“In the dead of night, when you wake up and see Yi Yong’s scruffy, old face, do you ever regret the choices you made?” 

As she spoke, she yanked the cloth out of Zhang Lanxiang’s mouth.  

“Y-yes…” Zhang Lanxiang, now able to speak, seemed oblivious to her surroundings. She felt as though she were trapped in a swirling, multicolored vortex, the world before her a blur.  

Only a pair of radiant, all-encompassing eyes guided her toward the right path in life.  

Her lips parted, and years of pent-up resentment came pouring out like a tidal wave.  

“Yi Yong is no good. Even though I was already pregnant with Yi Jing, he refused to marry me. Instead, he married Zishu Yu…”  

Zishu Yu was the name of the original host’s mother. Yi Chichi raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt. Instead, she tapped her fingers rhythmically, her ears perked and her eyes fixed on Zhang Lanxiang’s excited, twisted expression, eager to see what else she might reveal.  

What followed was nothing short of earth-shattering. The revelations could be summarized as follows:  

1. Yi Jing is Yi Yong’s illegitimate daughter—the original host’s half-sister. 

   Before meeting the original host’s mother, Yi Yong had already secretly been with his childhood sweetheart, Zhang Lanxiang, and gotten her pregnant with Yi Jing.  

   But after a chance encounter where he “heroically” saved Zishu Yu, he saw an opportunity. He abandoned Zhang Lanxiang and married Zishu Yu instead.  

   Leveraging his status as the husband of a martyr’s orphan, he secured a job at the textile factory, starting as a temporary worker before becoming a full-fledged employee within six months.  

2. The fire that caused Zishu Yu’s death in the line of duty was deliberately set by Zhang Lanxiang and Yi Yong.  

   Zhang Lanxiang blamed Zishu Yu for Yi Yong abandoning her.  

   Consumed by resentment, she sought revenge—she wanted to replace Zishu Yu, to stand openly by Yi Yong’s side.  

   She wanted Zishu Yu dead.  

   After meticulous planning, she succeeded.  

   She goaded Yi Yong into helping her set the fire that burned Zishu Yu—a warehouse manager—to death.  

   Yi Yong then used his wife’s “heroic sacrifice” to secure compensation from the factory, climbing the ranks until he eventually became the director overseeing the entire workshop’s production.  

3. Over the years, Yi Yong had reported countless people—some with evidence, others with fabricated accusations when no evidence existed…  

After distilling the key points, Yi Chichi’s expression turned icy.  

Yi Yong and Zhang Lanxiang truly deserve to die.

She had thought this couple was simply greedy and abusive toward the original host. But it turned out they were also responsible for the death of the original host’s mother.  

The former head of the obstetrics department’s family being sent to the countryside? Yi Yong’s doing.  

Even the destruction of Factory Director Qin’s family—father, mother, and child all dead—was Yi Yong’s handiwork.  

Staring at Zhang Lanxiang’s twisted, venomous face, Yi Chichi asked softly, “Do you have proof?” 

“Of course!”  

A complicated expression flashed across Zhang Lanxiang’s face. “I truly loved Yi Yong once… but later…” She sighed. “I couldn’t trust him anymore.”

“Yi Yong is ruthless. I had to leave a way out for myself and my child.”

After a long silence, Yi Chichi altered Zhang Lanxiang’s memories and implanted a directive: drain the family’s savings to send Yi Chichi to the countryside, sever ties with her, and then report Yi Yong.  

“Drain the savings to send Chichi away… cut ties and report Yi Yong…” 

Zhang Lanxiang murmured the instructions to herself. Yi Chichi spoke gently, “Sleep now. When you wake, follow the directive.” 

“Mmm.” Zhang Lanxiang’s head lolled to the side as she fell into a deep slumber.  

But Yi Chichi wasn’t done. One by one, she dragged Yi Yong and the others out, hypnotizing them, rewriting their memories, and implanting commands.  

By the time she finished, it was past ten at night—the world outside was silent.  

