Slap—
That ruthless palm landed heavily on Ji Weixi's face sharply and painfully.
"You insolent girl… your shame truly knows no bounds! Speak! Who does that bastard in your belly belong to?!"
Ji Xiangdong glared at his eldest daughter and her bulging stomach. His eyes were red with rage.
"I… I don't know."
Tears began to roll down from Ji Weixi's eyes. Her cheeks were red and swollen. Her jet-black hair spread over her shoulders began to dangle as she held herself tighter.
"You don't even know who it belongs to? How messed up is your private life?!"
Stepmother Zhou Huijie was folding her arms and watching her with a look of great disgust.
"I wasn't playing around! I really didn't!"
Ji Weixi shook her head wildly and tried her best to explain.
She had been defiled without knowing who the man was.
The only thing she remembered was that she had passed out after some drinks on graduation night, and that someone had already laid their hands upon her when she recovered.
She dared not tell her father, much less allow her stepmother, who had always been keen on smearing her to know.
But as she carried that secret with her, her belly swelled by the day.
"No? You don't even know who the father is, and you would still claim otherwise?!"
Zhou Huijie's sly gaze cut into her as she yelled, "Husband! Now all of River Town knows that the eldest daughter of our family has loose morals and messes around. You mustn't indulge her anymore."
Ji Xiangdong looked up at his young wife. "What should I do, then?"
"If it were me, it'd be best to disown her." Zhou Huijie's lips curled up as she spoke with a honeyed voice. "Husband, I know you love Weixi. But after such a huge mess, Ji Group is done for if we don't cut ties right away!"
"Zhou Huijie, so all you want is chase me off and claim the company for yourself!" Ji Weixi seethed.
Ever since her mother's death, her father had quickly married Zhou Huijie.
Since then, she had never seen the light of day as she was bullied to the bone by that stepmother and her younger stepsister.
Her dishonor might not be completely unrelated to them either.
"What are you talking about?!" With her nerve touched, a poisonous look flashed across Zhou Huijie's face for an instant. "Your father and I genuinely love each other, and I've always thought of you as my own all these years… but you scorned me without showing me gratitude! Why would I take your father's company—his very blood and sweat?"
The more she went on, the more Zhou Huijie was aggrieved. Tears began to flow as if in great sadness.
Ji Xiangdong embraced his wife, his heart aching. Slapping his desk heavily, he bellowed—flustered and exasperated, "Kneel!"
Ji Weixi clenched her fist tightly instead—the rim of her eyes reddened. "Why should I kneel?! I did nothing wrong!"
She was the victim. Why should she be taking responsibility for everything?
"You are a disgrace!" Ji Xiangdong abruptly stood up and unleashed another slap. "You've humiliated the Ji family! From this day forth, you are no longer one of us!"
The slap knocked the wind out of Ji Weixi and she fell—her belly cramping and her breath caught.
"You are… disowning me?" Her voice was shaking in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Zhou Huijie went to her husband, wiping her tears and dissuading him insincerely. "Husband, don't… Weixi is pregnant, what if you hurt the child?"
She really knew how to act the part of a nice person—a moment ago, she was chasing her out of the family…
And now she was trying to keep the peace.
Ji Xiangdong grunted coldly, no longer caring for any father-daughter sentiment. "It's exactly because she's pregnant that our family has lost face! You're really becoming like your mother, bitch!"
'Bitch...
'Haha. Bitch?!'
He really was heartless. No different from the days leading to her mother's death.
Ji Weixi clenched a fist—her knuckles tightening into bare whiteness.
She was his daughter. How could he be so cruel?
"Dad, we're home."
A voice that resembled the chime of a bell rang.
By the door, a girl in a white skirt was entering the room alongside a cultured and refined man.
As her gaze lowered to their linked hands, Ji Weixi's complexion paled.
Was that her stepsister Ji Jianing, together with her childhood friend, Mo Nanfeng?