her eyebrows furrowed quickly.
"Mom, is there anything to eat, I'm starving..."
Complaining, Su Yi walked in and was also taken aback, exclaiming: "Mom, Su Junxin knew we were coming back today, but she didn't leave us anything to eat!"
Lou Ya shut the refrigerator door heavily and headed towards the basement, shouting as she went: "Su Junxin! I was absent for only two months, and you've forgotten all the rules. Are you expecting me to cook for myself?"
Seeing no movement inside, she went to grab the key to the basement door, only to find the door was locked from the inside. Her face turned even grimmer.
"Feeling emboldened, are you? Dare to lock the door!" She pounded on the door, making a loud "thud" sound, threatening, "Su Junxin, I didn't feed you so you could freeload. If you don't want to work, then never come out!"
As soon as her words fell, the sound of a key turning could be heard from inside the door, followed by it being slowly opened.
Seeing this, Lou Ya couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth in triumph. In her heart, she sneered: No matter how courageous the little brat might have become, she still obediently opened the door...
But quickly, the smile on her face faded as she saw the two people behind the door, her brows twisting in caution.
"Who are you?"
The middle-aged woman in the blue shirt among the two people, scrutinized Lou Ya up and down with her gaze, then emotionlessly pulled out her credentials.
"Are you Mrs. Lou? I'm Director Zhang from the Women's Federation. Someone reported that you abused a child. Let's talk."
Lou Ya was completely taken aback. Upon looking at Su Junxin who was wiping her tears in the room, her heart sank. Trying to save face, she turned to Director Zhang with an awkward smile.
"This is all a misunderstanding. Please don't..."
Nevertheless, Director Zhang interrupted her with a frown, evidently impatient, "I only believe what I hear and see. As to whether this is a misunderstanding, I believe you should know better than anyone."
The woman standing behind her watched Lou Ya with disdain. Seeing that she still wanted to refute, she cut her off mercilessly, "You and your biological daughter live in such a large house, but you let your stepdaughter live in the basement. You really disgrace us women by being such a stepmother."
Struck dumb by her words, Lou Ya had no choice but to obediently follow Director Zhang to the living room.
Su Junxin was enjoying the show, but when she saw the woman who had admonished Lou Ya turn to look at her, she quickly lowered her head, hunching her shoulders and putting on an expression of pitiful vulnerability, teardrops slipping down her cheeks.
"Oh dear, look how the child has been wronged..." A somewhat rough hand held out a tissue to wipe away her tears, patting her shoulder reassuringly, "Child, don't cry. Your stepmother has a heart of stone, she's sure to pay eventually! From now on, you'll have our Women's Federation to help you, you won't need to suffer again!"
With tears streaming down her face, Su Junxin sniffled and lifted her head, her voice weak, "Thank you, Aunt Niu..."
"Alright, alright. You've been talking to us for a while, you must not have eaten yet? I'll go out and buy you a boxed lunch. Stay here obediently and don't think about reckless things, you got that?"
Su Junxin peered down at the fake wound on her wrist and obediently nodded.
"Oh, what a good child. So pretty and academic, how did she end up with such a stepmother..."
The woman's voice gradually faded away. Su Junxin instantly withdrew her sad expression, closed the door with a few quick steps, and leaned back against it, laughing so hard she was slapping her thigh.
"Xiaoyou, did you see Lou Ya's face when she was scolded? It was as if she had eaten a rotten egg, it made me laugh so hard!"
At her words Xiaoyou also revealed its true form. Standing on Su Junxin's shoulder, with its two front claws clutching an almost empty bottle of eye drops, it opened its mouth to emit tiny chuckles.
Wiping away the tears of mirth that had spilled from her eyes, Su Junxin fist-bumped the creature's tiny paw.
"Congrats to us both, in our first confrontation with the wicked stepmother, victory is ours!"
*
Director Zhang and Aunt Niu spent the whole afternoon "lecturing" Lou Ya, only stopping when they saw her sign a guarantee.
Su Junxin had other plans and didn't plan to stay in this house for long. Plus, her own room had been transformed by Su Yi into her wardrobe. Hence, she politely declined Aunt Niu's suggestion to move back upstairs, which even won her a wave of sympathy. Even Director Zhang's expression toward her softened into pity.
She went to bed right after finishing her evening wash, falling into deep slumber.
However, it wasn't long before the basement door handle moved, the door was slowly pushed open, and a dark figure silently made its way over to Su Junxin's bed.
