Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Refuse To Cancel Her Plan
Without waiting for a formal response, Qiao Meixia casually tossed down her phone onto the nightstand. Soon after, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
...
The next morning, Qiao Meixia woke up much earlier than usual. After efficiently washing up and getting dressed in her usual comfortable black attire, she left her room and headed downstairs to leave the house. By the time Butler Jun finally noticed her departure and caught up to her, she was already standing near the grand front gate of the estate.
"Miss Qiao, please wait a moment!" Butler Jun called out, his breathing slightly rushed as he jogged down the driveway.
Hearing his frantic voice, Qiao Meixia stopped walking and slowly turned around to face him. A trace of genuine confusion appeared in her calm eyes. She truly did not understand why the head butler was calling for her so early in the morning when the rest of the family was still fast asleep.
"Yes?" Qiao Meixia tilted her head slightly, her face completely blank.
"Miss Qiao, where exactly are you going so early in the morning?" Butler Jun asked, adjusting his formal vest as he stopped directly in front of her.
"To pick up my parcels." Qiao Meixia answered directly, offering no further unnecessary details.
She was absolutely certain that the items and advanced hardware components she had ordered online yesterday would arrive today. She had specifically used her private penthouse address as the delivery destination. Since commercial delivery riders were strictly not allowed to enter that high-security residential complex without prior authorisation, the packages would most likely be left securely with the guards at the main entrance.
"Pick up your parcels?" Butler Jun repeated, blinking his eyes in pure confusion.
"Yes. I bought some things online." Qiao Meixia nodded, completely open and casual about it.
"But Miss Qiao, why didn’t you just use this mansion’s address as the delivery destination? The household staff could have easily received them for you." Butler Jun asked, genuinely wondering why she was going through all this extra, outside trouble.
"Oh..." Qiao Meixia paused briefly, looking at him with a perfectly deadpan expression. "I don’t know the address of this house."
Butler Jun was momentarily left completely speechless by her blunt answer. She had already lived here under this roof for three whole days and had not even bothered to memorise the address of her own biological family’s estate. It showed just how little she cared about truly planting roots here.
"Miss Qiao, Madam has already made explicit plans to take you and Young Miss Yanna shopping at the luxury mall today." Butler Jun informed her, trying his best to steer her back toward the family’s pre-arranged schedule.
"Well, I did not know anything about that. She never bothered to tell me directly." Qiao Meixia shrugged, completely unbothered and detached from the sudden announcement. "Besides, I already have other personal plans for today."
"But... shouldn’t you perhaps cancel your plans to accommodate Madam?" Butler Jun suggested cautiously, knowing exactly how upset and offended Feng Lan would be if her maternal authority were rejected.
Qiao Meixia looked at him as if he had just said something incredibly strange and illogical.
"Why exactly should I cancel my own plans?" Qiao Meixia asked flatly. "Your Madam can go shopping with her daughter. There is absolutely no need for them to wait around for me."
At that exact, perfectly timed moment, the ride she had booked through her phone app arrived right outside the heavy iron gates of the estate.
Qiao Meixia did not bother continuing the useless conversation. She walked straight past Butler Jun to the vehicle, opened the passenger door, and smoothly got inside.
The car immediately pulled away from the curb and drove down the street, leaving Butler Jun standing alone on the driveway in stunned, helpless silence. For some inexplicable reason, the veteran butler suddenly felt that the line of communication between Miss Qiao and the rest of the prestigious Jiang family was becoming increasingly strained and fractured with each passing day.
...
Later that morning, the Jiang family members finally woke up one by one and gathered in the formal dining room for breakfast.
"Where is Meixia?" Feng Lan asked, frowning slightly as she took her usual seat at the table.
Butler Jun hesitated for a brief second. However, he knew that he absolutely needed to inform the mistress about Qiao Meixia’s early departure before things escalated.
"Miss Qiao has already gone out." Butler Jun informed her respectfully.
"Gone out again? This early in the morning?" Feng Lan’s brow furrowed deeper, her tone instantly tightening.
"Yes, Madam." Butler Jun nodded.
"Didn’t you explicitly tell her that we were all going shopping together today?" Feng Lan asked, her voice rising with irritation.
"I did inform her, Madam." Butler Jun replied truthfully.
"Then why on earth did she still leave?" Feng Lan demanded, slapping her hand lightly against the polished wood of the dining table to express her annoyance.
Butler Jun remained completely silent for a moment, carefully weighing his words before finally answering honestly. "Miss Qiao said that she already had other plans."
Feng Lan’s expression immediately darkened like a gathering thundercloud upon hearing that.
"What plans could she possibly have that are more important than spending time with her family?" Feng Lan gritted her teeth.
Her pride was thoroughly stung by her biological daughter’s blatant disregard.
Butler Jun simply stood there, not knowing how to answer a rhetorical question like that.
Seeing her mother become so intensely angry because of Qiao Meixia’s cold actions, Jiang Yanna secretly felt immensely pleased. The growing tension in the house was working out perfectly in her favour.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***
