Why Did My Ex-Wife’S Aunt Treat Me Like That? Chapter 4

Yuan Yi was in a great mood after finishing her physical examination and hailed a taxi immediately upon leaving.

In her past life, she had been so strapped for cash at this time that she couldn’t bear to spend ten yuan on a taxi, even in the rain.

Her internship salary was four thousand, which wasn’t high, but it was more than enough for one person, especially since she had been working furiously since her freshman year, on top of her studies.

Yet, she hadn’t managed to save a single penny.

Initially, all the money went to her family. After meeting He Xun, she had ignorantly used money to package herself, trying to meet the standards of those critical and disdainful gazes.

Now she finally knew what she shouldn’t have done.

Sun Xueyu messaged Yuan Yi on WeChat, asking why the money hadn’t been transferred yet. Yuan Yi replied: [I’m gathering it. Send me the verification code for the old card later.]

This successfully placated Sun Xueyu, who only sent back one message: “Thank you, my precious daughter. It’s Mom’s fault for being useless and dragging you down.”

Yuan Yi replied with a voice message: “If you know that, then go find a job.”

After speaking, she immediately muted Sun Xueyu’s messages, not wanting to see them. Yuan Yi glanced at her bank balance; it was indeed low, with only a little over nine hundred yuan left.

She pinned Peng Cheng’s WeChat chat to the top and changed the contact note to…

What should she call him?

Yuan Yi glanced out the window.

The drizzle had stopped. Typhoon Ripple had passed.

But her own ripple had not ceased.

She wrote the note for Peng Cheng: Ripple.

Having been granted a second life during this typhoon, she needed to remember the lessons of her past life and her promise to save Peng Cheng’s leg.

As for pinning Peng Cheng to the top.

Peng Cheng wouldn’t see it anyway. Was there a better way to remind and motivate herself?

Yuan Yi hesitated for a moment, then contacted her advisor: [Professor, I was wrong. I will not resign! I’m out handling some matters right now. I will come to your office to explain the situation as soon as I return.]

The advisor replied: [Yuan Yi. /smile]

Yuan Yi felt a chill, touched her neck, and quickly put away her phone, closing her eyes to rest for a moment.

At 1:30 PM, she arrived at Jinghu Prison but didn’t walk in immediately.

She was still very resistant to seeing Yuan Guozheng. In her past life, Yuan Yi never came whenever Sun Xueyu said she was visiting.

She hated Yuan Guozheng.

Before she was fifteen, she was the only daughter of a wealthy family, bright and innocent.

Even when Yuan Guozheng mysteriously disappeared and returned, starting to drink heavily, she still lived in a dream. Until the police burst into their home and handcuffed her drunken father and disheveled mother.

As she was being led away, Sun Xueyu held a blood-stained pair of scissors, pointing wildly at her father’s private parts: “Wastrel! Wastrel!”

From then on, she became the daughter of a robber father and a violent mother, and her life plummeted to rock bottom.

Yuan Guozheng had stolen millions in cash from a business partner and fled out of fear of the crime, spending lavishly with his mistress. The night Sun Xueyu learned the truth, she accidentally cut off her husband’s manhood and then called the police herself.

When Yuan Yi returned, she saw dried brown bloodstains soaking the expensive wooden floor.

The only thing Yuan Guozheng did that could be considered decent was forgiving Sun Xueyu before going to prison, preventing both of them from being incarcerated.

Yuan Yi’s classmates knew these backstories and details better than she did.

In the two years that followed, she was truly terrified of poverty.

The turning point came in the second semester of her junior year of high school when Peng Cheng briefly appeared and gave her a sum of money.

Ten thousand yuan.

It was a drop in the ocean for Peng Cheng at the time, but for Yuan Yi, it could buy her a bright future.

When people are in extreme despair, even a tiny bit of hope can give them the will to live. No matter how difficult things get later, they just need to get through that initial hurdle.

The ten thousand yuan Peng Cheng sponsored her with meant exactly that.

Yuan Yi collected her thoughts, went to the visitation area, passed security, and presented her ID, stating that she wasn’t there to visit but only wanted to check her father’s expenses and visitation records.

As a direct relative, she naturally had the right to view them.

The records were densely packed with Sun Xueyu’s visits, completely contradicting her claim of visiting only once every three months.

And it wasn’t just once. The visitation log read: [Family visit, spouse and children.]

