After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 37

As they walked across the aerial walkway of Block A, Ming Sian was still puzzled. Grandma He had only glanced at her before letting her leave—did that mean she agreed or disagreed?

“He Yining, what did your grandmother mean?”

He Yining: “?” She felt like she was being scolded.

Furthermore, this person was becoming increasingly informal, actually starting to call her by her full name.

“Grandma agreed to let you stay.”

Ming Sian was stunned for an instant before reacting. Right—Grandma He had just told He Yining to take her for a walk around the estate; that clearly meant she was allowed to stay.

The plot had changed once again, and this time she knew the reason. In the novel, He Zishu had also come to provoke the original host; the original host had refused with her words but added He Zishu on Jianxin. That was when the two of them hooked up.

She didn’t believe there weren’t people watching outside. Whether it was the servants serving water or Huang Yang, she even felt there were cameras fixed on her and someone was watching.

Knowing that the He family’s internal fighting was so intense, she felt like she was in a historical drama about succession; what was so strange about installing cameras?

Besides, Grandma He was old and needed to take precautions.

Thinking about how such a powerful person like Grandma He had to fall into family disputes was truly helpless. Like a phoenix that swept across the world, in her twilight years, she still had to consider to whom she should hand the family business. With too many children, conflict would always arise.

On the He family’s encyclopedia page, Grandma He was the first entry: He Zhongxiu, born in 1938. At age 19, she studied law at Hong Kong University. At that time, the Faculty of Law at HKU had not yet become an independent college. Later, she went abroad to study and returned after completing her master’s degree.

The lawyers in the He family back then had all returned from abroad. At that time, few judges or lawyers in Hong Kong were locals. The He family became the choice for many, especially since they often fought lawsuits for locals against foreign capital. Influenced by her family, He Zhongxiu also loved studying law, but she didn’t have many choices then. At that time, HKU only had Arts, Engineering, and Medical schools. She enrolled in the English Department of the Faculty of Arts to lay the foundation for going abroad.

At that time, the He family owned several factories in Hong Kong, so the family conditions were good. He Zhongxiu’s living conditions were excellent; having been exposed to English since childhood, choosing the English Department was not difficult for her. Fortunately, in her sophomore year, the school opened law courses, and she enrolled.

After she returned home, HKU decided to establish the Faculty of Law. With her master’s degree, she became one of the first batch of teachers in the law school. Within a few years, she became a famous barrister in Hong Kong, fighting lawsuits for many local merchants and citizens against foreigners. At age thirty, she established the first He family law firm.

Influenced by her, the younger generations of the He family began to study law. Her siblings, the children of her brothers and sisters, and even her partner were all law students. Slowly, the He family established a firm foothold in the political and legal world.

However, regarding the inheritance of the He family’s assets back then, she had a very tense falling out with her siblings, which ended with her victory.

In other words, the He family were originally merchants, but under He Zhongxiu’s leadership, they successfully transformed. The Hong Kong Tianyuan Building became known to everyone and the dream destination for Hong Kong law students.

Of He Zhongxiu’s children, except for the third-born who went to business school and the fifth who went to film school, the other three all studied law. Even more members of the third generation studied law, plus various relatives, forming the massive He family clan.

When learning this information, Ming Sian lamented: surely, the rise of a family is the result of the efforts of generation after generation.

He Yining’s grandmother’s grandmother was a rich woman; she just didn’t know if the grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother was one too.

The He family had a genealogy; she should have a chance to take a look. From rumors, she could learn that the He family’s ancestors were demoted officials sent to Hong Kong, where they eventually settled. They were actually Mainlanders, though she didn’t know from where specifically.

And what He Yining wanted to fight for was the control of such a family.

Ming Sian thought: she was now completely bound to He Yining and had leaped into the sight of the He family. She wondered what kind of means they would use to deal with her.

He Zishu was only the first, definitely not the last.

She walked across the aerial walkway with He Yining; the two walked close together without a word.

Ming Sian glanced at He Yining beside her, and the other also noticed her gaze. “Ask if you want to.”

They had returned to the He manor; from now on, it was the time to fight side-by-side.

Ming Sian wasn’t surprised she was seen through by He Yining. She just wanted to ask, “Regarding our marriage, did your grandmother express a stance?”

He Zhongxiu was the Great Head of the He family. No one could oppose anything she agreed to; conversely, no one dared to support anything she opposed.

