Chapter 455: Old Mrs. Jiang Is Visiting Again

She was not her parents' biological daughter; Shen Yuan had suspected this since she was very young.

After all, she felt that such foolish parents could not possibly have given birth to such a clever her.

Could it be that Li Xuan had found her own biological daughter?

In fact, before this, Shen Yuan had been very disgusted with this family.

She had fantasized countless times in her heart that after marrying Jiang Sinian, she would cut all ties with her maiden family.

But human nature is just that complex.

Even for something she didn't care about, if she were now asked to step aside as a substitute because the real one was about to return, she would still feel unwilling in her heart.

And she was even in the same school as her; who could it be?

……

It was Jiang Zhi's birthday.

"Mom, guess what birthday present I prepared for little sister Jiang Zhi?"

Si Rong sat in front of the vanity mirror and put on her pearl earrings, "What is it?"

"A doll she really liked when we went shopping together before," Jiang Siyu even tied a pink bow on the doll's box.

"Mm, very pretty, Xiao Zhi will surely like it very much."

"Little sister Xiao Zhi has been looking forward to this birthday for a long time, let's go back early in a bit!"

Si Rong braided her daughter's hair into a ponytail and put on a red plaid hair accessory she liked, "Alright."

Jiang Zhi might not be able to be happy for that long today, because Jiang Qi was coming back.

Honestly, she felt that Jiang Zhi was unlucky to have such a mother.

Back then, she couldn't prioritize her child because she wanted to pursue freedom; now that the child had grown up, she had to come back from time to time to make her presence felt.

Couldn't she have waited until after Xiao Zhi's birthday to come back?

Over these years, Xiao Zhi had been raised almost entirely by her and Hu Qian; naturally, she felt more pity for the child she had raised with her own hands.

And who knows what she was coming back for anyway.

Hu Qian had started having Wu Shen organize the meal early in the morning; no matter what, she was very happy in her heart that her daughter was coming back.

But she didn't dare to show this happiness clearly, as both daughters-in-law had some opinions about her daughter.

So, her expression remained indifferent.

"Xiao Zhi, you look good in that red velvet dress! It's so festive for a birthday!"

Seeing Jiang Zhi come out of her room wearing a white tulle dress, Hu Qian said.

Jiang Zhi shook her head gently.

She knew who had bought that, and she just didn't want to wear it.

"Is Aunt coming soon?" Jiang Zhi looked toward the door from time to time; she couldn't explain what was wrong with herself either.

Of the two aunts, she liked the eldest aunt a bit more, although the younger aunt was also very good.

That was a sense of intimacy radiating from the heart.

"Mm, your aunt, Si Nian, and Si Yu will arrive first; your uncle will come at noon."

Hu Qian hesitated, "Xiao Zhi, do you miss Mom?"

She regretted asking this as soon as the words left her mouth; having only met a few times since she was little, it was a bit excessive to expect the child to miss her mother.

She might as well have just said that Mom was coming back later to celebrate her birthday.

"No," Jiang Zhi said directly.

Hu Qian sighed, "Your mother misses you; she is coming back today to celebrate your birthday."

Jiang Zhi turned around and went back into her room.

When Si Rong returned, she was pulled aside by Hu Qian, "Tell me, even if this mother and daughter aren't close, they shouldn't end up like enemies, right?"

"I feel sorry for both of them,"

Si Rong pursed her lips, "Mom, I think you should feel more sorry for Xiao Zhi. Haven't you noticed that she is more sensitive and prone to low self-esteem than other children? Yet she hasn't done anything wrong."

She stopped there; if she kept talking, Hu Qian might get upset.

Even when Jiang Zhi lived at their house, she bought the same clothes and the same snacks for all three children, but Jiang Zhi would always subconsciously yield to Si Yu.

For example, some clothes for girls only had pink and red left.

When Si Yu said she liked pink, Jiang Zhi would take the initiative to give her the pink one and take the red one herself.

Later, Si Rong stopped it twice, but she was indeed very busy usually and couldn't pay attention every single moment.

Also, no matter what she bought for Jiang Zhi, Jiang Zhi would always thank her.

It was as if she knew that was not her own home and Si Rong was not her own mother.

Watching this child grow up sensitive like this for over a decade, Si Rong truly could not empathize with Jiang Qi.

No one doesn't want freedom, but if one ignores their responsibilities and pursues freedom blindly, that is selfishness.

The meal was ready, but Jiang Qi had not arrived yet.

Everyone was waiting for her; after waiting a while, the dishes were almost cold.

"Let's eat first!" Jiang Aiguo spoke up, "Light the cake for Xiao Zhi first."

Jiang Zhi was actually quite happy in her heart; she hoped Jiang Qi wouldn't come back at all.

She had already grown accustomed to a life where only her grandparents, uncle, and aunt were by her side.

"Xiao Zhi, this is the doll your sister sent you. I hope you can be as cute as this little doll forever."

"Thank you, Sister Juzi!"

Jiang Zhi hugged the soft doll, feeling as if her own heart had softened a little too.

"I got Xiao Zhi a trench coat! Our Xiao Zhi is almost a young lady!" Xu Yan opened the box; it was the latest trench coat from Huaiyang.

"Thank you, Little Aunt-in-law!"

The gift Si Rong chose for Jiang Zhi was a silver bracelet, with her zodiac sign, a little mouse, hanging from it.

"Thank you, Eldest Aunt-in-law!"

Jiang Qi returned at this very moment, and she brought a white boyfriend with her, with a high nose bridge and blue eyes.

Seeing that her family hadn't waited for her and her boyfriend to eat, Jiang Qi was somewhat unhappy.

It would be one thing if it were just her, as they were family, but she had said on the phone that she was bringing a boyfriend back this time.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

Si Rong exchanged a look with Jiang Cheng, understanding that he was momentarily unable to accept that he was suddenly going to have a foreign brother-in-law.

She patted Jiang Cheng on the thigh.

Then they heard Hu Qian say at the dining table, "Put your things down and eat with us!"

"Okay."

Jiang Qi's gaze fell upon her daughter, and seeing her tilting her head and talking to that little girl Jiang Siyu as if she hadn't seen her at all, she felt somewhat awkward.

After all, she hadn't raised her by her side, so she was a bit too ill-mannered.

The blue-eyed foreign man babbled a few sentences, and Jiang Qi helped translate for him, "He is greeting you all; he is speaking Australian."

"Ah, hello." Jiang Yu shook his hand politely.

The family sat down to eat, and although they only chatted with hypocritical pleasantries, Si Rong still felt fortunate in her heart; luckily, Old Madam Jiang hadn't come, otherwise it wouldn't have been so peaceful.

It was unknown whether she was too much of a jinx, or if Jiang Qi was naturally at odds with her grandmother, but before the meal was even finished, Old Madam Jiang arrived at the door.

Jiang Erbo had brought her over on a bicycle, smiling with a look of simple honesty, "Brother, Sister-in-law, are you all eating? Mom said her tooth ached, so I thought I'd bring her to the city hospital to have it checked."