When Mr. and Mrs. Zhao heard this, they exchanged glances. “Yijun, what’s done is done. Let’s not bring this up again,” they said.
Zhao Yijun agreed outwardly, but inwardly, she was shaken.
Lying in bed, the more she thought about it, the more disturbed she became. She grabbed her phone—she couldn’t keep this from Liu Yizhou. She had to tell him that Ye Shaohua had recognized him all along. Ye Shaohua must have approached them with ulterior motives!
This was revenge. She couldn’t let Liu Yizhou be fooled by that woman. He was involved too—he had the right to know the full truth of what happened back then.
Liu Yizhou had also been troubled by the recent news. His and Ye Shaohua’s reputations had taken a hit.
Especially Ye Shaohua’s—being labeled a homewrecker made her public enemy number one.
He wanted to clarify things with the media, but Yu Zhehan was the first to object. “Yizhou, if you explain, what will people think of Yijun?”
Those words stopped Liu Yizhou from acting.
Instead, he sat in his office, chain-smoking, sometimes wishing he could go back in time and slap some sense into his past self. Why did I ever get involved with Ye Shaohua?
But then, a strange sense of relief would wash over him—thank God I did.
His assistant informed him that Zhao Yijun had something urgent to discuss.
Through the haze of cigarette smoke, Liu Yizhou tried to recall Zhao Yijun’s face, only to realize it had grown faint in his mind. Her image was slowly being replaced by someone else.
He stubbed out his cigarette and watched as Zhao Yijun entered. “What is it?” he asked flatly.
Never had he imagined a day would come when he could speak to Zhao Yijun with such detachment.
Too preoccupied to notice his tone, Zhao Yijun locked eyes with him. “Yizhou, do you remember the kidnapping fifteen years ago? Ye Shaohua was the one who abandoned you and ran away!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Liu Yizhou froze. “She wasn’t even there. It was you with us the whole time.”
“How could it have been me?” Zhao Yijun stared at him in disbelief. “Ye Shaohua is my second uncle’s daughter. Back then, her father was in a vegetative state, on the verge of death. She came to the Zhao family to borrow money to save him. Because she looked like me, the kidnappers mistook her for me and took her along with you. Because of that, she couldn’t get the money back in time, and her father died during the crisis.”
“So, Yizhou, she knew who you were! She must have recognized you and used her resemblance to me to get close to you—for revenge! If not for us, her father wouldn’t have died. And now… she’s succeeded. She’s completely destroyed me. Yizhou, you have to wake up!”
Zhao Yijun expected Liu Yizhou to erupt in fury.
But he didn’t.
He just sat there, motionless, his gaze vacant.
“Yizhou?” His silence unnerved her.
Finally, he blinked and looked at her. “Leave. I need to think.”
Assuming he was just reeling from the shock, Zhao Yijun offered a few words of comfort before leaving.
As she stepped outside, the air felt lighter.
She might not be able to take Ye Shaohua down herself, but Liu Yizhou could. With Yongteng controlling a quarter of the nation’s economic lifeline, dealing with Ye Shaohua would be troublesome—but not impossible.
Back at Zhao Corporation, where she had resumed her position after leaving Ding General Manager’s side, she addressed the board with confidence.
“Don’t worry, Father, Mother. This time, she’s going to fall hard.”
Seeing her assurance, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao, reassured by her connection to Liu Yizhou, set aside their worries.
The meeting proceeded smoothly. The Zhao family had been struggling with a financial scandal, but Zhao Yijun had steadied morale and even promised the board she would secure a high-profile metals project.
The room buzzed with optimism.
Just as Zhao Yijun was about to distribute the proposal, the door swung open.
“It’s you?” Mrs. Zhao gasped, pointing at the woman leading the group—Ye Shaohua’s mother, Ye Dongxiang.
But this wasn’t the timid, shrinking woman Mrs. Zhao remembered.
Ye Dongxiang stood tall, composed.
Beside her, Ye Shaohua’s lawyer adjusted his glasses. “As of 9 a.m. this morning, Miss Ye has officially acquired Zhao Corporation. The company now belongs to Ms. Ye Dongxiang. Mrs. Zhao, I’d advise you to remain civil. Whether you retain your positions will depend entirely on her discretion.”
The transfer was swift.
Within hours, the once-mighty Zhao Corporation was rebranded as Ye Group.
“What… what do we do now?” Mrs. Zhao whispered, her face twisted in humiliation.
She had always looked down on Ye Dongxiang—an uneducated country bumpkin, inferior in every way. Even her daughter had only been fit to serve as Zhao Yijun’s stand-in.
How could this woman she despised now stand above her, all because of her daughter?
Weeks ago, she had sneered at Ye Dongxiang. Now, the tables had turned—Ye Dongxiang held their fates in her hands.
The injustice was unbearable.
“It’s fine. We’ll go to Yizhou. He’ll know what to do,” Zhao Yijun said firmly.
She truly believed Liu Yizhou wouldn’t stand by idly.
That belief held—until she arrived at Yongteng’s headquarters and saw his live interview playing across the commercial square.
Liu Yizhou, speaking to the nation, stated clearly:
“No, Miss Zhao and I were never in a relationship. My teachers from back then can confirm this. From birth until now, the only person I’ve ever been with is Miss Ye. I made mistakes, and she left me. But I won’t give up. And I hope… you’ll all stop harassing her.”
