After being reborn, who wouldn't want to have a younger sister?

Chapter 530 Hiding
The next morning, Tao Shuxin was the first to arrive at the door.

Yang Zhi was still tidying up the room when Tao Shuxin burst in.

"oops!"

Yang Zhi, who was jostled and stumbled, shoved Tao Shuxin in annoyance after regaining her balance.

However, Yang Zhi's small frame was no match for Tao Shuxin's. In addition, Tao Shuxin was short and had a very stable lower body, so Yang Zhi couldn't squeeze in at all.

"Hey! Where did your brother hide?" Tao Shuxin asked, hands on her hips.

“He’s at work, where else could he be hiding?” Yangzhi replied.

"Go to work? What kind of work does he go to? He can go if he wants, or he can stay home if he doesn't."

Tao Shuxin glanced at the bedding that Xiao Yangzhi was holding, and suddenly an idea popped into her head.

"My brother needs to make money... Hey! What are you doing?"

Before Yang Zhi could react, Tao Shuxin pulled the quilt she was holding onto the ground.

"Let me check if you've wet the bed."

Tao Shuxin made up a random sentence, picked up the quilt and shook it, squinting as she carefully checked for any evidence of a crime committed last night.

"Are you out of your mind? Get up, I'm going to air it out."

Yang Zhi, filled with shame and indignation, tried her best to snatch the blanket back but failed. In desperation, she kicked the other woman in the buttocks.

Yang Zhi was no longer the naive and ignorant girl she once was, and of course she understood the meaning behind Tao Shuxin's words.

"Why are you drying it when it's already so clean?"

Tao Shuxin, who is thick-skinned and tough, didn't care about being kicked. She just patted her bottom and got up from the mattress.

Do you think everyone is like you?

Yang Zhi picked up the bedding with a disgruntled expression. She would lay out a blanket every night before bed, just in case the sheets got stained and were difficult to wash.

If someone were to act recklessly like Tao Shuxin, it would be a disaster in the future. They would simply find a dry spot on the bed to continue sleeping, and Yang Zhi, who is very particular about cleanliness, would probably not be able to sleep all night.

Tao Shuxin is bad at talking, and every time she stirs up a dispute, she ends up suffering the consequences.

But every time Tao Shuxin saw the perpetually aggrieved look on Xiao Yangzhi's delicate face, she still couldn't resist teasing her.

Playing around was fine, but Tao Shuxin wasn't interested in helping Xiao Yangzhi air out the quilts, since the little girl had a lot of bad habits.

If it were Tao Shuxin, she would just throw the quilt onto the clothesline, but Xiao Yangzhi would smooth out the wrinkles before she would stop, which really gave Tao Shuxin a headache.

"Little Twig, is this the box of lychees?"

Tao Shuxin rummaged through the refrigerator and pulled out the remaining half-box of lychees, waving it at Xiao Yangzhi.

"Ah."

Yang Zhi nodded, picked up the broom placed in the corner of the balcony, and began sweeping the floor from the outside in.

"Don't you have a housekeeper? Just let her clean up."

Tao Shuxin crossed her legs and leisurely watched Xiao Yangzhi sweeping the floor with great effort.

At first, Tao Shuxin felt a little uncomfortable watching her work alone, but over time she got used to it and it became natural. Besides, it made things easier for her.

"I don't like others touching my things," Yang Zhi said without looking up.

"When you're not staying here, Auntie will come up and tidy up. It's no big deal," Tao Shuxin said nonchalantly.

"My pleasure."

Despite the fact that this is true, Yang Zhi still expressed her dissatisfaction with Tao Shuxin's act of revealing the truth.

"You eat shit! Whether you like it or not."

Tao Shuxin rolled her eyes.

"Hehe, how naive."

Yang Zhi scoffed and ignored her.

"what?"

Tao Shu wasn't one to suffer a loss, so since she couldn't get the upper hand verbally, she deliberately threw the fruit peels on the ground, waiting for Xiao Yangzhi to sweep them up.