“No.”

“No opposition, but no agreement either?”

“Mm.”

He Yining’s voice was slightly cold; it sounded as if the matter might not happen.

Logically, if the marriage fell through, Ming Sian should be relieved. That way, she would be freer. Later, as long as she saved enough money and medical science advanced, she could completely leave the Hong Kong circle.

But why did her heart feel a bit sour, as if there were a trace of reluctance?

Was she reluctant to leave He Yining? Her eyes carried a hint of the aggrieved look of an abandoned puppy.

He Yining happened to turn her head; before Ming Sian could hide her emotions, they crashed directly into He Yining’s pupils.

She hurriedly lowered her gaze, not wanting He Yining to see her emotion in that instant.

But at the moment He Yining accidentally collided with the look in Ming Sian’s eyes, it felt as if something had slammed into her heart. A giant hand was squeezing her heart, and her breathing stopped for a moment.

The two grew even more silent. Ming Sian didn’t dare to speak; she was truly embarrassed that she would show such a look. Surely He Yining wouldn’t misunderstand, right?

Misunderstand what? That she liked her?

Ming Sian remained in a daze until they reached the door of the suite.

“Eldest Miss.” A strange voice rang out, interrupting their thoughts.

On the wide corridor, there were single sofas. A person saw them and quickly stood up to bow.

“Eldest Miss, President Mo is calling for you.”

“Only me?”

“Yes.”

The newcomer glanced at Ming Sian and nodded in confirmation; He Moyu only called for He Yining.

He Yining hesitated for a moment. “Is Mother there?”

“The Madam is also there.”

Hearing that her “mama” (the other mother) was also there, He Yining nodded. “Mm. I’ll change my clothes.”

She first went into the room and came out after a short while changed into a suit. Ming Sian raised an eyebrow in confusion but didn’t speak.

Sensing her questioning look, He Yining said softly: “Wait for me in the room.”

“Okay.” Ming Sian nodded. She stood by the sofa, watching He Yining leave the suite.

After thinking for a bit, she sent a message to Ali: What do President Mo and President Shen like, or what do they like young people to wear?

A moment later, Ali replied: They like professional attire that fits the legal profession. Just dress as you usually do, don’t worry.

Perhaps thinking she was worried about what to wear to see the elders, Ali told her directly.

Was this a professional hazard? Being a lawyer themselves, they liked to see others in professional attire. Actually, an ordinary lawyer’s attire is simple—a suit is enough for a formal occasion. The partners in the “Red Circle” firms were different. Huashen is an international metropolis; lawyers there dress like stars—the kind of star attire for attending events, not casual wear.

He Moyu was so strict, no wonder He Yining had to specifically change her clothes.

She didn’t know what He Moyu wanted with He Yining, though it likely had something to do with her. And since the other wouldn’t see her, it meant they didn’t agree to her being with He Yining at all.

That made sense; it was no different from a daughter bringing home a “delinquent.”

Even though she wasn’t a delinquent, He Yining was Hong Kong’s top “white-rich-beautiful” woman and a top-tier Omega. Even if she didn’t find someone with a higher status, someone of equal status should be required. Ming Sian’s father was a minor leader in a state-owned enterprise, and her mother was a high school teacher; such family conditions were fine for an ordinary family.

But her parents were divorced. Her father left with nothing, leaving her mother, her, and her younger sister—a family of three. At that time, He Yining had just started her freshman year of high school.

Her father cheated, and her mother was proud and had few friends. The teachers and students at the school didn’t particularly like her. But she was two months away from retirement and had already contacted a tutoring institution to join after she retired.

Although the teachers and students didn’t like her, the quality of her teaching was excellent. The undergraduate acceptance rate of the class she taught was the highest in the school and top-tier in all of Yuexing. Thus, even before she retired, institutions contacted her with quite high offers.

The original host learned this from her sister, Chen Ruoyu; the sisters had a decent relationship.

Ming Sian had received a call from her sister yesterday. Chen Ruoyu asked her, “Sis, are you really not coming back for the New Year?”

“Mm.”

She was a stranger to this sister, and at the same time, she heard rustling sounds from the other side, feeling that someone was beside Chen Ruoyu.

Sensing her cold attitude, Chen Ruoyu said in a low voice: “Sis, I miss you.”

