The door panel trembled. Standing at the doorway, Yun Manxia’s face flushed red as if it were about to drip blood, her head felt like it was smoking, and her mind went completely blank.
Both inside and outside the door fell into silence.
After a moment, the man’s low voice sounded from within, “I just accidentally knocked over the body wash.”
“Mm… I-I saw it,” Yun Manxia stammered.
“…What did you come here for?”
“Oh! I—I came to tell you something. It’s just that if my dad asks you for help…”
Inside, Bai Hedu paused. The corners of his lips pressed downward slightly, and for some reason, he felt a trace of disappointment. That faint flicker of emotion from earlier vanished completely.
People outside all said he was dying. They also said he was a madman—violent, cruel, and cold-blooded. Under such circumstances, it wasn’t surprising for someone willing to marry him to have ulterior motives.
But what disappointed him was that this was only the first day…
“…Then you must not agree to him!”
“…Hm?”
Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Yun Manxia hurriedly emphasized, “If he uses me as a reason to ask for your help—like asking you to invest in my family’s company—you must ignore him!”
Bai Hedu took two seconds to confirm he had heard correctly.
“Why?”
Why?
Yun Manxia’s eyes shifted as she said, “Why? Of course it’s because I married you, not sold myself to you. Since I married you, I can spend your money—but why should my family spend your money?”
Bai Hedu didn’t expect the young girl to say something like that. After a long silence—
“Alright.”
He replied slowly.
For some reason, hearing his low, magnetic voice made Yun Manxia nervous—especially when she thought of what she had just seen…
Her face grew hot again. “Then I’ll go back now. Rest early. Good night!”
After saying that, she hurried away, not hearing that the moment she closed the door, a soft voice came from the bathroom—
“Good night.”
Back in her room, Yun Manxia’s cheeks burned once more.
In her previous life, although she had married him and even been with Bai Chengxuan, she had never done anything intimate. That scene just now had been too much for her…
Early the next morning, Yun Manxia woke up very early.
Thinking she could have breakfast with Bai Hedu, she went downstairs with anticipation.
But at the breakfast table, she was the only one there.
“Where is Ninth Master?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Had he gone out so early?
Aunt Wu replied indifferently, “Ninth Master is not used to eating with others.”
Yun Manxia froze.
He actually had such a habit?
In her previous life, she had stayed as far away from him as possible—she hadn’t even known this.
She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Having a second chance, hadn’t she done well enough? Yet he wasn’t even willing to eat with her…
She ate without taste and got up after only a few bites.
“Where is Ninth Master?”
“Ninth Master is very busy and also likes to be alone,” Aunt Wu said with a stern face. “If Madam has nothing important, don’t disturb him.”
Yun Manxia paused. “Aunt Wu, what did you just call me?”
“Madam.”
Yun Manxia smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes.
“So you do know I am Ninth Master’s wife, the mistress of this place. Then whatever I do—does it require others to comment? Whether Ninth Master likes to be disturbed or not, he will tell me personally. There’s no need for others to worry about it. What do you think, Aunt Wu?”
Aunt Wu’s face immediately turned pale.
Without waiting for a response, Yun Manxia walked away.
She was wary of Aunt Wu’s status and didn’t intend to confront her rashly—but that didn’t mean she would tolerate being stepped on!
She didn’t find Bai Hedu upstairs, but she saw Lin Shen guarding the study door.
“Is Ninth Master inside?” she walked over.
“Ninth Master is busy,” Lin Shen replied, showing her some respect.
“Oh.” Unable to see him personally, Yun Manxia felt a little disappointed. “I’m going back home for a while. Please let Ninth Master know for me.”
That morning, her stepmother Xia Lian had called, asking her to come home. She hadn’t wanted to bother, but remembering something important she had left there, she decided to go back.
Lin Shen agreed.
The Yun residence.
As soon as Yun Manxia entered, a gentle and elegant middle-aged woman greeted her with a smile. “Manxia, you’re back?”
This was her stepmother, Xia Lian.
Looking at that smiling face, a trace of gloom flashed quickly through Yun Manxia’s eyes.
She had been deceived by that face for so many years, even once treating her like a mother. How ridiculous.
Forcing a faint, cold smile, she said, “Yes, I’m back.”
Xia Lian paused. For a moment, she felt something strange about her stepdaughter’s tone—it made her uneasy, as if the person before her had changed.
But upon closer look, it was still that foolish, easily controlled Yun Manxia. She must have been overthinking.
So she pointed toward Yun Hong, who sat nearby with a dark expression, and said gently, “Why are you arguing with your father? Go apologize to him properly.”
Apologize?
Yun Manxia didn’t think she had anything to apologize for. For refusing Yun Hong’s request? Or for hanging up on him first?
It had to be said—none of Xia Lian’s words were without calculation.
If she had phrased it differently, the Yun Manxia of her previous life—who longed for fatherly love—might have taken the initiative to bow her head to Yun Hong.
But she deliberately said “apologize,” making sure to provoke her rebelliousness.
Thinking carefully, why was her relationship with Yun Hong so bad?
Xia Lian had contributed greatly to that over the years!
But forget it. Since she had been given another chance, she didn’t intend to keep this father anyway.
So she didn’t take a single step toward Yun Hong. “I’m going to my room to get something.”
After saying that, she walked off on her own.
Xia Lian sighed as if helpless. “Manxia still has some resentment. Don’t argue with her.”
That single sentence further provoked Yun Hong’s anger. Xia Lian’s lips curved ever so slightly.
Neither of them noticed anything unusual about Yun Manxia. After all, the father and daughter had never gotten along, and her defiance was nothing new.
Standing at the doorway of her room, Yun Manxia looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar furnishings inside, her emotions complicated.
Relying on memory, she began searching through the cabinet where she used to hide things.
She had placed something very important here—her mother’s medical notes. That was the reason she came back today.
As a once-renowned miracle doctor, her mother’s notes were treasures coveted by many. Bai Chengxuan had deliberately approached her for the things her mother left behind—and these notes were one of his targets.
A moment later, her expression changed.
The notes were gone!