The Si Residence, Baihui Village, Capital City

Even in the countryside, the afternoon heat was relentless.

Stepmother Wu Mei and her biological son, Si Qisheng, stood impatiently by the gate, squinting under the scorching sun. They wouldn’t have bothered waiting like this if not for the promised money.

Beside them, a girl stood silently, her indifferent gaze lazily fixed on the approaching car. The sunlight bathed her slender frame, casting a faint shadow on the dusty ground.

The car rolled to a stop, and a man and a woman stepped out. The woman’s eyes welled up the moment she saw the girl standing before her.

"Xiao Yu... I’m your mother," Li Shang choked out, rushing forward to embrace her. "I’m so sorry, Xiao Yu. It was our fault back then."

When Si Yu was just two years old, her second-eldest brother had taken her out shopping—only to return alone, her whereabouts unknown.

But fate had finally answered their prayers. After years of searching, they had found her.

Si Yu frowned, unaccustomed to the sudden affection. Her voice remained flat. "Mm."

"Xiao Yu... do you resent me?" Li Shang’s tears spilled over as she clutched her daughter’s shoulders. "I’ll never let you suffer again, I promise."

"Xiao Yu, I’m your father, Si Qing," the man added, his own eyes reddening. "And this is your mother, Li Shang."

"Hey, what about the money you promised?" Wu Mei cut in sharply, tapping her foot. She needed that cash to buy her son an apartment.

"And as for Si Yu—"

Just as her foster mother was about to make an outrageous demand, she caught the sardonic glint in Yu's eyes and immediately clamped her mouth shut, too intimidated to speak.

"Mom, why aren't you saying anything?" Her biological son, Si Qisheng, had no such reservations. "Isn't it only right they pay us? If our family hadn't taken her in all these years, she might've died long ago!"

"Exactly," another villager chimed in. "Ever since you took in Si Yu, nothing but bad luck has plagued your household. Old Si even passed away—who's to say she didn't jinx him to death?"

"Now that you mention it, it's downright terrifying," a woman added, shuddering. "I thought you'd already kicked her out? Why's she back? Even if they want to claim her, why bring her here? What if her bad luck rubs off on the rest of us?"

The villagers gathered outside kept up their relentless gossip, each secretly resentful of others' good fortune.

"Let's be honest—Si Yu's a walking curse. Anyone who takes her in is doomed. If it were me, I'd have smothered her long ago."

Li Shang's temples throbbed with rage. "Shut your mouths! She's not your daughter, so what business is it of yours? Even if my girl were the worst, she's still mine, and I'll spoil her rotten if I want to!"

Turning gently to Si Yu, she murmured, "Don't listen to their nonsense, Xiao Yu."

The couple exchanged pained glances. The investigation had barely scratched the surface of what their daughter had endured. Hearing these venomous words upon arrival revealed the cruel reality of her life here.

"It's fine."

She was long accustomed to it—their words rolled off her like water. Yet Li Shang's fierce defense kindled an unexpected warmth in her chest.

"As for the money..." the foster mother ventured greedily.

"You'll get your payment," Si Qing cut in coldly. "Consider it compensation for her upbringing."

"Fine, but we'll decide the amount. After all, raising her all these years wasn't cheap," Si Qisheng cut Wu Mei off. "At least half a million."

"What did you just say?" Si Yu let out a cold laugh. "Half a million? Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Si Qisheng met her gaze but faltered slightly under its intensity. "Do you have any idea how much effort it took to raise you?"

"Hmm... I was trafficked. You were the buyers. I wonder how many years in prison that’ll get you?"

"Si Yu!" Wu Mei panicked, her voice shrill. "How can you bite the hand that fed you?"

She didn’t know the law, but the mere mention of jail was enough to make her back down.

"You really wanna test me?"

Unlike his timid mother, Si Qisheng had a reckless streak—especially with gambling debts hanging over his head. He wasn’t leaving without money today.

