Chapter 38 : Threats

“By the way, when you go, take me with you. They separated me from my biological parents for eighteen years. The family bonds lost during those eighteen years can’t be measured by money. I’m this old already, yet I’ve never even seen my real parents. Who can truly understand this kind of hesitation and helplessness?” Yun Siying’s eyes turned red as she spoke, deliberately making herself look even more pitiful than Shu Ruxue.

Yun Siying, who already knew the plot of this novel world, understood that there were many hidden agendas. This Shu Ruxue was truly vicious not only had she taken the original owner’s identity and family, but she had also taken her job, and now she wanted to ruin her completely. It was like she was begging to die. But death would be too easy a punishment. Yun Siying didn’t want to give her that release, she wanted her to suffer so much that she would wish for death.

She knew who the original owner’s biological parents were. But they had abandoned her just because of a girl who resembled Tang Lingxue. They had beaten her until she was covered in bruises, refused to treat her injuries, and let her die, alone and miserable.

And now, the person responsible for all of this was standing right in front of her. Yun Siying was determined to make her live a painful, difficult life. When she recalled the fate of the Shu family in the original storyline although her own actions had unintentionally altered it, she still believed Shu Ruxue must have had ulterior motives when she entered the Shu family.

As she spoke, Yun Siying’s eyes turned red, her voice choked with emotion, and tears welled up. She fought to keep them from falling, appearing stubborn yet strong. Ever since the apocalypse, Yun Siying had learned how to win people over. To survive, she had learned to appear most fragile at the right moments until she eventually became truly strong.

Xu Ziying, who had been watching all this from the side, rushed up to Yun Siying, pretending to be overwhelmed with emotion. She grabbed Yun Siying’s hand and said, excitedly, “Child, you’ve suffered so much. We’re your biological parents, how can you say you don’t have any?”

Xu Ziying had long suspected that Yun Siying had a lot of money, but she hadn’t expected it to be this much. Her heart skipped a beat. That kind of money didn’t belong to just her it could belong to the whole family.

But Yun Siying quickly pulled her hand away and looked at Xu Ziying and Li Gang with a frosty expression. “Aunt Li,” she said coldly, “do you have any proof that I’m your child?”

“I’m Yinyin’s adoptive mother your biological mother,” Xu Ziying said. “I’m sorry. It was my fault for not looking after you properly. That’s how the swap happened.”

She looked at Yun Siying’s appearance with satisfaction, this girl was not only beautiful but clearly rich. She couldn’t bear to give her up.

“You’ve finally returned,” said Li Gang, standing up and speaking with an honest face. “Your mother and I have missed you terribly.”

“Auntie, uncle,” Yun Siying said mockingly, “your performance is quite convincing. But I have nothing to do with either of you. So what if I brought a little money with me to the countryside? That doesn’t mean you can look at me an educated youth and just decide to take my money by calling yourselves my parents.”

How could Yun Siying not see through the greed in their eyes?

“Are you rejecting us because we’re poor?” Xu Ziying asked tearfully, her eyes full of hurt. “Is that why you don’t want to acknowledge us?”

“Siying,” Shu Ruxue chimed in quickly, “Mom and Dad are really good people. Our family may be poor, but their love and longing for you are real and priceless. Don’t hurt their hearts.”

“Shu Ruxue,” Yun Siying said coldly, “you look about 70% like your mother. Just look at me, I don’t resemble either of them. Yet you keep claiming I’m their daughter. What sort of scheme are you plotting?”

As she spoke, she pointed to her own delicate, refined face and then at Xu Ziying and Li Gang.

Everyone could see that the couple looked very ordinary, how could they have given birth to such a beautiful daughter?

“That’s right. This young comrade really doesn’t resemble that couple at all. What she said might be true. When giving birth in hospitals from now on, people really need to be vigilant. Otherwise, you might not even know if your child was swapped.”

“I need to go to the hospital! My niece is about to give birth, and I heard she’s going to a hospital. I must warn her family to be extra careful, or the baby might be given to the wrong person!” With that, an old lady hurriedly ran off.

Watching the old lady’s figure disappear, the crowd looked at each other in stunned silence. Xu Ziying and Li Gang exchanged glances, then Xu Ziying said, “Child, we understand that you might not be able to accept this reality right away. We’ll give you some time to think it over.”

“Nangong Ruochen, go call the police. I suspect there was a conspiracy behind the baby swap years ago. Uncle Li and Aunt Xu must have been involved,” Yun Siying said, clearly unwilling to get entangled with them any further.

“Siying, if you don’t want to acknowledge your mother and me, then fine! But please don’t call the police we won’t bother you anymore,” Li Gang said, lowering his head to hide the dark glint in his eyes. His tone sounded reluctant and pained.

“This is your last chance. If it happens again, I will definitely go to the police,” Yun Siying said firmly. She was not the Li family’s child, she had nothing to fear from an investigation. But the Li family had everything to fear.

If the police discovered that she was truly the daughter of the Shu family, the wrath of that powerful family was not something they could bear.

“We understand, we won’t bother you again,” Xu Ziying replied quickly. After she spoke, the couple turned and went to line up to order food. Shu Ruxue came up, took Xu Ziying’s hand affectionately, and said, “Mom, Dad, I haven’t eaten yet either. Order something for me too.”

The couple, who had heard just earlier that she’d gotten money again, figured that her parents in Beijing would surely lend her some. Sensing that there was profit to be made, they readily agreed.

Meanwhile, Yun Siying looked at Nangong Ruochen, who had finished eating, and asked, “Are you full?”

“I’m full. Let’s head back,” Nangong Ruochen said, glancing at the affectionate scene of the three. Oddly enough, they looked more like a family than she did with them.

The two walked to the bicycle and tied all their things onto the back seat. Yun Siying had no choice but to sit on the crossbar in front of the bike.

Her entire body was surrounded by his strong arms, giving her a deep sense of security. Occasionally, her back would brush against Nangong Ruochen’s firm chest, sending a tingling, electric feeling through her body and causing her cheeks to flush slightly.

When they arrived at the Youth Courtyard and had just put their bags down, a loud, hearty voice rang out from outside. “Where in the Youth Courtyard can we build a stove?”

As the voice faded, a man with tanned skin, a square face, and keen eyes appeared, pushing a cart piled with tools and materials for building a stove.

“Uncle Fugui, this way please,” Nangong Ruochen said as he stepped forward, helping to push the cart into the courtyard.

When she heard Nangong Ruochen call out the name, Yun Siying immediately knew who it was. She opened her door at once. As the cart stopped outside her room, she smiled and said, “Uncle Fugui, please help me build a stove just like the one in Nangong Ruochen’s room.”