Ming Sian was silent; she didn’t know how to respond to this, especially since Chen Pan (their mother) was likely beside Chen Ruoyu.

Ms. Chen doted on the younger sister very much—perhaps because of the surname, or perhaps because she raised the younger sister personally. In short, things were never equal between the original host and the sister.

With her silence, Chen Ruoyu also didn’t speak. Just as Ming Sian was about to say she was hanging up, a sharp voice suddenly appeared: “I told you, your sister is a white-eyed wolf. You say you miss her, and she doesn’t say a damn thing. You treat her as a sister, but she doesn’t treat you as a sister.”

“Mom! Stop talking.” Chen Ruoyu was very embarrassed. She didn’t want to make this call, but if she didn’t, her mother wouldn’t give her phone back. With her allowance, she couldn’t afford a new phone. Returning for the holidays, today was the first time she had touched a phone.

Before, her mother told her to call her sister, and she had held out until now. But she had overheard her mother on the phone with someone speaking in “plastic” Mandarin, saying something about dealing with her sister. She didn’t have a phone and her mother wouldn’t let her go out, so she couldn’t tell her sister about it. To get the phone, she had to make this call.

“Stop talking? Why stop? Look at her—she doesn’t even treat you as a sister. You even argued with me for her sake. I’m telling you, in this world, only I am good to you. Don’t think about counting on others.”

“She is a big white-eyed wolf. If you become a little white-eyed wolf like her, then neither of us will live.”

Ming Sian put the phone on the table and put on headphones to listen to the argument. She had a new understanding of Ms. Chen: not only was she very controlling of the original host, but she seemed even more controlling of the younger sister.

In her previous life, she had heard a saying: some mothers treat their daughters like husbands, their husbands like sons, and their sons like ancestors. In her past life, her mother treated her brother like an ancestor, spoiling him to an absurd degree.

In this life’s family, the mother treated her like a servant and the younger sister like a partner.

When the original host’s father, Ming Chen, cheated, the first thing Ms. Chen thought of wasn’t divorce but to win him back, even feeling it was the other woman’s fault. In fact, in such matters, the fault of being a “homewrecker” is large, but Ming Chen’s fault was even larger.

Ms. Chen already favored Chen Ruoyu more; after the divorce, she poured all her energy into Chen Ruoyu.

Ming Sian didn’t understand Ms. Chen; she just hoped Ms. Chen wouldn’t bother her again.

On the other end of the phone, her sister Chen Ruoyu was sobbing uncontrollably. To her, her mother was good to her but often controlled her so much she couldn’t breathe—even forcing her beloved sister to not want to come home.

The person she admired most was her sister, who had good grades since childhood and was the “other people’s child” in adults’ mouths. After she started school, once the teachers heard she was Ming Sian’s sister, they smiled at her more.

Ming Sian was the first student in the school to attend dual high-ranking universities—first HKU, then Peking University. Both were “Double First-Class” schools and world-renowned. Given the specialty of her major, as long as finances allowed, postgraduate study was a must. Even if finances were tight, many would choose work-study for grad school, or work for two years before going back.

Her starting point was here, and her future achievements would certainly not be low. The teachers also felt they had nurtured a talent and held expectations for her sister as well.

The younger sister liked painting and wanted to take the art and design exam for the Academy of Fine Arts. That school’s requirements for academic scores were not low. To get into her desired school, she worked very hard at studying and her grades weren’t bad. Given her current grades, as long as no accidents happened during the Gaokao, she could still get into her ideal school.

Halfway through the argument, likely remembering she was still on the phone with Ming Sian, they quickly hung up.

Ming Sian closed her eyes and leaned against the sofa. The call was over. She had no interest in what was happening there, and her mood didn’t fluctuate much.

However, with such a family situation, it was too difficult to break away as of now.

Memories swirled in her mind.

After a long while, she sighed deeply and looked for clothes to wash up. She was a bit tired.

As for He Yining on the other side, she didn’t know how things were going, or if He Moyu was making things difficult for her—though she likely couldn’t.

At this moment, He Yining was standing straight in the living room, her back like a pine, looking firmly at the two women in front of her.

One was her mother, and one was her “mama.” Both were looking at her with looks of dissatisfaction and disappointment, as if she had committed a great wrong.

“Do you still not think you are wrong?” He Moyu looked at her coldly.

He Yining stood straight. “I am not wrong.”

