THD Chapter 19

[Heart-to-Heart]

The cheat code Heart-to-Heart was a designated one-way transmission channel that allowed information to be sent directly to someone. In principle, it worked much like the conversations between a system and its host.

However, as a high-dimensional being, the system's authority was far above that of the cheat code. Because of that, it could freely roar at Ye Xiqing without any restraint.

"When did the three Ye brothers kill Ye's parents?!"

"Just now. I made it up."

"Why would you make something like that up?!"

"Wouldn't it be a waste of a heaven-given cheat code if I didn't? Isn't this exactly how you're supposed to use it?"

The system fell silent.

...That was indeed how you used it.

But this cheat code was supposed to help her deal with the fake heiress, Ye Xueli! What had the three Ye brothers ever done to her?!

Ye Xiqing smiled faintly.

Indeed, no one had provoked her.

Since the day she transmigrated, no one in the Ye family had ever offended her.

But she was extremely dedicated to her role.

Given a "real and fake heiress" script, she intended to follow it perfectly and reclaim everything that belonged to the real heiress.

The real heiress had lost many things.

The first was her inheritance of the Ye family.

Now, she was going to take it back.

---

Language was an art.

Not only did the content matter, but so did the manner in which it was delivered.

If you spoke face-to-face, the other party might ignore a hundred sentences.

But if they overheard a single sentence through a crack in the door, they would believe every word.

That was the true power of Heart-to-Heart.

It perfectly replicated the feeling of eavesdropping on a secret conversation, making everyone who heard it instinctively believe it was real.

Already in a foul mood, Ye San became even more furious after hearing those words.

Pushing his mother aside, he grabbed Ye Xiqing's arm and shouted,

"What nonsense are you talking about?!"

The sudden grip made Ye Xiqing wince slightly.

The first sound she uttered aloud was a puzzled:

"Huh?"

Unable to hear Ye Xiqing's thoughts and completely unaware of what had happened, Ye Xueli assumed her third brother was standing up for her.

She immediately cried out,

"Third Brother! What are you doing? Don't treat Sister like that!"

Her scream jolted everyone back to their senses, and they hurried forward to stop Ye San.

Ye Xiqing, however, merely stared at him.

Her expression was unreadable as her thoughts continued.

[Ye San is still alive?]

[Mom... Dad... Ye Xueli... they're all alive and well.]

[If that's the case... could it be that I've really been reborn? Reborn to the day I was first brought home?]

Meeting her questioning gaze, Ye San slowly released his grip.

At first, hearing things like "my brother killed Mom and Dad" had made him panic.

What if their father had heard?

But the moment Ye Xiqing casually added that he was also dead, he immediately relaxed.

Good.

As long as he was dead too, it meant he wasn't one of the culprits.

After all, Ye Xiqing had more than one brother.

Feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Ye San cautiously glanced at his father's face.

Judging by his reaction...

Father must have heard those strange words too, right?

---

Inside the luxurious family car, Ye San and Ye Xueli sat side by side in the middle row.

In the back, Ye's parents sat on either side of Ye Xiqing, effectively sandwiching her between them.

No one spoke.

The atmosphere was heavy with silence.

Ye Father looked deeply unsettled.

Everything his biological daughter had "said" today was far too bizarre.

Rebirth.

Being murdered by her brothers.

Every revelation left him increasingly uneasy.

Yet whenever he tried to hear more, Ye Xiqing would fall silent.

Clearing his throat, he gently placed a hand over hers and attempted to start a conversation.

"My dear daughter, you've suffered these past years without us."

Ye Xiqing turned to look at him.

Her lips pressed together.

She said nothing aloud.

Yet her thoughts continued to echo.

[Of course it was hard. After Mom and Dad died, my brothers sent me to a mental hospital. Sometimes I couldn't even tell whether I was sane or truly insane.]

[Can people really be reborn?]

[Is all of this just another hallucination?]

[Am I really insane?]

[Am I simply imagining that Mom and Dad are still alive?]

[But it doesn't matter.]

[Even if it's fake, I'm willing to believe it's real.]

[If Mom and Dad exist in this illusion, then I'll accept it as reality.]

[This time, I'll protect Mom and Dad.]

[I'll protect the Ye family.]

[I won't let Eldest Brother and Second Brother succeed.]

[I'm not afraid of anything.]

[If I killed them once, I can kill them a second time.]

"Ahem!"

Ye San abruptly coughed and straightened his back.

Although Ye Xiqing's protection clearly didn't include him, thankfully, neither did the list of people she wanted dead.

Had he been too harsh with her earlier?

Did she dislike him because of it?

Well, it wasn't his problem.

Still...

His parents must be having very complicated feelings right now.

As expected, Ye Mother suddenly burst into tears.

The revelation that her own sons would one day harm her was shocking enough.

