When the phone rang, Ye Yuning was pinned in the restroom, a man's arm locked tightly around her waist.
Outside, footsteps hurried past, while the air inside the restroom was thick with tension.
The man, driven by lust, unconsciously kissed Ye Yuning's jade-white earlobe, his hands roughly tearing at her clothes.
The restroom was enveloped in an atmosphere charged with desire. Seeing no escape, Ye Yuning fiercely bit down on the man's bobbing Adam's apple.
The man hissed, his well-defined hand caressing the back of her neck. "You bit too hard... Loosen up a bit..."
"Let me go!" Ye Yuning kept shoving him aggressively.
Such rotten luck! To finally escape that group's scheme, only to run into another predator in the restroom.
"Don't move." The man's voice was hoarse as he took Ye Yuning's hand and pushed it downward. "Help me."
Ye Yuning quickly understood the situation. She stopped pushing and raised an eyebrow. "Drank something you shouldn't have at the banquet?"
Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, the man looked at the woman before him and, struggling to stay conscious, managed to say, "Take me to the hospital."
「The next day.」
Ye Yuning sat on the couch in the Ye Family living room, utterly exhausted. Her adoptive mother, Zheng Cai, wore a displeased expression, indifferent to her overnight absence.
Zheng Cai said coldly, "Tongtong is already pregnant with Ashuo's child. They must get married immediately."
"The Ye Family raised you for so many years. We don't expect gratitude, but everything that belongs to Tongtong, you must now return it all!"
The more Zheng Cai spoke, the uglier her expression became, and her tone grew particularly stern.
Ye Yuning watched them with a mirthless smile, her mind flashing back to the events of last night's banquet. She knew instantly who had drugged the drinks! So ruthless, lying in wait for her like this! All this effort just to snatch a scumbag... And as for everything belonging to the Ye Family? What right did Zheng Cai have to speak with such arrogance?
Before she could respond, Ye Tong, the biological daughter the Ye Family had found only two months prior, burst into tears. "Sister, I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
"That day, brother-in-law was accompanying me to the banquet. We were set up and drank something we shouldn't have..."
"Can you shut up?"
Ye Yuning looked at Ye Tong, her expression filled with disgust. The phrase 'something we shouldn't have drunk' grated on her nerves even more.
She glanced coldly at Ye Tong's still-flat stomach. "Pregnant with Xiao Shuo's seed?"
Hearing Ye Yuning speak so crudely, Zheng Cai slammed a cup on the floor. "Watch your mouth! What do you mean, 'seed'?"
Ye Yuning retorted, "He's my fiancé, and you knew it. Yet you let him get you pregnant. Only now do you find the words unpleasant?"
At these words, Ye Tong, who was still sobbing, turned visibly paler.
Zheng Cai trembled with fury. "Your fiancé? When our families arranged the engagement, they specified the 'Ye Family's daughter'!"
"It didn't matter when Tongtong wasn't back. But now that she has returned, the engagement naturally belongs to her!"
She heavily emphasized the words "Ye Family's daughter."
Ever since Ye Yuning had entered the house today, Zheng Cai had been overtly and covertly reminding her that everything belonged to Ye Tong. As if she, Ye Yuning, coveted anything from the Ye Family.
Meeting Zheng Cai's forceful gaze, Ye Yuning laughed sarcastically. "You're lecturing me about the Ye Family?"
"Have you forgotten why the Ye Family managed to squeeze into Upper City's high society? Do you need me to remind you?"
"You...!"
The blunt reminder of the past left Zheng Cai gasping, a suffocating anger lodged in her chest. She was so choked up she couldn't utter a word.
Everyone in Upper City knew the Ye Family had only managed to establish themselves because Ye Yuning had saved someone when she was thirteen.
Zheng Cai's earlier arrogance instantly deflated.
Fortunately for Zheng Cai, Ye Yuning didn't press further, turning her gaze back to Ye Tong. "What did the Xiao Family say?"
As for Xiao Shuo, a frequent brothel visitor, she'd been wondering how to break off the engagement without offending the Xiao Family. In a way, Ye Tong had done her a huge favor, but these methods were truly disgusting.
Ye Tong continued to weep pitifully, unwilling to speak.
Zheng Cai, her face ashen, interjected, "The Xiao Family said that before Tongtong returned, the engagement was with you. To avoid becoming a laughingstock, you have to get married first!"
So they did know what shame was. Judging by their earlier attitude, I thought they were completely shameless! But this marriage... Ye Yuning raised an eyebrow. "With whom?"
She really wanted to see just how low these people could stoop today.
Zheng Cai had lost her earlier smugness.
Suppressing her anger, she said softly, "The eldest son of the Qin Family. We've already agreed. The wedding is in three days."
She quickly added, "Don't look down on the Qin Family's eldest son just because he's intellectually challenged. Their family is the second wealthiest in Upper City. If I hadn't fought for it, given your current status, they wouldn't have even considered you!"
The Qin Family's eldest son... rumored to be a fool, huh! Snatch away everything she has, then marry her off to the Qin Family's fool to ensure she never has a chance to recover.
Such audacious scheming made Ye Yuning want to applaud. "Brilliant. Truly brilliant!"
"You've really outdone yourself paving the way for Ye Tong. I never realized you were so clever, Mrs. Ye!"
Her renewed bluntness, coupled with the chill in her voice, made the already guilty Zheng Cai feel utterly humiliated.
Ye Tong, seeing things were taking a bad turn, quickly wiped her tears and looked aggrievedly at Ye Yuning. "Sister, I'm sorry. It's because I came back that you lost your status as the Ye Family's eldest daughter. Mother only made these arrangements for your own good."
This feigned innocence made Ye Yuning's expression turn completely icy.