The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

The sound of running water from the bathroom filled the air. Yao Yingxi tossed and turned in bed, and even after the water was turned off, she kept her eyes open, thinking about Xi Yuanchen, herself, Liang Pingyin, and everything that had happened during this time.

The bathroom door opened, and Yao Yingxi quickly closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

Xi Yuanchen saw that Yao Yingxi seemed to be asleep on the bed. He quietly sat on the sofa and dried his hair until it was dry before getting into bed.

He carefully lifted Yao Yingxi's head slightly, placed his arm under her neck, and then lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms.

Yao Yingxi had been pretending to be asleep, but when she felt Xi Yuanchen's movements, her wandering thoughts finally came back to her senses.

Thinking that it might not be a big deal, Xi Yuanchen didn't want her to know, and she comforted herself in her heart.

Xi Yuanchen held her in his arms, and Yao Yingxi turned around, facing Xi Yuanchen. Xi Yuanchen lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

……

The next morning, Liang Pingyin and Liu Xin sat on the living room sofa like living dead. Liang Pingyin felt guilty and hated Yao Yingxi and Xi Yuanchen even more, feeling that they had driven Liang Yuansheng to his death. She believed that if it weren't for Xi Yuanchen and Yao Yingxi, the company would not have been in trouble.

Liang Yuansheng is not in a hurry to be discharged from the hospital; it's all their fault.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Liang Pingyin got up from the sofa, her face pale and her eyes as red as walnuts. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. After that, she ran a hot bath for Liu Xin. She squatted down next to Liu Xin, reached out to touch the ashes, and said to Liu Xin in a hoarse voice, "Mom, why don't you take a shower first and put Dad down?"

Liu Xin turned her head blankly to look at her, her gaze falling on Liang Pingyin. Suddenly, she became agitated and raised her hand to shove Liang Pingyin away: "You unfilial daughter, stay away from me, stay away from me! You killed your father, you killed your father! Get away from me, get away from me!" She cried out, her voice sounding like a saw because she had been crying for so long.

Liang Pingyin was suddenly pushed away and fell to the ground unprepared. Her lower back hit the sharp leg of the glass table, causing her to wince in pain. Hearing Liu Xin's words, she felt as if her heart had been stabbed with a knife.

She knelt on the ground, apologizing again and again: "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to."

Liu Xin looked at her coldly and said through tears, "If you had gone back to Haicheng a day earlier, your father wouldn't have died. You didn't do it on purpose, so why didn't you go back?"

If she had known it would turn out this way, she would have stayed in the hospital even if it meant her death, and wouldn't have let Liang Yuansheng come back.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She admitted her mistakes again and again, and repented over and over again.

"I'm sorry." Liu Xin sneered, "What's the use of being sorry? Your father is not coming back." Her tone was desperate as she said this: "If I had known that your father and I should have gone back when I broke off the engagement with Xi Yuanchen, we shouldn't have stayed here. That way, he wouldn't have died in a foreign land."

From yesterday until now, she has been condemning herself again and again, regretting her actions over and over again.

She felt she was wrong, terribly wrong. When Xi Yuanchen and Liang Pingyin broke off their engagement, they should have left this place. Even if they lost their reputation, they wouldn't have ended up in such a state.

Now the Liang Group is gone, everything the Liang family owns is gone, even Liang Yuansheng is gone.

Thinking of this, Liu Xin raised her hand and pounded her chest: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault." She was in pain, tears and snot mixed together.

Liang Pingyin grabbed her hand: "Mom, please, please don't do this." She also regretted it. If she had known, she should have gone back to Haicheng. If she had known it would turn out like this, she shouldn't have angered Liang Yuansheng.

Liu Xin grabbed her: "The person I should beg is you. Please give your father back to me. Please give him back to me." In their twenty-odd years of relationship, Liang Yuansheng had never done anything to betray her. He always went along with her wishes. But that person was gone, just like that. She hated him, hated Liang Pingyin, and hated herself.

Liang Pingyin cried, letting Liu Xin pull her along.

……

"Yingxi, it's good to see you again." Yao Yingxi was sitting on the lawn with her basic professional books beside her when someone suddenly walked over, sat down next to her, and greeted her.

Yao Yingxi turned her head at the sound, and when she saw Min Yue beside her, she was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Senior."

"I've heard that you're not much older than me, and I feel embarrassed when you call me 'senior'."

Yao Yingxi smiled. Min Yue noticed a blue envelope tucked inside one of the textbooks beside her and pulled it out with interest: "Who did you borrow this book from?"

“A classmate, I don’t know him very well. This is a book from the library. He gave it to me after he finished reading it.” Yao Yingxi continued looking at the page in her hand, not looking at Min Yue, so she didn’t know that Min Yue was holding a love letter.

"Yingxi, I heard you have a boyfriend, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Yingxi glanced at her sideways, her eyes filled with wariness.

"Don't mind it. People at school are saying you were driven here in a luxury car. I was just asking out of curiosity. You don't have to answer," Min Yue quickly explained. For some reason, she really wanted to tutor Yao Yingxi, her friend. She felt Yao Yingxi's personality was similar to her own—both were very hardworking.

Seeing Yao Yingxi remain silent, she continued, "Look, this is what I saw in this book. You'll definitely take these professional books home with you, right? It wouldn't be good if your boyfriend misunderstood."

Hearing this, Yao Yingxi was stunned for a few seconds before she came to her senses and thanked him, "Thank you."

This is the fourth love letter she received at school today. She usually keeps them in her backpack and will throw them away when she gets back, not wanting Xi Yuanchen to see them and cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Min Yue smiled and said, "It seems everyone was right, you do have a boyfriend?"

Yao Yingxi remained silent.

Min Yue continued, "It's normal for you to be wary of me, after all, we've only met twice."

Yao Yingxi gave a faint "hmm".

After all, no one would trust someone who speaks to them in a familiar tone after only a few meetings.

Min Yue was speechless for a moment because of her indifferent tone.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, making it somewhat awkward. Min Yue spoke up, "Why aren't you going back to your dorm?"

"I just finished eating. I heard that seniors are usually very busy. Are you done with your work, senior?"

Min Yue chuckled: "Because my family is rich, I don't need to be busy."

Yao Yingxi was stunned when she heard this, her eyes blank.

Min Yue smiled and looked at her with her eyes crinkling.

It took Yao Yingxi quite a while to realize what was happening.

Min Yue stayed with Yao Yingxi until afternoon class started, and only left after Yao Yingxi left.

Yao Yingxi was a little puzzled as to why Min Yue had sat with her for the entire afternoon.

"Yingxi, are you going to the library tonight? I know some books that might be suitable for your current stage of study."

Unsolicited attempts to get close—that was the first word that came to Yao Yingxi's mind. She shook her head and said, "Thank you, but I have to go home tonight."

Min Yue shrugged: "Okay then, I'll bring it to you from the library when I have time."

Yao Yingxi refused again: "No need to trouble yourself, senior."

Min Yue chuckled: "You don't need to reject me. I don't have any ulterior motives towards you. I just want to be your friend. There's no need to reject me so quickly."