However, Yang Zhi had already figured out Tao Shuxin's nature. As long as she ignored her, Tao Shuxin would behave herself after a while.

No one can withstand passive-aggressive behavior, especially a girl like Tao Shuxin who loves to chatter.

Seeing that Xiao Yangzhi had gone to tidy up the house and hadn't even swept up the fruit peels scattered on the floor, Tao Shuxin grabbed a handful of lychees and followed her.

"It's not even that tasty? Twenty yuan a piece, you're not lying to me, are you?" Tao Shuxin asked.

"To be precise, it's nineteen yuan and ninety cents," Yang Zhi said casually.

"What's the difference between that and twenty yuan? Tsk tsk, your brother's got money now, he doesn't treat money like money anymore," Tao Shuxin complained.

“It wasn’t my brother who bought it. He said it was a scam, and that Aunt Zhou bought it all.”

Yangzhi pouted and tapped the floor with a broom, indicating that it was someone downstairs who did it.

"Did your stepmother buy it?"

"Your stepmother!"

"Hehehe..." Finally, Tao Shuxin got to Xiao Yangzhi's point and laughed mischievously, asking, "Aunt Zhou is quite nice to you, don't you dislike her?"

"do not know."

Yang Zhi couldn't figure out why she disliked Zhou Ping; perhaps it was because Zhou Ping resembled her mother in some ways.

Of course, Yangzhi doesn't dislike her mother; she just finds it annoying to see similarities between herself and others.

"How could someone dislike another person for no reason? Tell me, what's the reason?"

Tao Shuxin, who was always gossipy, immediately became interested, snatched the broom from Xiao Yangzhi's hand and threw it aside, then pulled her to sit cross-legged.

Yang Zhi wanted to close the doors and windows, but Tao Shuxin held her tightly and wouldn't let her move, so she had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the bed.

Seeing her guilty look, Tao Shuxin thought she would hear some unsavory things from Xiao Yangzhi.

However, Xiao Yangzhi kept nagging in her ear for a long time, talking about trivial matters. Even when Zhou Ping invited her friends over to play cards and chat, she would single them out and talk about it.

"Wow, how petty! Being a stepmother must be tough..."

As Tao Shuxin listened, she couldn't help but sigh. "..."

Yang Zhi fell completely silent. She had thought Tao Shuxin would help her complain, but unexpectedly, Tao Shuxin sympathized with Zhou Ping instead.

What do you mean? Do you want to be a stepmother?

Tao Shuxin noticed that Xiao Yangzhi's expression suddenly turned sour, and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "What you said is right, Aunt Zhou did not do well."

However, despite saying that, Tao Shuxin didn't think Zhou Ping had done anything wrong. Apart from wanting to complain about Xiao Yangzhi, she really had no other thoughts.

Although Tao Shuxin isn't very emotionally intelligent, she's an adult and naturally understands that it's wrong to criticize someone when her friends are talking badly about them.

Whether it was because she had been staying at home for too long or because she hadn't seen Tao Shuxin for several days, Yang Zhi became more talkative.

She didn't even notice when the nanny brought her fruits and snacks. It was only after Tao Shuxin reminded her to stop talking that Yang Zhi belatedly covered her mouth.

"Oh? You changed your nanny?"

Tao Shuxin, whose eyesight wasn't very sharp, suddenly realized that the auntie delivering the snacks was a woman she didn't recognize. Curious, she stared at Xiao Yangzhi's arm with wide eyes.

"Ah."

Yang Zhi frowned slightly. Although her previous nanny was so enthusiastic that she felt uncomfortable, they had been together for over a year. Now that a stranger had suddenly appeared, she had to readjust and it felt like such a hassle.

"Why? Is it because the previous aunt was inefficient?" Tao Shuxin asked.

"On the one hand, Aunt Zhou said that nannies shouldn't stay at the employer's house for too long, as they are prone to breaking the rules."

"Huh? Why didn't you complain about Aunt Zhou's behavior earlier?" Tao Shuxin asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I think she has a point,” Yang Zhi said.

