After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 38

Just as Grandma He had said, He Yining knew that in the eyes of her mothers, her marriage was the best tool to trade for interests. Once she had rejected them with a lukewarm attitude, she was certain to face the “family law.”

However, the family law punishment usually had a limit to its force. Even at medium strength, it would hurt, but it wouldn’t strike until the skin split and blood flowed incessantly.

The moment she felt the fresh blood, she thought to herself: They truly do not love me.

Did they love her younger sister? No. They didn’t even love each other. No, perhaps there was a tiny bit of love, but they simply loved themselves more.

If her mothers had one point of love for her and her sister, they had ten thousand points of love for their careers and personal achievements.

To love others, one must first love oneself. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with someone loving themselves, but they raised their daughter like a machine. If she failed to perform, it was the small dark room or the family law. Children have their own lives, yet they wanted their children to follow the trajectory they had planned; any slight deviation resulted in severe punishment.

A layer of fine sweat broke out on He Yining’s forehead; she was clearly enduring intense pain.

As soon as she stepped out of the first-floor elevator, she saw Ali coming to meet her. Seeing her, Ali quickly jogged over. “Eldest Miss.”

“I’m fine.”

The wounds were very painful; otherwise, her complexion wouldn’t be this ghastly. Her pale face looked quite terrifying.

Ali quickly asked, “Can we let others know?”

“No need to hide it.” Otherwise, she would have suffered this beating for nothing. Her grandmother would likely remember her own experiences from years ago and empathize with her.

He Yining smiled mockingly at herself; she truly was a person skilled at calculation.

Ali quickly crouched down and took He Yining on her back. “I was worried I couldn’t handle it properly, so I called the doctor.”

“Mm.”

The He family had private doctors. Since Grandma He was old and in poor health, doctors lived in the He manor 24 hours a day. It wasn’t just one doctor, but a medical team capable of setting up a surgery immediately; the He family even had a world-class operating room.

He Yining had no intention of going there. Although she didn’t want to hide the matter, there was a difference between information leaking passively and spreading it actively.

Arriving at Ali’s room, a doctor was already waiting. The waiting doctor was an Omega whom she had never met.

Seeing He Yining climb down from Ali’s back, the doctor stepped forward quickly. “What happened? Is it serious?”

He Yining slowly shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

She signaled Ali to help her take off her jacket. The blood-stained shirt came into their view.

Tears burst from Ali’s eyes. “How could President Mo and President Shen be so cruel?”

The marks from the ruler were too obvious—several bloody welts. What kind of era was this? Rarely did anyone suffer such injuries anymore.

The doctor was also very surprised; she hadn’t expected He Yining to be beaten so severely.

Initially, she had only heard from Ali that He Yining was injured by a ruler, but seeing it in person, she was only shocked. Never mind her, even the people around her had never suffered such punishment—especially since this was Hong Kong, where hitting children is illegal.

Although He Yining was an adult, she was a lawyer. If she wanted to, she could sue. But looking at her current state, she clearly wanted to minimize the issue and let it pass.

A cold goddess who was high and mighty on the outside was suffering such treatment at home but chose to endure it. The doctor felt a bit uneasy; she regarded a professional woman like He Yining as an idol to chase.

He Moyu and Shen Buyou were truly cold-hearted. How could they lay such a heavy hand on such a beautiful and excellent daughter?

“Doctor Guan, please take a look at the Eldest Miss.”

Ali’s voice startled Guan Du, who quickly said, “Senior, please lie down quickly.”

“Senior?” He Yining stared at her for a moment.

Guan Du immediately explained, “I graduated from the Hong Kong University School of Medicine and am currently a doctoral student. You were one class above me.”

Since they were from the same school, calling her “Senior” was acceptable.

He Yining nodded and lay face down. Every tiny movement caused more sweat to bead on her forehead; she was in too much pain to speak.

Guan Du quickly opened the medical kit and took out small scissors. “Is it okay if I cut the shirt?”

