Inside the villa, compared to five years ago, there had already been many changes. The biggest change was the addition of many luxurious and expensive decorations, each of which was worth a pretty penny.

It seemed that with the support of the Lu family, the Liu family had done quite well in recent years.

After Su Mo entered, she sat calmly in the middle of the living room sofa, not glancing around.

A moment later, Jian Ruyun emerged from the room holding an envelope and a piece of paper.

“Inside this envelope is a card with 150,000 yuan. Consider it our compensation to you for all these years,” she said, pushing the envelope toward Su Mo.

Su Mo reached out to take it, but before she could, Jian Ruyun suddenly pulled her hand back, smiling with an unreadable expression as she looked at Su Mo.

“You’re eager to take this money?”

Su Mo didn’t speak, merely staring back at her with a neutral expression.

Jian Ruyun chuckled lightly. “Fine, but first, you need to sign this guarantee.” She then took the envelope back, sliding the paper toward Su Mo.

She even explained generously, “Xiaoxiao, it’s not that I don’t trust you. Both you and Yiyi are my daughters, and I would never favor one over the other. But some things, as adults, we understand better than you. You and Ziye are clearly a lost cause, and to ensure Yiyi’s wedding goes smoothly, it’s better to have this in black and white, don’t you think?”

Su Mo stared at the piece of paper in front of her.

The words “Guarantee” were clearly printed on it.

Su Mo picked up the paper and looked it over carefully. It simply required her to promise never to appear in front of Lu Ziye again and not to interfere with Liu Yiyi and Lu Ziye’s life. There was also an attachment—a statement.

The statement was about how everything that had happened in the past was Su Mo’s own fault, admitting to drug use and involvement with an AIDS patient.

If she violated the guarantee, they would make the statement public.

After reading it, Su Mo threw the paper onto the table.

“I won’t sign it. I was innocent in the past. I’ve never been involved with anyone in any way. I didn’t use drugs, nor did I have anything to do with any AIDS patient. This document? Don’t even think about it!”

“As for Lu Ziye and Liu Yiyi’s relationship, don’t worry, I’m not interested. A man I casually discarded is no longer my concern. Whoever wants him can take him. I never pick up trash I’ve already thrown away!”

“Xiaoxiao, are you calling Ziye trash?”

“It’s the truth!” Su Mo raised her chin slightly, an air of inherent nobility exuding from her, as if that man was nothing more than garbage in her eyes.

“Heh, it’s easy to say the grapes are sour when you can’t reach them. I understand,” Jian Ruyun laughed lightly, seemingly not planning to force Su Mo to sign the document. Instead, she walked over to a table nearby, pulled out a photo, and tossed it to Su Mo.

“I also said I’d be fair. Since Yiyi is getting married, we certainly won’t neglect you. Even though you’ve been away all these years, your father has always kept you in mind. When he heard you were back, he hurriedly had me arrange a blind date for you.”

“Don’t worry, even though you did those things back then, your surname Liu can’t be changed. This man is someone I’ve carefully selected for you. He’s absolutely not someone who will treat you poorly.”

She pointed to the man in the photo.

“Huang Yuejin, the president of Yuejin Real Estate, a key client of your father, with a high status in Beijing. His wife passed away three months ago. Recently, he saw your photo and became very interested.”

“Xiaoxiao, this is a great opportunity. If you marry him, you’ll immediately step into the world of wealthy wives in Beijing. Even if I meet you in the future, we’ll be on equal footing. How about it? I’m sure you won’t say I’ve treated you unfairly as a mother, will you?”

Jian Ruyun spoke as though she were bestowing a favor. Hearing her, Su Mo felt a wave of disgust rise from deep within.

“Carefully selected!”

She glanced at the photo, and her nails dug into her palms.

The man in the photo, a greasy, balding man in his forties or fifties, had the audacity to claim he had carefully selected her!

Suddenly, she remembered the conversation she had overheard in the bathroom earlier between Jian Ruyun and someone else.

She understood it now. This wasn’t careful selection at all. It was more likely that they were afraid of choosing someone younger and more outstanding, so they had slyly found out about this man.

“I know you’re in urgent need of money. Mr. Huang doesn’t care about your past, nor does he mind that you’re not a virgin. If you just agree, he’ll take you to get the marriage certificate. Once you’re married, the 150,000 yuan will be yours.”

“Jian Ruyun,” Su Mo suddenly sneered, “How insecure are you about Liu Yiyi? Are you that afraid I’ll steal Lu Ziye from her?”

Unable to force her to sign the guarantee, they resorted to this trick, trying to make her marry such a man. This was far more effective than any guarantee!

“Steal him? Xiaoxiao, get it straight. Even if you wanted to steal him, you need to have the ability to do so! Don’t forget, it was Ziye who rejected you back then!”

“Stop talking nonsense. I’m sending someone to take you to Mr. Huang’s villa right now. As long as you serve him well, I’ll even allow you to go back to the Liu family!”

“Jian Ruyun, are you even human?” Su Mo clenched her fists, her knuckles white, yet her voice remained eerily calm.

“Xiaoxiao, I’ve given you the alimony. Now that you’ve accepted it, you need to listen to me! You want the money but don’t want to listen? You’re dreaming! Besides, Mr. Huang is rich and powerful—what’s wrong with that?”

“Heh, rich and powerful? Not wronged? Then why didn’t you let Liu Yiyi go? Is she the only one who’s your real daughter?”

Jian Ruyun sneered. “Yiyi is going to marry into the Lu family. Her status will be unmatched in all of Beijing. Xiaoxiao, how can you compare to Yiyi?” After saying that, she threw the card onto the table in front of Su Mo.

“Xiaoxiao, don’t be foolish. In this world, there’s nothing more important than money. You should understand that better than anyone.”

Su Mo’s chest rose and fell, her face pale, then flushed with anger. Though she had felt disappointed and even hopeless before, facing this cold-heartedness once more, she still felt a pang of discomfort.

Her clear, bright eyes glared angrily at Jian Ruyun, who was casually sitting on the sofa.

“If I take it, how is that different from selling myself?”

Jian Ruyun coldly snorted without even lifting her head. “You should know your place. Don’t act all high and mighty here.”

“And with your past, do you really think you can find someone better than Mr. Huang? Xiaoxiao, I’m doing this for your own good. With such conditions, what kind of man do you think you can get? Don’t be ungrateful!”

Su Mo was so angry that she suddenly started laughing. “Jian Ruyun, do you think I’m worth just 150,000 yuan in your eyes? Well, guess what? If I were to go out right now and find myself a sugar daddy, do you think I could find one who would take down the Liu family?”

She then picked up the card from the table and held it in her hand. The card, heavy as if it were a thousand pounds, contained 150,000 yuan—just enough for Granny’s surgery. But she knew she could never take it.

With that thought, she gripped the card tightly and flung it at Jian Ruyun’s face.

“I don’t want your money. Take it and use it to fix whatever’s left of your conscience, which has long been eaten by dogs!”

Jian Ruyun winced in pain, and by the time she regained her senses, Su Mo had already left the room.

She hurriedly got up and chased after her.

“You’ll regret this!”

Su Mo’s back stiffened for a moment. Regret? She definitely regretted it. She shouldn’t have come here. Coming was nothing but self-inflicted humiliation.

But her footsteps didn’t falter.

Still, with firm steps, she walked away from the place that had once carried so much hope and now, so much despair.