"Cui Ping, it’s good that you’ve thought this through. I’m all for kicking this worthless daughter out," Mr. Sheng said resolutely.

"Hmph..." Sheng Yueyue snorted. "Since you both want to kick me out, I’ll leave right now. But don’t you get too smug."

"You’re worthless. What do we have to be smug about?" Ren Cuiping asked, clutching at her chest as if her heart would burst from anger.

"Your eldest son is a cripple now. He’s back for good and can never return to the military."

With that said, Sheng Yueyue turned and stormed out.

Mr. Sheng watched her leave, a flicker of complex emotion in his eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Dad, Mom, don’t believe her lies. My eldest brother is fine! He even said he’s bringing home a sister-in-law."

Sheng Shiwu said with a cheerful laugh, emerging with a steaming bowl of noodles in both hands.

"Xiao Wu, your eldest brother isn’t hiding something from us, is he?" Mrs. Sheng asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

"Of course not. Even if my brother wanted to hide something, Jiaojiao wouldn’t. For the past ten days, he’s been staying..."

Sheng Shiwu set the bowl down and quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. He was afraid his mom would fly into a rage just hearing Jiaojiao’s name.

"Xiao Wu, you can keep talking. It was my fault before. Guilt had blinded me."

"My eldest brother has been staying at Jiaojiao’s place in the Imperial City. He’s been seeing her neighbor, and they got engaged the day before yesterday! They should be home by tomorrow."

"Yes... I’ve neglected you all. Xiao Wen, you look exhausted. Why don’t you go back to your room and rest?"

"Okay," Second Brother Sheng replied listlessly. ’I don’t know what to feel.’

’I really don’t think there’s anything that bad about my sister. If she just had enough money to spend, she wouldn’t have turned out like this.’

But Sheng Shiwen was wrong. If everyone in the Sheng Family had handed their salaries over to Sheng Yueyue, she would have become even more twisted.

In the past, he had only started giving his entire salary to Sheng Yueyue after their parents had divorced and the Sheng Family had fallen apart. That was why she had been so moved.

He never considered that giving Sheng Yueyue piles of money without her ever facing a single hardship would have still left her completely unsatisfied.

...

Sheng Yueyue walked out of the Sheng Family’s main gate and suddenly stopped. The words her parents had just spoken echoed in her mind.

A sharp, unstoppable pain pierced her heart, as if it were being squeezed in a vise. The agony was unbearable.

In her previous life, she’d never been this wronged—not even when she returned from the pig farm. Of course, she hadn’t lived as well as Gu Jiaojiao...

...but things had been much better than they were now. Back then, her father and eldest brother would secretly give her their wages to spend.

Gu Jiaojiao would also give her money and food from time to time. Whatever she said she wanted, Gu Jiaojiao would provide.

Too bad she was so timid back then. Not only did she not dare to ask for the moon, she was also too proud and insisted she wanted nothing.

So Gu Jiaojiao, in her generosity, would gift her clothes, cosmetics, and even money. And Sheng Yueyue felt it was all an insult.

She spent her days hating the world, hating her fate, and hating her!

’Thinking back on it now, I was so stupid.’

’If only I’d stuck to the original timeline after being reborn and just asked that bitch Gu Jiaojiao for money and things every day. How great would that have been!’

’My father, who doted on me so much in my past life... why has he become so cruel in this one!’

’He won’t even give me an ounce of trust, and he’s kicking me out of the house. Doesn’t he know how much the Song Family despises me?’

’I’m one of Heaven’s chosen, so what on earth did I do so wrong for these people to reduce me to this?’

’I hate them... I hate them so much...’

At this thought, Sheng Yueyue suddenly crouched down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her head in her arms. Her shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably.

After what felt like an eternity, a single, crystalline tear slipped from between her fingers...

’I’d better head to the Song residence first. I need to teach that idiot Song Zijin how to make a good impression on the family patriarch.’

’If he doesn’t start performing well, he’ll lose his chance to become the richest man in Qing City. And it’s all the fault of that wretch, Song Zijie.’

’I slapped him back to health after my rebirth, and not only is he ungrateful, he publicly accused me of trying to harass him.’

’I swear, I was just asking for a little something in return! How is that harassment?!’

’These people are so full of themselves. It’s not like I’m that desperate.’

’That ungrateful Song Zijie. I slapped him healthy, and he dares to repay my kindness with malice. The next time I see him, I’ll definitely make him pay.’

Sheng Yueyue walked on, lost in her thoughts. She alternated between laughing and fuming, completely oblivious to the path ahead.

THUMP. She was shoved hard to the ground. A tall figure loomed over her, staring down.

"Watch where you’re going!" a man’s voice boomed, as cold as ice. His eyes burned with a raging fire.

"I’m your wife, and you’re as unromantic as ever," Sheng Yueyue said, looking up at He Aijun from where she lay on the ground.

"You’re completely insane," the man seethed, his eyes turning red as if from a deep shock.

’I don’t even know this woman, and she’s causing a scene in the middle of the street, claiming to be my wife!’

"What’s wrong? Did I strike a nerve?" Sheng Yueyue chuckled. "Are you this furious because you think you’ve been cuckolded?!"

But Sheng Yueyue seemed completely unfazed by his reaction. As she spoke, she began to unbutton her clothes.

She continued to unbutton her shirt as she said, "I told you I’d give this to you the next time we met. Don’t worry. I’ll never do anything to make you hate me again."

"You lunatic! Shut up and stop that this instant!" He Aijun yelled.

He exuded a dark, terrifying presence, and an aura of pure violence instantly radiated from him.

His face was contorted with fury, veins bulging on his forehead. He looked like a wounded beast, ready to lunge and tear his enemy to shreds at any second.

SLAP! When she refused to stop, he had no choice but to land a heavy slap across her face.

The bright red imprint of five fingers immediately appeared on Sheng Yueyue’s cheek, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

"You hit me?" she stammered, clutching her swelling cheek and staring at him in disbelief. "You actually hit me?"

"I’ll do more than hit you. I’m going to have you sent to a psychiatric hospital," He Aijun snarled, his expression utterly savage.

’I never dreamed I’d run into a lunatic right here in the residential compound. What would have happened if some defenseless man had been in my place!’

"You just try and touch me again! If you lay another finger on me, I guarantee you’ll regret it into your next life!"

She gnashed her teeth, her eyes filled with venomous resentment. It was the crazed glare of someone who would drag her enemy down with her, even in death.

"You... you’re a lunatic."

"A lunatic? Why did I have to die back then? There was still so much I had to do! I will make you suffer every hardship this world has to offer.

The most agonizing torment. I’ll make you wish for death, but I won’t let you die! I’ll show you what happens to those who betray me.

She shrieked hysterically, "You just wait! I’m going to torture you slowly! Bit by bit, until you go completely insane..."

Listening to the woman’s deranged rant, He Aijun’s expression suddenly froze, and a terrifying, cold light flashed in his eyes.