"Uh……"

Tao Shuxin opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. After all, she had taken care of him for over a year, yet Xiao Yangzhi showed her absolutely no affection.

Tsk tsk, what a cold and heartless person...

"Are you eating anything?" Yang Zhi asked.

"Isn't this there?"

Tao Shuxin pointed to the dried fruit on the plate, her hands busy.

The Xu family truly lives up to their reputation as a dog-loving family; they have a ton of snacks at home, and they're all quite delicious.

"Then take some back with you to eat," Yang Zhi said.

"Oh, you're going to give me a ride?" Tao Shuxin asked.

"Okay, you can take it back. My family bought a lot, and we'll just have Aunt Zhou give away any we can't finish anyway, so we might as well give it to you," Yang Zhi said.

"Tch, you only remember me now that there's something delicious to eat..." Tao Shuxin said with dissatisfaction.

"Do you want it or not?"

"I want it! Only a fool wouldn't take something given away for free!"

Tao Shuxin patted the crumbs off her hands and pulled Xiao Yangzhi to get them.

However, once they reached the basement storage room, Yangzhi suddenly regretted it.

Letting Tao Shuxin into the storage room is no different from letting a wolf into a flock of sheep; she's incredibly shameless and wants everything she sees.

He even muttered to himself, "It wasn't for nothing that I took so much stuff from home to Jiangcheng! Hey! I finally got my money back!"

“This is my dad’s tea; my brother wants some too,” Yang Zhi reminded him.

"Oh dear, tea leaves aren't like tea cakes; they don't taste good if left out for too long. This box has so many cans; what's wrong with me taking two cans? And give me a box of cigarettes and alcohol too."

"Hey, hey, hey, stop taking it, how about we go shopping instead..."

"Huh?" Tao Shuxin was stunned. It was the first time Xiao Yangzhi had ever mentioned shopping. She immediately became angry and said, "Damn it! You stingy little devil! Do you know how much your brother took? I'm only taking a few things and you're not happy about it. Let me tell you! I'm not leaving until the trunk is full!"

"Isn't there food? You don't need cigarettes, alcohol, or tea. If you keep doing this, I won't invite you next time..." Yang Zhi said aggrievedly.

"Don't you understand social etiquette? I can give it to my parents. Okay, okay, I won't take it."

Seeing her stingy look, Tao Shuxin rolled her eyes at her.

I really don't know how such generous people as the Xu father and son could raise such a stingy little girl like Yangzhi.

"You've already said it, so just take it. Otherwise, if you tell my brother, he'll scold me again."

"Damn it! Am I the kind of person who tattles behind people's backs?"

Tao Shuxin glared at her angrily, determined to show her that she felt guilty.

"You're absolutely right..."

Yang Zhi completely ignored her. It wasn't like she hadn't heard Tao Shuxin talking badly about her behind her back. Tao Shuxin might not remember some of the things Tao Shuxin said, but Yang Zhi remembered them very clearly.

"whispering sound……"

Tao Shuxin also realized that the little girl in front of her was immoral and had eavesdropped on her phone calls many times, so she simply decided not to argue with her.

"By the way, Sister Tao Tao, why have you been avoiding my brother lately?" Yang Zhi suddenly asked.

"I'm avoiding him? He's the one avoiding me, okay? Didn't you see how early I arrived today?" Tao Shuxin said, rolling her eyes.

“You know perfectly well that the press conference is coming up this year. My brother leaves early and comes home late every day. You didn’t even say you were coming today, so how could he possibly run into you?” Yang Zhi said.

"It's none of your business," Tao Shuxin said unhappily.

"It's none of my business, do as you please."

Yang Zhi wasn't that curious, so since Tao Shuxin wouldn't say, she didn't ask either.

"Hmph, you'd love for me to do that, wouldn't you?" Tao Shuxin said resentfully.

"No, I'm not as petty as you."

Yang Zhi spoke calmly, then passed the message on to her.

"..."

Tao Shuxin was utterly speechless.

If you hold such a grudge, how can you say you're not petty?
(End of this chapter)