Inside a certain room in Hospital T.

Xi Xinyi followed Huang Ziyao to rush over. While Yue Lingsi's wounds had been treated, she was on the bed and moaning in agony. She looked pale and frail. Her twisted expression showed she was enduring lots of pain and was practically in a daze when she saw Huang Ziyao and Xi Xinyi by her bed. She did not say anything and just silently closed her eyes.

Huang Ziyao exchanged a look with Xi Xinyi before she went up and said, "Lingsi, what happened? How did you end up like this?"

Yue Lingsi did not answer. She could barely manage the pain on her legs, and now she...

"Lingsi, Secretary Wang has told us about the overall situation. Don't be too down. Now that things are like this, just recover at ease. Once you've recovered, we can talk again."

Huang Ziyao did not know how to console her. Earlier, she was still furious, but now, seeing how Yue Lingsi was, she pitied her. Regardless, she still should not have looked for trouble with the underground debtors since she should know how vicious those people can be.

She even went to a loan shark, clearly wanting to die. Those people should never be provoked at all cost. Was Yue Lingsi really not afraid of anything?

Huang Ziyao now studied Yue Lingsi with a complicated expression. She did not know whether to reprimand or pity her. Recently, she had been in the limelight repeatedly, even affecting the Han Corporation.

Without saying a word, Yue Lingsi kept her eyes closed. There was nothing that could make her more disillusioned now.

She could read how Yue Lingsi felt, so Huang Ziyao sighed. "Recover well. The police will catch those people, so don't feel discouraged. I'll go find Han Yifeng to see how things are."

Then, Huang Ziyao left the ward, but before she did, she cautioned Xi Xinyi, "Xinyi, be careful of your health. Falling ill won't do you good."

With Huang Ziyao's departure, the ward became quiet very quickly. Only Yue Lingsi and Xi Xinyi, the mother and daughter duo, were left.

"Mother..."

She looked at Yue Lingsi on the sickbed for a long time before calling out softly as she actually felt bad. She did not think that last night's call was real. She thought...

"Get out," Yue Lingsi finally uttered those two words cruelly, her voice filled with alienation.

"Mother, I didn't know that yesterday, you... but no matter what, you shouldn't have provoked those people. You don't know that Grandfather was so angry today. You were once the Yue family heiress, the elegant Mayor's wife. How could you fall to this state today? Do you think that just because you're like this, Father would care? Mother, let's stop dreaming! Father's abandoned us! We may perhaps always be a burden to him. His entire heart is devoted to Shen Wenna and Xi Xiaye. Why can't you just understand that?"

Xi Xinyi looked heartbroken and disappointedly at the pale Yue Lingsi.

"I told you to get out!" Yue Lingsi's voice became colder, and her shut eyes never opened.

Now, there was nothing that could make her more bitterly disappointed. The intense pain from all over her body at the moment reminded her that she, Yue Lingsi, had become a handicap while her daughter came to her, not to care about how she was, but to say these things to her in an interrogating and disappointed tone.

She had worked hard for more than 20 years just to raise this ungrateful daughter. What was more heartbreaking than this?

The only person she could rely on no longer existed. She had lived half her life to see through these people's humanity. Even if it were her own daughter, it was just the same.

The hypocrisy of the world was as such. She could not find a pair of eyes that would truly be worried for her or cry for her.

Now that she thought about it, Xi Xiaye was right. She lived quite a pathetic life.

"Mother, enough! It's already at this point, and you're still like this. It's all because of yourself that you're here today. You should now be less forgetful! Do you think that I don't know you went looking for Grandmother for that inheritance? When can you think things through before doing them? How many times have I told you to be more moderate? The way you're giving up on yourself right now will only make Father hate you. When can you learn to be like Shen Wenna? That way, at least, I could still respect you!"

When Xi Xinyi saw her like this, she was exasperated.

Still, when she said that, she had undoubtedly hit Yue Lingsi below the belt. Yue Lingsi immediately opened her eyes that were filled with anger as she glared coldly at Xi Xinyi. "Xi Xinyi, how did I give birth to such an ungrateful daughter like you? As horrible as I may be, I'm still the mother that gave birth to you and raised you! What right do you have to be making such a big fuss? Have I treated you poorly all these years? You're even pretending and lying to your mother. No wonder Han Yifeng hates you! With your terrible attitude, aren't you worried that the lightning would strike you?"

