Luo Yihai was furious with his niece, and at the same time, angry with himself. Why had I trusted her words so blindly, letting a young girl lead me by the nose? Every time she cried, my heart would soften. Now look what happened, he fumed internally. Forget protecting her, I might not even be able to save myself. My indulgence ruined innocent lives, and now it’s all out in the open. It’s clear this was aimed at me—all because I didn’t investigate properly and just took her word for it! To me, it was just a few words, a couple of phone calls. But for those innocent people, it was their future, their destiny. Now, their desire for revenge has been ignited, and they’re determined to drag us all into the abyss to perish together. I can barely fend for myself; how could I possibly spare a thought for that menace? He broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it. Without further hesitation, he stood up and walked out. My only chance for a turnaround is to confess everything now, he knew. Ignoring Zhang Xueyan’s pleas for help and her dissatisfaction, he turned into the adjacent office. He confessed everything he had done to help his niece over the years. The police officers handling the case quickly reported these matters up the chain. After leaving the police station, Luo Yihai returned home to await the results. He felt an immense sense of relief. I’m incredibly lucky, he thought, that I only made a few calls and indirectly helped Zhang Xueyan suppress people, without doing anything truly substantial. What he hadn’t expected was for the decision to come so quickly: he was demoted all the way to an ordinary clerk. This was worse than being fired, he realized with a sinking heart. And I can’t even resign now; that would just make people look down on me even more, think I’m irresponsible. He felt worse than if he’d swallowed a fly, and even his wife and children at home endured numerous cold stares. Consequently, their relationship with his younger sister’s family hit rock bottom. His wife and children believed that if he hadn’t aided and abetted her, Zhang Xueyan wouldn’t have dared to secretly use such despicable means to harm others, causing them all to lose face. Meanwhile, his younger sister’s family felt he hadn’t genuinely tried to protect his niece, which ultimately ruined Zhang Xueyan’s career and life, indirectly making their entire family the neighborhood’s laughingstock. When Luo Yijia, the eldest sister in the Luo Family, learned of this, she tried to mediate between the two families but ended up pleasing neither. Eventually, she washed her hands of the whole affair. Due to the victims’ families’ relentless insistence, Zhang Xueyan was sentenced and sent to reeducation through labor. Because of his daughter’s actions, Zhang Weigang’s reputation as a father naturally suffered. He found himself walking on thin ice at work, and his family’s life plummeted from heaven to hell overnight. When Yunyi returned to Hua’an Farm Reclamation, Ye Wenhui was the first to visit, eager to share her grievances. "Yunyi, you’re finally back! I swear, I wanted to check your gate ten times a day to see if you’d returned." Ye Wenhui looked at Yunyi, her eyes suddenly welling with tears. She reached out and hugged her. "Sister, you’ve suffered so much." As someone who’s taken over this body, I might not fully grasp how much the original Yunyi suffered, Yunyi mused. After all, once the original owner joined the Chu Family, she was practically raised in a honey pot. Aloud, she said, "I don’t remember much about my childhood. Perhaps there were hardships, but my adoptive parents treated me very well, so I never felt like I was suffering." Actually, from what the Ye family members said, I’ve gathered that after Zhang Baosheng and his wife brought the original Yunyi to their old home, they just left her with the elderly Zhang couple. The old couple didn’t know she wasn’t their biological grandchild. Even if their lives weren’t easy, they genuinely cared for her and were never harsh. As for Fang Zhichun, perhaps out of guilt, she typically avoided the original Yunyi and would ignore her even if she saw her in the courtyard. So, the suffering was emotional neglect, not physical abuse. Yunyi felt contempt for Fang Zhichun’s actions, but she held no particular affection for the Ye family members either. In the original Yunyi’s memories, her adoptive parents truly doted on her. Ye Wenhui released Yunyi. "I heard from the family that you’ve met the Ye family members but don’t want to return to the Ye Family. Why is that?" Before Yunyi could answer, Ye Wenhui exclaimed, "Are you crazy? If you don’t go back, are you just going to let Ye Wenjuan, that troublemaker, keep parading around as the Ye Family’s granddaughter?" Seeing Ye Wenhui so agitated, Yunyi calmly explained, "Wen Yue’s household registration has already been transferred back to the third branch; she’s now officially their daughter. Ye Wenjuan’s registration is currently at Hua’an Farm Reclamation. Even if she could return to the city later, I doubt Third Uncle would let her move her registration back to the Ye Family. Besides, it probably won’t be long before Ye Wenjuan finds out she isn’t the daughter of the Ye Family’s third branch anyway." Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽 Ye Wenhui said, still a bit angry, "That’s what’s so infuriating! Mom told me not to get involved or mention it to Wenjuan, saying Third Uncle and the others would handle it. But that woman, with her leg injury, is constantly making a fuss and stirring up trouble. I’m dying to blurt out the truth about her parentage! Thinking about Mom’s repeated warnings, I’ve nearly burst from holding it all in." Then, as if remembering something, she leaned in conspiratorially. "And guess what? Wu Bingjie actually followed Ye Wenjuan to the countryside! He shows up every day, right on time, bringing her food and drinks." Yunyi looked puzzled. "Wu Bingjie? Who’s that?" Ye Wenhui slapped her forehead. "Oh, right! I forgot you don’t know him. Wu Bingjie is one of Ye Wenjuan’s admirers, but she looks down on him and has never given him the time of day." She sighed. "But Wu Bingjie is truly smitten. I couldn’t believe it when he heard Ye Wenjuan was injured—he recklessly signed up to go to the countryside. He couldn’t get into the Agricultural Reclamation Group, so he ended up as an educated youth in the nearby Zhang Family Village." Then Ye Wenhui added, "Still, it’s better this way. At least I don’t have to see Ye Wenjuan’s ghastly face anymore." While they were talking, Huo Jingrui finished carrying everything from the car into the house and had put it all away. Realizing how cold it was inside, Huo Jingrui came out and said to Yunyi, "Yiyi, it’s freezing in here. Why don’t you two wait in the clinic for a bit? I’ll get the stove and the kang bed heated up." Yunyi had intended to help, but just then, Qiao Wenyu, Zheng Xuewen, and Wei Zijia rushed over, having heard she was back. It was too cold to talk outside, so Yunyi led them to her side of the clinic. Fortunately, it had a heated wall, so while the room wasn’t exactly warm, it wasn’t uncomfortably cold either. After greeting Doctor Chu and the others in the clinic, they went to her office. Qiao Wenyu grinned. "Chu Zhiqing, when is the movie you filmed going to be released?" Yunyi smiled at him. "I really can’t say for sure. There’s still a lot of post-production work to be done." Wei Zijia looked at Yunyi with envy. "You’re so lucky, getting to travel with the film crew! I heard the Northwest is really sandy, but your skin looks even more delicate than when you left. What’s your secret?" Yunyi touched her cheek and joked, "Maybe I was just born beautiful." Her comment made everyone in the room laugh. They chatted for a while longer before the conversation turned to recent local events. Just as their conversation grew lively, Chen Xiaojuan rushed in. "Doctor Chu, quick, come help!"