Chapter 8

“Sister, I’m sorry……”

“I didn’t know Mom would suddenly say that and almost drag your reputation down with it.”

“Actually…… actually those twenty yuan were taken by me. That day I arranged with my classmates to buy some supplementary study materials and was in a hurry. I took them without telling Mom and later forgot to mention it. I never expected Mom would misunderstand you……”

“It’s my fault. I’m really sorry.”

Ye Mingzhu’s face was flushed red with shame, yet she still stood firmly in front of Ye Wanqing. Her large, water-filled eyes looked at her, full of guilt, with tears already welling up.

The whispering crowd quieted down. Even though some people still pointed fingers at Liu Lizhen, the discussions and disdain toward Ye Mingzhu lessened.

The child was still so young and almost scared to tears. She definitely hadn’t done it on purpose.

Being able to step forward and admit the mistake was already rare.

“It’s fine.” Ye Wanqing shook her head.

Looking at Ye Mingzhu’s nervous, helpless expression that hovered on the verge of tears, she sighed again.

That money definitely had not been for buying study materials, but to say Ye Mingzhu had any real malice—perhaps there wasn’t any.

She looked around. She had nothing suitable to give, so she could only pick up a meat bun and stuff it into Ye Mingzhu’s hand to comfort her. “All right, don’t cry. I know you didn’t mean it.”

Ye Mingzhu was stunned for a moment. Very quickly she held the bun and smiled happily.

“Mm.” She answered, then went to pull Liu Lizhen with special force. “Mom, let’s go back. Don’t delay Sister’s business here anymore.”

Ye Mingzhu dragged Liu Lizhen out of the waiting hall. When she reached the door she even turned and waved at Ye Wanqing. Her little face was red, and the bun was firmly clutched in her other hand.

Ye Wanqing: “……”

After sending the two away, she thanked Driver Little Qi and Director Li who had spoken up for her.

“Director Li, please take these ten yuan back.” Ye Wanqing smiled sweetly and raised her voice a little. “I know you’re good to me. As an elder you couldn’t bear to see me worry about capital, so you lent me ten yuan and even refused to let me repay it. But now my business is good and I’ve earned money. Even if you don’t want it I still have to give it to you. You took care of me, so I have to remember the kindness!”

Director Li’s eyes carried a mix of scolding and amusement. “Is your business really that good?”

“It’s excellent! Everyone supports me, and the bus station also takes care of me. Setting up this stall was truly the right decision.”

“That’s good then!”

Director Li smiled broadly and patted Ye Wanqing’s shoulder. Mm…… With this bit of “publicity,” the remaining stalls would probably no longer have trouble finding renters! Wanqing was a good child—her mind was truly sharp!

After Director Li left, Ye Wanqing glanced over and realized Driver Little Qi still hadn’t gone.

She looked at him in puzzlement. “Comrade Little Qi, is there something else?”

“Ah? Ah…… nothing.” Little Qi’s face suddenly flushed red. He stammered and pointed at Ye Wanqing’s tea stall. “I…… I wanted to buy a cup of ginger-salt tea.”

“What is there to buy? We’re old acquaintances. I’ll treat you to a cup.” Ye Wanqing skillfully steeped a cup of tea and handed it to Driver Little Qi.

Little Qi wanted to pay, but no matter what the money simply would not go out. A look of frustration inevitably appeared in his eyes.

No matter the outcome, the farce at noon still left people feeling uncomfortable inside.

Only when she saw Ge Yuan appear in the evening did the small bit of depression that had been pressing on Ye Wanqing’s heart quietly dissipate.

Seeing him, she knew she was not alone.

“Why are you only coming now?” Ye Wanqing glared at him.

“Waited long?” Ge Yuan checked the time—it was exactly the same as before—yet he still admitted his mistake. “I was delayed today. Tomorrow I’ll come earlier.”

Ye Wanqing: “……No need.”

Ge Yuan looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she meant.

“You blockhead, why would you come so early? I only get off work around this time every day. I just…… just wanted to say that seeing you really makes me happy. It’s really good to have you around.”

Ge Yuan: “……”

Ge Yuan: “!!!”

The roots of Ge Yuan’s ears turned red. He looked left and right and lowered his voice. “……You should be a little more reserved!”

He had already tried hard to lower his presence, yet she didn’t care in the slightest.

Really foolish!

“So what if I’m not reserved?” Ye Wanqing raised her brows. Seeing that there were still a few sparse people around, she could only regretfully suppress the impulse in her heart and made no other moves.

However, after the two of them walked out of the bus station and reached a relatively secluded place, taking advantage of the fact that both of Ge Yuan’s hands were full and he could not easily dodge, she suddenly blocked his path, rose on her tiptoes, and planted a kiss on his chin.

The kiss left his eyes blank and his entire face burning red, as if he had been struck by a body-immobilizing spell and frozen in place.

He really was a big block of wood like this!

“Haha……” Ye Wanqing laughed.

Her laughter was clear and crisp. She ran forward a stretch of the road, then raised a hand to touch her own lips and complained coyly and unhappily at the person behind her: “Ai, your beard is really prickly!”

After speaking she turned and continued walking forward, her steps light and quick.

Ge Yuan suddenly wanted very much to touch the stubble on his chin, but both hands were occupied and he simply could not free them.

After a long while a trace of smile spilled from his eyes. He could only hurriedly lower his head.

Yet the upward curve of the corners of his lips could not be pressed down no matter what.

He wanted to say, “Wouldn’t it be fine if you just kissed me on the lips?” but he did not dare to truly say it out loud. He only dared to think it in his heart. Just thinking about it made a wave of sweetness rise in his chest.

