Contract Over: Heiress Unmasked

Chapter 18: Homecoming

After taking the photos, Jiang Shixu handed the phone back to Chutang. His expression was unreadable, his voice cool and detached.

"A friend messaged you."

"Oh? Let me see." Chutang opened the text, and her face instantly stiffened. She knew the notification preview would have displayed the content; there was no way he hadn't seen it.

She glanced back at him, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. "It’s my ex. We’re over."

"I see." His tone remained flat, his eyes devoid of emotion.

"I blocked him on WeChat, but I must have forgotten his number," she explained hurriedly. She hated the panic rising in her chest. She was twenty-five; having an ex was normal. She’d dated him long before agreeing to this alliance. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why did she feel like she’d been caught red-handed?

Steeling herself, Chutang calmed down. "I’ll handle it now."

Under Jiang Shixu’s steady gaze, she blacklisted Gu Zechuan’s number. "You don't have to worry," she added firmly. "I gave you my word. My past stays in the past."

Jiang Shixu nodded, those dark, deep eyes still giving nothing away. But the moment she turned her back, a ghost of a smirk played on his lips.

***

After a few more days of travel, Ruan Chutang and Jiang Shixu returned to Jiang City. She hadn't warned her family she was coming, so there was no welcoming committee at the airport. Instead, Jiang Shixu’s assistant was waiting with a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

The car pulled up in front of the Ruan family villa.

"Want me to walk you in?" Jiang Shixu asked.

Chutang shook her head. "No, I’ve got it."

"Alright."

She stood by the gate, a wave of apprehension washing over her. Jiang Shixu saw the hesitation in her eyes but didn't push. He drove off, leaving her to face her ghosts.

It had been three years since she’d stormed out of this house. Standing there, pressing the doorbell of her own home because she no longer had a key, felt surreal.

The door was opened by Auntie Chen, the longtime housekeeper. The woman froze, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Miss... you're home?" Her voice trembled with unshed tears.

A lump formed in Chutang’s throat. "I’m back, Auntie Chen."

"Thank God... I'll call the Master right away."

"Is he not here?"

"No, he's at the office. The Mistress is at the second young lady’s school for an event."

Chutang felt a wave of relief. She needed a moment to breathe before facing the "happy family"—her stepmother, her half-sister, and the father she’d been at war with for years.

She went upstairs to her bedroom. Everything was exactly as she’d left it. The room was spotless, clearly dusted every single day. She unpacked her things and headed straight for the shower.

When she emerged, there was a knock at the door. "Miss, what would you like for dinner? I’m heading to the market," Auntie Chen called out.

Chutang opened the door with a small smile. "The usual, please."

"You got it!" The older woman beamed. Auntie Chen had been with the Ruans for over a decade and loved Chutang like her own daughter.

On the night Chutang's mother, Su Qingyun, had passed away, it was Auntie Chen who had found the young girl collapsed in the snow and carried her inside. When her father had been too consumed by his own grief to notice his daughter’s fading health, Auntie Chen had stayed by her hospital bed for days. Without her, Chutang wasn't sure she would have survived those dark years.

Even during her three-year exile, Chutang had never missed a holiday call to the woman.

She pulled a gift box from her bag. "This is bird's nest, a specialty from Haicheng. It's for you."

Auntie Chen tried to wave it off. "Oh, no, Miss, I’ll prepare it for you tonight—"

"No," Chutang interrupted, pressing the box into her hands. "I bought this specifically for you. You’ve looked after me for so long. Please, take it."

Auntie Chen’s eyes welled up. "Miss..."

"Sister! Sister, you’re back!"

A high-pitched voice echoed through the hall before a small figure barreled into the room, throwing her arms around Chutang’s legs.

"Jiaojiao missed you so much!" The eight-year-old girl looked up, her eyes sparkling with pure joy.

This was Ruan Jiaojiao, her half-sister. The girl had always been desperate for Chutang’s affection, but Chutang had always kept her at arm's length. She hated Jiaojiao's mother, and that resentment often spilled over.

But looking down at the innocent, beaming face, Chutang couldn't find it in her to be cruel. "Aren't you home early?"

"Jiaojiao heard you were back and begged to come home," Yang Xuelian said, walking in with a polished smile.

Chutang’s posture stiffened instantly. Before she’d left, she’d made it very clear she despised her stepmother.

The hatred ran deep. It wasn't just that her father had remarried; it was that he had married her mother’s best friend. In Chutang’s eyes, Yang Xuelian was a traitor who had swooped in on her friend's husband, and her father was a man who couldn't wait to replace his wife with her closest confidante. That betrayal had turned Chutang from a "perfect daughter" into a rebel with a sharp tongue.

"You must be exhausted," Yang Xuelian continued, ignoring the cold shoulder. "Rest for a bit. I’ll call you when dinner is ready."

Jiaojiao tugged at Chutang’s hand. "Sister, come see my room! I painted a picture for you!"

Chutang pulled her hand away, her expression turning icy. "Not now. I need to sleep."

"Oh... okay." The girl’s face fell, her lip trembling as she looked down at her feet.

Yang Xuelian took Jiaojiao’s hand. "Let’s let your sister rest."

Auntie Chen stood by awkwardly. "I’ll go get those groceries then."

Once they left, Chutang shut the door. Finally, silence.

***

That evening, Ruan Shaodong returned. The family gathered at the long dining table. He glanced at Chutang, his voice stern.

"You could have called to let us know you were arriving today."

Chutang didn't look up from her plate. "Would it have made a difference?"

The air in the room instantly soured. Ruan Shaodong’s brow furrowed. "Three years away and you still haven't fixed that attitude?"

Chutang looked him dead in the eye, a mocking smile on her lips. "Three years later, and you and Auntie Yang still haven't signed those divorce papers? Now that’s a shame."