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Hospital VIP ward.
As Ji Yao was about to push open the door with a takeaway box in hand, she heard a woman's delicate sobbing from within, "Jincheng, I was wrong, please forgive me, okay?"
Ji Yao's movement stiffened, knowing that Lu Jincheng's adored first love had truly returned and, moreover, this cherished first love was her own half-sister.
She tightened her grip on the plastic bag in her hand and took a deep breath.
"Good morning."
She entered with a smile, her bright eyes curved into a welcoming shape.
Both occupants turned their gazes toward her. The frail woman nestled in Lu Jincheng's arms, with a wasted, thin face, wore a look of disbelief.
As if nothing was amiss, Ji Yao placed a bowl of wontons and steamed buns on the bedside table, "Eat while it's hot."
After she spoke, she calmly took a seat on a nearby chair and looked down at her phone.
"Jincheng, she..." Ji Zimo was clinging to Lu Jincheng's sleeve, her eyes fixed on Ji Yao like a frightened little rabbit.
Ji Yao was counting the numerous zeroes in her account balance, feeling utterly content.
Hearing Ji Zimo's words, she lifted her eyelids and observed the intimate pair with a scornful smile, "Please continue."
After speaking, she bowed her head again, pondering which financial product to choose, completely oblivious to Lu Jincheng's somber expression, dark as iron.
"Don't mind her," he said coldly, his thin lips tightly sealed, the corners downturned.
"Right, right, I've taken Mr. Lu's money to look after you during your confinement period." Ji Yao didn't even lift her head as she invested one million in a financial product.
That's why marrying into a wealthy family is beneficial; even the trivial work payment is multiple times higher.
Though currently, she is Lu Jincheng's wife and Ji Zimo would be considered the interloper, she humbled herself to provide care, but it's alright, making money is always dignified.
Ji Zimo, upon hearing this, was slightly taken aback, disdain flashing in her eyes, but then she softly and sweetly asked, "Jincheng, the nanny you said you'd get for me, it's Xiao Yao?"
She emphasized the word "nanny" quite heavily.
Lu Jincheng's brow furrowed, but Ji Yao took over the conversation with an unaffected tone, "That's right, it's me."
The dignified Mrs. Lu willing to be a nanny?
What irony!
Ji Zimo thought it was laughable, her pale lips curving briefly with amusement before she took on a distressed tone, "But, Xiao Yao is your wife in name, even if you don't mind, she..."
She didn't mind either.
Lu Jincheng could see that Ji Yao was thoroughly enjoying herself!
The phone rang, and Lu Jincheng's icy gaze finally shifted away from Ji Yao as he stood up and walked out, "If you need anything, just tell her, don't be polite."
With Lu Jincheng's departure, Ji Yao's fingers stiffened, and the easygoing mood she had maintained seemed to sink a little.
Once Ji Zimo saw that Lu Jincheng was out of sight, her frail facade vanished completely, and she scoffed, "It's been three years, and you're still so pathetic, unable to take advantage of the opportunity given to you!"
Ji Yao was accustomed to Ji Zimo's erratic attitude changes.
Without responding, Ji Zimo continued to rub salt into her wounds, "After all, Lu Jincheng married you simply because you are my stand-in. Now that I'm back, you should serve me hand and foot."
Yes, she was incompetent. Her first love had been gone for three years and she hadn't managed to find a place in Lu Jincheng's heart.
If she was to be a stand-in, so be it…
Looking at Ji Zimo, Ji Yao was undisturbed, "Need any services?"
Such a devoted nanny she was!
Ji Zimo realized that her most scathing insults, her hardest punches, were no more than a handful of salt thrown into the sea, unable to stir up any negative emotions in Ji Yao.
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Should I say she has no shame, or that she's a dead pig not afraid of boiling water?
Zimo's tone was even more mocking as she lazily leaned against the headboard, gesturing imperiously, "Didn't you buy me breakfast? Or are you expecting me to eat it with my own hands?"
Ji Yao was taken aback. Lu Jincheng had paid a million, Zimo still had two months till her due date, and after giving birth, she would need another three months to recover.
All in all, it would be almost half a year—not too cost-effective. She'd have to ask Lu Jincheng for more money later!
As she calculated the pros and cons in her head, after a few seconds of zoning out, Zimo lost her patience and snapped, "What, you still have some dignity left?"
"You really don't have any right to talk about me, do you?" Ji Yao stepped closer unhurriedly, opened the plastic bag, and lifted the lid of the disposable food container, perplexed, "I heard you wanted to ride on your child's coattails to higher status, but got kicked out of a memorial hall by some oil tycoon's daughter, is that true?"
Zimo's complexion turned ghostly pale in an instant, as if a scar had been ripped open, bleeding profusely.
When Ji Yao brought a wonton to her lips, Zimo fiercely knocked it away, screaming hysterically, "What do you know!"
Three years ago, the Lu Family was just a small company, Lu Jincheng could be considered a rich playboy, but certainly not a diamond bachelor.
Her aspirations were sky-high; she was determined to be above the rest.
Insistent on following the oil tycoon, she drifted for three years without name or status and hadn't even made it through the door before her backer passed away!
Standing there with a swollen belly, she hadn't managed to salvage a cent of inheritance!
Fortunately, Lu Jincheng was now the heir to a billion-dollar fortune, his treatment of her as consistent as ever. The only problem was Ji Yao, the thorn in her side, in Lu Jincheng's company!
Ji Yao looked at her ferocious face without a trace of fear, simply asking, "Doesn't it hurt? You have such good heat tolerance?"
Heat tolerance?
Zimo followed Ji Yao's gaze and saw the hot soup from the wonton had spilled over her wrist, leaving a swollen red mark.
It did hurt a bit, but...
Zimo saw Ji Yao as a thorn in the eye, a thorn in the flesh.
She snorted coldly, "If you know what's good for you, get lost from Jincheng's side right away. Don't wait until your face is torn and you're swept out the door, making a spectacle of yourself!"
Ji Yao pondered that the agreement between her and Lu Jincheng would be up soon—it was a three-year deal.
But, taking each day as it comes, sticking with a wealthy patron wasn't a bad deal at all!
So, she shook her head, "I won't."
Her response seemed to be what Zimo had expected. She sneered, "This isn't up to you."
With that, she lifted her scalded hand, "If I say it was you who intentionally scalded me, guess who Jincheng would side with?"
Isn't that obvious?
Anything Zimo said, Lu Jincheng would definitely take at face value!
He didn't even bother to inquire about Zimo's past affections and eagerly played the savior...
Ji Yao despised Zimo but despised Lu Jincheng as well. Following this, she set down the food container, revealing a recording pen in her hand, and said pointedly, "Sister, you've been scamming me for over a decade. Do you really think I wouldn't be prepared at all?"
"Click."
Upon pressing play, Zimo's overconfident voice filled the air again: If I say it was you who intentionally scalded me, guess who Jincheng would side with?
"Ji Yao!"
Zimo lunged forward, trying to snatch the recording pen away.
But Ji Yao smoothly stepped back twice, letting Zimo lunge at nothing, "Oh, you want this?"
"Give it to me!" Demanded Zimo, her hands outstretched.
Ji Yao shrugged, "Heh, for half a million."