He lurched forward, each step heavy.

Suddenly, he knelt down in front of the elder Mr. Ye.

With his eyebrows lowered and voice hoarse, he said, "Dad, I’m sorry, I was confused for a moment, it was my mistake."

"You, oh you, I don’t even know what to say about you, sigh..." the elder Mr. Ye pointed at him, his tone full of disappointment.

"The person you should be apologizing to is Jiuliang, not me. Because of your confusion, Jiuliang almost suffered an injustice."

Ye Yan clenched his teeth, propped himself up from the ground, slowly rising to his feet.

Ye Jiuliang glanced at the bloodstains on the floor, his gaze impassively observing the moving figure across from him.

Ye Yan, with his sullen nature and being used to throwing his weight around, was extremely proud. Apologize to her?

Ha, that might be even harder than ascending to heaven.

Watching Ye Yan approaching closer, Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, her tone defiant, "Don’t come too close to me, I might throw up."

Never before humiliated like this, Ye Yan’s steps halted, his face black as coal.

Suppressing the rage in his heart, he spoke in a gentle tone, "Jiuliang, I, as your uncle, was confused, but I did it for the benefit of the Ye Family. Forgive me this once, and I promise never to make this mistake again. Can we turn the page on this matter?"

It wasn’t easy, but he finally admitted it.

The person sitting in the wheelchair kept his head lowered, a sly triumphant smile flickering through his eyes.

"In the future?" Ye Jiuliang scoffed with contempt, "Who told you that you have a future?"

Now he could barely save himself, yet he still hoped for a future. He really thought a simple apology could hastily conclude this matter.

"Ye Jiuliang, show some mercy when you can. My father has already apologized, what else do you want?" Having forgotten her past pain, Ye Xin rashly spoke up for Ye Yan.

"The one who nearly lost his life was your brother. Did you consider him when you said that?" Ye Jiuliang smiled playfully, her voice as light as a breeze, "Since he could sacrifice your brother, aren’t you afraid you might be the next one to be sacrificed?"

Ye Xin’s expression froze, a glint of confusion flickering in her eyes.

Could she be the next one to be sacrificed?

She struggled to turn her neck, her eyes looking at Ye Yan filled with complexity.

They say even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, but there are exceptions, it seems.

"What do you want for you to forgive me?" Ye Yan lowered his head, his voice raspy with emotion.

Ye Jiuliang’s lips curled, and she tossed a dagger in front of him, "How about your life for atonement?"

"Jiuliang." Not expecting Ye Jiuliang to be so ruthless, Elder Mr. Ye exclaimed.

Ye Jiuliang gave him a sidelong glance, her cold eyes filled with frost, "Can’t bear to part with him?"

Elder Mr. Ye showed a troubled face. No matter how grave Ye Yan’s mistakes were, he was his son. Ye Yuan had passed away, and he only had this son left, and the Ye Group couldn’t do without him. How could he just watch his son die?

Ye Yan looked at the dagger at his feet, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, hesitating to pick it up.

Growing impatient, Ye Jiuliang sneered, "How about this? You find someone to apologize in your stead. Xiang Zhen and Ye Xin, why don’t you pick one of them?"

As the words fell, Xiang Zhen became enraged, berating loudly, "Ye Jiuliang, have you lost your mind?"

She turned to elder Mr. Li, urgently seeking his intervention, "Elder Li, Ye Jiuliang is so vicious at heart, do you really agree with having her as your daughter-in-law?"

Elder Mr. Li glanced at her, his tone indifferent, "This matter indeed started with Ye Yan’s mistake, how Xiaojiu chooses to handle it is her business, and I have no right to interfere."

Xiang Zhen looked at elder Mr. Li incredulously, unable to comprehend why he was protecting Ye Jiuliang so much when he had clearly disliked her in the past.

Ye Jiuliang watched Xiang Zhen and her daughter, tense, then turned her gaze back to Ye Yan, "If you don’t make a decision in three seconds, you won’t have the privilege of choice anymore."

Ye Yan, staring at the dagger on the ground, had his hand slightly curled at his side, as if persuaded by Ye Jiuliang’s words.

With trembling hands, he picked up the dagger from the ground. Xiang Zhen panicked, "Ye Yan, do you dare?"

Ye Yan gripped the dagger tightly, his frosty gaze terrifying Xiang Zhen to the point of involuntarily stepping backward.

"Ye Yan, you can’t do this to me. If you dare lay a hand on me, my family will not let you off," she said.

Holding the dagger, Ye Yan slowly approached her, his overwhelming presence making it hard for her to breathe.

"Dad, he’s gone mad, he’s gone mad," Xiang Zhen hid behind the old Ye patriarch and shrieked hysterically.

The old Ye patriarch frowned and lifted his head, just as the icy dagger came straight towards him.

"Wait," Ye Jiuliang’s voice suddenly resounded from behind.

Ye Yan’s spine stiffened as he turned around, the gloom in his expression still not faded.

Ye Jiuliang’s lips curled into a light smirk, nonchalantly saying, "I’ve changed my mind. You should pay with your own life instead."

Ye Yan’s face darkened, and he ground his teeth, "Are you playing me?"

Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, "I was just talking. I didn’t promise you anything. How is that playing you?"

"In that case, if you can’t bring yourself to do it, I can have someone else do it for you."

Ye Yan’s eyes darkened, his fingers whitening as he clenched the dagger, "If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for being merciless."

Before his words had even finished echoing, he charged at Ye Jiuliang with the dagger in hand.

Old Master Li and Mingchong looked horrified and instinctively stepped in front of Ye Jiuliang.

Suddenly, a fleeting shadow darted by, bringing a gust of wicked wind with it.

Before anyone could react, Ye Yan had been kicked away.

Mingchong heaved a sigh of relief, only to then see Ye Lei standing behind them with a look of astonishment in his eyes.

Ye Lei was unharmed?

What exactly was going on?

He lowered his gaze to Ye Jiuliang, who remained as calm as ever, and a faint guess formed in the depths of his heart.

Xiang Zhen sat on the ground, staring dumbfounded at the figure not far away.

She swallowed hard, her expression wooden, "Ye Lei, you, you..."

Too astonished, her mind went blank, and she suddenly didn’t know what to say. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Brother, are you healed?" Ye Xin asked in surprise.

That leg, that arm, were they both fine now?

Ye Lei glanced at her, "Who’s your brother?"

He certainly didn’t want such bizarre relatives—it was like a whole family of oddities.

Ye Xin was stunned, "You..."

"Ye Lei" raised his hand and tore off the mask on his face, revealing a handsome countenance with a mischievous smile—it was none other than Ji Mingqian.

"It’s you!" Ye Xin screamed.

How could it be Ji Mingqian? What exactly was happening?

"How could it be you? Then where is my son?" Xiang Zhen stumbled over, asking frantically.

Ji Mingqian sneered, "Your son was so badly injured. Did you really think he would wake up so quickly?"

Xiang Zhen’s face turned ashen, her joy turning to disappointment. Her son was still in an unconscious state.

Ji Mingqian’s kick had been fierce. Ye Yan lay on the ground, struggling to catch his breath, feeling as if all his internal organs were burning fiercely.