Ye Zhizhou rose and neatly folded the flag, his gaze sweeping over the members of the Ren family one by one before finally settling on Yu Xue. "None of you are innocent, but you're the most deserving of death," he declared. If it weren't for this person's jealousy of his mother and the role she played in causing his father's amnesia, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Yu Xue had just been tormented by memories, and her emotions were already out of control. Upon hearing his words, she screamed in desperation, "No! It's Ye Wenshuai who deserves to die the most! It's her! And Ren Yunjie, they're the ones who killed Haonan!"
"Anyone who has harmed my parents, I won't spare them," Ye Zhizhou stepped forward, his eyes filled with malice. "But Yu Xue, isn't it your indirect actions that led to my father's demise? If he hadn't lost his memory, how could he not have searched for my mother, and how could he have stayed at the Ren family, giving Ren Yunjie the chance to harm him?"
The voice, enhanced by psychic power, seemed to penetrate directly into Yu Xue's mind. Her distorted expression froze, and she covered her mouth with trembling hands. "No, it's not me, I didn't do it, I love him... I love him!"
Her cries were hoarse and jarring, her denial appearing manic and grotesque. Ren Yunling watched her, took a few steps forward, and pulled her hand down. His eyes were filled with bloodshot veins as he said in a low voice, "Xiaoxue, you love him, then what am I? What am I?"
With a resounding crash, a vase fell to the ground, and Ren Yunling threw Yu Xue to the floor.
"It's been decades, and I thought you would have let go by now," Ren Yunling approached, grabbing her collar and lowering his voice fiercely. "But it turns out everything you said to me was a lie! Have I not been good enough to you all these years? Do you have a heart at all?"
"I don't!" Yu Xue finally cried out, raising her hand to strike him. "Every day, I regret marrying you back then! It's all your fault, why did you marry me, why! How could I have a heart when my heart died when Haonan was made a fool by you all! Do you understand?"
The temperature in Ren Yunling's eyes gradually cooled as he let go of her and stood up, shaking his head. "I only hate that I understood too late."
Their argument had left their daughter, Ren Qiao, in a state of shock. She cried as she approached them, trying to pull Ren Yunling away and then squatting down, attempting to comfort Yu Xue. "Daddy, mommy, what are you doing? Don't let the bad people manipulate you. How can you fight like this... I don't believe it, mommy, how can you possibly love someone else? I don't believe it."
"Don't touch her!" Ren Yunling pulled her up and held her, preventing her from seeing Yu Xue. He stroked her hair and said, "She's not your mommy; she's a demon, she's insane. Don't be afraid, Qiao Qiao, Daddy will protect you, you still have Daddy."
Yu Xue looked at her husband's despairing and silent expression and her daughter's tearful cries. She covered her chest with her hand and turned her head away, closing her eyes.
Ye Zhizhou watched the family's interactions with cold eyes and delivered the final blow, "Ren Yunling, do you think Yu Xue only doesn't love you? No, she hates you, and she hates Ren Qiao too. Otherwise, why do you think Ren Qiao was so calm when she was pregnant, and why did she have the leisure to open the door for me? Whether it's Ren Yunling or Ren Qiao, they are all just tools Yu Xue uses to destroy the Ren family. Before, I couldn't understand why Ren Qiao would get involved with Bai Xuyang. The Ren and Bai families are arch-enemies. Ren Qiao could have sought help from the talented researchers in her own family for her academic struggles. Why choose Bai Xuyang, who is known as a madman?"
"Now I understand. To destroy a family, the simplest and least suspicious way is to start with the enemy family, right? If Bai Xuyang marries Ren Qiao, neither family will have it easy. The conflict will intensify. If Bai Xuyang doesn't marry, Ren Yunling will likely seek revenge on the Bai family like a madman, and the conflict will still escalate. When the conflict is stirred up, Yu Xue can create some chaos in the Ren family. Didn't she achieve her goal of making enemies for the Ren family? Anyway, no matter how much they stir things up, the Ren family won't benefit. As for me, the nuisance, even if I can't get rid of it this time, I'll plan for the next one. So, Bai Xuyang coming to find Yu Xue isn't urgent. This is what she wants; she wants chaos in the Ren family!"
Ren Yunling turned to look at him, his face dark with anger. "What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?" Ye Zhizhou smirked and turned to Bai Xuyang. "Mr. Bai, how did you first meet Ren Qiao?"
Bai Xuyang glanced at Yu Xue and Ren Qiao, deep in thought, before answering, "I heard that there was a young lady from the Ren family with remarkable talent, and I was curious. Later, Mrs. Ren approached me, asking me to help her daughter with the advanced-level exam. The payment was a vial of Ren Qiao's blood. I agreed, and that's how we met."
Ren Yunling's expression changed, and Yu Xue's face grew taut. Ren Qiao's crying slowly subsided.
"Well then," Ye Zhizhou continued, "how did you and Ren Qiao... how did she become pregnant?"
As soon as this question was asked, everyone in the room, no matter their current mood, perked up with curiosity.
"No, please don't say it!" Ren Qiao struggled out of Ren Yunling's embrace and shook her head at Bai Xuyang, tears streaming down her face. "Please, don't say it, I beg you, don't say it..."
