Gao Zixia couldn't sit still any longer. She snapped at Yuyin with a sour expression, "Don't play dumb. Why the facade of innocence?"
"Did I play at it?" Yuyin looked at them one by one.
She saw that both Gao Zixia and Cheng Fangnan were bruised and battered, their gazes lacking the arrogance they had displayed before. Cheng Fangnan, in particular, looked wretched; his clothes were riddled with holes, and his face was a patchwork of purple and blue, as if he’d been through a battlefield.
She had no sense of modesty regarding gender boundaries, but Song Lian, finding the sight intolerable, finally took a jacket from the sofa and draped it over her shoulders.
Yuyin was obedient enough, though she bundled the jacket over her head as well. "I'm sleepy. If you have something to say, say it quickly."
Performing in front of her was like casting pearls before swine. She was soft-spoken, but her heart was made of stone.
Cheng Songbai looked up at Yuyin. It hadn't been long since they last met; how had she suddenly become so sharp-witted?
"Yuyin, this is an engagement jewelry set I bought for you. It’s worth millions and was custom-made." Cheng Songbai had intended to simply sweet-talk her, but seeing that Yuyin was acting like a rational person, he had no choice but to bring out the jewelry he had previously tried and failed to give to others.
Yuyin pulled back the jacket and peeked through the gap.
She loved money, but she knew it had to be obtained the right way. This set had passed through too many hands; it wasn't "clean."
Seeing her ignore him, Cheng Songbai grabbed his son Cheng Fangnan by the ear and kicked him down to the floor at Yuyin's feet.
"Kneel!"
Cheng Fangnan, terrified, instinctively hugged Yuyin’s legs, not even daring to cry out in pain.
"Yuyin, I was wrong! Please, let's be engaged. I'll buy you a big house and a huge diamond ring!" Cheng Fangnan’s shoulders shook as he knelt at her feet, a hysterical roar erupting from his throat.
Yuyin pulled her legs back and scooted aside. "You're too noisy."
Cheng Songbai delivered another kick. "Can't you keep your voice down? You've been engaged for nearly twenty years and still don't know her preferences? You deserve to be kicked!"
Cheng Fangnan felt deeply wronged. As a grown man, he didn't dare move or speak loudly, but he wanted to tear Yuyin to pieces.
Gao Zixia ached for her son, but she didn't dare intercede, her face turning pale with suppressed rage.
"Yuyin, you and Fangnan have been engaged for over a decade. He was seduced by a vixen, which forced you to burn the engagement contract. Your uncle has already given him a sound thrashing, and today, I've brought a new contract. Just sign it, and I promise to keep him in line for you from now on."
Cheng Songbai stated his purpose directly, then signaled to Song Lian, urging him to help mediate.
Song Lian pursed his lips and remained silent; he couldn't help with this.
Fearing another kick, Cheng Fangnan tried to crawl toward Yuyin's legs again. "Yuyin, this engagement cannot be called off. Chen Shujing and I are innocent; that child isn't mine. Please, let's make up."
Yuyin hurriedly backed away, clearly disgusted by his touch. "Cheng Fangnan, who was it that cursed me this morning? Who said they never wanted to see me again in this life, and that being engaged to me was the biggest humiliation of his life?"
Yuyin repeated the insults Cheng Fangnan had hurled at her earlier, and told Cheng Songbai everything, right down to him forcing her to give blood.
"I was blind! We’ve been engaged for so many years. I’ve stayed pure for you, and now you want to break it off just because I made one small mistake? That’s not fair to me." Cheng Fangnan’s face turned pale, every word carefully measured for fear that a wrong step would earn him another kick.
Gao Zixia couldn't bear to see her son kneeling before a woman and couldn't help but pull him up. "Yuyin, this engagement was decided by your parents when they were alive. You have no right to override their decision. As long as you agree to sign a new contract, we will agree to any terms you set."
"That’s not what you said this morning. You told me to stop clinging to you and to get lost as far as I could," Yuyin said with a smile, drawing out the end of her sentence to ensure Cheng Songbai heard every word.
