The crisp sound of the slap rang out sharply.
Si Yina was stunned by the sudden slap from her mother.
Why was her own mother standing against her?
If her mother had helped her just now, she was certain she could have accomplished what she wanted to do.
When Si Yina’s mother saw that her daughter still showed no sign of remorse, she raised her hand and delivered two more heavy slaps.
Only then did the frenzied Si Yina finally calm down.
Her eyes quickly turned red, tears welling up in them, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Si Yina lowered her head slightly, her hands clenched tightly into fists, her fingernails digging deep into her palms as she struggled to suppress the unwillingness and anger surging inside her.
Her shoulders trembled lightly, her breathing grew rapid and heavy, yet she never let out a single sob or word of protest.
She simply expressed her dissatisfaction and defiance through silence.
In Si Yina’s eyes, there was even an accusation directed at her mother for not helping her.
Si Yina’s mother looked at the stubbornness still visible in her daughter’s eyes, then glanced at the red palm print she had left on that beautiful face.
In the end, she did not continue hitting her.
“From today onward, you will obediently stay at home. My order is that you are not allowed to go out, nor are you allowed to do anything. As for the company, I will have someone else manage it. You should think carefully about whether you have done anything wrong recently.”
Her daughter was unreasonable, impulsive, and crazy—how could she, as a mother, not understand that?
Although she had always been protective of her daughter and never wanted her to suffer any harm, this time her daughter had gone way too far.
Even with her covering for her, it was impossible for this to end perfectly.
It seemed her daughter was still not mature enough.
Si Yina’s mother looked at her daughter, who had fallen silent after being slapped.
Even though the girl’s face was full of reluctance and she clearly had no intention of apologizing, this matter was no longer up to her.
Si Yina’s mother firmly grabbed her daughter’s hand and brought her directly in front of Jiang Lai.
Si Yina’s mother looked at Jiang Lai, who was being protected by the two women behind her.
Jiang Lai’s hair, which had been messy from running away earlier, had already been neatly tidied by the sister-in-law beside her.
She was now wearing a clean set of clothes that covered the torn and tattered outfit damaged by tree branches.
Although she should have looked extremely disheveled, at this moment she appeared calm and elegant.
Even though she no longer liked the woman in front of her, she could still appreciate that grace.
Si Yina’s mother had only met the woman in front of her once before, but at the beginning, her impression of Jiang Lai had actually been quite good.
However, when she thought about how her daughter had suffered such a heavy setback because of this woman—if her daughter hadn’t been so obsessed with her, none of these difficult-to-handle things would have happened—she could not help but feel resentment toward her.
Still, compared to how her own daughter had handled things, Si Yina’s mother was much calmer.
Since it was her daughter’s fault, an apology was only right.
Because she truly could not find any point where the woman in front of her had harmed her daughter.
On the contrary, the woman had endured her daughter’s excessive behavior again and again.
No matter how much she disliked the other party because of her daughter, she could not find fault where there was none.
“I apologize to you on behalf of my daughter for what happened.”
As an elder with a prominent status, Si Yina’s mother lowered her head to Jiang Lai, the very person her daughter had hurt.
When she saw her daughter beside her still looking full of resentment, she firmly pulled her down as well.
The pain, torment, and suffering Jiang Lai had endured because of Si Yina during this period could not be erased with a simple apology.
“No matter what kind of compensation you want, as long as you say it, we will agree. And I guarantee that my daughter will never harass you again. If she does, you won’t even need to do anything—I will personally break her legs.”
Jiang Lai looked at Si Yina’s mother, who was sincerely apologizing to her.
The choices she had made several times before had not led to good outcomes.
This time, she was worried that if she softened her heart or overthought things again, the situation would spiral out of her control once more.
She was really, really tired.
Jiang Lai’s face looked exhausted, her eyes revealing an unmistakable weariness.
Her shoulders drooped slightly.
If she had not been able to lean on her sister-in-law, she feared she would have collapsed right then and there.
Right now, there was only one thought in her mind—rest.
All other thoughts were overtaken by this intense desire.
The noise and chaos around her seemed completely unrelated to her.
Jiang Lai now wanted just one thing: to go home quickly, take a shower, crawl into a warm bed, and sleep deeply.
Having already given up on thinking, Jiang Lai gently tugged at Chi Yingyu’s hand.
“Ying Yu, I’ll leave the rest to you, okay…”
Jiang Lai leaned weakly against Chi Yingyu.
She had now entrusted her full weight to her sister-in-law and had completely accepted the care and attention coming from her.
***
She left everything to her sister-in-law to handle.
As for how to negotiate with Si Yina’s mother, she would leave that discussion to her sister-in-law and Xu Ruobing.
Since the other party was willing to apologize sincerely, they should try to secure the greatest benefits possible within reason.
When it came to fighting for benefits, both her sister-in-law and Xu Ruobing were true professionals.
All Jiang Lai needed to do was go home and rest properly.
Jiang Lai’s physical condition was mainly due to extreme exhaustion.
Apart from being overly tired, the only other issue was the cut on her foot.
In terms of injuries, she and Shen Ruxue were quite similar—except one was on the foot and the other on the hand.
Shen Ruxue had no other place to stay in the city besides school, so after leaving the estate, she had simply followed Jiang Lai home.
The relationship between Jiang Lai and Shen Ruxue could now be described as one of having gone through life-and-death situations together.
Their bond had grown much closer.
However, on the way back, Jiang Lai could not help but feel that Shen Ruxue seemed a little too clingy toward her now…
On the car ride home, Jiang Lai noticed Shen Ruxue’s head nodding off, looking as if she would fall asleep at any second.
So she simply offered her shoulder, hoping her daughter’s best friend could rest comfortably against it.
But Shen Ruxue, as if she had already chosen her target, directly rested her head on Jiang Lai’s lap when she leaned down.
Jiang Lai had clearly offered her shoulder.
After all the running earlier, she had been sweating repeatedly—her clothes were soaked with the smell of dried sweat.
If Shen Ruxue lay on her lap like this, she would smell it directly…
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