When Ji Ran arrived at the entrance of the Ji family villa, she couldn’t get in. Although she had occasionally stayed here before, the security guard had never seen her before, and even when she mentioned Ji Qingli’s name, he still looked suspicious.

Fortunately, the kind security guard saw that she was a young girl out so late and allowed her to wait in the security room.

Ji Ran took the opportunity to charge her phone, planning to call the driver once it was back on.

Sitting in the security room, she looked out at the neighborhood and found it a bit amusing. This house belonged to Ji Qingli, yet his own daughter was being stopped from entering.

Before long, her phone turned back on, and a series of message notifications appeared.

The driver had called her more than ten times.

Ji Ran thought for a moment and then returned the call to the driver. “Hello, I’m Ji Ran.”

“Miss Ji, where are you?” The driver sounded almost on the verge of tears. He had almost lost his boss’s daughter, and if someone hadn’t stopped him, he would have called the police.

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Ji Ran replied softly, “I accidentally got into the wrong car at the airport, but I’m now at the entrance of the residential area. Please come and pick me up.”

The driver, relieved to hear that she had returned, quickly agreed, “Sure, I’ll be right there. Right away.”

In no time, the driver appeared outside the security room, and Ji Ran stood up.

As the driver came in, a big man was almost on the verge of tears with excitement. “Miss, it’s all my fault. Thank goodness you’re back safely.”

Seeing how agitated he was, Ji Ran immediately reassured him, “It was my mistake. I got into the wrong car at the airport, so don’t blame yourself. You don’t need to feel too guilty.”

The driver felt better knowing that she was unharmed and led her back home.

When they arrived at the Ji family’s villa, Ji Ran followed the driver inside. Just as they entered the foyer, Ji Ran heard voices from inside.

“I think she’s deliberately trying to show off in front of Mom.”

A sweet, girlish voice rang out, followed by another mature female voice interrupting, “Enough, stop making baseless accusations.”

Jiang Liqi had been troubled by Ji Ran’s situation ever since she found out that Ji Ran’s custody had been awarded to Ji Qingli. However, she didn’t dare express any opposition.

She was just a dance teacher at an ordinary university, and she had gained everything she had today after getting involved with Ji Qingli. Knowing that Ji Qingli’s wife was a very dominant woman, Jiang Liqi had always been gentle and accommodating, always putting him first in everything.

In Ji Qingli’s eyes, she was a simple and educated woman.

So, how could she refuse to have Ji Ran live with them? She just didn’t expect trouble on the very first day. The driver had gone to pick Ji Ran up but lost her, and Jiang Liqi had refrained from reporting it. Ji Qingli was still out for his evening engagements, so she planned to find Ji Ran before he got home and act as if nothing had happened.

Otherwise, she couldn’t escape blame for her negligence.

Jiang Yi, seeing her mother’s worried expression, knew that she was concerned about Ji Ran. Without having met her yet, Jiang Yi already didn’t like her new stepsister. She was convinced that Ji Ran was intentionally embarrassing her mother.

When the mother and daughter had their own thoughts, Ji Ran followed the driver into the living room.

Before the driver could speak, upon seeing them, Jiang Liqi stood up from the sofa with a smile and said, “This is Ji Ran, right?”

Jiang Yi also looked over, and with just one glance, her initial curiosity quickly turned into jealousy.

It’s natural for young girls to secretly compare their appearances, and Jiang Yi has always been confident in her own looks. She had a face similar to Jiang Liqi’s when she was young, both having oval faces and big eyes. Therefore, she was always confident about her own appearance.

Moreover, she had always been a contender for the title of “campus belle” at school, only missing the title because there were other students with similar popularity.

But the first time Jiang Yi laid eyes on Ji Ran, she had to admit that the other girl was genuinely beautiful. Especially Ji Ran’s fair skin, standing beneath the crystal chandelier in the living room, seemed almost transparent.

Ji Ran calmly assessed the Jiang family mother and daughter. After seeing the jealousy in Jiang Yi’s eyes, she greeted them with a polite but somewhat perfunctory tone, “Hello.”

Jiang Liqi didn’t have much of a reaction; it was normal for a young girl to be a bit shy upon first meeting. However, Jiang Yi, who was standing next to her, rolled her eyes almost to the heavens. “She doesn’t even know how to address people.”

“Jiang Yi,” Jiang Liqi suddenly interjected sternly.

