Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Is Your Mother Really Their Child?

Growing up, Chi Wan had long since grown accustomed to the insatiable greed of Qian Cuicui and her family, but she still hadn’t expected that even in a situation like this, extortion would be the first thing on Qian Cuicui’s mind.

It seemed the lesson she’d taught Song Yangming last time hadn’t been enough. Or perhaps, since she wasn’t the one who felt the pain, Qian Cuicui thought she could just invoke the name of filial piety and Chi Wan would be powerless against her.

Chi Wan let out a cold laugh. Just as she was about to speak, Li Xingye, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation, couldn’t hold back any longer. "Wanwan, I can throw her out."

Li Xingye had seen far too many people like this during the apocalypse and had long since become unfazed by them. But seeing Chi Wan threatened this way, he had no intention of reining in his fury.

If it weren’t for the fact that Qian Cuicui was Chi Wan’s blood relative, and that they lived in a society governed by law, Li Xingye would never have given her the chance to come up the mountain again.

"Brother Xingye, don’t worry. I can handle this myself." Chi Wan hadn’t realized Li Xingye was there, but she simply smiled and reassured him.

In fact, she had long since prepared a backup plan for dealing with Qian Cuicui’s family.

She moved a little closer to Qian Cuicui, making sure Song Yinghe and the others couldn’t hear her. "Five hundred thousand? Do you think you’re worthy? It’s strange, you know. You say Song Yangming isn’t even your biological son, so how can you treat an outsider better than your own daughter?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Is it just because he’s a boy? Or maybe... my mother isn’t your biological daughter either?"

The moment the words left her mouth, the color drained from Qian Cuicui’s face. She stared at Chi Wan as if she’d seen a ghost. Though she forced herself to keep her voice down, she couldn’t stop a hissed shriek from escaping her lips. "How did you know?!"

But she quickly realized her mistake and gritted her teeth. "You wretched girl, you dare spout such nonsense again and I’ll rip your mouth off! Song Yangming is my biological son! And don’t think that just because that Song Zhaodi changed her name she can disown me."

"You’ve got some nerve, you little brat. Go on, ask your mother if she’d dare disown me!"

Chi Wan scoffed. "If you want to make a scene, be my guest. But let me ask you, what do you think would happen if Song Yangming found out he was born a rich young master, only to be spirited away by you to the countryside, and is now up to his eyeballs in debt? Do you think he’d be grateful to you, or would he hate you for stealing the bright future he was supposed to have?"

Qian Cuicui stared at Chi Wan, her expression a mixture of shock and suspicion. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how Chi Wan had learned such a well-kept secret.

In truth, Chi Wan found the whole situation utterly absurd herself.

The truth about Song Yangming’s origin had actually been dug up by his creditors. Zhou Huai’an, who loved a good bit of drama, had found out and couldn’t wait to share the juicy story with Chi Wan. That had only been a few days ago.

"Your grandparents are really something else. They dote on an adopted kid while ignoring their own flesh and blood. Are you sure your mother is actually their child?"

Those had been Zhou Huai’an’s exact words.

After hearing this, Chi Wan couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect for the debt collectors. ’Talk about professional dedication! To collect a debt, they actually investigated his entire family tree?!’

However, Chi Wan wasn’t lying when she said Song Yangming’s biological family was wealthy. To be precise, it was his biological father’s family.

As soon as Chi Wan learned this, she immediately asked Zhou Huai’an to look into the exact situation of Song Yangming’s biological parents.

Zhou Huai’an, who was always bored and loved a juicy story, practically had stars in his eyes when he heard Chi Wan’s request. He didn’t see it as a bother at all; on the contrary, he looked incredibly enthusiastic.

His efficiency was even shockingly fast. She made the request in the morning, and by that evening, he was laying out the whole story for Chi Wan.

So, if the debt collectors had already found Song Yangming’s biological parents, why didn’t they go to them for the money?

Because his biological father was not someone to be trifled with!

No, to be more precise, it was his biological father’s *legal wife* who was not to be trifled with.

That wealth was all ill-gotten. Compared to that family, the debt collectors were just small-time thugs meeting the major leagues.

Back then, Song Yangming had been abandoned by his biological father’s mistress. She had hoped to use her illegitimate son to secure more benefits, perhaps even to be welcomed into the family’s main house, but she hadn’t counted on the fact that the one thing his father didn’t lack was illegitimate children.

Besides, while his biological father fooled around a lot, he was a kept man through and through. His wife gave him nothing but money.

His father never dared to let any of these illegitimate children cause trouble for his wife, because he knew better than anyone that she would never allow outsiders to get a piece of her family’s fortune.

Thus, not only did this mistress fail in her attempt to usurp the wife’s position, but like countless others before her, she was eventually cast aside.

And so, Song Yangming’s existence became an awkward problem.

The mistress was a ruthless one. Her original goal was to make money, and since that failed, she certainly wasn’t going to let a child be a drag on her "career development." So, she came up with the idea of selling Song Yangming.

It was hard to say whether an element of revenge was also at play.

In any case, she found a perfect match in Song Jianguo and Qian Cuicui, a couple who, after too many miscarriages, could no longer have children but were desperate for a son to carry on the family name. The deal was done, a child for cash.

The mistress didn’t reveal Song Yangming’s true origins, only claiming that she was a young woman who couldn’t possibly support a child on her own.

’Since Qian Cuicui and her family want money so badly, they can just take Song Yangming to his biological father and ask for it.’

’I’m sure his father’s other children will give this family a very warm "welcome."’

’Especially a gambler like Song Yangming, desperate for cash. Once he finds out how rich his biological father is, it’s hard to say if he’ll even acknowledge Song Jianguo and his wife anymore.’

In truth, if Qian Cuicui and her family hadn’t pestered them time and time again, Chi Wan wouldn’t have wanted to be so ruthless.

She knew why Song Yinghe could never bring herself to be cruel to Qian Cuicui and her family. If they had been thoroughly evil from the start, it would have been easier. But it was precisely because of the tiny specks of "kindness" they occasionally showed amidst the long-term emotional manipulation that had become Song Yinghe’s fixation—the very bond that maintained their family ties.

It was as if these casual, insignificant acts of "kindness" were proof that she, too, was loved by her parents. At most, she just wasn’t loved as much as her brother.

Chi Wan understood, and her heart ached for Song Yinghe.

If she hadn’t met Chi Yuanshan, Song Yinghe might never have escaped the family that seemed intent on sucking her dry.

But now, Chi Wan felt that one could be a thief for a thousand days, but no one could guard against a thief for a thousand days.

Song Yangming had already tried to pay off his gambling debts by getting someone to stage an accident to extort her family into selling the mountain, and he’d even tried to trade Chi Wan away for a bride price. What would he do next? Would he use their family connection to set another trap for Song Yinghe? Or would he target Chi Wan directly?

Countless tragic stories proved that ninety percent of gamblers have no humanity or conscience. The remaining ten percent are just constantly wavering between their desires and what little conscience they have left.

Chi Wan had no intention of pinning her own safety, and that of her parents, on a conscience that might not even exist.