He Yao hadn't expected things to escalate to this point.
She hadn't expected her usually indifferent family to suddenly rally around her with feigned concern.
Initially, she had felt a pang of guilt, questioning the righteousness of her actions and harboring vague anxieties about the future.
But now, seeing their true colors again, she suddenly felt she had done the right thing.
She might as well embrace the chaos.
"I'm grown up now. This is my business, what does it have to do with you?"
He's mother, already furious, became even more enraged by her words.
"What are you saying to me? This is your business? It has nothing to do with me? You wretched girl, you..."
Her aunt intervened, pulling her mother aside. "Oh, let's talk this through calmly. What's done is done. Will hitting solve anything? Stop it."
"He Chuan, close the door. Let's all sit down and get this cleared up today."
With that, her aunt pushed her mother onto the sofa. Her uncle nudged He Yao, and the group gathered around the sofa.
As soon as He's mother sat down, she began to cry.
"It's not that I truly wanted to hit you, Yao Yao. Think about it, how old are you? You're acting completely foolish right now..."
If anyone else had said this, He Yao might have listened. But her mother? Didn't she find that ironic?
"I'm merely repeating the path you took years ago. You gave birth to me this way, so what right do you have to judge me?"
Her mother, struck by the truth of her words, paused for a moment, tears streaming down her face.
"It's precisely because I made a mistake back then, because I regret it, that I can't let you repeat my old path!"
"Do you see how much I've sacrificed to raise you all these years? If it weren't for you, I..."
He Yao sneered and interrupted her.
"Don't always say 'because of me.' You chose to give birth to me; I didn't choose you. It's your responsibility to care for me."
"That's right, it's my responsibility. That's why I need to manage you now!"
"You didn't manage me when you should have. What were you doing all this time?"
"What do you mean by that? Although I wasn't with you growing up, you never lacked for anything you were entitled to, did you? Your uncle and aunt, despite their own hardships, continued to support you, and I sent you living expenses every month..."
Hearing this, He Yao found it even more ironic.
"Sent me living expenses? How much did you send each month? Ask my uncle and aunt, how much did they spend on me? Put nicely, they were supporting me; put crudely, I was just a free nanny in their household."
Her uncle and aunt's faces chilled at her words.
Her uncle said, "He Yao, your wings have truly grown strong. How can you speak like this? If we hadn't raised you, feeding and cleaning up after you, would you be where you are today?"
"With so many family chores, it's normal for children to help out!"
"I'm not saying helping out is abnormal, but shouldn't it be fair? I'm a person, is He Chuan not? Why do I have to do everything? He always acts like a pampered lord?"
Her aunt appeared speechless, exasperated by her.
"You child, you always seemed so respectful to us. I never imagined you had so many thoughts brewing behind our backs."
"Some things are simply what girls should do. The tasks I assigned you were all within your capabilities, trivial matters. And look at you, you've taken it to heart."
"As for the heavy work, some things you couldn't do, and I did them after getting off work. Who told us we are women? Some things, we are born to..."
He Yao didn't want to listen to them anymore.
She had heard it all her life, feeling as though she wasn't living in modern society but in a bygone era.
She found it absurd, tedious, and impossible to communicate with them.
"So, what exactly do you want to tell me today? Do you want me to leave here and go back to being your free nanny, or..."
She glanced at her stepfather and sneered.
"Say whatever you want, but I'm not going back. I won't be dictated to by any of you."
"You think raising me all these years was difficult. When I start earning money, I'll pay you back. Don't worry, I won't renege."
Her mother couldn't help but try to grab her again.
"Do you think I came here to ask you for money? You wretched girl, you're simply unreasonable!"
Saying this, her mother wiped her tears and sighed heavily.
"Forget it, forget it. The mistake has been made, and there's no point in scolding you further. Besides, you're young, perhaps you were deceived. I came here today to seek justice for you."
"Tell me who that man is, where he is now, and bring him here..."
Seek justice?
How could anyone be so preposterous? Every word that came out of her mouth was something He Yao didn't want to hear.
"What do you mean, 'seek justice for me'? What do you mean, 'I'm young and might have been deceived'? When I was bullied at your house and truthfully reported it to you, you didn't say this to me."
"You thought I was a cunning schemer, full of lies and fantasies. Now you're afraid I've been deceived? Mom, your words are always so ridiculous."
He Yao's mother knew what she was referring to and, not wanting to delve deeper into the topic in front of her brother and sister-in-law, changed the subject.
"We'll discuss past matters when we get home. Today, we're talking about you and that man. Don't change the subject, who is he?"
He Yao sneered, closed her eyes, and leaned back on the sofa, appearing unwilling to communicate further.
"I won't tell you, and I won't leave here. Even if you tie me up and take me away today, I'll escape at the first opportunity. You can't control me anymore, Mom, so don't try to."
"This is a falling out, and it will make everyone look bad. That's it, you should leave."
"You!"
Her mother was about to say something else when her stepfather stepped in to take charge.
"All this is nonsense. I told you earlier, just take her to the hospital for a check-up, then report it to the authorities. It's straightforward. What's the point of all this back-and-forth?"
"Let's go, I've already made the hospital appointment. We'll take her there now."
He Yao had initially found the situation absurd and tedious, choosing to ignore them.
But upon hearing her stepfather mention reporting it to the authorities, she was instantly enraged.
She opened her eyes and looked at him with utter disgust.
"What right do you have to interfere in my affairs? Report me to the authorities? Don't you find saying such things ridiculous?"
Her stepfather, being a man in his forties and having weathered many storms, was not easily provoked by her few words.
He maintained his refined and elegant demeanor, looking at her calmly.
"Although I'm not related to you by blood, since I married your mother, I have legal guardianship responsibilities for you..."
"Guardianship? What do you really want from me? You know yourself, don't you? Lying in public, aren't you afraid you'll bite your tongue?"
"This is my home. I don't need you to manage me, and you're not welcome here. Get out!"