Yuan Yi had never come.

Among Yuan Guozheng’s living expenses, a record labeled “Major Medical Expenditure” caught Yuan Yi’s attention.

What was this money for? It appeared every month, capped at the 20,000 yuan limit, and had been transferred in installments since her senior year of high school.

That year, Sun Xueyu told her that because of her family’s reputation, Peng Cheng would never sponsor her again, urging her to succeed on her own.

The ten thousand yuan Peng Cheng had given her covered all her senior year tuition and miscellaneous fees, bought a new school uniform, and temporarily eased the family’s financial pressure. In the end, only three thousand yuan remained, which Sun Xueyu divided into a monthly allowance of two hundred yuan for her.

Yuan Yi had no objection; she was already very grateful to Peng Cheng.

She believed she could persevere no matter how hard things got later.

Yuan Yi walked out of the prison just half an hour later, the mocking smile still lingering on her lips. She didn’t wait long outside before she saw Sun Xueyu arrive with Yuan Xiao and Yuan Chen.

Yuan Xiao was fifteen, and Yuan Chen was fourteen.

Both were dressed in designer clothes, and even Sun Xueyu had changed her outfit, looking exceptionally refined.

Just an hour ago, Sun Xueyu was asking her for a thousand yuan. Now, she was enjoying herself with the two children born to the mistress, looking like a real family.

She took a picture of the scene and had a taxi take her back to school. She had learned what she needed to know.

The sponsorship money Peng Cheng gave her in her senior year of high school was problematic.

In the car, Yuan Yi channeled her anger into motivation, opening her laptop to start modeling, refusing to waste any time.

As soon as she reached her dorm, she yanked open her drawer, took out the key inside, and left with a slightly smaller laptop bag.

Passing Wei Xingjie’s desk, she saw the screen was on, displaying a very familiar image. She casually deleted it.

“Yuan Yuan! Yuan Yuan! Oh my god, what time is it? You’re finally back!”

Wei Xingjie rushed over: “Where did you go? Weren’t you preparing for the proposal that took so long? We were all waiting for your news!”

Yuan Yi was still annoyed and shook off her hand: “We broke up. Move.”

“What? Broke up?” Wei Xingjie was surprised, then smiled. “Are you mad that He Xun came back yesterday afternoon and didn’t tell you? Don’t be foolish, Yuan Yuan. He Xun was just rushing back for your surprise, wasn’t he? I asked you to bring me breakfast this morning, why did you leave by yourself?”

Yuan Yi: “You’re really suited to be He Xun’s secretary.”

“What?”

“Do your own graduation project. I’m not giving you my modeling work. If you want it, buy it from me. I guarantee a fair price.”

Before Wei Xingjie could scream and lose control, Yuan Yi quickly went downstairs.

As she reached the door of her advisor’s office, someone tugged the strap of her backpack.

Yuan Yi turned around and met Qin Wei’s eyes.

Qin Wei was the roommate who slept by the door. In her past life, she and Qin Wei were both under the same advisor, and only Qin Wei constantly advised her not to focus her energy on He Xun.

Qin Wei had also opposed this proposal and never participated in the discussions.

Yet, in the end, she had resigned, abandoned her studies and project, and, pushed by Wei Xingjie, had a huge fight with Qin Wei, leading to their estrangement.

Qin Wei handed her a bag of fruit: “Are you going in like that?”

A truly understanding friend knows with just a look whether you are serious this time.

Yuan Yi hugged Qin Wei tightly as she took the bag: “I’m sorry. It’s so good to see you again.”

Qin Wei pushed her away: “Keep that mental state and go get scolded.”

Emerging from the advisor’s office, Yuan Yi felt the air was so fresh; even being scolded felt invigorating.

Qin Wei suspected Yuan Yi had a fever and was losing her mind. Yuan Yi took out her phone, removed Sun Xueyu’s number from the blacklist, and sure enough, within five minutes, she received a barrage of calls.

“You didn’t go propose to He Xun? What were you thinking? Are you trying to kill your mother! You let a rich man like that slip away.” Sun Xueyu yelled without restraint. “And your father’s thousand yuan living allowance, why haven’t you sent it to me yet!”

Sun Xueyu was still at the prison gate and had received a tip-off from Wei Xingjie that Yuan Yi hadn’t gone today.

