Chapter 4: Leading the Troublemaker Eastward

“Ring, ring…”

The phone rang, and Ye Lin glanced at it. Seeing it was a private number that only family could call, she quickly answered.

As soon as the call connected, her father’s roar came through, “Ye Lin, if you’ve lost your mind, just donate it back to society. Stop showing off that pig-headed nonsense and bringing disaster to the Ye family! I really don’t know what karma the Ye family committed in the past life to have given birth to a worthless creature like you. You don’t even have the basic morals of being human. You shameless and ungrateful wretch, I don’t consider you my daughter!”

Besides her father’s furious bellowing, her mother’s fearful voice also filled the line.

It turned out that Ye Lin’s home address had been exposed online. Strange food delivery orders were being sent there, and while her father was on the phone, someone had thrown something—whether red paint or animal blood—on their windows.

Ye Lin curled her lips disdainfully. “Dad, now you’re accusing me of being shameless? When I used to get along well with Wen Miaoting, the real daughter of the Wen family, you praised me as your precious girl, saying I even managed to latch onto the Wen family’s power. Your face sure changes fast!”

With that, Ye Lin hung up, secretly vowing that once she got through this ordeal and made something of herself, she would return to slap the Ye family’s faces hard.

She picked up her phone and tried calling Wen Miaoting again. Given their past relationship, she believed Wen Miaoting wouldn’t abandon her.

Wen Miaoting had often shown Ye Lin a bit of favor because Ye Lin was an employee at Wen Miahan’s studio, giving Ye Lin the illusion that she had successfully clung to the true heiress’s influence despite being a fake.

But today, for some reason, Wen Miaoting didn’t answer any of her calls.

Sitting nearby, Fang Le saw her fail once more and felt her already uneasy heart sink completely.

Earlier, when Wen Haoyu and Wen Miaoting watched Wen Miahan’s livestream and their expressions changed, Fang Le had a vague feeling their previous judgment might have been wrong.

Seeing the Wen family escort Wen Miahan into the hospital only strengthened that feeling.

Only Ye Lin, that fool, still naïvely believed the Wen family’s concern was all for show and that once in the hospital, they would part ways.

Growing more agitated after failing to reach Wen Miaoting, Ye Lin checked the online situation. They were being cursed mercilessly, and more and more people were coming forward with exposés.

Even their previous visit to Ye Lin’s brother’s shop had been leaked.

The more they got trashed online, the more sympathy Wen Miahan received.

Ye Lin’s heart ached with anger seeing everyone siding with Wen Miahan.

“Le Jie, what do we do now? We can’t just keep getting beaten down by that bitch Wen Miaoting forever!” Ye Lin said, unwilling to accept defeat.

As Wen Miahan’s top hater, it stung even more to see the masses empathizing with Wen Miahan and following her lead.

Fang Le shot her a glare. “Now you’re panicking? Were you kicked in the head by a donkey back then? If you’d only shot videos without livestreaming, would we be getting roasted by the entire internet like this?”

Fang Le was about to be driven mad by Ye Lin’s incompetence!

Videos could be edited to suit what the audience wanted, but livestreaming? That was just shooting ourselves in the foot.

Right now, someone as brainless as Ye Lin was the perfect scapegoat.

Ye Lin sneered, “Le Jie, it’s pointless to say that now. You can’t just dismiss all my hard work because of one mistake! I’ve made you plenty of money before. Judging by your tone, it sounds like you want to push me out to take the fall.”

“I advise you not to even think that foolishly. I always keep a trick up my sleeve. If you try to push me out, don’t expect to live long,” Fang Le said with a sudden seriousness.

Fang Le was startled—when did this stubborn girl become so difficult to deal with?

She had started as a reckless fresh graduate fueled only by hatred toward Wen Miahan, but now she had learned to be crafty.

Suppressing her irritation, Fang Le forced a smile. “You’re overthinking. You’re my protégé—I’d never let you take the fall alone. Besides, we’re not out of options yet.”

Ye Lin’s interest immediately peaked. “Le Jie, do you have a plan? Tell me what to do!”

Fang Le smiled mysteriously. “Divert the blame elsewhere.”

***

At the hospital.

Wen Miahan lay pale on the bed, drifting in light sleep. Around her, the Wen family sat and stood, passing around the expedited medical reports they had managed to obtain.

Each glance deepened the furrows on their brows.

“We cared too little for Miahan. Her illness is so serious, and we didn’t notice at all before,” Wen’s mother said, heartbroken.

Wen Miaoting gently squeezed her mother’s hand. “Mom, don’t blame yourself. My sudden appearance caught everyone off guard. Miahan grew distant from the family because of me, so she didn’t tell us when she got sick. When Miahan wakes up, no matter what, she has to move back home. If she refuses, then I’ll move in with her. No matter how much she hates me, she has to watch over me.”

Though her words were firm, Wen Miaoting’s eyes overflowed with tenderness for Wen Miahan.

Though Wen Miaoting and Wen Miahan had been switched at birth due to medical negligence, Wen Miaoting was fortunate to have loving foster parents. It wasn’t until a car accident during a trip with her foster family that the hospital discovered their blood types didn’t match, causing her to realize she wasn’t their biological child.

She was lucky to find her birth parents in her lifetime and suddenly gained many brothers.

But Miahan? Her foster parents died in that accident, and she’d never met her biological parents. Being an only child to her foster parents, she went from having a full family to becoming an orphan overnight. The emotional gap was enormous.

“I was just sleeping, why are you accusing me again? I don’t hate you,” Wen Miahan said, opening her eyes.

As the author, how could she hate a character she created?

Even the villains were beloved by their creator, let alone a relatively righteous character like Wen Miaoting.

“If you don’t hate me, then move back home,” Wen Miaoting seized the opportunity to press on.

Wen Miahan shrugged. “I have no problem with that! As long as the doctors agree to discharge me.”

At the mention of doctors, everyone’s expressions shifted from hope to worry.

Wen Miahan smiled indifferently. “Don’t all look so gloomy. Don’t you know a patient’s mood is crucial? And please, don’t crowd around me like this. You’re all busy people. This pressure is too much and really affects my rest. How about you come back tomorrow?”