Exhausted, Yi Chichi collapsed onto her bed and slept soundly. Meanwhile, Yi Yong and the others woke up sore and miserable, their bodies aching as if they’d been beaten.  

But because their memories had been altered, none of them suspected Yi Chichi.  

Nor did they think to cause trouble for her.  

Instead, their minds were consumed with one urgent goal: cutting all ties with Yi Chichi.  

…

“Sign it. Once you do, I’ll publish the notice in the papers.” 

Yi Yong slapped the severance document and a pen onto the table, glaring coldly at Yi Chichi.  

Expressionless, she picked it up, scanned it, and—finding no issues—signed without hesitation, pressing her fingerprint beside her name.  

Then, with the air of finally shaking off a burden, the Yi family collectively shoved her out the door.  

Tossed out along with her was a ragged bundle of belongings—threadbare cotton-padded jackets and worn-out clothes spilling out.  

“Get lost!”  

“I don’t have a heartless, ungrateful daughter like you—” Yi Yong cursed as he pushed her out.  

Yi Chichi resisted, clinging to his arm, wailing dramatically. “Dad… are you really my dad?! I agreed to go to the countryside in Yi Jing’s place, I gave you all the money from selling my job—so why are you cutting ties with me? Why won’t you even give me a single cent? Wuwuwu…”

She wailed at the top of her lungs, her voice hoarse and broken.  

It was just past six in the morning—the time when households were eating breakfast and preparing for work or school. Yi Chichi’s heartrending sobs shattered the quiet of the third floor.  

The factory-assigned tenement building had at least a dozen households per floor.  

Hearing Yi Chichi’s grief-stricken cries, Sister Liu from across the hall rushed out in alarm—just in time to see Yi Yong raising his hand to strike her. “Director Yi, talk things out properly! Don’t hit the child!” 

Here we go.  

With a choked sob, Yi Chichi turned and threw herself into Sister Liu’s arms, crying, “Wuwuwu… Sister Liu, Dad’s cutting me off! He won’t give me a single cent, won’t prepare anything for me—he’s trying to force me to die, wuwuwu…” 

Though she appeared to be crying hysterically, barely able to catch her breath, the reality was quite different. Her voice sounded pitiful, tears streamed freely, but her words were startlingly clear and methodical.  

Coming from the future, Yi Chichi understood the power of public opinion.  

Making accusations required skill—rambling without focus was a fatal mistake. While playing the victim, she had to articulate her points clearly so others could grasp the situation at once.  

That way, bystanders would be more inclined to speak up for her.  

Most decent people had a sense of compassion, and the original host had suffered terribly. The neighbors all knew exactly what kind of life she’d endured.  

So when Yi Chichi spoke, the growing crowd immediately turned condemning eyes on Yi Yong.  

Old Lady Zhang from next door scowled. “Xiao Yi, even broken bones are still connected by blood. How can you treat your own daughter so harshly?”  

Yi Yong was seething, but under the weight of collective disapproval, he forced himself to stay calm, adopting a helpless tone. “Auntie Zhang, it’s not that I’m harsh. It’s just… this child has gone too far. Do you know how much money she demanded for going to the countryside?”

He held up a hand, shaking it for emphasis. “Five hundred! A full five hundred yuan!”

Sighing heavily, he continued, “I’m just an ordinary little director with a whole family to support. Where would I get five hundred yuan for her?”

His words dripped with feigned resignation.  

Instantly, the crowd’s gaze toward Yi Chichi shifted—tinged with disappointment and reproach.  

“Chichi, you…” Sister Liu hesitated, at a loss for words.  

Yi Chichi’s tears gushed like a fountain, her expression and voice brimming with shock. “Dad! How could you accuse me like that?” 

Clutching her chest as if heartbroken, she wailed, “It was Yi Jing who demanded five hundred! Just because she’s latched onto Liu Qingsong from the Liu family, you promised her the money to save face—and now you’re pinning it on me! I can’t go on like this…”