Ding He looked dejected and lowered her head, remaining silent. Nan Xian was surprised to see this.

Upon careful reflection, she quickly unearthed something from the depths of her memory that happened in her past life—

One day, Ding He suddenly asked for leave, saying that her mother was seriously ill and she wanted to go back to her hometown. Nan Xian immediately agreed and even extended her annual leave by a month.

A month later, Ding He returned, looking haggard. She had lost her baby fat, and deep dark circles under her eyes. She looked like a wilted eggplant, listless and without any energy.

However, Nan Xian had just joined the crew and was busy dealing with Wei Zeling. She was so busy that she didn't have time to pay attention to the emotions of the people around her. When she saw Ding He like this, she didn't ask too many questions and just told her to take a rest.

It wasn't until later that she learned by chance that Ding He's mother hadn't made it through that month and had passed away, not from illness, but from being driven to her death by her good-for-nothing son.

Ding He has a younger brother named Ding Jun, who is three years younger than her. At that time, the concept of valuing sons over daughters was very serious, and Ding Jun was spoiled by his family. He was unruly from a young age and became even more unscrupulous as he grew up. When he was in middle school, he got into a fight and cracked someone's head open. He was expelled from school and stayed at home idly, not doing anything productive. Later, after Ding He graduated from university and got a job as a celebrity assistant at Fanmeng, where she earned a good salary, he started to pester Ding He, asking her for living expenses every now and then.

At first, Ding He was willing to take care of him more because he was her younger brother, but Ding Jun was not satisfied and went further, asking for eight or nine thousand at a time.

Ding He was soft-hearted, but she wasn't stupid. She understood her brother's character, so she stopped sending him money, which led him to complain to their parents.

Unfortunately, Ding He's parents were also confused. They didn't like their daughter, who was independent and precocious from a young age, and preferred their son, who was good-looking and had a sweet tongue. When their son made exaggerated accusations against them, they immediately sided with their son without hesitation.

They said, "Why should a girl earn so much money? She can just marry a rich man later!"

They also said, "This is your own brother, what's wrong with giving him some of your money? We're all family!"

They even said, "Your brother may not be very successful, but he's a boy, and he's the one who can carry on the Ding family line! Once you get married, you'll belong to someone else's family. How can you let the money you've worked so hard to earn go to someone else?"

Even the most gentle person would harden their heart if treated like this by their family—in a fit of anger, Ding He simply moved to the capital and cut off contact with her family.

Several years passed, and then she received another call from her hometown, this time with the news that her mother was seriously ill.

Ding Jun got a girl pregnant but refused to pay for an abortion. The girl was also naive and only told her parents in tears six months later when she could no longer hide her pregnancy. Ding Jun was then sued by her parents.

Ding He's mother couldn't bear the devastating news and fell ill overnight, never to rise again.

Ding He rushed there day and night, but before she could even have a sip of water, her father made her kneel in front of her mother's bed and told her to take out her savings and use her connections to get Ding Jun out.

Looking at her father's aged face and her mother's pale and sickly appearance, Ding He was exhausted and lowered her head.

She took out all the money she had saved up over the years in the capital, and practically ran herself ragged and talked herself hoarse, but in the end it was all in vain. The victim's parents refused to budge, and Ding Jun would remain in prison for as long as he was supposed to.

Upon learning this news, Ding He's mother's condition suddenly worsened, and she did not survive that night.

With her son gone and her wife passing away in anguish, Ding He's father vented his anger on her, berating her as an unfilial daughter. He argued that if she hadn't heartlessly abandoned Ding Jun back then, he wouldn't have ended up in this predicament...

He then announced on the spot that he was breaking off his relationship with her.