"Brother..." Yun Yiyi looked at her brother, Yun Qiao, with nary a ripple in her expression. However, her voice trembled slightly despite herself. If it were in the past, she would have thrown herself into her brother's arms and told him about how upset she felt.
However, that was a thing of the past. She would no longer do such a thing. Whenever she recalled her brother had agreed to her mother's scheme, her heart would ache.
Yun Qiao was dressed casually in a white top. He had a handsome face under his short black hair. He resembled Yun Yiyi a little. He walked, step by step, toward Yun Yiyi, revealing a limp in his right leg.
When he came to halt in front of Yun Yiyi, he looked at her with a gentle gaze. He raised his hand and wanted to brush away the strand of stray hair on her forehead. However, he saw her taking a step back to avoid his hand. He was momentarily stunned before an expression filled with untold grievances and indescribable bitterness appeared on his face.
When Yun Yiyi saw the expression on her brother's face, she pursed her lips and looked away. Her heart felt incredibly uncomfortable.
Upon seeing this, Song Zhuang frowned slightly. She began to scold angrily, "Yiyi, if your brother and I didn't come home in time, would you have beaten your mother to death? As a daughter, how can you do something as abhorrent as this? It was hard for your mother to raise you and your brother alone for so many years, how can you be so unfilial?"
Qiao Xi played along with Song Zhuang and wiped the crocodile tears from her eyes. "Ah, my life is so tough. Why did I give birth to such a daughter? How did I raise an ingrate? I don't want to live anymore."
Song Zhuang glared at Yun Yiyi and continued to say, "Auntie, don't cry. This is all Yiyi's fault. She must apologize to you."
"That's enough!" Yun Qiao snapped as he looked at his mother and girlfriend. "We're a family. What's there to quarrel about? Xiao Zhuang, shut up!"
"Did I say something wrong? I'm only telling the truth!" Song Zhuang became unhappy. She looked at Yun Qiao and angrily said, "An unfilial daughter like her would have been beaten to death in ancient times! Look at how arrogant she is!"
Yun Qiao looked at Song Zhuang and sternly said, "Xiao Zhuang, you've gone too far!"
Song Zhuang opened her mouth and wanted to refute, but when she saw the grim expression on Yun Qiao's face, she looked at Qiao Xi unwillingly and said, "Auntie, please sit down. I'll pour you a glass of water. Calm down."
Qiao Xi sat on the chair and rested her hands on the table. From the corners of her eyes, she glanced at the forlorn Yun Yiyi. A hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes as she mockingly said, "Oh, how can I dispel this anger? I feel like I'm half-dead. My life is so tough. Why do I have such an unfilial daughter?"
"Mom..." Yun Qiao looked at his mother, Qiao Xi, helplessly. He tried to persuade her by saying, "Can you not say that about Yiyi? You know Yiyi has always been very filial to you."
"Filial? If she's filial, how could she have hit her mother?" Song Zhuan chimed in again when she walked in with a glass of water.
Yun Qiao glared at Song Zhuang and harshly said, "No one will think you're mute if you speak less."
Song Zhuang pouted and glared back at Yun Qiao resentfully.
Yun Yiyi, who had been silent all this time, finally said, "Mom, you know very well whether I hit you or not. You know very well whether I'm filial to you or not. There are some things that you shouldn't say. It'd disrupt the harmony in the family."
"Harmony?" Qiao Xi sneered. "You want nothing to do with me, but you dare to talk about harmony?" Before Yun Yiyi could speak, she continued to scold, "After you and Young Master Gu got married, we could finally live a good life. However, you went and provoked Young Master Gu. I'm so old, but I was evicted from the villa. Do you know how embarrassed I was?"
"Mom..." Yun Qiao frowned as he looked at his mother. "This is too much!"
Qiao Xi looked at Yun Qiao and said unhappily, "Fine, I won't talk about this for now. However, Yun Yiyi, you can disregard me as your mother, but your brother has doted on you since you were young. No matter how stubborn you are, you shouldn't ignore your brother… Why do you think your brother's right leg is crippled? If he didn't save you, would a car have hit him? Would he become a cripple?"
Yun Yiyi bit her lower lip tightly. Her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Her anger toward her mother was instantly replaced by guilt. She felt extremely uncomfortable. She had felt guilty her entire life for being the reason her brother was a cripple.
Since they were from a single-parent household, her mother was too busy to take care of her and her brother. She went to school with her brother. After school, her brother would always pick her up. The streets were filled with cars, and the siblings would walk home next to each other. She was happy when she was with her brother.
One summer, when she was nine, she and her brother were crossing the road in the evening. At that time, a car ran the red light and was speeding toward them. At the critical moment, her brother pushed her out of harm's way, but he was sent flying by the car.
At that time, the doctors had said that things did not look good for her brother. Her mother had cried every day and vented her sadness on her. Her mother had hit her until her body was riddled with bruises.
Her mother had always doted on her brother and ignored her, after all. The days when her brother's life was hanging by a thread were the darkest days of her life. Even thinking about it now made her body tremble.
Trepidation would creep up on her and tighten its clutch around her heart when she recalled the slaps that made her see stars, the starvation that she had to endure for three days, the fear when she was locked in a small and dark closet, and the scene where her mother almost threw her out of the second floor.
Night after night, she fervently prayed for her brother's recovery. She would give her life if it meant her brother could live.
She did not know if it was due to her prayers or her brother's luck, but he survived in the end. However, he became a cripple. Because he walked with a limp, many people laughed and made fun of him. Every time it rained, his right leg would be in excruciating pain that he had no choice but to take painkillers.
Guilt. Self-blame.
Every time her mother brought this matter up, she would not be able to refute her mother's words. After all, it was true that his brother became a cripple in order to save her,
Yun Qiao said angrily, "Mom, why are you bringing this up!"
Qiao Xi knew no matter how angry Yun Yiyi was, the fact that her brother became a cripple because of her was something Yun Yiyi did not stop blaming herself for. She knew once she brought this matter up, Yun Yiyi would not dare to say another word. She looked at Yun Yiyi disdainfully. Yun Yiyi dared to challenge her? She was still too young!
"Why did you think I brought this matter up? Isn't it because of you?" She looked at Yun Yiyi again and said bitterly, "Yiyi, your brother is a cripple, and it's difficult for him to marry a wife. Not only is Song Zhuang beautiful, but she doesn't disdain your brother as well. They're about to get married and are in need of money. However, you selfishly provoked Young Master Gu... Where are we going to find the money for him to get married now?"
"Your brother would need a house before he can get married. How can this shabby house be a newlywed's house? The Gu family is wealthy, and they're not lacking in money. It's not like you're divorced. As long you beg for forgiveness from Young Master Gu, your brother will have a house..."
"Mother, it seems like you're unaware that I've divorced Gu Jingyan."