C10 Guilt

"I might be a bit blunt, so..." Wei Dongcheng said, sounding a little apologetic toward Wei Tiantian.

But Wei Tiantian wasn't focused on that. "No, what I want to say is, I've already told you these photos are edited. Why don't you believe me? Do you really want me to be that kind of person?" she shot back at Wei Dongcheng.

Hearing this, Wei Dongcheng was at a loss for words. But the photos Wei Ya showed him—was he supposed to doubt Wei Ya? No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem fair to anyone. Even with the photos right in front of him, Wei Tiantian remained calm in the face of his accusations.

Calmly, Wei Dongcheng started to question if he was right to accuse her: "Wei Ya, are these photos real?"

"Of course they are. The woman in them is Wei Tiantian!" Wei Ya replied, handing her phone to Wei Dongcheng so he could see for himself.

In those few seconds, Wei Tiantian quickly summoned the system in her mind. "Make the photos show signs of editing," she commanded.

[Transaction successful, 10 merit points spent]

"This is such a rip-off. Earning 10 merit points takes so much effort, but spending them is way too easy," Wei Tiantian complained to the system.

Luckily, she had accumulated quite a few merit points over the past few days, so she wasn't too upset about spending them.

Wei Dongcheng enlarged the photo on his phone and saw that the woman was indeed Wei Tiantian. However, it was obvious that the image had been poorly edited. The person who manipulated the photo hadn't done a very good job.

"Ya, this picture is definitely edited. Look at Tiantian's face; it looks like it was just pasted on. Are you trying to frame her?" Wei Dongcheng asked, a bit irritated as he looked at Wei Ya.

Perhaps he had misunderstood Wei Tiantian all along by not examining the photo closely. Realizing this, Wei Dongcheng felt a bit guilty toward her.

"Dad, I don't know what's going on either. Maybe I didn't look at it carefully. A classmate gave it to me," Wei Ya admitted. She had initially wanted to argue back, but after seeing the photo, she realized it did seem altered.

Yet, the photo had always been on her phone without any changes, which felt really strange to her. Thankfully, she managed to hold back her anger.

"Ya, you really need to be more responsible. Even though you're not our biological daughter, the Wei family has always supported you. And this is how you treat your sister?" Wei Dongcheng's face turned red with anger.

Wei Ya was almost in tears, her eyes wide with fear, as she quietly said to Wei Dongcheng, "I'm sorry, Dad. I was wrong. But I didn't take the photo; someone else gave it to me. It really was from someone else."

"From now on, be careful about who you consider a friend. Some people just can't stand to see our family doing well, which is why this photo exists," Wei Dongcheng said to Wei Ya. Then he turned to Wei Tiantian, "I'm sorry, Tiantian. I misunderstood you. Tell me what you'd like for dinner tonight, and I'll make it up to you."

"I'll have whatever you like," Wei Tiantian replied with a smile.

Wei Dongcheng nodded with relief, grateful that Tiantian wasn't upset with him. Her response showed just how mature she was.

The evening went smoothly, except for Wei Ya, who was particularly annoyed. She hadn't been able to find any fault with Tiantian this time, but she was determined to try harder next time to highlight Tiantian's flaws to their parents. She wanted to make it difficult for Tiantian to stay in the house.

Tiantian knew exactly what Wei Ya was thinking, but she wasn't one to back down.

"Dad, there's something about Wei Ya I need to tell you," Tiantian said, putting down her fork and looking at Wei Dongcheng.

"What is it?" he asked seriously.

"Ning Zitao is my ex-boyfriend, as you know. I just saw on social media that he's planning to meet someone at eight tonight," Tiantian said, taking her phone out of her pocket and placing it in front of Wei Dongcheng.

Not only did Ning Zitao's post mention the meeting, but it also included a revealing photo of him kissing Wei Ya.

Wei Ya was in the living room watching TV when she noticed the situation and immediately grabbed the phone from Wei Dongcheng's hand. "Dad, let me explain. It's not what it looks like."

Wei Dongcheng's face was stern. If it wasn't what it seemed, why was there a photo and a social media post? And seeing Wei Ya's panicked expression only confirmed his suspicions.

"Wei Ya! You promised not to contact Zitao. Look at the photo, look at the affectionate words you two are using. I can't stand it. You're a student; can't you focus on your studies instead of dating?" Wei Dongcheng was frustrated, thinking Wei Ya would listen to him, but she only let him down.

[Confirm purchase of Wei Ya's defiance against Wei Dongcheng?]

Wei Tiantian watched from the side, treating it like a show, thinking to herself, "Yes!"

Wei Ya, initially feeling wronged, gradually became angry. "Enough! Why do you only scold me when Wei Tiantian is also dating Zitao? I'm the daughter you've raised for eighteen years, not Wei Tiantian. You're always siding with her, never with me!"

"You!" Wei Dongcheng was so upset he could hardly breathe, feeling a pang of heartache.

Wei's mother quickly stepped in to calm Wei Dongcheng, urging him to take a deep breath and stay calm.

Wei Dongcheng could only point at Wei Ya, unable to utter a single word.

Wei's mother began to worry. "Wei Ya, apologize to your father. Once you do, everything will be fine. And you should stop seeing Ning Zitao."

"I won't! Ning Zitao is a good man. He's always been kind to me, and he truly cares about me. Why should I give him up? I want to be with him, no matter what!" With that, she stormed out of the house, heading straight for Ning Zitao's place.

Seeing this, Wei Dongcheng grew even angrier, while Wei's mother, anxious, instructed Tiantian, "Tiantian, go get the medicine from the cabinet."

Tiantian nodded without hesitation. After giving the medicine to Wei Dongcheng, she followed her mother's lead, trying to calm him down.

Eventually, Wei Dongcheng's face lost some of its redness, though the pain in his heart remained.

"Tiantian, I didn't interfere with your past, but now that you're with us, I have to guide you. You're too young to be dating, so you must listen to me," Wei's mother advised earnestly.

Tiantian nodded, "I won't be as foolish as before."

With Tiantian's promise, Wei Dongcheng felt somewhat relieved, knowing his own daughter wouldn't be as reckless as Wei Ya.

"Tell me, what is it about Ning Zitao that makes Wei Ya defy us?" Wei's mother asked, her face full of worry and regret. Tiantian even noticed tears in her mother's eyes.

"He's got nothing good about him, maybe just a decent appearance. He loves gambling, and whenever he's broke, he relies on women to support him. I spent quite a bit on him before we broke up. I have no idea how he managed to charm Wei Ya like that," Tiantian said with a sigh.

When Wei Ya's mother and Wei Dongcheng heard about how bad Zitao was, they became even more worried about Wei Ya and increasingly frustrated with her infatuation.