Chapter 126 The Ambitious Man's Divided True and False Heiress
Ye Junshu glanced at the crowd coming and going, but couldn't find the person who was supposed to pick him up. Although he felt a little disappointed, he wasn't too surprised.
Although he had sent a letter home before boarding the ship, firstly, the vast ocean and the long distance meant that even if the letter wasn't lost en route, it might not reach the Ye family before he disembarked; secondly, the sea was rough and the ship might not arrive at the port on time.
Ye Junshu followed the flow of people out of the dock, bought a newspaper on the go, and then somewhat awkwardly boarded a rickshaw. The driver was dressed smartly, but his driving skills were poor, and the jolting made Ye Junshu's stomach churn. By the time they arrived at the Ye residence, Ye Junshu looked even worse than when he had just disembarked.
But no matter what, we're finally home.
Ye Junshu was happily welcomed in by the gatekeeper and put on a fake family reunion scene with his family. He pretended not to notice that his parents had subconsciously relaxed when they heard that although he had achieved academic success, his illness had not improved. He went to wash up and then went back to his room to rest.
Looking at his son's tall figure, Ye's father let out a long sigh. His son was good-looking and capable, so why couldn't he have children?
"Please take good care of Junshu in the future."
He looked at the woman beside him. Ye's mother nodded seriously. Although she was not close to the eldest son left by her predecessor, she had no ill intentions. When she married into the family, Ye Junshu was already ten years old and practically an adult. The two of them had basically no conflicts. And most importantly, the entire Ye family belonged to her son. Ye Junshu had no right to inherit, so how much could he spend even if he tried?
Ye Junshu took a refreshing shower to clean off the dust from his journey, but he forgot that the Ye family didn't have a hairdryer, and sleeping with wet hair wasn't good for his health, so he could only pass the time with the newspapers he had bought on the way.
"I'll make one myself later," Ye Junshu thought to himself as he flipped through the newspaper.
There were plenty of things in his suitcase to kill time, but he dared not touch them until he was completely restored—it was a huge compressed package, and don't ask him how he packed it; he himself couldn't bear to do it a second time.
"The New World?"
Ye Junshu looked at the newspaper in his hand, and had some expectations for its contents. The Chinese people are generally reserved, so if this newspaper dares to use such a name, the contents should not be too bad.
He opened the newspaper, and the pen name of the first article was quite interesting: Ambitious Man.
You Yu never imagined that she was the daughter who had been switched at birth.
The very first sentence of the story lays out the entire plot. After reading "The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat," Ye Junshu took a moment to process it and quickly accepted the premise of the real and fake heiresses, continuing to read on with great interest.
The first half of the ambitious man's article is a standard old-fashioned template for the true and false heiress story. You Yu is the real heiress who was switched at birth. The You family is poor and favors boys over girls. Every day, they dream of letting their ancestor Yaozu inherit the mud house and wooden cart. The "Yu" in You Yu means "extra" or "unnecessary". At home, he dares not eat a single extra bite or take an extra step.
After the You family discovered that she was not their child, they sold her for a good price.
In contrast, the Shi family, as the control group, was not only wealthy but also practiced gender equality. The fake heiress, Shi Yun'er, was raised with a life of luxury and was proficient in all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her dowry was prepared from birth. When the Shi family discovered that Shi Yun'er was not their biological daughter, they were reluctant to return her.
The first half of the story is completely unoriginal. For example, after You Yu returned to the Shi family, Shi Yun'er said with tears in her eyes that the room could be given away. She was then hugged by Shi's parents with heartache, and then You Yu was put into the storage room.
What about deliberately obscuring You Yu's relationship with the Shi family at school so she couldn't make friends; what about instigating her fiancé to pick a fight with You Yu, saying that he only wanted to marry Shi Yun'er and that You Yu shouldn't pretend; what about her older brother Shi Honghui telling his younger sister You Yu that he only had one acknowledged sister and that she should behave herself at home...
In short, it's all an awkward and melodramatic routine. Yu Yu is completely mute during this phase. She knows there's a misunderstanding but doesn't say anything, she knows she's wronged but doesn't say anything, she knows she's being framed but still doesn't say anything. She mainly plays the role of "the innocent are innocent, and I have nothing to say." What a god who controls incompetence!
Ye Junshu, adopting the perspective of the real heiress, was so angry by the series of grievances that his face turned red. He quickly flipped to the end, intending to stop feeling upset if he saw the real heiress acting like a ninja turtle.
"We agreed on 20% for you and 80% for me, so sign it."
[Writing beautiful cursive handwriting with a fountain pen, Shi Yunhai stood on the deck of her cargo ship, gazing at the receding land, a radiant smile spreading across her face. Perhaps she would perish at sea, but she would rather die in the storm than live in someone's private quarters!]
Um? !
Ye Junshu opened his eyes wide, and after confirming that he hadn't misread it, he quickly flipped back, only to find that the place he had skipped was the key turning point, just like the ending point of a short story that required payment. Even if he had looked for just one more second, he could have seen the female protagonist's explosive moment during the countdown.
