Chapter 9: She Doesn’t Want Him Anymore

“Ranran, you’re saying you won’t marry me? Then what about our engagement banquet?”

He Hongwen suddenly rushed in front of Ye Siran, his eyes bloodshot. If you hadn’t jumped out the window before, would I have ended up with your sister?

The latter thought he couldn’t bring himself to say aloud—after all, he was a cultured man who valued his pride.

Growing up in comfort, protected by his father and brothers, his life had always radiated happiness. He was a refined, proud doctor.

“He Hongwen, who gave you the face to talk about an engagement banquet? That day when you declared you’d marry my sister, did it ever occur to you that I’d become a laughingstock?”

If she hadn’t lived a previous life, Ye Siran would never dare speak to He Hongwen like this.

In this life, marrying him? Dream on.

In her past life, she devoted herself entirely to caring for the He family. They were well-off and never lacked money. Later, He Hongwen developed many new antiviral drugs and earned a fortune.

If it weren’t for Ye Ruyue always living in her house, she would have considered herself the happiest woman alive.

After spending half her life “licking boots,” her biggest regret was letting Ye Ruyue and her son move into her home.

She had never truly blamed He Hongwen. Only at the moment of rage did she realize she had been a joke—too naive, too foolish, too stubborn. She had seen one person as her everything, thought about nothing but him, felt she was great for loving him so deeply, and believed she could do anything for him.

She thought her love would soften him, only to later realize she had been a classic “simp”—love-blinded.

“How many times have I said it? I was drunk that day. Why do you cling to one drunken word?”

“Who doesn’t know that drunken words are the truth? He Hongwen, what right do you have to scold me? You were the one shouting you’d marry my sister. Fine, I’ll make it happen for you.”

Her voice was a sharp knife, stabbing straight into He Hongwen’s heart.

Her gaze was like icy water, flickering with a bone-deep determination.

Faced with this Ye Siran, He Hongwen felt a pang of sourness; all the past happiness evaporated in an instant. She had loved him silently from the corners of his sight, yet he had treated her genuine heart as worthless garbage.

He had even used the cruelest words to hurt her, and she had, as if deaf, blocked out every insult, continuing to treat him with extreme gentleness.

Although he had always looked down on this fiancée, he understood her—she was not scheming, not a master of disguise.

Her actions today sent him a clear message: she didn’t want him anymore.

As a child, he had actually liked her. The grown-up Ye Siran was still fair-skinned, quiet, reserved, barely daring to speak.

Ye Ruyue, in contrast, was lively, charming, and confident—growing increasingly womanly.

She loved wearing tight dresses, pressing herself against him, hinting openly and subtly that she wanted to marry him.

Since one girl could shamelessly do this, he had used marrying her as an excuse to irritate his father.

But she had trapped him into being with Ranran over a single college admission notice.

How could he willingly marry a woman of such questionable character?

Today, he had kissed her, touched her, shared intimacy, yet his heart had not surrendered.

Ruanran had always had better features than Ye Ruyue; the latter was merely bolder and more sensual.

Thinking of this, He Hongwen’s eyes reddened, and he took a quick step forward. “Siran, I—”

Before he could finish, his father interrupted forcefully. “Get lost! You still want to force Ranran?”

“Ranran, don’t be afraid. If you don’t want to marry Hongwen, Uncle He will never pressure you. Your Uncle and I have liked you since you were young. If you can’t be our daughter-in-law, you can be our daughter.”

Ye Siran looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. She had thought the hardest person to persuade would be Uncle He, but he truly respected her wishes.

This was the attitude of someone who genuinely loved another person.

She glanced at her stepmother out of the corner of her eye and caught her frown, her gaze shifting uneasily, a trace of contempt curling at the lips.

Though fleeting, Ye Siran felt the intensity of her dislike.

In her previous life, she had never realized her mother-in-law’s disdain, and when it finally appeared on her face, she had assumed it was because she had not borne a healthy grandson, always blaming herself for not doing enough.

She had grown up without her real mother’s love. After marrying into the He family, she had tried not to cause conflicts, mindful of He Hongwen.

Shy, self-conscious, and feeling inferior, she had thought the family so refined that she could not argue.

She had told herself: it’s only words, better to endure than lose anything.

Looking back, she shuddered at her past naivety.

Her two sisters-in-law and the little aunt constantly undermined her, openly and secretly. Her mother-in-law considered her petty and unimpressive, and she knew it, yet she could not change.

Facing the confident, assertive Ye Ruyue, educated and well-dressed, she had lacked confidence and felt inferior, resorting only to silent resentment.

At that time, she had felt like a stray foxtail in a field of flowers—awkward and spoiling the view.

Thinking of this, Ye Siran raised her eyes to her stepmother, who now wore a warm, gentle smile.

With enthusiasm and kindness, she said, “Ranran, your Uncle wants to adopt you as his goddaughter. Go on, call him Godfather!”

“Haha… Ranran calls me ‘Dad,’ and Dad will send you to college. Later, Dad will help you find a husband better than Hongwen.”

He Yongchang laughed loudly. He hadn’t expected Ye Siran to call him godfather. If that bastard Ye Jianping could be her father, he certainly could.

“Uncle He has been very good to me. Since I couldn’t be your daughter-in-law, I won’t call you Dad. I’ll still call you Uncle.”

“Alright, Uncle it is. Then, do you want to go to college?”

“Uncle He, I don’t want to go to college. I want to go to the countryside to find my grandparents. I hope you can help me.”

Ye Siran looked He Yongchang in the eyes and spoke slowly. The value of a Worker-Peasant-Soldier university was far lower than the university she had earned admission to herself.

Even if she had nothing now, she didn’t want any further entanglements with these people.

Her stepfather was unreliable. If Uncle He was willing to help, she could find her grandparents more accurately.

Even if she failed, she wanted to be far from those who had hurt her.

“Alright, tomorrow Uncle He will make inquiries for you,” He Yongchang said earnestly. He was stunned by the determination in her eyes.

The girl he remembered had been quiet and fearful. If it weren’t for her father saving him years ago, he would have been dead.

He wanted to give her the best. His second son had been excellent from a young age, and he had arranged a betrothal for them.

Now he realized he had been wrong—she was not the timid little flower he had imagined.

He had thought the girl had been cruelly mistreated by Ye Jianping and her mother, with no way out, and that only marrying into the He family could bring her happiness.