In the dreams, she had also encountered this scene. If she and Ming Sian were in name only, she would have explained the pros and cons and her grandmother’s warnings without hesitation. But it wasn’t just about pros and cons; she couldn’t explain it clearly.

Beside He Moyu was a beautiful woman with a slender figure, a pencil skirt, and gold-rimmed glasses. She looked like a young woman in her thirties, but she was actually in her early fifties. By right, she should be at retirement age.

the beautiful woman frowned in displeasure. “A-Ning, you have disappointed me too much.”

Shen Buyou, He Yining’s “mama,” was a very powerful lawyer in the industry. She had left the He family to open her own firm, which was one of the best non-He family firms and could also be rated as a “Red Circle” firm.

As the founder of the firm, she had an air of authority without being angry. Just looking at He Yining made one begin to feel ashamed and self-reflective.

He Yining said nothing, quietly looking at them with no expression on her face and no emotion in her eyes. Her gaze toward her mothers was not much different from looking at strangers.

“Kneel.” He Moyu’s cold voice rang out.

Her tone wasn’t fierce, even a bit calm, yet she wanted He Yining to kneel in the living room.

the suites for the second generation of the He family were four or five hundred square meters. The younger sister didn’t have a job yet, so she lived with them. He Yining was different from all the third generation; she had lived alone in a suite since she was thirteen.

So, compared to the relationship between the younger sister and their mothers, her relationship with them might be more accurately described as that between superior and subordinate.

He Yining knelt down bluntly. She took off her suit jacket; if the jacket were ruined, it would be discovered by Ming Sian when she returned. She wore only a white shirt. Her body, thin as a sheet of paper, looked like it couldn’t withstand any wind or rain, yet her back remained straight.

According to He family rules, one must not disobey parents.

Outside the He manor, this rule was useless, but they were currently in the He manor.

“A-Meng, the family law.” He Moyu didn’t want to say more to her.

Many things had been said long ago—about mismatched status, about how she deserved better, about how if she wanted to be the Head of the He family in the future, how could she succeed with a partner who offered no assistance.

With everything said, He Yining still persisted, so they had nothing more to say.

Shen Meng was someone who had come with Shen Buyou when she married into the He family; currently, she was Shen Buyou’s assistant, but in reality, she acted as a butler.

Everyone in the He family had a small home outside. While working, it was often inconvenient to return to the old manor. Furthermore, they were grown up and had their own lives; the old manor was only a place for temporary stays during holidays.

It was just like ordinary people working away from home, returning home perhaps once or twice a year. Of course, their frequency was higher—once a month—to connect with the elders.

After all, wanting to become the Head of the He family depended entirely on Grandma He; they certainly couldn’t stay away all the time.

And when Grandma He said the future Head would be selected from the third generation, the second generation was actually very angry. They didn’t feel they were bad; they even felt they were quite good among their peers.

He Yining’s eldest and second uncles failed to get into HKU and had a sum of money donated for them to study abroad. They returned after graduating with master’s degrees to join the He Group law firm. With someone supporting them along the way, they weren’t particularly excellent, but they weren’t bad either. Later, the eldest uncle simply entered the Hong Kong Civil Service and reached a high position.

The third aunt felt that the He Group law firm was not just a firm but needed to be run with a business mindset. So she studied finance, wanting to manage the He Group law firm in the future. This was her own “cleverness”; she believed the He family had enough lawyers and to stand out she needed to be different. Little did she know that Grandma He firmly believed that studying law was the foundation of the He family.

The most excellent was still the fourth branch, He Moyu. A graduate of HKU who did her master’s abroad, following the same path as He Yining, she was also the one in the third generation who performed best in the legal profession and was a strong contender for the Head of the He family.

He Yining also had a youngest aunt who had become a Movie Queen; she was busy all year round and had no interest in managing the He family.

These people were relatively excellent, but their partners were even more so. He Yining’s eldest and second aunts-in-law were famous lawyers in the industry. Her “mama” was even more powerful—a lawyer practicing both civil and criminal law and one of the CEDR mediators, of which there are not many in the world; due to their scarcity, the qualification is very valuable and has high international recognition.

As for the third aunt’s partner, less said the better—a complete playboy.

Perhaps it was the combination of their genes that made the third generation of the He family noticeably more excellent. Thus, there was nothing wrong with the Head of the He family choosing a successor from the third generation.

