The Real Daughter is Done Pretending - Chapter 6

 Chapter 6

In the elegantly decorated bedroom, many people had gathered.

Grandma Ye lay in bed, supported by Ye Baozhu as she took her medicine. Though she could breathe a little easier now, her condition was still poor, and her face was a dreadful shade.

She was unwilling to open her eyes any longer, only gripping Ye Baozhu's hand weakly and saying, "Fang Siwan, whether you buy another house for her in Huaichuan or send her abroad for school, I don’t want to see her in the Ye family again…”

Fang Siwan was the name of Ye’s wife.

Her face turned ashen at these words, and as she opened her mouth to respond, the old lady suddenly opened her eyes, slammed her hand on the edge of the bed, and glared at her fiercely: "Are you trying to kill me with anger? Years ago, Zhu Zhu cried her voice hoarse to save my life, and now you want your other daughter to take me away?!"

Such harsh words made Ye’s wife’s face pale. She turned to look at Ye Kong.

The girl leaned against the wall, observing the scene from a distance with an air of indifference.

Though this demeanor might normally be off-putting, Ye’s wife, seeing others whisper and point at her, felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest.

“Mom, what are you saying? I’ll have a good talk with Xiao Kong. You…”

“Talk about what? What’s there to discuss! I see she doesn’t want to acknowledge me as her grandmother or you as her mother! You…”

“Hey—” Ye Kong, who had been silently enduring the pointed stares, suddenly looked up and declared loudly, “I never said I don’t recognize my mom, I just don’t acknowledge you. After all, my mom hasn’t said that Ye Baozhu is her real daughter.”

As everyone stared in shock, Ye Kong even stood up straight, took a step forward, and asked Ye’s wife, “So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to imitate that old lady and claim Ye Baozhu is your real daughter? If that’s the case, then I should indeed admit I’m in the wrong place.”

Ye’s wife was stunned.

Ye Baozhu was also frozen.

She turned to look at Ye’s wife, who had not yet answered. With her eyes reddened in disbelief, she called out, “Mom” with a pleading tone.

Ye’s wife, however, dared not look back.

She was caught by the piercing gaze of the girl in front of her, just as she had been unable to utter that half-formed rebuke earlier. Now, she couldn’t bring herself to glance at Ye Baozhu.

The girl standing before her seemed less like the long-lost, pitiful daughter and more like an impartial examiner, ready to give a failing grade and kick her out completely—though she still couldn’t fathom where this feeling came from, she instinctively knew she didn’t want to be dismissed.

Ye’s wife hesitated, “Xiao Kong, don’t harbor so much hostility towards Baozhu. We’ve raised her for twenty years, even if she’s not blood-related…”

“Fang Siwan!”

“Mom!”

The simultaneous exclamations from the old lady and Ye Baozhu interrupted Ye’s wife.

But those present had already heard the words.

Several relatives who didn’t know the full story couldn’t hide their shock.

The old lady began to struggle for breath again, gasping heavily as she said, “Get her out! Throw her out! If she doesn’t acknowledge me as her grandmother, then the Ye family doesn’t need her as a granddaughter! Get her out!”

After the old lady shouted this, she clutched her chest and collapsed into her pillow.

In the chaos, someone pushed open the door. Amidst the respectful “Sir” and “President Ye” titles, the newcomer strode to the bed and bent down to check on the old lady’s condition.

Ye Baozhu took a step back and timidly called out, “Dad.”

The newcomer straightened up, instructed the doctors to take good care of her, and then glanced around the room, saying, “What are all of you doing here? Don’t you know the old lady needs to rest?”

The distant relatives awkwardly left the room, leaving only close family members behind.

The Ye family’s tea room was spacious, ideal for a family meeting.

Ye’s current head of the family and chairman of the Ye Group, dressed in a suit, sat in the main seat. After sipping tea brought by the servant, he finally looked up at the others.

Ye’s wife hurriedly approached and took his hand, looking relieved as if she had found a pillar of support, and said with a frown, “Haichuan, Xiao Kong has just returned home, it’s normal for her not to know the rules. She didn’t mean to upset Mom…”

Ye Baozhu remained silent, clenching her hands, while her cousin with blood still staining his forehead couldn’t help but speak up: “Aunt, she’s clearly doing this on purpose! And her hostility towards Baozhu is so intense…”

“What happened to your forehead?” Ye Haichuan interrupted, pointing to the blood on his cousin’s head.

The cousin glared at Ye Kong with frustration: “It’s what your cousin did! I’m telling you, Aunt, Ye Kong is going too far! She…”

“Alright, you can leave. What’s it to you, a Fang, to meddle in the Ye family’s matters?”

The man waved his hand, his expression showing clear irritation. The cousin widened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Ye’s wife, who nodded in agreement.

The cousin twitched his mouth, glanced worriedly at Ye Baozhu, and had no choice but to leave.

The tea room fell silent.

Ye Haichuan then turned his attention to Ye Kong, motioning for her to come over: “Come here.”

Ye Kong thought for a moment, then walked over slowly, finally getting a clear view of the man’s face.

He was a man whose handsomeness could only be described as striking—his deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, and a face that only gained more charm with age, a type that grows more attractive with time.

He was her biological father—his name, Ye Haichuan, was listed on the paternity test.

“Your name is Ye Kong?”

Ye Kong nodded.

“Who gave you this name, and why this name?”

“Ye is for Ye, the leaf, because I was left at the orphanage gate amidst a pile of fallen leaves, so the director gave me the surname Ye. Kong is,” Ye Kong paused, “for the sky. Grandpa hoped I would be as vast and forgiving as the sky.”

“Good name,” the man said with a smile. “So, should I call you Kong Kong? Or Xiao Kong?”

“You can call me Eleven.”

“And why is that?”

“I was the eleventh child adopted by the orphanage, so everyone calls me Eleven.”

“You’re no longer an orphan. Even by sequence, you’re the third child of the Ye family.” Ye’s wife couldn’t help but interject.

Ye Kong glanced away, “It’s not a nice name.”

Ye Haichuan chuckled, “Then let’s stick with Kong Kong. It’s cute and sounds like calling Sun Wukong. I see your troublemaking ability is about the same.”

His smile gradually faded: “I must tell you, Ye Kong, your grandmother is very fond of Ye Baozhu. And given her age and the need to avoid stress, even for your grandmother’s sake, we will never easily drive Baozhu out of the Ye family.”

Ye Kong replied calmly, “I must also tell you, I very much dislike Ye Baozhu and that old lady. If you choose them over me, then I won’t recognize you as my parents either.”

Standing while Ye Haichuan sat, the distance was just enough for Ye Kong to look slightly down on him.

She fixed her cold, black eyes on Ye Haichuan and said, “Do you think I care about the Ye family?”