Vol. 1 - Ch. 288 - Why me?

Even Zhao DanNi herself hadn’t expected that she would strike her own daughter. But everything stemmed from what her daughter had just said—words so piercing, so unbearable, that she’d lost control.

She had done it for her daughter’s own good. Why couldn’t Ye QiuXue understand that?

Ye QiuXue slowly turned her head. At some point, her eyes had reddened, and a bright red mark had appeared on one side of her cold, pale cheek.

She didn’t look angry—but anyone who knew her could see that she had reached a breaking point.

A state of extreme fury.

“Ms. Zhao, do you think you're so important to me that you can do whatever you want?”

“No—QiuXue, listen to me. Mom didn’t mean to.”

“Oh? So you’re panicking because I said something that hit a nerve? That desperate to throw me into Shi Dan’s arms?”

“What’s so bad about Shi Dan? He’s just a little playful, but he has no major flaws. He’s the future heir of the Shi family. What’s wrong with getting on his good side?”

“There’s a lot wrong with it. Unlike you, I fight for what I want. I don’t wait for someone to give it to me. Ms. Zhao, it’s true that I’m your daughter by birth, but unfortunately—we’re nothing alike.”

Ye QiuXue reached out to close the door, but Zhao DanNi pressed against it with all her strength, refusing to let it shut.

“QiuXue, just listen to me. Going against the Shi family—there’s no good outcome in that. You have a bright future ahead of you. So what if you suffer a little now?”

At those words, Ye QiuXue finally smiled.

But the smile was full of despair.

A mother, telling her daughter that it’s okay to suffer—when the so-called suffering could mean sacrificing her dignity, her future, even her body.

Why was it that other parents could protect their children, while hers only ever took and took?

Her father was like that. And now, her mother too.

Had she done something so wrong in a past life? Or maybe… maybe she should never have been born at all?

Her strength drained away. Even standing was a struggle.

Zhao DanNi must’ve noticed the weakness behind the door—because she suddenly tried to push it open again. But right then, she caught sight of something through the gap.

A face. A boy’s face.

He was staring at her. That one look made her break into a cold sweat. Her arms broke out in goosebumps.

“You need to leave.”

The boy’s voice was calm, but his presence was chilling. Zhao DanNi, however, was more alarmed by the fact that a strange boy was in her daughter’s room.

“Why are you in my daughter’s room? Who even are you?”

“Your daughter?” The boy laughed softly. “Do you really treat Ye QiuXue like your daughter? When you need her, you expect her to obey. And when you don’t, you throw her away. Do you think you have any right to call her yours?”

“You—!”

“Get out. Or should I call the police? If I do, you’ll be all over the news by tomorrow. And then what will the Shi family think—when they find out their future matriarch still has a daughter with her ex-husband?”

His words cut like a blade.

Zhao DanNi stumbled back, hand trembling on the doorknob.

She knew what kind of position she held in the Shi family. Many of them already knew she had a daughter, but the issue had never come into the public eye. Not yet.

And she hadn’t given the Shi family an heir, either. Her standing at home was as fragile as glass.

“You… you’d better remember this. I won’t let you off.”

She turned and stormed down the stairs, glancing back at the closed door behind her.

Next time, she’d come prepared—and find out exactly who that boy was.

The hallway fell silent once more. The neighbors across the hall, who had been listening for a while, finally dared to crack open their door when they were sure no one was outside.

Behind the closed door, HuMing stood in the entryway, looking down at Ye QiuXue—now curled up on the floor, trembling like a leaf. He let out a quiet sigh.

He couldn’t help but think… Ye QiuXue has really hit the jackpot when it came to terrible parents.

After the divorce, neither had fulfilled even the bare minimum of their responsibilities as parents. But now that Ye QiuXue had become someone, they just kept coming back to take whatever they could.

What difference was there between people like them and leeches?

The fact that Ye QiuXue had made it this far… HuMing honestly thought it was a miracle.

“Come on, eat your noodles. If you wait any longer, they’ll get soggy.”

But Ye QiuXue didn’t respond. She looked like she was caught in some kind of mental trap—lost in the maze of her own thoughts.

HuMing didn’t hesitate. He reached out, took her by the arm, and pulled her to her feet.

As he did, he saw the tears streaking down her face—her eyes swollen and red.

She looked so fragile. As if even speaking would break her apart.

But what scared him most… was how hopeless she looked.

Like all the color had drained out of her life.

Without a word, HuMing bent down and picked her up. He carried her to her room and laid her on the bed.

“You’re really going to let that woman do this to you? Ye QiuXue, this isn’t like you at all…”

She didn’t respond.

Even lying there, she was like a body without a soul.

HuMing watched her for a long time, then finally pulled a chair over and sat by her side.

He cupped her face gently in his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“Family has always mattered to you. That’s the truth. You want love more than anyone else I know. No matter how she treated you today… in the end, you’ll still give in to her. That’s what scares me.”

It all made sense now—her reaction, her pain.

That so-called strength of hers… was just a shell. A shell she’d built to survive.

But inside, she still held on to the smallest hope that her parents might care. That they might change.

No matter what she said, today had made everything clear.

“Are you really going to keep living like this? Are your parents the only family you have? What about your grandma—the one who raised you?”

His voice turned to a roar.

“Are you really going to give up your future for someone who never loved you? Wake up, Ye QiuXue! The real you would never make such a stupid choice!”

At the mention of her grandmother, something flickered in Ye QiuXue’s eyes.

Clarity.

Then—like a dam bursting—her tears came flooding out. Unstoppable.

She threw herself into HuMing’s arms, sobbing like her heart was being torn in half.

“Why me?” she cried. “I’ve tried so hard… Why don’t they love me? Why don’t they want me?”

HuMing wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her hair.

“You’ve already done enough. You’ve done so, so well. They don’t want you but I do!”

(SHMOLL: Oh shit went up, bro. What the hell? This cliffhanger is so evil. Dammit!)

Comments