Chapter 19 Speak Up

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Mo Xiaoxue felt a surge of panic in her heart. At first, she had indeed found a shabby place to live in when she moved into the Duan family, but in the past few months, Duan Yubai had never once mentioned asking her to move back. Duan’s parents liked her very much, and she had already regarded herself as the lady of the house. As long as she could win Duan Yubai’s favor, she would become the legitimate Mrs. Duan. And now they wanted her to leave? Just because Su Nuo had returned? On what grounds? She lowered her gaze, her shoulders trembling as if deeply aggrieved. Before Duan Yubai could speak, Su Nuo quickly said, “This place is fine. Living here is just fine.” She kept her head down, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito’s hum. Though it was just a storage room, it was still better than the basement. She was truly content. But Duan Yubai overheard. He looked at her displeased. “Su Nuo, enough. Are you going to keep making a scene?” “Xiaoxue is only temporarily living here for convenience during our daily work. What are you still fussing about?” “Once her family’s renovation is done, she’ll naturally move back.” “Mr. Duan.” Mo Xiaoxue spoke instinctively. Duan Yubai turned to her. “If you don’t want to go back, I will arrange a guest room for you. That would also be convenient for work.” The Duan family residence was huge; not just one Mo Xiaoxue, even ten more could live there comfortably. But a guest room and Su Nuo’s room were entirely different matters. Su Nuo had been valued by her family before and had always lived on the third floor, above Duan Yubai’s room— the best floor, the largest room, the most luxurious decoration. She was practically the lady of the house. But the guest room? That was for visitors, with no relation to the family’s true lady. Mo Xiaoxue forced a smile. “Yes, Mr. Duan, you’re right. I’ll follow whatever you say.” “So, Miss Su, don’t take it too hard. I just don’t sleep well, and your room is more comfortable. If you mind, I’ll move immediately. Though my place is damp and cold, it’s still livable.” “I can’t make Miss Su unhappy because of me. If she runs away again, it would affect the company.” Her voice was pitiful. Duan Yubai frowned slightly. “Forget it, Xiaoxue can stay there. After all, some people seem quite content with the storage room.” He turned and went upstairs, while Su Nuo remained silent. Indeed, everyone matched their place. A rat in the gutter like her should be grateful just to live in the storage room. Before, she hadn’t realized it clearly, but now she saw her position in this family was nothing more than that. After Duan Yubai went upstairs, Mo Xiaoxue no longer delayed.

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Before leaving, she cast a resentful glare at Su Nuo. “Just do your duty. Don’t entertain thoughts you shouldn’t have, understand?” Su Nuo meekly nodded in agreement. Only then did Mo Xiaoxue climb the stairs with satisfaction. Before long, Sister Cui had cooked the bird’s nest soup, bringing the best bowl up to Mo Xiaoxue’s room on the third floor. “Miss Mo, it’s time for your bird’s nest.” Mo Xiaoxue glanced at the soup and smiled, nodding. “Sister Cui, you’re always so kind to me.” “Master is kind to you too.” Sister Cui smiled warmly. “We’re all hoping you become the mistress. Who else is more virtuous and generous than you?” “If you become the mistress, we’ll all have good days ahead.” “Isn’t Miss Su also quite good to you?” Mo Xiaoxue stirred her bird’s nest absentmindedly. “How can she compare to you?” Sister Cui hurriedly came forward to help. “You don’t know, she’s just a filthy mess now, anyone can trample on her.” “You don’t know how badly we were treated before.” She began to pour out her grievances, though most were twisted half-truths, meant only to please Mo Xiaoxue. Mo Xiaoxue listened quietly, a faint smile visible only in her eyes. “Sister Cui, since she’s no longer Miss Su, I think we don’t need to keep things that don’t suit her status, right?” She raised her eyebrows. “Even Miss Su’s clothes, down to her socks, are quite valuable, aren’t they?” Sister Cui quickly understood and nodded repeatedly. “You’re absolutely right. I know what to do!” Saying so, Sister Cui left. How had she never thought of this before? Now that no one in the Duan family cared about Su Nuo, and Su Nuo dared not resist, her belongings were fair game. Though Chi Ling had only packed up some of her things that day, they were valuable. That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Su Nuo sneaked to the guest bathroom to freshen up. Chi Ling took out her usual body wash. Only when she smelled the familiar scent could she relax briefly. But when she returned to her room, she caught Sister Cui and another servant rummaging through her things. “You—you!” “Shut up!” Sister Cui suddenly growled. Su Nuo was too scared to say another word, frozen at the door. Fearing to alert others, Sister Cui quickly dragged her inside. “Su Nuo, I warn you, if you say one more word—” Just as Sister Cui reached out, Su Nuo immediately crouched on the floor, clutching her head. Page 3/3

“I won’t, I won’t, I won’t!” Seeing this, the other servant raised an eyebrow. Sister Cui snorted coldly. “Good sense you have!” “Old Wang, let’s hurry.” “Sister Cui, is this right? This bag costs over a hundred thousand, doesn’t it?” “What’s wrong with that? She’s less than a gutter rat now. Does she deserve it? Ptooey!” Sister Cui spat on Su Nuo’s head. Her freshly washed hair was now covered in a sticky liquid. But Su Nuo dared not move, only crouching there, terrified. She was truly scared. She knew that even if she resisted Sister Cui and the others, they wouldn’t dare hurt her. But she couldn’t bring herself to try. Fear seeped into her pores, making it hard to breathe. Bang! The door was forcefully kicked open. Su Nuo instinctively cried out. “What are you doing?” Chi Ling quickly embraced the frightened Su Nuo, glaring angrily at the two servants. At that moment, Duan Yubai, who had just been about to make coffee, also came over. The two servants’ mess was evident—they had ransacked Su Nuo’s room. Both had Su Nuo’s clothes stuffed into their bags. Duan Yubai even spotted the pink plastic phone chain peeking out of Sister Cui’s pocket. “What’s going on here?” Sister Cui looked awkwardly at the two, trembling as she stammered, “Helping… helping Miss Su tidy her room.” “Yes, yes, we’re tidying up. Miss Su said she didn’t want these things anymore.” As the other spoke, Sister Cui immediately found her excuse. “Yes, Miss Su said she wants to buy new things.” “You don’t know Miss Su’s temper. When she makes a scene, we have no choice.” Su Nuo kept her head down, trembling uncontrollably. Her hair still sticky with the disgusting liquid. Yet she remained silent, unable to utter a single word of protest. Duan Yubai roughly pulled her from Chi Ling’s arms, looking down at her. “Su Nuo, tell me, what is going on here?” “Speak!”