But what truly broke her heart was hearing that, even after being driven mad and confined to a psychiatric hospital, her daughter still clung so fiercely to her love for her parents.

At that moment, Ye Mother felt as though she had returned to the days of pregnancy.

Blood ties truly were the strongest bond in the world.

Ye Father, on the other hand, had a much simpler reaction.

He was furious.

Absolutely furious.

He was not the foolish character Ye Xiqing imagined him to be.

A madwoman could not consciously relay her true thoughts to others.

Which meant there was only one explanation.

Everything Ye Xiqing had "said" was real.

She had truly been reborn.

And in her previous life, his two excellent sons had murdered him in order to seize the Ye family fortune, then thrown Ye Xiqing—who knew the truth—into a mental hospital.

How much affection could a daughter he had never even met possess?

Yet even after enduring all that suffering, her first thought upon returning was still to protect her parents and the Ye family.

But hearing such a shocking secret was an entirely different matter.

Deeply moved, Ye's parents grasped their daughter's hands, their eyes brimming with emotion.

"Good daughter, we'll treat you well from now on!"

Unexpectedly, those heartfelt words only affected Ye Xueli.

Ye Xiqing simply withdrew her hand and looked at them warily.

[What's going on? Why are Mom and Dad being so nice to me all of a sudden?]

[In my previous life, they clearly looked down on me because I came from a poor family. When I first returned, they barely spared me a glance.]

[Something must be wrong. Mom and Dad being this kind to me has to be another hallucination...]

She suddenly raised a hand and slapped her own cheek, as though trying to wake herself from a dream.

Ye's parents: ...

If anything, that only made everything feel even more real.

The truth was, they had indeed been somewhat dissatisfied with Ye Xiqing when they first found her. Hearing their daughter claim that they had looked down on her in her previous life...

It was entirely possible.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Ye's parents desperately wanted to learn more, but neither dared to provoke a daughter who appeared mentally unstable.

All they could do was silently hope that her condition would improve soon and that the painful memories of her previous life would gradually fade away.

---

With no one disturbing her, the car continued its journey.

Before long, they arrived at the Ye family residence.

Mental illness could be faked.

There was no need to keep pretending.

Ye Xiqing calmly stepped out of the car.

The wealthy families of the real world were already intimidating.

The wealthy families in novels were even worse.

The Ye family residence could hardly be described as a villa.

It was a castle.

In her previous life, Ye Xiqing had become the richest woman in the country. Naturally, she had been extraordinarily wealthy. However, she was a self-made nouveau riche and still retained a deeply ingrained sense of practical spending. She would never indulge in excessive extravagance.

The Ye family, however, truly showed her what extravagance looked like.

Such an enormous estate naturally required a large staff to maintain it.

The moment she entered, a group of servants rushed forward in orderly formation.

"Welcome home, Miss!"

Ye Xiqing almost laughed.

Fortunately, she managed to hold it in and calmly surveyed the scene before her.

Her worn clothes and battered shoes looked completely out of place amidst the luxury surrounding her.

Yet her composed expression made it seem as though she had witnessed scenes like this countless times before.

Not a trace of nervousness showed on her face.

The three members of the Ye family who could hear her thoughts became even more convinced that she had truly been reborn.

Only Ye Xueli, who could not hear those thoughts, felt increasingly lost.

She really was the Ye family's biological daughter.

She had adapted to this family so naturally.

So quickly.

Would this family still need her after this?

With a heavy heart, Ye Xueli followed behind her mother.

She wished this was all a dream.

That she would wake up tomorrow and still be her parents' only daughter.

---

The Ye family mansion naturally had its own elevator.

The elevator carried them swiftly to the top floor.

As the doors opened, Ye Xueli finally found an opportunity to speak.

Brightening immediately, she ran ahead of the group and enthusiastically introduced the room.

"Sister, this is the bedroom Mom and Dad prepared for you long ago after learning you were coming home!"

"The entire room was designed by world-famous designers specially commissioned by Mom and Dad. They really missed you. They really wanted you to come back!"

Following Ye Xueli's explanation, Ye Xiqing slowly looked around.

This was the first major conflict between the "real heiress" and the "fake heiress" in the original story.

For eighteen years, the real heiress had lived in a rundown apartment that was barely fit for habitation.

Meanwhile, the fake heiress had grown up in a fragrant, fairy-tale princess room.

As the original Ye Xiqing gradually became familiar with the Ye family, she eventually discovered a painful truth.

The princess room she had envied upon arrival had merely been a consolation prize.

Every genuine child of the Ye family possessed an entire floor of the mansion.

Only she, the outsider who returned halfway through their lives, had been given a hastily furnished attic.

The Ye Xiqing of her previous life had been deeply insecure.

The Ye Xiqing of this life was no different.

She lifted her head and quietly examined the room.

Her lips pressed together.

