Yu Zhiwan left the billiards club, hailed a taxi, and hurried back to the Yu family home as quickly as possible.
The moment she stepped into the living room, she saw her father, Yu Changde, her mother, Tao Shuqin, her eldest brother, Yu Xiuqi, her second brother, Yu Shaoze, and Yu Xiangxiang.
The entire family of five was there.
The moment Yu Changde saw Yu Zhiwan return, he slammed his hand against the table in anger.
“You ungrateful brat! You actually had the nerve to come back! Chengfeng just called and said that you broke up with him. Who gave you permission to break up with him?”
“Call Chengfeng right now, in front of me, and apologize to him! Do you hear me?”
Tao Shuqin grabbed her furious husband and frowned at Yu Zhiwan.
“Listen to your father. Hurry up and call Chengfeng to apologize. The cooperation between the Yu and Gu families has just been finalized. Both families have already discussed it. You and Chengfeng are supposed to get married eventually. How can you just break up with him whenever you feel like it?”
Yu Zhiwan’s expression turned cold.
“Get married?”
Yu Shaoze sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, letting out a cold snort.
“What? You have a problem with that? Hmph. Don’t think I can’t see through you. You broke up with Gu Chengfeng because you’re still thinking about your engagement with the Xie family. You want to marry Xie Jingmo yourself!”
“If you ask me, we should hurry up and marry you off so you don’t get in the way of Xiangxiang’s marriage!”
When Yu Xiuqi heard this, he nodded. His voice was calmer, but even more cold and detached.
“Mom, Dad, Shaoze has a point. Zhiwan is the Yu family’s biological daughter. As long as she’s here, something could happen to Xiangxiang’s marriage to Xie Jingmo. It would be better to marry her off as soon as possible.”
As he spoke, Yu Xiuqi looked at Yu Zhiwan. The disgust and reproach in his eyes were completely undisguised.
“Zhiwan, there’s a limit to how much you can fool around. There are plenty of women who would love to marry a wealthy young man like Gu Chengfeng. You should consider yourself lucky to have such a good opportunity and learn to appreciate it.”
A good opportunity?
Learn to appreciate it?
Ha.
It was so absurd that it was almost laughable.
Yu Zhiwan had thought that they had forced her to accept Gu Chengfeng’s pursuit because they wanted to strengthen the cooperation between the two families.
But now she realized the truth.
They had always considered her a stumbling block, someone standing in the way of Yu Xiangxiang’s engagement to Xie Jingmo.
They couldn’t wait to marry her off.
They didn’t even care that they were marrying their own biological daughter to a promiscuous playboy!
Yu Zhiwan’s eyelashes trembled violently. The sharp pain in her chest was so intense that she could barely breathe.
Was it her fault that she’d been switched at birth?
Her adoptive father had been a gambler and an abusive man. Whenever he lost money gambling, he took his anger out on her. He called her a burden and a money pit, cursed her, and beat her.
Her adoptive mother favored boys and only cared about her younger brother. Whether it was food, toys, or anything else, everything went to him. She had never cared about Yu Zhiwan.
Then, at sixteen, the day she was finally brought back to the Yu family, Yu Zhiwan had been overjoyed.
She thought she’d finally found her real family.
Her dark and miserable life would finally see the light.
She could finally have parents who loved her, just like her classmates did.
Even though Yu Xiangxiang remained in the Yu household, Yu Zhiwan had treated her like her own biological sister.
She constantly tried to please her parents and brothers, swallowing every grievance and compromising again and again.
All she wanted was the family affection she had longed for and envied since childhood.
Even just a little would have been enough.
But what had she received in return?
Perhaps she should never have returned to the Yu family in the first place.
Yu Zhiwan’s heart had become numb from the pain.
She was utterly devastated.
The last trace of hope disappeared completely.
Fine.
She didn’t want to keep trying anymore.
She no longer wanted to beg for affection from her parents and brothers.
She didn’t want to stay in the Yu family anymore.
Not even for another moment.
At that moment, Yu Xiangxiang, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke in her soft, sweet voice.
“But, Mom and Dad, the engagement with the Xie family should have belonged to Sister in the first place. She’s the Yu family’s biological daughter.”
The moment Yu Changde heard Yu Xiangxiang’s voice, his eyes immediately filled with affection.
“Good girl, Xiangxiang. Even though you’re not our biological daughter, you’ll always be a daughter of the Yu family! You’ll be the one to fulfill the engagement with the Xie family!”
Tao Shuqin lovingly took Yu Xiangxiang’s hand.
“My precious daughter, you’ve grown up surrounded by wealth and privilege. You’re well-educated and refined. Only a young lady like you is worthy of marrying the head of the Xie family!”
Yu Shaoze was even more protective of her.
“Xiangxiang, my silly little sister, Second Brother knows you don’t fight or compete with anyone. But don’t forget, Yu Zhiwan was the one who personally said back then that she didn’t want to fulfill the engagement and wanted you to marry Xie Jingmo in her place!”
“Yu Zhiwan!”
Yu Shaoze turned toward her, all the tenderness in his eyes disappearing instantly. He questioned her harshly.
“Tell us yourself. Didn’t you personally say back then that you wanted Xiangxiang to take your place and fulfill the engagement with the Xie family?”
Yu Zhiwan watched coldly from the sidelines.
