SYLFS 18

Chapter: 18 

 I’m Moving Out

“Ha…”

Standing beside her, Jiang Huai let out a small laugh. Clearly, he found Guan Xuxu’s retort amusing.

But Jiang Han’s face immediately darkened.
“That’s absurd! That’s pure sophistry!”

Guan Xuxu looked at him calmly.
“Isn’t that your logic? I just used your reasoning to make my point. What’s wrong with that?”

“There’s no way that room could be the same as the one in the National Museum!” Jiang Han said in disbelief.

From the side, Jiang Su cut in.
“Guan Xuxu, you’re so stingy, you know that? It’s just a room! It’s not like you can’t live without it. Do you have to be so stubborn?”

Guan Xuxu only smiled.
Yes—there were plenty of rooms in the house. So why this one in particular?

Then Jiang Cheng, the third brother, stepped forward.
“Jiang Han isn’t wrong. That ‘princess-style’ room was meant for a child anyway, right? You don’t even like that kind of decor. Is there any need to fight over it with a kid? If you really want, take my room and let Yingying have that one. Problem solved. You’ve been bickering about this room since yesterday—people are laughing at us.”

Jiang Su snorted.
“Yeah, all because of someone. We never had this kind of drama before she came back.”

The implication was clear: it was Guan Xuxu’s return that had disturbed the peace of the Jiang family.

Even though the room assignments had originally been decided by Yao Lin, somehow, everyone was blaming Guan Xuxu.

Jiang Huai, who had been listening quietly, gradually lost his smile. But before he could speak—

Jiang Han spoke again, sounding irritated.
“So, in the end, you just don’t want to give it up, right?”

“That’s right. I don’t want to.”

The clear, crystalline voice fell upon everyone’s ears.

No one expected her to refuse so directly.

Guan Xuxu looked at them with her bright almond-shaped eyes—calm, cold, unwavering.

This kind of accusation—she’d heard it all before, countless times since childhood.

“Ruirui, she’s your little sister. You’re the older one, so you should let her have it.”
“We can’t keep a fox in the house! What if Ruirui gets scared? Throw it out, now!”
“You live here eating for free, and now you want to keep a pet beast? Guan Xuxu, are you deliberately trying to make everyone uncomfortable?”

She was used to it.

But being used to it didn’t mean accepting it.

Everyone only gets one life—why should she always have to give way just because she’s older?

Especially when that room—

That room had been lovingly decorated by her parents, who had eagerly awaited her birth.

There had once been people who looked forward to her arrival. She had only learned that truth yesterday.

…

Jiang Ying had assumed that once her brothers spoke up, the room would automatically be hers.

But after hearing everything, that terrible woman, Guan Xuxu, still refused to give it up!

Just like Sister Xuexi said—once she came back, Jiang Ying would no longer be the only girl in the house.

No one would spoil her like before—not even Brother Jiang Huai was taking her side now!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got—until finally, she burst into loud tears.

“Waaah! I hate you! Get out! Get out of this house!”

Her shrill cry echoed down the hallway, freezing the air in an instant.

Guan Xuxu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but her expression gave nothing away.

Even Jiang Su and the others were momentarily stunned.

No matter how heated an argument got, some things should never be said—even the hot-tempered Jiang Su understood that.

As expected, a sharp, icy voice cut through the air.
“Jiang Ying!”

Jiang Huai’s face was darker than anyone had ever seen it, his cold gaze making Jiang Ying flinch in fear.
Her crying stopped instantly.

At that moment, two figures came up the stairs—Jiang Yucheng and Jiang Yutong, both just back from work.

Yucheng’s face, as usual, was calm and imposing.
“What’s going on here?”

Yao Lin’s heart skipped a beat. Before anyone else could explain, she hurriedly led Jiang Ying forward and gave an awkward smile.

“They were just fooling around. It’s my fault—I didn’t think carefully enough when preparing Xuxu’s room. Yingying threw a tantrum wanting to switch rooms with her sister, but Xuxu wouldn’t agree…”

And just like that, all the brothers’ attempts to pressure Guan Xuxu disappeared from the story. What remained was the impression that Xuxu refused to compromise.

Jiang Huai frowned, about to speak up, but Jiang Yutong spoke first.

“It’s just about a room, isn’t it? Didn’t we already rearrange the rooms yesterday?”

Yucheng frowned, turning his gaze to Guan Xuxu.
“We’ll talk about the room later. Xuxu, I want to ask you something.”

Hearing her name, Guan Xuxu instinctively looked up.

“Did you… go to the Song family today?”

Her pupils flickered slightly, but she quickly steadied herself and nodded. “Yes.”

Yucheng’s brows furrowed deeper, his face growing stern.
“I told you yesterday—you don’t need to involve yourself in the Song family’s affairs. I’ll handle it.”

Sensing something off, Jiang Huai stepped forward protectively.
“What happened?”

Yutong added from the side,
“The Songs called my brother. Apparently, Xuxu said something strange to Madam Song. They wanted to know what she meant.”

In an instant, every gaze turned to Guan Xuxu—some shocked, some reproachful—accusing her of meddling.

The matter of “restoring Zhi’s intelligence” concerning the Song family’s daughter was delicate. Yet she had gone there and said something odd?

It looked as if she was deliberately trying to cause trouble between the Jiangs and the Songs.

“It’s one thing to talk nonsense about spirits at home, but you actually went to the Song residence?” someone snapped. “Didn’t you hear what Great-Uncle said yesterday?”

“Xuxu, that was really thoughtless,” Yao Lin sighed. “The Jiangs and the Songs have business partnerships, you know.”

Jiang Su scoffed. “See? She’s been back for how long and already causing problems!”

Ignoring their words, Guan Xuxu looked straight at Jiang Yucheng and said evenly,
“I never claimed to be a member of the Jiang family.”

Yutong interjected, “The Songs could easily look into who you are. Besides, I heard you went there in a Chu family car.”

Guan Xuxu pressed her lips together. She knew it had been careless.

Yucheng’s voice deepened as he pressed further. The call from Mr. Song had carried a barely restrained anger.

Guan Xuxu recounted briefly what had happened at the Song residence—including her sense that Song Yuli might soon face danger.

As soon as she said it, everyone’s faces changed again—this time with disbelief and outrage.

To visit someone’s house and tell them, “You might face misfortune”?
That was practically a curse! How could she be so tactless?

After a long, heavy silence, Yucheng finally spoke.
“You acted rashly. Even if you truly sensed something, you shouldn’t have said it outright. I’ll explain things to the Songs myself. But from now on, stay out of this matter.”

He simply wanted to protect the daughter he had finally gotten back from getting caught up in trouble.

Just as Guan Xuxu was about to respond, he added,

“As for the room—if Yingying likes it, let her have it. I’ll have another room prepared for you. You can redecorate it however you want.”

To him, a single room wasn’t worth much.

That room had once been filled with his longing for his lost daughter, but now that she was home, the sentiment mattered more than the space itself.

He didn’t want his reunited daughter clashing with the family over something so trivial.

But those lightly spoken words made Guan Xuxu freeze.

After a long silence, the light in her almond eyes slowly dimmed—
like a shooting star fading into the darkness of a midnight forest.

“Father!” Jiang Huai called anxiously, trying to explain that it wasn’t as simple as he thought.

But before he could, Guan Xuxu spoke first.

Her voice was calm, cold, and distant—colder even than yesterday.

“There’s no need.”

She looked straight at Jiang Yucheng and said quietly,

“I’m moving out.”