Ye Zhi‑zhi lowered her head, a flicker of panic in her eyes. She hadn’t expected a situation that seemed settled to turn out like this.
“Mom…” she whined, looking to Liu Hongmei for help. Liu Hongmei, feeling heartbroken, could only soothe her and give her a subtle signal. With Ye Lili, that little brat, present, she didn’t dare speak too freely—if Ye Lili caught wind of anything, she would make a scene, and then things would really go out of control.
Ye Lili, half-smiling, watched the others with their own schemes, feeling unusually delighted. As long as they were unsettled, she felt content.
“Dad, if there’s nothing else, I’m going back to rest for a bit. I have work tomorrow, unlike Aunt Liu and Ye Zhi‑zhi, who laze around all day doing nothing.” Ye Lili didn’t hesitate to jab Ye Jianguo’s nerves and walked back to her room with light steps.
Ye Jianguo sat on the bench, head lowered, his face dark, lost in thought. Liu Hongmei gently nudged Ye Zhi‑zhi and gave her a look to return to her room. After Ye Zhi‑zhi left, Liu Hongmei crouched beside Ye Jianguo, holding his hand, eyes full of concern.
“Old Ye, don’t let yourself get sick from anger. Don’t listen to that little Ye Lili spouting nonsense. I know very well whose child Zhi‑zhi is.”
Ye Jianguo looked up, stunned, and let out a long sigh. “Hongmei, be honest with me. Whose child is Zhi‑zhi? Don’t worry, since she calls me Dad, I’ll treat her like my own daughter.”
Liu Hongmei inwardly cursed Ye Jianguo. His words sounded fine, but just because of what Ye Lili said, he doubted Zhi‑zhi’s parentage. He had just said to let Zhi‑zhi wait to marry into the Jiang family, and now he was changing his mind. This man was not someone she could rely on.
Her eyes flickered, and she put on a slightly aggrieved expression. “Old Ye, when I say things like this, doesn’t it hit close to my heart? Before I married Wang Ergou, I was involved with you. If you hadn’t insisted on marrying Lin Zhiyue, how could I have married that useless Wang Ergou?”
“At that time, I was pregnant with Zhi‑zhi and had no choice but to marry him. I was an unmarried girl carrying a child. If I didn’t marry someone, I could only die.” Liu Hongmei rambled on about her past grievances, tears streaming down like broken pearls.
Seeing her so upset, Ye Jianguo’s heart softened completely. The doubts he had just felt vanished. He pulled Liu Hongmei into his arms, holding her and apologizing, “Alright, stop crying! It’s my fault. I had no backbone and believed that little Ye Lili’s nonsense. It won’t happen again.”
Liu Hongmei leaned into him, looking coquettishly up at him, pouting, “Really? Old Ye, you know it’s only you in my heart. Not trusting me like that hurts me so much.”
Ye Jianguo, seeing her like that, felt a stir in his heart. He lifted his hand and touched her chest, saying, “I was wrong, I was wrong! Let me help you massage it.”
Inside her room, Ye Lili had heard everything clearly. Seeing them behave so recklessly, disregarding the two unmarried girls in the house, her face darkened in anger. She silently cursed their shamelessness, flung open her door, and coldly mocked them, “Oh, Dad, Aunt Liu! In broad daylight, you really have no shame. If you have something to do, why not go to your room?”
Ye Jianguo and Liu Hongmei flinched in shock and quickly separated. Liu Hongmei scrambled to fix her clothes, her face full of embarrassment.
Ye Jianguo, red with anger and shame, glared at Ye Lili. “You little brat, mind your own business!”
Ye Lili stared back fearlessly. “Dad, I’m not interested in managing your messy affairs. I’m going out now—are you really going to block me?”
Liu Hongmei’s face turned red and pale as she shouted, “Ye Lili, what nonsense are you talking about? You’re a girl; how can you meddle in these things? Don’t you have any shame?”
Ye Lili stood her ground, arms crossed. “Aunt Liu, I don’t know if I have shame, but at least I don’t seduce other people’s fiancés, and I don’t get pregnant before marriage. Before, I wondered how Ye Zhi‑zhi, a young girl, could be so flirtatious. Now I know—it runs in the family.”
Ye Jianguo and Liu Hongmei were shocked, eyes avoiding hers, unable to meet her gaze. They had kept their voices low before; this little brat shouldn’t have overheard anything.
Ye Jianguo’s face turned iron‑blue as he cautiously asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Ye Lili shrugged, indifferent. “Nothing at all, just what it says.”
Ye Jianguo was furious, watching her leave the house without daring to scold her. That little brat seemed possessed. If she went spreading this around, his reputation would be completely ruined.
Ye Lili left Mumian Alley and headed straight to the steel factory’s staff housing. Judging by her father’s expression, he was probably having a pleasant conversation with the Jiang family. Stone Yalan hadn’t even given her the compensation for canceling the engagement and was trying to brush her off—what arrogance.
She often visited the staff housing, and everyone knew she was the future daughter-in-law of the factory director. As soon as she entered, she saw many familiar faces. Ye Lili smiled shyly and greeted them gently.
“Oh my, the future daughter-in-law of the director is so polite and well-mannered.”
“Indeed, such a pretty girl, and so gentle and courteous. Jiang Bowen really struck gold.”
“Hey, you guys don’t know. I heard Jiang Bowen is very close to his own little aunt. He takes her to the state-run restaurant all the time, yet barely pays attention to this girl.”
“Really? You’re not making this up, right? Don’t spread rumors. If the director finds out, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“I’m not making it up! I heard from my third uncle’s daughter-in-law’s brother’s son. He saw it himself multiple times—Jiang Bowen acts like a couple with his little aunt.”
Ye Lili heard their gossip and only smiled mockingly. In her past life, she had been blind to everything, yet everyone else had noticed the odd relationship between Jiang Bowen and Ye Zhi‑zhi. And they were doing it right under her nose, and she hadn’t noticed.
Her expression slowly turned cold. This time, no one would have it easy.
She reached the Jiang family gate and knocked.
“Who is it?” came Stone Yalan’s voice from inside. After a moment, footsteps approached, and the gate opened.
Seeing Ye Lili, Stone Yalan was momentarily stunned, then quickly plastered on a fake smile. “Oh, Lili! You’re here at Aunt Shi’s house—what brings you?”