Chapter 140

Seeing dejected Xiao Qi walking over, Fang Yun immediately pulled her to sit at a nearby dining table and asked, "How did it go? How did you stand up to that stepmother of his?"

Xiao Qi slumped over the table and said listlessly, "I didn't stand up to her. I went to find Lin Yichen."

"You went to find him? What did he say?"

"He didn't say a single word. He completely ignored me."

"He ignored you?" Fang Yun grew furious. "He cheats on you and still has the nerve to ignore you? At a time like this, shouldn't he be facing his family together with you? Didn't you say he doesn't like that Joanna? Then why is he still ignoring you now?"

Xiao Qi didn't even know how to explain. "Auntie, like I said, he has his reasons, and to be honest, this mess is my own fault, so of course I have to fix it myself. It's just that I rely on him too much; the moment I panicked, I wanted to run to him."

"What mess did you make?" Fang Yun asked, torn between heartache and exasperation. "Xiyang, you can't keep taking all the blame upon yourself. That stepmother is his, and he's the one who cheated. Even if he has reasons as you claim, when you run into trouble and he won't even give you the time of day, can he even be considered a man?"

"Auntie, please stop talking," Xiao Qi said, resting her chin in her hands. "I'm even thinking of running away so that his stepmother won't be able to find me." At this, her energy instantly returned. "That's right! I'll just run away. If his stepmother can't find me, she won't have any way to pressure me either."

"You can run away from today, but can you run away from tomorrow?" Fang Yun had witnessed Xu Lu's true nature before; she might wear an elegant smile on the surface, but there was no telling how vicious she was deep down. "That Xu Lu has always wanted to deal with Yichen. I bet she's just using you to get to him this time. So even without you, she would use someone else to target Yichen. You wouldn't want to see anything happen to him, would you?"

Xiao Qi hesitated, then said stubbornly, "What does it matter to me if something happens to him? He yelled at me, told me to scram, made me stand in the rain, and wouldn't even listen to me..."

"He was that mean to you?"

"Huh?" Realizing she had let something slip, Xiao Qi quickly tried to cover it up. "No, I just meant... that cold-hearted Lin Yichen."

"What do you mean?" Fang Yun grew more confused the more she listened.

"Nothing." Seeing she couldn't talk her way out of this lie, Xiao Qi resorted to acting cute and spoiled, wrapping her arms around Fang Yun. "Auntie, people always say love is selfless, great, and forgiving..."

"True," Fang Yun muttered, a vision of Doctor Pan's face flashing through her mind. "Love means no matter how much the other person torments you, you will unconditionally give everything for them. No matter how long it's been since you last met, you remember every single detail of his appearance. No matter how unfamiliar he might seem, he is always the most familiar person in your heart. Love means the moment you see him, you just want to immediately hug his thighs tightly..."

"Why hug his thighs instead of the person?"

"Because Dr. Pan has long legs, duh!"

"..."

Silence hung between the two of them for a few seconds before Fang Yun snapped back to reality, her face flushing with awkwardness. Goodness, why was she acting like some infatuated young girl?

Fang Yun gave an awkward cough. "Anyway, love means that the moment the other person encounters difficulties, you must help them unconditionally so that they will appreciate you and like you."

"Forget it!" Xiao Qi deflated again. "Even if I help him, he won't appreciate me. In the heart of the current Lin Yichen, I'm probably just a stain he wants to wipe away."

"The *current* Lin Yichen?" Fang Yun caught the keyword. "Xiyang, honestly tell me, is there something wrong with Yichen?"

"Ah? He's as strong as an ox, what could possibly be wrong with him?"

Fang Yun had a sharp eye. Seeing the flickering look in Xiao Qi's eyes, she knew there was something the girl wasn't telling her. "Xiyang, one moment you say Yichen doesn't like Joanna and that he has his reasons, speaking up for him, and the next moment you complain that he treats you badly. How does it sound like the Lin Yichen you're describing might have dissociative identity disorder?"

"..."

*Good grief, did she have to be this perceptive? She guessed it right on the first try.*

Since Auntie had already figured it out, Xiao Qi decided to tell her the whole truth from beginning to end.

Upon hearing it, Fang Yun's first reaction was: *Impossible.* Yichen had an extremely strong willpower; how could he possibly develop dissociative identity disorder? Yet, what Xiyang described really did sound like dissociative identity disorder. However, this wasn't the time to discuss that.

"Xiyang, whether this so-called condition of Yichen's is truly dissociative identity disorder or not can wait. Let's solve the immediate problem first. You just said you're merely a stain in Yichen's heart that he wants to wipe away. First, a woman's value is not given by others, but carved out by herself. Second, as you just mentioned, Yichen has dissociative identity disorder, which means the Lin Yichen who likes you treats you like a priceless treasure! Therefore, no matter what, you must help him. Not only must you help him, but you must also hold your head high in front of his parents, make them look at you with new eyes, and let them know that people from poor families like us are not to be underestimated either."

Xiao Qi listened in a daze, and by the end, she wholeheartedly agreed. "Auntie, you're entirely right. Tomorrow, I will hold my head high when I meet his parents, just to make up for my mistake today."

"What mistake did you make today?"

"Well... in the car, in a fit of anger, I agreed to Lin Yichen's stepmother..." Xiao Qi suddenly remembered and frantically searched her pockets, pulling out a card. "His stepmother shoved this card at me, and I didn't even refuse it. I actually agreed to cooperate with her in dealing with Lin Yichen, which is why I panicked and ran off to find him."

