chapter 21
Tu Nan’s heart skipped a beat.
Considering the role she was playing, she really shouldn’t be this quiet.
Cinderella’s stepsister was supposed to be stupid and vicious.
She raised her eyebrows, slapped her hand on the table, and immediately got into character. “I don’t want to eat with Cinderella. She’s dirty and ugly. If I eat with her, I’ll become ugly too.”
Cinderella’s slender fingers clutched tightly at her dusty, tattered dress, lowering her head in embarrassment.
“Shut up.” The Stepmother slammed the table forcefully. “Your father will be home tonight. All of you behave yourselves.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Bella quieted down.
Tu Nan glanced at her expression; she was clearly flustered, even showing a hint of fear.
It seemed the father was not a kind man.
In the first Instance, the Rule clearly stated that the Weird could not harm anyone before the last day, which was a protection for beginners. But in this Instance, that Rule no longer existed.
Judging by the Rule, the father was definitely a very dangerous NPC.
Cinderella sat down opposite Tu Nan, moving carefully and making sure not to make any noise when pulling out her chair.
The meal was lifeless, the atmosphere oppressively low.
After breakfast, Tu Nan returned to her room, intending to search for any missed Rule. But the door was suddenly knocked on-bang, bang.
“Sis, open up, let me in.”
It was Bella.
Tu Nan frowned and opened the door, seeing Bella’s dissatisfied face.
“What’s wrong?” Tu Nan asked.
“Father is coming back.” Bella didn’t care that Tu Nan hadn’t intended to let her in and barged straight in. “Why doesn’t he just die out there? So annoying.”
Tu Nan didn’t know what Layla would say at this moment, so she remained silent.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Bella looked at her in confusion. “Aren’t you always the one who hates Father the most?”
“I’m just thinking about how to deal with him.”
According to the Rule, the father had many taboos and was clearly a troublesome person.
Sure enough, Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust. “If he didn’t bring us gifts every time he came back, and if we didn’t need him to earn money for the family, I’d really want to poison him.”
“Yeah.” Tu Nan replied perfunctorily, “One day I’ll stab him to death.”
“Luckily he only stays for a few days.” Bella’s expression relaxed for a moment, then suddenly turned gloomy again. “But having to eat at the same table as Cinderella every day really makes me sick.”
Tu Nan watched a face-changing performance.
To be fair, she had just looked in the mirror. Of Cinderella’s two stepsisters, Bella was as fat as a winter melon, and she herself was as skinny as a stick insect. Sitting at the same table, it was hard to say who found it more disgusting.
And she wondered why the Stepmother was so beautiful, yet her two daughters looked nothing like her.
Tu Nan found an excuse to send Bella away, then thoroughly searched the room from top to bottom, making sure she hadn’t missed any Rule.
She was a bit tired from searching, so she opened the window to get some fresh air.
Layla’s window happened to overlook the Backyard where Cinderella lived. At that moment, Cinderella was in the yard feeding Bird. She held a bowl of corn kernels, scattering handfuls onto the ground, attracting many Bird to peck at the food.
Tu Nan instinctively scrutinized her. Maybe her gaze was too direct, because Cinderella’s hand paused, and she turned to look back at her.
When she saw it was Tu Nan, Cinderella gave her a radiant smile.
As the protagonist, Cinderella naturally stood out for her beauty. Even dressed in a drab gray dress, her looks were still impossible to hide.
When Tu Nan saw her smile, she paused for a moment before quickly making the reaction expected of her.
She snorted coldly, rolled her eyes just like Bella, and without looking at Cinderella’s reaction, slammed the window shut.
The sun gradually slanted westward. As evening fell and dusk thickened, a horse’s neigh sounded from outside the front gate, immediately followed by a rough male voice carrying clearly into the house.
“Serennity, I’m home.”
Serennity, that is, Layla and Bella’s mother.
Tu Nan’s heart tightened.
-Father is back.
Serennity got up from her seat and went out to greet him.
Tu Nan followed her out, and the whole family went to the entrance to welcome Father.
Father was very tall, appearing almost two meters high. Standing at the door, he was like a mountain, giving off a sense of oppression.
He first embraced Serennity, then Cinderella, and finally Tu Nan and Bella.
In Father’s mind, Cinderella’s status must be higher than hers and Bella’s.
She thought to herself.
“Dear, welcome home.” Serennity kissed Father on the cheek. “Dinner is already prepared.”
Father brought gifts for everyone. Bella couldn’t wait to open hers-it was a beautiful Evening Gown.
Seeing this, Tu Nan also unwrapped her own gift. It was a gemstone necklace, sparkling prettily under the lights.
For Cinderella, he gave a branch.
“Thank you, Father.” Cinderella carefully accepted the gift and gave Father a kiss on the cheek. “This is exactly what I wanted.”
She spoke with her head lowered, looking very shy.
The family sat down at the dining table.
Tu Nan remembered the Rule well, and this time did not dare to pull out her chair carelessly. She was very careful not to make any noise, and even Bella became much more obedient, sitting quietly beside her.
“Dear, tell us about what you saw on your journey,” Serennity said with a smile, pouring Father a glass of wine.
Father took the glass, tipped his head back, and drank it all in one go, letting out a satisfied sigh before slamming the glass down heavily on the table.
“There’s too much to tell, Serennity.”
His voice buzzed in Tu Nan’s ears.
A father who hated noise-yet he was the one making it.
“Today, as I rode past the market, I heard people talking-the King and Queen are holding a Ball to choose a bride for the Prince.”
Bella’s eyes lit up instantly. “Really, Father? When will it be?”
Her voice was inevitably a bit too loud.
Father’s expression immediately changed. A heavy air settled over him as he stared hard at Bella.
Bella seemed to realize something was wrong. She turned pale as a sheet, lowered her head, and began to tremble uncontrollably.
The atmosphere, already far from lively, instantly turned deathly still.
Bella’s voice had indeed been a little loud, but it definitely couldn’t be considered noise. Father’s definition of noise was clearly quite harsh.
“Bella, how many times have I told you, a girl should behave like a girl.” Father’s eyes showed a faint redness. “When you speak so loudly, what will people think of me? They’ll surely mock me behind my back for not raising my daughter properly.”
As he said this, he slammed his hand down hard on the table, with such force that the plates on it rattled.
Bella trembled even harder, her words coming out in stammering fragments, “Sorry… Father… I-I know I was wrong.”