The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

"Aren't you at the apartment?"

As soon as the call connected, Xi Yuanchen's deep, cold voice came through.

Yao Yingxi walked to a relatively quiet place, clenched her fingers, and then answered, "I'm at the hospital with my sister."

After a brief silence, Yao Yingxi waited for a while, but there was still no sound from Xi Yuanchen's end.

She didn't know why he called, and she couldn't guess what he was thinking, but she needed his help, and he was the only one she could ask for it.

Yao Yingxi took a deep breath, gripped her phone tighter, and spoke in a dry voice, "Mr. Xi, I..."

“I’m away on a business trip for the next two days. I’ll give you three days to move into my apartment.”

The two spoke at the same time, but before Yao Yingxi could finish her sentence, Xi Yuanchen hung up the phone.

The surrounding area was filled with doctors, patients, and patients' families coming and going.

Yao Yingxi stood there in a daze for a while; things weren't as easy as she had imagined.

Xi Yuanchen asked her to be with him, but he never clearly told her what he would do to help her. Was it a bit of wishful thinking for her to think she could use his power to get things done and take revenge on the Xu family?

Yao Yingxi unconsciously bit her lip, her anxiety rising noticeably. She couldn't remain indecisive any longer; even if it meant humiliating herself, she had to beg Xi Yuanchen to suppress all the rumors surrounding Yao Yingyue.

Reaching out and pushing open the emergency exit door, Yao Yingxi dialed Xi Yuanchen's number again.

I dialed twice, but no one answered Xi Yuanchen's phone.

Yao Yingxi gripped the stair railing, her emotions fluctuating wildly in a short period of time.

She dialed again, and just as Yao Yingxi was about to give up, the call was finally answered.

"Ms. Yao, the boss is in a meeting. Do you have something urgent? You can tell me and I'll take care of it."

Anan's voice came over politely, and Yao Yingxi fell silent.

She had met Anan a few times, and although they didn't have much interaction, he was someone who followed Xi Yuanchen, which meant that he could represent Xi Yuanchen on certain matters.

“I…I have something to ask of Mr. Xi.” Yao Yingxi took a deep breath and finished speaking in one breath: “I want to ask him to suppress the news about my sister online.”

“I’m sorry, I know that perhaps I’m overstepping my bounds by making this request, but… I can’t think of anyone else who can help me besides Mr. Xi.”

On the other end of the phone, Anan looked at the speakerphone on the table, glanced up at Xi Yuanchen with a deep expression, and replied, "Okay, Ms. Yao, I will pass on your request to President Xi."

"Thank you." Yao Yingxi let out a deep breath.

"You're welcome. Well then, I'll hang up now. Goodbye."

After Anan hung up the phone, Yao Yingxi stood in the emergency exit for a while before going to find Yao Yingyue's attending physician again.

Yao Yingxi had a vague feeling that Xi Yuanchen was deliberately making things difficult for her, but she didn't know why.

Yao Yingxi felt as if she were walking on an unknown road, with ice beneath her feet. If she wasn't careful, she would fall into the abyss.

Yao Yingyue's attending physician confirmed that Yao Yingyue's physical condition had almost fully recovered and she could be discharged at any time. However, she told Yao Yingxi that Yao Yingyue might have suffered psychological trauma and they needed to pay close attention to her. If they noticed that she was not in a good mood, she would need to see a psychologist.

As Yao Yingxi left the doctor's office, an even heavier weight was placed on her already heavy heart.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...

Yao Yingxi forced herself to compose herself before heading to Yao Yingyue's ward.

As she approached, her phone rang. Yao Yingxi answered and it was Anan's voice: "Ms. Yao, this is Anan, Mr. Xi's secretary."

"I know." Yao Yingxi answered the phone and recognized Anan's voice: "Did Mr. Xi want you to tell me something?"

“Yes.” Anan said briefly, “The new articles about your sister have been removed from the internet. By tomorrow morning at the latest, all the negative news will have disappeared.”

Yao Yingxi could hardly believe that the matter had been resolved so easily.

She said "thank you" and hung up the phone, then immediately went online on her phone. She entered several keywords, but found no negative news about Yao Yingyue.

Yao Yingxi smiled, put her phone away, and pushed open the door to Yao Yingyue's hospital room to go inside.

Liang Yu wasn't there; only Yao Yingyue sat on the hospital bed, her head turned to the side, her brows furrowed as she looked out the window, appearing very unhappy.

Yao Yingxi paused for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Why are you alone? Where's Liang Yu?"

Yao Yingyue turned around, her eyes flashing with an expression Yao Yingxi had never seen before, like... jealousy and hatred?

Yao Yingxi was stunned for a moment. When she looked closely, there was nothing there. It was as if she had just hallucinated.

"Brother Liang Yu has something to do and needs to go back." Yao Yingyue's face and eyes lit up with a smile as she got off the bed, took Yao Yingxi's hand, and asked her in a coquettish tone, "Sister, can you go ask the doctor if he said I can be discharged?"

Yao Yingxi couldn't help but laugh as she watched her act coquettishly: "Why are you still acting like a spoiled child when you're so grown up?"

"Because I don't like it here." Yao Yingyue pouted and frowned, looking pitiful. "I want to go home. I miss my bed and my big bear."

Yao Yingxi looked at her and nodded: "Okay, then I'll handle your discharge procedures tomorrow?"

Yao Yingyue's furrowed brows instantly blossomed into a smile, and she jumped up on the spot, shouting, "Yay! Long live sister!"

Yao Yingxi smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness.

The next morning, Yao Yingyue was discharged from the hospital. Liang Yu rented a new house and took Yao Yingyue to their rented house. Yao Yingxi went to buy groceries and some daily necessities.

The house Liang Yu rented was more spacious and in a better environment than before. Most importantly, the neighbors here didn't know about the relationship between the three of them. Furthermore, as Xi Yuanchen hired people to clear Yao Yingyue's name, everyone felt that Liang Yu and Yao Yingyue were the rightful couple, while Yao Yingxi had never appeared in their relationship.

Yao Yingxi stayed with Yao Yingyue for two days. On the evening of the second day, when she left Yao Yingyue and Liang Yu's house, she received a call from Anan.

"Ms. Yao, Mr. Xi will be back from his business trip tomorrow. I was wondering if you've packed your things? I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow morning."

Yao Yingxi has been spending the last two days with Yao Yingyue and has completely forgotten what Xi Yuanchen said that day. Is tomorrow already the third day?

"Okay," Yao Yingxi replied and hung up the phone.

These past two days, she'd been deceiving herself, feeling like everything had gone back to two months ago, but this phone call from Xi Yuanchen's assistant pulled her back to the reality she was facing.

She is no longer the Yao Yingxi she once was. Now she is filled with hatred and has even sold herself out as a commodity.

With a smile, Yao Yingxi walked down her path of no return, facing the neon lights along the way.