Chapter 37: Severing Ties

Both of them were sent for treatment, given food and rest to regain their strength before the matter could be addressed.

Yu Qingqing had prepared that kind of drug, originally intending it for Ji Yanxi. She felt that a single incident wouldn’t be enough; she wanted to repeat it several times, making the situation big enough to increase the likelihood of their marriage. After all, during this team-building event, Yu Boyao’s insistence that Yu Wanqing attend revealed his continued desire to match her with Ji Yanxi. To improve her chances, Yu Qingqing planned to use the same trick again. But she hadn’t expected Ji Yanxi to be so interested in Yu Wanqing, nor had she anticipated an unexpected turn of events.

To tarnish Yu Wanqing’s reputation, Yu Qingqing first drugged them both. Then, using what happened that day as a pretext, she called Ji Yanxi away. In truth, she didn’t want Ji Yanxi to realize they had been drugged. The drug Yu Qingqing bought could be absorbed through the skin; she used the excuse of physical contact to apply it to them, and by the time it wore off, its effects would disappear without a trace.

The drug acted quickly. By the time they returned, she was sure Bai Muhan and Yu Wanqing would be caught in the act, and Ji Yanxi would naturally be disappointed in Yu Wanqing. Thus, his eyes would finally turn to her. Yu Qingqing had planned every step meticulously, but she hadn’t expected both of them to possess such strong wills. Yu Wanqing forced herself out of the cave, and Bai Muhan would rather smash his head than touch her.

Damn it!

Of course, Yu Qingqing would never admit to it. When Yu Wanqing pointed her out, she dropped to her knees with a thud, clutching at Yu Boyao’s pant leg.

“Dad, I know you’ve always favored my sister, but you have to be fair in this matter. My reputation is at stake.”

She bowed her head to the floor, her voice trembling. “I won’t admit to something I didn’t do.”

As long as the effects of the drug dissipated, and she didn’t confess, there would be no evidence.

“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Yu Wanqing’s eyes were bloodshot with hatred. She could barely fathom how close she had come to falling into such a trap. How deep must Yu Qingqing’s hatred for her run?

“Sister, you need evidence for your accusations.” Yu Qingqing straightened her back, looking at Yu Wanqing with righteous indignation, showing not the slightest hint of guilt. After all, it was Yu Wanqing who was entangled with her own fiancé; shouldn’t she be the one at fault?

“You want evidence?” Yu Wanqing laughed coldly. “In the cave, you touched me and Bai Muhan for no reason. That’s when you applied the drug, wasn’t it?”

“I’ve encountered far more things abroad than you could imagine,” she added. “Some of my friends have fallen victim to just such drugs.”

She’d only ever heard of such things before, but now it had truly happened to her—and the effects were frighteningly strong.

Yu Qingqing’s eyes flickered, but she stubbornly refused to admit anything. “Sister, we were on the mountain at night. It was cold. I only wanted to keep you warm by staying close.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I know none of you ever liked me, but that doesn’t mean you can throw mud at me.”

“Yes, what happened with Ji Yanxi was my fault. I shouldn’t have lost control just because we loved each other...”

She grew more and more immersed in the role. “But aside from being a daughter of the Yu family, I am a woman too, and I have the right to pursue love.”

Tsk, Ye Yaoyao listened and couldn’t help but be impressed by Yu Qingqing’s glib tongue. In just a few words, she had shifted all responsibility away from herself and painted the Yu family as heartless and unjust. If the Yu family still tried to match Yu Wanqing and Ji Yanxi now, it would look like they were breaking up true love.

“So when Ji Yanxi showed me his affection, I refused, didn’t I?” Yu Wanqing shot back, furious. “If you can’t hold on to Ji Yanxi, that’s your own problem. What’s the point in coming after me?”

At the mention of Ji Yanxi’s advances, Yu Qingqing’s fingers clenched tightly. To her, it was an enormous humiliation. She didn’t think she was any less than Yu Wanqing; it must have been some momentary lapse on Ji Yanxi’s part.

“So, sister, is that why you’re smearing me?” Yu Qingqing’s voice rose.

“Yu Qingqing, you—” Yu Wanqing was shaking with rage.

“Enough!” Yu Boyao shouted, his face dark as he glared at Yu Qingqing, his eyes frighteningly calm. The next moment—smack!—he slapped Yu Qingqing hard enough to split her lip.

The suddenness of it startled Ye Yaoyao, who looked to Yu Wanqing for reassurance. Yu Wanqing patted her hand, calming her with her gaze.

“All these years, you think I haven’t seen through your schemes in this house?” Yu Boyao looked at Yu Qingqing with utter coldness. “No amount of words can change the truth about your character and Wanqing’s.”

He was trembling with anger. “I turned a blind eye to your attempts to seduce Ji Yanxi, but you still pulled this stunt during the retreat?”

“You’re shameless enough to sell your body, and now you want to ruin your sister’s reputation as well?”

He had already made up his mind about this incident.

Ye Yaoyao breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Uncle Yu hadn’t been swayed by Yu Qingqing’s performance.

Now that things had reached this point, Yu Qingqing saw no use in continuing the act.

She turned her head, blood staining her lips, her eyes full of hatred as she stared at father and daughter.

“It’s always like this. You believe everything she says, but what about me? I’m your daughter, too!” Yu Qingqing stood, jabbing at her heart as she shouted. “If you never loved me, why bring me back to the Yu family? Why not let me live with my mother?”

Yu Boyao looked on coldly, as if he’d expected her outburst.

“Isn’t it because you think my mother tricked you, tainting your love?” she sneered. “When Bai Muhan was drugged, he’d rather smash his own head than touch Yu Wanqing. Tell me, was it because Yu Wanqing wasn’t attractive enough, or because Bai Muhan had too much self-control?”

Her words cut with double meaning. The mask off, Yu Qingqing was utterly disgusting.

“You’re right,” Yu Boyao replied, “Some things are wrong from the very start and can never be made right.”

He nodded, sighing heavily. “My lack of self-control back then was a mistake. Bringing you back into this family was a mistake on top of a mistake.”

“This mistake must come to an end.”

Ye Yaoyao and the others looked at him, not understanding his meaning.

“I will issue a statement announcing that Yu Qingqing is no longer part of the Yu family.”

“What…” Yu Qingqing staggered.

The thing she feared most had finally happened. All these years, she’d endured every slight in the Yu household because she was afraid of being cast out. And now, at last…

Why? Just because she’d lost her temper once?

When she was the Yu family’s daughter, they kept her hidden away. Now that she wasn’t, they wanted the whole city to know?

Cruel—the Yu family was truly cruel to her.

“Fine! Make your announcement. Tell everyone that Yu Boyao has an illegitimate daughter, that you’re nothing but a hypocrite!” Yu Qingqing screamed.

“That will be my business,” Yu Boyao said coldly, pointing to the door as he expelled her. “Now, leave my daughter’s hospital room.”