The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

Having not slept all night, Yao Yingxi sat on the bed, her empty eyes staring at a point in the dim, empty environment.

She remained motionless all night, like a puppet.

Suddenly, a "thump thump" sound came from her ear. Yao Yingxi was startled and her body trembled subconsciously. Her clear black and white eyes moved before she came to her senses. This was her own place. She was out of danger.

Yao Yingxi closed her eyes, raised her hand to press her sore eyes, and took a deep breath.

Life must go on; she has no right to remain fragile.

Yao Yingxi reached for her phone on the bedside table and pressed a button, only to find that it was out of battery.

She got out of bed, found her phone charger, plugged in her phone, and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

In front of the mirror, her face was pale, her eyes were empty, and she no longer had the look of longing for life that she had two months ago.

Yao Yingxi stared blankly at herself as her phone rang, breaking the oppressive silence of the room.

When the call connected, Liang Yu's anxious voice came through: "Yingxi, Yueyue is going to have an abortion. I beg you, I beg you to persuade her! Please save my child and give our family of three a chance to live."

After hearing Liang Yu's words, Yao Yingxi was still in a daze, but the image of the last time she saw Yao Yingyue flashed before her eyes. Her child was already so big, why did she want to abort it?

"Where are you?" Yao Yingxi ran outside quickly.

Outside the door, a delivery box sat quietly at the entrance of her rented room.

When Yao Yingxi arrived at the hospital Liang Yu had mentioned, she saw a crowd gathered outside the obstetrics and gynecology department. She pushed through the crowd and went inside. Yao Yingyue, heavily pregnant, was leaning against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably. Liang Yu knelt in front of her, pleading, "Yueyue, I beg you, the baby is already six months old, and in two more months he will be with us. Please don't be so heartless and abandon him!"

"It's all my fault. If anyone should atone, it's me who should atone with Yingxi. Among the three of us, I'm the sinner!"

“I’m a scumbag. I shouldn’t have fallen in love with you, I shouldn’t have gotten you pregnant, I shouldn’t have made Yingxi hate you. It’s all my fault. I’ll go and apologize to Yingxi. Please don’t abandon our child. Please don’t hurt yourself.”

Liang Yu cried as he spoke, taking out his phone to dial Yao Yingxi's number.

In the crowd, Yao Yingxi's phone rang clearly, and Yao Yingyue and Liang Yu turned around at the same time.

When Yao Yingyue saw Yao Yingxi, she walked over with her big pregnant belly, and her tears fell even harder.

Standing in front of Yao Yingxi, she reached out to hold Yao Yingxi's hand, but then timidly withdrew it. She choked out, "Sister, where have you been all this time? I was so worried. Please don't ignore my calls, please don't be angry with me, and please don't hate me. I... I'll get an abortion right away, and I'll break off all ties with Liang Yu..."

"Sister, please don't abandon me." Yao Yingyue reached out and held Yao Yingxi's hand, pleading.

Yao Yingxi looked at her, her gaze sweeping over her face before settling on her protruding belly.

Liang Yu crawled over on his knees and cried heartbrokenly at Yao Yingxi's feet: "Yingxi, I was wrong. I shouldn't have betrayed you. I shouldn't have developed feelings for Yueyue. But Yingxi, I truly love Yueyue, and I never intended to hurt you or betray you!"

"Maybe it sounds mean to say this, but when it comes to feelings, we can't just control them."

"After I realized I had feelings for Yueyue, I tried to restrain myself and also tried to avoid it. During that time, I was always away on business trips. I thought that as long as I didn't see her, I would be able to let go of my feelings for her, but Yingxi..."

“Unlike you, Yueyue, you can protect yourself very well. Even without me, you can fight your way through all difficulties like a warrior. But Yueyue can’t do that.”

“Do you remember that two-week business trip and training at the beginning of the year? You complained to me that Yueyue had grown up and had her own ideas. She often refused to answer your calls. Even when you made a video call to her, she wouldn’t answer…” Liang Yu looked at Yao Yingyue with a pained expression. Yao Yingyue turned her head away from Liang Yu and covered her mouth with her hand: “She’s afraid to video call you. She’s being bullied and beaten by her classmates at school. She doesn’t want us to worry, so she never tells us.”

"Do you know how much my heart ached when I saw her lying in the hospital bed, fainting from hunger because of a classmate's prank?"

"Yingxi, I have feelings for you, but it's not love. Our love was destroyed long ago under your forceful arrangement."

“What happened between Yueyue and me was wrong of us. We should have come clean with you sooner instead of letting you witness that ugly scene.” Liang Yu’s gaze was firm: “But the child is innocent. I’m willing to take responsibility for my sins, so I beg you, please, please grant us the right to be a family of three.”

Amidst the hustle and bustle and whispers around her, Yao Yingxi looked at Yao Yingyue and Liang Yu, and suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

They couldn't possibly know what kind of person she was. What was the difference between begging for her forgiveness in such a grand manner and forcing her to swallow a fly?

This is the man she once loved and her own blood-related sister!

Yao Yingxi smiled. If they insisted on her forgiveness, on the peace of mind that came from being morally blackmailed, she would give it to them.

Yao Yingxi patted Yao Yingyue's hand and said, "Yueyue, I forgive you. Whether you and Liang Yu get married in the future is your personal freedom. I don't love this man anymore."

"If you've decided he's the one for you, then marry him. I wish you both well and I'll grant your wish."

“You’re pregnant…” Yao Yingxi looked at her pale face and couldn’t help but say, “Take care of yourself. I have work to do, so I’ll be going now.”

After saying that, Yao Yingxi turned and left.

After leaving the hospital, Yao Yingxi stood at the busy intersection, raised her hand to touch her cheek, which was dry.

She didn't cry, nor could she cry.

Yao Yingyue is her own sister, and she has to swallow this hurt willingly, even if it cuts her like a sharp blade, leaving her bleeding profusely.

After wandering around outside until work hours, Yao Yingxi went straight to Nightshade. She had originally thought that after what happened yesterday, the supervisor would fire her, but things didn't turn out that way.

When her colleagues saw her, they acted as if they knew nothing about what had happened the night before, and the supervisor's attitude remained unchanged.

Yao Yingxi breathed a sigh of relief and continued her work diligently. When she got home from get off work that evening, she finally noticed the delivery box at her door.

Frowning, Yao Yingxi thought back to whether she had bought anything online recently, then picked up the box, opened the door, and went inside.

Yao Yingxi reached out and turned on the light, then grabbed a utility knife from the table and opened the package.

Inside the box was a note and a USB drive in a sealed bag. Yao Yingxi opened the note, which read: "Miss Yao, have you ever had any doubts about your mother's death back then? This is the truth behind the gift for Miss Yao."