When it came to the old lady of the Yin family, He Changning felt nothing but hatred. Nothing else.
Back when his mother married into the Yin family, this old woman had made her life a living hell. Just because she came from a poor farming background, the old woman always felt inferior in front of a daughter-in-law raised in a family of scholars. To compensate, she treated her with relentless hostility.
For love, He Minglan cut ties with her own family and married Yin Zhiyan. Without the backing of her maiden family, life in the Yin household became a daily struggle. Yin Zhiyan, a weak-willed man who always obeyed his mother, chose to turn a blind eye to his wife’s suffering. He would gently tell her to “just endure a little more,” instead of standing up for her.
The old lady despised her daughter-in-law’s calm and graceful manner—it only made her own harsh and petty nature seem more obvious by comparison. She gave He Minglan a hard time at every turn, nitpicking her every move. Even when she did things right, it was still somehow wrong. And when He Minglan failed to produce a child for several years, the old woman found yet another excuse to torment her.
Worse yet, when Yin Zhiyan started seeing another woman, the old lady not only condoned it—she helped him keep it a secret. So by the time He Changning turned two, his mother discovered that her husband’s mistress already had an eight-year-old child with him. And a five-year-old. And she was pregnant with a third.
Crushed by years of abuse and betrayal, physically and emotionally drained, He Minglan finally broke. She left behind her not-quite-three-year-old son and took her own life in the most tragic and decisive way—by jumping off the top floor of the Yin family’s villa.
Sure, her death had something to do with her own obsession with love and her gentle nature. But the biggest culprits were the old lady of the Yin family—and Yin Zhiyan, whose cowardice made him an accomplice.
He Changning had no plans to take revenge on the old lady. She was old. Killing her wouldn’t bring his mother back. But that didn’t mean they could control his life however they wanted.
The only reasons he was still staying in the Yin household were because of the letter his mother left behind—and because he wasn’t done making their lives miserable. As long as he was still interested, he figured he might as well mess with them.
Seeing He Changning remain silent, the old lady thought she had the upper hand. Putting on a fake kind expression, she said, in the tone of a wise elder, “Changning, Grandma knows you’re upset, but you have to think of the bigger picture—for the good of the Yin family. Your mother was a cultured and reasonable woman. You wouldn’t want to disgrace her, would you?”
He Changning could’ve laughed at the absurdity. Now they remembered how “cultured and reasonable” his mother was? Where was that appreciation when she was still alive? Now that they wanted him to make a sacrifice, they pulled out his mother’s integrity as leverage. Shameless.
His flawless face turned cold as frost, eyes brimming with sarcasm. He stared straight at the stingy, bitter old woman. “So, Grandma, what exactly do you expect me to do? Marry a man and become his wife? And use the bride price to bail out Yin Corporation? You think I’m worth that much? Do you even know how much money it would take to save the company? Do you really think the Shang family would pay that kind of money to marry me into their family?”
His barrage of questions left the old lady speechless. She really didn’t know how much it would cost to rescue the company. So she turned to her son, Yin Zhiyan, for answers.
Yin Zhiyan coughed, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “Well, it’s not that much… maybe twenty million or so.”
He Changning let out a sharp laugh. “Wow, Dad, that’s flattering. You really think I’m worth twenty million? Or do you seriously believe the Shang family would shell out that kind of cash just to get a male wife?”
Yin Zhiyan looked ashamed. Cong Min stared at him with a disappointed expression. The old lady, meanwhile, wore a cryptic look, lost in thought.
He Changning’s words had hit everyone where it hurt. And he wasn’t finished. With a hint of a smile that never reached his eyes, he said, “If the Shang family really must marry a Yin family man, why not consider other candidates? Maybe that would make Dad’s wish come true.”
As his gaze swept over the other two Yin men in the room, Yin Hao and Yin Jun both felt a chill crawl up their spines. Their backs stiffened, a cold sweat breaking out. Yin Jun even shrank into himself, trying to disappear.
The old lady knew exactly what He Changning meant. But Yin Hao and Yin Jun were her real grandsons—the future of the Yin family. She would never let them marry into another family as someone’s wife. That would ruin their lives. But more importantly, the Shang family was not someone they could afford to offend.
“There’s truth to what you say,” the old lady replied cautiously, “but who the Shang family’s young master marries isn’t up to us.”
Yin Zhiyan suddenly chimed in, as if remembering something. “Exactly. This wasn’t our decision. The Shang family’s matriarch picked the match personally after consulting a fortune master. Plenty of families submitted birth charts, not just us. But among all the candidates, your chart was the most compatible with the Shang heir. So… she chose you.”
He Changning’s fists clenched, his pale knuckles glowing against jade-like skin. He was trying his best to suppress the rage that threatened to explode. “And why the hell didn’t I know my birth chart was even submitted?”
His eyes were like daggers aimed at his father—the man who had sold him off without even telling him.
Yin Zhiyan looked away. “We didn’t think there was much chance, so…”
Cong Min finally had enough. She couldn’t stand watching Yin Zhiyan get verbally beaten into submission. She looked down on him for his cowardice—but she had to protect her sons. “What’s done is done. The Shang family isn’t someone we can mess with. Your father submitted the chart himself. Now that they’ve chosen you, backing out would be suicide. If we anger them, not only will the company go under, none of us will get out unscathed. That’s the reality, Changning. Like it or not, you can’t shoulder the consequences alone.”
“Oh, how generous of you,” He Changning sneered. “Of course it’s easy for you to say—you’re not the one being sold off.”
“What do you want us to do, then?” Cong Min snapped. “Your father can’t stand up to the Shang family. We can’t run either. Are you saying we should all die just to save you?”
“If you had the nerve to start this mess, you should’ve had the guts to deal with it. You sent off my birth chart—without my consent. What, you all thought I’d just sit here and accept whatever fate you decided for me?”
At last, everyone in the room seemed to realize something—they no longer recognized the man sitting on the couch.
He Changning was no longer the obedient, quiet son who never said no. The once gentle kitten had bared its claws—and they were sharp enough to draw blood.
