As Yuan Qian spoke, she pretentiously dabbed at her tears. Yet when she looked up at Xie Wanyin, a hint of barely perceptible smugness flashed in her eyes.
“Sister Wanyin, Brother Ruotan only just managed to emerge from the trauma you caused him. Now that he has found his biological parents, since you left so resolutely back then, why did you go out of your way to find the Zhou Family Clinic and deliberately come here to hurt him?”
What a performance—turning black into white and putting on that perfect innocent-tea act!
Xie Wanyin felt her stomach churn. She was practically going to be sick.
Post-traumatic stress disorder? Trauma?
Three years ago, the person who had been crushed beneath the rubble, living a fate worse than death, was her!
The person who had lost her left leg and would never be able to dance again in this lifetime was her!
Even the child who had never had the chance to be born—the one they had failed to save—was hers!
If anyone was supposed to be traumatized, it should have been her, right?
“Yuan Qian, it’s a real shame you didn’t become an actress.”
Xie Wanyin held her back perfectly straight and looked coldly at the three utterly hypocritical people before her. Suddenly, she felt that she herself, standing there today, was nothing more than a complete joke.
She drew a deep breath, took out the specialist appointment slip that she had gone to great lengths to obtain through Qiao Yu, and slapped it onto the guidance desk beside her.
“Put away those faces of people suffering from persecution delusions. I came here today only to register for treatment for my leg. As for the Zhou family’s reputation—and as for you…”
Xie Wanyin glanced at Zhou Ruotan, not a ripple remaining in her eyes.
“I have no interest whatsoever in a man who’s nothing but trash.”
Upon hearing this, Father Zhou, who had remained silent until now and had been relying on his status, finally lost his temper.
With both hands clasped behind his back, he let out a cold snort. His weathered yet exceedingly arrogant face was filled with ruthlessness.
“Your leg?”
Father Zhou looked down condescendingly at Xie Wanyin’s slightly stiff left leg, his voice deep and merciless.
“You’re Xie Wanyin? I’ve heard Ruotan mention you. Western medicine has already condemned your leg.”
He stepped in front of Xie Wanyin, contempt showing in his eyes.
“Looking across the entire country, your leg can indeed be treated only by the Zhou family’s Rejuvenation Acupuncture Technique. But unfortunately…”
Father Zhou deliberately drew out his words before proclaiming loudly in front of everyone, each word striking with force:
“When the Zhou family practices medicine, we place medical ethics above all else! For a heartless and ungrateful person like you, someone who abandoned her husband and is morally corrupt—in short, someone without virtue—the Zhou family will never treat you! Take your appointment slip and get out of our clinic!”
Those words were like a heavy hammer, smashing viciously into Xie Wanyin’s heart and completely shattering the last trace of hope she had held for this leg.
The laughter in the lounge grew even louder. The gazes fixed on her were filled with disdain, as though they were looking at a piece of trash.
Zhou Ruotan abruptly raised his head, seemingly unaware that his father would say something so harsh. He instinctively called out, “Dad! Her leg…”
“Shut up!” Father Zhou shouted, cutting him off harshly.
Meanwhile, in a corner where no one could see, Yuan Qian struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth from rising.
Xie Wanyin stood motionless where she was.
An unprecedented sense of humiliation swept over her like a frigid sea, engulfing her completely.
She had originally thought that the death of her heart three years ago had made her strong enough. But looking at this family of three before her—and Yuan Qian as well—
She suddenly felt that they truly were a perfect match.
They were utterly disgusting.
“Heh…”
Xie Wanyin suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Taking her time, she picked up the appointment slip and tore it apart in front of everyone with a sharp rip.
With no reluctance whatsoever, she flicked her hand and scattered the scraps of paper. They fluttered down in a broad sweep at Zhou Ruotan’s feet.
“Old Master Zhou, you think far too highly of yourself.”