“No problem, handle it quickly.” Ali was worried sick. Luckily she had called the doctor; otherwise, with her simple military-style bandaging—which lacked such delicacy—her hands might have shaken uncontrollably while applying medicine.

Guan Du stopped talking and cut open the shirt, revealing a paper-thin, fair back. However, the ruler marks on it were startling, making one’s heart ache uncontrollably. Who could bear to hit such a slender body like this?

She had heard that He Yining brought a girlfriend back. Even if they didn’t agree, they shouldn’t beat someone like this.

Seeing her hide in a bodyguard’s room to apply medicine instead of going to the clinic, it was obvious her girlfriend probably knew nothing yet.

Afraid the girlfriend would worry? Then she truly valued this girlfriend too much.

Guan Du observed the wounds. “Fortunately, the wounds aren’t deep; no stitches are needed.”

Then, she frowned and took out gauze. “It will hurt a little.”

She pressed the gauze onto He Yining’s wounds. He Yining’s hands suddenly clenched. “It will be fine once the bleeding stops.”

About ten minutes later, she said to Ali, “Pass me the saline.”

“Iodine.”

The process of flushing and disinfecting was very painful. He Yining didn’t make a sound, though it was clear she was struggling to endure it.

“Almost done.” Guan Du couldn’t help but offer a word of comfort. She picked up sterile gauze to wrap the wounds, instructing, “Avoid getting the wounds wet for 48 hours. Come to me every day to change the dressing, or you can do it yourselves if you’re able. Wear loose, breathable clothes to avoid rubbing the wounds.”

“If you feel any discomfort—like redness, swelling, increased pain, or pus—see a doctor immediately. Understood?”

Ali nodded repeatedly. “Understood, I’ve got it.”

Guan Du took an ointment out of the medical kit. “You can use this ointment after a week; it won’t leave scars. Buy more yourselves when it’s finished.”

The ointment was expensive, but with He Yining’s resources, buying ten tubes wouldn’t matter.

He Yining was still lying down; she needed to wait a moment before getting up. After Guan Du left, she said to Ali, “Find me a shirt. Also, buy the ointment and give two new tubes to Doctor Guan.”

“Yes, Eldest Miss.”

Ali quickly found a newly issued, unworn shirt. As a bodyguard, her suits were custom-made—better than the several-thousand-dollar suits on the market and a hundred times better than what she usually bought for herself. Because her old ones were still fine, she had been saving this one.

She set the shirt down and turned to walk out of the room, standing straight at the door. She felt a surge of frustration; she was the Eldest Miss’s bodyguard, yet now that the Eldest Miss was injured, she could do nothing.

The Eldest Miss came to her room to treat the wounds because she didn’t want Miss Ming to know. Thinking about how Miss Ming was still nervous about what to wear to see President Mo, a trace of anger rose in Ali’s heart. Miss Ming was so considerate, always putting the Eldest Miss first and being excellent herself. Even if her background was a bit lacking, the He family was already so powerful—what was more important than the Eldest Miss’s happiness?

President Mo as a mother was too harsh, and President Shen as a “mama” was too cold.

They only ever looked at the data—the Eldest Miss’s achievements. The Eldest Miss wanted to be a lawyer, and playing the piano was at most an interest, but President Mo made her play at a professional level. Furthermore, the Eldest Miss didn’t just learn piano; she learned violin, dance, etc., and everything she learned had to be at a professional grade.

“Ali.”

Because the door was open, Ali could hear the Eldest Miss calling her. She quickly returned to the room. “Eldest Miss.”

“Help me back.”

He Yining was already dressed neatly, this time without her jacket. There was blood inside the jacket which would stain the new shirt.

Ali supported her as they walked step by step back to the second floor. Her injury was on her back, but every movement pulled at the wound. She could only walk slowly, her body held ramrod straight, her gait visibly unnatural.

But the moment she reached the outside of the room, she pressed her lips together tightly. When she released them, they had a layer of color from the blood, not as white as before.

