Yun Yao sauntered in with her hands in her pockets, a lollipop in her mouth, exuding an air of swaggering insolence.
"That’s right. I have absolutely no relationship with them."
If not for the fact that she had borrowed the original owner's identity, the Yun Family would not even have had the standing to see her.
When Yun Yao entered, the three professors stood up in unison.
Seeing the professors about to cause a scene, Qiao Lan stepped forward to attack Yun Yao first, eager to distance herself. Her well-preserved face was twisted into a look of pure spite.
"Yun Yao! You never even finished high school, yet you used the Su Family's influence to get into university!"
"That would be bad enough, but the moment you arrived, you caused a monstrous disaster! Do you have any respect for us or the Yun Family left in your eyes?"
Yun Yao deigned to spare Qiao Lan a single glance.
"Oh? Then why don't you tell me exactly what disaster I've caused?"
Qiao Lan remained haughty.
"Of course it's—" Her voice cut off abruptly. She shot a sharp look at Yun Jianghai.
That was true. The three professors had been here for half the day, and they had yet to mention what trouble Yun Yao had actually caused at Jingnan University.
Yun Jianghai hurried to speak for Qiao Lan.
"You still have the nerve to ask what trouble you've caused!"
"Apologize at once!"
Yun Jianghai looked at Yun Yao with unconcealed disgust.
The next second, an apology rang out.
"I am sorry, student Yun Yao. When we first met, I was being too narrow-minded."
Yun Jianghai’s rebuke died on his lips, stunned by what he was seeing.
"Professor Wu, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean you—"
By now, experienced men like Professor Wu and his colleagues understood the situation perfectly. They stepped directly to Yun Yao’s side.
"Student Yun Yao, we are grateful for your contributions to archaeology. As for the conditions you mentioned, we agree to all of them!"
"You can come to school whenever you like!"
"But as for the exams..."
Yun Yao understood that this was the greatest concession the professors could make, so she nodded.
"Rest assured, I will not be absent for any major exams."
The three professors nodded, satisfied.
Just then, Yun Zhengfeng and Yun Xinru walked in, chatting and laughing. When Yun Xinru saw Yun Yao, her expression shifted instantly.
"Yun Yao, why are you here!"
Yun Xinru’s hostility toward Yun Yao was so intense that Yun Zhengfeng couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to. He frowned at her.
"Xinru, is that any way to speak to your sister? Apologize to her immediately!"
Today, he had used the money Yun Yao gave him to clean up the mess left by his second son’s family. Beyond gratitude, he felt a deep sense of reverence for her. Now, with Yun Xinru being this rude, Yun Zhengfeng was terrified that she would provoke Yun Yao.
Yun Yao, by contrast, stood with her arms crossed, watching Yun Xinru with a cool, detached gaze.
"Didn't you hear what your grandfather said?"
"Hurry up!"
Yun Xinru loathed the look of utter indifference on Yun Yao’s face.
"You beat me up at school, and now you want me to apologize to you? I’m telling you, it’s not happening!"
"Grandpa, Mom, Dad! You have to stand up for me!"
Yun Xinru threw herself into Qiao Lan’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Before Yun Jianghai could recover from the shock of the professors' attitude toward Yun Yao, Qiao Lan pinched his arm.
"Yun Jianghai, if you don't give us some justice today, I can't stay in this house anymore! I’ll divorce you!"
Yun Zhengfeng stepped in front of Yun Yao and barked at Yun Jianghai’s family.
"All of you, shut up!"
"Haven't you made enough of a scene?"
"Apologize to Yun Yao, now!"
Yun Jianghai stared at Yun Zhengfeng in disbelief.
"Dad, what kind of love potion has this seductress fed you? Why are you protecting her like this?"
"Yun Yao! Ever since you woke up, you've turned this house upside down. Don't think I won't beat you!"
Yun Yao was truly exhausted by having to face this chaotic mess every single time.
"Enough."
Yun Yao tossed her lollipop into the trash and shot a glance at Professor Wu and the others. The three professors immediately took the hint and hurried to bid her farewell.
With the outsiders gone, it was time for Yun Yao to deal with these annoying flies.
Yun Zhengfeng looked worried. "Yun Yao—"
"You shut up, too."
Since Yun Zhengfeng was incapable of resolving this, she would teach these ill-mannered juniors a lesson herself. At Yun Yao’s word, Yun Zhengfeng dared not say another syllable, though he glared at Yun Jianghai with helplessness and disappointment.
Under the varying gazes of those present, Yun Yao walked slowly to the head of the room and leaned back against the sofa, her posture aloof and cold. She swept her gaze over Yun Jianghai’s family and lifted a finger.
"Kneel."
As her voice fell, Yun Jianghai found himself kneeling before her against his own will.
His actions left Qiao Lan and Yun Xinru stunned, staring at him in disbelief.
"Yun Jianghai, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Why are you kneeling to her?" Qiao Lan screamed at him in panic.
Yun Jianghai was as if struck dumb; other than shaking his head, he couldn't utter a word. Ignoring the terror on his face, Qiao Lan reached out to pull him up, but before her hands could even touch him, her own knees buckled involuntarily. With a dull thud, she, too, knelt in Yun Yao’s direction.
"Mom!" Yun Xinru cried out, running toward Qiao Lan in a panic.
"Noisy," Yun Yao remarked with displeasure.
Yun Zhengfeng, waiting on the sidelines, finally understood the extent of Yun Yao's power. Terrified that she might fly into a rage, he spoke up hurriedly.
"All of you, be silent!"
"Isn't this house chaotic enough already?"
"Everything is to be done as Yun Yao says!"
Yun Jianghai’s family felt a lump in their throats. They looked at Yun Yao with pure terror, as if they were staring at a ghost. It was all this woman! What kind of black magic had she cast on them?
Just then, Yun Yao’s calm, level voice rang out.
"Yun Jianghai, from today on, I do not want to see your family in this house."
"Get as far away as you can."
"Do you understand?"
Watching Yun Yao’s cold, beautiful face, Yun Zhengfeng sighed inwardly. *Alas, it has come to this.*
Yun Jianghai, as if controlled by some force, nodded blankly. Qiao Lan and Yun Xinru were left speechless, their eyes streaming with tears of frustration.
Yun Yao pointed toward the door.
"Now, you can get out."
Yun Jianghai’s family stood up mechanically, showing no trace of hesitation, and walked straight out of the house.
When silence finally returned, Yun Zhengfeng collapsed onto the sofa.
"Yun Yao, they are just ignorant. I apologize to you on their behalf."
Yun Yao still had some patience for Yun Zhengfeng.
"Yun Jianghai’s family is wicked. If they aren't kept in check, even I would struggle to stop them from rushing toward their own destruction. Yun Zhengfeng, do you understand what I mean?"
Yun Zhengfeng looked as though the life had been drained out of him in an instant. His voice was old and sorrowful.
"I know. They were blind and failed to recognize greatness. Whatever discipline you give them, they deserve it."
"Yun Yao, having witnessed your methods today, I am even more convinced of the words my father left behind."
With that, Yun Zhengfeng knelt before Yun Yao. If his previous gestures had been a test, today, he truly believed that Yun Yao was the great benefactor who could save the Yun Family from disaster.
"Yun Yao, I beg you, please save the Yun Family."
Yun Yao felt slightly annoyed and waved a hand.
"Get up. I don't have many virtues, but there is one: I keep my word!"
Yun Zhengfeng let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."