Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Star Of Award Ceremony

Neither Situ Qingshan nor Mu Xinyue did anything. Likewise, Mu Xinyue no longer begged Situ Hai to shorten Situ Qingshan's punishment. Mu Xinyue even took increasingly good care of Mu Xia, which Situ Hai approved.

That incident with the venomous snake was explicitly banned. No one was allowed to utter a single word about it. Hence, the manor's inhabitants resumed their following days as if nothing happened.

Likewise, Situ Hai returned to his and Mu Xinyue's bedroom after five days of sleeping in the study.

By the sixth day, Situ Hai headed out with a bounce in his step; even Mu Xinyue had a glowing and cheery expression. It wasn't hard to guess what happened the night before.

Things became so amiable that Mu Xinyue offered an entire drumstick to Mu Xia during dinnertime.

At this, a delighted smile crept onto Mu Xia's face. She responded in a sweet tone, "Thank you, Aunt Xinyue."

"Call me Mom from now on." Mu Xinyue beamed back as she continued, "I'll look after you as my own child. Just like Shanshan. She's not my biological daughter, but I've always cared for her like she is. So, don't hesitate to ask me if you ever need anything."

Mu Xia scoffed inwardly. 「Not your biological daughter? I don't believe it one bit.

Qingshan is only a couple of months younger than me, which means that Situ Hai had an affair with Xinyue during my mother's pregnancy.

Hai obviously won't allow this scandal to leak.

Xinyue must be up to something. Why else would she suddenly suggest that I call her "Mom"?

Still, she's got some nerve asking me to call her that.

I only have two mothers: my biological mom and my adoptive mother. No one else is worthy of that title.」

Skeptical, Mu Xia looked at Situ Hai for help. "Dad. I-it's too soon. I'm not used to calling her that…"

She flashed a pair of puppy-dog eyes at him. Her eyes rounded and became slightly moist as she put on a pitiful act.

If this were an award show, Mu Xia believed that she would have won the title of Most Convincing Actress.

True enough, Situ Hai's features softened after glancing over at her.

No man could resist Mu Xia's puppy dog eyes, not even her own dad.

Situ Hai cleared his throat and consoled, "That's quite alright. Take it slow and go at your own pace. There's no need to rush into calling her Mom."

"Thanks, Dad." Mu Xia then cast an apologetic look whilst saying, "And I'm really sorry, Aunt Xinyue. I'm sure I'll eventually ease into your new title."

Anger welled in Mu Xinyue's chest. 「This wretched brat! How dare she refuse to call me Mom!」

Even so, Mu Xinyue was better at tamping down her emotions compared to Situ Qingshan, so she feigned a kind smile. "I understand that this must be difficult for you. Please don't apologize. I should be sorry for pressuring you. Don't worry, dear, take all the time you need to adjust. After all, we've got the rest of our lives as a family for you to do so."

"Thanks, Aunt Xinyue."

"It's nothing, child."

The two played out a harmonious pretense as if they were happily getting along at the dining table.

Situ Hai's spirits instantly improved; the exhaustion he felt from work faded away at the sight of this merry atmosphere.

「As the saying goes, a family in harmony will prosper in everything; I'm content as long as they don't pull any more stunts against one another.」

Just as Situ Hai thought so, Mu Xinyue parted her lips to speak. "There's something I have to tell you, dear. It's about Shanshan."

The mention of Situ Qingshan's name ruined Situ Hai's mood. He slammed his spoon onto the table and thundered, "Let me guess, you're trying to put in a good word for that brat? Considering how grave her actions were, I've been more than merciful by grounding her for only a month. So forget it! Don't bother defending her."

Mu Xia threw a suspicious glance at the woman. 「How uncharacteristic of her to blurt out. She's normally good at gauging situations before speaking. Surely she knows that this isn't the best time to defend Qingshan?

What exactly is Xinyue playing at?」

At that moment, Mu Xinyue's face scrunched up in distress. "I'm not pleading on behalf of her, dear. It's about something else. I'm just not sure if I should tell you…"

Situ Hai's frown lifted slightly at this. Regardless, he still growled at a dangerously low pitch, "What's the matter?"

Mu Xinyue sighed dramatically, then pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. She stated, "I just received a notice letter today. Remember the Crown Coffee Academy's competition? Well, Qingshan won it. She's the champion."

"What!" Situ Hai exclaimed.

He obviously knew about the competition. Its winner would obtain a brand ambassadorship contract with Midnight Coffee Café—the internationally renowned coffee franchise.

Situ Hai was overjoyed. He snatched the letter from Mu Xinyue and went through its contents thoroughly. When he noticed that Ye Sijue would be an honorary guest, greed flitted across his eyes.

He clutched the letter with trembling hands whilst his voice quaked with excitement. "That's great news. Well, why didn't you tell me earlier? The competition is tomorrow afternoon!"

At once, Mu Xinyue's shoulders slumped exaggeratedly in dejection. She explained, "It's because of that rash mistake that Shanshan made. When I told her about the competition earlier today, she wasn't keen on attending. She wanted to stay home and reflect on her actions."

"That's absurd!" Situ Hai protested.

「This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to mingle with influential figures! How can she not go?

Has she lost her mind?」

When he finally broke out of his thoughts, he happened to meet Mu Xia's innocent gaze. It was as though she saw right through to his calculative schemes.

Flustered, he cleared his throat and said, "Qingshan seems like she's realized her mistakes and is taking responsibility for her actions now. So I don't think we have to ground her any longer. What do you think, Shan Shan?"

Mu Xia sneered internally. 「That's my biological dad for you. Truly a loving dad, isn't he?」

Nevertheless, Mu Xia wasn't one to reveal her true feelings. She flashed a gentle smile and spoke in a considerate manner, "Dad, I meant to tell you a while ago; it will do no good to ground her for as long as a month. We should let her off early. Besides, she's not a kid anymore. She'll know how to discern right from wrong after making a mistake once. Plus, you can always enforce stricter punishments if she regresses to the making the same mistakes."

Mu Xinyue, who sat opposite them, gnawed so hard on her lips that she almost drew blood.

「Xia, that brat! When she puts it that way, it means Hai will never let Qingshan off the hook if she messes up again!」

It was just as Mu Xinyue predicted. Situ Hai's brows knitted taut as he declared, "That's right, there won't be a next time. Xinyue! Pass the message to her: she'll be disowned from this manor if she pulls another stunt again!"

Anger sizzled in Mu Xinyue's chest, yet she had to play along. "I'll relay it to her, don't worry. She knows that she's done wrong. Shan Shan, thank you so much for forgiving her."

Mu Xia looked at her with a smug smile. "We're all family, after all. And compromise is a crucial part of being a family, even if Qingshan wanted to kill me."

Mu Xinyue's smile tensed. She couldn't handle Mu Xia's not-so-subtle jabs any longer. Shooting onto her feet, she then announced, "I'll go pack my things for the journey to Nanshi tomorrow."

With that, she paced over to the stairs but quickly stopped halfway. Then she extended a friendly offer, "Tomorrow's a weekend, dear. You won't be going to the office. Why don't you and Shan Shan come along?"

Situ Hai immediately nodded as he thought about Mu Xia and Ye Sijue's relationship. "Absolutely! Could you pack Shan Shan's things as well? And get her some new clothes for the trip to Nanshi, if you can."

"Yes, dear." Mu Xinyue finally let out a victorious smile.

「Hmph! Just wait and see, Xia. My daughter will become the star of the award ceremony. Then, you'll be left standing in her shadow.」