Chapter 2 — The Big Sister Returns

Snow Blossom stood frozen in disbelief for several agonizing seconds before she buried her face in her hands, shrieking hysterically at the top of her lungs.

"How dare this vile bitch! Kill her, somebody kill her right now!"

Iron Bull lunged forward, blind with rage. He and his wife each seized one of my arms, dragging me mercilessly toward the riverbank. The thick, fetid mud rose above my ankles, sucking at my feet. But Snow Blossom suddenly barked an order, stopping them in their tracks.

"Wait!"

She whispered a few brief instructions, and an assistant scurried over carrying a large, steaming kettle of boiling water. Snow Blossom stumbled forward, clutching her face as blood seeped relentlessly between her trembling fingers, her eyes burning with a manic, unhinged hatred.

"My face is ruined, and it will take months of recovery before I can ever face anyone again. What gives you the right to die such an easy, painless death?"

Her parents pinned my hands down beneath their feet, forcing me flat onto the jagged, sharp stones along the riverbed. Snow Blossom leaned over, positioning the heavy kettle directly above my head, slowly tilting the spout downward. The blistering, suffocating heat radiated onto my skin, making my temples throb violently with every beat of my heart. Suddenly, the deafening roar of high-powered engines shattered the quiet of the village lane. Eight massive luxury vehicles screeched to a halt along the embankment above. Jordan and the others leaped out in a panic, scrambling down the slope. Snow Blossom glared down at me with pure venom, setting the steaming kettle aside with intense reluctance. Then, burying her face in her hands, she burst into theatrical tears and sprinted toward them.

"You are finally here! Look what she did to me, sob!"

"It is all that wretched woman's fault! She slashed my face to pieces. How am I supposed to meet people in high society ever again?"

"If you do not punish her severely and make her pay, I swear I will go on a hunger strike for three days!"

Yet not a single one of the eight men uttered a word. They merely stood there, trembling from head to toe, staring down at me with horror. I slowly lifted my head, my face a horrifying mask of blood and sticky mud. The jagged cut at the corner of my mouth continued to ooze, and my chin was stained a bright, vivid crimson. With a rough swipe of my hand, I wiped the grime from my eyes and stared directly at them, a chilling, mocking smile slowly forming on my lips.

"Shall I deal with her myself, or will you do the honors?"

5

My words struck Snow Blossom like a physical blow, freezing her completely in her tracks. She stared at me blankly for two full seconds before letting out a harsh, disbelieving scoff.

"You certainly have a lot of nerve, don't you? What on earth gives you the right to speak to my brothers in such a tone..."

Before she could even finish the sentence, a resounding slap cracked across her cheek. Snow Blossom had never in her life imagined that Jordan would ever lay a hand on her. Utterly unprepared, the immense force sent her spinning sideways, staggering two steps before crashing down. Half of her face swelled instantly, turning a mottled purple-red. The assistants gasped in absolute horror, and the bodyguards froze like statues. Yet Jordan did not spare her even a second glance. Striding forward with desperate urgency, he dropped to his knees right in front of me. His razor-sharp gaze scanned every inch of my bruised face, lingering on the bleeding corner of my mouth and the angry, swollen welt across my forehead. The surrounding air seemed to plummet several degrees in an instant. Asher and the rest of the men rushed over in a chaotic frenzy, their hands hovering in the air as if wanting to check my injuries, yet terrified that their touch might cause me further pain. Their hands hung frozen in midair, trembling violently, too afraid to even twitch. All sixteen eyes instantly brimmed with furious, desperate red. The live comment feed plunged into a stunned, dead silence before erupting into a chaotic cascade of question marks.

"????????"

"What is happening here? Why aren't the eight titans rushing to comfort the spoiled princess? Why are they hovering over some ordinary nobody?!"

"Did Jordan just strike Snow Blossom? He actually hit Snow Blossom?! Am I having a fever dream? Isn't he renowned across the entire country for being an absolute sister-obsessed maniac?!"

"Who on earth is this ordinary-looking woman?!"

Snow Blossom stood a few paces away, holding her burning cheek in disbelief. Blood and tears smeared across her ruined makeup, her eyes wide with absolute betrayal. She remained frozen for several long moments before she finally managed to force out a shrill, cracking cry.

"Brother! My face is completely mangled, and you won't even look at me? Instead, you shove me and strike me for the sake of some country bumpkin?!"

"Didn't you all promise that I was your most cherished little princess?"

She stamped her foot furiously, her tear-choked voice dripping with unhinged, aggrieved despair.

"This pathetic, lowly bitch bullied me! She carved up my face! Won't you avenge me and kill her right now?"

"If you don't, I swear I will never speak to any of you ever again, and I will never smile at you for the rest of my life!"

The moment the last word left her lips, Jordan finally turned his head slowly, fixing her with a gaze so dark and heavy it felt like an abyss. Then, he stood up and walked steadily toward her. Snow Blossom exhaled a shaky breath of relief, foolishly trying to force a pitiful, winning smile back onto her face.

"Brother..."

6

Crack! Before she could even draw another breath, Jordan swung his hand back and delivered a second, even more ferocious backhand blow. He had possessed formidable physical strength since childhood, and this time he held back none of it. Snow Blossom’s entire body crumpled to the ground, the impact tearing yet another raw split into the corner of her lips. Her parents shrieked in terror, lunging forward to shield their precious daughter, their faces a twisted mixture of utter confusion and shivering dread.

"President Jordan! You have always treasured our young miss above everyone else in the world!"

"She may be a bit headstrong at times, but this time that vile wretch provoked her first!"

"How could you strike the young miss without even bothering to figure out who is in the wrong? If you ask me, the one who deserves to be beaten to death is that filthy creature over there!"

The moment those words echoed through the air, Kaelen's brow furrowed deeply as he whipped around. Without a single word of warning, he unleashed a vicious, bone-crushing kick squarely into Iron Bull’s chest. The large man flew backward, crashing heavily onto the stony ground. Snow Blossom shrieked in absolute terror, scrambling backward on her hands and knees, while her mother wailed hysterically as she crawled over to prop up her husband. Kaelen’s broad chest heaved heavily beneath his tailored shirt as he pulled his lips back into a venomous, lethal smirk.

"If I ever hear anyone in this wretched place utter another disrespectful word toward Dan Tran, you can go ahead and say goodbye to that tongue of yours!"

Jordan dropped back down onto his heels beside me. His large hands clenched into tight fists before slowly relaxing, his voice cracking and raspy to the point of being barely audible.

"Big Sis Dan, who did this to you?"