Chapter 160: Too Rampant

Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Too Rampant

Ruan Yongxing immediately chimed in.

"Yu Zhen! Listen to me! Pay it all back! Give them the house, too! Trust me, I’ll get out and work to support you for the rest of my life!"

Yao Yuzhen’s eyes reddened. She was about to nod, but her spirit deflated.

"But what they’re asking for... it’s just too much..."

She listed every debt, every single bill that needed to be paid.

After Ruan Yongxing heard everything, his face went pale and his lips trembled. He blurted out, "You... You go find Shen Zhenwu! Beg him! Even if you have to kneel! Just... just do it for me!"

Yao Yuzhen was speechless.

She stared at Ruan Yongxing, her mouth slightly agape, looking completely stunned.

Ruan Yongxing, however, kept leaning forward, his forehead beaded with anxious sweat.

"Yu Zhen, I only agreed back then because of you!"

"Look at me, stuck in this cell now. It’s all because of you!"

"I’m already at this age. A few more years locked up, and my life is truly over!"

His voice was hoarse.

He claimed he had risked it all for her.

But back then, Yao Yuzhen had simply felt sorry for him. It wasn’t easy for a grown man to raise a child all by himself.

So she gritted her teeth and gave her own biological daughter away.

Her thinking at the time was very clear: giving the child away was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was better than watching him collapse under the pressure alone.

Who knew...

Yao Yuzhen said nothing, but visiting hours were over.

A staff member came over and knocked twice on the iron bars to remind her. She nodded, pulled her scarf up to cover the lower half of her face.

As she left the visitation room, she didn’t stop or look back, just walked slowly toward the exit.

She walked to the bus station and took two connecting buses to get home. It was already afternoon.

It didn’t snow today, but the wind was strong and bitingly cold.

Shen Shuangshuang was cooped up at home and hadn’t gone out. She was lounging on the sofa watching TV, a tall pile of snacks beside her.

The moment Yao Yuzhen pushed the door open, she heard laughter coming from inside the apartment.

When she walked in, Shen Shuangshuang immediately sat up straight, placed her hands on her knees, and called out, "Mom..."

Yao Yuzhen stared at her for two seconds before she couldn’t help but ask, "Shuangshuang, your dad’s been arrested. Aren’t you worried at all?"

Shen Shuangshuang blinked, her expression completely bewildered.

"I know! But what am I supposed to do? Even you can’t handle the Shen Family. I’m just a girl, what difference can I make?"

She leaned forward slightly, her tone turning pitiful.

"Or what... should I go kneel at the Shen Family’s door and beg them? I can kowtow, I can make vows, I’ll promise them anything..."

She talked a good game, but she remained glued to the sofa, not budging an inch.

Yao Yuzhen sighed. "The Shen family’s hearts are harder than steel. Kneeling before them would get no reaction."

With that, she turned and walked toward her room.

She entered her room, took all the cash from her wallet, pulled out her savings passbook, and opened an old jewelry box.

The gold and silver jewelry she had spent half her life collecting... she began wrapping each piece in a soft cloth...

But as she was packing, her hand suddenly froze.

’Something’s wrong.’

The gold ring was gone, and the small gold pendant had vanished.

They weren’t her most expensive pieces, but she would know instantly if even one was missing.

She snapped the box shut and rushed out of the room. "Shuangshuang! Did anyone visit this morning?"

Her expression was now incredibly dark.

Shen Shuangshuang shook her head.

"No one. I just slipped out at noon to buy some snacks and browsed downstairs for a few extra minutes. What’s wrong?"

"The gold ring and the pendant are gone."

"Huh? Your jewelry is missing?"

She shot up from the sofa, her face a mask of astonishment, as if she were hearing this for the very first time. ℯℯ𝘭.

"When did they go missing?!"

She looked left and right. "Don’t tell me... someone picked the lock and got in while I was out?"

"Just those two things?"

"Quick! Mom, check if the money is still here!"