Rolling up his sleeves, he snarled, "I’ll teach you a lesson right now!"

Si Qing’s expression darkened as he stepped protectively in front of his wife and daughter. "Let’s see who dares lay a finger on them."

"You old bastard!"

Si Qisheng had been spoiled rotten, notorious in the neighborhood as a troublemaker. The insult sent him into a rage.

He lunged forward, fist raised—only for his wrist to be seized in a crushing grip before he could swing.

"You—"

He raised his eyes to meet Si Yu's icy gaze. A slow, deliberate smirk curled her lips, and before anyone could react, Si Qisheng found himself slammed face-first into the ground.

Her foot pressed down on his back, grinding mercilessly. "Still want more?"

Si Qisheng shuddered as if staring into the eyes of the devil, desperately trying to push himself up—only for the weight crushing him to intensify.

*How the hell is this little bitch so strong?!*

Si Qing and Li Shang stood frozen, stunned by their daughter's terrifying strength...

Then came the pang of heartache. *What has she been through all these years?*

"Hey! Get Si Yu off my son right now! She's hurting him!" Wu Mei shrieked, frantic.

Li Shang rushed forward, her face etched with concern. "Xiao Yu, does it hurt?"

Si Yu paused, taking a moment to process the question.

"Leave the dirty work to your father next time. Why strain yourself?"

Wu Mei nearly choked on her fury. "*She's* the one beating *my* son!"

Shouldn't *he* be the one in pain?

She had assumed Si Yu's aggression would spark outrage—but instead, all it earned was doting sympathy.

Not that Si Qing and Li Shang cared. After all, Si Qisheng had started this mess.

Don't you even care about your own daughter, yet you're worried about an outsider?

"Out of respect for my foster father, I've kept quiet about what happened back then. But if you insist, I don't mind bringing it up."

Si Yu's tone was casual, yet it sent a chill down everyone's spine—as if she could dismember you with a smile the next second.

Si Qisheng panicked. "You—"

Years ago, when Si Yu was barely fourteen or fifteen, she was nearly assaulted. Later, her foster father died protecting her. It was later uncovered that it hadn’t been an accident, but premeditated murder.

The perpetrator confessed that the goal wasn’t just to humiliate her—more importantly, they wanted to kill her, dispose of the body, and spread rumors that she had eloped with some other man.

All of it was just to prevent her from claiming any inheritance—though in reality, the family fortune was never hers to begin with.

"Enough, enough! We don’t want the money anymore—just let go of my son!" Seeing Si Qisheng’s face turn deathly pale, Wu Mei grew frantic. "Si Yu!"

Si Yu lifted her gaze, her cold eyes sweeping over Wu Mei before settling on the onlookers outside.

The villagers, who had been about to speak up, immediately fell silent.

"You— Ah—!"

Si Yu released her grip. The moment Si Qisheng tried to get up, his arm was twisted and snapped with a sickening crack.

"Consider this a small lesson."

Her foster father had shown her kindness, but that didn’t mean she would let anyone walk all over her.

Si Qisheng and Wu Mei trembled with rage, their faces contorted—yet there was nothing they could do to her.

This was Si Yu all over—even now, those who had bullied her back then still wet their pants at the sight of her.

Si Qing handed the card to Wu Mei. "Alright, let's head back."

Every time he thought about the life his daughter had endured here, his heart ached like needles pricking at it—just like Li Shang's. The money they'd given was purely out of respect for Si Yu's adoptive father.

"Xiao Yu?"

Si Yu nodded.

Li Shang's face lit up with relief. At least their daughter didn't resent them.

"From now on, Xiao Yu has nothing to do with you."

The adoptive mother curled her lip in disdain. As if she cared! That little brat Si Yu—spending money to bring her home had been a mistake from the start.

And now she even dared to lay a hand on her son.

The three of them got into the car and drove home. Li Shang held Si Yu's hand, explaining what had happened all those years ago. Only when she saw that Si Yu bore no grudge did she finally relax.