Chapter 062: You're Being Stubborn, Are You? Then Let's Both Go Down
"Excuse me, have you seen the person in this photo?"
"Excuse me…"
"Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but have you seen this child?"
Ye Dad was anxiously asking around on the street.
But to no avail.
Under the scorching sun, sweat dripped in large beads, nearly stinging his eyes. Looking at this slow-paced, remote town, he sighed weakly, a wave of bitterness rising in his heart.
He had no idea where Ye Zhen had gone.
He didn't know if she had eaten properly.
The bodyguard he had brought along was carrying other photos, visiting and inquiring at various places.
"Zhenzhen, you're being so stubborn."
Ye Dad felt the helplessness of a middle-aged man.
He'd always left the task of disciplining their child to his wife. At first, he'd believed that being strict with a teenager was a good thing—at least it would reduce the chances of her being deceived.
But now it seemed that somewhere along the way, this path had gone awry.
His wife called on video chat, and Ye Dad answered.
The scorching heat beating down on his head here stood in stark contrast to the comfort on the other end of the call—watermelon being eaten and air conditioning blowing.
"So, did you find anyone?"
Ye Dad shook his head. "Still searching."
"Could she have gone that far? Maybe she snuck back to the city already."
Ye Dad snorted coldly. "Did you call all this way just to spout nonsense like that?"
"Nonsense? Old Ye! Enough already. Don't indulge her. Don't you know what kind of temper she has? She just wants to see us fretting over her!"
Beep.
Ye Dad, thoroughly irritated, abruptly ended the video call.
Staring at the disconnected notification, Mrs. Ye’s face turned ashen with rage. She slammed the plate in her hand down hard, spilling bright red watermelon juice all over the floor.
The maid approached respectfully, crouching down to clean up the mess carefully and swiftly.
"That Ye Zhen! She's getting worse as she gets older."
Mrs. Ye was furious beyond control.
In a frenzy, she hurled every precious tea cup on the table to the floor.
The series of shattering crashes sent shivers down everyone's spines.
"All I said was to get a paternity test! Is that so terrible? Could it really make her so angry she'd cut ties with me? Let her stay away forever if she dares!"
"Hmph! What's so special about one daughter?"
"I'll go to the orphanage and adopt one—no, ten! Every single one will be more sensible than her!"
"This is infuriating."
Anger was one thing.
The whole idea of going to an orphanage to adopt another child was pure empty talk. She would never actually do such a thing.
The family business she and her husband had built up could only be passed on to her own flesh and blood.
No matter how disappointing this daughter might be, she was still connected by blood—an unbreakable bond of kinship.
Suppressing her rage, Mrs. Ye sent another message to the child's father.
"Fine, fine! I'm done with her. I'll buy her two more gold jewelry stores—will that satisfy her? Tell her to get her ass back home!"
……
…
Another day passed.
He Ying and Ye Fuli glared at each other, both growing drowsy.
"K1, if you can't do it, just go to sleep. Don't push yourself—you're going to make yourself sick." He Ying propped her eyelids open with a few fingers.
Yawning nonstop!
"If I fall asleep, you'll get your wish." Ye Fuli's eyelids were barely staying open.
She squinted at the person before her.
She clung desperately to her last shred of wakefulness.
He Ying was so exhausted she felt like punching her own head.
She abruptly stood up, kicked off her shoes, and perched on the sofa, towering over Ye Fuli as she gestured at her.
"Please, for my sake, just act normal. K1, you're always so overconfident—it'll lead you astray."
"There's nothing wrong with believing in yourself."
"But humans are masters at self-deception."
"Hmph, I don't deceive myself."
He Ying sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. "You're hopeless. You're truly twisted. I'm scared. I'm really scared. I regret ever meeting you."
Ye Fuli grabbed her ankle, clad in white stockings: "Tell me, where is he?"
He Ying, her ankle gripped tightly, felt a jolt of fear.