Although Bai Xuyang had no feelings about love and relationships, he still had to consider the fact that she was a woman carrying his child. So, he shrugged his shoulders, choosing not to answer the question.
"Qiao Qiao," Ren Yunling turned Ren Qiao around urgently, asking, "Why can't it be said? Is there something that can't be spoken of? It's your mother, isn't it? Did your mother do something to you?"
"No, no, no!" Ren Qiao broke down, squatting down and covering her face. "No... it's not my mother. How could it be my mother? She's my mother..."
Ren Yunling's expression froze for a moment, then he suddenly turned and grabbed Yu Xue from the ground, delivering a harsh slap. His eyes were reddened, with a hint of tears. "Why? Tell me why! You may not love Qiao Qiao, but why did you harm her? Why!"
Yu Xue slowly turned her swollen face back, licked away the blood oozing from her gums, and pushed him away, laughing a few times. "Why? Why do you need a reason? As long as I can destroy the Ren family, as long as I can avenge Haonan, there's nothing I won't sacrifice!"
Ren Yunling clenched his teeth and forcefully pushed her away. "You're insane! You're just insane!" He turned and squatted down, hugging Ren Qiao, closing his eyes to prevent tears from flowing. "Qiao Qiao, I'll take you to the hospital. Let's forget about all this, okay? Forget it all. I'll take you to live on another planet. You'll be fine, okay?"
Bai Xuyang frowned. "Go to the hospital? I disagree." Despite Ren Qiao's pregnancy being an accident, the child inside her was very important and couldn't be aborted.
"You get lost!" Ren Yunling shouted angrily.
"I'll kill you!" Yu Xue, who was lying on the ground, suddenly screamed and rushed toward Bai Xuyang with her psychic power.
Ye Zhizhou, seeing this, quickly trapped her in a cage and sneered. "You're still not giving up." It was terrifying how she still wanted to kill Bai Xuyang and incite hatred in the Bai family against the Ren family at this point.
Ren Yunling quickly realized Yu Xue's intentions and looked at her with hatred. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Yu Xue, don't force me to kill you."
Yu Xue, who had been struggling inside the cage, suddenly froze and slowly sat down on the ground.
Ye Zhizhou watched them and suddenly felt a bit weary. He patted Qian Yuan on the shoulder and said, "You think this group of people is ridiculous, don't you? Clearly, they're family, but they each have their own hidden agenda, calculating and suppressing each other. It sends shivers down your spine."
"Boss..." Qian Yuan glanced at him and then at Ren Qiao, who was squatting on the ground, not knowing what to say.
Ye Zhizhou patted him again and turned to Bai Xuyang. "Do you like Ren Qiao?"
Bai Xuyang shook his head. "I like the child inside her." He couldn't remember the exact reason he had a relationship with her, but he had been deceived. However, it didn't matter anymore. The result was more important than the beginning. The child inside Ren Qiao was very important, and he wanted to keep it.
"Then, will you marry her?"
Bai Xuyang nodded and said, "For the sake of the child, I can."
"In that case, I wish you both a hundred years of happiness," Ye Zhizhou said, then tugged on the arm of the nearby Qian Yuan and urged, "Why aren't you congratulating them on finding true love?"
Qian Yuan didn't understand how the conversation had shifted to this topic. He looked conflicted, glanced at Ren Qiao, and said, "But, but Ren Qiao... Mr. Bai, if you two are really... I hope you'll treat Ren Qiao well. She isn't inherently bad..."
[The probability of a romantic relationship between Qian Yuan and the protagonist has decreased to 0%. The third soul flag has been removed. Congratulations to the host. Please continue to strive.]
Bai Xuyang responded bluntly, "If I do marry her, I won't mistreat her."
Ren Qiao, who was being held by Ren Yunling, shifted slightly, glanced at him, and then quickly lowered her head.
With the play mostly over, Ye Zhizhou turned to look in the direction of the Ren family's front gate and coldly said, "If you've seen enough of the drama, come out."
All the members of the Ren family turned their attention to the gate, their eyes widening in surprise.
"It's really quite spectacular," Shao Feng was the first to push the door open and enter, smiling as he looked at Ye Zhizhou. "You're the one who had a thing with Lou Qian? Impressive, I like it."
Following closely behind, Lou Yi kicked him in irritation and scolded, "Trash! You even covet my sister-in-law?"
Shao Feng rubbed his sore bottom with a wry smile. "Lou Xiaoyi, have you been taking the wrong medicine these past few days? You've been beating me every day."
[The probability of a romantic relationship between Shao Feng and the protagonist has decreased to 0%. The fourth soul flag has been removed. Congratulations to the host.]
[Currently checking task completion... Check failed, soul flag is abnormal. Host, please be cautious.]
Ye Zhizhou frowned.
"What's wrong?" Dongfang Shu pushed Shao Feng aside and walked over to Ye Zhizhou, scanning the Ren family members before patting his hair and asking in a low voice, "Is the task completed?"
"No," he looked at Dongfang Shu, his expression serious. "There's something wrong with the task."