Chapter Seventy-One: Do You Think I Dare? A Special Extra Chapter for Those Who Gifted Tourmaline Diamonds

In the afternoon, I went to the airport to pick up my grandfather. As soon as we met, he angrily demanded to know why I hadn’t stopped my parents’ absurd actions.

I was helpless—my parents had forced things along like herding ducks, scrambling as if chasing after money. What could I possibly do? If my grandfather hadn’t come back, I wouldn’t have wanted to return home for anything in the world. Going back meant facing the pointing fingers and whispered gossip of the neighbors—how humiliating.

Even after we got in the car, my grandfather hadn’t cooled down. It seemed he’d argued plenty with my father over the phone, and from the look of things, he’d lost. He grumbled and cursed, blaming my father for bringing shame upon the family. I turned my face to the window, lost in my own tangled thoughts.

The phone rang—a strange number. I answered, and before I could speak, I heard Luo Ange’s voice: “Yi Lanshan, where are you?”

I’d truly underestimated that lunatic’s intelligence. Blocking him didn’t mean he couldn’t change his number. Worried my grandfather would overhear, I lowered my voice: “What exactly do you want?”

Luo Ange’s tone brimmed with impatience: “You have twenty minutes. If you’re not back, I’ll tear down the courtyard house and kill your dog for hotpot.”

I cried out, “You wouldn’t dare!”

He laughed gleefully, “Try me.”

I knew full well he would. Confronting him head-on would only bring me more misery, especially since I didn’t have the strength to do so. I changed my tone: “Just tell me, what will it take for you to let me go?”

That voice from hell responded, “Sorry, that word isn’t in my dictionary. Get ready to be tormented by me for the rest of your life.”

I was both exasperated and amused. “What have I done so wrong that you refuse to let go? Tell me—I’ll do my utmost to change, all right?”

“Three minutes have already passed. Seventeen left,” he replied.

When I claimed I had something to do, my grandfather didn’t press. He understood my embarrassment. Perhaps he was the only one in the family who truly did—who felt it as I did.

As the car was about to leave, he asked if I’d fallen for someone.

Of course, I shook my head in denial. He smiled gently. “Even if you have, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing shameful in it. My girl is both beautiful and capable—worthy of any man.”

My eyes stung with unshed tears. If he ever found out his granddaughter had been ruined by a pig, would his heart break?

Back at the courtyard house, Zhu Bang was standing outside. When he saw me, he walked over and cautiously reminded me, “Miss, the young master is in a bad mood. Please be careful.”

I sneered, “I’m in a bad mood myself.”

His expression shifted slightly. “The young master hasn’t eaten lunch yet.”

I continued to sneer. “Even if he starved to death, what’s that to me?”

If he did die, I’d gladly spend my life’s savings on the finest wreath for his funeral.

When I walked in, Luo Ange was asleep on the sofa, clutching the pillow I’d brought back from Beijing years ago. Ajou lay obediently curled up beside him, looking more like a dog he’d raised for years.

There were still scratch marks on his face from last night. At this moment, he looked like a child punished to stand all day by his teacher—utterly lacking in menace.

I sighed and decided to make peace with myself.

What was done was done—who could I blame? Fate’s unfairness? Could I ever win against fate?

No, I blamed no one but myself. I was too weak, too lacking in aggression, and that was why Luo Ange kept bullying me, time and again.

Strangely, this thought made me feel a little better.