“Gu Xing, my sister didn’t do it on purpose.”
Xia Yiyi nestled into Gu Xing’s arms, blinking as a single tear slid down her cheek. She looked pitiful and fragile.
Gu Xing was Gu Huaichuan’s cousin, the original owner’s ex-husband, and the future richest man in the southern province.
Xia Wanqing cast him a casual glance, then quickly looked away as if she’d seen a ghost. Influenced by the plot, her taste had really been terrible.
He was a head shorter than Gu Huaichuan, looked utterly ordinary, and even had a pale pimple on the tip of his nose—an eyesore, truly.
Back when her father had scolded her, he’d spoken up for her once or twice. From then on, she’d fallen hopelessly in love, determined to marry no one but him.
Xia Wanqing clicked her tongue helplessly. With a stepmother comes a stepfather—her past self had been far too starved for love.
While Xia Wanqing was lost in thought, Xia Yiyi suddenly rushed over and yanked open the wardrobe door.
She had tricked Gu Huaichuan into Xia Wanqing’s room. All she’d said was that something had happened to Xia Wanqing, and Gu Huaichuan had rushed upstairs without a second thought—so easy to fool.
She’d seen him enter the room and not leave, so she was certain he was hiding in the wardrobe.
She wanted to ruin Xia Wanqing’s reputation, to make her hold her head low for the rest of her life.
“Sister, I was just worried a thief might hurt you—ah!”
The moment the wardrobe door opened, Xia Yiyi felt her scalp tighten as her head was forced back.
Before she could even react, a rain of slaps fell across her face.
Xia Yiyi saw stars, unable to break free, screaming for help over and over. “Help! Help!”
Gu Xing froze. This was the first time he’d ever seen Xia Wanqing hit someone.
By the time he snapped out of it and tried to intervene, Xia Yiyi had already taken more than a dozen slaps.
He grabbed Xia Wanqing’s arm and flung her aside, then wrapped Xia Yiyi tightly in his arms.
“Waaah…” Xia Yiyi’s face had swollen like a pig’s head as she wailed—this time, the crying was real.
Gu Xing was furious, his eyes bulging. “Xia Wanqing, don’t think I wouldn’t hit a woman! Even if you’re jealous of Yiyi, it’s useless. In this life or the next, I will never like you!”
Xia Wanqing slammed into the wardrobe with a dull thud. Her elbow scraped against it, skin torn, and she sucked in a sharp breath of pain.
Her vision darkened, her body pitching sideways.
Fortunately, she regained her senses at once and grabbed the wardrobe door to steady herself.
Long-term malnutrition, plus not eating all day—hypoglycemia. It would’ve been stranger if she hadn’t gotten dizzy.
Seeing the woman he loved beaten so badly, Gu Xing flew into a rage. “Xia Wanqing, kneel down right now and apologize to Yiyi!”
Xia Yiyi stopped crying and lifted her chin smugly. So what if Xia Wanqing was pretty? In front of her, she was still nothing but a dog.
“Fine, fine.” Xia Wanqing laughed in anger. She turned around, grabbed a clothes hanger, and swung it at the two of them.
“Ah!” Xia Yiyi screamed first, followed by Gu Xing’s repeated cries of “Ow! Ow!”
Gu Xing shielded Xia Yiyi with one hand while backing toward the door, taking blow after blow.
All the hatred from both her past and present lives surged together. Xia Wanqing wished she could beat them to death.
But if she really did that, her own life would be ruined too. Destroying herself for a scumbag and a bitch wasn’t worth it.
In her previous life, after Gu Xing changed careers, he became a school gatekeeper at an elementary school. Feeling his talents wasted, he grew depressed and took to heavy drinking. Whenever he got drunk, he’d come home and beat his wife to vent his frustration.
With a stepmother came a stepfather—no one ever stood up for her. She could only endure it again and again.
After just a few swings, Xia Wanqing was already panting, bracing herself against the doorframe as she gasped for air.
“Get out of my house, you toad-spawn! Get out!”
This small Western-style house in downtown Shanghai was in Xia Wanqing’s name. She had every right to kick them out.
Her love-struck mother had threatened suicide to force her maternal grandfather into agreeing to the marriage. But her grandfather had kept his guard up.
After Xia Wanqing was born, her grandfather transferred the house to her name and left a will stating that if Xia Wanqing were to meet an untimely death, the house would be donated directly to an orphanage.
Without that safeguard, Xia Wanqing had no doubt her scumbag father and vicious stepmother would have killed her.
“Brother Gu Xing, my sister is angry right now. Let’s leave first,” Xia Yiyi said softly.
She tugged at Gu Xing’s hand, tears glistening on her lashes as she pressed almost her entire body against him.
She wished she could tear Xia Wanqing to pieces, but she was afraid of pushing her too far. Swallowing her fury, she dragged Gu Xing away.
Feeling the soft, warm hand in his palm, Gu Xing’s breath hitched and his mind went blank.
He stared at Xia Yiyi in a daze and nodded. “Okay.”