Ye Junshu: ...
He silently continued reading.
Ye Junshu stopped during the kidnapping contest between the real and fake heiresses. His patience reached its limit after seeing everyone choose Shi Yun'er. He simply couldn't understand how these people could be so stupid. The kidnapping was clearly orchestrated by Shi Yun'er herself, so how could they not see that?
Then he got proven wrong :)
It is true that Shi Yun'er hired the kidnappers, but after You Yu got involved, their target was not You Yu, but Shi's parents and eldest son Shi Honghui.
Having just relinquished their own bloodline, the three members of the Shi family were shocked, astonished, and incredulous as they found themselves at the mercy of the authorities. They cursed each other for never having acknowledged You Yu, and for Shi Yun'er for being heartless and betraying the effort they had put into raising her.
"We've treated you with all our hearts, how could you repay us like this?!"
Shi's mother's words were like a key that unlocked a box, and Shi Yun'er fired the first shot.
"Who wants that useless stuff!"
[Shi Yun'er, usually gentle and quiet, and considered a model of elegance, interrupted her mother with a shriek. Her eyes were cold and sharp. Shi Honghui, who had always thought of his younger sister as a kitten, didn't dare to look Shi Yun'er in the eye.]
"What about gender equality? My name is Shi Yun'er, and his name is Shi Honghui, that's equality; I learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and he learns to inherit the family business, that's equality; he gets into trouble and I take the blame, he makes mistakes and I bear the consequences, he loses money and he sells me for cash, that's equality?!"
"Master Wang is already fifty years old, and none of the women he's given to have lived more than six months. And you're going to throw me in too, all for this good-for-nothing!"
...
"I want power, I want force, I want influence, I want wealth. I don't want your hearts, livers, stomachs, or lungs. I'm not a dowry that can be cashed out at any time, not a gift to be used to build relationships. I'm a person!"
[Shi Yun'er was referring to the resentment she felt before her fake heiress identity was exposed. Her parents could have simply told her that she couldn't compare to Shi Honghui in their hearts, but instead, they used the banner of gender equality to exploit her, blaming her for not being "plump enough" to bring them more benefits!]
...
"She's said everything I wanted to say, and I don't think I have anything to add."
[You Yu's tone was devoid of emotion, but her movements were anything but slow. The Shi family kept talking, but she didn't hear a single word.]
"You always say you'll compensate me, but you haven't given me any money or power, so I had to come and collect it myself. Anyway, men and women are equal in our family, so I can sit in the position of head of the Shi family, right?"
...
The Shi family's fortunes changed just like that.
Shi's parents were spared, but only one life. Shi Honghui had two ounces of flesh chopped off from the woman he had forced on his back, and he became somewhat insane. You Yu, who had never changed his name, finally changed it to one he liked: You Yu. He wanted to be his own jade and took control of the Shi family's business and connections, becoming the powerful head of the family.
Following the profit-sharing arrangement she had previously agreed upon with Shi Yun'er, she cashed out 20% of the Shi family's assets and gave it to Shi Yun'er. Then she saw that Shi Yun'er had changed her name.
"I like both clouds and the sea. I've had the surname Shi for so many years and I'm too lazy to change it."
Shi Yun'er, no, Shi Yunhai said naturally, her childhood wasn't bad, but she had no freedom. She could only look at the sky in the four corners outside the high walls, and the changing clouds were one of her sources of joy.
As for the sea... there was a young master whose parents wanted to curry favor with, whose family had a habit of taking walks on the beach. She was brought up as a topic of conversation. The first time she saw the waves, she happened to see a tall ship, and it was an instant, unforgettable sight.
Shi Yunhai once said that she wanted to sail the biggest ship to the sea and make the most money. Shi's parents nodded with smiles and promised to find her a husband who was in the maritime business. Then they found her a fiancé. However, she later learned that the Shi family's business was divided equally between exports and domestic sales, and the maritime transport routes were very important.
After their conversation, the two parted amicably. After helping the You family return to their original standard of living, they went their separate ways to their own battlefields. And that's how Ye Junshu saw the ending. There were no lingering or ambiguous predictions about many years later, and the story ended just like that, clean and crisp.
This article has many flaws and doesn't align with current values, but Ye Junshu's heart was pounding as he read it. He felt that this newspaper truly lived up to its name: New World, indeed!
What an ambitious man!
The words were silent, but Ye Junshu could hear them. His reason told him that words had no emotion, but he always felt that every sentence of this story was filled with flames. The whole article was an inextinguishable fireball, wanting to burn away all the dirty and filthy things!
Ye Junshu drew a heavy underline under the word "ambitious man," planning to go to the newspaper office to ask the author's name as soon as he was able to go out. This article was truly exhilarating!
...
Achoo! Achoo!
Yao Xiaoyu sneezed several times in a row, gave the old doctor an apologetic smile, and wondered who was talking about her now. Ever since she started using the pen name "Ambitious Man," she's practically become a magpie spirit! [1]
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The author has something to say: [1] A Que: An ancient name for sneezing, based on the onomatopoeic pronunciation of the word.
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