Chapter 214: Utter Disappointment

Chapter 214: Total Letdown

Hao Yanyan continued, "When I left home, I took the money, but it wasn’t intentional. I had no other choice—I needed the travel fare to come to the capital.

Dad, Mom... Here’s some money for you. It’s not just repayment; it’s also my way of thanking you for all the hard work you put into raising me over the years."

Hao Yanyan had rushed over and didn’t have much cash on hand. She only managed to scrape together a thousand, but she felt it was enough.

Raising kids in the village was cheap, and she was sure she hadn’t even cost two hundred yuan growing up.

Miao Cuifang stayed quiet for a long while and didn’t take the money.

In the end, Ye Jianguo spoke up. "Yan Yan, keep your money. The family’s worst struggles are over now.

I get why you’re here today. We won’t interfere with your life."

Hao Yanyan turned red with shame.

Ye Jianguo had called her out. His words—"The family’s worst struggles are over now"—cut even deeper.

"Dad, Mom... Do you blame me for taking the money from home?"

"What do you want us to say, Yan Yan? You knew full well that taking the money could’ve left the family starving, yet you did it anyway. Now you come here asking this—are you looking for forgiveness?"

The offhand but cutting remark made Hao Yanyan tremble.

She knew Ye Jianguo and Miao Cuifang were there, but she hadn’t realized Ye Changning was present too.

If there was anyone in the family she didn’t get along with, it was probably her third brother.

He had always been rebellious since childhood, fond of fighting, and the village troublemaker.

He wasn’t particularly affectionate toward his younger sister, often bickering and arguing with her instead.

So while she could guilt-trip Ye Jianguo and Miao Cuifang, who doted on her, facing Ye Changning left her with nothing but guilt and fear.

"Third Brother, I didn’t..."

Hao Yanyan stepped back, her eyes reddening.

Ye Changning was glad he came back early—otherwise, he wouldn’t have heard her words.

"What’s with the tears? I didn’t even scold you. You’ve made your choice, so from now on, you have nothing to do with the Ye family. Our parents never expected anything from you, and we siblings don’t need to keep in touch either."

Ye Changning’s tone wasn’t as diplomatic as their parents’.

Though he and Hao Yanyan had occasionally quarreled at home, this was the first time he had spoken so harshly.

She finally broke down in tears—whether from shame or regret, it was hard to tell.

Ye Changning’s voice was cold. "Keep your money. We might be poor, but we don’t need your charity. Go tell your birth parents that from now on, you’re completely cutting ties with the Ye family."

Hao Yanyan couldn’t bear Ye Changning’s words any longer, burst into tears, and ran off.

Miao Cuifang winced. "Even if Yan Yan was wrong, you should have spoken more gently."

Ye Changning had a sharp tongue for everyone. "She doesn’t even acknowledge you anymore—what’s the point of feeling sorry for her? I’d advise you and Dad to wake up. Do you really want to let a thief back into the house?"

Miao Cuifang was cut off before she could speak.

Ye Jianguo: "You brat, who told you to talk to your mother like that? I’ll teach you a lesson."

Seeing his father was really about to grab a shoe, Ye Changning bolted into the house.

"Dad, if you hit me, I’ll call Big Brother and Second Brother and tell them what just happened. Let them decide if I was in the wrong."

Of course, Ye Jianguo stopped him from making the call.

"If you don’t let me call now, I’ll call them behind your back," Ye Changning argued confidently. "They’ll find out sooner or later. What if they accidentally run into her? Our family would be clueless and get hurt."

"Your big brother and second brother are busy. Wait until they come home, and we’ll talk about it face to face."

Ye Jianguo couldn’t argue, so he gave in.

Though Miao Cuifang was upset, she’d get past it eventually.

"You think Yan Yan found this place because Xiao Xiao told her?"

Ye Changning shook his head. "Unless Yan Yan is also at Jinghua University, they wouldn’t have run into each other. Besides, didn’t Xiao Xiao already cut ties with the Hao family? She’d steer clear of them."

"Our Xiao Xiao might look sweet, but she’s stubborn as a mule."

Miao Cuifang: "Then let’s not tell Xiao Xiao about today’s incident. It’s nothing to celebrate."

After saying this, Miao Cuifang went back to her room to rest. She needed to digest what just went down.

Ye Changning kept quiet but promptly told Ye Xiaoxiao.

"Hao Yanyan went to Ping'anli Courtyard. How’d she track it down? It’s my newly bought house—only Mom, Dad, and Lu Hanchuan know about it."

Ye Xiaoxiao found this strange upon hearing Ye Changning’s words.

Ye Changning: "Beats me. But she went there to cut off our parents and even offered them money, but they refused it."

Ye Xiaoxiao paused before saying, "Actually, I also gave the Hao family some money. It’s strange—after Mrs. Hao found out I was from the Ye family, she did a complete 180. She couldn’t get rid of me fast enough."

Ye Changning blurted out, "You think they’ve got a beef with our family? It’s good you stayed away. If their family doesn’t appreciate you, ours does. You’re our treasure."

Ye Xiaoxiao laughed at her third brother’s words, then suddenly remembered something. "Didn’t Hao Yanyan mention she’s getting married?"

Ye Xiaoxiao had only heard about Hao Yanyan’s marriage from others. In the book she read, the male and female leads hit plenty of bumps along the way before finally tying the knot.

Ye Changning: "Married? To whom? I really haven’t heard about this. You know Mom and Dad—they’d still slip her a red envelope if they knew she was getting married."

The fact that they hadn’t heard about it this time meant Hao Yanyan hadn’t mentioned it at all.

"It’s a guy from the old neighborhood—a childhood betrothal."

"Childhood betrothal..."

Ye Changning ran the numbers in his head. If it was a childhood betrothal, wasn’t that originally Xiao Xiao’s engagement?

What a tangled mess.

But since Xiao Xiao is now dating Lu Hanchuan, she doesn't care about this marriage arrangement, so her tone remained calm.

"Is Hao Yanyan in such a hurry to see Mom and Dad because she's afraid the Ye family might show up at her wedding?"

Ye Changning referred to her as Hao Yanyan for the first time, no longer thinking of her as his sister at this moment.

Xiao Xiao didn't know what Hao Yanyan was thinking, but in the original book, the wedding between Hao Yanyan and Xu Jianwen definitely didn't have any Ye family members present.

At that time, the Ye family was trapped in various difficulties, with some members even having passed away, so their absence was understandable.

Xiao Xiao remained silent while Ye Changning grew increasingly convinced of this possibility, getting more and more worked up for quite a while.

"I must talk to someone about this."

Ye Changning decided to call his second brother. It was relatively easy to reach people in the military just as long as you knew the name.

If he didn't vent to his family about this soon, he'd go crazy.