Ye Zhirou was caught off guard, stumbling back and nearly falling. Her eyes were full of fear and grievance as she quickly steadied herself against the wall, crying out, “Brother Jiang, how can you push me? This child is yours!”
Jiang Bowen’s face instantly went pale, cold sweat forming on his forehead. He paced back and forth, muttering to himself, “What am I going to do, what am I going to do…”
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and glared at Ye Zhirou angrily. “It’s all your fault! How could you be so careless? If this gets out, my whole life will be ruined!”
Ye Zhirou hadn’t expected Jiang Bowen to deny responsibility after pulling up his pants, and she felt incredibly wronged, sobbing and gasping for air. “Brother Jiang, how can you blame me? At that time, you said it didn’t matter. You can’t just ignore me and the baby! You have to find a way to get Ye Li to cancel the engagement.”
She secretly resented the damned Jiang Bowen. Back then, he had spoken sweet words, promising to take responsibility. Now he was washing his hands of it and blaming her instead. No matter what, she was determined to make him marry her.
Jiang Bowen gritted his teeth, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. “Fine. I’ll talk to Ye Li. If she refuses, I’ll… I’ll ruin her reputation so she has no choice but to cancel the engagement.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhirou’s face brightened with delight, and she nodded eagerly. “Brother Jiang, you’re the best! As long as it works, I’ll follow your lead from now on.”
“All right, go home first! Today’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the family will have a reunion dinner—I won’t be staying with you.”
Jiang Bowen had no mind to mess around with Ye Zhirou anymore. He turned and left hastily, leaving her standing there.
Ye Zhirou watched him go, a faint gleam of determination in her eyes. She was determined to marry into the Jiang family and become the factory director’s daughter-in-law. She already had a plan: if Jiang Bowen dared to play tricks, she would go talk to his parents. She refused to believe the Jiang family would watch their grandchild be abandoned.
She clenched her anger, and only after Jiang Bowen had left did she spit sharply. After straightening her clothes and putting on her usual sweet, delicate expression, she headed back to the Ye household.
As she entered, Ye Jianguo and Liu Hongmei were absent; only Ye Li sat in the room, looking at an old photograph in her hands. Ye Zhirou’s heart burned with resentment—why could Ye Li live so comfortably? If it weren’t for her refusal to switch engagements, she wouldn’t have to worry about herself and Jiang Bowen.
She deliberately sat beside Ye Li, pretending casually, “Sister, I just went out and met Brother Jiang. He told me some things.”
Ye Li continued staring at the old photograph, not even raising her head. She didn’t care about that scumbag Jiang Bowen, so she certainly didn’t care about Ye Zhirou trying to show off.
Seeing that Ye Li ignored her, Ye Zhirou’s eyes flashed with hatred. “Brother Jiang said he doesn’t like you. It’s your fault for stubbornly wanting to marry him.”
“Sisters should be more reserved, not humiliate themselves to be looked down upon,” she added.
Ye Li looked up from the photograph, a faint, knowing smile tugging at her lips, her gaze falling on Ye Zhirou’s abdomen. “Oh? Is that so? So what if he doesn’t like me? I don’t like him either. But you, coming so eagerly to tell me, must be really afraid I’ll marry Jiang Bowen and get in your way.”
Ye Zhirou’s expression changed, and she forced a calm tone. “Sister, don’t be stubborn. Brother Jiang told me himself.”
Ye Li stood up, towering over Ye Zhirou, and said pointedly, “Ye Zhirou, you think your little tricks can make me do what you want? I’ll tell you, I have no intention of canceling this marriage. As for your and Jiang Bowen’s scandal, if you dare bring it up to disgust me again, I won’t mind letting everyone know.”
Ye Zhirou trembled at Ye Li’s aura but still retorted stubbornly, “You’re just angry because of shame. Brother Jiang is so excellent; you’re not worthy of him.”
Her heart raced, instinctively clutching her lower abdomen. Impossible—how could Ye Li know she was pregnant?
Ye Li let out a cold laugh. “Excellent? If he were truly excellent, would he do something shameful with you? Ye Zhirou, don’t pretend to be innocent in front of me—save it.”
With that, Ye Li turned and went back into her room, ignoring Ye Zhirou completely.
Ye Zhirou trembled in anger but dared not speak further, glaring at the closed door.
Back in her room, Ye Li thought of Ye Zhirou’s reaction and suddenly remembered what she had heard in her previous life. After being sent to the countryside, Ye Zhirou married into the Jiang family and gave birth to a daughter seven months later.
A mocking smile tugged at Ye Li’s lips. “Premature birth? Judging by the look of it, she’s probably already carrying Jiang Bowen’s child. Unbelievable—they’re shameless, already together before even marrying.”
Refocusing, Ye Li gently stroked the woman in the photograph, smiling softly. This was her mother’s only remaining photo. After Liu Hongmei came into the Ye household, it had been thrown into the storage room. Ye Li had just spent a long time searching to retrieve it.
Her gaze shifted to Ye Jianguo, who was in the room. Annoyed, she didn’t hesitate to dismantle the frame, planning to cut out Ye Jianguo from the photograph.
The man who had betrayed her mother didn’t deserve to share a photo with her.
As soon as she opened the frame, a yellowed slip of paper drifted to the floor.
Ye Li was momentarily stunned. Curiosity piqued, she picked up the slip of paper from the floor. On it, in neat handwriting, were a few small characters:
“No. 2 Qingshi Street, under the phoenix tree in the courtyard!”
Ye Li read it again and again, feeling utterly puzzled. She knew the place—No. 2 Qingshi Street. The house there had always been empty, with no one living in it. Later, rumors spread that it was haunted; at night, no one dared to walk past it.
But why had her mother deliberately written this note and hidden it inside the photo frame? That left Ye Li extremely confused.
She clenched the slip of paper tightly, furrowing her brows, and began to think carefully. She tried to recall every detail related to her mother, hoping to find some clue in her memories.
In Ye Li’s recollection, her mother had been a graceful and elegant woman, with soft, gentle eyes. She always wore a faint smile when interacting with others, warm and generous, making people feel as if touched by spring sunshine.
After thinking for a long while, Ye Li realized that, aside from knowing her mother’s name was Lin Zhiyue, she knew very little else. Since her mother had deliberately left this note in the photo frame, it had to hold some significance.
Unable to come up with any clear leads, Ye Li decided not to overthink it. She neatly picked up the scissors from the desk, cut out Ye Jianguo from the photo, and tossed him aside. Carefully, she placed the photograph back into the frame.
Ye Li set the frame on the desk, stared at it for a while, then decided to store it safely in her space. Having just been reborn and gone through another chaotic episode, she felt unusually exhausted. She lay down on the bed and, without realizing it, drifted off to sleep.