Amidst the bustle of the dusty market district, two men strode with a style that contrasted sharply with their attire. They wore smart, expensive suits, but their gait was sloppy—shoulders held high and disdainful gazes sweeping across every corner of the street vendors' stalls.
They stopped in front of a small stall belonging to a woman who was busy arranging her wares.
"Hey, look at this... Isn't this Wei Ruoxin? Our 'esteemed' Young Lady of the Wei family?" one of them greeted her with a sneer.
The woman's hand froze. Hearing a voice she both knew and hated, Wei Ruoxin's gaze darkened. She slowly raised her head, glaring at the man before her with a glint of undisguised hatred.
"Hmph... Cousin," Ruoxin hissed coldly.
"Hey, it seems you still recognize this distant relative of yours, Ruoxin. I thought living in a slum like this must have rotted your memory," the cousin replied with a chuckle, glancing at the humble food stall with disdain.
"What are you here for?" Ruoxin didn't return the pleasantries. "I'm just a poor woman looking for a living. I have no business with big shots like you."
"Don't be so cold, Ruoxin. We actually came here with good intentions," the cousin said with a broad smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Ruoxin snorted sarcastically. "Good intentions? I guess those puckered lips of yours that look like cow dung are starting to learn some etiquette, huh? Since when did the word 'good intentions' appear in the Wei family's vocabulary for someone like me?"
"You...!" The cousin's face flushed, her hands balled into fists, ready to curse.
However, the man standing next to her—a subordinate with a calmer yet cunning aura—quickly touched her shoulder to stop her. He stepped forward and bowed slightly, a gesture that felt incredibly fake.
"Miss Ruoxin, please forgive Young Master's rudeness. We truly came here with good intentions to see you."
Ruoxin stared at him flatly. "Save your good intentions to the person who gave you that collar of authority. I don't need anything from you."
Seeing such a firm refusal, the cousin's patience ran out. "Shut up, Ruoxin! Don't act arrogant! If not for that shameful incident 16 years ago, our family would have been among the elite in the central city by now! You are a disgrace hindering our progress!"
The subordinate retorted, trying to defuse the situation but still using a commanding tone. "Therefore, Miss, we are here to invite you back to the family. We want you to be present to celebrate the Old Patriarch's birthday."
Wei Ruoxin frowned, suspicion welling in her heart. "That old bastard? Isn't his birthday still a month away? Why are you calling me now?"
"Yes, Miss," the subordinate replied calmly. "The reason we came to pick you up early was to prepare everything. The Patriarch wants to restore your status as the core of the Wei family. He wants to mend fences."
Ruoxin paused for a moment, then a sarcastic laugh escaped her lips. A laugh that sounded painful and hurt. "Heh... status again, status again. Even after 16 years, that old bastard is still the same. Has he climbed so many ladders that he only has the foothold of a high reputation? He wants me back just to burnish his reputation, doesn't he?"
"Watch your words!" snapped the cousin, this time truly enraged. "Don't talk to Uncle like that! After all, he's your biological father! You should be showing your devotion as his descendant, not cursing him in the marketplace like this!"
The words 'biological father' and 'devotion' seemed to ignite an explosion within Wei Ruoxin. The anger she had been suppressing for decades burst out instantly. She slammed the rag in her hand onto the booth table with a loud bang.
"Biological father? Devotion?!" Ruoxin shouted, her voice booming, causing several people around the market to turn. "Where was he when I was pregnant out of wedlock and needed protection?! Where was his devotion as a father when he let the whole family humiliate me like an animal, then threw me out onto the streets penniless?!"
Ruoxin's breath was ragged, her eyes red. "And the most barbaric thing... do you think I don't know?! Wei Yan's biological father... the man I loved and his innocent family... they were all killed under my own biological father's secret orders! He killed them just so this 'disgrace' would be gone!"
The cousin was stunned, not expecting Ruoxin to bring up such a profound subject. "It... it was to preserve the family's honor!"
"Honor?!" Ruoxin laughed hysterically. "You're talking about honor after ruining my life? I lived like a walking corpse for years, taking on countless menial jobs, cleaning floors, washing people's dishes, until I finally managed to own this small food stall with my own sweat! And now, after 16 years of surviving without you, you come talking about 'status'?"
Ruoxin pointed down the street. "Go! Tell that old bastard, I don't have a father! I'd rather die in this market than return to that house filled with blood and hypocrisy!"
The cousin and his subordinate stood frozen, their faces pale with shame and anger as the market people began to whisper. Meanwhile, in a parked car nearby, Wei Yan was paying attention to every word his mother uttered. His eyes narrowed sharply, exuding a deadly coldness.
