"Husband, leave her be! Let her reflect properly in there! When she realizes her mistake, *then* she can come out!" The door slammed shut with a *bang*, locked from the outside.
Once again, the world plunged into darkness and silence.
But my heart was unprecedentedly calm.
Even... harboring a secret thrill.
Jiang Xue, and my dear family.
This game... only truly becomes interesting now.
I was locked in the ancestral hall for three full days.
During those three days, apart from Stewardess Zhang secretly slipping me a couple of steamed buns, no one else came to see me.
On the night of the third day, dizzy and weak from hunger, almost believing I would die there, the door finally opened.
It was Mom.
She stood in the doorway, undisguised disgust on her face.
"Have you realized your mistake?" she asked coldly.
If this were before, I would have stubbornly retorted, "I'm not wrong!"
But now…
I slowly rose from the floor. Having knelt for so long, my legs gave way, and I almost fell.
Steadying myself on the doorframe, I lifted a face pale and haggard from hunger, lips cracked, but my eyes shone with an intense light.
Looking at Mom, I used a tone I'd never employed before – choked with tears, brimming with utter grievance – and said softly, "Mom, I was wrong."
Mom was startled, clearly not expecting me to yield so easily.
I continued, trying hard to mimic Jiang Xue's usual wheedling tone: "Mom, I truly know I was wrong. I shouldn't have angered you, shouldn't have talked back, and especially shouldn't… shouldn't have disregarded Xiao Xue's kindness."
As I spoke, I secretly watched Mom's expression.
Sure enough, her face softened considerably.
[LIE: *"Hmph! Know you're wrong now? Where was that earlier?"*]
[TRUTH: *"Finally learned a little sense. Maybe there's still hope for you after all. If you were still as stubborn and hard-headed as before, I swear I'd have thrown you out."*]
See? So simple.
One insincere "I was wrong" proved far more effective than the "truth" I'd clung to for the past eighteen years.
Seizing the moment, I stepped forward, cautiously grasped Mom's sleeve, and let tears roll down my cheeks at just the right moment.
"Mom, please don't be angry with me anymore, okay? I'll be good and obedient from now on, I won't make you or Dad angry ever again. I'll be like Xiao Xue, a sensible, good daughter." The words made my skin crawl.
But Mom lapped it up.
She sighed, finally reaching out to pat my back.
"Alright, knowing you were wrong is enough."
Her tone was still stiff, but the earlier sharpness was gone.
[LIE: *"Knowing you were wrong is enough."*]
[TRUTH: *"Fine, you know what's good for you. But think you can compare to Xiao Xue? You're still miles behind! Xiao Xue's obedience comes from the heart. Yours is just an act."*]
An act?
It didn't matter.
Act long enough, and it becomes more real than the real thing.
I sneered inwardly, but outwardly smiled even more obediently: "Thank you, Mom! Mom, you're the best!"
The first thing I did back in my room was rush into the bathroom and scrub myself clean from head to toe.
The hot water sluiced over my body, washing away what felt like eighteen years of stupidity and naivety.
The girl in the mirror was pale, but her eyes no longer held the confusion and stubbornness of the past. Instead, they had a cold calculation that even I found unfamiliar.
I practiced smiling in the mirror.
Lift the corners of the mouth fifteen degrees. Show six teeth. Eyes must be innocent. Harmless.
This was Jiang Xue's signature smile.
I mimicked it perfectly.
Early the next morning, uncharacteristically, I got up at dawn and went downstairs to the kitchen.
Stewardess Zhang was preparing breakfast. Seeing me, she jumped:
"Young Mistress! You're up already? Why not sleep a little longer?"
"Auntie Zhang, let me help you."
I said with a smile, naturally taking the plate from her hands.
Auntie Zhang was flustered: "Oh dear, this won't do! Young Mistress, please go sit down; this rough work is for me."
[LIE: *"This rough work is for me."*]
[TRUTH: *"Is the sun rising from the west today? The Young Mistress, hard as stone, is smiling? Offering to help? What scheme is she plotting now?"*]
I understood perfectly. My past image was truly deeply ingrained.
No matter. Slowly but surely.
I set the breakfast out piece by piece – Dad's, Mom's, Brother's, and Jiang Xue's – each arranged precisely according to their preferences.
Dad liked black coffee, no sugar, no milk.
Mom liked warm milk with whole wheat toast.
Brother liked his eggs fried over-easy.
And Jiang Xue… adored strawberry jam.
I knew all these things.
In the past, I had disdained to act on that knowledge.
I thought family didn't need such superficial flattery.
Now I understood: this was precisely what they craved.