Chapter 51- Part 1

Ji Ran’s room was a mess; almost everything on the desk was on the floor, shards of mirror scattered around, and the table lamp was already broken into several pieces, giving an alarming sight.

Ji Ran stood still, her eyes slightly lowered, appearing fragile and pitiful.

As for Jiang Yi beside her, her face was flushed and her neck straight, looking somewhat intimidating.

Aunt Zhao kept nagging, “How dare you make a mess in the room? Look at these shattered pieces on the floor and the broken mirror. Luckily, no one got hurt; otherwise, it would’ve been a disaster.”

Finally, Jiang Yi seemed to wake up from a dream, shocked by Ji Ran’s behavior.

She stood still, as if stunned.

Then she immediately pointed at Ji Ran, shouting, “It’s her; she did it herself; it has nothing to do with me at all.”

By now, Ji Qingli was visibly impatient. If he had any remorse towards Jiang Liqi before, along with his appreciation for Jiang Yi, now he was thoroughly fed up with her.

He turned to Jiang Liqi beside him and said, “I think you really need to discipline Jiang Yi properly.”

In his view, Jiang Yi must have been unhappy that Ji Ran didn’t want her to stay at home, so she vented her anger by smashing things in Ji Ran’s room. After all, teenagers could be reckless when angry.

Ji Qingli now felt that Ji Ran had her reasons for not wanting Jiang Yi to stay at home.

Such a child, going crazy when angered—who could bear it?

Jiang Liqi immediately walked into the room, intending to pull Jiang Yi out by the arm, but Jiang Yi shook her head, saying, “Mom, believe me, it wasn’t me; I didn’t do it. It’s all her; she set me up.”

When she mentioned “setting up,” Jiang Yi’s face flushed red, as if she had grasped a lifesaving straw.

Yes, it was Ji Ran who framed her; she was the one who broke things and smashed the mirror herself.

She just wanted to drive herself away.

This scheming girl.

“Enough, Jiang Yi.”

Jiang Liqi knew that saying anything now was useless. The mess all over the room, the shards on the floor, all seemed like evidence against Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi, still wanting to defend herself, but Jiang Liqi grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out.

Jiang Yi struggled to break free, causing Jiang Liqi to lose her balance and almost fall.

Fortunately, Aunt Zhao was nearby, and she reached out to support Jiang Liqi, preventing her from falling. As she helped Jiang Liqi, Aunt Zhao said anxiously, “Miss Jiang, you’re too reckless. Madam is pregnant. If you had pushed her and caused her to fall, it would’ve been a disaster.”

Even Jiang Liqi herself was frightened.

She couldn’t help but take a step back, obviously distancing herself from Jiang Yi.

Ji Qingli couldn’t bear it anymore. He pointed to the corridor and scolded angrily, “Jiang Yi, go back to your own room now.”

Previously, Ji Qingli had been relatively polite to Jiang Yi. Even if Jiang Yi had made mistakes, as a stepfather, he hadn’t reprimanded her, leaving it to Jiang Liqi to handle.

But now it seemed that she was becoming more and more ungrateful, without a hint of gratitude.

This time, Jiang Yi obediently complied. She looked around and felt that no one understood her and no one believed her, filled with despair.

Unable to restrain her emotions any longer, she rushed out.

After she left, Ji Qingli sighed helplessly, looking at Ji Ran, who had been silent all along.

He muttered, “This Jiang Yi is indeed unbearable; she truly lacks upbringing…”

He finally stopped himself. Although Ji Qingli had many flaws, being from a prestigious family, he usually refrained from making such comments about a person, especially a child.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yi disappointed him too much.

“Is that so?” Ji Ran suddenly raised her head and asked softly.

Ji Qingli was somewhat surprised to see her so calm, but then felt a hint of pride. After all, Ji Ran had truly surpassed Jiang Yi in every aspect.

Especially in temperament, Jiang Yi seemed impatient and short-sighted.

In contrast, Ji Ran remained calm and composed, even in such situations.

Looking at Ji Qingli calmly, Ji Ran said, “I heard that Jiang Yi’s parents divorced early, and she has always been raised by her mother.”

