32: Chapter 32 Mother and Daughter Curse Each Other

The buzzing vibration sounded particularly jarring in the quiet private room.

Sun Yiyao glanced at the screen. The "Happy Family" group chat, which had been dead silent, was now exploding.

Uncle was the first to break the silence: "Yiyao, is everything you said true? Did Zhang Qi really buy that gold plaque?"

Third Aunt followed closely, her tone full of admiration: "Oh my, I always said Yiyao was smart since she was a child, she has such a good eye. Spending over a million in a single day, he must be a huge boss. Your sister, too—with such good conditions, why did she break up?"

Aunt's tone was filled with thinly veiled fawning: "Yiyao, Aunt has to say something fair here. Since your sister was the one who initiated the breakup, you can't be blamed. In love, everyone fights for what they can get. You really found a capable boyfriend. You did nothing wrong!"

Even her own father, who had been sternly reprimanding her in the group just a moment ago, had changed his tune.

"Yiyao, why didn't you tell the family about this earlier? You let everyone misunderstand. Zhang Qi is so excellent; if your sister doesn't have the fortune to be with him, that's her business. When are you free? Bring your boyfriend back to the hometown for National Day; we have two free-range chickens that have been around for almost a year, it's time to slaughter them."

Eldest Aunt, Sun Yanli, who was Sun Qianwen's biological mother, didn't make a peep.

Looking at the texts on the screen—the well-wishes and the subtle inquiries into Zhang Qi's net worth—Sun Yiyao curled her lips into a mocking sneer.

This was reality.

One second, she was the fox spirit who destroyed sisterly bonds and corrupted family values.

The next second, after throwing Zhang Qi's million-plus spending record out there, she became the pride of the family, the smart and sensible good daughter.

Ethics? Sisterly love?

In the face of absolute wealth, they weren't worth a fart.

Sun Yiyao suddenly felt a sense of boredom.

She didn't want to reply to these messages; she didn't want to type a single word.

She set her phone to silent and placed it face down on the table. What could the fawning and flattery of these relatives actually bring her? Could it buy her a 28,000 gold pendant, or a 40,000+ Apple family set?

Neither.

Everything she possessed now, her hope of transcending social classes, was tied to the man sitting in front of her, eating the top-grade Wagyu beef in a leisurely manner.

Zhang Qi was her heaven, her earth, the only God of Wealth she needed to serve with her whole heart.

Sun Yiyao put away her sneer and put on an expression of tender charm. She picked up the serving chopsticks, carefully picked up a piece of beef with clear marbling, dipped it in sauce, leaned forward slightly, and delivered it directly to Zhang Qi's mouth.

"Brother Qi, try this piece. The doneness is just right." Her voice was soft, sweet, and sticky, her eyes filled with unmelting worship and submission.

Zhang Qi opened his mouth to bite the beef, chewed it casually, and didn't even glance at the phone face down on the table.

...

Anhui Province, a small county town.

In an old, dilapidated residential complex where the outer walls were mottled and the corridors were plastered with ads for locksmiths and micro-loans.

Sun Yanli sat on an old fabric sofa, clutching her three-year-old Android phone, her eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

The narrow, stuffy living room was filled with the smell of cooking fumes that had lingered for years.

But Sun Yanli couldn't smell anything now.

Her gaze was glued to the photos in the family group chat.

That 120,000 high-end tailored suit.

That 40,000+ Apple family set.

That 28,000 peace buckle.

And that glittering, pure gold plaque with a price tag of a full million!

Over a million!

In a single day, this young man named Zhang Qi had casually spent over a million!

This was real, hard cash, not spirit money!

Sun Yanli felt her breathing almost stop; her heart was slamming against her ribs in her chest, making a dull thudding sound.

She knew too well what a million meant. She and her useless husband had worked from dawn to dusk in the county town for half their lives, and the savings in their bank book had never exceeded 100,000.

And now, Zhang Qi, whom she had once mocked and ridiculed, was actually a super invisible billionaire who could casually pull out over a million!

What made her even angrier, to the point of vomiting blood, was that such a gold mine should have been her daughter Sun Qianwen's!

Originally, this gold, these designer bags, these high-end electronic products should have been bought for her daughter! Even she, the mother-in-law, could have benefited, exchanged for a big house, and held her head high in front of those old friends.

But what happened?

That dead girl, Sun Qianwen, actually took the initiative to break up with him!

And just after breaking up, the fox spirit Sun Yiyao from her younger brother's family, who usually didn't say a word, had picked up a huge windfall!

Watching the relatives in the group all revolving around Sun Yiyao, flattering her in every way, Sun Yanli felt a buzzing in her head, and a wave of evil fire rushed straight to her crown.

This was even more painful than having a knife carve meat from her heart!

"That god-damned dead girl!"

Sun Yanli cursed through gritted teeth, her fingers trembling as she tapped the contact list and dialed Sun Qianwen's number directly.

Shenzhen, the underground garage below Morton's Steakhouse.

Sun Qianwen was hiding alone in the passenger seat of Wang Kai's Jaguar. Wang Kai had just received a call and went to the side to smoke and discuss business.

Sun Qianwen held her phone, the screen still lingering on the family group chat interface.

She hadn't sent another word in the group.

Her face was as pale as paper now, and even the carefully applied lipstick couldn't hide the trembling of her lips.

Before, when Zhang Qi bought the Apple family set for Sun Yiyao, although she was angry and jealous, she could barely find some balance in her heart.

After all, it was only a few tens of thousands.

