NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 - Ch. 377 - The Price of Wealth
"The people here still have such filthy mouths. No wonder they're stuck in a dump like this for life." Zhao DanNi looked down on the aunt with unrestrained contempt. To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Ye QiuXue, she wouldn't have come back to this wretched place in her entire life.
The bitter days she had endured here had dragged on for far too long—so long that Zhao DanNi couldn't even bring herself to recall them without feeling terror.
Even now, she still felt her decision back then had been completely right.
With that in mind, she turned to look at her daughter and gave a pleasant smile.
"QiuXue, I wanted to go find you at the Gu family's place earlier, but they said you weren't there. That's why I came back here. This environment is so awful—you should only stay a few days before going back home, right?"
"What does that have to do with you? And you—knowing how dirty this place is, why did you come back at all?"
"I... I was just worried about you. By the way, HuMing should've come back with you, right? Why haven't I seen him?"
As she spoke, Zhao DanNi tried to step inside the house to look for HuMing.
But Ye QiuXue immediately grabbed her wrist and threw her back toward the doorway.
Caught off guard in her high heels, Zhao DanNi stumbled and almost fell. Her hand caught the doorframe just in time. For a moment, her mind went completely blank. When she looked up, she met Ye QiuXue's cold, indifferent gaze.
"Did I say you could come in? A woman like you—what are you doing in my house? Aren't you worried about dirtying your fancy clothes?"
Her words were merciless, and Zhao DanNi had nothing to say in return.
After a long silence, she finally blurted out, "Ye QiuXue, I'm your mother! How can you talk to me like this?!"
"Zhao DanNi, what makes you think I can't talk to you this way? Do you still think you're some grand lady of the Shi family and your words carry weight here?"
"I…" Zhao DanNi opened her mouth, about to argue—but then something flashed in her mind, and she shut her mouth again.
She stared at Ye QiuXue, her voice becoming weak and uncertain. "QiuXue, I didn't come back to argue. I just wanted to see if you're doing okay."
"Well, now you've seen me. You can go."
"I know you're angry that I left you here back then. But I had no feelings left for your father! And he didn't take care of you afterward either, right? You can't just blame it all on me!"
Zhao DanNi felt Ye QiuXue was being unfair.
She hadn't done anything wrong—she was just chasing her own happiness. What was so wrong with that?
And it wasn't like bringing QiuXue along to find a stepfather would've been easy. Couldn't QiuXue understand her just a little?
But these were things she didn't dare say out loud. She was afraid Ye QiuXue would explode and throw her out.
Ye QiuXue listened to her quietly, her expression unchanged.
She'd long grown used to this kind of manipulative talk.
Arms crossed, she stared at the woman who claimed to be her "mother." Ye QiuXue couldn't begin to understand just how selfish someone had to be to say things like this with a straight face.
Even now, she wasn't being honest.
Ye QiuXue didn't need to know the details to understand the Shi family's current situation. Zhao DanNi had never come to find her before, and only now suddenly reappeared, acting overly concerned—it was obviously fake.
This kind of false "motherly love" disgusted her.
"Zhao DanNi, I have no feelings left for you. I came to tell you to stop bothering me. Back then, you chose to abandon me, just like that man did. Did it never occur to you that this day would come? Or are you still deluded into thinking I value family and will forgive you for everything you've done?"
She scoffed. "If that's what you think, then you're dreaming. When it comes to being cold-blooded, I take after you both very well."
Ye QiuXue lifted her chin slightly. At 1.7 meters tall, she already stood noticeably taller than Zhao DanNi, and now, as she looked down at her, the pressure she radiated made Zhao DanNi freeze in place, unsure how to react.
But very quickly, that shock turned into rage.
She had wanted to reconcile, to speak calmly—but Ye QiuXue's reaction was far beyond what she expected. This girl had come out of her own womb! Why couldn't she just try to understand?
"Ye QiuXue, do you have to talk with such a sharp tongue? I'm your mother. Can't you try to be a little more considerate?"
"Be considerate? Sure—let me guess. You were able to come all the way out here to find me... must be because things aren't going well in the Shi family lately, huh?"
Ye QiuXue's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Zhao DanNi's face froze instantly.
Her eyes darted away, avoiding eye contact, clearly rattled by the accuracy of the remark.
"I… I'm doing fine in the Shi family. It's not like what you said…"
"Oh really? Then let me see."
With that, Ye QiuXue lunged forward and grabbed Zhao DanNi's arm.
Zhao DanNi instinctively tried to pull away, but Ye QiuXue yanked up her sleeve before she could escape.
What was revealed was a thin, pale arm—covered in dark bruises and welts. There wasn't a single patch of unmarked skin.
At that moment, some villagers happened to be passing by. They saw the scene and gasped.
They didn't quite remember who this woman was, but judging by the argument with Ye QiuXue, they quickly pieced things together.
"Damn… Being a rich family's wife doesn't look so great, huh? She looks like she's been beaten half to death."
"I heard from folks in town—those rich people are into weird stuff. Like beating their wives until they're almost dead."
"Forget it, let's just head home."
Zhao DanNi's face burned with humiliation. She shoved Ye QiuXue away and hastily yanked her sleeve down to cover her arm.
It wasn't Shi Zhong who had done this—she hadn't seen him in ages. These bruises were from the Shi family's old man, who would whip her whenever he was in a bad mood.
He knew Ye QiuXue was her daughter, and knew about her connection with HuMing. That's why this time, the Shi patriarch had sent Zhao DanNi to speak with Ye QiuXue—to get the Gu family to back off.
So just like Ye QiuXue had guessed—she had come here with an agenda.
Ye QiuXue took a few steps back, her expression growing colder.
She had heard bits and pieces about the Shi family from the Gu family's servants. Every household's staff had their own gossip and secrets—and she just so happened to overhear some things about the Shi family.
She hadn't expected it to be true.
"Do those scars hurt? They shouldn't, right? After all, they're the price you pay to enjoy your wealth."
If we are able to reach 25 Reviews on NovelUpdates, We will be mass releasing 15Bonus Chps+7(daily chps) when goal is reach!!!
Leave a Review HERE right now!!
Current: 15/25 Review
We will be also releasing 5 Bonus Chapters when we reach rank 50 on the monthly rankings!!
You can help by leaving a review or voting!
415/50