Recalling Yuan Yi’s strange words on WeChat today, Sun Xueyu vaguely felt that the daughter she used to control so easily seemed to be slipping out of her grasp.

Yuan Yi: “How much money was the sponsorship I received in my senior year of high school?”

“You, why are you suddenly asking about that?” Sun Xueyu was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered. “I haven’t even asked you why you went to see your father by yourself today. Are you hiding something from me?”

Yuan Yi sent the picture, firmly seizing the initiative: “You figure out how to explain this to me first.”

The moment Sun Xueyu saw the picture, her eyes widened in shock, and her words caught in her throat. She was suddenly aware of Yuan Yi’s unfamiliarity; she hadn’t called her “Mom” even once so far.

It was only four o’clock after she finished these tasks. Yuan Yi didn’t stop for a moment, told Qin Wei to go back first, and then, clutching the key, returned to Sun Xueyu’s apartment.

After she was accepted into university, Sun Xueyu sold the house in their hometown and followed her here. The apartment was a very cheap studio, registered under Yuan Yi’s name. At the time, Yuan Yi was deeply moved and swore she would ensure Sun Xueyu lived a good life with her.

But she always lived in the dorms, so Sun Xueyu was the one living there.

Later, after she started dating He Xun, He Xun rented her an apartment off-campus for convenience. This studio apartment eventually ended up being transferred to Sun Xueyu.

She knew Sun Xueyu kept her documents, bank cards, and passbooks here, including the bank account book for the sponsorship money Peng Cheng had deposited.

Over the years, Sun Xueyu held onto her living card and salary card, withdrawing money as needed. Sun Xueyu hardly ever used her own old card anymore.

Yuan Yi had always been obedient and sensible in front of Sun Xueyu. Moreover, since Yuan Yi started dating He Xun, she never came to this small place, which Sun Xueyu knew well, so she didn’t even bother to hide anything from her.

Yuan Yi took everything. She had logged into Sun Xueyu’s old card’s online banking that afternoon. She effortlessly retrieved the old passbook and flipped to the very first entry.

The amount for that day was clearly written. It was a large transfer.

It wasn’t ten thousand.

At the same time, Yuan Yi saw the synchronized transfer record in the mobile banking app.

November 2, 20xx, Interbank transfer of 300,000 yuan, balance 300,068.32 yuan, Payer Name: Peng Cheng, Payer Account Tail Number: 9505.

This number and name were like a sharpened needle, violently piercing her eyes.

After freezing in place for five minutes, Yuan Yi expressionlessly stood up, carefully gathered all the documents, and then called a junk shop, a moving company, and a locksmith.

She requested the fastest moving and clearing service, paying the workers an extra two hundred yuan for their trouble. Half an hour later, all of Sun Xueyu’s belongings were hauled away to the junk shop.

Yuan Yi went downstairs with the newly changed keys, checked her balance, and found she still had three hundred yuan left—enough for a big meal.

Twenty minutes later, Qin Wei found Yuan Yi squatting near the subway entrance, saying she wanted to treat her to dinner. Qin Wei didn’t stand on ceremony and asked for spicy hot pot.

Yuan Yi: “Can you aim a little higher?”

“How much money do you have left?” Qin Wei was even more blunt. “Add a portion of water spinach for me, please. Can you help me with a sculpture rendering later?”

“That’s not the right price, you’re too much,” Yuan Yi slurped the bean sprouts from her soup base and said to Qin Wei. “Hmm, fine. I—”

“Are you in debt?”

Yes, and a lot of it.

Before she died in her past life, she regretted not being able to repay the ten thousand yuan Peng Cheng had sponsored her with.

Today, she learned it wasn’t ten thousand at all; it was three hundred thousand.

This was more than just money. If three hundred thousand had truly reached her hands back then, it would have changed everything about her life.

Peng Cheng had shown her great kindness.

Yuan Yi truly felt a headache coming on. She didn’t know how she could face Peng Cheng. But she also knew she absolutely had to do something now.

First, she must secure this game project and establish herself in the company to ensure her basic livelihood.

And she had to retrieve the three hundred thousand that Sun Xueyu had swallowed.

She absolutely had to get it back.

Now, Yuan Yi understood why Sun Xueyu was so unfailingly dedicated to visiting the prison, why she could unfailingly transfer a huge sum of twenty thousand yuan, and why she could help Yuan Guozheng raise his children from outside.

