“Ah—!” Ye Zhilei clutched his face. This time, he was really wailing.
“She hit me! She hit me! Dad… Mom, beat this bitch to death!”
Liu Hongmei’s face turned green. Ye Zhilei was her lifeline—she normally wouldn’t even bear to touch him with a finger. Now, watching Ye Li slap her precious darling right in front of her felt like someone carving flesh from her heart.
“Ye Li, you’ve gone too far! Not only are you eating everything yourself, you’re even hitting people now. You’re becoming more and more lawless!”
She hugged Ye Zhilei, who was crying loud enough to shake the roof, trembling with rage.
Ye Jianguo’s expression also darkened, his gaze icy as he stared at Ye Li.
“Ye Li, you’re such a grown girl—how can you stoop to arguing with your own younger brother? Do you even have this family in your eyes? Do you still have me, your father?”
Ye Li showed no fear at all. She lifted her chin and met his gaze coldly.
“Next time I hear him call me a ‘bastard,’ see if I don’t tear his mouth apart. As for who’s really the bastard—don’t you have any idea yourself?”
What a lack of self-awareness. He was the one whose mother married into the Ye family, yet he still had the nerve to call her a bastard.
Liu Hongmei’s face alternated between green and white. Enraged and humiliated, she jumped up and cursed,
“Ye Li, you ill-bred thing! How dare you talk like that!”
As she spoke, she let go of Ye Zhilei, covered her face, and started crying and making a scene.
“What sins have I committed? Since marrying into the Ye family, I’ve worked myself to the bone serving everyone. Even if I’ve earned no credit, I’ve suffered plenty. And in the end, I get pointed at and cursed, my child called a bastard! How can I go on living? I won’t live anymore…”
“Ye Jianguo, say something! I married into your family and worked like an ox and a horse—are you just going to watch your daughter bully me and my son?”
Ye Jianguo grabbed her arm and shouted angrily at Ye Li, eyes wide with fury:
“Ye Li, apologize right now! Apologize to your Aunt Liu and your brother!”
Ye Li crossed her arms and watched Liu Hongmei and her son put on their dramatic performance, completely at ease. Hearing Ye Jianguo’s words, she straightened her back and sneered.
“I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize? You should know very well what kind of thing you gave birth to.”
“A half-grown boy who can’t move when he sees food. No matter what, he should still call me ‘older sister,’ yet he keeps calling me a bastard. Kids don’t come up with that on their own—most of the time, adults teach them. Aunt Liu, ever since you married into the Ye family, have I ever treated you badly? Is this how you degrade me behind my back?”
Liu Hongmei pretended to wipe away tears. Hearing Ye Li’s words and seeing Ye Jianguo’s thoughtful expression, her heart tightened.
She had worked hard for years to keep Ye Jianguo firmly under her control. No matter how much he disliked Ye Li, she was still his biological daughter. If he took Ye Li’s words to heart, it might create a rift between them.
Right now, she called all the shots in the Ye family, large and small matters alike, and controlled the household money—life couldn’t be more comfortable. She absolutely couldn’t let something like this plant a thorn in Ye Jianguo’s heart.
“Li Li, I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. I only spoke harshly just now because I was anxious after you hit Zhilei. Look—your dad even told me specially to buy half a pound of meat today to nourish you.”
Only then did Ye Jianguo remember their plan. He forced a smile uglier than crying and nodded.
“Yes, yes, yes. Dad was muddleheaded! Li Li, you’re older—don’t stoop to Zhilei’s level. He’s still a child, just talking nonsense.”
Ye Li looked at Ye Zhilei with a half-smile. This so-called “child” was nearly as tall as Ye Jianguo. Because most of the good food in the house went into his stomach, he was tall and heavily built. In this era of material scarcity, someone with his physique was truly rare.
Her scumbag father and Liu Hongmei really knew how to bend and stretch. She had thought there would be a big showdown today, but instead they changed faces instantly—truly astonishing.
Still the same saying: when someone is overly attentive for no reason, there must be a hidden agenda. She just didn’t know what bad scheme they were plotting this time.
But soldiers come and she’ll block them; floods come and she’ll dam them.
After all, she had been reborn to take revenge. If she didn’t turn the Ye family upside down and leave it ruined, then her rebirth would have been in vain.
“Is that so? Dad, Aunt Liu, then it’s settled. If I hear the words ‘bastard’ come out of Ye Zhilei’s mouth again, I’ll hit him again. When that happens, don’t protect him.”
“Li Li, Zhilei is young and ignorant. From now on, I’ll teach him properly,” Liu Hongmei said, hatred gnawing at her teeth, yet forced to smile.
Once they found out where that slut Lin Zhiyue had hidden her treasures, she would deal with this little bitch properly.
Ye Li looked at Liu Hongmei’s tightly suppressed, humiliated expression, brushed her bangs with her finger, and said casually with a smile,
“Aunt Liu, then you’d better teach him well. If you can’t, I, as his older sister, would be very happy to teach him for you.”
Liu Hongmei was furious to the point of internal injury, but could only nod stiffly.
At dinner, Ye Li looked at the dishes on the table: chives scrambled with eggs, braised pork, and a bowl of tofu soup. In the past, only Ye Zhilei and Ye Jianguo were qualified to eat such food. She had only ever been fit to eat pickled vegetables.
Ye Zhirou didn’t know where she’d gone wild and was nowhere to be seen. Ye Zhilei, probably instructed by Liu Hongmei, didn’t make trouble this time and didn’t guard all the meat dishes like usual.
Ye Li smacked her lips regretfully—another missed chance to beat him up.
Ye Jianguo secretly glanced at Ye Li, who was lowering her head and eating. Smiling, he picked up a large piece of fatty meat from his bowl and put it into hers.
“Li Li, eat some meat! I had this made especially for you today.”
“I don’t like fatty meat.” Ye Li picked it up with disgust and tossed it into Ye Zhilei’s bowl.
Ye Zhilei was overjoyed. He looked at Ye Li gratefully, stuffed it into his mouth, and gobbled it down.
His mom was wrong—this bastard actually cared quite a bit about him, her younger brother. Otherwise, how could she bear to give up such delicious fatty meat and deliberately save it for him?
And saying she didn’t like fatty meat—he didn’t believe it at all. Fatty meat was such a tasty thing; how could anyone not like it? She was just making excuses.
Ye Jianguo frowned slightly, his dissatisfaction with Ye Li growing a bit more.
This damn girl—just like her early-dead mother, she wouldn’t touch fatty meat at all. Such a pampered-miss body with a maid’s fate. Fatty meat was such a good thing, and she wouldn’t eat it—did she think she deserved delicacies, bear’s paws, bird’s nest?
He shot Liu Hongmei a look and forced a smile onto his face.
“Li Li, I don’t know why, but these past few days I keep dreaming about your mother at night. Sigh, getting old—it makes you unconsciously reminisce about the past.”
Liu Hongmei smiled and chimed in,
“Isn’t that so? Your dad even talks in his sleep at night, always calling your mother’s name.”
As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Ye Li. Seeing no reaction, she continued,
“To be honest, your dad was really good to your mom. I’m even a little jealous. If your dad could think of me like that in the future, I’d have no regrets even if I died.”