When Xia Mingyue woke up, she learned that she could no longer dance and broke down in tears.
Lin Zhi offered her a few perfunctory words of comfort.
Xia Congwen directly rebuked him: "You still have the nerve to cry? Aren't you ashamed enough? You've studied for more than ten years and you still lost to someone who studied for half a month."
It's fine if you can't jump; you're not cut out for it anyway. From now on, focus on your studies and getting into a top university is the real priority.
Xia Mingyue was stunned.
She never imagined that her loving father would say such hurtful things after she lost the championship and broke her leg.
But she dared not whine and cry like before; her keen intuition told her that something had changed.
Xia Mingyue wiped away her tears and obediently said, "I understand, I will study hard."
"Okay, that's a good daughter of your father. I believe you won't let us down again."
Xia Mingyue felt a chill in her heart, and her body trembled slightly.
She really wanted to ask, "If I fail again, will you abandon me?"
Do you already regret keeping me with you?
But she didn't dare ask, nor did she want to know the answer. All she knew was that she couldn't lose to Xia Pianran again.
She refused to believe that she, a top ten student in her grade at a prestigious high school, could be inferior to Xia Pianran, that country girl.
Xia Congwen and his daughter were right about this. Xia Pianran's academic performance was indeed not good, but she had a tenacious spirit that refused to admit defeat.
Back home, whenever Pianran thought of Xia Congwen's contemptuous face, she felt an inexhaustible surge of energy.
Wasn't it said that her dancing was unorthodox? Didn't she condescendingly call her brother an idiot?
Then she'll show that arrogant and blind professor that when it comes to the right path of learning, she can crush Xia Mingyue just as well.
She plunged headlong into the ocean of knowledge, filling all her time with activities, even dreaming about memorizing vocabulary and formulas.
She wouldn't go out to play with her brother, nor would she accept her sister's invitations to meals; she absorbed knowledge like a sponge, thirstily.
I only get to relax a little on weekends, and the way I do that is by taking dance classes, and then I go back to studying after that.
Qi An and Fu Gui really wanted to ask other parents for help: what should they do if their child is studying too hard?
Xia Mingyue stayed in the hospital for seven days, while Yao's parents and Li the Cripple waited anxiously at the small hotel.
Just as Li the Cripple was almost completely losing patience, Xia Congwen's car slowly drove into the residential area.
Mr. and Mrs. Yao saw Xia Mingyue in the back seat from afar, pointed at her, and said happily to Li the Cripple:
"That's our daughter, Xia Mingyue. See? We didn't lie to you."
Li the Cripple squinted at Xia Mingyue, then at Yao's mother; they did indeed look somewhat alike.
"Let's go, let's go and meet our relatives."
In front of the Xia family villa.
Xia Congwen parked the car in the yard, and before he could even close the gate, he heard someone call his name from behind:
"Oh, father-in-law, it's so good to see you! We've been waiting for you for so long."
Xia Congwen turned his head and saw three disheveled, unfamiliar middle-aged men and women enter his house with fawning smiles on their faces.
He frowned and shouted, "Who are you? Get out of here!"
Just then, Lin Zhi helped Xia Mingyue out of the car. Before they could even stand properly, a middle-aged woman rushed over, shouting:
"Mingyue, my dear daughter, I've finally seen you again."
Xia Congwen and Lin Zhi realized the identity of the newcomer and froze on the spot.
Xia Mingyue opened her eyes wide in fear, screamed, and pushed away Yao's mother who was trying to hug her.
"Get out of my way, I don't know you."
She pushed Yao's mother away, and the force of the impact sent her crashing into the car door, her kneecap, which was in a cast, throbbing with intense pain.
Xia Mingyue immediately broke out in a cold sweat mixed with tears; it was from the pain, but even more so from the fear.
The scene before her eyes was even more terrifying than when she opened the door and saw Yao Wangdi half a month ago.
What are they here for?
Are they here to take me back?
Who was that scarred man who was lecherously staring at her?
Mr. Yao helped Mrs. Yao up, and said with a "sad" look on his face, "Mingyue, it's your father and mother. Don't you recognize us?"
"That's true. You only saw us once when you were ten years old. It's been six years, so it's normal to forget."
Xia Congwen and Lin Zhi were shocked and furious. Ten years old?
It turns out that Xia Mingyue knew she wasn't biologically related to her parents when she was ten years old, and she had even met them.
But she didn't show it at all, and continued to be their good daughter as if nothing had happened. Is this the kind of cunning a ten-year-old child can have?
So everything Pianran said before was true?
Did she know all along, and even instigate Yao's parents to sell Pianran?
Xia Mingyue screamed, "Get out of here! I have nothing to do with you! Get out!"
Li the Cripple rubbed his hands together and said to Xia Mingyue with a lewd grin, "Wife, I'm your man. Come home with me, and I'll treat you well."
"Get out of my way, I don't know you."
"Hehe, it's okay, we'll get to know each other after having a baby."
Xia Congwen couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in front of Xia Mingyue: "Where did this lunatic come from? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Li the Cripple glared and said, "I'm not making this up. Her biological father, Yao Dacheng, accepted 200,000 yuan in betrothal gifts from me and sold his daughter to me. She's my wife now."
Xia Mingyue blurted out, "I'm not, it has nothing to do with me. Go find Yao Wangdi, she's Yao Dacheng's daughter, she's your wife."
"Xia Mingyue," Lin Zhi snapped, "Do you know what you're saying?"
Li the Cripple said, "That's true in the first place, but Yao Wangdi ran away, so you'll have to be my wife. After all, you're the Yao family's real daughter."
Lin Zhi angrily said, "There's no one here who's looking for you. Go find whoever took your money and ask for it back. If you keep making trouble, I'll call the police."
"Call the police? Bah!" Li the Cripple spat.
"I've even killed people, why would I be afraid of you calling the police? Either give me my money back, or give him the person."
murderer?
Lin Zhi was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she staggered back several steps, keeping a safe distance from Li the Cripple.
Looking at the crude and vicious Yao's parents, and then at the fierce and ugly Li the Cripple, Lin Zhi suddenly felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
She seemed to understand now what Pianran had cried out in the hospital room, and this was only the tip of the iceberg.
She carried her baby for ten months and risked her life to give birth to her youngest daughter in the earthquake. How did she manage to get through those sixteen years?
If she hadn't learned the truth and escaped, she would now be sold to this lame murderer.
She would be locked up and beaten, forced to have children, and she was only sixteen years old!
And what did she do to the child after her daughter finally managed to escape to her?
Thinking of this, Lin Zhi clutched her chest, feeling like she couldn't breathe.
Xia Mingyue yelled at Yao's father, "Give him the money back right now!"
When money was mentioned, Yao's father suddenly became furious, pointing his finger at Xia Mingyue's nose and cursing, "You little bitch, how dare you mention money?"
"If you hadn't taken all the money, would Congcong have suffered so much, enduring half a month of beatings?"
"Today you either give him money, or you become his wife."
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