Chapter 4 – All the Affection Was Fake

Song Kexia met his gaze, and her heart secretly screamed, Oh no.
He had just been beaten up by Qin Muye—could it be that he was going to hold this grudge against her?
Her grip on her handbag tightened. If he dared to lay a hand on her, she wouldn’t hold back either.

Lin Siming stood up. “He’s already gone. Let’s see who can protect you now.”

The moment the words left his mouth, an elderly woman with graying hair came out.
When she saw Lin Siming’s face bruised red and green, she cried out in shock,
“Were you two fighting out here?”

Before Lin Siming could answer, Song Kexia quickly said,
“Nothing like that, Grandma Yang. He just took a fall—there was no fight.”

“No wonder there was such a loud noise earlier. You really took a bad tumble. Hurry home and put some medicine on it.”

Fearing that Lin Siming might take advantage of the moment to strike her, Song Kexia quickly slipped back toward the residential compound.

“Grandma Yang, I’m going home now. Goodbye.”

The textile factory’s family housing complex had over a hundred households. Each family was allotted a three-bedroom apartment with a living room.
It sounded spacious, but with two or even three generations under one roof, there was never enough room.
People racked their brains to save space, so even the hallways were crammed with everyone’s miscellaneous belongings.

Song Kexia reached her own door and took a deep breath before pulling out her key to unlock it.

The house, noisy just moments before, instantly fell silent when she stepped inside.
Everyone’s faces looked unpleasant.

Song Leyi’s eyes swept over her slender figure and rosy, beautiful face, and a flicker of jealousy passed through her gaze.
She had clearly switched the wine and prepared everything in advance, yet when they arrived at the room earlier, only Song Kexia had been inside.

Seeing her return, Li Yunmei’s face was cold as she scolded,
“Where have you been? Why are you coming back so late?”

Song Kexia’s eyes moved slowly over each face in the room.
They were all angry—clearly, Song Leyi had already made her complaint.

“Mom, I remember telling you that today was Lin Siming’s birthday. I went to celebrate with him.”

“Leyi also went to celebrate Siming’s birthday. How come she didn’t come home as late as you? You’re a young woman—how could you drink like that? Don’t you know how to keep yourself pure? Stop hanging around with shady people outside.”

“Mom, why don’t you mention that they abandoned me and left me there? I was forced to drink so much—how can you blame me for coming back late?”

Song Leyi suddenly began to sob softly.

Li Yunmei had been ready to continue her tirade, but when she heard her younger daughter’s sobbing, she immediately turned to her.
“Leyi, what’s wrong?”

Song Leyi threw herself into Li Yunmei’s arms, speaking between choked breaths.
“I didn’t mean to leave Sister behind. She suddenly got angry and slapped me. The nightclub owner even helped her throw us out, so Siming and I could only come back first.”

Li Yunmei instantly remembered the slap.
When Song Leyi had come home earlier, there had been a red mark still on her cheek—proof enough of how hard the blow had been.

“If you hadn’t said it, I would have forgotten. Xiaxia, how could you lay a hand on your sister? Leyi was only worried about you and went to check on you. Yet you—teaming up with outsiders to hit her like this? Is this how we taught you?

You always put on such a good act in front of us that I really thought you cared about Leyi. I didn’t expect you to act like this behind our backs. So many years raising you—what a waste.”

Song Kexia’s heart clenched painfully.
She had never expected such words to come from the very mouth of the mother who once doted on her the most.

Before she knew about her origins, Li Yunmei had treated her the best.
But ever since she learned that Song Kexia was not her biological daughter, her affection had shifted entirely to Song Leyi—her own flesh and blood.

To her, the adopted daughter was worth less than a cent.

Song Leyi lowered her head, the corners of her lips curving ever so slightly upward.
When she saw Song Kexia’s desolate expression, her smile deepened.
But her voice was full of pitiful grievance.

“Mom, don’t blame Sister. She just misunderstood me. Nightclubs are full of all sorts, and I was only worried she might be in danger alone. That’s why I asked someone to go with me to check on her. I never thought she would misunderstand.”

Clinging to Li Yunmei’s arm, her eyes rimmed red and tears trembling on her lashes, she looked so delicate and pitiful it could wring the heart.

Seeing her like that, Song Zhengli’s sense of righteousness flared up.
“Song Kexia, aren’t you going to apologize to Leyi? She’s been so good to you, and this is how you treat her? Has a dog eaten your conscience?”

Song Kexia looked at him, bitterness welling inside.
He had once stood up for her, even beating up a boy who bullied her.
Now, for the sake of his own sister, he didn’t even bother asking questions before condemning her.

“I did nothing wrong. She set me up—she even drugged my wine.”

Song Kexia’s gaze turned icy as she looked straight at Song Leyi.
“Did you really think that doing this would ruin me? Disappointed that you didn’t get the result you wanted?”

Song Leyi’s face paled.
Leaning on Li Yunmei’s shoulder, she sobbed even harder.
“I didn’t! I really didn’t. I know Sister doesn’t like me, but I never thought she’d hate me this much. I’ll leave tomorrow. I won’t let you see me again.”

Seeing her cry so heartbreakingly, Song Zhengli’s heart ached.
“Song Kexia, you’ve gone too far. If you don’t apologize to Leyi, don’t blame me for being rude.”

Song Zhengyu also stood up to point at her.
“Xiaxia, you’ve really been spoiled these past years. What exactly has Leyi done to you for you to treat her like this? We’ve raised you for so many years, fed you well, clothed you well. Even after finding Leyi, we kept you here, got you a good job. And now you’re bullying her? Do you have no conscience at all?”

Yes—they had gotten her a job at the garment factory.
But that job had come at the cost of her university admission.

It wasn’t a resource she had voluntarily traded; they had practically forced it on her, snatching away her acceptance letter.

This year, she had been accepted into a university, but Song Leyi had failed the exam.
They had used the “debt” of years of raising her to pressure her into handing over the admission letter so that Song Leyi could attend in her place.

At first, she refused.
She had earned her place at university through her own hard work—why should she give it up to someone else?

But Li Yunmei had used the excuse of “raising you all these years” to force her into giving it up.

Not only that, they had arranged the factory job for her and pushed her to take it, claiming it was “for her own good.”
How laughable.

“You think I wanted to go to work? If I could go to university, I’d be making far more money in the future than this salary.”

She shouted the words and stormed into her room.

Li Yunmei shot Song Zhengyu a displeased look.
“Why did you bring up the university? What if she gets angry and changes her mind?”

“I didn’t bring it up—she’s the one who mentioned it herself.”

Li Yunmei’s expression turned uneasy.
“She won’t regret it now, will she?”

Song Zhengyu sneered.
“So what if she regrets it? Mom, the admission letter is in your hands, isn’t it? Just hide it well. When term starts, we’ll have little sister take it and go to university. Let’s see what she can do then.”

Li Yunmei nodded repeatedly. Yes—the letter should be hidden securely.

But then she remembered the promise she had made to that man, and worry flickered again.
She had already agreed to arrange a blind date for Song Kexia.
If this ungrateful girl threw a tantrum and refused to go, what then?

No—she had to go talk to her.