Yuan Xiao and Yuan Chen had been calling Sun Xueyu “Mom” since they arrived, with a fluency that suggested they hadn’t just started interacting.

Yuan Yi opened a bottle of beer, drank half of it, and let out a satisfied burp: “Did you know I have a high tolerance for alcohol?”

Qin Wei: Do you?

Yuan Yi quickly finished the remaining half bottle: “Seriously. I worked countless jobs during the summer after my senior year. Once, I was selling beer for a barbecue stall owner and drank a lot to build up my tolerance. If I don’t drink some alcohol now, it’s not enough to break free from the constraints of being law-abiding.”

Qin Wei: “…What?”

Yuan Yi really wanted to hit someone!

She desperately wanted to find some enemies right now and beat them up to vent her hatred, but she didn’t know who would run into her crosshairs.

In her past life, she was powerless to investigate these matters, but today, she knew everything. Connecting this information with the visitation records she saw at the prison, many things suddenly became clear, like peeling back layers.

Sun Xueyu had learned about the existence of those two children in the first semester of her senior year, withheld her sponsorship money, and used it to raise someone else’s children.

Even this studio apartment was highly likely bought with that sponsorship money. The timing was too close; how could thirty thousand yuan be spent within a year?

In her past life, she only learned about the existence of her two half-siblings in her junior year of university, and she was morally blackmailed for years afterward.

Now she had kicked Sun Xueyu out of the apartment. Sun Xueyu would be shocked when she returned to the rental unit with those two little bloodsuckers.

The beer bubbles she had swallowed expanded in her body, bursting one after another.

Many eyes were watching her.

This was a spicy hot pot stall located in an alley near the subway entrance. Night had just fallen, and few people were drinking at this hour.

Office workers were either heading home or buying things to take back to work overtime. The people sitting here were mostly idle, and their malicious gazes fell upon Yuan Yi.

Not far away, a black Alphard slowly drove out of the building’s parking lot.

Meeting the same person three times in one day, if not intentional, could certainly be called fate.

It was rush hour, and the road ahead was slightly congested, forcing the car to slow down near the curb. Peng Cheng’s gaze briefly swept outside. What she saw first wasn’t a person, but the laptop bag placed on the side.

Office workers’ laptop bags are usually lightweight, but this bag… was neither the best nor the worst.

Speaking of the best—

Immediately after, Peng Cheng saw Yuan Yi tilt her head back and down a whole bottle, not spilling a drop of beer foam, before letting out a small burp.

Her face was smaller than a palm, and her shoulders were slender and delicate.

Yet, her movements were bold and decisive, surprisingly powerful, unlike the few times she had seen her before.

The alcohol, as it went down, seemed to brighten those two pools of amber eyes.

Assistant Nian glanced back and quickly rolled up the car window: “Director Cheng, it’s a bit chaotic outside. I apologize for the noise.”

The words of the young woman opposite Yuan Yi drifted in at the last moment: “You can’t drink like this just because you broke up! Didn’t you say you didn’t like him anymore? It’s just a breakup, who are you going to hit? Yuan Yi, you might as well cry to me. What are you doing, what are you doing?”

“Don’t be impulsive!”

The car had already driven a few steps further, but Peng Cheng heard the sound of a beer bottle shattering.

These small stalls were mixed-bag places, and incidents were common. Arguments or physical altercations between drunk men happened all the time.

Peng Cheng’s fingers lightly rubbed the fabric in her coat pocket. The gazes of those onlookers directed at Yuan Yi reappeared in her mind.

She frowned slightly.

This was not her business to interfere with.

The traffic light for the bridge approach changed. The next car in line was the Alphard.

At that moment, Peng Cheng squeezed the piece of paper she had kept in her pocket for a long time, ready to tell the driver to turn around, but then she saw a clear image in the rearview mirror.

Yuan Yi was holding a half-shattered beer bottle in her left hand, and with her right, she pulled a brick-like laptop out of her bag and slammed it onto the table.

She opened it, applied textures, and started rendering.

The other people, seeing her expression of deep resentment, probably took her for a workhorse driven to a mental breakdown from overtime, and they quickly retreated, forming a wide circle around her.

The next second, the car drove onto the bridge.

In the alternating light and shadow of the back seat, Peng Cheng pinched her tired brow, watching the barbecue stall recede further and further, and finally let out a small laugh.

The sound was so soft that even she barely heard it.