The servants were stunned into silence, frozen in place as the scorching midday sun pierced through the splintered wood of the entrance, casting long shadows across the lobby decked out in red wedding decorations.
Madam Li and Patriarch Li, who had been in the middle of inventorying the wedding trousseau, jumped at the sound. Before they could grasp what was happening, two more heavy thuds followed in rapid succession. With a deafening crash, the front door collapsed.
Through a haze of swirling dust, Li Li stood with her chest heaving slightly. She tossed the sledgehammer to the butler, who had trotted up looking incredulous, and then strode inside, her head held high.
Upstairs, hearing the commotion, Li Xiang and the eldest son of the Li family, Li Siyou, rushed out. Seeing the wreckage below, both of their faces went rigid. Li Xiang’s eyes welled up with tears, her expression one of utter helplessness and profound grievance as she looked toward Li Siyou.
Noticing the look on Li Li’s face, Li Siyou felt a surge of fury. He gave Li Xiang’s hand a reassuring pat before storming downstairs.
"How dare you!"
Patriarch Li was the first to bark a reprimand, his face dark enough to drip ink. He strode forward and pointed at Li Li, "Get over here and kneel!"
Li Li cast him a nonchalant glance, her gaze sweeping over Madam Li’s twitching, furious face before lifting slightly to settle on Li Xiang, who was descending the stairs. The moment their eyes met, Li Xiang curled her lips in a provocative smirk, emboldened by Li Siyou’s protective presence behind her.
Ignoring the glares from the entire room—looks so venomous they seemed to want to devour her—Li Li clicked her heels across the floor straight toward Li Xiang.
Li Siyou’s face darkened. He quickened his pace, raised his hand, and swung it toward Li Li’s face.
*Thwack.*
With a dull thud, Li Siyou was sent stumbling to the side, his hand clutched to his face in disbelief.
Without breaking her stride, Li Li backhanded Li Xiang across the face. Before the girl could collapse, Li Li grabbed her by her perfectly styled hair, dragged her down the steps, and tossed her unceremoniously before Patriarch Li.
The Li household descended into chaos. Madam Li stomped her feet in anxiety, "Li Li, are you trying to start a rebellion?"
"What are you all standing around for? Grab this lunatic!"
Li Siyou’s mind was buzzing, and his body reacted on instinct as he moved to tackle Li Li from behind.
*Bang.* A heavy sledgehammer slammed into the floor, blocking his path. Several deep cracks spiderwebbed across the floorboards.
Li Siyou slammed on the brakes, his voice trembling with impotent rage, "Li Li, are you even human?"
"Today is Xiangxiang’s engagement ceremony! Don’t force me to hit you."
Terrifying.
Li Li didn't even grant him a glance. Her eyes were fixed on Li Xiang, who was being cradled by Madam Li, "Are you going to kneel yourself, or do you need me to help you?"
Li Xiang was genuinely shaken by Li Li’s unhinged behavior. After a moment of shock, she firmly retreated behind Madam Li.
"Lili, why must we take things to this point?"
Patriarch Li’s gaze drifted involuntarily toward Li Xiang. He realized that this little ancestor had clearly come for Li Xiang today. Being a calculating man, Patriarch Li decided to wait and see, signaling his servants to hold their positions without a word.
Madam Li, however, shielded Li Xiang directly, looking down at Li Li, "What madness has possessed you now?"
"You know perfectly well that Xiangxiang and Shang Yang grew up together and are in love. Why must you fight your sister over everything?"
"The one who owes you is me, not your sister."
"If you have grievances, take them out on me. I’m the one who failed my duty as a mother and failed to raise you properly. I’ll own that."
"Your sister has had a hard life; I only wanted to do my best to make it up to her. Since you gave up on Shang Yang, what are you unhappy about now that she is marrying in your stead?"
As Madam Li spoke, her eyes turned red, as if she were suffering under a mountain of grievances, "Do you have to make me kneel and beg for your forgiveness?"