Jiang Yi was already unhappy, and seeing Jiang Liqi scold her, she just continued without restraint, “Exactly! Even if she doesn’t call you’mom,’ she should at least call you ‘aunt.'”

This time, Jiang Liqi didn’t interrupt Jiang Yi. There were certain things she couldn’t bring herself to say, but she could let Jiang Yi say them.

She didn’t mind whether Ji Ran called her “mom” or not, but now she was the mistress of this house. Even if she couldn’t force the young girl to yield, she should at least make her recognize the situation.

However, Ji Ran didn’t get angry when she heard this. After all, she had lived for two lifetimes. She looked at Jiang Yi, raised an eyebrow, and a faint, ambiguous smile appeared on her face.

Suddenly, she let out a light chuckle, a barely audible laugh, which, unfortunately, sounded disdainful and scornful to the discerning ear.

In her previous life, she hadn’t met the Jiang mother and daughter until she returned ten years later. She had initially thought that they had become greedy over those ten years, but now it seemed that their ambition had been evident from the start.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance. As the footsteps behind her grew clearer, Ji Ran’s voice turned very soft and somewhat plaintive. She said, “I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“What’s going on?” Ji Qingli’s voice, timely, sounded from behind.

Jiang Liqi didn’t expect him to return at this moment and was about to speak instinctively. However, Ji Ran turned to look at him, her large eyes innocently wide, and she shook her head, saying, “It’s okay, Daddy. Aunt Jiang was just teaching me.”

Ji Ran’s face was particularly deceptive. She appeared to be very obedient and innocent, especially at this moment, with her expression so innocent and slightly pitiful that even her voice was soft and gentle.

What a well-behaved and understanding child!

Ji Qingli frowned slightly and looked displeased. Ji Ran had only just arrived today, and already Jiang Liqi was scolding her. He automatically interpreted Ji Ran’s words as a reprimand.

“Ran Ran has just arrived here and is not familiar with things yet. She has always been well-behaved and understanding. As her elder, you should take care of her and be patient with her. If there’s any problem, you should talk to her nicely.” Ji Qingli looked at Jiang Liqi with disapproval in his eyes.

His words weren’t particularly harsh, but they sounded like a bolt from the blue in Jiang Liqi’s ears. After all, she had just married Ji Qingli, and he had never spoken to her in such a tone.

Seeing Ji Qingli speak this way, Jiang Yi felt that Jiang Liqi was being taken advantage of and immediately said in dissatisfaction, “Daddy, don’t blame Mom. She’s just worried.”

As she said this, Ji Qingli would naturally ask: He inquired, “What happened?”

“Mom sent the driver to pick up Ji Ran early today, but she unexpectedly didn’t take the driver’s car back. She went off somewhere by herself, and it’s been making us worry until now.” Jiang Yi quickly revealed the airport incident. Jiang Liqi hadn’t had a chance to stop her.

Ji Qingli’s eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to Ji Ran. “Ran Ran, why didn’t you take the driver’s car?”

Ji Ran chuckled lightly and recounted the story of her boarding the wrong car. She said with a faint smile, “Daddy, don’t blame the driver. It was my mistake; I boarded the wrong car.”

Suddenly, Ji Qingli turned to look at Jiang Liqi, and his displeasure was evident in his expression.

Jiang Liqi only then remembered that Ji Qingli had instructed her to pick up Ji Ran at the airport. She thought it was strange for her, an elder, to pick up a younger person, so she didn’t go.

Ji Qingli didn’t particularly care whether Jiang Liqi picked up Ji Ran or not. He simply didn’t like Jiang Liqi going against his wishes.

Jiang Liqi knew that saying too much at this moment would be counterproductive. She suggested, “Ran Ran must be tired after such a long flight. How about going to your room to rest?”

“Let’s go. Auntie has prepared a new room for you.” Jiang Liqi stood up and said it warmly.

However, Ji Ran’s sharp ears caught the word “new room.” Although she hadn’t been to B City often, she had been here before during holidays, and she had her own room in this house.

They had prepared a new room for her, so what happened to her original room?

Ji Ran stood still, and after taking a couple of steps, Jiang Liqi realized she hadn’t followed her.

She turned back and asked curiously, “What’s the matter, Ran Ran?”

“I remember I had a room on the second floor,” Ji Ran said calmly.

