Nie Yixiao snapped out of his shock, and the regret and guilt in his eyes disappeared in an instant.

With a ruthless grip, he clutched Jiayi’s small hand and pushed her to the ground:

"Enough! We are just boyfriend and girlfriend, not even married. We both have choices! Right now, I choose your sister! She’s more generous than you, prettier than you, nobler than you, better educated than you. Any normal man would choose her, okay? Don’t blame me!"

"You whore, why don’t you scram? Do you think you’re here to enjoy the show for free? Wasn’t your slut of a mother doing the same thing when she seduced my daddy back then? Now it’s just the daughter paying for the mother’s debts! Besides, Brother Yixiao and I truly love each other with all our hearts..."

Chu Xinyu covered her exquisite body with an expensive wool blanket, looking down with disdain as she scolded.

Nie Yixiao’s mercilessness, Chu Xinyu’s mockery, turned Jiayi’s face deathly pale.

In that moment, she finally understood that Nie Yixiao no longer belonged to her.

The boy who had pedaled her to school since childhood, who had promised to protect and take care of her for life, was gone.

Suddenly, she came to her senses, her tender face changing color, as she clenched her fists tightly and defended loudly:

"My mommy isn’t a vixen! She’s not!"

Chu Xinyu swung out of bed, wrapped a thin blanket around her important areas, and sashayed over to the girl with a seductive twist of her hips. She raised her hand and slapped Jiayi’s face. "Not a vixen? Then, how did you come into existence?"

Having said that, Chu Xinyu, still not satisfied, fiercely kicked the girl and stomped on her several times:

"Bitch, who do you think you are! Did you really think my mommy brought you back to be a princess? Outside, you may be the daughter of the Chu Family; at home, you’re nothing but a maid, a whore..."

Each kick landed on Jiayi’s most delicate and tender parts.

She covered her head and face in pain. "It hurts... it hurts... don’t hit me... please..."

Chu Xinyu was tall and slim, standing at one meter seventy-five with a model’s height, and was several years older than Jiayi, who was no match for her.

The violent beating caused Jiayi intense pain, but it was Nie Yixiao’s indifferent gaze that hurt her heart even more.

With a "crack," a sound like breaking ribs was nearly audible, as Jiayi curled up in agony, bending into a ball: "Ah—"

Only when Nie Yixiao, possibly fearing the situation was getting out of hand, stepped forward to pull Chu Xinyu away did she stop her rampage, bitterly scolding:

"Pick up that dirty cake from the floor and take it out! Get lost!"

Jiayi got up, covering her burning cheeks and body aches. She bent over and picked up the crushed pastries and tray from the ground.

Like a zombie, she dazedly turned around and walked out of the bedroom.

...

Memories flooded in wave after wave! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Sweet memories, painful memories...

On the terrace under the stars, Jiayi felt like she couldn’t breathe; her chest throbbed with pain, and her body shook even more violently against the railing.

Especially when she discovered their affair and left in a daze, the pain was incomprehensible.

Tears streamed from her eyes, blurring her long lashes, tasting bitter in her mouth.

However...

Suddenly, she had a realization...

From these fragmented memories, she realized that she had joined the Chu Family later on and had not lived with them before.

Also, Chu Xinyu called her mother a vixen!

So—does that mean she and Chu Xinyu are half-siblings, not actually having the same mother?

No wonder she felt no warmth of sisterhood when Chu Xinyu found her, only fear!

No wonder her feelings towards Nie Yixiao were so complicated—

Jiayi had known Nie Yixiao from a young age, they even seemed to be childhood sweethearts. She had loved him, depended on him, trusted him, and also been deeply hurt by him.

No, it wasn’t just that she had loved him; perhaps the moment before she lost her memory, she still loved Nie Yixiao.

Seeing him affectionate with Chu Xinyu, even though she had lost her memory, the heartache was still intensely strong.

Suddenly, Jiayi’s body violently shook, and the heavy memories forcefully dragged her back to reality!

Her ankle twisted, knocking over several pots on the edge of the balcony.

As the flower pots crashed and shattered on the first floor, Jiayi felt her body lose its balance, the rope tied around her arm swiftly came undone, and she started sliding towards the ground below—

In the blink of an eye, a broad palm timely caught her waist and pulled her back from the edge of the balcony!

She was drawn into someone’s embrace, and together they fell onto the balcony floor!

She was well protected, lying on top of the man’s sturdy abdomen, panting, she raised her head to meet Huo Zhenyang’s dark, chilly eyes.

He looked at her coldly, "Are you insane?"

If Auntie Li hadn’t gone to her bedroom to check if she had finished her milk and realized she hadn’t returned, and then told him about it, causing him to find the balcony, she might have already fallen down!

She didn’t speak, several crystal-clear teardrops hanging on the tips of her lashes, looking like a frightened and immensely wronged Little Kitten.

He glanced at the edge of the balcony and then at her expression, suddenly understanding the purpose behind her actions.

She did it to remember more things.

His eyes darkened, his fingers firmly pinching her chin, he said, "Are you a pig? If you do this again next time, I’ll just throw you down myself."

Her cheeks puffed up, pink and looking truly like an annoyed little pig, "I thought the fourth floor wasn’t very high, probably not too dangerous. Even if I fell, it wouldn’t be deadly, right? And I tied such a thick rope... "

He laughed in his fury, "So you think you’re still smart?"

She felt even more aggrieved, crying until her lashes clumped together with tears, "Wuu... "

She had already been scared nearly to death, saved her life only to be scolded by someone.

Huo Zhenyang finally frowned at her crying, this little woman was practically flooding the Golden Mountain with her tears. He pinched her tearfully red nose and asked, "So, did you remember anything?"

At that question, Jiayi’s entire body uncontrollably twitched.

Memories from just before surged back.

The childhood sweetheart’s affair with her sister, Chu Xinyu’s scolding, and the beating.

Suddenly, she covered her ears and buried her head!

Huo Zhenyang sensed her fear, his brows shooting up, his arms wrapping her tightly, gently patting her back.

Only when she calmed down did he lift her chin and looked into her eyes with his own deep ones, seeming as vast as the sky itself, capable of steadying a person’s heart.

Jiayi sobbed, "... I remember, when I was at the Chu Family’s place, Chu Xinyu hit me and cursed my mom as a vixen... It seems I only went to their house later, and she and I don’t share the same mother... "

She didn’t say much about Nie Yixiao.

She was afraid that Huo Zhenyang would get unhappy.

After all, the man was really like an old jar of vinegar.

After she spoke, the balcony fell silent.

The silence lasted for a full three minutes.

He didn’t speak for a long time.

But she felt it, the temperature on the balcony during the night dropping rapidly, as if it were about to freeze.

The coldness on the man’s face seemed capable of freezing a person’s heart.