Chapter 670 - 578
Chapter 670: Chapter 578
With a dark expression, Jun Rui shook off Huang Minyan’s hand. He walked into the room and said to Jun Ran, "Stop dreaming. For the sake of the Jun Family, watch your mouth. If there really are jinxes and walking disasters in this world—stars that ruin everything and destroy good fortune—then I’d say you fit the bill! If Tang Manman is any kind of star, she’s a lucky star, always bringing fortune and good luck!"
Jun Ran had just vented her fury on her cousin, the tightness in her chest finally easing, only to be infuriated by her own brother all over again. She was so angry she could have spat blood. Clutching her chest, she glared at Jun Rui and shrieked, "Jun Rui! Are you doing this on purpose? How dare you call me a jinx and a walking disaster? Are you trying to kill me?"
"Then how dare you say that about someone else?"
"You know she’s ’someone else,’ but I’m your own sister!"
"How can you even say that? You’re being impossible!"
Jun Rui’s expression was taut. He glanced at Huang Minyan, his gaze as cold as an autumn lake. "You’ve seen and you’ve heard. You should understand by now. Your cousin Jun Ran isn’t well. She has some... mental problems. So don’t take anything she says or does seriously, and absolutely do not go spreading it around. If something happens because of it, you don’t want to be held responsible, right?"
Huang Minyan paused, her eyes darting back and forth for a moment before she nodded.
Jun Ran’s face went pale. ’Is he really treating me like I’m crazy?’
She raised a finger and pointed at Jun Rui, her voice choked with sobs. "I’m your full-blooded sister! Have you forgotten how I doted on you when we were growing up? While Mom and Dad are away, this is how you treat me! Grandpa is ignoring me, giving me the cold shoulder, and I’m sure it’s your doing! Jun Rui, you’re so heartless!"
"If you weren’t my sister, do you think I’d be wasting my breath on you? Grandpa is disappointed in you; I had nothing to do with it. I have no reason to do something like that, and I wouldn’t. Mom is always away on business with Dad because Grandpa arranged it. He knows that if Mom is here to indulge you, there’s no telling what kind of mess you’ll make. Like today—inviting all those women over, then spouting nonsense to Little Yan. What are you trying to accomplish? Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if you’re even my sister anymore. The Jun Ran I knew wasn’t this foolish and irrational! What in the world did Tang Manman ever do to you? Why are you so determined to make her life difficult?"
Jun Ran grabbed the purse next to her and hurled it at Jun Rui. Huang Minyan quickly lunged forward and caught it—it was her bag, after all. Jun Ran then snatched the magazine from her lap and threw that at him too. "I have a feud with Tang Manman! The kind of feud you have when someone steals your husband! Didn’t you know that already? What are you pretending for? You don’t help me. Instead, you protect her and speak up for her at every turn. What’s the use? Is Tang Manman going to be grateful? Is she going to give you a chance to pursue her? Ha! Dream on! She’s in a rush to hold her engagement ceremony with Gu Shaojun!"
Jun Rui sidestepped the magazine and looked at Jun Ran. This was his own sister. He used to feel pity for her, a frustrated disappointment that she couldn’t be better. Now, all he felt was numbness.
"Back when our older brother was still alive, whenever Shaojun came to our house, he never gave you a second glance. He and Manman at least have an engagement that was arranged by their ancestors. What do you have? Where do you get the nerve to talk about her ’stealing your husband’? That’s right! I was dreaming! I had my own wishful fantasies. If you hadn’t made things up and maliciously slandered Manman, I might have at least had a fair chance to pursue her! Your stupidity has only hurt yourself and nearly turned the Jun Family into enemies of the Gu and Tang families. Manman is kind enough to still show me some respect and exchange a few words. I’m already thankful for that much."
"Look how pathetic you are! Are you going to suck up to the Tang family and act all subservient just for Tang Manman? What kind of legitimate heir and eldest grandson are you? You’re a disgrace to the Jun Family!"
"The Jun, Gu, and Tang families have been allies for generations, watching out for one another. It’s not about one family sucking up to another. But if everyone acted as willfully and recklessly as you, no amount of goodwill could withstand the damage. And in the future, it would be hard to say whether or not the Jun Family *would* have to bow and scrape! So I’m warning you: no matter how messed up your head is, you will control your mouth and stop spouting nonsense. Otherwise, I guarantee you, besides Mom, no one will be willing to talk to you ever again! If you want to be classified as ’abnormal’ and receive ’special care’ somewhere else, then by all means, be my guest!"
After speaking, Jun Rui turned and walked away. A mixture of hate and rage consumed Jun Ran. Sobbing, she threw a glass at his back. Huang Minyan’s mouth fell open as the glass shattered near Jun Rui’s heel. Jun Rui glanced back, then snorted coldly.
"I forgot to tell you, your guests came by earlier. I sent them away. The reason I gave was that you suddenly felt unwell and went to the hospital for a check-up, and you asked for their understanding. Bai Junfan’s aunt, Bai Qingyue, asked me to pass on her regards. She also left you a basket of fruit and two new books. They’re on the table in the front hall. I hear Bai Qingyue runs the Bai Family, that even Bai Lihua and Bai Junfan have to listen to her. Don’t tell me you want to be like her? Because our Jun Family would never give you that kind of opportunity."
"Get out!" Jun Ran glared at him, her face a mask of pitiful tears.
Once Jun Rui was gone, Jun Ran told Huang Minyan to bring in the things Bai Qingyue had sent. The fruit was fresh, but Jun Ran didn’t even glance at it. She just flipped through the two books again and again. There wasn’t a single slip of paper inside. Then it occurred to her that Jun Rui must have looked through them first. ’Even if there was a note, it would have ended up in his hands.’ The thought sent her into another rage. She threw and smashed everything, wrecking the fruit basket and leaving the living room in a total mess. After venting her anger, she had Huang Minyan move the telephone over to her. She wanted to call Bai Qingyue to thank her.
’Huang Minyan couldn’t understand it. ’She couldn’t manage a relationship with Bai Junfan, but now she’s getting chummy with his aunt? My cousin Jun Ran’s mind really is messed up. That Bai Qingyue woman isn’t young, but she dresses up like a vixen and acts so high and mighty, like she’s some unapproachable noble. What’s so special about her, anyway? I can’t stand the sight of her!’
「The Bai Family Residence」
Bai Qingyue had just walked in the door when she sneezed several times in a row. Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, she muttered, "Which annoying pest is talking about me now?"
But her heart sank. ’Don’t tell me Yifen and Yifang have come running back to cry and make a scene again?’ Lately, the family had been in turmoil due to a series of unexpected events, and those two troublemakers just wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace. The second anything went wrong, they’d come running back to their parents’ home to cause a scene, making so much trouble that the Old Master had fallen ill from anger. Bai Qingyue’s head was about to split open!
’When her two nieces were getting married, she, as their aunt, had naturally helped them navigate the social circles. She had let them pick from the wealthy young masters of Beijing’s most prominent families. They were the ones who had made their choice and settled the arrangements before getting married. But look at the results now. Yifen’s husband was keeping a mistress and using drugs. Yifang was widowed barely two days after her wedding, pregnant, and her in-laws refused to acknowledge the baby... It was a constant mess of trivial, maddening problems. Every other day, they would run back home, crying and shouting, demanding the family’s support. They even had the gall to blame her, their aunt, for being blind and marrying them off into such disastrous situations. If Bai Qingyue wasn’t so mentally resilient, she would have already collapsed from the stress caused by these two hapless nieces!’