"How could you agree and actually take someone else's card?" Fang Yun took the card, but her tone instantly shifted. "Still, free money is free money. How much is on this card anyway?"

"..."

Honestly, she realized her auntie was even more obsessed with money than she was.

"His stepmother also said that as long as I cooperate with her, she'll give me even more money tomorrow."

"That is definitely unacceptable!" As much as she loved money, Fang Yun had her principles. "You cannot harm Yichen for money. You cannot take this money again."

Of course Xiao Qi had no intention of taking it. "But how am I supposed to stand up to them tomorrow?" Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her. "Auntie, I have an idea."

"I have an idea too," Fang Yun said, smiling at Xiao Qi as she waved the card in her hand. "We'll use her money to fight back against her." With that, she pulled Xiao Qi toward the door. "Come on, let's go get you a makeover."

Puzzled, Xiao Qi was dragged out of the restaurant.

Then a thought struck her. *Wait a minute! Just now, when Auntie mentioned Lin Yichen in front of me, why didn't my superpower trigger? What's going on here? Could it be that my superpower only acts up and goes out of control when I'm feeling nervous or terribly upset while he's brought up?*

Xiao Qi felt that was entirely possible. So why did Xiaobai say Lin Yichen could control himself? It was simply because whenever it concerned him, her emotions fluctuated wildly. Therefore, facing Lin Yichen in the future, she had to keep herself steady. She couldn't let him easily manipulate her emotions—no, manipulate her superpower.

The next day, Xiao Qi walked into the Lin residence with her head held high. Xu Lu had been waiting for her, and the moment she saw her arrive, she immediately went to call Lin Bosen out.

However...

Xiao Qi was wearing a pink petal-tiered long dress, with a delicate gold chain tied around her fair, slender ankles and white leather long boots on her feet. Her jet-black, silky short hair fell around her neck without any hair accessories. Her doll-like, fair face was free of makeup, looking pristine, pure, and breathtakingly beautiful. Her face, no larger than a palm, featured exquisite facial features: an upturned nose and cherry lips. Her skin was so tender it seemed like it could pinch out water, smooth and delicate without a single visible pore.

The entire person looked like an elegant yet slightly mischievous princess, possessing an otherworldly beauty.

Even as a woman, Xu Lu was momentarily stunned into a daze.

Lin Bosen happened to be walking down the stairs just as an ethereal figure gradually approached. For a moment, he didn't even recognize who it was. Walking up to Xu Lu, he asked who she was.

Xu Lu finally snapped back to her senses, thinking to herself: *Why on earth did she dress up specially just to come here?*

Xiao Qi walked gracefully toward them and smiled slightly. "Hello, Uncle, Auntie!"

That voice...

Lin Bosen pushed up his nearsighted glasses. "You are..."

"Uncle, I'm Ye Xiyang."

"Ye Xiyang?" Lin Bosen didn't place the name for a moment, only realizing after a long pause, "You're the delivery girl?"

"Yes, Uncle."

"You..." Looking at her attire and posture, which made her look like she had undergone a complete rebirth, Lin Bosen instinctively asked, "Did you get plastic surgery?"

Xiao Qi: "..."

Xiao Qi's cheeks flushed slightly, a few strands of hair falling across her forehead. This appearance was enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat, striking them with her stunning beauty.

Now he finally understood why his usually aloof son would fall for a delivery girl. This girl, when slightly dressed up, was simply breathtaking. It was truly an eye-opening sight.

Xu Lu no longer thought Xiao Qi possessed an unworldly beauty; instead, she viewed her simply as a detestable vixen. Pulling Lin Bosen's sleeve, she said, "Bosen, Miss Ye came here specially today because she has something to discuss."

Yesterday, Xu Lu had told him that Ye Xiyang would come today to tell him things about Yichen that he didn't know. Normally, Lin Bosen wouldn't interfere too much in his son's affairs, but he always felt that Yichen was keeping something from him.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Bosen sat down on the sofa. "I heard you have some matters regarding Yichen that you want to tell me?"

"Yes, Uncle." Xiao Qi smiled sweetly, remaining standing right in front of the two of them without taking a seat. "Previously, Un—"

"Previously, Miss Ye took the initiative to run over and tell me there was something wrong with Yichen," Xu Lu cut her off. "I was afraid you wouldn't believe it, so I asked her to come over and tell you in person."

A villain was indeed a villain, lying without her face turning red or her heart beating fast.

Xiao Qi cursed inwardly, but maintained an elegant and proper smile on her face. "Since Uncle and Auntie want to know about Yichen's issues, Xiyang came over today specifically to explain it to the two of you."

Lin Bosen nodded and gestured toward the sofa beside them. "Miss Ye, please have a seat."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Xiao Qi smiled and looked at Xu Lu. "Before I explain, Auntie should fulfill what she promised, right?"

Lin Bosen looked at Xu Lu. "What promise?"

Naturally, Xu Lu knew what she was talking about, but she hadn't expected Xiao Qi to bring it up so directly. Keeping her expression calm, she looked at Xiao Qi. "Miss Ye, earlier you said that if you revealed Yichen's issues, I would give you money. As long as you honestly confess, we won't treat you unfairly."

Hearing this, Lin Bosen frowned. *A leopard really never changes its spots.*