Why Did My Ex-Wife’S Aunt Treat Me Like That? Chapter 5
byChapter 5 Just How Much Do You Like Her?
Yuan Yi did not return to the school dormitory tonight, opting instead for the apartment provided by her company.
People who make games inevitably stay up late.
Even interns at Dome Technology were assigned single rooms, which seemed like a good perk but actually implied that the workload was heavy and overtime was often required.
Yuan Yi planned to work overtime in the dorm tonight. She had drunk half a dozen beers at the barbecue stall, and the broken half of the glass bottle was wrapped up and brought back with her.
She hadn’t caused trouble for the owner; she had swept up the fragments herself and properly disposed of them in the trash.
She just didn’t know why everyone around her seemed to shiver when she paid the bill.
Qin Wei watched her setup. Was she planning on staying up all night?
She was still energetic even after drinking so much alcohol.
“Unlucky in love, lucky in career? But aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?” Qin Wei glanced at the phone Yuan Yi had casually placed on the table. “Is that woman refusing to let up and keeps bothering you?”
The woman Qin Wei spoke of dismissively was He Xun.
Yuan Yi’s face didn’t even flush. “Probably both. Wait until I finish this gray model, then you can go to sleep.”
Her phone hadn’t stopped vibrating since she returned. Yuan Yi intended to make them wait.
Only after concentrating on finishing the head of a Holstein cat did Yuan Yi pick up her phone, answer it casually, and hold it away from her ear.
Sun Xueyu’s voice was as loud as a megaphone. “Yuan Yi, what is the meaning of this? Is this how you treat your mother?! Why did you change the locks on the house? If you keep acting up, I’ll go find He Xun, I’m telling you! Let’s see how you can stay with her nicely then.”
Yuan Yi chuckled. “Then go quickly. I’ve already cleared out the house. Don’t even think about bringing Yuan Guozheng’s bastard child in here.”
Sun Xueyu: “What bastard child? Are you crazy?! That’s your younger sibling! It’s a long story, but your mother impulsively caused your father to be unable to… Where are you right now? There has to be a limit to your nonsense.”
Yuan Yi’s confidence was strong. “Hand over the full 290,000 yuan to me, and I’ll give you the house. I heard Yuan Xiao is quite popular at school. How can that be? She has a father who’s in prison.”
Sun Xueyu was shocked. “How do you know Xiao Xiao’s name? Daughter, don’t be rash. Who is feeding you these lies?”
Yuan Yi tapped the glass bottle irregularly on the table. “Just wait. Anyway, I dumped He Xun, and I’m broke! I won’t give you a single cent now. If you ask me for money again, I’ll fight you to the death. Our family’s genes are like this; you know that.”
Hearing Sun Xueyu gasp on the other end, Yuan Yi hung up the phone. Meeting Qin Wei’s gaze, she smiled. “Don’t you think it’s strange?”
Since her junior year, she had followed Sun Xueyu’s instructions, always appearing obedient, fragile, and a little manipulative in front of He Xun.
Due to her low self-esteem, she never mentioned her family background.
It was a vulgar, “good-for-marriage” style.
That’s why, after she was reborn, these people looked so unfamiliar when they saw her fighting back, as if she had become a stranger.
Qin Wei shook her head. “No, this is just how you really are.”
When Yuan Yi first enrolled in her freshman year, Qin Wei saw her arguing with a senior who was selling SIM cards about the forced bundling of phone plans. She didn’t remember the details, only that Yuan Yi, a small person, was carrying so much luggage alone.
She looked like a kitten migrating with a tortoise shell on its back.
When she argued, she was a bristling little kitten.
It wasn’t a hiking backpack; it was a faded denim backpack, several stacked together and carried on her back. The zipper of the topmost one had a dangling charm that read: Become Rich!
Qin Wei didn’t think this was gold-digging.
People strive for better things, and wanting to be rich is a very simple, fundamental desire. Losing oneself in the process is another matter entirely.
She had seen the tenacity in Yuan Yi from the very beginning.
Qin Wei: “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Yuan Yi let out a soft laugh. “Not right now. Good night.”
Qin Wei didn’t pry into her family story and nodded before going to rest.
Yuan Yi checked the time. It was almost eleven, so she needed to hurry.
Cat Companion had already undergone internal testing on the independent game platform. Based on the feedback, Yuan Yi already had optimization plans. Originally, she had made it for her own stress relief, creating only four kittens. However, her advisor, Wu Ting, wanted her to submit an excellent graduation project, increasing the existing four cats to ten.
Then, she could use this achievement to directly take up a position at Dome Technology.
She valued time greatly now. Knowing she had many tasks, she absolutely couldn’t procrastinate. So, despite knowing her schedule was packed the next day, Yuan Yi insisted on working until one in the morning before going to bed.
Unfortunately, in her dream, she returned to the snowfield that had buried her.
After hypothermia set in, she felt waves of scorching heat, and her consciousness blurred.
Yuan Yi didn’t understand how she had fallen into such a huge snow pit.
“Don’t sleep.” A muffled voice sounded in her ear, and someone was carefully checking her head and cervical spine.
Yuan Yi opened her eyes.
All she could see was the rope tied around her waist, the other end attached to Peng Cheng, as if their lives were intertwined.
Wait!
At four in the morning, Yuan Yi abruptly sat up in bed. After only two seconds of confusion, she forced herself to get out of bed.
