Qin Man heaved a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. She took Yao Ran’s hand and said, “Come now, be a good girl and sit with me for a while.”


  Once the girl complied, she continued. “In my opinion, we shouldn’t bother with that child anymore. We don’t even know her that well, and she turned out to be an ingrate, anyway. We’d only put ourselves at a disadvantage if we get involved in her affairs.”


  In fact, Qin Mandidn’t care aboutYao Tangat all. As long as her preciousRanranwas safe and happy, that was enough. She couldn’t care less about everyone else.

  It wasn’t as if that useless wretch could do anything to stop the Yao familyfrom disowning her.

  They shouldn’t have taken her in to begin with.

  “You don’t get it!” Yao Yuanslammed his fist against the arm of the sofa. “That good-for-nothing dared to do such a thing at school without thinking about the consequences to her family’s reputation. How am I supposed to show my face again to my peers at this rate? If they find out that she’s our biological daughter, ourYao familywill lose all our power and influence inthe city!”


  CO

  He was panting by the time he finished with his tirade. His nostrils were flared, and his face was flushed.

  It wouldn’t be all that surprising if he got a heart attack in his fit of rage.

  Yao Yuan whipped out his phone and angrily rifled through his contact list. Fortunately, he still hadYao Tang’s number. He pressed the call button without a second’s hesitation.

  Yao Tang had been preparing for bed at the time. When she answered the call, her father’s voice boomed through the line before she could even say hello.

  “Yao Tang, you shameless girl! How can you do something so immoral for a bit of money? Our family is deeply unfortunate to call you one of our own. Where are you right now? Call the Qin family right this instant and ask them to help suppress this damn scandal!”


  Although she hadn’t put Yao Yuanon speakerphone, he was yelling loud enough for the entire dormitory room to hear.

  Lin Xin looked over in Yao Tang’s direction with a worried frown.

  She was aware that her friend had been adopted by Yao Ran’s parents, and thatYao Tang’s life hadn’t exactly become easier like one would have expected.

  “That would be impossible,” Yao Tangsaid in a calm, albeit cold voice as she pulled the covers over herself.

  Her meaning was clear in her tone — it wasn’t so much impossible as that she was simply not willing to do as Yao Yuanhad said.

  “What is it that you want then? Now that photos of you fooling around in the streets are making their rounds online, what else can you possibly want? Do you want the world to know that you are part of our Yao family, is that it? Will you finally be satisfied then?”


  Yao Yuan paused for a breath before berating her some more. “You can’t even compare toRanranin terms of skills or beauty, and yet you have the guts to fool around like this! Just you wait, whenQin Ruidumps you, you will have nothing left. Let’s see if you can still be arrogant when that day comes!”


  “Just do as I say. Meet with Qin Rui and sweet-talk him into helping you out of this mess. He has better chances of fixing this matter and putting the rumors to rest. It could be good for the Yao family, too. Once the issue blows over, we will have strong ties with the Qin family. Don’t you see that this is the only way?”


  Given the time, the lights in the dormitory had already been turned off, and the place was very quiet. Everyone was about to sleep, after all.

  Of course, this meant that they all heard Yao Yuan’s words clearly.Lin Xin, in particular, was so outraged that she rushed over toYao Tang’s bedside and demanded in a loud voice: “Mr. Yao, are you really related toYao Tang?”


  “She’s been called all sorts of names by strangers on the internet who haven’t even met her, but all you care about are the interests of the Yao family. Don’t you care about your actual family member at all? You’re not even askingYao Tang’s side of the story! Instead, you blindly believe the rumors without verifying the truth for yourself.”


  “I’m telling you, our Tangtangis not the kind of person she’s being accused as!”


  For a tiny girl like Lin Xin, she had somehow managed to sound very imposing.

  Yao Yuan was so caught off-guard that he instantly hung up the phone.

  “I’m so mad!” Lin Xinhuffed, her hands on her hips. “If something happens toYao Ran, I have no doubt that they won’t waste a moment clarifying the issue. But with you… I can’t believe they’re actually condemning you along with those vicious gossip mongers! This is just way out of line!”


  “That’s right!” One of their roommates called out, followed by murmured affirmations from others.

  They had never encountered such flagrant favoritism from an elder before. The man hadn’t even checked how Yao Tangwas faring, let alone asked her to explain what had happened, and he had just gone off spouting nonsense.

  It was totally absurd.

  Yao Tang sat up in bed and wavedLin Xinaway. “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s no big deal. Everyone, go to sleep.”


  There was no hint of anger or grievance in her voice, since these trivial matters weren’t really worth much emotion from her. There was, however, a cruel glint in her eyes as she laid back on her pillows.

  “All right, Yao Tang. Don’t take that stupid Uncle’s words to heart and get a good night’s rest, “Lin Xinsaid before padding back to her own bunk.

  “Those girls! Ignorant simpletons, all of them!” Yao Yuantossed his phone on the table. He had wanted to teachYao Tanga lesson, but he got lectured by some sniveling girl instead.

  It only incensed him more.

  But then again, he supposed he shouldn’t be shocked by such a display of insolence. With Yao Tang’s lack of proper education, it was only natural for her to associate with the similarly ill-mannered brats.

  It seemed that Yao Tangreally didn’t know what was good for her.

  If she failed to secure a relationship with the Qin family, she would forever lose the opportunity for a bright future. Now, with her tarnished reputation and her lack of enthusiasm to remedy the situation, the Qin family matriarch was sure to disapprove of Yao Tang. That girl was a fool through and through.

  The two families could have been affiliated by marriage, but it was nothing more than a pipe dream at this point.

  It was all Yao Tang’s fault, that worthless wench.

  What’s more, if they had the support of the Qin family, he would have had another chance in reviving his career and potentially pulling himself higher up the ranks of the company. Thinking of this, his expression turned murderous.