What?  

To save face for your stepdaughter, you mistreat your own biological daughter?  

You give your stepdaughter five hundred without hesitation, but your own daughter gets nothing when she goes to the countryside?

In an instant, the onlookers’ sensitive nerves were struck.  

Lin Youwei and Yi Yong were sworn rivals. Yi Yong had snatched the position of production director right out of Lin’s hands.  

Because of this, the two, who had once been on relatively good terms, completely fell out. They constantly tried to one-up each other at work, digging for dirt on one another.  

Hearing Yi Chichi’s words, Lin knew his opportunity had arrived.  

“Old Yi, this is going too far. You gave your stepdaughter 500 yuan without a second thought, but didn’t spare a single cent for your own daughter going to the countryside. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Yi Jing is your biological daughter.”  

His tone was teasing, but it hit a nerve with the guilty parties.  

And the onlookers were experts at reading between the lines.  

Even baseless rumors could spread as if they’d been witnessed firsthand—let alone a ready-made scandal like this. Who knew how they’d spin it?  

Especially since there were several troublemakers on the third floor.  

Sure enough, Aunt Lanhua, who lived by the staircase, jumped in. She glanced at Yi Jing, then at Yi Yong, with a thoughtful expression. “I always thought it was strange. What kind of idiot would treat someone else’s child like a treasure and his own like dirt?  

I used to think Comrade Yi had something wrong with his head, like it’d been slammed in a door. Turns out, it wasn’t that his brain was damaged—it’s that Yi Jing really is his biological daughter.”  

“Now that you mention it, the two of them do look alike. Especially the eyes, nose, and mouth—it’s like they were carved from the same mold. Damn, is Yi Jing actually Yi Yong’s own kid?”  

“Xiao Jing, have you ever visited your biological grandparents?”  

Seeing Yi Yong’s face darken like a thundercloud, someone deftly shifted the focus to Yi Jing.  

The topic changed so quickly that Yi Yong didn’t have time to react. Yi Jing, who’d been named, had never been one to hold her tongue.  

Plus, Yi Chichi had already provoked her, and she was already irritated because she couldn’t remember where she’d stashed the 500 yuan Yi Yong had given her.  

Without thinking, she snapped, “My biological grandparents died a long time ago.”  

The words were practically a confession.  

Everyone knew Yi Yong had lost his father young, and his mother had passed away a few years prior.  

Zhang Lanxiang’s former husband was different—his parents were still alive and well.  

Yet Yi Jing claimed her “biological grandparents” had long since died. The statement was like a drop of water hitting boiling oil, exploding in everyone’s minds and leaving them dizzy.

Yi Yong’s vision went black. He spun around and slapped Yi Jing across the face. “What the hell are you saying? You—”  

“Old Yi, why are you hitting Jingjing? She didn’t say anything wrong!”  

Zhang Lanxiang, who had been standing by indifferently waiting for Yi Yong to handle things, flared up the moment she saw him lay hands on Yi Jing. The fire in her chest blazed to life.  

She shoved Yi Yong away and pulled Yi Jing—who was still staring in shock—into her arms, her voice trembling with grief and indignation. “Do you have any conscience left? I bore you children, let Jingjing live under the name of a stepdaughter all these years, and now you hit her? How dare you? You owe her, don’t you understand?”  

The more she thought about how she’d spent years lowering herself, serving Yi Yong like a master, only for life to turn out like this, the more her resentment grew. The more she thought, the more wronged she felt.  

She could no longer hold back. Clutching Yi Jing, she burst into tears—her face streaked with sorrow, fat teardrops rolling down her cheeks.  

“I didn’t—that’s not—it’s all Chichi’s nonsense!”  

Yi Yong was so frantic that sweat beaded on his forehead. Seeing the increasingly strange looks from the crowd, he opened his mouth to explain, but his mind went blank. All he could do was blame it on Yi Chichi’s “wild accusations.”  

So you’ve finally come to this!

Watching him scurry around like an ant on a hot pan, Yi Chichi sneered inwardly but wore an expression of utter devastation, as if her parents had just died.  

“So what I heard back then was true… Yi Jing really is your daughter. No wonder, no wonder…”  

As if suddenly remembering something, she gasped in exaggerated realization. “Wait—so the fire that killed my mom… Did you and Zhang Lanxiang really set it?”  

“WHAT?!” 

Granny Zhang, who lived at the far end of the hallway, suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Yi Chichi’s wrist with a twisted expression. “Chichi, where did you hear that?”  

“Yi Chichi, don’t you dare spout nonsense!” Yi Yong snarled, lunging for her with a face so vicious it looked like he wanted to tear her apart.  

But the crowd, eager for the juiciest scandal possible, exchanged glances and immediately blocked him.  

Liu Shuigen, Sister Liu’s husband, even stepped forward like a righteous protector. “Chichi, speak freely. We’ll make sure justice is served.”  

There were only so many managerial positions at the textile factory. If Yi Yong wasn’t taken down, those below him would never move up.  

Besides, Yi Yong was genuinely despicable—putting on airs even bigger than the factory director’s. It wasn’t just his sworn rival Lin Youwei who couldn’t stand him; even the ordinary workers like Liu Shuigen loathed him.  

So after stopping Yi Yong, the crowd eagerly encouraged Yi Chichi to spill everything.  

Yi Chichi timidly glanced at Yi Yong, then pointed at Zhang Lanxiang and Yi Jing. “They said it.”  

The mother-daughter pair still seemed dazed, their expressions blank.  

“I heard it with my own ears yesterday. She said that since she and Yi Yong could burn my mom to death, getting rid of me wouldn’t be hard either…”

At this point, Yi Chichi could no longer hold back. She crouched on the ground, covering her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.  

Now, she no longer needed to take the lead. That fire hadn’t just killed the original host’s mother—it had claimed nine lives in total.  

Among them was Granny Zhang’s son.  

And the husband of Aunt Lanhua next door.  

Hearing this devastating revelation, the two women—one who had lost a son, the other a husband—completely lost control.  

“Zhang Lanxiang—!” 

Granny Zhang let out a shrill cry and lunged forward like lightning, grabbing Zhang Lanxiang’s hair and slapping her hard across the face. Smack! Smack! 

Her curses were so venomous they’d need to be censored.  

“Get off me, you old hag! Let me go—smack—!”  

Seeing his mother being beaten, Yi Jianguo couldn’t take it. He rushed over to save Zhang Lanxiang, only to get a resounding slap across his own face.  

“Your mother burned people to death, and you still dare to act tough?!”  

The one who hit him was Aunt Lanhua. The truth about her husband’s death sent waves of grief and hatred crashing through her. Yi Jianguo’s interference gave her the perfect target to vent her fury.  

Yi Chichi could only watch, stunned, as Aunt Lanhua and Granny Zhang pinned down the mother and son, raining blows on them.  

Yi Yong and Yi Jing were beside themselves, their eyes nearly bursting with rage as they screamed at the people restraining them to let go.  

But no one listened. Lin Youwei even ordered someone to fetch Director Zhang Jianshe.  

About ten minutes later, Director Zhang arrived with a team.  

“Yi Yong, you and your wife Zhang Lanxiang have been accused of engaging in an improper relationship before marriage. You are also suspected of arson and the murder of nine people—including your ex-wife Zi Shuyu, Zhang Jun, and Lu Tieniu—fourteen years ago. You are to come with us for investigation immediately.”  

Director Zhang’s arrival silenced the chaotic hallway.  

Yi Yong’s legs gave out beneath him, but his mind raced—desperately searching for a way to wriggle out of this.