Chapter 038: Grounded—Would Ye Fuli Worry?
By the time they left the pool, dusk was approaching.
Ye Fuli had calmed down, but Ye Zhen seemed unable to recover.
"It was just a matter of helping me fasten my bra clasp—it came undone twice. Is something like that really that devastating to you?"
Ye Fuli remarked with a casual tone.
She still believed Ye Zhen was yearning for something she herself sorely lacked.
Of course, in a way, Ye Zhen did yearn for it…
"It's getting late. I should head home before it gets awkward."
Ye Zhen forced her mind to go blank, refusing to revisit the scenes from the changing room.
She couldn't spur herself down the path of perversion—once taken, there'd be no turning back!
Before coming to this world, she had been a proper lady, she told herself.
Now she was spending her days exploiting her female form for perks. Was that really okay? Hmm… Morally questionable, but damn, it felt good…
Ye Zhen's inner conflict raged.
What the hell was she thinking? Why was her mind such a mess?
"Ye Fuli, can we call it a day here?"
Leaving wasn't something she could do on a whim.
Crossing Ye Fuli would only bring trouble.
Ye Fuli nodded. "Alright."
With Feng Aotian's permission, Ye Zhen finally picked up her bag and headed home.
Not long after stepping outside, she turned back as if compelled by some unseen force, glancing over her shoulder.
Her eyes met Ye Fuli's unexpectedly, startling her.
What the hell!
Was Ye Fuli still here?
Was she keeping tabs on her, or planning to throw stones at her next chance?
"Um… I, I really need to go home now," Ye Zhen said timidly, unsure if the other could hear her.
Ye Fuli said nothing, merely waved her hand before turning away.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, a golden glow bathed her figure, making her look like a celestial being who had strayed into the mortal world.
……
……
The Ye residence.
Shortly after Ye Zhen returned, Ye Dad came home too.
"How did today's business negotiations go?" Mrs. Ye asked first.
"Not well."
Ye Dad set down his briefcase and slumped onto the sofa.
He tugged at his tie, picked up the freshly brewed tea on the table, and took a large sip.
"The foreign client didn't bring an interpreter. We had to use a waiter to translate, but the interpretation was unclear. We'll have to schedule another meeting to continue the talks."
Clearly, this wasn't a topic he wanted to discuss.
So, after a few words, the conversation shifted to Ye Zhen.
"Zhenzhen went out to play today. I saw her with that girl named Ye Fuli. It's good. That child isn't as bad as you make her out to be."
Ye Dad had met Ye Fuli before.
But back then, they hadn't really spoken much. He'd mostly just listened to her homeroom teacher and the dean of students bragging about her.
Now, encountering her outside of school and taking a closer look, she seemed quite pleasant!
She was pretty, spoke politely, and seemed well-mannered.
Most importantly, her clothes and style weren't weird at all. How could she possibly be the "utterly depraved delinquent" or "rude, crazy girl" my wife described?
"You saw Ye Fuli."
At the mention of Ye Fuli, Mrs. Ye, who had been reclining, sat up abruptly, her expression turning serious.
Ye Dad froze. "What's wrong?"
He sensed the impending storm brewing, and alarm bells immediately rang in his mind.
"She actually dares to hang out with my daughter? That delusional little lunatic!"
Mrs. Ye gritted her teeth, immediately standing up and shouting toward the second floor, "Ye Zhen, come down here this instant! I want to know exactly where you were today!"
"Why are you yelling like that? The child is studying."
Ye Dad tried to stop her, but no one could restrain the enraged she-devil now.
Ye Zhen, who had just lain down, could only nervously descend the stairs, head ducked, weakly calling out, "Mom."
"Tell me—why are you still hanging around with Ye Fuli?"
"I…"
Ye Zhen had never been one for words.
Now, she had no idea how to explain the situation with Ye Fuli.
Praising Ye Fuli would undoubtedly anger the current Mrs. Ye, but slandering her felt like a betrayal of her conscience.
So she simply fell silent.
Mrs. Ye was furious. Pointing her finger at Ye Zhen's nose, she sternly warned, "If you keep hanging out with such unsavory characters, you won't set foot in school again before the graduation exams! I'd rather have you study at home than let these lunatics corrupt you."
"Honey, that's a bit harsh!"
At this point, Ye Dad was also getting angry.
He quickly pulled the small, helpless Ye Zhen close and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Go study. Don't listen to your mother…"
"Ye Zhen, if you've got the guts, just leave!"
Mrs. Ye glared at Ye Zhen with venom.
That was just how she was—once someone crossed her line, she became exceptionally furious.
For a moment, the three of them stood frozen in a standoff.
Ye Dad was thoroughly enraged. He shouted, "You're the real lunatic! How can you be so unreasonable? What exactly did Ye Fuli do to you that makes you despise her so much? I'll tell you this—I have high hopes for Ye Fuli. I plan to have her tutor Zhenzhen in her studies."
"Don't you dare!"
Mrs. Ye, enraged, grabbed a pillow to hurl at him, but Mr. Ye seized her wrist with an iron grip. The two quickly tangled in a struggle, Mrs. Ye letting out shrill screams and hurling every vile insult imaginable.
"You've all gone mad! Rebelled against me!"
The situation spiraled out of control in an instant.
Amidst the chaos, Ye Zhen was shoved to the ground. Her palm landed on shards of a teacup that had shattered unnoticed, and blood gushed instantly.
Only the nanny's startled cry halted their struggle. They rushed over to examine Ye Zhen's injury.
"How did you cut your right hand? Of all times… Quick, take her to the hospital!"
"Zhenzhen, don't be afraid. Mom's here with you. Don't be afraid!"
…
That night.
Ye Zhen lay in the hospital ward, unable to sleep for a long time.
The injury to her hand wasn't serious—it would definitely heal before the graduation exams—so she wasn't worried about that.
But using her injury as an excuse, Mrs. Ye had officially granted her extended sick leave, forbidding her from attending school starting today.
This was the fifteenth floor, and outside the window lay a dreamlike panorama of the city at night.
Gazing at this view, one could imagine the bustling vibrancy of the outside world. Yet for Ye Zhen now, it stirred not a shred of longing—only an indescribable sense of desolation.
Before this, she had always believed that acting cute and charming could solve everything. But reality had delivered a resounding slap in the face.
This family harbored irreconcilable issues.
Once they erupted, they tore apart everything that had once been beautiful.
"With Mrs. Ye being so domineering and utterly self-centered, how could she possibly get along with Ye Fuli?"
And Ye Fuli was also an incredibly strong-willed woman.
In the comic's storyline, they did have some disagreements, but they seemed like minor issues that passed without causing too much turmoil.
"Perhaps it's just my incompetence that's made such a mess of things. If it were Ye Fuli, she'd surely avoid such conflicts—after all, she's so intelligent…"
Ye Zhen thought to herself, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Starting today, she wouldn't be going to school. What would Ye Fuli's reaction be when she couldn't find her?