Her words seemed to have struck Duanmu Xue like lightning. The strand of hope she had left was now completely shattered. The color drained from her face as she lost control of herself and fell backward. W-What did she say? Does everyone know? And she even had someone inform my family? H-How did this happen?
She lost all the strength in her body and felt as though her blood turned cold from head to toe in an instant. She grasped the edge of the blanket weakly and looked at Yuchi Jin. He was her last hope. Would Grandfather Yuchi still help me if he knew about what I did?
But Yuchi Jin panicked the moment he saw Song An leave. Without thinking of anything else, he strode off to chase after his daughter, Song An. Why did she leave so soon when it took her this long to come back? In his mind, there was no space left for Duanmu Xue. The only person he saw and thought about was his precious little girl.
When Yuchi Jin walked out, Duanmu Xue saw her final ray of hope disappear as well. Her hands lost their grip and slid down. Her whole body felt like a deflated balloon without any bit of strength left. She only raised her head back up after a long while and looked at Yu Bo. “Y-Yu. Who was that woman?”
She bit her bottom lip. Her tone carried a hint of anger and unhappiness as she said, “Why did Grandfather Yuchi get so emotional when he saw her and was even so out of it? I-Is she one of those people who does that sort of work and who Grandfather Yuchi is providing for?” The longer she went on, the more despicable her words got. Even though she knew it was wrong to say that, she could not stop herself. She only realized what she said after she said it out loud.
Thinking about it, though, that woman dressed up so beautifully and she treated Grandfather Yuchi poorly but he still chased after her. She must be someone who works in that sort of profession. I’m only speaking the truth so what’s there to regret?
Yu Bo was stunned by her words. He could not help but look at her dimly and asked, “As a young woman, how can you have such foul thoughts?” Then, he thought of something and his face showed clarity. “But that makes sense. If your mind was not foul, then you would not have done what you did to our Young Master Xuan so irrationally last night.”
Her expression instantly turned sour. “Yu, you…”
Yu Bo smiled dubiously at her. “Miss Xue, that person earlier was not an outsider. She is the Old Master’s daughter who left home many years ago. She’s also the Yuchi Family’s Young Lady An. According to hierarchy, you’re still positioned lower than her. But what you said earlier…” Yu Bo sighed. “Miss Xue, I may just be the Yuchi Family’s butler but I, too, am very disappointed in your behavior.”
“What did you say? S-She’s the little girl who left home a long time ago?” Then, doesn’t that make her Ye Moxuan’s aunt?
In an instant, the blood drained from her face and lips, and her whole body went cold. If she thought she still had a strand of hope left, not even a shadow of that hope was in sight now. That aggressive and bossy woman turned out to be the Yuchi Family’s little girl.
She roughly remembered hearing about it from her grandfather in the past. At the time, there was a problem in both of their marriages so both of Yuchi Jin’s daughters ended up cutting ties with him and letting go of all their properties in the Yuchi Family. After they left, they never showed up again.
Duanmu Xue worried that the two daughters would never return home in their lifetimes for one reason or another. But she never thought that Song An would return in this way.
Looking at the way Yuchi Jin treated Song An, Duanmu Xue figured she did not stand a chance anymore despite still feeling unsatisfied. I was just one step away from succeeding. Why in the world did so many unforeseen events have to happen? Why?
Yu Bo did not bother with her anymore and left after wishing her well.
…
The Duanmu Family responded very quickly. Right after receiving the news, Duanmu Aotian called his grandson and had him rush over to the Yuchi residence to bring Duanmu Xue home and prevent her from humiliating their family any further.
Upon receiving those orders, Duanmu Zhe immediately left the company and headed for Yuchi’s residence. Although he had mixed feelings on his way there, he kept a calm expression on his face and made it look like nothing was wrong. When he arrived at the Yuchi residence, Yu Bo showed him the way.
Duanmu Zhe kept hesitating to speak as he looked at Yu Bo’s back and eventually did not utter a single word. Was it humiliating that his sister did something like that? Of course, it was! However, those measly feelings were a small matter to him. The more pressing matter was his disappointment in Duanmu Xue. She grew up in a cultured environment. Our family never instilled those thoughts in her, so how did she end up this way?
Yu Bo brought Duanmu Zhe upstairs and started to explain, “Initially, Old Master wanted to come himself. But the Yuchi Family has been facing some other problems recently, so he could not personally come and welcome you. I hope you do not feel offended, Young Master Zhe.”
Duanmu Zhe brought his focus back and shook his head. “You’re too kind, Mr. Yu. My sister is the one who did wrong. How can I have Grandfather Yuchi come and welcome me himself in this situation? Moreover, I’m so much younger than him.”
Yu Bo looked at him in admiration. Duanmu Zhe has a decent character. How did Duanmu Xue turn out… Sigh.
Shortly after, they arrived outside the room Duanmu Xue was staying in.
“This is where Miss Xue is staying.”
Duanmu Zhe nodded and bowed at him. “Thank you and sorry for the trouble, Mr. Yu. My sister has acted way out of line this time so I will be taking her home to discipline her some more. I will never let her do something like this again. Since the timing is not good today, I will come back another day to officially apologize.”
Upon hearing that, Yu Bo merely nodded.
When he knocked on the door, Duanmu Xue hid under the blanket and did not dare to make a sound. She was scared after overhearing Duanmu Zhe and Yu Bo’s conversation outside. She did not think that they would actually send someone to inform her family. What am I going to do when I get home?
The door opened. Duanmu Zhe stood at the door with a cold expression and looked at Duanmu Xue who was hiding under the blanket. “Get up. We’re going home.”
Duanmu Xue did not move an inch.
Duanmu Zhe stood by the door for a while before striding toward her. Then, he tore the blanket off with one hand. Without anywhere to hide, she just looked at him with a dumbfounded look.
Duanmu Zhe saw the tears on his sister’s face and her puffy eyes. Normally, his heart would ache whenever he saw her crying. But now, he kept a cold expression on his face and just reached out to grab her shoulder as he ordered, “Get up.”
