Chapter 5

The temperature around them suddenly dropped.

Ye Yao’s face seemed covered in ice, and her hands, hanging at her sides, slowly clenched into fists.

Zhang Qiufeng stared at her, as if she no longer recognized the person before her.

“Yao Yao…”

“I told you, stay out of this!”

This time, Ye Yao didn’t even give her a chance to persuade her.

Zhang Qiufeng froze in shock, unable to say a single word.

“You all…” Ye Yao narrowed her eyes, already prepared for a fight. “Are you leaving or not?”

“Qingqing-jie…”

The group of girls wasn’t stupid. They could all sense that something was off with Ye Yao and turned to Zhao Qingqing for guidance.

As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. It seemed like this fat girl was truly desperate today.

Besides, Zhang Qiufeng had returned. If they really ganged up on Ye Yao, things could escalate.

What they could think of, Zhao Qingqing could naturally think of as well.

But just walking away like this? She wasn’t willing to accept it.

Her expression flickered between red, white, and green, struggling internally.

“Fine! For Auntie’s sake, I won’t lower myself to your level. But one day, you’ll come crying and begging me for forgiveness!”

Her final words were spoken with absolute certainty.

Soon, the courtyard fell silent again. Zhang Qiufeng let out a heavy sigh.

She had only been away for a short while—how had things escalated this much?

“Yao Yao…”

“I’m tired. I’m going back to my room.”

Although Ye Yao had accepted her current identity and situation in the past two days, she absolutely wouldn’t live like before—timid and shrinking.

Watching Ye Yao’s retreating figure, Zhang Qiufeng felt a weight in her heart.

Had she done something wrong just now?

—-

“Qingqing-jie, that fat girl was way too arrogant. What should we do?”

After leaving the alley, the group of girls was still indignant.

Their goal hadn’t been achieved at all today—were they really going to just stand by and watch that fat girl marry Brother Li?

Zhao Qingqing took a deep breath, her mood even worse than theirs. Her eyes darkened as she sneered, “Don’t worry. I have ten thousand ways to deal with her!”

—-

“Yao Yao, wake up, it’s time to eat.”

Ye Yao was sleeping soundly when Zhang Qiufeng’s voice rang in her ears.

She immediately opened her eyes. Outside, the sky was already dark.

Stretching lazily, she sat up shakily.

This body was just too heavy. Even a slight movement was exhausting.

And with the summer heat, her clothes were already drenched in sweat after just one nap.

The family was already too poor to afford proper meals—yet she still managed to grow so fat. It was truly bizarre.

Very soon, Ye Yao understood why she was this overweight.

“Yao Yao, eat more.”

Even though the small table only had cornbread and pickled vegetables, her bowl was filled to the brim.

After finishing one cornbread, she still didn’t feel like she had eaten anything, but she immediately put down her chopsticks.

She couldn’t eat any more—otherwise, she’d really end up too fat to take care of herself.

“Yao Yao, eat up.”

Zhang Qiufeng kept urging her. She knew Ye Yao’s usual appetite—she’d eat at least four or five cornbreads.

Plus, she had fallen into the water two days ago and had been badly frightened. She looked visibly thinner—she needed to eat more to recover.

“I’m full.”

Ye Yao glanced down at the thick layer of fat on her belly. Even if she was hungry, she had no appetite.