Zhang Cuimei was berated by her own daughter until her face flushed red, her eyes welling up with tears. With a guilty expression, she said, "Sisi, it's not that Mom doesn’t want to save you, but this matter has blown up too much. The entire compound is watching our Si Family. Even the superiors above your father have sent people to monitor us. The slightest misstep, and our whole family will suffer. Mom knows you didn’t mean to, but what you did was wrong. Please don’t blame us..."
Lin Sisi couldn’t believe it. With the Si Family’s status and influence, they couldn’t even get her out? Wasn’t that ridiculous?
"What about the Fu Family? Fu Yang and I are already married. Would they really stand by and let me rot here? Isn’t his father a high-ranking official?"
Ever since she was arrested, Lin Sisi had been terrified, her heart filled with dread, knowing her reputation was ruined.
But she never imagined she’d actually end up in prison.
After all, given how much the Si Family cherished her and how guilty they felt toward her, she thought they would never let her face such a fate.
Lin Sisi believed that as long as she could get out, she could start over. It wasn’t the end of the world.
At least she had already returned to the Si Family.
She could blame her actions on being led astray in the countryside—claim she had been corrupted by bad influences.
If she admitted her mistakes and showed remorse, surely the Fu Family would forgive her.
But as she waited and waited, the news that came was her impending imprisonment.
She was completely stunned.
All her resentment surged forth at once.
She thought that if it were the Lin Family, they would have spared no effort—even if it meant sacrificing their dignity and draining their wealth—to rescue her.
Yet the Si Family had simply abandoned her, using her as a scapegoat for their own troubles.
Lin Sisi was in disbelief.
"I get it now. You never planned to save me, did you? Of course not. I spent over a decade in the countryside, and now that I’ve caused this disgrace, you’re ashamed of me. You don’t want me anymore. And yet, this wasn’t entirely my fault! Why aren’t you going after Si Nian instead? Instead of making her pay, you’re throwing me in prison. In your hearts, I’ll never measure up to Si Nian. If I’d known this would happen, I never should have come back! Waaah!"
Lin Sisi completely lost control, screaming and wailing in her cell.
Her eyes, fixed on Si's Father and Si's Mother, burned with resentment and hatred.
The couple was taken aback.
Ever since Lin Sisi had returned, she had always been obedient and well-behaved.
They had never seen her like this.
Being accused like this by their daughter left a bitter taste in their mouths. But considering what she had done, they couldn’t help feeling that they weren’t to blame. They had even sold their car to repay her debts—something they hadn’t been willing to do for Si Nian.
And yet, here she was, blaming them? How heartless!
Si's Father couldn’t help but think how much more sensible Si Nian was.
She, too, had been a victim in this mess, yet despite the injustice she suffered, she hadn’t once reproached them. She had endured everything without complaint, even putting the Si Family’s future first.
But Lin Sisi? In the six months since her return, she had accomplished nothing but trouble. The Si Family’s reputation had only worsened—nothing like when Si Nian was around.
Si Nian’s reputation hadn’t always been spotless, but that was only because she was too outstanding, inviting jealousy.
Si's Father had once thought her attitude was problematic, but seeing others envy her had secretly filled him with pride.
Lin Sisi, on the other hand, was far from outstanding in the compound. She had even been mocked for being unworthy of Fu Yang.
Out of guilt and the fact that she was his biological daughter, Si's Father had never said anything.
But now, seeing how selfish she was—willing to sacrifice the whole family for herself—compared to Si Nian’s selflessness, the contrast was staggering. It filled him with disappointment.
At this point, his expression darkened. "Enough! We already paid back those three thousand yuan for you. What more do you want? Three thousand yuan—gone in less than half a year! And you have the nerve to blame us for not helping you? Have you no shame?"
Logically, coming from the countryside, Lin Sisi should have been more frugal.
Yet she had squandered such a huge sum in such a short time!
It was utterly absurd.
Lin Sisi was stunned by his outburst. Seeing the cold disappointment in Si's Father’s eyes, her heart sank.
She didn’t understand what had changed. The last time they visited, they had been full of pity, promising to do everything to get her out.
But now, they seemed like different people.
As if it didn’t matter whether she was freed or not.
Now they were looking at her like this? What had all her efforts to please them been for?
Lin Sisi realized something must have happened in the past few days.
Otherwise, why would they change their minds?
She knew. "Si Nian—it’s Si Nian again, isn’t it? Dad, Si Nian is determined to ruin me! You can’t trust her!"
Hearing this, Si's Father’s disappointment deepened. "She ruined you? Did she force you to steal that money? If you hadn’t taken it and lied to us, Si Nian wouldn’t have had to marry into that remote village! I understand you resent us for the past—being switched at birth, suffering hardships—but that was our fault, not Si Nian’s. Don’t be so vicious!"
He had never wanted Si Nian to leave.
The daughter he had raised so brilliantly—how many young men in the military compound had pursued her?
Even if she wasn’t biologically his, with her beauty and talent, she could have married into wealth, benefiting the Si Family.
But Lin Sisi had driven Si Nian to the brink!
She had brought this upon herself!
The more Si's Father thought about it, the more he felt she deserved it. Any guilt he had felt about prioritizing his promotion over saving her vanished completely.
"..." Lin Sisi gasped in shock.
She stared at Si's Father in disbelief before erupting in fury. "Dad! I’m your real daughter! How can you side with her?"
"That’s right—I side with reason, not blood. Hate me, resent me, I don’t care. I won’t lift a finger for you anymore. You’re on your own!" Si's Father turned his back on her, his voice icy. "This matter ends here. We’ll come for you in a year. Use your time in prison to reflect. If you’ve truly changed by then, we’ll still acknowledge you as our daughter."
With his promotion at stake, and his superiors watching him like a hawk, Si's Father couldn’t afford to pull strings for Lin Sian.
If he abused his power to help her, his career would be over.
He had to think of the Si Family. How could he let one daughter destroy everything they had worked so hard for?
It was cruel, but whose fault was it really?
She had no one to blame but herself.
With that, Si's Father dragged the sobbing Zhang Cuimei away.
Lin Sisi watched their retreating figures, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the floor.