She said nothing.

Yet the faint disappointment in her expression betrayed the turmoil within.

[It's still this attic. It really is.]

[I really have been reborn.]

[Mom and Dad still love my brothers more than me.]

[The sons they cherished so much ended up killing them for the family fortune.]

[In the end, only I—the daughter they never loved—buried them and avenged them.]

[I wonder if they regretted it after they learned the truth...]

A self-mocking smile flickered across Ye Xiqing's face.

Turning toward her parents, she said expressionlessly,

"Thank you..."

Before she could finish, Father Ye suddenly exploded.

"Butler! Butler!"

"Isn't this an attic?!"

"I told you to prepare a room for my daughter, and you gave her an attic? Do you still want to work here?!"

The butler was completely stunned.

He had never imagined that the real young lady's first strike after returning home would land squarely on him.

Sweat instantly broke out across his forehead as he hurried over.

"I'm sorry, sir! It's not that I deliberately arranged a loft for Miss. There simply wasn't any other vacant space. If Miss is to move elsewhere, then another young lady would have to move out, and..."

His gaze unconsciously shifted toward Ye Xueli.

Everyone else's followed.

Under the sudden attention, Ye Xueli's expression froze.

Only then did she realize that it was her turn to give things up.

Not only her position as the Ye family's daughter.

But every place she occupied within the family as well.

Tears immediately gathered in her eyes.

Twisting the hem of her shirt, she looked at Ye Xiqing and forced herself to smile through the tears.

"It's okay... I'll give Sister my room right away..."

Before she could finish speaking, Father Ye interrupted with another furious roar.

"Who said she's taking your room?"

"Clean out the entire second floor for Qingqing!"

The butler froze.

"Sir... the second floor belongs to Eldest Young Master. Although he rarely comes home..."

"Are you listening to him or listening to me?!"

[Of course he listens to whoever holds the power.]

[What a fence-sitter.]

[Such a waste of the kindness Mom and Dad have shown him.]

Father Ye's words had originally been directed at the butler only in anger.

But after hearing Ye Xiqing's inner commentary, his expression turned completely cold.

"Fine."

"You don't need to work here anymore."

The butler's eyes widened.

What?

He had always known how to curry favor and read the room.

He simply hadn't expected the consequences to become this severe.

Immediately, he began pleading desperately.

He apologized, explained, begged. He even nearly cried.

Unfortunately, none of it carried as much weight as Ye Xiqing's thoughts.

[Dad actually fired this traitor! That's wonderful!]

[When Dad became ill and lost control of the company, it was this man who helped my brother seize power.]

[Dad's illness wasn't supposed to be fatal. They were the ones who completely ruined him.]

[If Wang Ma hadn't secretly helped me gather evidence later, I might never have been able to bring them down.]

[Dad's decision is so wise. Is Heaven helping me?]

After hearing those revelations, Father Ye nearly wanted to kneel down and thank Heaven himself.

This wasn't Heaven helping her.

This was Heaven helping him.

At this point, he wanted nothing more than to immediately schedule a complete medical examination and discover exactly what illness awaited him in the future.

His anger toward the butler intensified.

"I'm not dead yet, and you're already ignoring my orders?"

"You won't even get the chance to resign peacefully."

"I'll have someone investigate every account you've handled over the years!"

Then his gaze shifted.

"As for the new housekeeper..."

He looked toward Wang Ma.

Wang Ma was the head maid, responsible for overseeing the household staff and coordinating with Madam Ye.

Father Ye wasn't particularly familiar with her.

But for a housekeeper, competence mattered less than loyalty.

And after hearing his daughter's thoughts, he felt reassured.

"Wang Ma, from today onward, you'll manage the household."

Wang Ma blinked.

"Huh?"

In a wealthy family like the Ye family, the position of housekeeper was practically equivalent to being a manager of a small company.

She had never expected to receive such a promotion on the very day the young lady returned home.

It felt like money had fallen from the heavens.

She nearly smiled from ear to ear.

Fortunately, remembering that the former butler was still present, she restrained herself and maintained a respectful expression.

"Thank you for your trust, sir. Thank you for your guidance, madam."

"I will do my utmost to fulfill my duties."

Then she immediately turned toward Ye Xiqing and bowed deeply.

"Young Lady, you've had a long journey and must be exhausted."

"Allow me to escort you to your room on the second floor. If there's anything you need, simply tell me. By the time you've had a good night's rest, everything will be prepared."

Ye Xiqing nodded in satisfaction.

Now this was how a proper young lady should be treated.

She glanced back at the group behind her.

Thanks to the [Heart-to-Heart] cheat, she didn't need any acting skills whatsoever.

Her face remained calm and expressionless.

But deep inside, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

[Thank you, Mom and Dad.]

[I'm so happy to be your daughter.]

Loading navigation...