Ningcheng, Qingyue Fu, Ming Family Home.

After five long years of complete silence, Ming Yue had just stepped through the familiar front door, dragging a small suitcase behind her. At once, the old woman lounging on the living-room sofa, fanning herself gently to keep cool, sat bolt upright.

She was none other than Ming Yue’s Grandmother.

The Ming family’s old lady, Ma Fengying.

Upon recognizing her granddaughter, Ming Yue, Ma Fengying showed not the slightest trace of kindness or concern. Her weathered face instantly grew grim, her eyes filled with suspicion, and her voice chilled to the bone.

“So it’s really you? You unlucky omen—what are you doing back here? Aren’t you already wreaking enough havoc on our Ming family? Who are you planning to curse this time?”

Ma Fengying’s gaze was as sharp as a blade.

“I just can’t understand—born of the same father and mother, how is it that your wretched life is so resilient, while the one who died back then wasn’t you?”

Ming Yue’s hands tightened into fists, and she slowly raised her deep-set eyes to meet the old woman’s. There was no argument, no sobbing—just quiet composure.

She stood there, perfectly still.

Her expression blank, her gaze unfocused; her pale lips moved slightly, yet she could no longer utter the word “Grandmother” that had once slipped from her lips again and again.

Finally, for some unknown reason, Ma Fengying reluctantly fell silent.

Ming Yue slowly lowered her gaze and continued walking inward, dragging her little suitcase behind her.

Before she even reached the staircase, another figure appeared.

It was a plump middle-aged woman.

Dressed in a red nightgown, her face still drowsy and her hair tousled, as if she had just climbed out of bed, she was descending the stairs from the second floor.

Apparently recognizing Ming Yue, the yawning, stretching middle-aged woman gave a lazy stretch, then habitually shot her a look of disdain, her mouth curling into a mocking sneer.

“Well, well— isn’t this our dear young mistress? Tsk, tsk, tsk… finally deigned to return? But why do you look so shabby?”

Ming Yue glanced at her without reply.

The middle-aged woman bristled at the lack of response.

She hurried down the stairs, thumping her feet, and blocked Ming Yue’s path. “You little brat! Auntie’s talking to you—deaf, or mute?”

Still no answer from Ming Yue.

She turned her head slightly, glancing at the woman who was indeed her aunt, her clenched fists tightening ever so slightly, yet her expression remained utterly impassive.

For some reason, though the other woman’s face betrayed no emotion at all, the middle-aged woman felt a chill run down her spine.

Her face darkened. “What kind of look is that? You little brat—if you dare give me another glance like that, just wait and see whether I’ll gouge out those hateful eyes of yours!”

Ming Yue seemed not to have heard. She kept staring straight ahead, her white little face showing absolutely no expression.

The middle-aged woman shivered all over, goosebumps rising on her skin.

She swallowed hard, then, without a moment’s hesitation, spat disdainfully at Ming Yue and lunged forward, her claws reaching for Ming Yue’s face.

Meanwhile, Ma Fengying neither intervened nor seemed inclined to intervene. She sat coldly on the sofa, watching the scene unfold—as if she were watching someone else’s farce.

This worthless, blood-thirsty granddaughter…

Missing for five years and now back—she’s bound to bring trouble sooner or later. She’s already cursed her own brother, her own mother, her own younger brother, and her own maternal grandfather—and who knows whom she’ll curse next!

Getting slapped by her daughter doesn’t hurt much.

Killing her would be even better.

If she’s only injured, just dump her somewhere—no need for her to prance around the Ming family’s territory anymore. If she’s dead, quickly dig a hole and bury her—save even the cost of a coffin.

The middle-aged woman didn’t care about blood ties at all.

Her face twisted into a ferocious grimace, her hands clenched tight, as if to say: “You little brat, you star of misfortune—you dare treat me like this? I’m your own aunt! Your elder! Just you wait and see if I don’t beat you to death today!”

End of Chapter 1: The Star of Misfortune