"What kind of sin did I commit to give birth to a wretch as arrogant and domineering as you?"
Madam Li wept, her wailing giving Li Li a headache. Silently gripping the hammer, Li Li suppressed the bitterness in her heart and looked at Li Xiang, "Don’t make me repeat myself a third time."
"Even if I don’t have the evidence, it wouldn’t be hard for me to destroy you."
Patriarch Li caught the implication and his expression darkened, "Li Xiang, you tell me—what is this about?"
In the Li household, while the Patriarch rarely handled domestic affairs, his word was absolute. With his face darkened, he was clearly venting his frustration on Li Xiang. He cared most about his reputation; with the Shang family arriving soon and the engagement party in ruins, he didn't want a "truth"—he wanted a scapegoat. Anyone would do.
Li Xiang gritted her teeth, stepped out from behind Madam Li, and knelt before Li Li.
"I’m sorry, sister, I..." She choked out, unable to finish her sentence.
Seeing this, Madam Li and Li Siyou felt even more heartbroken, their glares at Li Li growing colder. Patriarch Li remained unmoved, watching them both.
Then, Li Xiang said with forced concern, "After you were taken away by Shang Che last night, are you alright?"
Shang Che?
At the mention of that name, Patriarch Li’s face sank. Since when had Li Li become entangled with that rake?
Li Li arched an eyebrow, pulled over a chair, and sat down to watch Li Xiang’s performance quietly.
"I didn’t know the wine was drugged. Last night, I was also..." She blushed, "It was all thanks to A-Yang, who arrived in time to take me away. I wanted him to save you, but he was too forceful and didn't give me the chance. Lili, please, you have to believe me. I have always treated you as a true sister; I would never harm you."
"If you don't believe me, you can ask A-Yang. You’ve always trusted him the most—he wouldn’t lie to you."
With those words from Li Xiang, the Li family finally understood the reason for Li Li’s outburst. Madam Li’s first instinct was to fuss over whether Li Xiang had been wronged, pulling her up from the floor. Li Siyou, however, arched a brow, looking at Li Li with gloating eyes.
"No wonder the trending topics say you were seducing Shang Che. Birds of a feather—that’s all the taste you have."
Patriarch Li’s gaze was gloomy and filled with icy coldness as he looked at Li Li, "Is what they said true?"
He cared less about who had drugged Li Li and more about whether she had really been consorting with that playboy, Shang Che, and shaming the Li family.
Li Li looked at Li Xiang’s wet, reddened eyes and suddenly understood. So that was it. She hadn't expected to be invited here; it was a trap. They had lured her in to sleep with Shang Yang and seal the deal, all while dragging her name through the mud. She had underestimated Li Xiang.
Facing her father’s interrogation, Li Li stood unyielding, "Yes. I did sleep with Shang Che."
Her voice rang out clearly, knowing full well what would anger this snobbish father of hers the most.
Silence descended upon the room.
A light, mocking chuckle shattered the quiet.
Li Li’s spine stiffened, and her lashes trembled as she looked toward the door.
The Shang family had arrived.
Patriarch of the Shang Family and Shang Yang were at the front. Shang Yang was looking at her with a complicated, helpless expression—deep in his eyes lay a disappointment she couldn't decipher. Behind them stood Madam Shang and the family butler.
At the very back of the group, Shang Che leaned against the ruined doorway as if he had no bones. His short hair hung over his forehead, backlit by the light, and a lazy, reckless smile played on his lips.
What an absurd farce.
Li Li met Shang Yang’s gaze. For a brief moment, she felt a flicker of panic. As she forced herself to look away, a hidden regret stirred within her for her own reckless words. She had wanted to spite her father, but she hadn’t wanted Shang Yang to witness this. Beyond everything else, Shang Yang had always been gentle and refined, treating her with care since they were children.
Even if everything was beyond repair, she still wanted to treat him as the brother she respected. To Li Li, Shang Yang was, after all, different.