Photos.
There were still many photos that hadn’t been destroyed!
Yuan Yi suddenly remembered that before the night He Xun got her drunk and sent her to Peng Cheng’s room to seduce her, He Xun had already placed some photos of her on Peng Cheng’s bed.
Those photos were taken when she was with He Xun, specifically angled to look ambiguous and suggestive.
A little past four in the morning, Yuan Yi wrapped herself up tightly and left. Carrying her bag and the broken glass bottle, she headed straight for the apartment she and He Xun had rented off-campus.
He Xun was, of course, not there.
Yuan Yi took out all the photos and burned them in a pile at the intersection.
Because she stood at the intersection with a grim expression burning things, even the sanitation workers were scared and walked around her.
Yuan Yi was still dissatisfied. She stared at Peng Cheng’s pinned chat box on her phone for a long time.
She wasn’t reassured; she had to confirm everything at the villa. He Xun had used those few photos to create a huge scandal.
She couldn’t allow Peng Cheng to be left with even the slightest vulnerability.
Damn it, just thinking about He Xun made her furious. The thought of completely exposing all of He Xun’s bad deeds gave her immense drive.
The autumn night was chilly and heavy with dew. After getting into a taxi, Yuan Yi took out the glass bottle and examined it closely in her hand.
She had chipped away at it a bit more at home. Now the edges were sharp and serrated, yet not too long, making it very convenient.
The taxi driver felt a chill down his spine. After a long silence, he stammered, “Miss, let’s talk this out. I’m really not a bad person…”
Yuan Yi: “I am.”
The driver almost called the police right then.
Yuan Yi had the entry code to the villa, which was a long story.
Peng Cheng was a very private person and never allowed outsiders in. But Yuan Yi had another layer of connection with her. When He Xun brought Yuan Yi over for dinner, Peng Cheng tacitly allowed it.
He Xun started her own company under her family’s arrangement, managing a subsidiary of the group. She often came over on weekends to maintain their relationship, but Peng Cheng traveled the world and was often not home.
In that year, Yuan Yi’s meetings with Peng Cheng at the villa were few and far between.
Yuan Yi thought that after this visit, she must delete her fingerprint access.
She knew Peng Cheng was definitely not at the villa, but she still politely sent her a message.
[I apologize, Director Cheng. Because He Xun and I broke up, I need to retrieve some personal belongings from the villa. I hope I haven’t disturbed your sleep.]
As expected, there was no reply.
No reply was good. Although Yuan Yi knew Peng Cheng wasn’t home and there were no cameras in her room, it was still better to inform her.
Close to five o’clock, Yuan Yi returned to the villa entrance and noticed that the unlucky temporary shed outside had been dismantled.
The efficiency was quite fast.
Yuan Yi entered the villa without turning on the lights.
Based on her memories from her previous life, she went straight to Peng Cheng’s pillow, under the pillowcase, the corner pressed by the bedside table, and the photo frame on the bedside table that had no photo in it.
Although the room lights weren’t on, the clear moonlight streamed in, gradually illuminating the minimalist decor.
After finding two more photos tucked behind the photo frame, Yuan Yi mentally spat at He Xun. She stuffed all the photos into her backpack, checked for any remaining items, and quietly prepared to go downstairs.
The photos were of her, so they were technically her property, but this was Peng Cheng’s villa. Even though the owner was absent, Yuan Yi had a subtle, guilty feeling of being a thief and just wanted to finish quickly.
The villa was silent.
Yuan Yi looked down, trying to keep her footsteps noiseless.
However, as she stepped off the last stair, the living room lights flickered on, instantly flooding the space with light.
What the hell!
Yuan Yi’s hand instinctively pulled out the beer bottle from the side pocket of her backpack, but she froze when she turned and saw the person standing there. “Why are you here?”
Peng Cheng held a nearly empty wine glass in her hand and nodded. “Good question.”
A faint blush rose on Yuan Yi’s face, clearly visible under the light.
She saw that Peng Cheng was dressed simply and casually. In this weather, she was only wearing a silk dress that reached below her knees, exposing her calves.
Legs…
Peng Cheng noticed Yuan Yi’s gaze.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Yuan Yi had some harmless little fetish, otherwise why did her eyes keep dropping to her legs in several consecutive meetings.
Peng Cheng thought of the message Yuan Yi had just sent her, timestamped 4:44 AM.
Even if she was an absolute atheist, she had to turn on the lights to confirm whether the current Yuan Yi was human or ghost.
This was the fourth time she had seen Yuan Yi in twenty-four hours.
“I’m sorry, Director Cheng.” Yuan Yi apologized cleanly. “I still disturbed you. I’ll leave now.”
Peng Cheng nodded coolly, glancing at the beer bottle in Yuan Yi’s hand.
Yuan Yi immediately put it away. As she walked past Peng Cheng toward the exit, a question that had lingered in her heart for a long time kept cutting back and forth between asking and not asking, causing her to walk very slowly.
Peng Cheng called out to her. “Is there something else?”
Yuan Yi stopped immediately, turning her head to say, “Director Cheng, you need to watch out for He Xun.” She’s going to harm you! She wants to harm you!
Peng Cheng’s gaze was cold and heavy, pressing down on Yuan Yi. After a moment, she drained the last bit of wine in her glass and asked casually, “Do you like her that much?”