Yun Ya stood on the balcony, gazing at the fiery red sunset on the horizon, her mind whirling with thoughts. Just then, Ji Die called her for dinner, and Yun Ya decided to stop pondering—things would straighten themselves out once they reached the proverbial bridge. Ji Die had prepared a large table full of dishes. Beside Yun Ya sat Yun Miao, and Yan Song sat across from her. She didn’t hold back and started to eat directly. Ji Die’s culinary skills were not particularly impressive, especially after having tasted Yan Song’s cooking, her dishes seemed lackluster. Yun Ya, like Miaomiao, was picky, but often had no desire to indulge this trait. Ji Die added a piece of sweet and sour fish to Yun Ya’s bowl: "This is Little Miss’s favorite. I specifically chose the freshest grass carp. Little Miss and Miss both love the sweet and sour fish I make. Actually, when it comes down to it, you and Miss are truly alike as mother and daughter, many of the living habits are identical, like loving scallions but disliking ginger, and not caring for cilantro...." This text is hosted at noveⅼfire.net Because Yan Song was present, Yun Ya didn’t want to argue with Ji Die and had been holding back, but Ji Die kept on about Lanyi, mentioning her Miss’s likes and dislikes, hardly deviating from talking about her Miss. Yun Ya "snap" set down her chopsticks: "Aunt Die, one shouldn’t speak when eating or talk when sleeping, this is what Mother taught me since I was young." How repulsive she felt inside whenever she called her mother. Seeing Yun Ya’s cold face, Ji Die gave a sheepish smile, knowing she disliked the mention of Lanyi, but couldn’t help herself: "Little Miss, your Miss’s birthday is coming up soon. No matter how much you dislike her, she is still your mother after all. In this world, which child would hate their own mother? Miss has her reasons...." She has her reasons? Who could Miaomiao share her grievances with? Yun Ya took a deep breath, meeting Yan Song’s concerned gaze from across the table. Yun Ya smiled at him, signaling that she was fine, and picked up her chopsticks again, ignoring Ji Die’s words. "Ah, speaking of which, I really don’t know when Miss will come back..." Ji Die sighed. "She’s dead," Yun Ya spat out coldly. Ji Die was stunned, then looked at Yun Ya displeased: "Little Miss, how can you curse the Miss to die? She will come back one day...." Yun Ya paused, then looked up at Ji Die: "It’s been ten years without a word, how do you know she’s still alive? Could it be that you’ve been in contact with her all along?" The sharpness hidden in those eyes almost made Ji Die feel exposed. She hurriedly averted her gaze, "If I knew of Miss’s whereabouts, I would have brought her back long ago, rather than let her suffer and struggle out there." Yun Ya let out a mocking laugh: "Suffer and struggle? Given her personality, those words will never befit her." Because her birth mother died early, Lanyi was pampered by her grandfather since she was a child, never having faced any hardship, more delicate than the Princess and the Pea. Moreover, her own intelligence fully supported this level of delicacy. Therefore, such a person, even if stranded outside, would never let herself suffer injustices, Ji Die simply didn’t understand her own mistress. The ironic tone caused Yan Song to look at her several times. Yun Ya’s family was far more complex than he had imagined. Her father and grandmother were one thing, but the mocking and threatening tone she used when mentioning her own mother pained him. What sort of situation could make a girl hate her own birth mother to the bone? He had met Lanyi when he was young, but at that age, many years had passed, and even the deepest impressions had blurred. He only vaguely remembered a very pretty and formidable woman, with no other substantial memory. After the scandal involving Yun Shen became public, online voices were mostly sympathetic towards Lanyi. However, Lanyi did have a past. Years ago, she was rumored to have had an affair with the butler while married. This had always been a stain on her reputation, but with no definitive proof, and given the passage of time, these allegations, based solely on Yun Shen’s side of the story, were hardly credible. Especially now with Yun Shen’s scummy nature exposed, such claims were even less reliable. Anyway, all sorts of versions of their complicated relationship were concocted online, with the speculation only growing more intense. In Yan Song’s view, this future mother-in-law was a very formidable woman. But if she were so formidable, why would she choose to disappear after Yun Shen and Kang Jinse’s affair came to light? Because the impression she left was that of a very formidable woman, directly confronting a mistress seemed like something she would do. But on the other hand, if she was deeply in love and couldn’t accept the betrayal, thus left in resentment, that also seemed plausible.