Ye Shaohua took a deep breath.
Shen Han, who had been ignored by Mo YunChuan despite being invited to dinner, was about to ask something when he noticed Ye Shaohua pause mid-step.
Before he could speak, Mo Yunsheng rushed in, nearly colliding with him.
“Bro… bro… it’s bad. Have you seen the… uh, Little Shaohua, why are you here?” Mo Yunsheng, who had been about to say something, immediately stopped when he saw Ye Shaohua standing next to Mo YunChuan.
The mess on the internet was something Mo Yunsheng didn’t want Ye Shaohua to know about.
It was too upsetting.
“Give me your phone,” Ye Shaohua said, folding the paper filled with formulas and stuffing it into her pocket before turning to Mo Yunsheng.
Mo Yunsheng instinctively hid his phone behind his back.
Ye Shaohua looked at him and repeated, “Give me your phone.”
What had happened online was simple. Someone had leaked the recording of An Tongtong’s words and the details of her injury. Major media outlets, hungry for sensational topics, quickly picked it up, and the public was soon swept up in conspiracy theories.
Ye Shaohua and An Tongtong’s backgrounds were dug up.
[No wonder no one could beat Choi Chang-soo except Ye Shaohua. I bet she paid him off!]
[Honestly, An Tongtong is kind of pitiful. Her biological daughter comes back, and she stabs her in the back. How heartbreaking.]
[There’s no way there’s foul play in this kind of competition, right?]
[Look at her hand! It’s so badly injured. I heard she plays the piano too. My heart aches for her.]
[What do you mean you’re jealous that your biological parents like her, and even your adoptive mother likes her? She’s better than you in every way. Of course everyone likes her! If I were them, I wouldn’t like someone as vicious as you either. I’d be scared to be your classmate!]
[Are you all insane? If you don’t know Ye Shaohua, don’t define her like that! She’s an An family member? I haven’t seen a single thing in her lifestyle that suggests she’s from the An family!]
Mo Yunsheng was worried that Ye Shaohua might break down on the spot, but to his surprise, she remained calm after reading everything, her expression unreadable.
“Sorry, I won’t be joining for dinner,” Ye Shaohua said, glancing at Mo YunChuan.
Mo YunChuan’s face darkened. He nodded at Shen Han, who immediately chimed in, “Next time, I’ll treat you to dinner, sister-in-law!”
Ye Shaohua didn’t go anywhere. She simply returned to the lab and borrowed a computer from a classmate.
Mo Yunsheng only knew Ye Shaohua as a rising star in the medical field. Shen Han only knew her as a Go player. Seeing her now sitting in front of a computer, they were both baffled.
Ye Shaohua’s expression was more serious than ever.
Even Shen Han, who barely knew her, could sense the unspoken anger in the way her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Her movements were so fast that her hands became a blur.
IP addresses flashed rapidly on the screen.
Mo Yunsheng’s eyes widened. “Holy crap, is Little Shaohua an IT genius too?”
Ye Shaohua copied part of the recording and uploaded another part online before standing up.
“I need to go back to the An family,” she said softly.
Mo YunChuan nodded. “Let’s go.”
Mo Yunsheng remained in the lab, watching his brother’s dark, ominous figure leave. He couldn’t help but shiver.
At the same time, he thought about Ye Shaohua’s situation and sighed. He didn’t dare ask his brother too many questions, so he knew almost nothing about Ye Shaohua. It was only now that he learned she was the An family’s biological daughter.
It was hard to believe.
He couldn’t understand why someone from a wealthy family would need to take on part-time jobs while being so busy in the lab. He had genuinely thought she was an orphan supported by Professor Tian.
When the An family’s servants saw Ye Shaohua returning late at night, they rolled their eyes and threw a pair of slippers at her with a loud thud.
In the living room, An Tongtong was still crying, with Mr. and Mrs. An comforting her gently.
When Ye Shaohua appeared, Mrs. An’s eyes practically spat fire.
“You’re back. I’ve asked the chef to prepare some good dishes,” Old Master An said, rushing down from upstairs, out of breath. “Shaohua, come here.”
“Grandpa, why are you still so biased at a time like this?” An Tongtong looked at Old Master An with disappointment. “Shaohua, I know you’ve always disliked me, and I can understand that. But why did you have to ruin my future?!”
An Tongtong expected Ye Shaohua to lose her temper, to say something rash that would make her own story more believable.
But Ye Shaohua didn’t.
She simply looked at An Tongtong with calm eyes.
Ye Shaohua glanced at everyone sitting on the sofa. Except for Old Master An, everyone’s expressions were complicated.
Of course, compared to her, they would naturally trust An Tongtong, whom they had known for eighteen years.
“Tongtong, stop talking,” An Tingjun, who had always disliked Ye Shaohua, surprisingly spoke up.
“Brother,” An Tongtong looked at An Tingjun in disbelief. “Even you’re like this now? Ye Shaohua, it’s all because of you. You appeared out of nowhere, taking my parents and my brother away from me. Now you want to take away the only thing I have left—my Go career?”
Ye Shaohua felt no emotion. She looked at the others, who remained silent, before finally focusing on An Tongtong. Calmly, she said, “Is that so? Then what about this?”
She opened her phone, and a conversation began to play.
[“…I went to your parents’ house. They’ve turned your bedroom into my bedroom and a piano room.”]
[“And this, do you recognize it? It’s the Yao family heirloom… Aren’t you jealous? Don’t you feel like all of this should be yours?”]
[“Yes, I’m jealous. Jealous that my adoptive parents like you, and even my biological parents like you. But now, I don’t feel anything anymore.”]
Everyone in the room could recognize the voice—gentle yet laced with malice and smugness. It was unmistakably An Tongtong’s.
