The moment Duan Jinrong sat down on the sofa, He Yining's expression changed, and she stared at her coldly.
She was beaten by her a lot when she was young.
Before she knew her true identity, she simply thought her mother didn't love her, so she tried everything to please her mother.
Later, she met Chen Li, Song Huai, and Song Xi, and only then did she realize that the reason her mother didn't love her was because Duan Jinrong wasn't her mother at all.
Perhaps from that moment on, He Yining's personality became twisted. For He Cangwu's favor, for the status of the He family's daughter, she would do anything.
If Duan Jinrong orders her to kill someone, she will never set fire to anything; if Duan Jinrong orders her to go east, she dares not go west.
These days are like walking on a knife's edge; every step is fraught with blood and tears.
To make herself feel better, she vented all her frustrations on He Nianhui. In front of her parents, she was a dutiful daughter; in front of He Nianhui, she was a devil.
She knew that He Nianhui was the most helpless person in the family. He wasn't He Cangwu's biological son; giving him the surname He was already a great favor. Although he was born to Duan Jinrong, Duan Jinrong always treated him as a mistake. In addition, He Cangwu often used this son to blackmail her, so Duan Jinrong's attitude towards He Nianhui was inconsistent, sometimes even extremely disgusted with him.
He Yining took advantage of this loophole and tormented He Nianhui to the point of being completely broken.
"What are you still standing there for?" Duan Jinrong glanced at her with disgust. "Pour me some tea!"
He Yining quickly smiled, personally served her a cup of tea, and then went around behind the sofa to massage her shoulders.
Only now has Duan Jinrong's tightly furrowed brows begun to relax slightly.
"Mom," He Yining asked softly, "Does Dad really want to meet with Song Wan?"
"Um."
"Aren't you going to stop them?"
"Stop them?" Duan Jinrong sneered. "Why should I stop them? What's wrong with them meeting?"
He Yining paused, then whispered, "I'm worried..."
"What are you worried about!" Duan Jinrong interrupted her. "Worried about your status?"
The hands on her shoulders suddenly stopped moving. Duan Jinrong turned around and glanced at her, his sharp gaze easily seeing through her little scheme.
"What a spineless coward." She scoffed. "The position of the He family's heiress wasn't originally yours! That you've been allowed to be that little bitch's substitute for over twenty years is already a blessing from heaven!"
"Mom!" He Yining's heart skipped a beat.
"Ha," Duan Jinrong sneered, "Now, in that old man's eyes, Song Wan is just a substitute for Xu Yanqing! So I won't stop them from meeting... Wouldn't it be better to let that old bastard fall in love with her?"
"What...what did you say?" He Yining's eyes widened, her face full of shock.
She's really useless; all she can think about is how to keep her position.
But what Duan Jinrong was thinking was...
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Duan Jinrong suddenly burst into laughter, a maniacal laugh that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Yes, I wonder if the great writer Song Wan could write such a scene? Hahaha..." she gritted her teeth, "I should have thought of this sooner! I should have brought Song Wan to He Cangwu a long time ago, instead of giving her to Lin Zhaojiang!"
He Yining turned pale with fright and stumbled backward, her back slamming against the wall.
*
Looking back on the past twenty-odd years, He Yining felt that every step she took was like walking a tightrope; one wrong step would plunge her into an abyss.
She had heard Chen Li say that her biological father was the Duan family's driver, and that later, when Duan Jinrong caused a car accident that killed Xu Yanqing, her biological father took the blame for Duan Jinrong.
He Yining was less than a year old at that time.
Chen Li went to Duan Jinrong's house crying and demanding an explanation, but Duan Jinrong only coldly said, "I've already transferred the money to Lao Song's account, don't be too greedy!"
Chen Li was no pushover either; she possessed a recording of her last phone call with Lao Song. This evidence was enough to prove that Lao Song was instructed by Duan Jinrong to take the blame for her.
To appease Chen Li, Duan Jinrong offered to adopt her daughter, but in exchange, and as revenge against He Cangwu and Xu Yanqing, she secretly switched the two children...
"This is that bitch's daughter!" Duan Jinrong handed Song Wan, who was about the same age as He Yining, to Chen Li. "As long as she doesn't starve, you can beat or scold her as you please!"
...
He Yining took a deep breath, a chill creeping up her spine, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
The life of luxury and indulgence she had lived for over twenty years, along with He Cangwu's unconditional pampering, all belonged to Song Wan. Whenever she thought of this, the hatred in her heart was like a poisoned needle piercing her veins, causing her excruciating pain.
"Ningning? Ningning!"
"Um?"
What's wrong with you?
He Yining snapped out of her daze and looked up abruptly, only to see Chen Li's worried and concerned gaze.
She saw her hands trembling as she gripped the knife and fork, and forced herself to relax.
"When you called to ask me out for dinner, I could tell your voice was off." Chen Li put the sliced beef into her plate. "Did you get upset with that woman again?"
"I……"
He Yining felt wronged but didn't know how to express it, so she remained silent after thinking for a while.
"Ningning, we have no choice but to back down now," Chen Li said helplessly. "Just bear with it..."
"Hold on, hold on, hold on! Haven't I held on enough?" He Yining threw the knife and fork on the table, making a sharp sound as they collided with the plate.
"Don't you have a recording of Dad taking the blame for her? Why don't you take it out and use it to protect me?"
"Shh!" Chen Li quickly silenced her, glancing around in alarm before lowering her voice to say, "To tell you the truth... that recording isn't your father's at all..."
"What did you say?"
“Back then, I was desperate and only wanted to extort as much money from her as possible... so I found someone whose voice sounded a lot like your father and made a recording. Duan Jinrong was probably panicked at the time, and she didn't even recognize the voice... But with today's technology, if I release this recording again, Duan Jinrong might have someone check its authenticity! Then everything we want to protect will be lost!”
He Yining never expected this to happen. She felt a loud bang in her ears and her mind went blank.
“Ningning, this recording… I can’t possibly bring it out again.” Chen Li said with difficulty, “Back then, I used this to secure your future and raised you in the He family. Look, you’re much better off than your older brother and sister now!”
"You must stay in the He family!" Chen Li held her hand tightly. "No matter what obstacles lie ahead, Mom will clear them away for you!"
"Really?" He Yining smiled bitterly. "Song Wan...you can get rid of her too?"
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