Ali opened the door and gave her a worried look. He Yining signaled Ali to let go and stepped inside.

Her steps were small but steady; generally, one wouldn’t notice anything wrong.

Ming Sian was writing something, her brow furrowed as if she were facing something difficult.

Hearing the noise, she looked up at He Yining. Seeing He Yining’s cold face and bad mood, she quickly stood up.

“What’s wrong?”

Today was New Year’s Eve, and it was dark outside. The He family’s New Year’s Eve banquet hadn’t started yet; it was unclear what they were waiting for.

He Yining shook her head. Seeing a box of soda crackers on the coffee table, she asked warmly, “Hungry?”

“A little.”

Ming Sian hadn’t eaten lunch. Breakfast had been a ten-yuan meal at school, so her stomach was empty. Luckily, there was a pack of soda crackers in her laptop bag that she found when getting her computer.

He Yining went silent. “Youngest Aunt hasn’t arrived home yet; everyone is waiting.”

“Youngest Aunt?”

“Mm. She hasn’t come home for the New Year for two years. She said at the last minute she has time this year.”

Youngest Aunt He Jin was only in her early thirties but had already achieved a “Grand Slam” of Best Actress awards; she was highly authoritative in the film industry.

As the Best Actress with the highest traffic—not just fame, but fans who actually spent money—she was a guarantee for box office, magazines, and endorsements. If she wasn’t busy, who was?

Grandma’s most pampered person was the Youngest Aunt. Otherwise, the fact that the Youngest Aunt went to film school to be an actress would have been impossible. Knowing the Youngest Aunt was coming back, Grandma gave the order: the New Year’s Eve dinner would wait no matter how late.

It was already 8 o’clock, and there was no news of her arriving yet. Everyone was in their rooms. They wanted to go to the dining room downstairs, but the old lady wouldn’t allow it, saying she didn’t want everyone to have bad feelings toward the Youngest Aunt.

One could imagine how pampered the Youngest Aunt was.

Ming Sian nodded. She had just taken a shower, and her mind was sharp, so she took out her computer to start writing. This month, she had three articles accepted by an internal publication. They said if possible, they hoped she could provide one article a week.

Currently, the number of submissions to internal publications has plummeted. With more and more platform magazines, internal submissions have decreased. They said it would be great if she could write higher-quality articles; the price could be increased.

In that case, at the start of the year, she could send the long-form manuscript she had been working on. She was very confident in her long-form work. Once one was accepted, she could immediately start serializing and be paid per thousand words, occasionally writing short pieces as a supplement. At that time, her writing fees would be more than she earned at the bar.

Moreover, she was a professional; there weren’t many people who could replace her. She should be able to write until she graduated.

At the same time, she filmed a short video greeting her fans for the New Year and conducted a “daily small science pop.”

In just ten minutes, there were dozens of comments. It seemed even during the New Year, everyone was scrolling through short videos.

[I was tricked. I thought it was beauty, but it turned out to be knowledge.]

[Oh no, knowledge and beauty have entered my mind together.]

[Question: Is it illegal for a lawyer to steal my heart?]

[What are you mumbling about? Daily question: When will Lawyer Xiao Ming fall in love with me?]

[Okay, okay, I got it. When will Lawyer Xiao Ming film a dress-up video?]

Ming Sian glanced at the comments section and didn’t think much of it. As long as they watched the video, the content would leave an impression on their minds—and that was enough. In case they needed it, they could use it.

The video views were increasing. If even one person used her “science pop” when encountering a problem, then her efforts wouldn’t be in vain.

After finishing these tasks, Ming Sian continued working, completing a short manuscript she hadn’t finished the day before. She was checking it when He Yining returned.

No matter how she looked at it, she felt something was wrong. He Yining seemed a bit unnatural.

But given He Yining’s expressionless face, she could only guess if she had suffered some grievance from He Moyu. Was it because of her?

It likely was. After all, He Yining was so excellent; there was nothing else they could criticize.