When this news was announced, He Moyu’s feelings toward He Yining became complex. She hadn’t expected that one day she would have to rely on her daughter.

But her daughter’s current excellence was largely due to strict management during childhood. They had poured too much heart into this daughter and given her everything they could. So they viewed their daughter’s disobedience as rebellion, even unfilial defiance.

In Hong Kong, you can’t hit children, but He Yining was no longer a child.

Soon, Shen Meng came over with a ruler. The oldness of this ruler and the marks on it were enough to show it had been used often.

He Moyu picked up the ruler and asked one last time, “Will you separate from Ming Sian or not?”

“No.”

At the same time He Yining said the word, the ruler landed on her back. Pain instantly swept through her body—a familiar yet long-absent feeling.

Before she reached adulthood, their punishment for her was a small dark room. But she was not a child anymore; that small dark room tactic could no longer control her. She had a hundred ways to walk out of it. Thus, after age eighteen, they changed methods, which was to use the “family law.”

For violating a family rule, use the ruler to strike twenty times. Their reason for hitting her was always “disobeying parents.”

Clearly, she was just not doing as they wanted, so it became disobeying parents.

He Yining gritted her teeth, her lips pressed tightly together, forcibly not crying out in pain. Stroke after stroke—perhaps seeing her refuse to admit wrong, He Moyu hit her harder and harder. The pain spread from her back; she felt her skin breaking and blood flowing down, likely soaking her shirt. After many strikes, a sense of numbness began to appear, and it didn’t hurt as much.

The twenty strikes were soon over. He Moyu, in her anger, finally came to her senses. Seeing her daughter’s white shirt showing a strange red, she felt a bit guilty.

Originally she hadn’t planned to hit so hard, but seeing her daughter’s stubborn look, the anger in her heart grew heavier, and she accidentally went a bit too hard.

Shen Buyou’s hand gripped the sofa; she also saw that trace of red. She was a bit nervous and pained but forcibly remained silent, her face still cold. “Since you have decided, you will bear all the consequences yourself. In the future, the resources of your mother and I will all be given to your sister. This is the price for not being obedient.”

He Yining gritted her teeth, picked up her jacket, and forced herself to stand up through the pain. “Is it not enough that you raised one machine? Do you want to raise a second?”

Because of her excellence, their requirements for her sister were not so high. It was just that they hadn’t used the “machine learning” method like with her, yet she was much busier than her peers, though she still had funds and time overall.

If they chose to nurture the sister, it meant the sister would also have to become a machine in the future—a machine that must complete any input command.

“That is none of your business.” He Moyu’s face was gloomy. Her hand was shaking, regretting her heavy hand, yet her face remained stubborn.

He Yining slowly put on her jacket. “I am grown up. I will protect her.”

“And, this is the last time I will allow you to hit me.”

Her feelings for them were already faint. Faint feelings didn’t mean no feelings at all. Today’s heavy hand could be considered to have broken the last trace of feeling between her and them.

He Yining walked out with slow steps, then called Ali. “I am injured. Prepare medicine.”

Ali was instantly nervous. “Should I tell Miss Ming?”

“No.” She would find out.

He Yining wouldn’t say it proactively and would even hide the injuries on her body, but she would let Ming Sian find out for herself—those were two different things.

Pain spoken from one’s own mouth isn’t as painful, but pain discovered by the other party is doubled.

“I am going to your quarters. Tell the doctor it was from a ruler strike and there’s bleeding.”

“Yes, Eldest Miss. I’ll go right away.”

He Yining heard Ali start to run. She forced the corners of her mouth up. “No need to run.”

“Okay.” Ali promised with her words but ran even faster. If anyone saw her, they would find that her eyes were red even before seeing the injuries.

As a “steel woman” bodyguard, she cried rarely. The few times she did were because of the Eldest Miss.

He Yining walked silently toward Ali’s quarters. On the surface, nothing seemed wrong. On closer inspection, her complexion and lip color were incredibly pale, and her walking speed was not fast, stepping very steadily.

And the news of her being subjected to the family law also reached Grandma He’s ears.

“Family Head, should I find a doctor for the Eldest Miss?”

“No need. She will handle it well. Besides, her being willing to be hit only shows that this beating was also in her plan. She just didn’t expect her mother to be so harsh with her, just as my mother was with me.”

Grandma He whispered to herself, a trace of sadness in her aged demeanor.