Chapter 81: Chapter 81
Ye Ling’s words could be considered venomous.
Bai Xue shivered as she heard it from behind. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but hearing this made her fearful. She glared at her eldest daughter with such intensity as if her eyes could pop out.
"Ye Ling, how can you speak to your mother like that? Apologize immediately." Ye He Ping had already shouted.
Ye Ling raised her chin, "Dad, do you think I was wrong? How long has Grandma been gone? You can’t have forgotten so soon, can you? You also heard what Mom just said, she can say whatever she wants about me, but why bring Grandma into it? Grandma spent her whole life helping you raise me, whether I’m good or bad, you owe her. You shouldn’t say anything wrong about her, otherwise, it’s just heartless."
Ye He Ping was so embarrassed by his daughter’s words that his face turned red. His earlier sharpness diminished, "Your mother was just too angry and anxious just now, she didn’t mean to blame Grandma."
Although Bai Xue was angry, she also knew she was in the wrong. Seeing her husband speaking up for her, she immediately changed the subject, "Ye Ling, don’t always bring up your grandmother. Your father and I owe her, but you are you, and she is she. If you made a mistake, it’s a mistake, changing the subject won’t help. Didn’t I just say you were wrong? I took your sister to the hospital, and we’re back, but your desk isn’t cleaned yet. I said a few words to you, and you couldn’t take it. And what about your extra classes? Did you discuss them with the family?"
Before Bai Xue could continue, Ye He Ping coughed lightly, interrupting her, "I agreed for her to go."
Bai Xue was stunned, feeling just when she got tough, her husband slapped her face with it. But she quickly changed her tone again, "Even if your dad agreed for you to go, you can’t stay out so late every day. If something happens in the middle of the night, what will people think? That we don’t care enough about you?"
"What could happen in the compound? If you can’t even feel safe living in the company’s compound, then how would ordinary compounds fare? Are people supposed to stay home all night long? Look, Mom, look at how displeased you are with me. As soon as I enter the house, without even having time to change my shoes, you start finding fault with me. No matter where you look, you’re unhappy with me, making you stand at the door this long is really my fault." Ye Ling sneered, "I’ve been wrongfully accused of crimes I didn’t commit. Why didn’t I clean the desk? You should let my hands heal before I clean it. You care about Ye Qian, pushing me as soon as you see something on her face, causing the skin on my palms to scrape off. Did you know that? As soon as I entered the house, you started scolding me, everything about me was wrong. Am I really your daughter? Was I picked up? Are you a stepmother? How can you be so harsh to your biological daughter? Since I’m not welcome in this house, I’ll leave. I’d rather beg than watch your expressions. For these sixteen years, it’s my own self who raised me, only in the past few days have I eaten several meals at your expense, yet I’ve become a criminal."
Ye Ling didn’t know why she was still crying, tears flowed down her cheeks into her mouth, salty and bitter. She didn’t even remember how she rushed out of the house, only recalling her father trying to hold her back, which she shrugged off, hearing her mother’s exclamation. By the time the pain in her hand brought her back to her senses, she had already run out of the compound, looking up at the road leading to the campus. The three trees that required three people to hug had turned green, their leaves rustling in the wind—the sight she used to love most, yet at this moment, she had no mood for it. The wound on her hand, which had been properly bandaged, cracked open again as she ran, bleeding once more. Ye Ling placed her hands in front of her mouth, gently blowing warm air on them, each time the warmth touched the wound, it didn’t hurt for that moment.
Ye Ling didn’t know where she could go. Thinking back, she remembered a small path going north between the school and the compound leading to the company grounds, and along that path, there was a small park. It wasn’t dark yet, so Ye Ling found herself walking there unconsciously.
Just like in her memory, nothing had changed. Ye Ling knew it was still as Shen Bin had told her in her last life, saying that on the path to the company, there was a small wooden house, where an old lonely man had taken up residence at some unknown time. The company tried to send him to a care home but was refused. Later, the company took on the task of caring for the old man, regularly sending daily necessities to him. What happened afterwards, Ye Ling did not know, because before anything could happen to the old man, she had already divorced Shen Bin and cut off ties with everyone, including her own family.
Looking at the small wooden house in the park, Ye Ling quickened her pace. The little house had only one window; the door was unlocked. She gently pushed it open, but a musty smell hit her nose, leaving her somewhat disappointed. How could someone stay in such a place?
Finally, she sat down on the only bench in the small park, looking up at the sky. Ye Ling lowered her head to look at her hands. The blood had crusted over, throbbing with pain along the way.
From the moment Grandma passed away, Ye Ling knew she had to rely on herself for everything, no matter what she encountered, only she didn’t expect it to be this hard.
Yes, even with the same indifference and displeasure as in her past life, it felt more difficult than before. She understood where the reason lay. In her last life, she was foolish, solely thinking about pleasing her mother, wanting her to like her, so she would volunteer to do everything. If she didn’t know how, she would learn, and when she became skilled at it, she hoped her mother would praise her.
As for not listening to her mother, that never happened in her last life, so it was the complete opposite in this life, and her relationship with her mother and her family grew increasingly strained.
"Is that you?" Shen Bin emerged from the company and saw a child sitting there. He walked over to have a look, surprised to find it was Minister Ye’s daughter, "Why are you here? What happened to your hand?"
Shen Bin’s tone was so flat that even concerned words sounded cold.
Ye Ling hadn’t expected to meet Shen Bin here. In her last life, she was the one who wronged Shen Bin first. When she fell on hard times, Shen Bin didn’t mock her, so she couldn’t resent him, though she didn’t want to talk much. She nodded in greeting.
"Having a disagreement with your family?" Shen Bin eyed her hand, his brows knitting closely together, "Come on, I’ll take you back."
"There’s no need." Ye Ling wanted to retort, but she held back, "You go ahead, I’ll just sit here for a while and go home."
Shen Bin remained silent, but instead sat down next to her, sitting up straight with proper posture like a man at a meeting, hands resting on his knees, looking straight ahead. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)