However, in the novel, He Moyu and Shen Buyou were work machines. Their requirement for their child was perfection—a child even more perfect than a machine. A machine can make mistakes; He Yining could not.

In the novel, He Yining had resisted as a child, but the arm cannot twist the thigh. It wasn’t until she became an adult that she had the ability to resist because she could make decisions for herself without a guardian. Plus, her grandmother had given her a lot of real estate, so she didn’t have to worry about economic threats.

Even if He Yining had no money, her personality was not one to be threatened, and she could complete her studies on her own.

Ming Sian thought for a moment and asked, “Did President Mo and President Shen say something?”

Hearing this, He Yining looked up. Since returning, she had been sitting straight on the sofa, enduring the pain in her back. The wounds had only been medicated, not cured. Luckily, Guan Du’s medicine was good—cool and refreshing, seemingly containing some anesthetic—so the pain was not unbearable.

“The usual talk.” As she felt the pain in her back with every second, He Yining’s mood worsened. She had long known that her mothers didn’t love her that much, but when the ruler fell like crazy, she truly felt it: her mother wished she could beat her to death.

Disobedience? She sneered in her heart. If not listening to them was disobedience, then there would be much more disobedience in the future.

She had to let them know that she was grown now, already working, and had been selected as one of the “Top Ten Outstanding Young Lawyers.” The selection range was under 35 years old, which was quite broad, making selection even harder. The other nine lawyers were all older than her; the smallest gap was five years. Now, she had the capital and strength to confront them.

Ming Sian closed her laptop and was about to say something when her phone suddenly rang. She glanced at it; it was her sister, Chen Ruoyu.

She hesitated but chose to answer. Ms. Chen was not good, but this sister was okay.

As soon as the call connected, her sister’s voice came through. “Sis, have you had New Year’s Eve dinner?”

It was already very late. In a small town, most people would have finished dinner; those going out for all-night mahjong would have made their appointments, and those going to karaoke with friends would have boarded their cars, or friends would be gathering to set off fireworks in the suburbs.

Ming Sian was silent for a moment. “I’ve eaten.”

“What did you eat?”

“Um…” She looked at the soda crackers on the table. “I just had a little something.”

Chen Ruoyu could tell her sister seemed unwilling to talk to her. She spoke up a bit aggrievedly, “I’m sorry, Sis. I didn’t stop Mom.”

Ming Sian froze and glanced at He Yining helplessly. The other wasn’t looking at her but was clearly listening to the conversation with her sister; Ming Sian had also turned on the speakerphone.

“It’s not your fault.”

It really wasn’t Chen Ruoyu’s fault. She was still young and relied on Ms. Chen for her livelihood; how could she stop her?

Chen Ruoyu quickly said, “Sis, did you offend someone in Hong Kong? He told Mom everything about your situation there. He also said you’re in a relationship with a very rich person in Hong Kong. Mom is planning to go to Hong Kong to find you and see your girlfriend.”

Ming Sian frowned. Was Ms. Chen really going to go that far?

Before she could speak, Chen Ruoyu added, “But Mom still has two months until retirement, and she’ll have to handle the retirement procedures then. I’m about to take the Gaokao, so she shouldn’t be able to leave me. She won’t look for you in the short term. But think about whether you’ve offended anyone; the person seems to know you and Mom aren’t on good terms and is egging Mom on to go to Hong Kong to make a scene.”

“Oh, and to save money, Mom might sign up for a tour group to Hong Kong.”

Chen Ruoyu blurted out all the information she knew.

Ming Sian took a deep breath. Unknowingly, Ms. Chen was still going to come to Hong Kong. If she came and found out her girlfriend was He Yining, and who He Yining was…

Someone was already in contact with Ms. Chen, so she would definitely know who He Yining was and about the He family. To spite He Yining, it was possible they would send Ms. Chen to the He manor.

She thought for a moment—Ms. Chen was a teacher, a person of status. Even if she retired, she wouldn’t do something like that, right?