Lou Ya stared down at the rising and falling mound on the bed, her lips pursed tightly with fury in her eyes.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. Granted, she hadn't been good to Su Junxin, but she had never shown her true colors in front of others. So how did the Women's Federation find out? Plus, their timing was a bit too convenient. The only one who knew she was coming home today was Su Junxin. If Su Junxin had planned all this, inviting the Women's Federation to catch her red-handed, then everything would make sense...
This audacious little thing actually dared to set her up!
The rage in Lou Ya's eyes intensified at this thought. She looked down at the needle in her hand, scoffing silently.
This needle was custom-made for her punishment. Its tip is extremely fine, with a small hook that leaves minimal marks when stabbed into flesh, but inflicts a much stronger pain than regular needles.
In the past, she used to prick Su Junxin with this needle when she was not careful with housework. Gradually, even when she was just slightly displeased, she would vent it on Su Junxin. In the years following her father's death, Su Junxin would be pricked so often that her arms were swollen every day.
And now, Lou Ya simply wanted to go back to her old ways —
However, before her hand could fall, Su Junxin suddenly shifted her position on the bed and kicked hard at Lou Ya's knee.
With an immediate cry of pain, Lou Ya lost her balance, fell to one side, and involuntarily let go of the needle in her hand.
There was no time to think. Su Junxin pounced on her, pushing her face down onto the floor. Her left elbow wrapped around Lou Ya's neck, and joining her right hand, she suddenly yanked backward.
Caught off guard by the sudden kick, with her forehead hitting the floor and her throat being locked from behind, Lou Ya was both in pain and furious. She opened her mouth wide, ready to scream.
Before she could do so, a wet cloth was stuffed into her mouth. A nauseating smell invaded her nostrils, provoking her to gag and nearly faint.
Su Junxin tightened her grip to ensure she was still conscious and leaned over to whisper in her ear with a cold laugh: "Mom, I knew you would come."
Upon hearing this demonic voice, Lou Ya felt her heart stop. A sensation of fear surged from the sole of her feet to the top of her head, sending a chill down her spine. She began to struggle violently, trying to pry Su Junxin's hand off her neck.
"Don't worry, it's illegal to kill people, I won't let you die..." Su Junxin's grip on her throat loosened slightly, but as soon as Lou Ya started gasping for breath, she tightened it again, "However, if I don't get what I want, I can't guarantee what I might do to you!"
A car horn sounded outside, and white headlights flashed across the small basement window, illuminating the room and giving Lou Ya a clear view of Su Junxin's face.
She seemed like a different person. Her black eyes were filled with nothing but cold, murderous intent, and when she looked at Lou Ya, it was as if looking at a lifeless object.
Lou Ya shook her head uncontrollably, her body trembled, and tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes. She was whimpering in fear.
Seeing that she had completely been terrified by her, Su Junxin smirked, pulled out the cloth, stood up, and looked down at her.
She spoke in a brief and straightforward manner: "Have the house deed and my share of the inheritance ready by dawn."
Then, as if remembering something, she added: "Remember, if you're thinking about calling the police, think carefully. Will they believe a stepmother who abuses her stepdaughter or a weak and helpless girl like me? If you try to run away with what's mine... I can assure you, neither you nor your daughter can withstand the consequences of angering me."
Upon hearing these words, Lou Ya shrunk back, panting heavily on the floor in pain and desperation. Her throat emitted a rasping sound, like an old pair of bellows, and she nodded vigorously, not daring to look at Su Junxin again. She scrambled to her feet and ran out, stumbling in her haste.
The surroundings fell silent once more. Su Junxin lowered her gaze to the crisscrossing cuts on her left arm – scratches from Lou Ya's fingernails, and her brows furrowed in thought.
Xiaoyou crawled out from under her pajamas, slowly coiled around her left hand and began to gently lick the blood oozing from the wounds, whimpering softly.
A warmth filled Su Junxin's heart, and she relaxed her brow, petting its Dragon Horn, "I'm fine, it's just a minor injury."
She lifted her right hand, rubbing her middle finger against her thumb.
Purple lightning flickered in her palm, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
This body was far too weak; subduing a regular human was already an exertion and her powers were less than one-tenth of what they used to be, with the amount of stored lightning pitifully scarce...
Her long eyelashes cast a shadow over the complex emotions in her eyes. She clenched her fist, silently resolving.