Yang Yuan quickened her pace, almost breaking into a run.
She was panting heavily but didn’t dare stop.
Yang Wenping could only lengthen his stride to keep up. Seeing how anxious his younger sister looked, he couldn’t help preparing himself for the worst.
If she’d really gotten herself into some irreparable disaster…
Then I’d have to take the blame for her.
Yang Yuan’s thoughts were in complete disarray.
The moment she entered the courtyard, she headed straight inside.
Behind her, Yang Wenping turned to close the gate and slide the wooden bolt into place.
Suddenly—
“AHHHHH!”
A bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence.
Yang Wenping was so startled that he nearly tripped over himself as he rushed inside.
“Yuanyuan!”
Yang Yuan had simply been walking when she looked up and found a huge figure standing right in front of her in the darkness.
Broad shoulders.
Thick waist.
Completely unexpected.
She was so frightened that she collapsed onto the ground, her soul practically leaving her body.
“Yuanyuan!”
The shadow was startled too and hurried over to help her.
“Yuanyuan, what’s wrong? It’s Mom! Don’t you recognize your own mother?”
“What happened?”
“What’s going on?”
“Who is it? You scared the poor child into tears!”
“Why is the Yang family yelling in the middle of the night? Doesn’t anyone sleep around here?”
Voices immediately rang out from neighboring courtyards.
Only after a long while did Yang Yuan finally recover.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.
The Yang family repeatedly apologized to the neighbors before helping her back inside.
“Yuanyuan, are you feeling better?”
Mother Yang had originally come home furious, determined to give her daughter a good scolding.
But after seeing Yang Yuan’s deathly pale face…
All her anger vanished.
She crouched down and performed an old folk ritual for frightened children.
She touched the floor, then patted Yang Yuan’s body, tapped her forehead, pinched both earlobes, and muttered softly,
“Come back… come back… come back…”
It was an old superstition people used to “call back” a frightened child’s soul.
Whether it worked or not, it usually comforted the child.
After drinking some water, Yang Yuan finally calmed down.
She’d simply been too absorbed in her own thoughts.
Someone had suddenly appeared in front of her, catching her completely off guard.
Now she was fine.
Looking around at everyone surrounding her, she asked in confusion,
“Mom… why are you back already?”
“Weren’t you staying at Second Sister’s house?”
“And Dad…”
“Aren’t you on duty today?”
“Why did you come home so early?”
The moment Yang Yuan mentioned it, both her parents remembered exactly why they had rushed home.
Their expressions darkened again.
Instead of answering, Mother Yang said sternly,
“Yang Yuan.”
“Yang Wenping.”
“Stand up.”
The siblings immediately obeyed.
“First, where did you two go?”
“Why are you only getting home now?”
“And Yang Yuan…”
Mother Yang looked her daughter up and down.
“What exactly are you wearing?”
“Explain yourself.”
Yang Yuan lowered her head.
Only then did she realize she was still wearing Father Yang’s oversized clothes.
No wonder I’d been feeling so hot…
Then she remembered something else.
She rubbed her face.
Her hand came away pitch black.
“…”
Awkwardly smiling at her parents, she couldn’t hide her guilty conscience.
After receiving permission to “tidy herself up,” she hurried off to wash her face and change clothes before returning to stand obediently once more.
By then, Yang Wenping had already finished answering his questions.
Apparently…
He’d passed inspection.
Yang Yuan still hadn’t figured out the Yang parents’ personalities.
She wasn’t even sure whether she was allowed to sit down.
Lips pursed, she carefully organized her thoughts.
“I wore Dad’s clothes as a disguise.”
“Because I wanted to do something…”
“Something where I couldn’t let anyone recognize me.”
“As for what exactly…”
She hesitated.
“…I’m still not sure whether I should tell you.”
After saying that, she secretly glanced at her parents’ expressions.
Even she thought her excuse sounded ridiculously weak.
Seeing no one respond, she added sheepishly,
“And…”
“The reason I came home late…”
“Same answer.”
Silence filled the room.
Yang Wenping was already sitting comfortably on the kang.
Apparently he’d answered well enough.
Yang Yuan still remained standing.
Mother Yang took a deep breath.
She closed her eyes, calming herself before opening them again.
Her gaze became sharp.
“Your second brother-in-law told us.”
“You want to buy your classmate’s factory job.”
“Something this important…”
“When exactly were you planning to tell the family?”
“I’ll tell you now.”
Yang Yuan immediately recounted everything about the Song family from beginning to end.
After all, the whole incident had only started that morning.
The way Mother Yang phrased it made it sound as though she’d been hiding the secret for months.