But in the novel, Ms. Chen took back bags of luxury goods and mockingly scolded He Yining: “I found a daughter-in-law, but it’s like I didn’t find one at all.”

“Whose family marries off a daughter without a bride price? I truly raised a daughter for nothing. Marrying into Hong Kong, I won’t even see the person anymore.”

Ms. Chen didn’t ask for things directly but hinted at them. Once she got the luxury goods, she immediately changed her tune and left Hong Kong happily, leaving the original host to face the ridicule of the He family.

It must be said, the original host deserved it.

But what about her? Ming Sian didn’t want Ms. Chen to come at all. Making a scene would be too ugly and bad for her future career planning.

In her previous life, the main reason she returned to her small hometown was because of her reputation. Her profession required dignity. In the eyes of outsiders, her parents favored boys, but at least they valued her studies and nurtured her into a top student—even though she hadn’t had tutoring and hadn’t spent a penny beyond tuition, unlike her brother, who spent 200,000 on cram schools.

It was just that her parents were born in the 70s and believed children could be raised like dogs—given a little food and hand-me-down clothes. Even having raised them that way, they still demanded absolute obedience and thought 800 yuan for university was enough, even demanding the child get a part-time job to save that 800 yuan.

Perhaps every generation has its own way of raising children; after all, her parents did keep her fed and clothed until she was 18, raised her, and supported her education.

Ming Sian originally thought so too, but some things are most feared when compared. What about her brother? Her brother had T-shirts costing hundreds, shoes costing one or two thousand, and university living expenses of three thousand. Compared to the truly rich it wasn’t much, but compared to her? There wasn’t much age difference between her and her brother—not ten years, but only three—and prices hadn’t skyrocketed that much in a few years.

After comparing, she was certain of one thing: out of 100 points of love, her brother had 99, and she had at most 1. It was only thanks to the family conditions being able to support both children in school; otherwise, she would definitely have been the one abandoned.

However, her success made many believe it was the parents’ credit. Her profession was unique; she couldn’t have large negative incidents, otherwise, it would affect the law firm and the clients’ trust in her. At that time, she was at a critical period for promotion to partner and had competitors. As long as her mother strolled around the firm and put on a show, someone would immediately contact her mother to target her together.

Once her reputation was ruined, it would affect her ability to stand on a larger stage and have a louder voice.

Instead of staying and facing an unknown situation, she chose to go back proactively. For three years, she gave money in front of the neighbors. Later, when her mother acted out, she changed to constantly sending gifts. Although it was more troublesome than giving cash directly, everyone successfully believed she was a very filial child. Having built up a sufficient reputation, when she returned to the big city, even if she broke off relations with her mother privately, no one would believe her mother if she went around talking.

This method was equally useful for Ms. Chen. She could build a reputation for filial piety; even if Ms. Chen went out and gave interviews, everyone would only think Ms. Chen was insatiable.

Of course, that was the truth.

Ming Sian’s thoughts turned in her mind, and she thought of a way to respond—just repeating an old trick. She was still in university and had plenty of time to do this.

She chatted with Chen Ruoyu for a few more minutes before hanging up.

When the call ended, He Yining’s voice rang out. “I will investigate this matter.”

“Okay.” Ming Sian did not refuse. As a student, she had no way to investigate such things. It was fine in the Mainland, but in Hong Kong, her only useful connection was He Yining. She couldn’t bother her professor with this; the professor had nothing to do with the He family but wouldn’t want to offend them either.

She believed this matter must be related to her contact with He Yining. The most likely culprits were members of the He family, followed by Gu Xing or the as-yet-unseen Wei Qin. Besides them, there was no one else.

Ming Sian thought this in her heart, but her eyes were fixed on He Yining. She noticed the Eldest Miss’s voice was somehow weak, completely lacking her usual cold demeanor. The Eldest Miss was someone who radiated cold air at any time; when had she ever had such a fragile side?