Adopting/Raising The Male Lead and The Villain

20

Zhong Yuhuan grabbed the tray and tugged it backward forcefully before she looked and, with feigned confusion, asked, "Why are you two fighting with me?"

Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming both paused for a second and awkwardly let go of the tray.

"I wanted to help you with it," said Li Jinyuan awkwardly, "It's heavy."

"It wasn't that heavy," Zhong Yuhuan took the opportunity when they let go to quickly put the tray down properly.

"Alright, let's eat!" Zhong Yuhuan grabbed a paper towel and wiped her hands with it.

"Don't we need to go downstairs?" asked Huo Chengming softly.

It wasn't quiet when Zhong Chi returned home; they could hear it clearly from the third floor. They could even see what's going on downstairs clearly from the third-floor banister!

"No need," Zhong Yuhuan picked up her chopsticks and, without looking at it, said cheerfully, "From now on, it will be fine just the three of us."

Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming both paused.

Just... the three of them?

Zhong Yuhuan was worried that they didn't understand the meaning of that so she looked up and added, "You see, my father, he has a new family now.... He has a new wife, a new son, a new daughter. My mother was gone, so.... It's just us now...."

The two boys just stared at her.

With the chopsticks still in her hand, she frowned slightly. Her tone had a forced calmness and strength.

.... She was probably sadder deep down inside.

She wasn't the same as them. She had never experienced any hardship before. It must have hit her harder than it would have hit them.

They both lowered their heads and for a moment there nobody said another word.

Half way through breakfast, fighting noises could be heard coming from downstairs.

Zhong Yuhuan figured that Xu Yushan couldn't contain herself anymore and blew up.

"Downstairs..." said Li Jinyuan in a low voice.

"Hmm, yeah, they are fighting now. When I went downstairs to pick up breakfast, I ran into Xu Yushan. Daddy planned to recognize her as a Zhong's daughter and formally have her name changed. So I said only if he will recognize the both you too...." Said Zhong Yuhuan half seriously. Naturally, she did not mention the part where she dropped the bomb and quickly left the scene.

Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming both put down their chopsticks at the same time.

"You didn't need to...." Huo Chengming squeezed the words out of his throat softly.

Li Jinyuan also said in a low voice, "You didn't need to do that for us..."

Zhong Yuhuan looked down slowly.

Well... she really only just brought it up a bit..... it wasn't that much of a big deal...

But both Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming had their brows furrowed deeply, their mouths shut tightly as thought she had made some incredible sacrifices for them.

The noises from downstairs got even louder.

Li Jinyuan thought to himself, was this the environment that she had been living in?

Huo Chengming couldn't help but take a sneak peek at her also, it wasn't supposed to be like this for her...

Zhong Yuhuan just kept her head lowered and continued eating her breakfast earnestly.

The worse the fight, the better.

She didn't mind this as music for her breakfast time at all!

After they've finished breakfast, the tutors arrived on time.

Of course, Zhong Chi didn't want outsiders to witness the fighting among his family, so he left angrily for work, leaving behind Xu Yushan bawling with her arms wrapped around Xu Yunhui's neck.

"Why? She's daddy's daughter, so am I! Daddy likes you, he had you moved into here. Why can't I be his daughter?" Xu Yushan gritted her teeth in seething hatred.

She had had a very rough childhood because of her status. She understood clearly that she was a bastard child from an affair. And the more aware she was, the more envious she was.

She had been wanting this for so long, to become a real Miss Zhong, so nobody else would ever look down on her again.

But now....

Zhong Yuhuan had ruined it all for her!

"Why did you go and say that to her? Do you see me saying anything like that to her?" Xu Yunhui was upset too. She had it all planned out. But after this whole fiasco, she also felt angry and awkward, but she had no choice but to pretend that she was still very understanding.

Xu Yushan screeched, "I didn't tell her!"

Naturally, Xu Yunhui did not believe her.