He felt he had to work even harder.

He must!

Ye Wanqing returned home at eight in the evening. She knocked on the door, and the person who opened it was Ye Mingzhu.

“Sister, you’re back.” Ye Mingzhu’s eyes were red. It looked as if she had just been crying.

After greeting Ye Wanqing she shuffled slowly back to the center of the room, lifted an enamel washbasin full of water above her head, and knelt on the ground with a wronged expression.

Ye Wanqing: “……”

This was truly rare.

Before the age of fifteen she herself had often been punished by kneeling like this, but seeing Ye Mingzhu like this was truly uncommon. It seemed that today’s events had caused Liu Lizhen to lose a great deal of face, so she had to be punished this way.

“Sister, Sister!”

Ye Mingzhu called out softly and made eyes at Ye Wanqing, asking her to plead for her. Ye Wanqing helplessly spread her hands, indicating that she was just a piece of trash and powerless to help.

“Ye Wanqing!” Liu Lizhen saw the silent exchange of looks between the two, slapped the armrest of the sofa, and shouted sternly, “You come here!”

“Oh.” Ye Wanqing walked over and sat down in front of Liu Lizhen.

“Who told you to sit? You kneel too!”

Ye Wanqing smiled faintly. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Even if you didn’t do anything wrong, making me angry is your fault! I’m your mother. When I tell you to kneel, you have to kneel!”

“Adoptive mother,” Ye Wanqing reminded her seriously.

“You……” Liu Lizhen was almost angered to death. Only now did she remember that for these past several days Ye Wanqing had not called her “Mom” even once, nor had she called Ye Xiangdang “Dad.”

A sudden chill rose in her heart. “You really don’t want to acknowledge me as your mother anymore? You…… you really are an ungrateful wolf!”

Ye Xiangdang also looked over.

Ye Wanqing took a deep breath. “Isn’t it that you never wanted to acknowledge me as your daughter in the first place? I don’t want to fight over the job inheritance. After all, even if both were biological daughters, it’s normal for parents to have a preference. But in other aspects, how well have you done? Don’t you know in your hearts?”

“Why was I stopped by those little hooligans? You know in your hearts! It wasn’t that I was unlucky—someone wanted to ruin my reputation!”

“You clearly knew the person Wang Jiabao liked was Ye Mingzhu, yet you insisted on making me marry over there. If Wang Jiabao were truly something good, if the Wang family were truly a good family, why didn’t you let Ye Mingzhu fulfill the engagement?”

“I already said I wouldn’t take over the job, yet you didn’t believe me. You insisted on tying up my entire life and driving me out of the county town before you could feel at ease!”

“You wouldn’t even give me a house key. The cupboard is locked tightly every day as if guarding against a thief. The moment you learned I was setting up a stall you immediately went to make a scene, indiscriminately calling me a thief in public…… Is this something parents can do to their children? Would you bear to treat Ye Mingzhu this way?”

“Before calling me an ungrateful wolf, why don’t you think about how you yourselves treated me like a wolf to be guarded against?”

These words left Ye Xiangdang and Liu Lizhen’s faces alternating between red and white.

They had not expected that Ye Wanqing actually knew everything!

She knew everything……

Liu Lizhen looked like a defeated rooster. Her expression was ugly as she opened and closed her mouth, yet she was questioned so thoroughly that she could not say a single word. She could only look toward Ye Xiangdang for help.

Ye Xiangdang rubbed his face, his expression as heavy as water. “Since you already know, I won’t hide it from you either…… The matter of calling the little hooligans was your little uncle acting on his own. We only learned of it when he came to the house to report. By then the matter had already happened and we could not stop it even if we wanted to.”

“As for the rest, you can handle it yourself. We as parents are old and can no longer control you.”

He took out the key ring from his pocket, removed one key, and pushed it in front of Ye Wanqing. This was the house key.

“Sister, don’t be angry. No matter when, you will always be my sister.” Ye Mingzhu also put down the washbasin, walked over, and grabbed Ye Wanqing’s hand. Her eyes, red from crying, looked at her nervously.

Only then did Ye Wanqing learn that the person who had ordered the little hooligans to “teach her a lesson” was her little uncle. Although Ye Xiangdang was biased, he had a certain pride in his heart. Such underhanded methods were indeed not his style, and he would not lie about something like this. It was just that he had not chosen to comfort or protect her, but instead chosen to take advantage of the situation.

She looked at the house key on the coffee table, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Was this house key recognition, or compromise?

Her goal since rebirth had been to cut ties with the Ye family and, apart from obligations such as supporting the elderly in the future, to have as little contact as possible. If she took this key, wouldn’t it run counter to her previous plans?

Should she take this key?

Never before had there been a time when she, Ye Wanqing, had become the focus of the Ye family, the one they were coaxing.

Was it true that the child who cried got the candy?

Ye Wanqing stood up. “That’s enough.”

She walked toward the kitchen without so much as glancing at the key on the coffee table.

Soon the sound of rushing water and sweeping came from the kitchen. The three members of the Ye family looked at one another. Liu Lizhen “hmph-ed” with a dark expression, while Ye Xiangdang let out a heavy sigh.

After finishing the housework, Ye Wanqing returned to the room and refused Ye Mingzhu’s attempt at a heart-to-heart talk. She lay on the bed thinking about her own matters.

She had not expected that today she would lay everything out so clearly with the Ye family, nor that Ye Xiangdang would actually give her a key. She could not help thinking of her previous life. Those events floated continuously through her mind like a revolving lantern, softening her heart while also hardening it.

Regarding the choices of the future, she was very firm.