Dining area,
The sound of chopsticks against bowls and spoons against plates danced like melody in the space.
Occasionally there would also be as ound of glass against the table.
“So…what do you do for a living?” Madam Yu questioned Li Yeli for the first time ever since they started eating.
Before she could respond, Yu Yang spoke, “Her parents don’t allow her to work.”
Madam Yu glared at her Grandson, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
“I’m speaking for her because she doesn’t love to talk much.” Yu Yang said, while putting food into Li Yeli’s bowl.
Jiang Nian nervously chewed on her chopsticks.
Honestly this new cousin-in-law of hers was quiet weird.
She wondered if it was only her, but Li Yeli didn’t seem to smile properly ever since she walked in the house, not even for once.
“Aiyoo…you see!” Madam Yu pointed at both her daughters, “now they’re being rude!”
“We’re not being rude Grandmother.” Yu Yang said, “Li Yeli has been living as a recluse for years, her parents used to lock her up and starve her, she doesn’t know how to interact with elders so stop making her trying to talk, she’s already trying every possible best not to sound rude.”
The atmosphere around the dining table went cold.
“What!” Yu Yang’s aunt, Mrs.
Zhuang exclaimed.
Li Yeli looked at Yu Yang beside her.
Wondering what the hell he was doing?
Was he planning to ruin everything?
“What type of parents does that?” Luo Xi asked.
“Adoptive ones.” Said Yu Yang.
Everyone was shocked, including Li Yeli herself, she never told him about that…how did he know?
Here of all places!!!
Madam Yu’s lips parted but she couldn’t say a word.
She adjusted her glasses and sneak a glance at Li Yeli.
Yu Yang’s plan was working.
He knew how sentimental his grandmother can be, and he knew the right cards to play.
Madam Yu’s eyebrows suddenly furrowed, “Is this it? The reason why you want to marry her? Because you pity h—”
Yu Yang interrupted, “I want to marry her…because I love her…and because I’ve loved her for a very long time, more than all of you could imagine.”
Li Yeli looked up at him.
This man…is quite scary.
How could he lie so easily?
“Aww!” Luo Xi turned to her husband, “Learn from Yang Ge.”
Gu Yenzheng couldn’t say a word.
What Yu Yang said about Li Yeli being locked up and starved by her parents struck the Yu family’s weakest nerve.
The atmosphere in the living room instantly turned heavy.
No one spoke.
Especially Madam Yu.
Her expression stiffened.
Jiang and Mrs.
Zhuang’s faces disappeared completely.
The thought of a young girl being imprisoned in her own home, deprived of food by the very people who were supposed to protect and love her, made Madam Yu’s chest tighten painfully.
As a mother, she found it difficult to imagine such cruelty.
Her fingers unconsciously curled around the armrest of her chair as she recalled Li Yeli’s thin frame, her quiet demeanor.
Suddenly, many things that had once puzzled her began to make sense.
No wonder the girl looked so fragile.
No wonder there was always a hint of caution in her eyes.
No wonder she seemed surprised whenever someone showed her even the smallest kindness.
Madam Yu’s heart ached.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Parents were supposed to shelter their children from the storm, not become the storm themselves.
The room remained silent, but the emotions brewing within the Yu family were anything but calm.
Even those who had initially been skeptical found themselves unable to ignore the grim image Yu Yang had painted.
And Yu Yang knew it.
He had not exaggerated a single word.
Every sentence had landed precisely where it hurt the most.
Especially for Madam Yu, whose maternal instincts had already softened toward Li Yeli long ago.
Hearing that the girl had been locked away and left hungry by her own family felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
In that moment, any remaining hesitation she had toward accepting Li Yeli vanished completely, replaced by a fierce desire to protect the girl from ever suffering such treatment again.
“You guys talk.” Madam Yu said to the family, “Xiao Yang! Follow me.”