Chapter 3: If You’re Unwilling, Why Don’t You Leave

Ye Ruyue nervously listened at the door for a long while but didn’t hear anything. Just as she was about to open the door to take a look, Ye Siren pushed her inside.

No matter how much she calculated, she never expected Ye Siren to be outside—and to push her into the room like that.

Could that idiot have realized something?

That shouldn’t be possible!

She had been especially timid since childhood, scolded by her own mother more than ten times a day for being clumsy. Not being stupid would have been the real surprise!

Strangely enough, the unlucky one ended up being born into the womb of a woman who couldn’t survive without a man.

Originally, she had been the formidable granddaughter of the Ye family in the capital, and her biological father was a martyr who had saved Uncle He.

But her selfish mother kept her around just to continue demanding child support from the Ye family.

The woman couldn’t live without a man; less than a year after her husband died, she remarried Ye Ruyue’s divorced father, bringing her five-year-old daughter with her.

Her father, though a rural man, had earned his way into the capital’s university through his own abilities.

Her mother came from a wealthy capital family. Later, when her maternal grandparents saw that circumstances were unfavorable, they urged her mother to divorce and move abroad with the whole family.

At that time, Ye Ruyue was only six years old. She assumed life with a stepmother would be miserable and even prepared to return to the countryside to live with her grandparents.

Unexpectedly, the spineless stepmother, in a bid to win her father’s favor, treated her even better than her own daughter.

And it wasn’t the fake, front-and-back kind of kindness—she was genuinely good to her.

Where someone thrives, naturally someone else suffers—and that unlucky one was Ye Siren.

Three years later, when their younger brother was born, all the diaper-changing duties fell on Ye Siren.

At first, Ye Ruyue didn’t dare slack off and would pretend to help occasionally, knowing that the spineless stepmother wouldn’t reprimand her or the fool.

Gradually, she became bolder, eventually dumping all cooking and laundry duties onto eight-year-old Ye Siren.

If their father hadn’t caught her and scolded her, she wouldn’t have even pretended to help.

Ye Siren worked tirelessly every day, leaving no time for herself. Compared to Ye Ruyue, who spent hours on her appearance, the difference was glaring.

Thus, Ye Ruyue began plotting to snatch Ye Siren’s fiancé. The second young master of the He family had always been outstanding and grew up to be a gentleman of impeccable reputation.

Refined and courteous, he wouldn’t easily reject her enthusiasm, but he had no thought of breaking off his engagement.

It took her a long time to get Brother Hongwen to openly talk about breaking the engagement, thanks in part to her biased stepmother.

The stepmother constantly criticized Ye Siren in front of Hongwen, giving all the good food and beautiful clothes to Ye Ruyue.

She was raised to be adorable, charming to all, while Uncle He and Aunt He never liked her.

Uncle He refused to swap daughters-in-law out of gratitude for being saved, while Aunt He valued the Ye family’s lineage.

But fate had its way. Five years ago, the Ye family suddenly fell on hard times and was sent to a remote northwestern farm.

Though Aunt He’s attitude toward Ye Ruyue improved slightly, she still refused to let her son break off the engagement—they assumed the Ye family would recover.

Uncle He even gave Ye Siren a university slot to prevent her from suffering in the countryside.

Since Uncle He wouldn’t allow Hongwen to marry someone else, once she and Hongwen consummated their relationship, what could he do?

Ye Ruyue weighed this in a single instant—already tackled to the ground by an irrational, desperate He Hongwen.

“Ouch~!” A sharp pain made Ye Ruyue cry out loudly. “Brother Hongwen, stop! Someone’s coming soon!”

“Someone coming is perfect. The door’s unlocked—if you really didn’t want this, why didn’t you leave earlier?”

“…Can you be a little—”

“No, I feel terrible… come on, stop squirming.” He Hongwen originally wanted to curse, but ended up soothing her while roughly continuing.

Ye Ruyue, seeing normally gentle Hongwen showing no mercy, could only whimper.

The thought of Ye Weiguo sending someone over soon made her even more afraid—if anyone discovered she had spiked Hongwen’s medicine, she would be doomed.

Her fear grew, and her cries grew louder.

He Hongwen, having lost all reason, ignored her pain and worries entirely.

Soon, just as he growled and prepared to get up, the door was pushed open.

“Oh my heavens! Come quick, you won’t believe it—He family’s second son and Ye family’s eldest daughter are on the floor together!”

“My goodness! Are young people today always this impatient?” an aunt exclaimed, slapping her thigh.

“Heavens! Truly, the world is going downhill!”

“What are you saying? The second son of the He family with Ye’s eldest daughter? Isn’t he engaged to Ye’s second daughter?”

“You’re so outdated! Haven’t you heard him constantly saying he wants to marry the eldest daughter?”

“Oh my, the He family’s second son and Ye’s eldest daughter’s dream has come true! Quick, call Sister-in-law He!”

Hearing someone say his dream had come true, He Hongwen roared in anger, “Get out! Who told you to come in?”

“We were called by Weiguo, saying his eldest sister asked us to help chase a mouse.”

“Could it be that Ye’s eldest daughter deliberately called us as witnesses?” an aunt said, covering her mouth.

Ye Ruyue’s parents returned from work to see Ye Siren coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of fragrant stir-fried eggs.

At the door of their daughter’s room, a crowd had gathered. Ye Ruyue’s father frowned. “Ranan, what’s your sister doing in her room?”

“Dad, Mom, I was just cleaning and cooking—I don’t know what my sister is doing,” Ye Siren said quietly, head bowed.

“You good-for-nothing! With so many people here, you didn’t notice? What if your sister got hurt—”

Ye Ruyue’s father cut off her mother’s sharp scolding: “Honey, why are you yelling at Ranan? Let’s go see for ourselves.”

He led his wife to the daughter’s room, gently reminding Ye Siren, “Ranan, set the dishes out first.”

“All right.” Ye Siren muttered coldly, thinking how in her previous life she had worshipped them like a sycophant. With such a cruel mother, her stepfather and stepsister seemed almost kind by comparison.

Earlier, she had eaten three fried eggs and drunk a bowl of rice soup. Normally, she only dared quietly eat her share; taking even one extra bite felt sinful.

After cooking, she would find the table bare, her mother silent, her stepfather and stepsister pretending not to see.

Over time, she began eating her portion before serving, ensuring she didn’t go hungry.

She didn’t feel wronged, and they thought her foolish—so the household coexisted peacefully.

From today, she planned to disrupt this fragile harmony. Not far away, her mother’s furious voice snapped Ye Siren out of her thoughts:

“Hongwen? You’ve defiled Ruyue! Quickly put on your clothes and go tell your parents to come discuss your marriage with Ruyue at our house!”