Chapter 6: Relenting

Mother Ye was already sitting on the floor throwing a tantrum. Seeing her stepdaughter looking at her with such dependent eyes, she hardened her heart and began to slam her head against the ground.

As she struck, she threatened: "Ranran, if you don't go to the He family and call off the engagement, I will die right here in front of you."

Watching her mother go to such lengths for her stepdaughter—the thudding sound of her head hitting the dirt floor echoing through the room—Ye Siran felt her heart ache as if it were being shredded by knives, even though she knew her biological mother hated her and intentionally favored her stepsister.

Since her mother showed no regard for their bond and insisted on using death as a threat, why shouldn't she return the favor?

Siran knelt before her mother and sobbed: "Wuwu... Mom, if you die in front of me, then I might as well die too. If we both die, who will take care of Dad and my little brother?"

"..."

Mother Ye was stunned for several seconds, unable to react. She had not expected her daughter to be so indifferent to her life or death. Her daughter had always been obedient, never defying her, and would beam with joy at the slightest praise. She had never talked back like this before. Looking at her daughter, who seemed ready to perish along with her, Mother Ye hesitated, unsure if she should continue slamming her head against the floor.

This version of her daughter felt like a stranger, and it made her deeply uncomfortable. She asked in a shrill voice: "Ranran, are you possessed?"

"Mom, I’m not possessed. Everyone knows I’ve been in love with Brother Hongwen for years. If you force me to go to the He family to break off the engagement, I would rather die."

Siran knelt on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears that swirled in their sockets, conveying her grief and helplessness.

Father Ye and Ye Ruyue were both shocked by the tears that hung precariously in Siran’s eyes. For the past five years, they had never seen her cry. At home, she was always the one doing all the chores, washing and cleaning tirelessly, cooking, doing laundry, and eating their leftovers without a single complaint. To see her now, willing to die rather than break off her engagement to He Hongwen, left Ruyue dumbfounded.

Ruyue had already been intimate with Hongwen; if she couldn't marry him, who else would have her?

Siran noticed the shrewd father and daughter both frozen in their tracks. She felt a sense of relief inside, but her expression remained mournful. She choked back a sob and said: "Mom, please get up. If you really die, Sister will be held responsible! It was she who incited you to seek death just now."

"..."

Ruyue stared wide-eyed at the tear-streaked Siran, not knowing what to say.

She had plotted for so long, and now that He Hongwen had taken her but refused to marry her, and Siran refused to break the engagement even at the cost of her life, she was left with nothing. Unreconciled, she could only wail loudly.

"Sister, you were the one who talked back to Mom, how can you frame me? Wuwu... I don't want to live anymore~"

"Sister, are you afraid that if you force Mom to die, you’ll be thrown in jail, and that’s why you don’t want to live anymore?"

"Ye Siran, stop spouting nonsense! I didn't force her to die; she’s the one acting like this. What does that have to do with me?"

"Mom, you heard her. Sister didn't ask you to die, so why are you acting like this?"

"..."

Mother Ye was rendered speechless by her daughter's questions. She herself didn't even know why she was threatening to die.

*Hisss!* My head hurts!

Siran looked at her mother through blurred vision. In her past life, she would never have dared to argue back, let alone look her stepfather in the eye. Back then, she felt that it hadn't been easy for her mother to remarry while bringing a "burden" like her along. She believed her stepfather—who was refined, educated, and had married a woman without education—was losing out by taking in her and her weak, younger self.

She had suppressed her own spirit and lived a miserable life, feeling like an unwelcome guest. Even after marrying He Hongwen, she had felt no sense of belonging in the He household, shrinking away from everyone she met.

It was only when her father-in-law from her past life couldn't stand it anymore that he told her the truth: after her biological father died, her grandparents had wanted to take her back to the Ye family, but her mother had refused—all so she could use her as a reason to demand living expenses from the Ye family every month. Her stepfather had only married her mother to gain access to the Ye family's connections. She hadn't been a burden; she had been their cash cow, their benefactor.

Her father-in-law had told her she was too kind and couldn't see through their schemes, leaving her to be trampled by them for five whole years. Five years ago, before her grandparents' family fell on hard times, they hadn't dared to bully her openly, only forcing her to do more housework. But ever since her grandparents' family declined, her mother had blatantly favored Ruyue, secretly tormenting Siran to please her stepdaughter.

Such a mother did not deserve the title. Having been reborn, Siran would not give face to this vicious woman, nor would she compromise easily. Although she wanted to leave this house and get far away from He Hongwen—that scumbag who favored his "first love"—she wouldn't leave so easily. That was why she was standing her ground now.

"Ranran, let's go to the He family to break off the engagement right now." Seeing her stepdaughter sobbing uncontrollably, Mother Ye stood up and reached for Siran.

"I won't go, unless..." *Unless you give me money.* Before Siran could finish, Father Ye barked at her.

"Enough! Stop talking." Father Ye growled, exerting the authority of the head of the house. Mother Ye and Ruyue immediately fell silent.

Siran continued to weep, but she did so silently, without making a sound. The room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. The atmosphere was stifling, terrifying young Ye Weiguo into a loud wail.

"Waaah... Dad, Mom, Sister, stop arguing! I'm starving to death."

Seeing her precious son crying, Mother Ye glared at Siran and cursed: "Weiguo is hungry, you wretched girl, hurry up and take your brother to eat."

"Sister will take you to eat." Siran reached out to pull Weiguo, but he shoved her away.

Though ten-year-old Weiguo was not as tall as eighteen-year-old Siran, he was much chubbier. Seeing Siran fall to the ground, he felt no guilt. Instead, he snapped viciously: "I don't want you to pull me! I want my eldest sister to take me to eat."

After saying this, he ran over to Ruyue. "Eldest Sister, you must be hungry too, let's go eat."

"Weiguo, how could I have the appetite to eat right now? Dad, Mom, you go ahead and eat if you're hungry!"

"Yueyue, get up and eat. Things have come to this; Ranran won't just stand by and watch you suffer," Mother Ye said, fawning as she helped Ruyue up.

"Mom, are you really trying to force me to death?" Siran’s tears finally hit the floor.

"Ranran, Mom doesn't want to force you, but how can you just watch Yueyue die?"

Father Ye took a deep look at his stepdaughter, who had been pushed to the ground by his son, and said gently: "Mother of the children, Ranran, let’s stop this and go eat first."

"Ranran, your father Ye has been good to you since you were little. You must be grateful. Yueyue and Hongwen have already become intimate; you might as well..."

"Say no more. It's not impossible for me to step aside and let you and Brother Hongwen be together."