Wei Ruoxin stood up straight, her previously ragged breathing slowing, but her eyes radiated a sharpness that could skin anyone who looked at her. She looked down for a moment, staring at the dust beneath her feet, then slowly raised her face with a smile that was more like a sneer of contempt.
"Besides..." Ruoxin began again, her voice now low but trembling with deep bitterness. "From that old bastard's nature, I know he'll never be satisfied with what he has now. Reputation? Honor? Those are just masks to cover his bottomless greed."
She took a step forward, causing her cousin to involuntarily take a step back. "Let me guess the real reason you've crawled into this market. The Wei family's business is currently at a standstill, isn't it? You've sought cooperation with the major factions in the central city and ultimately achieved nothing. You're in a tight spot."
The faces of her cousin and her subordinates instantly turned ashen. Ruoxin chuckled, a dry laugh. "According to my calculations, your plan is simple yet disgusting. You'll bring me back, fake my confession by elevating me to the status of a family member again, and then... you'll force me to marry one of your old colleagues or the son of a business partner as part of an alliance? Use me as a sacrifice to save a sinking company?"
Ruoxin's eyes narrowed, staring directly into her cousin's. "Is the Wei family that despicable now? To sacrifice its own bloodline just to survive? Where is that pride you've always prided yourself on?"
Those words were like a bomb exploding in the crowd. The people around the market, the vegetable vendors, the butchers, and even the customers who had been silently watching, now began whispering in tones filled with shock and contempt.
"Crazy... so they want to sell their own family member?" whispered a woman selling herbal medicine.
"No wonder they're wearing a neat suit, but they came to a rundown market. It turns out they're here to pick up 'merchandise,'" a porter chimed in, his voice deliberately aimed at the two men.
"Shut up, all of you! What do commoners know!" shouted the cousin, his face flushed red at having their dirty secret exposed in public. He pointed his finger directly at Ruoxin's nose. "You bitch! How dare you slander the Wei family! You should be grateful we still consider you!"
"Grateful?" Ruoxin spat aside. "I'm more grateful to the filth on this street than you. At least it doesn't pretend to be gold."
The market crowd's anger began to boil over. "Get out of here! Don't bother Miss Wei!" someone shouted. "The Wei family is just a bunch of well-dressed cowards!"
The situation was spiraling out of control. The cheers and insults from the market crowd left the cousin feeling cornered and humiliated to a level he had never felt before. With his hands shaking with rage, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
"You think you can fight me?!" he roared at the crowd. "Just because there are so many of you, you think I'm afraid? Guards! Get in now! Clean up this trash!"
Inside the parked luxury car, Li Yuantong was already gripping the door handle, his eyes gleaming, ready to charge. "Honey, this has gone too far. They're calling in the shock unit."
Wei Yan didn't answer, but the aura inside the car was now so tense that the windows began to vibrate subtly from the resonance of the energy emanating from his body.
Shortly afterward, the sound of heavy engines and screeching tires could be heard from the entrance to the market district. Three jet-black G-Wagons with tinted windows zoomed in, crashing through several stacks of empty wooden crates and forcing residents to jump to the side. The cars stopped in a circle around Ruoxin's stall.
The doors opened simultaneously. Dozens of large men in black tactical gear and sunglasses got out, each carrying batons and some wielding tasers. They immediately formed a barricade, violently pushing back the market residents.
"Anyone who dares interfere will end up in the hospital!" threatened one of the guards, slamming his baton into his palm.
Wei Ruoxin now stood alone in the midst of the encirclement. Although her body trembled, she kept her head held high, refusing to show weakness in front of her father's henchmen.
The cousin stepped forward arrogantly, protected by his guards. "Now, Ruoxin... you have only two choices. Either you come with us nicely, or we'll drag you away like a stray dog and destroy this junkyard of yours."
The guards began to close the encirclement, their hands reaching to grab Ruoxin's arm.
Just then, the door of a luxury car in the distance opened with a loud bang, triggering a small shockwave. A young man leaped out, dashing at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, through the terrified crowd of market residents.
"MOM!!!"
The shout boomed, tearing through the hustle and bustle of the market and momentarily halting the guards' movements. His voice was filled with a primal rage that could shake the soul.
Wei Yan appeared from afar, his usually calm eyes now glinting faintly red, glaring at the guard's hand that was about to touch his mother. The facade of a calm student was now completely shattered; all that remained was a son ready to set the world on fire to protect the woman who gave birth to him.