Her angry voice rose an octave higher. Yue Lingsi wanted to prop herself up, but just as she moved, a piercing pain traveled through her whole body. Even so, it did not make her as miserable as the heavy pain gathering in her chest.

"Struck by lightning? You've done many things that aren't worth the heavens watching over you either. The reason I am where I am today is mainly because of you! If it weren't because of your uselessness, that you couldn't even retain Father's affection, you overestimated yourself by provoking Shen Wenna. You even shamelessly kept a gigolo. All of this today wouldn't have happened! Shen Wenna is shrewd. Do you think they're like you, that they're a fool beyond redemption? I, Xi Xinyi, am really unlucky to have a mother like you!"

As Yue Lingsi's wound was pried open, her expression changed. She was furious and she began to shoot her mouth.

"Me useless? Me? You unfilial child! As useless as I may be, I still gave birth to you! Great, since you can speak to your mother like this, you really are an ungrateful child! I, Yue Lingsi, have raised a cretin like you! Get out! I don't want to see you!"

"Did I hit you where it hurts? Hmph, sometimes I really think that this is better. At least, you won't go out and cause trouble. Grandfather and the rest don't even want to talk about you anymore. Can't you reflect on yourself?"

"Reflect on what? You're my daughter, but you can just watch me become like this with indifference. Xi Xinyi, you're really heartless!"

A smile curved across Xi Xinyi's face, seeming a little dismal.

"Indifferent? How many times have I told you not to provoke those people, to behave, to learn how to be like Shen Wenna? Even if you couldn't get anything, you could at least toughen up, but instead? What did you do? You gave up on yourself, you drank and gambled, you ruined yourself. Do you want to pull me down too?"

Xi Xinyi's sourness and unhappiness that filled her heart were released like a dam at this point.

"The Xi family is in shambles, and Grandma is like that. Yueying is on the verge of going bankrupt. What have you done? It's because of me, running around while being pregnant, putting in so much effort before I can continue to keep it going, working hard for so long and persisting step by step, that I finally managed to be where I am today. Not only did you not help me, but you also kept dragging me down, and now you're even scolding me like you're all that. Don't you think that it's quite hilarious? I persisted on painstaking, and all for who? Did you think I was really just going it for myself? Every month, you take hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. Don't those count?"

The feeling of being wronged and bitterness suppressed in her heart had nowhere else to go. Xi Xinyi was about to crazy with all this pressure. If it were not for the fact that she kept telling herself that she could not lose to Xi Xiaye, she might not have been able to persist.

If Xi Xiaye could persevere, she definitely could as well!

Xi Xinyi more or less understood Xi Xiaye's situation recently. She knew that she must be somewhat capable to have made it to her current position from being a low-level staff in Glory World, but no matter what, she would not lose to her.

After going through those painful lessons, Xi Xinyi realized that if she really wanted to take Xi Xiaye that slut down, just these little tricks would not work. Since she had Mu Yuchen for support, she definitely would not be easy to take down. Because that was the case, she could only come up with other ways. In order to properly defeat her, she had to first defeat Mu Yuchen. Of course, he would not be someone she could handle. The grudges between him and Qi Kai were enough to take him down. When that happened, she was sure that he would not be able to protect Xi Xiaye. Only then could she step over her and satisfy her hatred for her.

Nonetheless, right now, all she could do was endure this!

She did not mind becoming that person's gun as long as she Xi Xinyi benefitted as well, and if she could take Xi Xiaye down, she did not mind.

"Why you! Not only did you not help me out, but apart from causing trouble for me all day, you also make me worry about you endlessly. What else do you do? You ruined yourself, but you blame me instead. Shouldn't you self-reflect? I pay for your food and clothes and even give you money to spend. Every day, I say good things about you to Grandfather. Aren't these enough? What right do you have to reprimand me? Why do I have such a useless mother? In the end, I'd much rather my mother was Shen Wenna. Do you understand?"

