Transmigrated as a vicious stepmother, I raised a child who became a heartthrob.

It would be better to put these things online, and public opinion would lean towards whoever is more pitiful.

Whether it's marketing a persona or anything else in the future, the actions will be relatively smooth. This is a common tactic in the entertainment industry.

Jiang Zhuhua browsed the internet and learned a lot.

The entertainment company's announcement wasn't particularly eye-catching, but several of its actresses reposted it, and with the added influence of celebrity fans, it suddenly ignited the matter, inexplicably becoming a topic of discussion for everyone.

The issue of childbirth and child-rearing suddenly came into the public eye.

[Jiang Zhuhua! What on earth are you doing? Deleting the company announcement—do you know how much impact this will have on our business? Throwing a tantrum now is not the time for this.]

The Jiang family's old residence has probably been keeping a close eye on things here; the announcement had barely climbed to the bottom of the trending topics list when Jiang Chongwen already sent a message questioning it.

Jiang Zhuhua then realized that he had this family in his contact information.

[Who's throwing a tantrum? Jiang Chongwen, you've got some nerve.]

This was ridiculous, Jiang Zhuhua sneered without restraint. She had heard all along that her seemingly kind older brother was secretly contacting people involved in entertainment industry business, trying to trip her up.

[That was rude. Take down the announcement and come back to apologize to your father. I'll give you a chance to forgive him.]

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Chongwen looked at the text message, his usually indifferent brows furrowing involuntarily.

As expected of someone raised in the countryside since childhood, he's becoming increasingly ill-mannered, even addressing his older brother by his first name.

No wonder her family dislikes her; she's so rude. And her behavior is too willful; she throws things around carelessly, putting the entire Jiang family in the spotlight. It's just a little grievance, can't she just put up with it?

I'll make it up to her sooner or later.

"Oh, how impolite?"

Jiang Zhuhua muttered softly. "Hilarious, who's being impolite here?"

I don't need your forgiveness. You idiots, I have nothing to do with your family anymore. Go have your fun, from now on we're competitors.

Isn't the guy on the other end an idiot? He made it very clear at the birthday party that day that he would only give her a pension.

Only an idiot wouldn't understand human language.

After Jiang Zhuhua finished speaking, he immediately blocked and deleted the other party. He also checked and found that he had blocked and deleted everyone in the Jiang family as well.

"What did she say?"

Jiang Xingjia sat in a carved pearwood armchair, his face extremely gloomy.

"She deleted me. She means she won't withdraw the announcement and wants to continue fighting with us."

Jiang Chongwen put down his phone and spoke honestly. There was no trace of the arrogance he displayed when sending the text message.

"You wretched child, it would be better to raise a cat or dog instead, she only causes trouble."

The dragon-headed cane he was holding was thrown forcefully, hitting a flowerpot in the corner and shattering it. Jiang Xingjia's face darkened even more.

His face was so gloomy it looked like ink could be squeezed out at any moment.

Jiang Chongwen and Jiang Shangwu kept their heads down, refusing to look up. Under such rage, the two grown men were like two little quails.

“She was born with an ominous sign; the family business went downhill right after she was born. It was already a favor that I let her stay at home for a year. And she still doesn’t appreciate it.”

Just mentioning what happened back then makes Jiang Xingjia's heart ache. It was such a great opportunity, Jiang Zhuhua had just been born, and the contract that was almost in their grasp was gone. That contract was the key to turning their family's fortunes around.

If that contract had been signed, their family could have avoided many years of detours. Jiang Xingjia still feels resentful about it.

The two grown men lowered their heads, tacitly acknowledging the matter. They showed no surprise whatsoever.

I've heard this story so many times I'm sick of it.

"Chongwen, she doesn't know what's good for her. So we found some people to trip her up and teach her a lesson. She runs such a small company, and I don't know what she's doing showing off all day long."

Jiang Xingjia gave a heavy snort with a somber face, sounding more like he was talking about an enemy than his own daughter.

"Understood. Dad, I'll handle it properly."

Jiang Chongwen forced a stiff smile. The two men only relaxed their backs after they left the study.

"She's such a troublemaker, not nearly as well-behaved as Jiang Molan."

Jiang Shangwu's eyes were filled with impatience as he pulled a lighter from his pocket. Since it was near the study door, he didn't light it, just impatiently pressing the buttons repeatedly.

The antique-style friction wheel in my hand rubbed against the flames, which leaped up and then subsided. The lid opened and closed again.

"If you're not good, you're not good. Society will eventually make you good."

Jiang Chongwen chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with coldness. He didn't say anything more, but strode down the stairs, turned around, and got into his car to go to the company.

Jiang Shangwu leaned slightly against the escalator on the second floor, watching Jiang Chongwen leave in a hurry.

A trapped beast amuses itself.

Jiang Shangwu had this inexplicable thought, and a mocking smile curled his lips. He didn't linger at the old house and drove back to his own residence.

The house quickly quieted down, and the nanny quietly handled the household affairs.

Jiang Xingjia was, after all, in his fifties or sixties, and his experience was somewhat outdated. After reading the report in the study for a while, he turned around and went back to his bedroom to sleep.

The hour hand ticked away, one tick, two ticks. The second hand raced wildly, time moving both slowly and swiftly.

Around 2 a.m., the faint current in the wires stopped, plunging everything into darkness. No one knew.

Only the streetlights in the garden outside were off.

A soft clicking sound came from one of the bedrooms.

Under the pale moonlight, a pair of equally pale bare feet emerged. The carpet was soft, and walking on it barefoot made almost no sound.

In the corner of the study, the broken flowers still lay there.

A pair of fair hands gently touched the damp soil, and finally dug out a small egg.

The soil was restored to its natural state, and the door was gently closed, without even a speck of dirt on it.

The current flows again.

The bedroom was dark, and the person didn't even turn on the tap, but instead washed their fingers with leftover cold water.

“She was born with an ominous sign; the family business went downhill right after she was born. It was already a favor that I let her stay at home for a year. And she still doesn’t appreciate it.”

The sound in the headphones was so clear, one sentence at a time. Most of it was Jiang Xingjia issuing orders and expressing his anger.

It's ridiculous. We're already in a new era and a new century, yet this place seems stuck in the last century.