After Rebirth, I Married the Great Demon King

Yun Sisi sobbed as she questioned, her tears streaming down like a broken string of pearls, sliding down her cheeks. Her pitiful appearance made Xu Ya’s heart feel as though it were being tightly squeezed by invisible hands, leaving her in unbearable pain.

"Sisi, what’s wrong? Huh? Don’t cry, tell mom what happened." Ever since Yun Sisi became sensible, Xu Ya had rarely seen her cry, but now not only was she crying, she was sobbing so intensely.

"Mom!" Yun Sisi threw herself into Xu Ya’s arms, choking on her sobs, like a pitiful little animal.

"Sister clearly promised to watch Brother Mu’s game with me, but today she gave the tickets to a male classmate in her class. Now everyone at the scene thinks I’m dating that boy. What should I do? It’s like no amount of explaining could clear my name!"

As Yun Sisi spoke, she shot a glance at Yun Shifei. A sinister glint flickered in her eyes.

She wanted Yun Shifei to pay.

Strangely enough, Yun Shifei didn’t show the slightest sign of panic. The look in her eyes was so calm, as if she were hearing about some trivial matter.

Was she clueless about what was about to happen, or was she so certain of her position?

"Mom, the truth is I didn’t..."

Yun Shifei opened her mouth, just about to explain, when suddenly the scene before her blurred, followed by a sharp slap across her face.

Smack—

The clear sound of a slap echoed in the living room.

Yun Shifei was left stunned. She stared blankly at Xu Ya.

Her eyes swirled with mixed emotions—shock, pain, disbelief. Slowly, they fused together into a single cold indifference.

"Yun Shifei, I think you did this on purpose! All that nonsense about giving the ticket to a classmate who really wanted it—wasn’t it just so you could make a fool of your sister?"

The burning sting spread across Yun Shifei’s face.

Even though she always told herself that Xu Ya loved her.

And lately, Xu Ya had indeed been trying to change. It was evident that she was working hard to accept her.

But now, without even giving her a chance to explain, Xu Ya unthinkingly believed Yun Sisi’s words and instinctively slapped her. This made Yun Shifei’s heart instantly ache like it had died.

She had struggled to accept Xu Ya because, in her past life, Xu Ya had treated her well.

But now, that kindness seemed like nothing more than an illusion, so fleeting she couldn’t hold onto it.

Was Xu Ya truly a good mother?

She believed Xu Ya must be a good mother to Yun Sisi, but to her, she couldn’t be considered as such.

"I didn’t." The words she had planned to say were broken, leaving her only able to instinctively deny.

"Don’t lie anymore. There are kids from your class in our community. We’ll ask them and find out soon enough," Xu Ya’s sharp gaze bore into Yun Shifei as if willing her to submit.

At this moment, she clutched tightly to Yun Sisi while keeping her guard up against Yun Shifei.

"Fine, go and ask. I didn’t want to give that ticket to the boy at all. He snatched it, and I couldn’t take it back." Yun Shifei lowered her eyes, covering her cheek, looking pitiful and frail.

Seeing her pathetic appearance, Xu Ya had a moment of clarity.

She couldn’t help but regret it. How had she lost her mind and slapped Yun Shifei just now?

Yun Tiancheng couldn’t stand by any longer. Xu Ya’s repeated actions left him at a loss for words to express his anger.

He stepped forward and took hold of Yun Shifei’s shoulders.

"Let’s go, we’ll find Old Zhang’s child and get to the bottom of this."

He believed in Yun Shifei. He believed that the girl he had come to know would never deliberately try to harm Sisi.

Seeing Yun Shifei so composed, Yun Sisi panicked.

Xu Ya might not know, but she did.

Song Yang, that troublemaker, must have bullied Yun Shifei plenty of times. The ticket was likely snatched away by Song Yang too.

And just now, she had only been trying her luck, gambling on the possibility that Yun Shifei really was being spiteful by giving the ticket to Song Yang.

If Xu Ya hadn’t slapped Yun Shifei, it would have been no big deal to clear things up.

But now that slap had landed, if the truth came out, who knew how guilty Xu Ya would feel?

What should she do?

Yun Sisi couldn’t help but clutch Xu Ya’s arm. "Mom... let’s drop it. I... I’m fine. It’s too much trouble to bother others at this late hour."

"We have to. Sisi, some things need to be clarified," Yun Tiancheng said, looking at Xu Ya. "Let’s go together."

A family of four—nobody would be left behind.

He wanted to see the truth with his own eyes.

At this time, the Zhang Family was having dinner.

Upon hearing the doorbell, Mrs. Zhang said to her son Zhang Yi, "Go answer the door."

Zhang Yi frowned. A visitor at dinnertime—who could be so lacking in consideration?

When he opened the door and saw the four members of the Yun Family standing there, he was a little surprised.

"Uncle Yun, Aunt Yun, and... Shifei, Sisi."

They all lived in the same neighborhood. Though they weren’t particularly close, everyone recognized each other.

"Zhang Yi, you’re in the same class as Shifei, right?"

Zhang Yi nodded, noticing the red mark on Yun Shifei’s face.

He frowned. That slap must’ve been harsh.

What had happened?

Could it have something to do with him?

"Did a male classmate ask Shifei for basketball tickets at school today?"

The moment the question was asked, Zhang Yi immediately recalled who it involved.

"Song Yang."

"Did Shifei give him the tickets?" Yun Tiancheng asked.

Zhang Yi shook his head. "That guy bullies Shifei all the time. When he saw that she had tickets to the basketball game, he wanted to..."

He trailed off, his gaze landing on Yun Sisi. It didn’t need more explanation—everyone present understood what his eyes meant.

Yun Sisi anxiously stomped her feet, giving Zhang Yi repeated glances, trying to signal him not to say more. But Zhang Yi, being naturally slow to catch on and somewhat oblivious, didn’t pick up on her cues.

Then he shrugged casually. "Shifei even asked Song Yang to return the ticket to her, but he directly took it and left."

This was the truth of the matter.

Xu Ya’s expression grew complicated as she learned the truth. She had been wrong.

Completely and utterly wrong.

But the slap she had delivered to Yun Shifei in her fit of anger could never be undone.

"Xu Ya, now that you know the truth, apologize to Shifei immediately!" Yun Tiancheng said angrily.

Xu Ya turned to look at Yun Shifei, instinctively reaching out to touch her. But the girl shrank back behind Yun Tiancheng, as if afraid of her.

This movement made Xu Ya’s breath catch.

Memories surfaced little by little.

She remembered how Yun Shifei had always tried to get close to her. No matter how biased Xu Ya was, Yun Shifei was always so obedient.

It seemed intentional, as though she was trying to win her favor.

And yet, when the situation was unclear, Xu Ya had slapped her directly.

Now, Yun Shifei’s heart had grown cold, hadn’t it?

"Shifei, I’m sorry. I truly am," Xu Ya said, unsure of what she could do to earn Yun Shifei’s forgiveness.

"Enough. You and Sisi go home. Shifei and I will grab something to eat outside." Yun Tiancheng took Yun Shifei’s arm and went back home for the car keys.

Yun Shifei, feeling dazed, followed Yun Tiancheng away.