Chapter 35: Making Yu Yue Green with Envy!

"Yu Yue, is there anything I haven't done that you couldn't?"

She had been admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts entirely through her own merit. During her four years of university, even the sketches she drew casually would be handpicked by her professors to be featured in exhibitions.

Even the interpersonal relationships that Yu Yue had always envied—Yu Zao had excelled at them. She served as class monitor for four years, becoming so close with the instructor they were practically sworn siblings. Out of the twenty-some students in the class, whenever the name "Yu Zao" came up, they would smile and say, "Yu Yue and our class monitor are sisters, same father, but our monitor is as warm as a little sun. Then you look at her sister... tsk, tsk, there are no words..."

In short, until not long ago, the one standing in the clouds, truly happy and blessed, was Yu Zao. But now, fate had played the cruelest of jokes.

"Alright, Yu Zao, don't say I didn't warn you. If you offend Lu Ya, watch out—she’ll have your skin off." Yu Yue sneered, "After all, you are different from me. I have Fu Shiyong protecting me."

The last sentence was delivered with pure smugness.

Yu Zao’s fingers curled involuntarily. It seemed that even if one truly lets go, a soul that has long been accustomed to loving someone will still ache in secret.

"Little sister, only the useless spend their days relying on men to survive. And I am not one of them!"

With that, she followed Lu Ya's maid to the private studio.

Lu Ya curled her lip and instructed her butler with casual ease, "Prepare the eighteen tortures of the Qing Dynasty. If she dares to lie to me, I’ll make sure she tastes what it’s like to offend a European noble."

"Understood."

Hearing those all-too-familiar words, Yu Zao was pulled back to memories of her early childhood, where her mother would often put on airs of nobility while bantering with her father. Her favorite line was always, "You dead fish, if you dare to bully me, I’ll have you finished with the eighteen tortures of the Qing Dynasty, ha ha ha..."

An hour later, the studio door remained tightly shut.

Yu Yue, covered in dried paint, looked ridiculous, yet she still managed to sneer, "Lu Ya, see? Aside from her lack of character and her penchant for bragging and lying, my sister is utterly worthless!"

Just as she was about to spew more venom, the little princess slapped her across the face—a crisp, sharp sound.

"Yu Yue, you lowly commoner, how dare you address me by my first name?"

"You! I... I am Fu Shiyong’s fiancée, the wife of the richest man!" The future Mrs. Fu continued to squawk.

Lu Ya backhanded her three or four more times.

Yu Yue clutched her cheek, which had swollen like a bun. Her already cramped facial features were now twisted together.

"So ugly. Isn't that Fu Shiyong supposed to be handsome? Is he blind to fancy a toad like you?"

***

On the other side, a Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the villa.

The man scrambled out of the car, rushing inside while barking orders at his assistant. "Contact the embassy. Tell them Yu Zao is also a daughter of the Yu family. If Lu Ya tries to blame her, have the Fu Group’s legal team intervene."

Fu Shiyong spoke with such speed his words were almost unintelligible. The assistant began taking notes diligently, but midway through, he paused, sensing something was wrong.

"So, Chairman," he asked, bewildered, "you are walking away from a thirty-billion-dollar contract—not for Miss Yu Yue?"

"..."

A moment of silence followed. There was no answer, only a repeated demand for the assistant to carry out his orders.

On the second floor, in the studio, the door pushed open.

The scent of paint infused with special spices hung faintly in the air. Yu Zao untied the silk scarf from her long hair. Her slender neck, stained with a hint of pigment, was instantly highlighted, looking both alluring and elegant.

Lu Ya stared, dumbfounded. She licked her lips. "Are you... sure your surname isn't Yu?"

"No, my name is Liu Zao."

Having said that, she gestured to the fully restored painting on the easel. The fine-brush work was complete; even the compositional flaws of the original had been cleverly mended with exquisite technique.

Lu Ya and Yu Yue rushed over to look. One was so excited she nearly jumped; the other, consumed by a lifetime of jealousy, hatred, and envy, felt as though she might explode at any moment.

"I’ve restored the painting and finished the job. Now, would the Princess please settle today’s fee?"

Her beautiful face, always serene, was now etched with exhaustion. After three years of treatment, every method had been exhausted. Her condition hadn't improved; instead, it had utterly destroyed her once-healthy bodily functions. She could barely hold herself up, and her muscles were beginning to stiffen. This was not a good sign.

Yu Zao had to leave, and quickly.

But Lu Ya wouldn't let go, hugging her tightly and sobbing, insisting, "You are a Yu, you must be a Yu."

"Apologies, Princess, I..."

Before she could finish her explanation, a sharp cry from Yu Yue rang through the room, just as Fu Shiyong stepped through the front door.

Yu Yue tumbled down the spiral staircase, her face and forehead covered in shocking, severe abrasions.

"Yu Yue!"

Seeing this, the man rushed over. But when he saw his beloved fiancée’s swollen face and paint-covered body, his dark, piercing eyes, usually filled with cold authority, constricted violently.

"You..."

"Wuwuwu~ Shiyong, please don't blame my sister. She’s just so desperate to climb the social ladder. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman, she’ll do anything to cling to them."

She didn't explicitly say Yu Zao had hit her, but every word implied the same result: that her own sister, to curry favor with European royalty, had used her, sowed discord, and borrowed Lu Ya’s hand to leave her battered and bruised!

"Was it you?"

Fu Shiyong scooped up the "unconscious" Yu Yue. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, he looked up at Yu Zao, yet he still managed to make her feel as though the pressure alone made it impossible to breathe.

This was the King of Jingbei.

Lu Ya rolled her eyes in frustration, stepping in to defend her. "Hey, you blind idiot, this Miss Liu has been innocent from start to finish. It was clearly Yu Yue causing all the trouble."

"She wouldn't."

"Why?" By the time Yu Zao realized it, the word had already slipped from her lips.

A moment of dead silence.

The man’s thin lips pressed into a tight line as he offered a contemptuous sneer. He stared directly at her and said, "Because I love her. She is the wife I am destined to protect and trust for the rest of my life!"

*And three years ago,* Yu Zao thought, *Fu Shiyong, didn't you tell me, 'Wife, I’ve fallen for you for the rest of my life. Aside from you, I love no one, and I trust no one!'*

*Crack.*

Behind her back, to stop the muscle tremors and spasms that had begun to flare up—and to avoid letting everyone watch her fall apart—Yu Zao bit her lip and forced her own joint out of its socket.

A surge of agonizing pain swept through her.

Yu Yue let out an uncomfortable moan in her "unconscious" state.

Her fiancé, mad with love for her, immediately issued a nervous command: "Take Yu Zao with us. If anything happens to Yu Yue, she will be buried with her!"

Three or four sturdy bodyguards forced her into the car. Lu Ya tried to stop them, but in Jingbei, whatever Fu Shiyong wanted, he got. Never mind the princess of a small nation; even if the gods themselves descended, they would have to show him respect!

The Rolls-Royce sped away.

The little princess gritted her teeth. "Go, notify the embassy. Tell them to intervene personally and get her back for me."

The butler gave a hollow smile, reminding her, "Princess, is it really worth offending Mr. Fu over a penniless cleaner?"