Chapter 205 - 203: Severing Ties

"Call me when you get home, okay?"

Wen Ci reached out and hugged him. "I know."

-

Wen Ci slept exceptionally well on the plane. Huo Jingyuan had prepared an eye mask for her. After boarding, she leaned against the window and didn’t wake up until a flight attendant called out to her.

Most of the other passengers had already deplaned.

Wen Ci hailed a taxi after leaving the airport. The fare to the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard was eight yuan. She clicked her tongue. ’In the past, I would’ve never been able to afford this.’

Eight yuan.

That was a month’s worth of food for a single-income family.

The driver asked, "Is your husband a soldier?"

Wen Ci nodded amicably. "Yes."

"In that case, I’ll only charge you seven yuan for this trip. Soldiers protect our country, so you, as a military family member, should enjoy some benefits."

"Huh?"

Wen Ci blinked.

’Military families get benefits like this already?!’

"Is this a company policy?"

In the eighties, the screening process for taxi drivers was extremely strict. It required multiple levels of approval from higher-ups, and both family background and driving skills were essential. Many retired military drivers went on to become taxi drivers.

"No." The driver shook his head and explained, "My son is a soldier too, stationed up in the Northeast. Being a soldier is a tough and exhausting job."

Wen Ci nodded in agreement.

-

「Two hours later, the taxi arrived at the Beijing Military Region.」

Just as Wen Ci got out of the car, she ran into Su Guilan and Jiang Ye. The two were arm in arm, talking and laughing, looking for all the world like a real mother and daughter.

Jiang Ye had sharp eyes and was the first to greet her. "Sister."

Wen Ci acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Jiang Ye pulled Su Guilan over to Wen Ci, a wide smile on her face. "Sister, where did you just get back from?"

Wen Ci remained silent.

She didn’t even spare Jiang Ye a glance.

Su Guilan frowned. "Your sister is talking to you."

At that, Wen Ci’s gaze shifted to Su Guilan. She gave a soft laugh and shrugged speechlessly. "Since when did you have two daughters?"

The question left Su Guilan speechless.

She knew Wen Ci resented her for still acknowledging Jiang Ye.

But back then, Jiang Ye had just been a baby in swaddling clothes. She knew nothing about the switch; she was an innocent victim, too.

Wen Ci’s tone was distant and cold. "Is there anything else?"

"Come over for dinner tonight."

"I don’t want to."

Jiang Ye slowly lowered her head and asked in a self-reproachful tone, "Sister, is it because of me that you don’t want to come home for dinner? I can go stay at my brother’s place."

Her manipulative, innocent-sounding words were perfectly crafted to paint herself as a considerate victim.

"Ah Ci, can you please not be like this..."

"Like what?" Wen Ci’s eyelids lowered slightly as she spoke, word by word. "Weren’t you the one who made me marry in her place? I’m clearly your biological daughter, but what about you?"

Jiang Ye interjected, "But aren’t you very happy with Huo Jingyuan?"

"Heh!"

Initially, the Jiang Family had only thought Huo Jingyuan was a low-ranking grunt in the Northwest. Although he had a connection to Old Commander Huo, those relationships didn’t mean much after someone died.

It was Wen Ci who had admitted she was satisfied.

’That was just her good luck.’

Wen Ci took a long, deep breath, slowly exhaling the bitterness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re laying it all out, I want to cut all ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. We don’t need to greet each other when we meet."

Before Su Guilan could react, Jiang Ye covered her mouth, feigning concern while actually fanning the flames. "Sister, you... how could you be so cruel as to say something like that?"

"Ah Ci, you..."

Wen Ci, feeling she had to get it all off her chest, continued, "Do you have any idea what my life was like when I was five? At five years old, no one cooked for me. I had to climb onto the stove myself just to get by. The auntie next door took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."

"And another thing."

Wen Ci’s eyes reddened as memories of her childhood flooded her mind. Her early life had been so bitter that she had even thought about jumping into a river to end it all.

"She knew she was the wrong baby back in middle school, but she kept it a secret, using your money every month to support her biological parents.

They took the money to go eat at restaurants in the county town, while I was at home chewing on tree bark!"

In the sixties and seventies, households needed ration tickets to buy anything. Whenever the Wen parents had money, they’d take Wen Yaozu to eat at a restaurant.

She survived by growing snake gourds.

Snake gourds grew quickly, but they had little flavor or nutritional value.

Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence living on snake gourds. The only one in the family who cared for her was young Wen Yaozu, who would secretly hide some meat for her behind their parents’ backs so she could satisfy her cravings.

Jiang Ye retorted, "No, I didn’t! I didn’t know!"

"Your biological parents have a ledger that clearly records the amount of money you gave them, and even the extra they saved!"

Panic flickered in Jiang Ye’s eyes. She had only just returned to the Jiang Family and had been enjoying the life of a pampered daughter for two days. Her eyes reddened as she shook her head, at a complete loss.

"No, that’s not it! I was threatened, too!"

"Threatened?" Wen Ci sneered, her gaze as cold and piercing as ice. "Threatened that if you didn’t give them money, they would expose your identity as the fake daughter."

"No..."

Jiang Ye’s mind was a complete mess. She was terrified she’d slip up in her panic and never be able to return to the Jiang Family. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the surrounding onlookers.

As a minister in the military region, Mr. Jiang was constantly under scrutiny. As soon as a crowd gathered, Mrs. Jiang would get flustered and leave.

Listening to her daughter’s grievances, Su Guilan’s tears fell instantly. She pounded her own chest in remorse. She had known her daughter suffered a lot in the countryside.

But she never knew she had suffered *this* much.

The Wen Family had deliberately neglected her, refusing to even feed her.

"Ah Ci..."

Wen Ci felt nothing as she watched the tears stream down the other woman’s face. Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, she said indifferently, "I’m leaving. Don’t let this affect your husband’s military career."

’Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friend’s nephew still relies on Minister Jiang.’

’Cutting ties is one thing, but I still have to remember favors.’

-

On the way home, Wen Ci’s mood lightened considerably.

She had said her piece and didn’t care how Mrs. Jiang felt. After all, her own well-being was what mattered most.

In the courtyard, Wen Yaozu was practicing kicking a shuttlecock. With his chubby frame, he was completely disoriented after just a couple of kicks.

Just as Wen Ci reached the door, Wen Yaozu’s voice rang out. "Sis, you’re finally back! I missed you guys."

Wen Yaozu ran to the doorway. Seeing his sister was alone, he asked in confusion, "Sis, how come you’re back by yourself? Where’s my brother-in-law?"

Wen Ci looked at the shuttlecock in his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Training my Spiritual Power."

Wen Yaozu blinked at her, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "So where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"

"He didn’t. I told him to stay in Hangzhou for a couple more days to be with his elders."

"Oh." Wen Yaozu wasn’t disappointed. Suddenly, he noticed his sister was only carrying a bag and his eyes widened. "Then, Sis, does that mean you didn’t bring the computer back?"

"No, I didn’t."

"But I already told all my friends at school that I was going to learn how to use a computer and be the first elementary school student in our county to ever touch one!"

Wen Ci was speechless.

Wait. Wen Ci tilted her head, a confused look on her face. "How did you contact your friends at school?"

Wen Yaozu was just an elementary school student, and he normally wasn’t allowed to take the bus back to the county by himself. She had just been in touch with him yesterday.

"On the phone, of course."

"Your school has a landline?"