C4 Chapter 4

It was hardly a surprise. Not long after Su Mengxin was taken in by the Ye family, Ye Zixin was born. She’d been doted on since childhood, and then one careless moment—she was gone, and no one knew where.

From that day on, Su Mengxin lived under the shadow of Zixin’s disappearance. She hadn’t received much warmth from the Ye family, but she still carried a trace of gratitude and didn’t want to take things too far.

At the Ye family’s home in W City, her adoptive mother, Cheng Xiang, had been waiting at the front door for a long time. The moment she saw Su Mengxin, she rushed over, ignoring the bulky suitcase behind her, grabbed her sleeve, and demanded, “Did you find my daughter? Any news about her?”

Su Mengxin had just gotten off the plane. She hadn’t even recovered from the time change and was exhausted. Seeing Cheng Xiang in this frantic state, her patience wore thin. “Mom Cheng, I really didn’t get any information about Ye Zixin.”

“What is wrong with you! I told you—my Xinxin is in France. You clearly didn’t look hard enough. You ungrateful little leech—useless!” Disgust flashed in Cheng Xiang’s eyes. She clicked her tongue, then let out a cold laugh.

It was obvious Cheng Xiang intended to tear into Su Mengxin, but Su Mengxin was too tired to argue. She dragged her suitcase to her room, let out a heavy sigh, and collapsed onto the bed.

Outside the door came the sound of Cheng Xiang pounding hard. “Su Mengxin, you ungrateful little leech! Open up—open the door!”

“If you won’t do it, then give me money. I’ll go to France myself to find my daughter. I’m done counting on you—get out here right now!” Once Cheng Xiang started cursing, she sounded nothing like a well-bred woman.

Years of pressure had ground her down until only a single obsession remained. She no longer cared about anything else; all her energy went into finding her daughter. And when it came to Su Mengxin, she never had a kind expression.

Su Mengxin knew it, too—Cheng Xiang blamed her. That woman even believed, without any reason, that if they hadn’t adopted Su Mengxin back then, maybe her daughter wouldn’t have gone missing.

Su Mengxin couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed her purse, steadied her emotions, and opened the door. “Mrs. Cheng, if you don’t want to see me, I can go back to my own place. I won’t bother you again.”

“Hah. In your dreams, Su Mengxin. Our family has supported you all these years—you owe us. And now you think you can just leave? Not a chance. If you don’t find my daughter, you’re not going anywhere. I’m not letting you off the hook.” Cheng Xiang lifted her chin, glaring at Su Mengxin with a sharp, cutting look.

Over the years, the Ye family really had helped Su Mengxin in many ways—especially Mr. Ye. When she was struggling, he’d given her sincere advice and selfless support. For that reason alone, she couldn’t bring herself to turn the Ye family into enemies.

Su Mengxin didn’t want to argue with Cheng Xiang. Keeping her voice calm, she said, “Mrs. Cheng, I’ve done everything I can. France is huge. It’s just me, and there’s only so much ground I can cover. And Ye Zixin doesn’t look the same as she did when she was a kid. It’s not something I can get answers on overnight.”

Cheng Xiang froze for a moment, her eyes dropping before she quickly looked up again. “Don’t lie to me. You can show up at the Loong family’s private banquet overseas, and you’re telling me you’re all alone? How hard have you really been looking for my daughter? Do you think I’m stupid?”

The Loong family’s banquet? So that event had been their private banquet. But how did Cheng Xiang find out?

“It was all over the news,” Cheng Xiang snapped. “There was a huge photo—there you were, standing right behind the main people. You think you can fool me? And aren’t you some kind of livestreamer now? After all the trashy things you’ve done, you’ll get knocked off your pedestal sooner or later!” Her words dripped with hatred.

Su Mengxin’s brow tightened. She couldn’t swallow it anymore. She bolted out of that suffocating little villa.

Outside, the streets were packed—it was rush hour. Su Mengxin wandered aimlessly through the crowd. Before she could react, a middle-aged man hurrying home slammed into her and sent her to the ground.

He was moving fast, and the impact was hard. Her hand scraped along the pavement, leaving a bloody streak, and the fall hit her badly.

Su Mengxin struggled to get back on her feet when she saw the older man stop, apologize over and over, and reach out a hand to help her up. Without thinking, she let him pull her to her feet.

Seeing she was hurt, the man turned her palm over to check it, still apologizing repeatedly.

“You little tramp!” a shrill woman’s voice cut in. The next second, Su Mengxin was shoved hard to the side. “Getting handsy with my man out in public—have you no shame?”

Su Mengxin was at a loss. She didn’t even understand what was happening. She stood there, stunned, staring at the woman.

“You homewrecker! Because of you, my kid and I don’t even have a real home! Aren’t you just a hooker? I’ll pay you—leave my husband!” The woman kept ranting, making a scene.

The man, looking helpless, tried to hold her back and told her it had nothing to do with Su Mengxin. That only made the woman angrier. She stomped her foot, raised her hand, and swung for Su Mengxin’s face.

What a nightmare out of nowhere. Su Mengxin didn’t feel like explaining, but she couldn’t help snapping back, “Small minds see what they want to see.”

The slap was about to land when a man’s thick, powerful hand shot out and stopped it.