Xi Xinyi's questioning tone became extremely sharp. Her beautiful eyes were filled with a fiery fury as she fixed her glare on Yue Lingsi.

Yue Lingsi then sneered and said, "Is that so? To you, only the useful ones are your kin. Are you actually comparing me to Shen Wenna? If it weren't for her, your father wouldn't abandon his wife and daughter to go to that vixen, yet you're fighting me over her, Xi Xinyi! Has your conscience left you? Get out! Get out now! I don't have a daughter like you! Get lost!" Yue Lingsi roared.

In that instant, hot tears welled up in her eyes. She shut her eyes, feeling hopeless. Her unhurt hand gripped the blanket tightly as a piercing pain flooded all over her body while the pain in the chest came by the waves.

Was this her own daughter?

Why did she not recognize her at all?

Xi Xinyi snickered coldly as she looked at Yue Lingsi apathetically. "Just stay in the hospital and recover. I'll get someone to pay the fees. If you still won't behave, I don't mind sending you over to the same sanitarium as Grandmother!"

"You... you unfilial daughter! Get lost! Get lost now!" Yue Lingsi picked the glass on the side up and threw it at her in a rage!

Bam!

The glass shattered on the ground although it did not hit Xi Xinyi who glanced at the shattered glass on the ground as she said in disdain, "Your skills of making an unreasonable scene has improved. Back then, you hit Father like this too. A man who would be willing to get close to a man like you would probably be blind! Wake up! Stop dreaming of being an heiress or the Mayor's wife! You're now in so dire straits that you can only rely on me to take care of you, yet here you are cursing me like I'm worthless. Hmph!" She then exited through the door.

Almost instantly, the sound of shrieks and weeping from Yue Lingsi breaking down came from the ward!

How did it turn out like this?

They were not like this before. How did they end up where they were today?

It had been so many years. Did she do something wrong?

She had been wholeheartedly doing everything for the Xi family, wholeheartedly loving Xi Mushan and their daughter Xi Xinyi, but in the end, what did she get?

How did she end up in this tragic state?

That Shen Wenna was blind, yet she had won all of Xi Mushan!

Pffft!

The fire of fury consumed her heart, and Yue Lingsi felt that the pain in her chest suddenly became piercing. A bloody taste rose from her throat, and she could not help but cough profusely. In her state, she had to push the coppery taste that filled her mouth down.

When Xi Xinyi walked out of the ward, Huang Ziyao was waiting at the corridor not too far away. She was talking to a doctor in a white coat.

Xi Xinyi dragged her weak body and walked over.

Without caring about anything else, Xi Xinyi asked, "Doctor, how's my mother?"

The doctor turned to look at Xi Xinyi and sighed. "It doesn't look great. Both her hamstrings were severed. Usually, she might be able to recover through surgery, but her situation is a little unique. The people who did it clearly did not want to let her walk again, so... In fact, there are many traces of her getting beaten up all over her body. Who would be this cruel? We'll further review her treatment according to her condition. If there are any good plans, we'll inform you then. We must keep the patient in a good mental state and urge her to cooperate with recovery. For now, we're preventing her from muscular dystrophy. Otherwise, we won't be able to help her recover even if we find a way when the time comes."

When Xi Xinyi heard the explanation, her expression sank. After a while, she nodded graciously. "Okay, thank you, doctor."

When she saw the doctor's figure vanish at the end of the corridor, Huang Ziyao turned and lamented as she looked at Xi Xinyi, "Your mother really underestimated those guys this time. Even we wouldn't provoke them. Earlier, a few press office editors suffered a lesson from them too. One got their arm broken, and it appeared in the news. I heard that it was because they offended them. I remember that your mother was very against loan shark dealings previously as well. Now, how did she...?"

Huang Ziyao could not hide the worry and disappointment she felt. Ever since they were associated with this mother and daughter pair, there was nothing that could spare them from worry. These troublesome matters came one after another, and now she really regretted having ties with them. Back then, if she had also agreed with the old man's decision and forced Yifeng to get engaged with Xiaye, would everything not have been much simpler and more peaceful now?