Although Wang Kai was greasy and old, he had bought her a phone worth over 10,000 and promised to take her to buy bags. She comforted herself that Wang Kai was at least a boss in construction, and if he really wanted to spend money, he wouldn't be worse than Zhang Qi.

But.

When Sun Yiyao threw that million-dollar gold plaque and that 1.2 million receipt into the group.

The line of defense in Sun Qianwen's heart completely collapsed.

That was a million!

That stingy old man Wang Kai, even when taking her to eat a 2,000-dollar steak, would take the opportunity to touch her thigh under the table—how could he be willing to spend a million to buy her a gold trinket!

Why?

Sun Qianwen bit her lip hard, tears swirling in her eyes.

She had dated Zhang Qi for over a year!

In that year, Zhang Qi had been obedient to her, handed over his salary card, and tried every way to make her happy every day. But he had never taken out so much money! Even buying a 20,000-dollar bag required saving for several months.

Why did he act like a different person, suddenly becoming wealthy, right after she broke up with him?

Why did he have to dump all this money, which originally belonged to her, onto that bitch Sun Yiyao!

The more Sun Qianwen thought about it, the more she felt her heart bleeding. She even developed an extremely absurd illusion. Had Zhang Qi been guarding against her all along? Had he been pretending to be poor to test her?

Just as her mind was a mess, the phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.

Caller ID: Mom.

Sun Qianwen took a deep breath and pressed the answer button with trembling fingers.

As soon as the call connected, Sun Yanli's shrill voice, which was extremely penetrating, exploded.

"Sun Qianwen! What stupid thing have you done!"

"You and Xiao Qi were doing fine, why did you break up? Why didn't you even give me a heads-up about this?"

"Do you know how arrogant that Sun Yiyao is in the group now? Spending over a million in a day! That's over a million! What were you thinking, pushing such a God of Wealth away!"

Sun Yanli's scolding was like a chain of firecrackers, giving Sun Qianwen no chance to talk back.

Sun Qianwen was already on the verge of a breakdown, and now, being scolded by her own mother, the grievances and resentment in her heart erupted like a volcano.

"You're blaming me now?"

Sun Qianwen's eyes were red, and she roared back in a shrill voice.

"Who was it that nagged in my ear every day, saying Zhang Qi was a pauper, saying he had no future?"

"Who was it that urged me to break up with him every day, forcing me to go back to the county to go on blind dates, to marry the son of that pig farm owner with the big yellow teeth?"

"Didn't I just listen to you, thinking he had no money, and broke up with him? Now you blame me?!"

Sun Qianwen's words were like an awl, piercing directly through Sun Yanli's pretense.

Sun Yanli was notoriously overbearing in her hometown; Sun Qianwen even took her surname. In the family, her word was law.

Previously, although Zhang Qi worked in finance in Shenzhen and earned more than the average person, in Sun Yanli's eyes, he was just a high-level wage earner. She dreamed of her daughter marrying a rich man so she, as a mother, could also rise in status.

But now the situation had changed.

Sun Yanli was so angry that her face turned green and white, but how could she admit it was her fault?

"You heartless girl, how dare you talk back!"

Sun Yanli shouted at the top of her lungs.

"He didn't have money back then! If he had taken out this million earlier, would I have let you break up with him?"

"What is your brain for? You slept with him every day; you didn't even figure out if he had money or what his background was?"

"Are you stupid! You suffered and endured hardships with him when he had no money, and now that he's rich, you take the initiative to break up and give the position to someone else?"

Listening to her mother's extremely utilitarian and cold-blooded words, Sun Qianwen finally couldn't hold back her tears.

She looked out the car window at the pot-bellied, bald, greasy Wang Kai, who was throwing away a cigarette butt, leering at the young girls passing by, and casually hitching up his Hermès belt that was about to lose his belly.

Then, thinking of Zhang Qi in the photos, wearing a high-end tailored suit, wearing a famous watch, and having an extraordinary temperament.

Sun Qianwen's mentality completely shattered.

"How would I know he suddenly had money! He used to use full-reduction coupons even when ordering takeout; he hid it from me so tightly!"

Sun Qianwen roared hysterically at the phone.

"It's because you kept urging me to break up that I made up my mind to be with that Wang Kai! Don't you know what kind of person Wang Kai is? A thirty-something old man with a belly as big as a pregnant woman!"

"If it wasn't for money, would I have taken a liking to him? And what was the result? He can't even compare to one of Zhang Qi's toes!"

"It's all your fault! It's your snobbish eyes that ruined me! My whole life has been ruined by you!"

"Blame me? You unfilial daughter!"

Sun Yanli was shaking with anger on the other end of the phone, slapped her thigh, and cursed.

"You were blind yourself and didn't have the ability to keep a man, and now you're shifting the blame onto your own mother!"

"I could have lived the life of a rich person, with a private car when I go out, and I wouldn't have to look at prices when buying groceries. Just because of you, you idiot, I still have to live in this dilapidated old residential complex with your useless father and suffer in poverty!"

"How did I give birth to such a useless loser! You don't even have half the skill of that little whore Sun Yiyao!"

"Get out! I'll pretend I never gave birth to you!"

After scolding, Sun Yanli hung up the phone fiercely.

Listening to the beeping sound from the phone, Sun Qianwen slumped into the leather seat of the passenger side.

She stared blankly ahead.

Regret.

A deep-seated regret, like a poisonous snake, gnawing at her internal organs.

She could have had the man who wore that 100,000+ high-end suit by her side.

She could have owned that 40,000+ Apple family set.

She could have played with that 1,000,000 pure gold plaque.

She could have become the object of envy and flattery for all the relatives, becoming a true wealthy lady.

But now, all of this was gone!