Xia Yiyi was gentle, considerate, and understanding. The two of them were deeply in love—what a blessing in life.
“What are you doing? How disgraceful!”
A figure rushed upstairs two steps at a time, forcibly pulling the two apart and shielding Xia Yiyi behind him.
He shot Gu Xing a fierce glare, then noticed the slap marks on Xia Yiyi’s face. His voice was anxious and worried. “Yiyi, what happened?”
Xia Yiyi bit her lower lip, looking as though she’d suffered endless injustice but refused to say a word. Her eyes, however, darted toward Xia Wanqing several times. “Dad, I’m fine.”
Seeing this, how could Xia Jianye not understand? Veins bulged at his temples as he raised his hand, ready to strike.
He roared, “Xia Wanqing, why do you always bully your younger sister?!”
Scumbag father Xia Jianye—though he was getting on in years, his face still held up well among his peers. No wonder her love-brained mother had insisted on marrying him.
Aside from his looks, there was also the times.
Her scumbag father was a textbook mud-footed peasant, eighteen generations of peasants before him—poor, but politically “clean.”
“My mother only gave birth to me. A mistress’s daughter dares to call herself my sister? If you’ve got the guts, then beat me to death!” Xia Wanqing lifted her chin, unable to suppress the injustice she felt for herself.
In her memories, whenever conflict arose, this scumbag father never bothered to find out the truth. He’d beat and scold her, then lock her in the small attic upstairs.
“Go on, hit me. Beat me to death, and the house can go straight to the orphanage.” Xia Wanqing leaned closer, looking down on him.
At those words, Xia Jianye’s raised hand froze midair. He exchanged a glance with Xia Yiyi, and both saw fear in the other’s eyes.
Xia Jianye was so angry his chest hurt. Xia Wanqing was challenging his authority—but he didn’t dare strike her anymore.
What was going on? His previously meek, obedient daughter had suddenly become so tough?
He shouldn’t have slapped her yesterday. Xia Wanqing was easy to placate—give her a bit of sweetness and she’d be completely turned around.
A calculating glint flashed in Xia Jianye’s eyes. Time was running out. They had to hurry and transfer the house, then sell it.
He gave Xia Yiyi a look. She understood at once and pulled Gu Xing away.
Gu Xing shot Xia Wanqing a warning glare before leaving unwillingly.
Xia Jianye’s gaze lingered on their clasped hands. His brows knitted tightly as he took a deep breath and forced a hypocritical smile.
“My good daughter, Daddy drank a little too much yesterday and wasn’t thinking straight. You’re Daddy’s only daughter. Seeing you so distant from me breaks my heart.”
He took Xia Wanqing’s hand and slapped it against his own face. “Dad was too anxious. A few days ago, I heard rumors saying our family is now considered capitalist and might be targeted for investigation.”
“Transfer the house to me, and you can volunteer to go to the countryside. That way, no one will come after you. I’ll shoulder whatever’s left. If you’re still angry, then hit Daddy.”
Xia Wanqing yanked her hand back in disgust, sneering. “Then what about the mistress and her child?”
Send her to the countryside, dump all the blame on her, let her suffer endless torment there—while Xia Jianye’s family had already pulled strings and suffered no consequences at all.
After that period passed, they’d lived comfortably, squandering the assets her mother had left behind.
“I’ve thought it through,” Xia Jianye said. “I’m a man—I’ll bear it all myself. Once the house is transferred, I’ll find time to divorce her. But Tiantian, don’t keep calling her a mistress. She’s worked hard and taken care of you for many years.”
“You lost your mother young. I just wanted someone to look after you.”
“Ha. What exactly did she take care of? Making me starve one day out of every three? She said she came to take care of my mom—ended up taking care of her in bed instead?”
“It’s my fault for not thinking things through,” Xia Jianye said. He instinctively flared with anger, then forced it down, sighing helplessly.
“You know your background isn’t good. I was afraid you’d cause trouble, so I was harsher with you before. That was my fault. I don’t expect you to forgive me—I just hope you’ll be well in the future. After all, once we part this time, who knows when we’ll meet again.”
His last words were choked with sobs, as if he were heartbroken—yet there wasn’t a single tear at the corner of his eye.
As he fake-cried, he stole glances at Xia Wanqing’s expression. The sorrow he’d expected never appeared. Instead, she looked at him coldly.
Xia Wanqing’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion flickering within.
Xia Yiyi’s eyes were almost a perfect replica of Xia Jianye’s.
Less than a month after her mother died, Xia Jianye had wanted to marry her stepmother, Zhou Huiping. Later, Zhou Huiping fell ill, and the wedding was postponed.
In her memories, Zhou Huiping’s illness came from a miscarriage, which was why the wedding had been delayed.
Xia Jianye wasn’t a magnanimous man. Xia Wanqing suspected the child Zhou Huiping lost had been his—meaning the two of them had already been involved long ago.
A bold thought surfaced in Xia Wanqing’s mind.
Xia Yiyi was Xia Jianye’s biological daughter.