In fact, it seemed like recently Yifeng was treating Xi Xiaye rather...

Huang Ziyao could not help but worry. Ever since Xi Xinyi gave birth to the child, she had never seen Han Yifeng. He had only banked in a sum of money into her account and told her to find someone to take care of them.

Huang Ziyao knew that Xi Xinyi had hurt him.

"Mother, I'm sorry. My mother was terribly impacted by my father and Shen Wenna. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up like this."

Xi Xinyi sighed, appearing defeated as she said this. Her eyes were filled with disappointment and heartache towards Yue Lingsi. Huang Ziyao felt bad seeing this, so she only reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "Sigh, I know your mother too. All these years, she's been loyal to your father, but no matter what, she shouldn't have done all those things that ruined reputations. With these things today, these extreme feelings would only hound her to death. She won't be able to get her happiness either. Men are like that. If their hearts aren't with you, no matter what you do, they'll just turn a blind eye."

Xi Xinyi subconsciously trembled all over as she looked at Huang Ziyao in shock. She could faintly understand what Huang Ziyao was implying.

"Forget about trying to move a man who had always had another woman in his heart. Your mother is too silly. Look, now she's only tired out herself. Back then, your father and Shen Wenna's relationship was there for everyone to see. To be fair, from an outsider's point of view, your mother was the third wheel that stepped between them. If your mother didn't choose your father back then, perhaps she would be a very happy person right now... Oh, it's too bad!"

Huang Ziyao seemed to rue as she sighed deeply and then continued, "Okay, you haven't fully recovered. Let's quickly get back. I'm going to make a trip to the office to see Yifeng. Xinyi, I think you're a smart woman. After going through so many things, you should have already thought for yourself. You must heed the warning from your mother's experience, alright?"

Xi Xinyi's expression paled while she staggered and then looked uneasily at Huang Ziyao. "Mother... You... What do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything. I just hope that the two of you won't be like your parents in the future. When that happens, if you really can't then... At least, you have given birth to the eldest grandchild for the Han family. I'll still be on your side, but I wish that your problems won't launch the family into turmoil."

After Huang Ziyao clarified herself, she did not glance at Xi Xinyi's pale expression anymore as she turned to leave.

Listening to Huang Ziyao's footsteps walking further away, Xi Xinyi's weak body then went limp and she propped herself up by the cold wall on the side. She was in a daze for a while before she scoffed. "I won't let you people step over me, not even Han Yifeng! One day, Han Yifeng will beg me to take him back!"

Xi Xinyi clenched her hands in tight fists as her eyes were filled with anger and determination. She stared at Huang Ziyao's figure that moved further away. Then, a sneer curved up from the corner of her lips.

...

The setting sun was dazzling whilst the air was filled with a faint fragrance of magnolias. On the cemented path towards University A's teacher dormitories, you could faintly see a layer of fallen fragments of stamens that had covered the ground. A few fallen leaves danced in the wind with the blue sky as their backdrop, and signs of autumn peeked out.

The husband and wife interlocked their fingers and walked underneath a tall tree. They did not say much all the way, but after walking for quite a distance, Xi Xiaye then looked up at the rather lush tree above their heads and spoke softly, "City Z's autumns aren't the same anymore. I remember more than ten years ago, around this time, the ground should be filled with fallen leaves already. Su Nan and I would always bike through the school grounds, and we would steal some blossoming magnolias from the flowerbed. The old man that watched over it couldn't hear well, so Su Nan and I could get away with it easily. After that, many people did the same, so they started to keep a ferocious dog. After that, Mother's vase no longer had free flowers as decoration."

He fell silent for a while, then turned to look at her. His eyes were filled with an amused and questioning look. "You were quite naughty back then. Why were you like an obedient child at home?"

She reached out to brush the fallen stamen on his shoulders away and answered rather calmly, "Since I don't go home often, I would always be at a disadvantage because of Xi Xinyi. I let her be happy, so I don't have to really go against her since that is a war that can never end. I didn't want to do anything wrong and let her attack me. Sometimes, I didn't understand why Mother didn't take me away back then, and leave me with the Xi family instead."