Ji Qingli’s criticism of Jiang Yi’s upbringing was essentially criticizing Jiang Liqi herself. After all, she was Jiang Yi’s guardian.

Ji Qingli’s expression darkened at Ji Ran’s words.

But Ji Ran didn’t care. Since everything was out in the open today, there was no need for pretense. She continued, “Dad, they say children are the reflection of their parents. You must have heard this saying before.”

“Ran, please…” Ji Qingli couldn’t help but interrupt her.

Ji Ran’s words were much harsher than what he had said earlier. This was a direct accusation against Jiang Liqi herself.

But Ji Ran wanted to wake Ji Qingli up. Ultimately, he was just deceived by Jiang Liqi’s appearance of weakness. Meeting a woman with a completely different personality from Pei Yuan stirred up a sense of pride in him as a man. He felt he could protect and cherish this poor woman, who had eyes only for him.

But could Jiang Liqi, as a woman in her forties who managed to win Ji Qingli’s affection among a group of young girls, really be weak and helpless?

It was deceiving.

Ji Ran said directly, “As soon as she got pregnant, she used her unborn child to try to get Jiang Yi to move back. Just for this scheming and manipulation alone, I have to admire and call her Aunt Jiang.”

Her voice was cold, and her face was filled with mockery.

Ji Qingli was the kind of person who expected others to agree with him and couldn’t tolerate opposition. Ji Ran had been willing to go along with him before, acting out the father’s kindness and the daughter’s filial piety, but this time she was truly annoyed.

Since she had already dealt with Jiang Yi, she might as well tear off Jiang Liqi’s disguise as well.

Ji Qingli looked at her as if he didn’t recognize her, surprised.

“Ran, how could you think like this? And where did you learn all these things?”

“Do you think my mom taught me this?” Ji Ran couldn’t help but laugh at his words.

After divorcing Ji Qingli, Pei Yuan didn’t even mention him, let alone bother with his affairs.

He was quite presumptuous as a father.

Ji Ran said calmly, “Isn’t it? Didn’t you see Jiang Yi’s behavior just now? As soon as she saw you approaching, her first reaction was to shift the blame.”

Ji Qingli was left speechless by her words.

He could never have imagined that the one truly shifting the blame was the young girl in front of him.

In a lowered voice, Ji Qingli said, “Ran, Jiang Yi won’t live in the house anymore. After her college entrance exams, I will arrange for her to study abroad.”

Keeping her at a distance, out of sight, and out of mind.

“This is your business, Dad. After all, you’re willing to raise someone else’s child for them.”

Ji Qingli couldn’t utter a word in response.

Around eleven o’clock at night, Jiang Liqi entered Jiang Yi’s room with something in her hands. Jiang Yi was lying in bed, but she immediately sat up when she saw her mother coming in.

She looked at Jiang Liqi eagerly, appearing as if she wanted to cry but dared not.

“Mom, I really didn’t mean to push you.”

Jiang Yi, who had been full of grievances earlier, was now lying alone in bed, growing more scared as she thought about it. She was afraid that Jiang Liqi might dislike her and not want her anymore, leaving her completely isolated and helpless.

Seeing her frightened appearance, Jiang Liqi, who had initially planned to teach her a lesson, felt a bit sorry for her.

She whispered, “Are you scared now?”

Jiang Yi’s voice was hoarse, “I was really angry at that moment, but I didn’t intend to harm you.”

Putting the things in her hands on the table, Jiang Liqi said softly, “You haven’t eaten anything tonight. Have a little bit.”

“I’m not hungry.” Jiang Yi spoke the truth. She had been scared all night and hadn’t felt hungry at all.

Jiang Liqi stared at her and sighed before saying, “This time, it’s to teach you a lesson.”

Considering herself to be relatively clear-headed and perceptive, Jiang Liqi was able to marry into a wealthy family at her age, with many young and beautiful girls outside waiting for such an opportunity. Yet her daughter, on the other hand, was reckless and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.

Jiang Yi sniffled softly and said in a small, aggrieved voice, “Mom, I really didn’t break things in her room. She did it herself. She framed me.”

As she spoke, Jiang Liqi’s sigh became even more pronounced.

Jiang Liqi asked, “Then why did you go to her room?”

Jiang Yi’s body tensed up.