Chapter 438

To prove loyalty, they’d viciously target the family’s unwanted foster daughter—mocking, slandering, tormenting.

Alarieka had endured it all for years.

Now, those words stirred no rage or unease, only detached amusement.

She nearly laughed aloud.

After all this time, these people still recycled the same tired insults.

What rewards had the Argents given them for such unwavering devotion?

Approaching the group, Alarieka lifted her chin with a light laugh. “Everyone, it’s been a while.”

Men and women exchanged glances, mutual disdain flashing in their eyes.

Silence hung heavy, leaving her greeting unanswered.

Unfazed, Alarieka savored their excrement-swallowing expressions.

Seeing those disdainful looks before would have upset her, but now watching these people grimace because of her, she felt great.

So she actually had this much influence over them.

Though Alarieka didn’t mind, protective Shi Yao couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Alarieka, why didn’t you tell me everyone here was deaf and dumb before we came? You didn’t warn me, so I couldn’t learn sign language in advance. Guess I’ll have to neglect everyone.”

“Alaricka?”

Again with “Alaricka“?

Alarieka paused speechlessly but instantly grasped Shi Yao’s meaning.

Shi Yao’s sharp tongue hadn’t changed.

She smiled faintly. “My bad, I forgot to remind you.”

As she spoke, she glanced up at Shi Yao.

That casual look startled her.

Shi Yao’s expression wasn’t just sour—it was downright thunderous, eyes blazing like he’d charge at those people any second.

Alarieka tugged his arm, whispering. “Don’t be angry. They’re not worth it.”

Shi Yao frowned. “I know. I just hate seeing them bully you.”

Alarieka pressed her lips together.

Suddenly the group across from snapped, “Alarieka, what’s your problem?”

Alarieka widened her eyes slightly. “Oh, so you can speak? I thought something awful happened these years and you’d lost your voice.”

The man sneered. “Smooth talker. I’m calling security to kick you out right now. Let’s see how smug you act then.”

Alarieka smiled lazily. “Go ahead.”

She spoke calmly because she’d been invited by the host.

If she got “kicked out,” the ones panicking would be these shouters demanding her removal.

The man pulled out his phone with a cold laugh. As his screen lit up, a woman’s gasp cut through the crowd.

“Chen Zhen, don’t!”

Chen Zhen tutted at his phone. “What’s wrong with you?”

Alarieka followed the voice to a young woman staring at her phone, face pale as she looked up. Shock, complexity, worry, and jealousy warred in her eyes.

Alarieka guessed the reason but kept smiling faintly.

The woman bit her lip. “Don’t call. This is Alarieka.”

Chen Zhen frowned impatiently. “I know that.”

“I mean she’s Alarieka.”

Chen Zhen was already annoyed, about to snap “I know” when—

The woman’s tone suddenly sharpened, voice tense: “She’s Alarieka from Heyu!”

That ByteDance in the capital?

Those words plunged the courtyard into dead silence.

The mocking smirk on Jason’s lips froze, his eyes widening slightly as his neck creaked like rusted machinery turning: “… What did you say?”

The stiff silence shattered with other voices.

“ByteDance? That ByteDance in the capital? That’s ByteDance—don’t be crazy and misread it.”

“Must be a namesake. You’re mistaken—this Alarieka Huston isn’t that Alarieka Huston.”

For five years, ByteDance’s reputation had boomed. The viral short-video app from the past two years was theirs, raking in cash since its explosion and skyrocketing ByteDance and its founder’s net worth.

In the internet world, ByteDance was a household name.

But clearly, this courtyard crowd knew little about it.

Everyone here was born wealthy, raised spoiled and arrogant, especially looking down on Alarieka Huston—a driver’s daughter.

They genuinely believed she’d never amount to anything, doomed to serve rich kids like them forever, never crossing class lines to sit as equals. Their gazes always towered over her.