Chapter 126: The Bitter Consequences

Behind her was a cold wall. Staring at the narrow strip of night sky squeezed between the alleyways, she couldn’t help but feel dazed.

Ye Xingmian… was telling the truth…

“Right? So, what do you think? Hmm? Is it a lot? It’s not, is it? It’s always been this amount before, you can just send it over later. Oh, speaking of which, Zi Yan and Xingmian should be back by now. My husband and I are cooking for them, you…”

She couldn’t hear what was said after that.

A roar. A massive, deafening roar. Her brain felt like it was about to explode, to be torn apart. A burning rage surged violently from her chest, completely uncontrollable.

Her parents had indeed lied to her.

This was an indisputable fact.

Clenching her teeth, the girl’s face darkened as she pushed herself away from the wall.

At home, only the outer security door was open; the inner wooden door was slightly ajar, not fully closed. She gave it a hard shove, and the door slammed heavily against the wall with a loud crash.

Her movement drew the attention of the people inside.

Lin Cheng was still busy in the kitchen and put down the cleaver to look over when he heard the noise. Xu Ming stared at her in shock, her hand instinctively covering the phone’s receiver.

She looked flustered, her hand trembling slightly as she quickly pressed the phone back to her ear. “Zi… Zi Yan?! You’re back…”

She then spoke into the phone, “I have something urgent here, let’s talk later.” She hurriedly hung up.

She stood up, appearing flustered, yet her movements seemed deliberately meant to mask her unease. “When did you get back? Today… aren’t you going to play outside a bit longer? Your dad’s almost done with dinner, come sit over here?”

Lin Ziyan just watched her actions in silence, fists clenched, teeth gritted, and spoke word by word:

“You lied to me…!”

The smile froze on Xu Ming’s face. Coincidentally, Lin Cheng also noticed the tension between mother and daughter and came out just in time to hear those words.

“Sweetie, what did your mom lie to you about? How could we ever treat you poorly?”

“Liars…”

Lin Cheng was taken aback. Seeing Xu Ming lower her head, still clutching the phone, he seemed to realize something. His gaze trembled slightly.

He grew anxious and immediately tried to explain.

“Honey, your mom did this for our family, for you. How can you call her…”

Xu Ming suddenly turned her head and glared at him.

“You’re trying to wash your hands of this so cleanly? Whose idea was it in the first place? Now that our daughter knows, you want me to take all the blame alone? Fine! I did the deed, I’ll bear the consequences. You stay clean, completely untouched, is that it?!”

After cursing a few times, she turned back, putting on a rather aggrieved expression. “Daughter, it’s really not what you think. Listen to Mom, okay? Let Mom explain…”

“How else are you going to lie to me?” Lin Ziyan glared at her with icy eyes.

Xu Ming was stunned. She knew that no matter what she said now, the other person wouldn’t believe her anymore.

She was still struggling. “Really… believe Mom, okay? Mom had no choice.”

“Is there anything you wouldn’t lie about?”

“You not only cheat others out of their money, you also lie to me, to your own daughter. You heartless person, doesn’t your heart ache when you do these things? And to think I trusted you so much, even got angry over it.”

The anger she felt when she first heard Ye Xingmian reveal the truth was nothing compared to the fury of now confirming it with her own eyes, the disbelief and the sense of betrayal by her own flesh and blood.

Yes, what could be more infuriating than discovering that the parents you’ve lived with day in and day out are actually two morally bankrupt people who profit from deception?

“How dare you speak to your mother like that?! No matter what, she’s the mother who gave birth to you and raised you!”

Lin Cheng was angry too. He rolled up his sleeves. He had never hit Lin Ziyan her whole life, but today he really felt like teaching her a lesson, making her understand what respecting one’s elders meant.

Lin Ziyan didn’t care about any of that. She only felt that her parents had done wrong and were now smearing her reputation.

Thinking more carefully, how many times had she been deceived by such lies growing up? How twisted had the world she lived in become?

The more she thought, the more she trembled with rage.

“Go on, hit me. If you hit me, I’ll leave. I won’t come back. Frankly, I’ve had enough of sharing a roof with liars like you.”

Right in the heat of the moment, Lin Ziyan showed no fear of Lin Cheng’s threat. His words only poured fuel on the fire. For the first time, her relationship with her parents had plummeted to an absolute low.

However, Lin Cheng was ultimately just talking; he couldn’t bring himself to actually hit her.

In the end, it was Xu Ming who played the peacemaker, running to her side and grabbing her hand.

“Zi Yan, please don’t be angry, okay? Your dad just lost his temper for a moment, saying harsh things. Think about it, hasn’t he said similar things to Xingmian before? He could never bear to hit you. And you,” she said, turning to scold Lin Cheng, giving him a way out, “it’s not that big a deal, hurry back and finish cooking.”

She tried to ease the tension while pulling Lin Ziyan’s hand, her other hand stroking her daughter’s back. Her voice trembled slightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry. Mom shouldn’t have done such things. It’s all Mom’s fault. Blame me, okay? Getting angry is bad for your health.”

“Your dad is about to finish dinner. Let’s talk over the meal, okay? We can’t let this ruin the harmony of our family, right?”

Lin Ziyan ignored her, giving Xu Ming a cold, sidelong glance.

“Let go of me!”

She was genuinely furious.

But Xu Ming didn’t let go; instead, she held on tighter. Seeing this, Lin Ziyan began to struggle violently.

“Let me go!”

“Don’t be like this, okay? Please don’t be angry. It really is Mom’s fault. Forgive Mom, okay? We did it for your own good. Be good. Mom has never begged you for anything your whole life. This time… Mom is begging you…”

Seeing that simple shaking wouldn’t free her, Lin Ziyan started using brute force. She grabbed Xu Ming’s hand and pulled it away. Xu Ming, after all, was middle-aged, her body beginning to age, and her strength was no match. She was finally forced to let go.

Lin Ziyan ran upstairs with all her might.

“Zi Yan!” Xu Ming still reached out to call after her, but this time, Lin Ziyan didn’t look back. Her hand hung in mid-air as she stood there frozen, her heart turning cold.

Tears couldn’t help but fall from the corners of her eyes.

Lin Cheng, standing in the kitchen doorway, couldn’t help but sigh.

“Sigh? What are you sighing about? I did all the work, and I’m bearing all the consequences. What are you sighing about?” Xu Ming turned her head, her voice choked with tears.

“What do we do now? Our daughter knows. What if she ignores us from now on? What if she runs away from home? She’s at that rebellious age anyway. Who knows if she might suddenly do something irrational…”

Her question stumped Lin Cheng, but in the end, he offered no answer.

In silent wordlessness, Lin Cheng went back to cooking. She sat back down on the sofa, silently weeping.

The bitter seeds sown over a decade ago had finally borne their fruit, and retribution had come knocking.

And this was merely an insignificant beginning.