C26 More Obedient Than a Dog

Moo Nuannuan drove back to the Moo estate. Her eyes flashed with annoyance and anticipation with every turn she had taken, glancing at her already silent phone. For so long, she had idly sat by as the other members of the family take advantage of her. She remembered the way they've sneered at her with every answer she had gotten wrong or the way they'd laugh whenever she 'messed up'. Now that the tables had turned, she'd guarantee that the house was filled with unconfined chaos. Parking by the gates, she stepped into the villa.

As soon as the maid had seen her coming in, she immediately bowed her head. "Third Lady."

Immediately, her head bowed and her strong personality had drifted off like the wind. It was as if she had reverted to her old, mousy self–one that the entire household had grown familiar with. Yet, even then, the maid still treated her with the same ounce of respect as the rest of her siblings. It had always been like this, but she could sense that something else was off about the atmosphere.

The only thing she could do now was to play the role of a guiltless fool. Now that Moo Wanqi was currently plagued by all this negative news, she still shouldn't let them see the satisfaction on her face. After all, if she wasn't careful, then she'd lose her entire deck of cards as simple as that.

"Are my parents present?" Moo Nuannuan asked slowly with her head still bowed.

"Everyone is here, Third Lady." Her voice became gentler as if the maid sympathized with her situation. After all, she may have the prestige of being a part of the Moo family, but she had never been treated as part of the family under the shadows of the public eye. In fact, her status here could be compared to nothing more than a maid. "They are all waiting for you in the study."

"Thank you." She was about to head inside, only to stop when she heard the voices raging inside the room.

"Wanqi, why can't you keep a level head? If you want to say something or you need to say something, then wouldn't it be better to call her home and tell her as it is? Do you know how troublesome it is to deal with all these reporters? Now that it's trending on social media, it's harder for us to pay off the press! What are we going to do now?"

Moo Liyan's frustrated voice boomed from the study, bouncing across the walls.

The only reason he was angry was that his daughter was caught in the act, not because her actions were wrong. It had always been like this. Moo Liyan cared far more of their reputation rather than his children's character–which may be why his family had grown rotten to the core. Instead of going in, she couldn't help but lean against the wall to listen in on their conversation.

"How was I supposed to know that it would end up like this, Dad?" Moo Wanqi whined, sounding as if she had been wronged. It was as if she was the one who was being bullied! Moo Nuannuan scoffed. "She must've organized this beforehand! That's why the reporter was there too! Otherwise, isn't it too much of a coincidence that we were being filmed?"

"Wanqi, if there's something I know for sure, it's that Nuannuan didn't plan this. She's far too stupid to even orchestrate such a thing!" Xiao Chuhee hurriedly defended, waving her hands up in the air. Her voice was exasperated. "You've seen her failing marks in class, haven't you? The girl couldn't even pass the first-grade exam! How could she even manage to do this?"

"Stupid?" She bit back. "She didn't even use Dad's connections in getting into Huyang Film Academy, and you're calling her stupid?"

The Huyang Film Academy was one of the top art universities in the country. Everyone passionate about the arts–whether that may be creating movies, writing scripts, producing soundtracks–had dreamt of going there. However, it was also known for its rigorous application process. It was only known for accepting the best of the best, and Nuannuan passed on her first try.

"She's just lucky," the older woman comforted. "Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

It was at that moment when Moo Nuannuan couldn't help but agree with her sister. Xiao Chuhee was indeed cheap.

In the video, Moo Wanqi had called the both of them useless, even calling her own stepmother a slut! Everyone would've expected that Xiao Chuhee would call her out, being years older than her as well as the matriarch of the household. But not only did she not have a falling out with her stepdaughter, but she still tried her best to please her. If anything, she was just as much of a dog as Nuannuan had acted to be.

However, Moo Wanqi had already lost it, not bothering to keep her usual sweet and calm appearance whenever her stepmother was around. At this point, she was too exhausted and panicked to even put on a show.

"Shut the fuck up!" She sneered. "Both of you are the same–useless!"

Moo Nuannuan was just about to enter the room when she heard her sister's cruel words.

She stayed, wanting to hear what Moo Liyan had to say.

The room had gone silent for a while that anyone could hear a pin drop. Suddenly, Moo Liyan sighed and said, "Stop arguing already. What we need to do now is to settle this matter properly." There was a short pause before he coughed slightly. "She should be here soon, so I'd suggest that both of you stop speaking and wait for her instead."

Turned out that her own father was too whipped to even care for his own wife! Ha! All of them were pathetic. Although Moo Nuannuan couldn't see Xiao Chuhee's face through the hard oak, she could only imagine how shocked and betrayed her mother's face must be to have all of them turning against her. "That's what happens when you reject your only biological daughter," she whispered to herself.

After he had finished speaking, the room became quiet once again.

Pushing back the stray strands behind her ears, she bowed her head and pushed the door open.

"Dad, Mom." Her voice was frail, sounding like a child who was ready for a beating.

Then, she glanced at Moo Wanqi, taking in her flustered face and flashing eyes. "Sister."

"Hmph." She scowled in response. "Why are you standing so far away? Come over."

"I..." Pretending to be afraid, she slowly moved closer to the woman. A part of her already knew what would happen next, and she could only clench her fists to ready herself from the impact. She gritted her teeth. It had always been like this, and at this point, she had already grown tired of it all.

