"Ji Yunhe, how can you be such an ungrateful little bitch? The Ji family is magnanimous enough to raise you for nearly 10 years without asking for anything in return and yet, you aren't even willing to help your little sister and grant this one small favor of mine?!!"
Having been hauled to the ground like some worthless trash, Ji Yunhe let out a cold snort.
She looked at the pair of shameless mother and daughter towering above her, pointing fingers at her and showering her with their disgusting saliva, before her numbed gaze settled on the indifferent middle-aged man behind them.
When faced with their obvious one-sided humiliation, Mr Ji merely sat there with his legs crossed, calm eyes scanning his freshly-printed newspaper as he sipped his coffee.
Ji Yunhe's heart grew cold. Long gone was the hope and reverence she once held for the middle-aged man who once personally picked her out of the orphanage and welcomed her to the family with open arms.
That man who once told her that she was also someone worthy to be loved… was simply no longer there, leaving behind this shell of a father who could only demand more and more outrageous things from her.
"Bitch, how dare you ignore your elders when they're talking? Do you have no manners?!!" Looking at Ji Yunhe's seemingly unaffected beautiful face, even daring to look away when her mother was scolding her, Ji Manman raised her hand to deliver her a slap.
Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed past Ji Yunhe's eyes as she caught Ji Manman's wrist, gripping it so hard that Ji Manman let out a painful welp.
"Arghh! Let go!"
Ji Yunhe smirked, doing as what's told of her but not before standing to her feet and returning Ji Manman the slap that she very much owed her, if not more.
Plakk!
The sound rang out so crisply against the silent air as Ji Manman held her burning cheeks in disbelief.
"Bitch! You dare... you actually dare…" Her red eyes watered, lips trembling as she rushed to her mother's comfort.
"Man Man…" Mrs Ji's heart literally broke into pieces as she took in her precious daughter's heart wrenching sobs.
Mrs Ji hatefully glared at Ji Yunhe, the flames of her wrath flaring even more when she caught sight of the smirk lingering on the girl's lips.
"Ji Yunhe! How could you treat your sister so harshly? Even if you held no gratitude towards the family, how could you repay our kindness with enmity?"
Seeing that Ji Yunhe didn't dare to raise any words against her, Mrs Ji thought that she had succeeded to guilt trip the girl once more and worked even harder with her PUA skills.
"Ji Yunhe, is it so hard for you to give in to your sister for once? Manman had told me everything. If not for her absence that day, she could've been chosen to be the leading dancer of the upcoming Swan Lake performance instead."
"Yunhe, you know Manman's ballet skills well. Call Instructor Mu and tell her that Manman will take your place okay?"
The more she talked, the more the confidence Mrs Ji regained. In her memory, Ji Yunhe was always that one meek girl she could easily control and manipulate with just a few twisted words.
She was a girl of many talents, a perfect stepping stone her precious daughter Ji Manman could make use of to further solidify her bright future.
If not for the girl suddenly turning rebellious in these few recent days, Mrs Ji wouldn't have been so uneasy to shed all her pretense and reveal her true face this early.
'Ji Manman's ballet skills?'
Ji Yunhe nearly laughed out loud. Excuse her, but did she even have any in the first place? All that foolish girl had was nothing but the confidence that she's the best. Oh the audacity!
"I apologize, Mrs Ji, but lying to the instructor would do more harm than good especially when I'm still a part of the crew." Ji Yunhe offered the pair of mother and daughter a mocking smile, eyes slowly curving into crescents as she patted the dust off her pleated skirt and stood proud with her back straight.
"Xiao He!" Mr Ji finally couldn't hold his silence. He slammed his newspaper hard against the table, reprimanding her with a fierce tone, "You are the bigger sister. There's nothing wrong with the bigger sister suffering a little for the younger sister's sake."
"Xiao He, it's not that I'm being deliberate in picking out your mistakes but, you clearly knew that Manman wasn't feeling well that day and therefore couldn't participate in the selection. How could you turn against her back and sneakily participate by yourself? Have you ever thought about Manman's feelings?"
Ji Yunhe almost couldn't believe her ears. Oh father, do you even know what you're talking about?
'Have you ever thought about my feelings? After all, I'm also your daughter.'
The light in her eyes turned dim as Ji Yunhe took in Mr Ji's emotionless eyes, engraving the cruel sight deep in her heart.
'Remember, Ji Yunhe. This is the true face of the father you once loved and revered so much. Till the end of the day, all that he ever cared for was his own blood family and himself but never you, Ji Yunhe!'
The pain stabbed deep in her heart but Ji Yunhe didn't even flinch. Instead, the ends of her lips rose high as she laughed like a madman.
"Oh boy," She laughed and crackled, tears spilling out of her curved eyes as she poorly closed her snigger with her hand. "Forgive me, but do you really think that Ji Manman could accomplish anything without my help? Without me, it would even be a question if she could be accepted into the academy in the first place."
Ji Manman's fair face immediately turned green at her words. "You…"
"Shut it." Ji Yunhe didn't let Ji Manman interrupt her.
"Ji Manman, you're just a good-for-nothing who could only hide behind your parent's back and wag your dog's tongue. Be it your grades or talent, is there anything that you can take out to be called an achievement?"
"As for father…. Ah, no… Mr Ji. I should've known that you have never been sincere since the first day you took me in. In your eyes, I am just a fated lucky girl who will bring fortune to the family. No wonder, no wonder you have never said anything whenever Mrs Ji and Ji Manman joined hands to bully me."
"Even when Ji Manman went as far as drowning me in the river on the coldest night of winter, you didn't say a word and merely concluded the incident as a fault on my side."