Chapter Fourteen: The True and False Heiress, Part 14

“Thank you.” Mu Jinnian’s eyes gleamed with pride.

Out of the corner of her eye, she subtly scanned the two people before her.

“The taste is indeed quite good.”

“Heh.” Bai Jinwei couldn’t suppress a cold sneer slipping from her lips.

Did they really think she couldn’t see the challenge gleaming in that person’s eyes?

Unable to watch any longer, she shifted her gaze—only to catch sight of the wound on Xue Wei’s wrist.

“That injury? Did that brat from the Mu family bully you again?”

She had found it odd from the start. In the scorching summer heat, why was Xue Wei still wearing long sleeves and long pants, even covering her neck with a silk scarf?

Xue Wei quickly shook her head, hiding the wound with her sleeve.

“It wasn’t him.”

“Then who?” Bai Jinwei pressed.

Xue Wei’s face showed hesitation; she forced a smile, barely raising her eyes.

“It really wasn’t him… it was… my father.”

“Your father’s abusive? Call the police!” Bai Jinwei said sharply.

Her gaze involuntarily fell on Hua Ying.

If it weren’t for her, she might have shared a fate similar to Xue Wei’s.

She recalled the earlier investigation results.

In the footage, Hua Ying’s eyes were numb, her body covered in bruises.

Hearing Xue Wei’s story now, her heart ached for her.

But when she looked over, she was stunned.

Hua Ying’s mind was wholly focused on food, utterly unaffected.

“Family matters. We’ve called the police several times, but it’s useless. If they truly locked up my father, my mother would be afraid of the consequences for me.”

“She’s endured everything for me. I don’t want her to be sad, so I’ll just endure a little longer.”

Xue Wei smiled bitterly, but in her eyes, hope was gone.

She had thought that once the college entrance exam was over, she could take her mother away from here.

But now…

“You’re wrong about your mother,” Hua Ying suddenly spoke, drawing everyone’s attention.

Bai Jinwei chimed in beside her, “She’s doing it for herself. You should think carefully about yourself and not let her trap you.”

“Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in this swamp forever.”

As she spoke, her eyes never left Hua Ying, filled with guilt.

---

“Hua Ying was abused too. That man would beat people whenever he drank, and his sober moments were few and far between.”

“He’s a complete scoundrel—no money, he beats people; humiliated outside, he beats people; even if the weather’s bad, he beats people.”

Hua Ying recounted calmly what had happened to the original owner.

“After being beaten, that woman would always hold Hua Ying and cry, apologizing to her, saying to endure it just a little longer; once Hua Ying got into university, everything would end.”

“Hua Ying wanted to protect the woman, even picked up a knife to confront the man, but the woman stopped her, saying everything she did was for Hua Ying, and if it weren’t for her, she would have divorced long ago.”

“Hua Ying believed her. Every time she heard the woman’s painful wails, she hid in her room, repeatedly cutting her hand with a small knife—thinking that if her hand hurt, her heart wouldn’t.”

Before she finished, Hua Ying rolled up her sleeve, revealing countless scars.

Bai Jinwei’s eyes were red, trembling as she dared not look further.

All of this was her debt to the other.

No wonder Hua Ying…

Xue Wei was also frozen in place, unable to respond for a long time.

So, there were others like her in this world.

Only Mu Jinnian looked at Hua Ying with a strange expression.

That unsettling feeling in his heart surged again.

He just felt something was off!

---

“Hua Ying originally wanted to commit suicide but was saved and learned she wasn’t part of that family.”

“The man became increasingly reckless toward Hua Ying, eventually setting his lecherous eyes on her maturing body.”

“The timid woman resisted for the first time, killing the man with her own hands, ending the farce.”

Hua Ying’s voice remained calm, her eyes unshaken.

She looked out the window with a hint of curiosity—did the woman really kill the man who was her adoptive mother?

Without the original owner’s memories, she wasn’t sure.

Hua Ying withdrew her gaze and looked back at Xue Wei.

“Endurance solves nothing. If your adoptive mother is intent on escape, she’ll only drag you down. You should plan ahead.”

“Don’t be enslaved by useless emotions.”

This was her chosen secondary antagonist; she had to protect her.

“If it were you, what would you do?” Xue Wei couldn’t help but ask, her eyes filled with hope.

“Work hard to become strong. If he dares to lay hands on you, you can fight back—defeat him once and for all.”

“People like that are usually cowards; they bully the weak and fear the strong. Make him see you’re not to be trifled with, and he’ll back off. As for your mother, if she doesn’t want to leave, let her be.”

“She’s an adult relying on you, a child, to share her pain. You don’t have to cooperate with her. Taking care of yourself is more important than anything.”

Hua Ying didn’t quite understand what these people were thinking.

No matter who stood as her enemy, as long as she had a breath left, she would never lose.

Even if she died, she would take a chunk of flesh with her enemy.

---

She could die chasing the dawn, but never live a miserable life in darkness.

Forever deprived of freedom, a slave to others.

As for their so-called helplessness, Hua Ying would never understand.

Xue Wei fell into deep thought.

Hua Ying’s quiet voice echoed again.

“Do you want to be trapped in chains your whole life? If you don’t fight to break free, you’ll live in hell with no escape.”

She escaped.

Everyone tried to bind her freedom, to make her accept her fate.

Using family ties, friendship, even love to imprison her in a cage, waiting for a fate she could see coming from a mile away.

She refused to give in.

So she destroyed everything, including herself.

Those people knelt before her, begging desperately before dying—it was humiliating.

When they realized she had no mercy, they cursed her madly as a cold-blooded monster.

But wasn’t she one?

Suddenly, Hua Ying felt like laughing—and she indeed laughed aloud.

“I thought of something funny. There was a couple who fought every day. The mother always told the daughter she stayed married because of her, that all the suffering was for her.”

“Then the daughter committed suicide. Guess what happened next?”

Everyone shook their heads, puzzled.

“The daughter’s death made the couple realize their mistakes. They reconciled and had another daughter. Isn’t that interesting?”

“That’s when Hua Ying saw this joke and gave up on dying.”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

After a long silence, Xue Wei finally spoke, “I understand.”

Hua Ying tugged at the corner of her mouth, glancing at the unnoticed Xiao Hong.

“People are really quite interesting.”

She prided herself on being clever, yet to this day, she still couldn’t understand what they were thinking.

Nor the reasons behind their decisions.

Unable to comprehend, she simply stopped trying.

Then, suddenly, a voice of surprise came from nearby.

“Classmate, did you make this?”

From afar, a figure approached, holding Hua Ying’s bag in his hand.