Was it really that terrible?
“Besides…”
“You weren’t home.”
“So how could I tell you?”
“When Second Brother came home at noon, didn’t I discuss it with him immediately?”
Hearing that it had all happened just today, Mother Yang relaxed slightly.
Only slightly.
The remaining half of her anger was still there.
Smack!
She slammed the broom onto the table.
“What exactly were you doing tonight?”
“Who were you with?”
“Where did you go?”
“Tell me.”
Her icy expression and severe tone made Yang Yuan shiver instinctively.
Her eyes immediately grew misty.
After all…
This wasn’t her real mother.
She didn’t even dare stammer.
Like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, she confessed everything.
Well…
Almost everything.
She naturally omitted every detail that worked against her.
Especially the money.
Not one word.
“I squatted there until my legs went numb.”
“I didn’t dare make a sound.”
“I only went to find Fourth Brother after the boy and girl had already left.”
Her voice had become hoarse.
Tears pooled in her eyes.
“Yang Yuanyuan!”
“So everything I’ve told you went in one ear and out the other?”
Mother Yang finally exploded.
Grabbing the broom, she shot to her feet.
“I told you over and over—”
“Stay home!”
“Don’t wander outside!”
“Especially not at night!”
“Oh, you’ve got some nerve!”
“Wearing disguises?”
“Following people?”
“Why don’t you just fly up into the sky while you’re at it?”
“What business is someone else’s affair to you?”
“Why were you following them?”
She pointed the broom angrily.
“You’re a little girl who complains a kitchen knife is too heavy when chopping vegetables!”
“If someone had wanted to do something to you…”
“You wouldn’t even have been able to run away!”
“When I left home, what did I tell you?”
“Remember that girl near your grandmother’s place?”
“She was assaulted while walking outside at night.”
“In the end she couldn’t bear the shame and hanged herself.”
“That happened less than a month ago!”
“And you didn’t listen to a single word!”
As she spoke…
Mother Yang smacked Yang Yuan on the backside with the broom.
Both Father Yang and Yang Wenping froze.
No one had expected her to actually hit the family’s youngest daughter.
She had always been the treasured child of the household.
Mother Yang had never even laid a finger on her before.
Yang Wenping hurriedly stepped between them.
“Mom!”
“Mom!”
“Yuanyuan knows she was wrong!”
“Please don’t hit her anymore!”
Father Yang also wrapped his arms around his wife.
“What are you doing?”
“Scaring her a little is enough.”
“How can you actually hit her?”
“She’s still young.”
“She knows she made a mistake.”
“She won’t do it again.”
As for Yang Yuan…
She was completely stunned.
Because of her family circumstances in her previous life, she’d always been cherished.
Her parents.
Her grandparents.
Not one of them had ever spoken harshly to her.
This…
This was the first time in her entire life she’d ever been spanked.
The tears she’d been holding back finally spilled over.
Even with Father Yang and Yang Wenping trying to stop her, Mother Yang refused to back down.
“Move!”
“If this girl doesn’t get a beating today, she’ll never learn!”
“I spoiled her too much!”
“That’s why she turned out like this!”
“Always thinking she’s smarter than everyone else.”
“Always believing everyone else is an idiot.”
“You think you’re so capable?”
“That you’re the only clever person in the world?”
“Why are you sticking your nose into other people’s business?”
Father Yang pulled her backward.
Mother Yang switched the broom to her other hand and swung again.
The straw tip lightly brushed across Yang Yuan’s and Yang Wenping’s legs.
It hardly hurt at all.
But Yang Yuan burst into sobs.
The harder she cried…
The more heartbreaking it became.
I’m not even your daughter…
What right do you have to hit me?
My own mother never hit me.
I’m not Yang Yuan!
Why should you treat me like her?
I never wanted to come to this miserable place.
I was happily sleeping in an air-conditioned room, eating ice cream…
Then I woke up here.
I couldn’t stop myself from transmigrating.
I can’t fight against society.
I don’t want to farm.
I don’t want to go to the countryside.
I just want to live a slightly better life within my means.
What did I do wrong?
I just came home a little late.
It’s not like it was the middle of the night.
Why are you hitting me?
Finally, through her sobs, Yang Yuan shouted,
“Who wanted to meddle in anyone else’s business?”
“That woman was Yang Wenping’s fiancée, Zheng Yuyin!”
“She’s pregnant with another man’s child!”
“It’s freezing outside!”
“Who do you think I was doing all this for?”
“I was trying to help, and this is the thanks I get!”
“What right do you have to hit me?!”