Zhang Cuimei and her husband arrived at the prison gate, their hearts filled with anxiety.
She followed her husband nervously, "Husband, do you think Sisi still blames us?"
Ever since they had prioritized their career advancement over their daughter, Lin Sisi had held a grudge against them.
Zhang Cuimei had come to visit several times after that, but Lin Sisi had refused to see her.
After all, she was their own flesh and blood. The situation had become so strained that Zhang Cuimei felt deeply distressed.
She never expected Lin Sisi to suddenly request a meeting.
For a moment, she could hardly believe it.
Of course, given the circumstances back then, it wasn't entirely their fault.
Even if they had wanted to save her, they were powerless.
If Lin Sisi, raised by them from childhood, had committed such acts, they would have faced disciplinary action long ago.
This time, the authorities had considered that Lin Sisi had just returned from the countryside after being lost for over a decade, so they didn't pursue the matter.
Otherwise, with a child in prison, they would have been held accountable long ago.
Si's Father's face was grim. "How dare she? If she hadn't done those wrong things herself, would she have ended up like this? She has no right to resent us."
Zhang Cuimei pressed her lips together. That was true in principle, but Sisi was still their biological daughter.
Si's Father glanced at her. "Don't indulge her too much. It's because you spoiled her that she dared to make such a huge fuss."
"Look at Si Nian. Whenever we criticized her before, when did she ever dare to yell at us?"
At the mention of this, Si's Father felt a pang of regret.
Ever since learning from Liu Dongdong that Si Nian was going to become a teacher, thoughts of this adopted daughter filled him with remorse.
This was the life of the excellent daughter he had always wanted.
If only the children hadn't been switched at birth, none of this would have happened.
Hearing this, Zhang Cuimei's heart sank.
Was her husband regretting driving Si Nian away?
Now Si Nian was returning to the city, while Sisi still had to serve her sentence.
Would he try to take Si Nian back as his daughter?
If Si Nian were still in the countryside, Zhang Cuimei wouldn't be worried at all.
But now the situation was different.
Si Nian was coming back to the city.
And as a teacher, no less.
Plus, that Zhou Yueshen had good connections with Director Li and others.
It was entirely possible her husband would do just that.
Then what would happen to her Sisi?
Zhang Cuimei thought her daughter being in prison was bad enough.
Now she might also be abandoned by her own father.
Her heart felt like it was breaking.
No matter how good Si Nian was, she wasn't their own flesh and blood.
No matter how flawed Sisi was,
she was still their own child.
The atmosphere grew heavy and silent.
Soon, they arrived at the visitation room.
Although they couldn't get Lin Sisi out,
they had pulled many strings behind the scenes to ensure she was treated better inside.
They had spent a lot of money too,
terrified that Lin Sisi would suffer in prison.
But no matter how much money they spent, it was still prison.
How good could it possibly be?
Seeing the environment inside, Zhang Cuimei's eyes welled up with tears.
Her daughter had already suffered for over a decade in the countryside.
Finally reunited, and now she was in prison.
Why was her fate so bitter?
Zhang Cuimei couldn't help but resent Si Nian again.
If they hadn't been so relentless, Sisi wouldn't have ended up in this state.
The couple sat down on the stools, separated from Lin Sisi by glass.
Soon, Lin Sisi, wearing a drab gray prison uniform and looking terribly emaciated, was brought in.
The couple looked up and were stunned.
Was this person with a shaved head, sunken cheeks, and a pallid complexion their daughter Lin Sisi?
It had only been a few months. Lin Sisi had transformed from an eighteen-year-old girl in the bloom of youth into someone aged, gaunt, and utterly haggard.
Not a trace of youthful vitality remained.
Seeing the couple, Lin Sisi choked up.
"Dad! Mom!"
They snapped out of their shock, their eyes reddening as they looked at her. "Sisi, Sisi, child, how did you become like this? Wuwu, my poor daughter."
Seeing her daughter's state, Zhang Cuimei's heart shattered, her voice choked with sobs.
She knew prison was bad, but she never imagined that even after bribing so much and using connections, her daughter could be tormented into this state.
And in just a few months!
If this continued, her daughter might die in here.
A wave of bitter sorrow washed over Zhang Cuimei.
Lin Sisi's tears streamed down her face.
Not from being moved by their visit, but from hatred.
She couldn't believe these two people could be so heartless.
They said they wouldn't save her, and they truly gave up.
After she refused to see them, they simply stopped coming.
Lin Sisi had fainted from anger several times.
If Liu Dongdong hadn't come to see her a couple of days ago, she wouldn't have known.
Not only did this couple have no intention of saving her, they were even planning to reconcile with Si Nian!
All because Si Nian was returning to the city.
Everything was completely different from her previous life, completely beyond her control.
Lin Sisi panicked.
She realized that continuing to be stubborn with the Si family wouldn't do her any good.
It dawned on her that by blaming Si's Father and Mother out of anger, she had only made them disappointed in her.
They were the type who responded to softness, not hardness.
Her behavior had only harmed herself.
Especially when she heard from Liu Dongdong that Si Nian was going to be a teacher.
Suddenly, many things flooded into her mind.
Things about her own future.
Like the speech incident before.
That should have been her moment to shine on stage and amaze everyone.
If Si Nian hadn't gone, this teaching opportunity would have fallen to her.
Then she would have used this position and the school's priority enrollment privilege for family members to win back the favor of the Lin family, who had grown disappointed in her.
Her mind became a jumble of thoughts, and it took her a long time to sort through them.
The gist was that the Lin family would still treat her very well, and her two younger brothers would follow her lead.
For a moment, she even doubted if the memories from her previous life were somehow wrong.
But Lin Sisi found the key.
So it was Si Nian who had stolen her opportunity.
Given Si Nian's relationship with Zhou Yueshen,
she would definitely give the school enrollment spots to Zhou Yueshen's children, Zhou Zhedong and Zhou Zhehan, to please him.
Lin Feng and Lin Yu, with whom she had no real bond, would naturally be neglected by her.
If she told the Lin family about this, and Xiao Feng and Xiao Yu found out,
those two children would surely resent Si Nian for this opportunity.
The Lin family might understand her good intentions and forgive her.
But now she was stuck here, unable to contact the Lin family. She could only ask the Si family for help.
Having figured this out, Lin Sisi fell to her knees with a thud.
