Ye Yunyun stopped bracing herself.
'Huh, why didn't Mom follow the script? Still, I've managed to escape one of fate's turning points. Yay!'
"Don't touch it!" Su Mian shrieked, slapping the bottle of antiseptic out of Su Yan's hand. It spilled onto the floor. Though it happened quietly, Bai Xi clearly saw the surface of the floorboards corrode.
Su Mian's expression instantly turned awkward. Before she could think of an excuse, the spoiled Su Yan started shoving his mother. "Bad mommy, bad mommy! Why'd you hit me?!"
Ye Jun walked over, conveniently blocking Bai Xi's view of the floorboards. He rebuked her, "Miss Su, this is my house. Please keep your child in line. If you need to discipline him, do it at home. Yanyan is allergic to alcohol, so why did you bring antiseptic?"
Su Mian composed herself and gave an embarrassed smile. "My apologies, Mr. Ye. I actually keep this antiseptic for my own use. I didn't expect my son to be so mischievous. It's my fault, really. I forgot to mention it to Bai Xi, so she ended up giving it directly to Yanyan."
'Pfft, Yunyun saw the floor corrode with her own two eyes, and they're still putting on an act. My scumbag dad's cover was way too timely. One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop. Who would've guessed they've already had a kid together?'
'I wonder if Mom saw it. Mom hasn't been blinded... yet. With her 4.9 unaided vision, she shouldn't be this easy to fool, right?'
'Then again, maybe not. In the story, Mom was fooled just like this, lost both her eyes and a leg, and ultimately her life. Hmmm... maybe I should find a way to help Mom? Let the two of us skip the disability and torture and just fast-forward to death?'
Bai Xi's nails dug into her palms. She tried to convince herself it was just Yanyan being allergic to alcohol. But her own eyes had seen it—the floorboard was unmistakably corroded.
She could have exposed their lie and demanded the truth. But Bai Xi didn't know if what she had just witnessed was the true face of her seemingly gentle and refined husband, or merely the tip of the iceberg. If she revealed the truth, what would they do to her and her daughter in a fit of humiliated rage?
The two of them, she and her precious Bao Bao, were no match for Ye Jun.
Bai Xi didn't dare to take the risk. Her precious Bao Bao seemed to have no will to live, but she desperately wanted her child to have a bright future.
Swallowing her bitter questions, she chose to feign ignorance and take her precious Bao Bao to the doctor first. 'It's better not to ask Ye Jun to come along,' she decided.
"Ah Jun, you stay here and help Miss Su calm her son down. I'm going to take our precious Bao Bao to the doctor. She's a little girl, after all—not as resilient as boys. We wouldn't want her to be left with a scar." With that, Bai Xi ran out of the room.
Bai Xi was usually a kind person, so neither Ye Jun nor Su Mian questioned why she told him to stay behind. The pair exchanged a knowing glance. Ye Jun knelt and scooped up his beloved little son.
Out of breath, Bai Xi reached the B1 parking garage and secured Ye Yunyun in her car seat.
'Ah, so it doesn't matter how the process changes, the result is always the same? Even though Mom never touched the antiseptic, she's still taking me to the hospital alone, and on the way, we're going to crash into a large bus with a driver who's fallen asleep at the wheel...'
Bai Xi's hand froze on the ignition. She couldn't tell if the things she was hearing from Ye Yunyun were true or not, but avoiding the possibility was the best choice.
"Precious Bao Bao, are you very dizzy? Do you feel nauseous?" Bai Xi asked.
Ye Yunyun innocently blinked her large, sparkling eyes.
'Looks like there's no escaping the car crash scene. Mom's already frantic with worry; she'll be even less able to react when she encounters the bus. And I'm just a helpless baby who can't talk. Even though the dizziness is much better now and only the bump on my head hurts, a helpless baby can't tell her mom any of that.'
Bai Xi breathed a sigh of relief and dialed her emergency contact. "Hello? Brother, it's me, Bai Xi. Bao Bao hurt her head. Could you please come take her to the hospital? I'm in the B1 parking garage."
To protect Ye Jun's pride, Bai Xi had moved into an upscale apartment complex with him after they married, and they hadn't hired a nanny or a driver. If she couldn't drive, calling her brother was the safest option.
Her brother's car was custom-built, armored with top-of-the-line materials.
Bai Xi wasn't one to believe in supernatural nonsense, but when it came to her family, she had to be extremely cautious.
Barely ten minutes later, Bai Chen arrived.
The man was dressed in a suit, though it was slightly rumpled from his haste in getting here after his younger sister's call.
'Wow, so this is my eldest uncle? So cool and impressive! Wait, no... how did the plot change? If Uncle is here to pick Mom and me up, does that mean we won't get into the car crash?'
'Did I get the story wrong? Or did Mom change her own destiny?'
'This is so weird. My CPU is about to fry. Ah, whatever. I don't have long to live anyway, so I'll just give myself a break.'
The driver opened the rear car door. "Eldest Miss, if you please."
Bai Xi looked at the young man with black-rimmed glasses before her and said, "Li Tan, you're my brother's assistant already? That was fast. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, ma'am!" the young man replied, full of vigor.
The car soon started. Cradled in her mother's arms, Ye Yunyun couldn't resist tugging on her mom's sleeve and peeking at Li Tan, thinking she was being discreet.
'So this is Li Tan, the biggest traitor in the entire novel? My maternal grandparents raised his whole family, and in return, they murder my grandparents' entire family. Going by the timeline, he should have just rejected the rival company's offer. Hmph, he's putting on such a virtuous act now, but as soon as the enemy raises the offer to 500,000, this guy will be tempted.'
'Who would've ever thought that the butler, Li, and Nanny Zhang wanted to murder the Bai family?'
Thinking of those infuriating parts of the plot, Ye Yunyun couldn't help but grind her teeth. When she was just a reader, she had been so angry her face had flushed red. It was a hundred times worse now that she was one of the characters involved.
'Agh, if I don't warn my uncle and mother, I'll burst from anger. But if I do... how would I explain how I know these things? I'd probably have to start by explaining why I've suddenly gotten smart.'
'Adults never believe a child's nonsense. Not unless I catch them in the act.'
'Oh well. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.'
Ye Yunyun, ever the slacker, quickly calmed herself down and nuzzled into her mother's embrace.
The two adults in the car, however, were reeling in shock.
Bai Xi was in disbelief. Her brother—the one who doted on her, who cherished her like a precious treasure—and her family... were they all in danger?
She felt a profound sense of unease. The idea of moving back to her parents' home became more resolute in her mind—not just to get away from Ye Jun, but also to weed out the "bloodsuckers" in her family home.
Bai Chen, meanwhile, cautiously scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally locking onto Ye Yunyun in Bai Xi's arms.
After all, though the voice was unfamiliar, the only one present with such a childlike tone was the infant Ye Yunyun.
The words were bizarre, yet their subject, Li Tan, had no reaction at all. And his sister's face was still etched with anxiety for her child.