Her words sent Jiang Yi’s heart racing. That room was currently occupied by Jiang Yi, and she had liked it from the first day she moved here.

It had pale pink double-layered curtains with lace, a feather chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a soft, milky white shag carpet that felt like walking on a cloud.

Although Jiang Liqi had mentioned giving the room back to Ji Ran when she heard Ji Ran was coming, Jiang Yi was crying and making a scene, so Jiang Liqi had no choice but to prepare another room for her.

She had thought that after Ji Ran saw the new room upstairs, it would be difficult for her to cause trouble, but she hadn’t expected Ji Ran to ask directly in front of Ji Qingli.

Jiang Liqi instantly felt uneasy and said, “I’m sorry, Ran Ran. You haven’t been here for a while, and that room has been empty all this time. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I let your sister use it.”

Ji Ran hadn’t been so angry at first, but hearing Jiang Liqi’s insincere excuse made her start to sneer.

So she should thank Jiang Yi, too?

She looked at the Jiang mother and daughter and said with a cold voice, “Since I’m back now, shouldn’t the room be vacated?”

Jiang Yi immediately bit her lip and nervously looked at Jiang Liqi, hoping her mother could help her keep the room.

Jiang Liqi looked embarrassed and said, “It’s too late now. Why don’t you rest for now?” She planned to placate Ji Ran to rest and thought she could bring this up again tomorrow.

“That’s my room.” Ji Ran’s voice turned cold.

Ji Qingli frowned. He had initially thought it was just a room, and it was too late in the evening to make a big fuss about it. But before he could speak, Ji Ran suddenly had tears welling up in her eyes. She seemed to be holding back tears, and the last drop fell as she blinked.

Ji Ran softly sobbed, “Daddy, with so many rooms in the house, why did they have to take mine? Can’t I even have one room now?”

Her words left Ji Qingli stunned.

This child, Ji Ran, has always been quite stubborn. Ji Qingli remembered that when she was a child, no matter how Pei Yuan scolded her, she never cried. They say daughters are like little cotton jackets for their fathers because daughters tend to be spoiled and cry for their fathers. However, Ji Qingli had rarely seen Ji Ran cry or ask for things.

So, when she did cry, Ji Qingli felt that she was genuinely wronged.

Instinctively, he reprimanded, “That’s Ran Ran’s room. How can you let someone else stay there?”

The term “someone else” directly embarrassed Jiang Yi, who was almost on the verge of tears.

Ji Ran looked at Ji Qingli, who was eager to protect her, and she had a moment of realization. She gently raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

It turns out that children who cry really get what they want.

Even if their acting skills are not perfect, there are still people willing to believe them.

The most embarrassing moment for Jiang Yi was yet to come.

Because it was indeed late, Jiang Liqi had to call the housemaid to help move Jiang Yi’s belongings out of the room. Although the room Jiang Liqi had prepared for Ji Ran was not bad, Jiang Yi still felt like her heart was about to explode as she looked at the room.

When she was moving her last items from Ji Ran’s room, Ji Ran, who was standing at the door, suddenly spoke, “Stop.”

Jiang Yi turned around, almost gritting her teeth, and asked, “What else do you want?”

“The necklace on your neck…” Ji Ran lowered her head to glance at the necklace around her neck. Since it was summer, she was wearing it, and Ji Ran could see it clearly. “It’s mine, isn’t it?”

Jiang Yi froze.

It was an exquisite necklace that she had found in the dressing table’s jewelry box when she first moved into the room. At that time, she wondered who would leave such a beautiful and delicate necklace here.

Ji Ran reached out, her tone indifferent, and said, “Give it back to me, right now.”

This time, Jiang Yi felt like she was about to grind her teeth to dust, but she still put down the items in her hand and unfastened the necklace from her neck, handing it to Ji Ran.

Ji Ran held the necklace in her hand, and the diamonds on the pendant sparkled in the light.

Just as Jiang Yi was about to bend over to pick up her things, Ji Ran suddenly raised her hand. The necklace in her hand cut through the air and disappeared through the window at the end of the second-floor corridor.

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. When she took the necklace out to show her friends, they were all so envious and praised it as beautiful.

Especially the diamonds on it were all real.

Ji Ran looked directly at Jiang Yi, making it clear that she wanted Jiang Yi to understand that she couldn’t take other people’s things.

“I don’t want things I don’t need, and you don’t deserve to take them,” she said plainly.