Chapter 11: Quit 011

Chapter 11

Su Tao's low and gloomy voice made the two other men in the room sit up straight instantly, feeling a slight chill.

Xie Jin wanted to say something but was silenced by a cold glance from Su Tao, so he closed his mouth.

Even Xie Jin was cowed, so Su Yang Xing didn't dare to speak up randomly either. He could only sit quietly to the side, minimizing his presence.

"I'm going to sell the car. If you don't give me the spare key, I'll call the police."

After throwing down those words, Su Tao took off her work badge and stormed out with large strides.

-

The weather at the end of June was unpredictable. It had been sunny and hot during the day but was now cool and gloomy at night.

Su Tao arrived at the villa compound of the old family home. Looking at the house she hadn't returned to for a year, her eyes dimmed.

Holding a cake, she rang the doorbell.

Soon, an unfamiliar young woman's voice came through the intercom, "Who is it?"

Su Tao hesitated for a moment before answering, "Su Tao."

"Su Tao?" The voice on the other end also seemed to hesitate for a moment before falling silent. After about half a minute, the lock on the gate clicked open.

Su Tao curled her lips. This family was becoming more and more unfamiliar.

Walking through the yard, there was a half-grown small tree in the corner of the west wall. It was planted by her father with his own hands when her mother was still alive. Now it had a few scattered leaves, looking malnourished.

Arriving at the door, Su Tao withdrew her gaze and looked inside the bright, warmly lit living room. An unfamiliar woman was fawning over her elder brother Su HaoYang with a charming smile.

That was probably the woman who had spoken through the intercom just now, her brother's new girlfriend.

The door wasn't locked so Su Tao pushed it open. Her stepmother Li Pei happened to come out of the kitchen at that moment and they bumped right into each other.

Li Pei was startled for a moment, looked Su Tao up and down, and gave a perfunctory slight smile. "You're back, have a seat."

Su Tao ignored her cold attitude, directly changed into slippers and went inside.

Her tall and thin brother came up to greet her. He wore gold wire-rimmed glasses, which should have made his quite handsome face look sharper. But that effect was ruined by his shifty little eyes. "Tao Tao, why did you only just come back? I was thinking of calling you today to ask what time you'd be back, and whether I should send a car to pick you up."

Of all the people in this family, only her big brother would show her some courtesy on the surface, regardless of whether he was sincere or not. At least it didn't make things awkward.

"Where's Dad?" But Su Tao didn't bother reciprocating his fake courtesy. She just wanted to wish her dad a happy birthday face to face, even though she knew he wouldn't care about her well wishes.

"In the study."

Watching Su Tao walk towards the study, Su HaoYang's girlfriend said coyly, "Didn't you say your little sister is the most scheming and we have to watch out for her? She looks quite well-behaved to me."

Su HaoYang glared at her and hissed, "Shut up."

The study door was open. Su Tao stood quietly in the doorway, watching the man nearing sixty write large characters. The scene of their argument from a year ago was vivid in her mind. She seemed to have knocked over his ink at the time.

Su Tao closed her eyes briefly, mustered her courage, and gently knocked on the door.

Su Sheng slowly raised his head. Seeing Su Tao visibly tense up, the warmth in his eyes cooled. "You're back."

Su Tao didn't mind his cold attitude. She took out the red packet she had prepared long ago, went in and placed it on his desk. "Dad, happy birthday."

"Take it away!" Su Sheng looked at her coldly. "My inheritance has nothing for you. I don't need you to support me in my old age either."

That was fair.

Everyone sat around the dining table, chatting animatedly and harmoniously. Ironically, Xie Jin's arrival made the family seem united for once.

"President Xie, I heard your company's portal and video platform has officially launched. Let me offer my belated congratulations." Su HaoYang raised his glass with a smile towards Xie Jin.

Now as company head, he spoke like a seasoned corporate executive.

Xie Jin was the platform founder after all. This relationship was invaluable.

But Xie Jin didn't raise his glass. His thoughts still lingered on the company name as his fingers habitually tapped the table slowly.

Su Tao knew this meant he was in a bad mood and angry.

"Our Tao Tao is prettier than ever," Li Pei said with a smile as she put a prawn on Su Tao's plate, chummy as a real mother. "Your dad talks about missing you every day. I was just thinking today, your dad's birthday would be so much happier if Tao Tao could come back."

The small tapping sounds suddenly ceased. Xie Jin casually picked up the prawns from her bowl and peeled them for Su Tao, disregarding everyone's astonished looks as he stuffed them into her mouth. After wiping his hands, he raised his head to look at Li Pei.

"So you made Su Yang Xing steal Xiao Tao's car just to get her to come back for dinner?" Xie Jin's deep eyes lightly flicked up as he smiled mockingly. "Your family has such a unique way of getting people home for dinner."

The four looked at each other, their smiles freezing instantly.

They didn't know Xie Jin's temperament and didn't expect him to be so sharp-tongued and aggressive.

"Yang Xing, what's going on? How could you take your sister's car?" Li Pei scolded him, but her eyes darted to Xie Jin.

Su Tao smiled silently. If she had been deaf earlier, Li Pei's words might have fooled her.

"Alright, let's stop pretending to be ignorant and acting. I shouldn't have come today," Su Tao stood up again and said softly, "I won't come again in the future either."

Everyone was stunned when Su Tao calmly got up to leave. They wanted to stop her but didn't dare say another word under Xie Jin's ominous gaze, only watching her depart.

"Sis!" Su Yang Xing chased after her from the house and grabbed her arm, holding up the car key. "Here's your car back. Will you still be able to come home in the future?"

Su Tao glanced at the small tree in the corner before taking the car key from him and saying lightly, "The things I left in this family, I won't ask for them anymore in the future. Use whatever you took however you want, no need to specifically tell me again."

"Sis, you really don't want this family anymore?" Su Yang Xing furrowed his brows tightly.

He liked bullying Su Tao.

But who made Su Tao always so good-tempered that he wanted to see her yell and vent her anger at him.

At least that way she wouldn't seem so distant.

He didn't know how envious his classmates were that he had a sister like a fairy - good grades, good personality, good looks.

But this perfect sister wasn't close to him. Though they were family, blood siblings, she spoke to him even less than strangers.

He deliberately provoked her to get her attention.

But what Su Yang Xing didn't know was that the unfair distribution of family resources made her cherish everything she obtained even more.

Those were all hard-won through her efforts. If she lost or damaged them, she wouldn't have replacements. She'd have to work even harder to get them again.

So Su Yang Xing didn't understand why Su Tao treasured so much things he could easily obtain.

He also didn't know how much harm he had caused her.

But it was all in the past. She no longer needed the family's resources. She could now obtain anything she wanted herself.

She looked up at the gloomy weather but suddenly felt much lighter, why bear so much? She should travel light.

"I don't need it anymore."