Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

Li Beichen only learned later from his elder brother and father that Li Siya had laid a spell to harm people in the Li family; then he heard that Shen Jingshu was actually a special consultant of the Special Affairs Bureau.

The two events combined made him determined to cling tightly to his younger sister's coattails. At this moment, his gaze towards Shen Jingshu was filled with undisguised admiration.

Seeing this, Li Wenqian and Li Hanting, who were standing to the side, couldn't help but frown slightly.

Isn't the second brother going a bit too far? He's practically begging to be Jing Shu's lackey; he's stealing the spotlight! If it were me...

Shen Jingshu took the soy milk from Li Beichen, took a small sip, gently placed the porcelain cup on the table, and looked up to speak calmly.

"Mom, did anyone come into my room yesterday?"

Lin Wanqing, who was absentmindedly eating her breakfast, suddenly looked up when she heard this: "You mean this? Xinyi came by yesterday and was curious to see what your room looks like, so I let her go upstairs and take a look."

"Just a glance?"

"What else? What happened?" Lin Wanqing asked calmly. "I suppose Xinyi was just curious and picked up something on the table to look at it. You're the older sister, and Xinyi is the younger sister. There's no need to make a fuss about such a small thing. Didn't she often come into your room before?"

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Mom, I don't like people entering my room without my permission."

Lin Wanqing didn't take her earnestness to heart, waving his hand dismissively: "Alright, Xinyi isn't an outsider. I'll be more careful next time, okay?"

Shen Jingshu's gaze turned slightly cold as she looked directly at her: "Did she take anything from the Li family yesterday?"

"Snap—"

The chopsticks slammed heavily onto the porcelain plate, making a jarring sound.

Lin Wanqing's face instantly darkened, her tone tinged with anger: "Shen Jingshu, what do you mean by that?"

Are you implying you're treating your sister like a thief,,,? Xinyi grew up with you; don't you know what kind of person she is?

Shen Jingshu scoffed softly, "It's precisely because I know her too well."

"Shen Jingshu, speak plainly, stop with the sarcasm! What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm missing a bag in my room. It's the one my second brother brought back for me from his last business trip."

Upon hearing this, Li Beichen was startled: "Huh? Which one are you talking about?"

Everyone at the table was a shrewd individual, and they immediately grasped the gravity of the situation.

Shen Jingshu nodded slightly: "That's right, it's that one. Second brother, how much did you pay for it back then?"

"That's a limited edition, less than ten in the world. I went through a lot of trouble to get it and give it to you. It cost over three million."

Upon hearing the figure of three million, Lin Wanqing gasped sharply, her expression panicked: "This...this is so expensive? Are you sure you didn't put it in the wrong place? Look carefully."

"How could I be wrong? When my second brother brought it back, it was brand new. I kept it in the fitting room and never used it even once."

Lin Wanqing's mind flashed back to yesterday's scene—Shen Xinyi was indeed carrying an exquisite leather bag when she left, and had casually mentioned that she liked it. She hadn't paid it any mind; in the past, whenever Shen Xinyi asked for it, Shen Jingshu would always give in, and besides, she knew nothing about luxury goods, so she never expected its value to be so staggering.

At this moment, she hurriedly explained, "Jing Shu, I didn't know beforehand that it was a gift from Bei Chen, let alone that this bag was so valuable!"

Shen Jingshu looked up at her, her eyes cold and indifferent:

"Mom, it's never about whether the price is high or low. It's that you let others into my room without my permission and allowed them to take my things."

Li Wenqian and Li Hanting simultaneously put down their chopsticks, their four gazes fixed intently on Lin Wanqing.

The oppressive gaze from Li Wenqian made it hard for her to breathe, especially when she met his calm yet disappointed eyes, her heart tightened.

"I...I didn't know that bag was so expensive. Xinyi said she liked it, and I thought you have so many bags, and I've never seen you take them out to use, so I let her take it. This time I didn't think it through, and I was wrong. Next time I will definitely ask for your opinion first and will never make decisions about your things without your permission."

The three members of the Li family—father and sons—did not approve of Lin Wanqing's handling of the matter. As the mistress of the Li family, her arbitrary disposal of the younger generation's personal belongings and her bias towards others were utterly inappropriate and beneath her dignity; ordinary wealthy families would never act in such a way.

Shen Jingshu said calmly, "I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again."

Hearing her admit it, Lin Wanqing's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally settled down. But in an instant, a trace of displeasure crept into her heart—this matter could have been resolved by talking to her privately, but Shen Jingshu insisted on bringing it up in front of the entire Li family, making her lose face.

A hint of estrangement and displeasure flashed across his eyes.

As expected, the youngest daughter is the most considerate. No wonder the other children all preferred Shen Xinyi; only Shen Xinyi would never do anything to embarrass her in public.

After breakfast, Li Wenqian dismissed all the servants, and only after things quieted down did he slowly look at the woman beside him.

"What you did today was indeed inappropriate. How could you give away Jing Shu's things without her consent?"

Lin Wanqing's lips moved, and she originally wanted to explain, "That's not an outsider, it's Xinyi's sister," but when she met the faint disappointment in Li Wenqian's eyes, she silently swallowed the words back.

"Pick a decent gift and give it to Jing Shu as an apology."

"Okay, I understand. It won't happen again next time."

Li Wenqian paused for a moment, his tone gentle yet solemn:

"Besides that, I hope you will treat Jing Shu well. She is your daughter too, and Jing Shu is a good girl."

Lin Wanqing stood there blankly, not understanding the deep regret hidden in his words.

In her heart, the scales of favoritism had long since tipped in Shen Xinyi's favor, and she could not see the grievances that Shen Jingshu had been enduring for so long.

Lin Wanqing stood there, feeling a sense of bewilderment.

This was the second time Li Wenqian had solemnly reminded her to treat Shen Jingshu well.

Her heart was filled with confusion and frustration, and she couldn't help but wonder: Why did everyone in the Li family favor Shen Jingshu so much?

In her mind, everyone has a heart of flesh and blood. Although both children are flesh and blood, kinship can never be truly treated equally. She would naturally and subconsciously favor whoever was more caring or clingier to her. She believed that all parents in the world were probably like this.

But the Li family's favoritism completely disrupted her preconceived notions.

After a long silence, Lin Wanqing sighed softly. Never mind.

Jing Shu has always been aloof and unlovable, never one to whine or act spoiled. Now that everyone in the Li family dotes on her, she'll try to curb her favoritism and treat this daughter well.

However, the embarrassment of being exposed in public this morning and losing face still left a lingering resentment in her heart.