Chapter 11: Are You Satisfied Now?

“Sister Cui, go and bring the young lady’s slippers, quickly.”

Sister Cui curled her lips and then grabbed a pair of disposable slippers by the door.

“Madam, the eldest miss went mad last night and threw out all her shoes. Now she refuses to wear any, so she can only wear these for now.”

Sister Cui glanced discreetly at Mo Xiaoxue.

Today, while the Duan family was distracted, several of Su Nuo’s branded shoes had already ended up in the pockets of a few servants.

With Mo Xiaoxue backing her up and Su Nuo’s timid demeanor these past few days, some servants had begun to look down on her.

Before, Su Nuo would never wear shoes costing less than fifty thousand, and even selling secondhand was a fortune.

She used to have slippers worth six or seven thousand.

Now, with her disgusting appearance, did she even deserve them?

In front of everyone, Mo Xiaoxue wore a worried expression.

“I have two pairs of new shoes. Miss Su might find them a bit small, but surely better than no shoes at all?”

“If she won’t wear them, then let her go barefoot!” Duan Yubai said coldly.

He looked irritably at the disposable slippers, recalling Su Nuo’s slightly reddened toes just now.

That damned woman was doing this on purpose, deliberately playing the pitiful victim in front of the whole family!

He stood up in anger.

Duan’s mother quickly stopped him, “Dinner isn’t served yet!”

“I’m too angry to eat!”

Duan Yubai waved dismissively, clearly unwilling to talk.

He was about to be driven mad by Su Nuo.

Knowing full well she had severe menstrual pain, yet she still walked barefoot—wasn’t she trying to punish everyone who cared for her?

This trick never failed, and she actually dared to use it again!

Duan Yubai slammed the door shut with a bang.

The sound made Su Nuo shiver.

Duan’s mother hurriedly took her hand, “Xiao Nuo, don’t be angry. Your brother is like this; let’s eat first.”

“Aunt Duan, you can’t blame Mr. Duan for being angry. Haven’t you seen the news today?”

Mo Xiaoxue deliberately pulled out the most disgraceful headline from her phone.

“The internet says our Duan family mistreats the adopted daughter. Today the stock price plummeted to its limit; the company is losing big.”

“The shareholders and board members are demanding explanations. Of course Mr. Duan is angry.”

She glanced again at the bowed head of Su Nuo. “Miss Su, no matter what conflicts you have with the family, you can’t let it affect the company. You see? This puts a lot of pressure on Mr. Duan.”

When it came to the company and her son, Duan’s mother retracted her hand from Su Nuo’s.

“Didn’t the PR department handle this?”

Thinking of her husband still not back, she knew this matter was serious.

Her gaze toward Su Nuo had also grown less gentle.

At that moment, Duan Yubai hurried down from the second floor.

“Xiaoxue, come with me to the company.”

“You’re not eating, and you won’t even let Xiaoxue eat?” Duan’s mother began to fret.

Mo Xiaoxue quickly stood, “Aunt, I’ll accompany him. Don’t worry. Maybe Miss Su’s situation has caused too much trouble for the company, and the shareholders are revolting.”

Of course, she knew the shareholders were furious.

The Duan Corporation was a complex web—when the stock price fell, everyone’s interests were affected.

Before leaving, Duan Yubai glanced once more at Su Nuo, still bowing her head.

“Are you satisfied now? To grab attention, you even dare to use such tactics!”

“Reflect properly and stop causing us trouble!”

Having said that, he left without looking back.

Su Nuo shrank back slightly, clenching her fists tightly.

Was it all her fault?

Because she was abducted and suffered endless abuse, was it truly her fault?

But what had she done wrong?

She wanted to ask, yet not a word came out.

Fear etched deep into her bones silenced her, and Duan Yubai’s attitude made her not want to ask.

Duan’s mother, displeased, put down her chopsticks.

“Xiao Nuo, it’s not that I’m blaming you, but you went too far.”

“Even if you ran away and came back, how could you dress like that? Isn’t it just inviting ridicule?”

Su Nuo’s fingertips whitened from gripping so tightly, yet she remained silent.

What else could she say?

No one noticed that on that day, her scant clothing had been stripped from dead bodies.

No one saw that she was dangerously weak, scavenging through trash bins, eating moldy food on her way back.

No one noticed she limped, wearing two mismatched shoes.

They only saw her filth and disgrace.

Then they questioned her: how could she not have changed into decent clothes when she returned penniless and fleeing for her life?

Didn’t they find it ridiculous?

Thinking this, a bitter smile appeared on Su Nuo’s face.

Since her return, no one at home had ever asked if she was okay.

Their worry over the negative impact she brought outweighed their concern for her.

This was the family she had always prided herself on, the ones she deeply loved.

Indeed, love was the most unreliable thing in this world.

She didn’t recall when Duan’s mother left, but as the last plate was about to be cleared, she quickly reached out her hand.

Sister Cui cast an unhappy look at her.

“Because of you, no one is eating. And you still want dessert?”

Meeting Sister Cui’s angry gaze, Su Nuo instinctively withdrew her hand.

“Sorry.”

“If you know to say sorry, then stop causing me trouble and bad luck.”

Sister Cui lowered her voice, but her eyes gleamed with undeniable pride.

The current eldest miss was so easy to control. If she took some of Su Nuo’s belongings, it probably wouldn’t even matter.

Sister Cui’s malicious smile grew more apparent.

Suddenly, Su Nuo felt a sharp pain shoot through her arm.

But she bit her lip instinctively, not daring to cry out.

Sister Cui twisted her already thin arm hard, and tears instantly welled in Su Nuo’s eyes.

But she had grown accustomed to enduring pain these past months and didn’t dare scream.

“What are you doing?”

A cold voice sounded, and Sister Cui reflexively patted Su Nuo.

“Chi Ling, the eldest miss is a bit dirty; I’m just dusting her off.”

“Put that down.”

Chi Ling’s voice was devoid of warmth.

Sister Cui reluctantly put down a piece of strawberry cake—Su Nuo’s old favorite.

It was also specially prepared by Duan’s mother today.

Chi Ling lifted the cake, “Eldest miss, go back and rest.”

Su Nuo nodded firmly and followed him back to her room.

If there was anyone she could still trust, it was this man before her.

Chi Ling was the first to embrace her and the first to hand her a medical kit.

Even though Chi Ling disliked her, Su Nuo knew he bore no great ill will toward her and at least wouldn’t bully her.

He just hated her.

Back in the room, Chi Ling frowned slightly.

He shoved the cake into her hand and silently began tidying up the cardboard boxes.

Most of the boxes were old and useless, with some clutter.

He had originally thought that once Su Nuo moved in, the servants would take care of it.

But apparently, no one cared about this eldest miss anymore.

After throwing out all the boxes, the storeroom finally gained a decent amount of space, and the window was no longer blocked.