Tan You’s lips curled into a smile. She pushed the small box over to Xu Liang. "Then I’ll leave it to you. Some things just have to be put to rest."

Aunt Shen said resentfully, "That uncle and aunt of yours are truly difficult people."

Tan You replied, "Whether they’re easy to get along with or not, it doesn’t matter. They’re not here, and we’ll probably never see them again. But some things are just unacceptable. They’re like leeches—even if they’re not that harmful, it’s disgusting once they latch onto you."

Xu Liang took Ji Li’s small box and holed up in the guest room. He quickly edited a first cut. Ji Li’s parents had died in an accident when she was sixteen, and she had barely managed to finish high school.

Fortunately, her grades were good, and she got into an out-of-town university. Otherwise, what would have become of Ji Li today? It was something no one dared to imagine. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Watching the video Xu Liang had edited, Tan You couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead. "Was my life really that pitiful? It feels a bit like I’m selling a sob story."

"It’s the truth, not a sob story!" Xu Liang said, his expression serious. "We’re not exaggerating the suffering, but we shouldn’t just gloss over the hardships you’ve experienced. From my perspective, you’ve had a really tough time."

Tan You fell silent for a moment. "Alright, let’s go with your version. Post it."

’I’m not Ji Li; I can’t just brush past the pain she once endured. Besides, hadn’t Ji Li suffered? Her parents died in an accident when she was so young, and the compensation money was embezzled by her grandparents before it ever reached her. If it weren’t for Uncle Shen’s help, she probably couldn’t have even finished high school.’

’She finally managed to graduate from college, but then she had to repay her student loans. It was a truly difficult life.’

’Now that her career was finally taking off, she was supposed to be preyed upon by people like this? There was no logic in that. Actually, Aunt Shen hadn’t been wrong. It would only fall to Ji Li, the granddaughter, to support the old couple if all of their own children were dead.’

’But right now, Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji are alive and well, so supporting their parents is their obligation. What’s more, even if her uncle and aunt were dead, their only son, Ji Peng, is an adult. The duty of care would be split between Ji Li and Ji Peng.’

Having sorted this out in her mind, Tan You stopped worrying about the account. The video was already uploaded. All that remained was to wait for public opinion to brew.

In reality, Ji Li’s rise to fame was one of a kind. She had been a true content creator for less than a month. One video had suddenly gone viral, and her follow-up videos were all exceptionally well-produced.

People had long been curious about her: What was her family situation like? Where did she go to school? Did she have a boyfriend? The public was dying to know.

And people had already dug up which school Ji Li attended. Information spreads fast these days.

Ji Peng toyed with his phone, looking utterly self-satisfied. He had been the first to find out about Ji Li’s fame. Although she had blossomed considerably, he had still recognized her in an instant.

’Now that she’s famous and earning money, shouldn’t she give a little back to the family?’

Aunt Ji’s eyes were red with jealousy. "I never thought that damn girl would have such luck. How much should we ask for this time?"

Ji Peng replied, "She’s got nearly twenty million followers. An influencer with that kind of following can make several hundred thousand from a single ad, right? So how much do you think is a reasonable amount to ask for?"

Aunt Ji said, "Tell me again why you didn’t become one of those... what do you call them... influencers?"

While the two were lost in their fantasies, a new video was posted to Ji Li’s account. Xu Liang had been direct. The video opened with an image of a signed agreement, its contents perfectly clear. Aside from the amount needed to pay for Ji Li’s junior and senior years of high school, the rest of the compensation money from her parents’ accidental death had been given to the elders of the Ji family. It was framed as an act of filial piety from Ji Li’s parents to the old couple.

Henceforth, the two elders of the Ji family—in life, old age, sickness, and death—would have nothing more to do with Ji Li.

Ji Peng hadn’t known this agreement existed. His mind went completely blank. "Mom, do we have a copy of this agreement?"

Aunt Ji froze for a second. "We do."

Of course she knew where that compensation money had gone. If not for that payout, how could they have ever bought a house in the city?

Ji Peng collapsed onto the sofa. "It’s over..."

Aunt Ji asked, "What’s over?"

Ji Peng said, "Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you had, I never would have gone after Ji Li!"

Aunt Ji grew agitated. "You never asked! And besides, were you wrong? That damn girl has an obligation to support her grandparents!"

Ji Peng felt his heart sink. He had already consulted a lawyer; if Ji Li had really taken the compensation money, there was no way she could have shaken her responsibility to her grandparents. But with this agreement out in the open, Ji Peng’s family had no leg to stand on.

Aunt Ji shot back, "You’re blaming me now? Your dad earns a meager monthly salary. Do you really think he could have established a foothold in the city on that? You’re not ignorant; you’ve just been pretending not to know."

As Ji Peng and Aunt Ji started to argue, the internet erupted. Although people had been able to piece together some information about Ji Li indirectly, nothing was as impactful as hearing from the woman herself.

In an instant, the comments section under Ji Li’s video was flooded, with most people expressing their righteous indignation.

[Isn’t this just heartless? Using the compensation money from their dead son and daughter-in-law to buy a house for their younger son and jewelry for his wife. Talk about feasting on a tragedy...]

[Poor Ji Li. She lost everything overnight.]

[They see our Ji Li is successful, so they come crawling out of the woodwork to leech off her. Where do they get the nerve?]

[Shameless people are capable of anything.]

[I just hope everything goes well for Ji Li from now on.]

Skimming through the comments, Tan You smiled. "Clearly, there are still plenty of sensible people out there."

Xu Liang added, "There were some guilt-trippers, but their comments got buried. People are better at spotting that kind of emotional manipulation these days."

Tan You nodded. "That’s good. Looking back now, I realize just how hard things were before. I don’t glorify suffering, but I do think that people who break free from hardship and strive for a better life have it incredibly tough."

"I’m like that, and so are the villagers from the Shen family’s village. Everyone is struggling to find a way out of their hard lives, dreaming of a future where the road ahead is paved with flowers."

Xu Liang said, "How devastated would your parents be if they knew you had lived like this?"

Tan You replied, "What good would their sadness do? Time can’t be turned back. I think it was good that they left together; at least they still have each other’s company. The ones left living are the ones who suffer the most. It’s enough that I bear this pain alone."

Xu Liang shook his head. "With this video out, the Ji family probably won’t dare to bother you again. In the traditional sense, that agreement is like a declaration of cutting ties, but it’s not legally recognized."

Tan You said, "I don’t care whether it’s legally recognized or not. I’m only going to get richer from now on. It’s just about supporting two old people, right? My stance is the same: it’ll be my turn when Uncle Ji, Aunt Ji, and their entire family are gone."

"As for right now, if they want me to be a filial granddaughter to the old couple, that’s fine too. They can return my parents’ compensation money, with principal and interest, and then we can talk about my duty to support them."