The next day.
When Yu He came downstairs with her canvas bag, Ye Zi was just telling Ye Jianming about the forum incident from yesterday.
Ye Zi Su looked as if she had seen a ghost, her eyes wide open, staring at Ye Zi Zheng as a warning.
But the latter acted as if he saw nothing, even showing the screenshot to Ye Jianming.
Enraged, Ye Zi Su's face was a picture of complex emotions, a mixture of anger and feigned pitifulness.
Ye Jianming's expression turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. "Zi Su, how could you do such a thing?"
Last night, he had apologized and placated those reporters with drinks, managing to prevent them from publishing the news from yesterday. He returned at three in the morning only to find out that Old Mrs. Ye had fainted from anger upon hearing that Yu He had cheated, and he had to rush to the hospital to stay with her through the night.
After a sleepless night, he had just reached morning, and Cheng Lizhu went to the hospital to relieve him. Upon returning home, before he could even have breakfast, he was told that Ye Zi Su was still fanning the flames of yesterday's scandal on the school forum. His temper flared instantly. "Are you saying things haven't blown up enough?!"
Ye Zi Su trembled all over, startled by him.
"Dad, that wasn't me. My account was hacked. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it in time..." She knew Ye Jianming was susceptible to soft tactics and continued to explain with an air of having suffered a great injustice: "Brother Ze already helped me clarify this on the forum last night..."
As expected, Ye Jianming softened when he saw her like this. And more importantly, the name Gu Ze.
"How could you lose such an important personal account just like that? You are the eldest daughter of the Ye family and the future daughter-in-law of the Gu family. You represent the Ye family's reputation when you're out. Regardless of whether you posted it or not, if someone saw it on your account, what would people think!" Although Ye Jianming was reprimanding her, his tone was clearly less angry than before.
"I understand, Dad. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful in the future." Ye Zi Su obediently admitted fault. She knew Ye Jianming didn't care about the truth; he only cared about the Ye family's reputation and interests. If only she hadn't given Ye Zi Zheng that fifty thousand yuan yesterday! She shot Ye Zi Zheng a secret glare.
"Alright, stop frequenting those messy forums. If you have that much time, attend more high-society banquets. Those are the places a Ye family's daughter should be," Ye Jianming waved his hand.
Ye Zi Su: "Yes, Dad."
Yu He stood at the top of the stairs, watching Ye Jianming's blatant display of favoritism and double standards with cold eyes. Although she hadn't held much hope for this family from the start, seeing such differential treatment still felt disheartening.
Seeing that the matter was over, Ye Zi Zheng felt a sense of frustration and a touch of unfairness towards Yu He. Before, their father had been furious and ready to beat someone up just hearing that Yu He had skipped an exam. Now, Ye Zi Su had spread rumors about Yu He skipping the exam and insulted people on the forum, and their father had only scolded her a couple of times before letting it go. That was too biased! It wasn't that he was favoring Yu He, that bumpkin, but rather he had taken her money and solemnly promised to make their father punish Ye Zi Su. The show was over before it even began, which was a blow to his pride!
"Dad, it's just over like this?" Ye Zi Zheng asked, unwilling to give up. "Sister Su was on the forum cursing at you and that... and Sister Yu He! Shouldn't she be punished?" He had intended to say "bumpkin," but seeing Yu He approaching, he suddenly changed his words.
"Are you saying things aren't big enough yet?" Ye Jianming demanded sternly. His peripheral vision caught sight of Yu He calmly sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast like an outsider, and his temper flared again. "You still have the audacity to come down for breakfast! Get back to your room and reflect on your actions! You are not allowed out without my permission!"
"On what grounds?" Yu He looked at him with cold eyes. Unrepentant! Enraged, Ye Jianming directly flipped the dining table. "On what grounds? If you hadn't cheated, would the Ye family have lost so much face at Kaiwei? Would I have had to humble myself and beg those reporters? Would our villa have to be mortgaged to the bank with no money to redeem it? Would your grandmother have to be hospitalized?"
The sudden overturning of the dining table startled Ye Zi Su into screaming, scattering food everywhere. Ye Zi Zheng, splattered with pasta, looked up intending to complain, but saw Yu He nimbly grab her canvas bag and lightly avoid the falling food, not getting a drop of sauce on herself, making him look utterly dishevelled.
"What are you doing with the luggage?!" Ye Jianming finally noticed the canvas bag in Yu He's hand, the one she had brought from the mountains.
"I'm staying at the dormitory, so you won't get angry every time you see me and shorten your lifespan from rage," Yu He said lightly.
Ye Jianming glared, "You!"
"Yu He, how can you curse at Dad!" Ye Zi Su exclaimed.
Only Ye Zi Zheng looked at Yu He with admiration: Amazing! My sister. She actually dared to talk back to Dad! One must know that Ye Jianming had a fiery temper, and no one in the Ye family dared to defy him!
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving for school," Yu He said, too lazy to argue with them further, and turned to leave.
"Stop! You unfilial daughter, who gave you permission to leave! You still have the nerve to go to school! If Director Lu hasn't dealt with you, do you really think the Lu family is easy to provoke? You're not going, come back here..." Ye Jianming was so furious he jumped up and down, but Yu He didn't come back. He felt his authority as the head of the family had been severely challenged again, yet he was powerless against her.
"Dad, don't be angry, be careful not to harm your health," Ye Zi Su stepped forward to comfort him. "Yu He doing this is really too much, and she's deliberately running away from home. Ever since she came back, our family hasn't had a peaceful day... How about we send her back to the mountains..."
"Slap—" Before Ye Zi Su could finish, Ye Jianming slapped her.
"Dad?!" She touched her reddened cheek, looking at Ye Jianming in confusion.
"You are forbidden to mention such things again!" Ye Jianming reprimanded. Ye Zi Su wanted to use Ye Jianming as a weapon to drive Yu He out of Beishi, but she was too impatient and accidentally stepped on a mine, hitting a sensitive spot. Ye Jianming cared most about his reputation, and her words at this moment were tantamount to exposing that he couldn't control Yu He and had been repeatedly challenged in his dignity as the head of the family. Moreover, the Ye family had announced to the public that they had adopted Yu He for less than a month before abandoning her, which was a loss of face. Not to mention, Yu He was his biological daughter.
"Yes." Ye Zi Su responded aggrievedly, her eyes filled with resentment.
—
Yu He hailed a car. As she went out into the courtyard, the car had already arrived. She opened the rear door and saw the man sitting in the driver's seat, pausing her movement to get into the car. The man turned his head, revealing a handsome face with sharp features. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses obscured his piercing phoenix eyes, and below his high nose bridge, his thin lips curved into a faint smile. Although he was smiling, he gave off a cold feeling, not a genuine smile. It was none other than Qin Beiting.