Yu Lingyi looked up at her assistant. “Whether Xingxing has money is Xingxing’s business. Do you really think that just because she has money, I’m entitled to spend it? How would that make me any different from Su Hao?”
The assistant had no answer and fell silent.
She knew that Yu Lingyi was an upright person. She accepted what she should and never clung to what she shouldn’t, no matter how difficult things became.
It was just that Yu Lingyi had already received one penalty card. With the budget running short again this time, the assistant was genuinely afraid she might be eliminated.
Just as the assistant was racking her brain with Yu Lingyi to find ways to cut post-production costs, her phone suddenly chimed.
She glanced at it and said in surprise, “Boss Yu! Saint De rejected the payment! They said Shen Zhi came back to help you out of personal friendship. You can repay her privately in the future!”
Yu Lingyi took the assistant’s phone and read the exact words Lu Yanzhao had sent.
Her gaze gradually softened.
Xingxing was so clever. She couldn’t possibly be unaware that Yu Lingyi was short on money. She had clearly just found a respectable excuse to give her some financial help.
No matter what excuse Xingxing used, the result was the same: she had helped Yu Lingyi.
Yu Lingyi said softly, “Since my sister is determined to help me, I won’t refuse any longer. Let post-production know that we have an adequate budget. Go with the best options across the board.”
“Got it!”
Yu Lingyi decided that nothing could go wrong with this production again. She couldn’t let down all the people who had reached out to her during her lowest point.
Nor could she let down the courage and resolve it had taken to sever ties and start over.
She had only just finished making the arrangements when another message appeared in the family group chat.
It was from her father.
“@Everyone Mianmian is coming over for dinner tonight. Seven o’clock. It’s a family dinner, so everyone come back.”
—
When Yu Xiaxing returned home, she saw the message from her eldest uncle as well.
She simply ignored it, went over to the sofa, and picked out a movie to watch.
It was nearly seven when Yu Zheng came back.
Seeing Yu Xiaxing still curled up on the sofa in her pajamas, he asked, “Sis, hurry up and change. We need to get ready to go to Uncle’s place.”
“I’m not going. I still have to think about my school’s development strategy tonight. You guys can keep slacking off. I’m going to work you all into the ground.”
The woman who had blocked even her own special assistant over the weekend was actually claiming that she was working hard…
Yu Zheng could tell that she simply didn’t want to go. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “After I went abroad, Uncle and Auntie were the ones who took care of you, right? Did they treat you badly somehow, or bully you? Is that why you’re upset with them?”
“Not at all. As relatives, they did everything they were supposed to. I never lacked food or anything else, and they took responsibility for my education.”
“Then… are you upset with Huo Mian? Why?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Yu Zheng didn’t press her further. He sat down beside her and said, “All right. Then I won’t go either. You and I are the closest, and I’ll support you even if I don’t know the reason.”
With that, Yu Zheng picked up his phone and sent a message to the group chat: “Uncle, Xingxing and I won’t be coming. I’m sick, and Xingxing says she needs to stay home and take care of me.”
Yu Xiaxing lowered her head and stared at the message in the group chat.
She hadn’t expected him to stand by her so unconditionally.
What a shame. Such a considerate brother, and yet he wasn’t her real brother.
By the time the movie ended, it was already quite late.
Yu Zheng was called away to deal with something at work.
Yu Xiaxing turned off the television as well, planning to take Diandian out for a walk before going to bed.
But when she looked down, there was nothing by her feet.
“Diandian?”
She called several times, but the dog didn’t respond.
It had probably run off to play in the garden.
Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem. Once Diandian had had enough fun, it would come back on its own.
But tonight, the main branch of the family was hosting a meeting with their future daughter-in-law.
Thinking of her past conflict with Huo Mian, Yu Xiaxing didn’t want Diandian wandering over there, so she went out to look for it.
The Yu family estate was enormous. Yu Xiaxing called softly for Diandian as she walked.
She searched from the small garden to the covered walkway, then followed the walkway around to the main branch’s residence.
There was an outdoor swimming pool in the courtyard. Its surface shimmered with a cold blue light.
Yu Xiaxing spotted Diandian at once. The dog was crouched behind a cluster of white hydrangeas by the pool, lowering its head to eat goosegrass.
Whenever a dog’s stomach felt unwell, it would instinctively go out and find this kind of grass to eat.
Yu Xiaxing walked over and scooped it up.
She was just about to carry it away when she suddenly heard someone speaking in a low voice nearby.
“A-Ning, do we really have to break off our engagement?”
Yu Xiaxing immediately crouched down and tucked herself behind the flowers, peering toward the voices.
Two people were sitting beside the pool. One was Yu Zhining, and the other was Huo Mian, who had just returned from abroad.
Huo Mian wore a white blouse and a pale blue skirt. Her long, smooth hair fell over her shoulders. She was the fragile, delicate kind of beauty, with a soft voice to match—she looked every inch the classic girl-next-door first love.
Yu Zhining’s voice was calm. “Yes.”
Huo Mian pressed her lips together and asked quietly, “Is there really no possibility for us?”
“We don’t have those kinds of feelings for each other. My grandfather agreed to your father’s proposal back then only to repay a favor. There’s no reason for us to tie ourselves to a marriage.”
Behind the bushes, Yu Xiaxing was utterly confused.
This wasn’t at all what she remembered.
In her previous life, she had clearly heard that the two of them were deeply in love. In the end, even after Yu Zhining was sent to a psychiatric hospital, Huo Mian had stayed by his side without abandoning him.
So why were they trying to break off their engagement now?
Of course, in her previous life, she and Yu Zhining had always avoided each other. Everything she knew had come from other people, so perhaps something had been distorted as the story was passed along.
Now she was even more curious and continued listening.
Huo Mian’s eyes slowly reddened. “Is it because my family went bankrupt? So now that I’m no longer of any value to the Yu family, you don’t want me anymore?”
Yu Zhining didn’t offer any explanation. He said coldly, “Huo Mian, you’re using shame to manipulate me.”
Huo Mian fell silent.
Yu Zhining continued, “You’ve taken the issue of breaking off the engagement—which should be a matter of personal choice—and repackaged it as social-class rejection and a severing of interests. That way, if I continue with the breakup, I’ll look snobbish, heartless, and as though I’m kicking you while you’re down.”
“If I want to preserve my reputation and be seen as a decent person, then I won’t dare break off the engagement with you now.”
Behind the flowers, Yu Xiaxing struggled not to laugh.
How did he manage to insult Fourth Sister while saying all that?
There was a trace of panic in Huo Mian’s eyes. “I really did go bankrupt. I was afraid you wouldn’t want me anymore…”
“I’m trying to have a proper conversation with you, but you’re using social pressure to threaten me. In that case, there’s no point continuing the conversation. Let’s just break off the engagement.”
Huo Mian forced a faint smile. “A-Ning, you’ve misunderstood me… I truly love you. This engagement isn’t just an agreement made by our elders to me.”
She looked up at him, her expression utterly shattered.
“If you hadn’t helped me back then, I might never have had the chance to leave that family or escape my terrifying mother’s control.”
“I want to marry you to repay you for that kindness.”