She glanced at Xiao Chuhee, wondering if she'd speak up. After all, the woman had already been greatly disrespected by the family that she had defended every single day. Could she suddenly have a change of heart? Her eyes shone with hope and anticipation, and her fingers twitched in response. However, life tended to continually disappoint her.

As expected, the woman turned her head, not even having the guts to gaze into her eyes.

Why was she so surprised? Moo Nuannuan resisted the urge to sigh as she faced her closed fists.

Without hesitating, Moo Wanqi raised her hand and slapped her.

The crisp sound echoed across the study.

Moo Nuannuan's head swung to the side, and she could feel her own blood rushing up to her face. Her fingers trailed down her cheek to see that her skin had grown numb from the impact. She swallowed, suddenly tasting blood. A few seconds had passed, and the warmth still hadn't faded. She could still feel her skin tingling from the strong impact.

That hurt!

Moo Wanqi stared down at her. Her cheek was tinged red, and she could see a dribble of blood trailing down the corners of her lips. "Pathetic!" Snorting, she clenched her fists. Even then, it was still not enough to release her anger. Raising her hand, she aimed to hit her once more.

This time, Moo Nuannuan moved her arms to the side, planning to block her. She wasn't going to let this happen the second time around!

However, just as the two were about to get on it, Moo Liyan slammed his hands onto the table. "Enough! Let's get to business first!"

"But Dad!" Moo Wanqi continued to whine, waving her arms exasperatedly up in the air. If she wasn't in her early twenties, anyone would've assumed she was a child throwing a tantrum. "I just couldn't help myself when I saw her walking in that study! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be in this situation! Do you have any idea how much my friends have been texting me? It's all over the internet?"

'Is it my fault that you're a bitch?' Moo Nuannuan wanted to retort, but she kept her head low this entire time. After all, the waiting game had already proven to be quite beneficial on her end. At least, no one suspected her actions. However, just as her older sister was about to complain, even more, Moo Liyan raised his hand, signaling her to calm down.

He was the only one who Moo Wanqi listened to.

He was not only the head of the family, but also her father. Obviously she had enough common sense to respect him.

Frowning, the old man turned to Moo Nuannuan. "Nuannuan, explain yourself. What's with the video online?"

Of course. Whenever Moo Liyan had addressed her outside this household, he'd always use her full name, as if she was nothing more than a stranger to him. But whenever he needed her to explain herself, or whenever he needed something from her, she was suddenly 'Nuannuan' to him. This family was far too poisoned, to begin with!

Instead of snapping at them, she simply gazed up. "Dad," she whispered. "I really don't know how that video was taken or even what it's about."

She choked sniffling. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, making her look all the more pitiful

However, Moo Nuannuan didn't cry as she turned to her older sister, looking wronged by the entire situation. "Sister, please believe me," she begged, clasping her hands together. "How could I do such a thing? Why would I harm you? We're a family, aren't we? Shouldn't we stick together?" The dullness of her voice hid the sharpness of her eyes.

Moo Wanqi stared at her suspiciously, trying to find any trace of deception in her sister's features.

But there was none.

She could only glance back at Moo Liyan.

He was also analyzing the apology, sizing it up with his own eyes. After being a businessman for around two to three decades, he knew how to read people like the back of his hand. There was no way anyone could lie straight to his face without him knowing about it. So he stared and stared, spotting anything off with her face or words.

Truthfully, he had a strong feeling that the daughter he hadn't paid much attention to, changed ever since she had married into the Mu family. There was something more sinister about the way she had phrased things, and it was something that he made sure to pay attention to. Even then, he still found nothing unusual about her actions.

At that moment, she was still as ugly and defenseless as she had been all these years.

Even when Moo Wanqi had just slapped her and was about to hit her again, she didn't bother dodging. Any person in their right mind would've blocked that attack already. In fact, many of them would've grabbed her hand at a moment's notice. Moo Nuannuan must've really been stupid, and her mind was already far beyond repair.

Thinking about this, he was already starting to find her even more believable.

She's nothing but a fool.

Relaxing in his seat, he nodded. "Yes, we are a family," he confirmed. "So we have to think for our family no matter what happens. Those people on the Internet have misunderstood your sister's intentions, so it's your job to explain to them that all of this was just another misunderstanding–that we're a family. Is that okay with you, Nuannuan?"

A misunderstanding?

The woman had called them useless! Not only that, but she had also forced her to marry into the Mu family? Was that really just a misunderstanding?

Truly, Moo Liyan was biased. In his point of view, everything that Moo Wanqi had done was right and justified, and all the rest were just mere troublesome details. If anything, they were the ones who were foolhardy enough to be manipulated by their own daughter. She clenched her fists. A part of her wanted to scream at them, even punch them, but at this point, she could only be silent.

Pretending to be surprised, she gazed at her sister. "I–I didn't know! I'll definitely explain everything to them, Sis. Don't worry."

"I won't." Moo Wanqi grinned.

Her sister truly was more obedient than a dog.

Xiao Chuhee, however, wasn't as optimistic as her other family members. Instead, she couldn't help but stare at her daughter's back, finding her voice a bit strange. Even if she was apologizing and reassuring them, there was something about the way she looked and sounded that didn't make her feel right about the entire situation.

"We'll be holding a press conference." Moo Liyan finally softened. "You can say whatever you want there."

"I will." She nodded obediently.

"That's good." Satisfied, he leaned back on his seat. "Why don't you stay for dinner before leaving?"

Moo Nuannuan lowered her gaze to hide the mockery in her eyes. "Okay."