Cheng Songbai’s face twitched with anger. He glared at Gao Zixia. "Yuyin, your aunt was just speaking in the heat of the moment; she truly has your best interests at heart. With a family status like ours, you won't find a second match in Pingcheng. You're the one benefiting from this."
Yuyin felt tired; she didn't want to entertain them anymore. "You're right—I also feel like I'm aiming too high. Our values and outlooks don't align. Since the engagement is already broken, let's just leave it at that. No need to force things."
Hearing this, Cheng Fangnan angrily scrambled up from the floor. "I told you she wouldn't agree! This stinking charlatan looks down on our family—she's a total idiot!"
Cheng Fangnan began to curse. He hated Yuyin; the first beating he had ever received in his life was because of her.
With the reconciliation efforts in ruins, Cheng Songbai and his wife began to pummel their son, nearly beating him to a pulp. Even Song Lian didn't escape their glares, as they blamed her for instigating the conflict.
Seeing her son being beaten, Gao Zixia rushed over to stop them. "What’s the use of hitting him? He was deceived by that harlot! Let’s go. I don't believe for a second that there isn't another Yuyin to be found in this world."
Yuyin secretly felt delighted; she was more than happy to hear Gao Zixia say that.
As Gao Zixia dragged her son away, her husband Cheng Songbai pulled them back, demanding she apologize to Yuyin.
"Where do you think you're going? Kneel and apologize to Yuyin!" Cheng Songbai dragged Cheng Fangnan back and kicked him several more times just to show Yuyin.
"What? Have you lost your mind? Who does she think she is, making me apologize to her? My son is talented and handsome—why must he marry her?" Gao Zixia’s explosive temper flared, and she turned to leave immediately.
"I brought you both here today to salvage this engagement. If you two can't handle this, don't bother coming back to the Cheng Family." Cheng Songbai delivered the ultimatum, glaring at them until they stopped at the door.
After shouting at them, he turned back to Yuyin with a fawning expression. "Yuyin, Fangnan is spoiled by his mother; he isn't thinking clearly. Don't take it to heart. But Fangnan really does like you. Just give him another chance. Marrying into the Cheng Family was also your parents' dying wish."
He had spent a fortune trying to change the Cheng Family's fortune and finding a wife who could bring prosperity to her husband. After consulting a master, he had picked out a girl with the Tianyi Noble destiny pattern from thousands of others, and he was determined not to let her go.
"It's too late, even if you want it. The engagement contract is already burned, and I don't want to marry into your family. Do whatever you like." Yuyin had witnessed firsthand how quickly he could change his face—the whole family was full of drama queens.
In the dozen years she had spent at Lianxi Taoist Temple, she had never seen the couple pay her a visit on any holiday, and the things they sent were always discarded leftovers. Bringing diamond jewelry now was far too late.
Gao Zixia opened her mouth to curse again, but her husband covered her mouth and shoved her out the door. "Shut your damn mouth! Today’s mess is all your doing. You go abroad for a trip, and our family is nearly ruined because of you."
"I'm sleepy and want to go to bed now. Please see yourselves out." Yuyin ignored the three performers and headed upstairs with her small backpack to rest.
Song Lian wanted to leave as well, but Cheng Songbai grabbed her back.
"Song Lian, you’ve seen the joke our family has become. I have no one in Yuyin’s circle to speak for me. You must help me with this."
Song Lian sat to the side, seeing Cheng Fangnan constantly signaling him not to mention the incident where he had smashed up the Lianxi Taoist Temple.
Understanding the message, Song Lian pushed Cheng Fangnan’s head aside. "Uncle, I’ll see what I can do."
Cheng Songbai trusted Song Lian’s word implicitly. "Song Lian, I know you’re a smart and capable child. With your help, this will surely work."
"Dad, have you lost your mind? That woman is the one who insisted on ending the marriage, and you saw her attitude today! She won't agree to sign a new contract. I don't get it—there are so many women in the world, why are you forcing me to marry her? What kind of destiny pattern is she, that you're all groveling like this..."
*Slap!* A palm struck Cheng Fangnan across the face.