Chapter 089: Ye Zhen, I Won't Grant Your Wish
"So Ye Fuli's parents are actually Ye Zhen's biological parents?"
"Then… Ye Fuli is truly my daughter?"
"She… how could she be my daughter?"
Even though she had mentally prepared herself.
After hearing the assistant's report, Mrs. Ye still felt as if struck by lightning, her mind going completely blank.
She had always referred to Ye Fuli as trash, a virus, an insect, and had warned Ye Zhen never to associate with such people!
And now you tell her that this little girl she despised to death is her own flesh and blood?
Recalling Ye Fuli's tearful outburst before her, Mrs. Ye's emotions churned.
She couldn't accept this reality.
It felt like her face was burning with shame!
Compared to her obedient, sensible, and easily manipulated daughter Ye Zhen, this Ye Fuli was like a prickly hedgehog covered in thorns—dirty, foul-smelling, and utterly unlikable.
"So, Madam, what do you intend to do about this?"
After a long silence, Mrs. Ye snapped out of her daze and immediately said, "Keep this under wraps for now. Don't tell a soul."
"Yes, Madam."
……
……
Slum.
Lying on the sofa, drunk and slumped, Chu Yong was suddenly grabbed by the collar and tossed onto the filthy floor.
Chu Yong's eyes snapped open. Just as he was about to curse, he met Ye Fuli's dark, stormy gaze.
He immediately shut his mouth, lowered his head, and fell silent.
Ye Fuli ignored him, sitting down instead, propping her chin in her hand as she stared blankly ahead.
Lying on the floor, Chu Yong's eyes darted around before he suddenly chuckled.
"Hey, my dear daughter, why are you back? Weren't you enjoying the good life at the Ye family?"
Ye Fuli lowered her head and glanced at him.
Chu Yong obsequiously brushed the dust off the toe of her leather shoe, continuing his flattery: "The Ye family must have given you a lot of money, right? We raised you all these years after all. Don't you think it's time to repay us… Ah!"
Before he could finish, Ye Fuli suddenly raised her foot and stomped hard on the back of his hand.
Ye Fuli said coldly, "Do you know the difference between you and a dog?"
With each word she spoke, she ground down hard on his fingers.
To her ears, Chu Yong's blood-curdling screams sounded no different than the squeals of a slaughtered pig.
"Dogs are better at reading the room than you. At least when they see their owner unhappy, they'll quietly tuck their tails between their legs and cower in the corner—not come begging for a beating like you do."
With that, she let out a cold laugh.
"By the way, what made you think of the word 'repayment'?"
She lifted her foot, watching Chu Yong cradle his finger, tears streaming down his face, and felt a surge of satisfaction.
Ye Fuli burst into exaggerated laughter.
"All these years, you've milked me for over a million. All those bonuses, all that sponsorship money—you've gobbled it all up and still aren't satisfied? So greedy, aren't you afraid of dying?"
Chu Yong dared not say another word.
Ye Fuli was stating facts he couldn't refute.
The sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside the door.
Ye Juan was back.
The moment she saw the room in disarray, she couldn't help but curse—first at Chu Yong, then at Ye Fuli.
Mid-tirade, she noticed Ye Fuli sitting on the sofa, staring at her with a sinister glare.
Ye Juan was so terrified she nearly lost her mind, collapsing onto the floor.
"My dear daughter! You're home? Why… why didn't you say anything?"
Ye Fuli stood up.
Before she could do anything, Ye Juan shrieked, "Don't come near me! Ye Fuli, you heartless madwoman, don't come near me! I… I'm calling the police! I'm calling the police!"
Ye Fuli picked up the red-hot tongs.
She stared expressionlessly at Ye Juan.
"Call the police? Go ahead. Let the officers investigate what you two have done. I reckon it'll be enough for a life sentence. You'll rot in prison until you die."
Ye Juan suddenly crumbled, sobbing, "We may not be your biological parents, but we raised you all these years. You can't treat us like this. You'll get your comeuppance."
"Karma? Ha."
Ye Fuli laughed again.
Her thoughts turned to Ye Zhen, lying in the hospital, her life hanging in the balance.
In her previous life, Ye Zhen had bullied others relentlessly. Her tragic death under the bridge was likely karma.
In this life, she'd been obedient and sensible, striving to improve herself. Yet here she was, living like a slacker, indulging in food, drink, and leisure—so why was such misfortune still befalling her?
Clearly, retribution…
…is an illusion.
At this thought, Ye Fuli's smile faded, her gaze growing colder.
She suddenly felt that Ye Zhen's bizarre death in her previous life must have been connected to the despicable deeds of those two scum.
"I'll bear my own retribution. But first, let you two taste what retribution truly means."
…
Half an hour later.
Ye Fuli left that foul-smelling house.
The hospital where Ye Zhen was staying was a full ten kilometers away.
She walked and stopped, unsure how long it took before she finally reached the entrance of the inpatient building.
Given her status, she couldn't possibly enter the floor where Ye Zhen was staying.
She could only sit on the flower bed below the inpatient building, staring blankly at the warm lights on the top floor.
Since her rebirth, she had always believed victory was assured.
She had always been adept at making money, and in this lifetime, she had amassed enormous wealth at an early age.
Those who had once exploited or deceived her had mostly faced vengeance multiplied a hundredfold, tasting the same agony she had endured. The rest had already been rendered powerless, their fates held in her hands, waiting only for the decisive blow.
Everything had gone too smoothly.
So smoothly that she had grown somewhat intoxicated by it, even finding life devoid of joy and existence meaningless.
But now, gazing at the warm glow of light from the top floor, a sharp pang of pain pierced her heart.
She recalled those nights on the school's back mountain, the fireworks filling the sky, and that intense desire to hold onto that fleeting beauty.
But…
She hadn't preserved any of it.
When she pulled Ye Zhen from the flames, she hadn't dared to wipe the soot from her face, hadn't dared to hold her tightly, hadn't even cried.
It was too late for anything.
She had lost everything.
Ye Fuli covered her face and wept silently.
She even began to admit that He Ying had been right that day—Ye Zhen had died because of her. Even if she hadn't died, Ye Zhen had been ruined by her.
If only she hadn't been so self-assured, if only she'd stayed by Ye Zhen's side every step of the way. Then, even if disaster struck, they would have been together—instead of separated by twenty-five stories.
Why had fate been so cruel to her?
Why did she have to make such a colossal mistake in a life that had never faltered?
Why?!
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Ye Zhen, what do you want me to do!"
"Do you want me to carry this agony forever, living a life worse than death?"
"No, I won't let you have your way."
The moment she lifted her head, Ye Fuli was seized by a mad thought.
"I'll take you away. I won't let you leave my side again. For the rest of your life, you'll only see me!"
She sprang to her feet.
Her chest heaved violently.
"Ye Zhen, we'll be together forever—forever and ever…"