Only in front of Yu Xiangxiang did they act like the perfect father, mother, and brothers.
She used to envy that.
Now, she found it nothing but ironic.
“Back then, you told me that as long as I personally said I wanted Yu Xiangxiang to fulfill the engagement with the Xie family, you would accept me and treat me as a true member of the family.”
“But what did you actually do?”
“On my very first day back in the Yu family, someone mixed pineapple juice into my drink. I had such a severe allergic reaction that I nearly died. Wasn’t that you and Yu Xiuqi?”
Yu Shaoze’s expression changed when he heard this.
Damn it.
How did Yu Zhiwan find out about this?
Yu Xiuqi frowned and narrowed his eyes as he studied Yu Zhiwan.
He was a few years older than Yu Shaoze and far more composed. He immediately sensed that something about Yu Zhiwan was different.
Her eyes.
The way she looked at the Yu family.
Why wasn’t she looking at them with the same longing and desire to please them as before?
Why had she suddenly become so indifferent?
It was almost as if she were looking at a group of completely irrelevant strangers.
Yu Xiuqi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
For some inexplicable reason, he felt as though something was about to leave them forever—and there would be no way to get it back.
Yu Shaoze had never taken Yu Zhiwan seriously. After being shocked for two seconds, he sneered disdainfully.
“So what if my brother and I did it? You were just allergic. What’s the big deal? Why are you so delicate? You didn’t die, did you?”
“My brother and I simply wanted to warn you. Even if you’re the Yu family’s biological daughter, now that you’ve returned, you’re the older sister. You should give way to Xiangxiang. You aren’t allowed to compete with her for anything!”
Yu Zhiwan’s eyes suddenly turned cold.
The faint mockery in her expression instantly became sharp.
“Give way to Yu Xiangxiang?”
“So when Yu Xiangxiang got sick, you didn’t even ask what I wanted. You forced me to take a year off from school just to look after her and wait on her.”
“And when I finally returned to school, you tore up my university acceptance letter simply because I scored better than her on the college entrance exam!”
“You nearly stopped me from being able to attend university at all!”
Yu Changde’s brows furrowed as he slammed his hand heavily against the table.
“Well, well. So you really have been holding a grudge!”
“Xiangxiang was sick back then and already upset because she didn’t do well on her exams. Then you went and scored so well. Weren’t you deliberately trying to make her feel worse? What kind of older sister does that?”
“And so what if I tore up your acceptance letter? You’re still in university now, aren’t you? What exactly are you complaining about?”
Although Yu Zhiwan had already decided that she would never seek even the slightest bit of affection from them again, hearing those words still stabbed her in the heart.
See?
This was her biological father.
Her biological brother.
When her university acceptance letter had been torn apart, she had been devastated and completely heartbroken. At that time, she had wanted to leave the Yu family.
It was Tao Shuqin who had comforted her and promised that she would treat her well from then on and never let her suffer another grievance.
Yu Zhiwan had believed her.
Because that woman was her mother—the woman who had given birth to her.
She had always thought that perhaps, deep down, her mother must have at least a little maternal love for her.
But now, simply because they were afraid Yu Zhiwan would interfere with Yu Xiangxiang’s engagement to the Xie family, they wanted to marry her off to a womanizer like Gu Chengfeng.
They had no hesitation whatsoever in pushing their own biological daughter into a pit of fire.
Remembering the promise she had once made, Tao Shuqin stiffened slightly before hurriedly defending herself.
“Zhiwan, it’s not that Mom wants you to suffer. It’s just that you and Xie Jingmo aren’t a good match. Xiangxiang and Xie Jingmo are much better suited to each other. I’m doing this for your own good.”
“The Gu family and the Yu family are well matched. Chengfeng may be a little flirtatious, but once you’re married, he’ll surely settle down. You two will live happily together.”
Live happily together?
Yu Zhiwan let out a cold laugh.
“If you’re so sure they’ll live happily together, why don’t you let your precious Xiangxiang marry him?”
Yu Changde immediately became furious.
“What kind of attitude is that?”
“I’ll tell you this, Yu Zhiwan. It’s settled! The Gu family isn’t lacking in money or status. Marrying into their family means you’ll live a comfortable life! You’re not the one losing out!”
Yu Zhiwan looked at Yu Changde, a mocking smile spreading across her cherry-red lips.
“If it’s such a wonderful life, then you marry Gu Chengfeng.”
Yu Changde froze.
His eyes widened in disbelief, fury nearly bursting from them.
“You! You ungrateful daughter! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
Not only Yu Changde, but Tao Shuqin, Yu Xiuqi, Yu Shaoze, and even Yu Xiangxiang were stunned by Yu Zhiwan’s words.
This Yu Zhiwan…
How could she possibly tell her own father to marry Gu Chengfeng?
Yu Changde was so furious that he raised his hand, intending to slap her.
“How dare you! You ungrateful brat! How could I have a daughter like you? You’ve completely gone out of control!”
Yu Zhiwan raised her hand and firmly stopped his slap.
Her gaze was clear and cold, icy determination filling her eyes.
Every word she spoke was firm and unmistakable.
“How ridiculous.”
“You don’t want a daughter like me, but I don’t want a father or family like you either.”
“From today onward, I am cutting all ties with the Yu family.”
“From now on, you go your way and I’ll go mine. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.”