Ye Jin wandered around outside for a while, then dragged a few dry branches home to make it look as though she had been gathering firewood.
At first, Xiao Huo stood on her shoulder. Later, he picked up a leaf and mischievously hid himself inside the pile of firewood.
Wang Fengqin was squatting in the courtyard, stretching her neck and staring in one direction.
Now, whenever Ye Jin left the house, Wang Fengqin’s heart tightened with anxiety, afraid that she would leave and never return.
“You girl, where have you run off to in this freezing weather?”
Wang Fengqin rubbed her hands together and kept blowing warm air into her palms.
“I was bored at home, so I went up the mountain to gather firewood.”
Ye Jin casually tossed the firewood into the corner. Wang Fengqin’s brows immediately knitted together.
“You were gone all afternoon and only picked up this much?”
“Gathering firewood is too tiring. I was just treating it as exercise.”
Ye Jin lifted the largest leaf aside, and Xiao Huo instantly darted out.
Wang Fengqin had just stepped forward to scold her when the fiery red little creature startled her so badly that her soul nearly left her body.
“Ah! What is that thing?”
Xiao Huo leaped onto Wang Fengqin and started tugging at her sleeve.
“It’s only a little squirrel. Xiao Huo is so adorable. How could Mom find him scary?”
Wang Fengqin swung her hand toward Xiao Huo’s head. Ye Jin quickly pulled him into her arms.
“You naughty little thing. Who told you to come out by yourself?”
Wang Fengqin’s slap missed its target, leaving her hand awkwardly suspended in midair.
Ye Jin played with Xiao Huo as she carried him back to her room and habitually locked the door behind her.
“She doesn’t have many days left to live, yet she still has the leisure to keep a pet. That’s fine too. When she dies, at least she’ll have some company and won’t be so lonely.”
Wang Fengqin ground her teeth as she muttered the curse under her breath.
“I can’t live like this! I can’t go on!”
The sound of something crashing came from inside a room. Wang Fengqin immediately rushed in.
Ever since Zhang Duo’s eyes had been injured, her temper had become extremely volatile.
Even though she knew that staying calm would help her recovery, she still threw tantrums at home every chance she got.
Sometimes Wang Fengqin found it exhausting. No one wanted to become blind, but her daughter’s behavior was making things difficult for her.
“Stop making a scene. Your wound will start bleeding again, and then you’ll have to wait even longer!”
“How can I not make a scene? You have no idea how miserable it is to be blind! Every time I open my eyes, all I see is darkness. I can’t see anything!”
“I don’t know what my bed looks like. I don’t know whether it’s day or night. I didn’t even know you put something disgusting in my egg! Mom, how could you do something so revolting? Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up!”
As she spoke, Zhang Duo retched again.
This incident had become an everlasting psychological scar for her.
“I know I was wrong, but I wasn’t trying to target you. I only wanted to disgust that little slut. How was I supposed to know you’d snatch the egg away? You moved so fast. What could I do?”
Wang Fengqin sighed repeatedly. The more Zhang Duo listened, the angrier she became.
“You saw me eating it. Why didn’t you say anything? How could you treat me like this? Are you really my mother?”
“I’ve already apologized and explained that it was an accident. What more do you want from me?”
“What do I want? If Ye Jin refuses to give me her cornea, then you give me one of yours!”
At last, Zhang Duo voiced her true thoughts.
Anyone could go blind, as long as it wasn’t her.
The moment Wang Fengqin heard those words, panic filled her heart.
Her daughter didn’t want to be blind, but neither did she.
Even if only one cornea were removed, leaving her partially blind, how could seeing with two eyes compare to seeing with one?
“Don’t think too much about it. She’ll give it to you.”
“She already said in front of everyone that she wouldn’t! Haven’t you noticed? She’s different now! You can’t control her anymore!”
“You weren’t even there that day. How do you know about it?”
Wang Fengqin was puzzled.
Ever since her eye injury, Zhang Duo rarely left the house. She had no idea where her daughter had heard the news.
“Don’t worry about how I know. I know what I know. If you can’t control Ye Jin, then give me one of your corneas!”
Zhang Duo spoke viciously.
Wang Fengqin stared at her as though she were looking at a stranger.
She had devoted herself completely to this daughter. She always gave her the best food and had done countless unethical things for her sake.
How could she say something like this?
“Doctor Liu already said that I’m getting old. My corneas aren’t in good condition anymore. Even if you received one, it wouldn’t last long. Then both of us would end up blind, and that would be a terrible bargain.”
Wang Fengqin had already prepared this excuse.
Zhang Duo, however, didn’t believe a single word of it.
“That’s just an excuse. I know you don’t want to give me your cornea, but I’m your biological daughter! I’m only nineteen years old. I’ll be graduating from vocational school soon. I can’t live without my eyesight!”
“I’ll find a way. Don’t panic. Panicking won’t solve anything. There’s still a month left, isn’t there?”
“I can’t wait! I can’t wait even one more day! If this continues, I’ll go crazy!”
Originally, only one of Zhang Duo’s eyes had been damaged. However, during surgery, the other eye became infected. Now both eyes were covered with bandages, leaving her completely blind and making her increasingly irritable.
Standing outside the room, Ye Jin listened to their conversation with a faint smile.
This outcome was exactly what she had expected.
Zhang Duo would never let her go. Neither would Wang Fengqin.
The only reason they tolerated her and endured her presence was because she still had value to them.
In her previous life, she had been deceived by a few sweet words from them, only to lose both eyes in the end and die alone in misery.
Ye Jin clenched her fists.
As soon as she found her younger sister, this mother and daughter would lose all value to her as well. They would become people she could abandon at any time.
Estimating that their conversation was nearly over, Ye Jin walked to the table and poured herself a cup of cooled boiled water. She leisurely sipped it.
Cold sweat broke out on Wang Fengqin’s forehead.
After calming Zhang Duo down, she hurriedly left the room.
She had once believed her daughter was her hope and her support in old age. Now she realized that Zhang Duo was nothing more than a bloodsucking leech, selfish and utterly devoid of gratitude.
Compared to this disobedient daughter, the former Ye Jin had truly been obedient.
If Wang Fengqin pointed east, she would never dare go west. Every day she kept the house spotless and well organized.
But no matter how good Ye Jin was, or how bad Zhang Duo might be, Zhang Duo was the daughter she had carried for ten months and given birth to. They were connected by blood.
No matter what happened, she would never abandon her.
“Mom, why don’t you look too well? Did Sister upset you again?”
Afraid Wang Fengqin might not notice her, Ye Jin even greeted her first.
Already guilty, Wang Fengqin was startled half to death by the sudden voice.
She practically performed a standing long jump on the spot.
“Y You… when did you get here?”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I just came out of my room to get a drink of water. I didn’t hear a single word of what you and Sister were talking about.”
The smile on Ye Jin’s face grew even brighter.
Staring at that smiling face, Wang Fengqin’s expression shifted uncertainly.