"This is outrageous! Stealing from our own home? If I get my hands on them, I’ll tear them apart!"

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, but she didn’t dare to meet Yao Yuzhen’s gaze.

Otherwise, her performance was flawless.

"Check your own things, too," Yao Yuzhen said suddenly.

Shen Shuangshuang froze. After a moment, she exclaimed, "Oh!"

"Right, right! Don’t tell me they swiped my necklace, too!"

She muttered this as she dragged her feet, swaying unsteadily and shuffling slowly toward her room.

Just as her hand touched the doorknob, Yao Yuzhen suddenly spoke.

"Quickly check if anything’s missing. We need to call the police."

Shen Shuangshuang’s movement faltered. Her voice became soft. "They should... they should all be there."

Before the words were even out of her mouth, she had slipped into her room.

In the blink of an eye, she came back out, shaking her head. "Nothing’s missing! All my things are here!"

Yao Yuzhen stood motionless, feeling as if she’d been plunged into a cavern of ice.

"Shen Shuangshuang!"

She suddenly shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Shen Shuangshuang flinched, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Mom! What are you doing?"

"Why are you yelling so loud? You scared me to death!"

Her eyes immediately reddened, her voice caught in a sob, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Yao Yuzhen stared at her, her face a mask of bitter disappointment. "Is this what I taught you? Huh?"

Shen Shuangshuang’s face fell, and she replied nonchalantly, "What is it now? Blaming me again?"

Furious, Yao Yuzhen charged forward.

"You say nothing’s missing? Fine. Show me. Where do you keep your things? Which one is gone? Come on, you point one out for me!"

She reached out to grab her arm, but Shen Shuangshuang flung her hand off, shoving her so hard she stumbled backward.

Her back slammed against the door, and she sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, completely stunned.

"You..."

But Shen Shuangshuang’s expression was cold. "This is all the Shen family’s fault. Why are you taking it out on me instead of going to settle the score with them?"

"Is it because I’m an easy target?"

"If you thought I wasn’t your real daughter, then why did you adopt me in the first place?"

"My biological mom is gone, but I wouldn’t have starved to death if I’d stayed with my biological dad, would I?"

"If I had stayed with him, he wouldn’t be in jail right now, and he wouldn’t have dragged the whole family down with him!"

Yao Yuzhen might have been a master of manipulation, but Shen Shuangshuang was every bit her match when it came to sharp words.

She turned and walked toward the sofa, muttering as she went.

"You wonder why people can’t stand you? Have you ever tried to fix that temper of yours, even for a day? When have you not been the one to start yelling first?"

Yao Yuzhen leaned against the door, her arm still numb, but the ache was long forgotten, eclipsed by the chill in her heart. It was like being plunged into the freezing depths.

She opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but her heart was choked with such anguish that her lips moved without making a sound.

She turned and stormed into Shen Shuangshuang’s room.

Shen Shuangshuang had just sat down, her eyes glued to the doorway.

She was terrified that Yao Yuzhen would storm in.

’I said all those harsh, ugly things just now to drive her away.’

But in the end...

She panicked. "What are you doing?!"

Yao Yuzhen was already inside, rummaging through the nightstand and searching her backpack.

By the time Shen Shuangshuang rushed in, she had already thrown open the closet doors, and clothes were piled on the floor.

But after rummaging through everything, she found nothing.

Seeing this, Shen Shuangshuang quietly breathed a sigh of relief before raising her voice in a sharp accusation. "Are you treating me like a thief?"

Yao Yuzhen didn’t reply, continuing to rummage through the clothes in the closet.

Finding nothing, she moved toward the desk.

Shen Shuangshuang grabbed her arm.

"If you’re really that sick of me, if you don’t want me as your daughter anymore, just say it."

"You can kick me out, just like the Shen Family. I won’t cling to you, and I won’t act pitiful! You don’t need to trash my things and humiliate me like this!"