She struggled twice, trying to pull her foot back, but Ye Fuli was incredibly strong and pinned her down with one swift motion. "Tell me! Where is he?"
Ye Fuli had reached her limit.
Seeing the look on her face, He Ying even wondered if she'd be choked to death in the next second.
He Ying instinctively clutched her throat, gritting her teeth. "I don't know! I told you, I don't know! Why are you pushing me?"
"You're being stubborn, huh? Then let's both go down together."
Ye Fuli suddenly pulled a lighter from her pocket, clicked it open, and aimed it at the lace pattern on the sofa.
"I'll count to three. If you don't speak up, I'll set it on fire."
At that moment, He Ying's mental defenses were on the verge of collapse.
In the hall, there was only her and Ye Fuli now. Everyone else was gone.
This wooden-framed guesthouse—once the fire took hold, it would spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire place.
Ye Fuli, that lunatic, that sicko…!
"One."
He Ying stared at her intently, saying nothing.
"Two."
He Ying gritted her teeth, thrashing wildly to break free from the other woman's grip. She stretched her arm as far as she could, desperate to reach the lighter.
But how could she possibly be a match for a boxer like Ye Fuli?
"Three."
The flame touched the delicate lace trim, instantly igniting into a larger burst of fire.
He Ying screamed, grabbing a pillow and frantically beating at the flames. But the pillow was fabric too—it caught fire as soon as it touched the flames.
Oh my God, oh my God!
"She's upstairs! Upstairs! Aaaah… Ye Fuli, you're insane! For Ye Zhen's sake, you've truly lost your mind!"
Ye Fuli's face remained composed as she pulled out the fire extinguisher she'd prepared earlier from her backpack. She yanked the terrified He Ying behind her and sprayed the flames relentlessly.
The fire was extinguished in an instant.
"Calculate the damage. I'll compensate you in full. I won't renege on a single cent."
Ye Fuli unlocked the handcuffs and reached out to He Ying for the key to the upstairs room.
He Ying, however, clasped her hand and said earnestly, "I don't think Ye Zhen is the type to kill someone. Could you have gotten something wrong?"
"Did I say she killed someone?"
Ye Fuli stared at her with a heavy gaze, a mocking smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"But you… even if I burned down your house, you'd still protect her. Why? Surely it can't be just for money—would you really risk your life for it?"
The moment He Ying lowered her head, Ye Fuli suddenly lunged forward, clamping her hand around He Ying's throat and pinning her onto the messy sofa.
He Ying's mind went blank.
When she finally came to her senses, two bright red fingerprints were already etched into her neck.
This time, Ye Fuli towered over her, her gaze cold. "Miss He, mind your own business. And don't try to take my things. Otherwise, next time, I won't bring a fire extinguisher. And I won't just use a lighter."
Ye Fuli searched her pockets and confiscated several keys.
Under He Ying's complex gaze, she walked upstairs like a zombie.
Tap tap tap—
The wooden stairs creaked under her footsteps.
Ye Fuli stopped at the doorway.
Downstairs, she could have set the house ablaze, but here, all her malevolence seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving her mind blank.
She slowly crouched down.
Her back pressed against the door.
The key in her hand was clenched tightly, then suddenly released.
Deep indentations were pressed into her slender, pale fingers by the metal.
Ye Fuli bit her lip, closed her eyes weakly, her voice soft and utterly weary: "Ye Zhen, I don't want to give you many chances, but now… now, come out yourself. Don't make me come in and get you."
"I'm so tired."
"Don't make me…"
"Do it alone…"
The taut string in her mind snapped the instant she received the answer.
Ye Fuli didn't know when she'd fallen asleep leaning against the door. In her haze, she sensed the door behind her open. Ye Zhen seemed to crouch before her, gazing at her with gentle, pitying eyes…
Tangled strands of hair were gently smoothed back, and the cold sweat on her forehead was softly wiped away, as if a breeze from early summer had swept through.
Ye Fuli's eyes snapped open.