Playing a relay race?

After all, Zhou Wei had always presented himself as a devoted romantic in public. No one had expected him to be like this in private.

This... this was his own flesh and blood. Even if she wasn't Madam Zhou's daughter, she was still his biological daughter.

Held back by others, Zhou Wei could only rage helplessly. "Zhou Ruo, what do you think you're doing?"

"I brought you home, and this is how you treat me? You ungrateful brat."

Madam Zhou had already gone numb. She stared at Zhou Wei, devastated. If... if Zhou Yun wasn't really her daughter, then what about her child? Where was her child?

She turned toward Zhou Ruo and hurried over, nearly tripping in her haste. Someone beside her caught her just in time.

"Ruo, if you found all this out, then... then did you find my child, too?"

Apart from those first days after she had arrived as a child, Zhou Ruo hadn't heard her call her that in a very long time.

Zhou Ruo faltered slightly. She truly didn't know how to face Madam Zhou now.

So she didn't answer Madam Zhou. Instead, she looked at Zhou Wei, who was still hurling abuse at her, and smiled faintly. "Father, don't get impatient. Your daughter has another gift for you."

Zhou Ruo resumed the video she had paused. The man in the photographs had changed, but the woman hadn't. It was still Zhou Yun.

The men in the photographs kept changing, leaving the crowd in an uproar. They really were father and daughter—both certainly got around.

Zhou Wei glared at Zhou Yun, his face twisted with fury. "You bitch! How dare you betray me?"

Zhou Yun was so frightened that she didn't dare say a word.

After berating Zhou Yun, Zhou Wei went back to cursing Zhou Ruo. "I should never have taken you out of the Welfare Home."

"No, no." Zhou Ruo contradicted him. "You should never have married Madam Zhou and had me in the first place."

Beside her, Madam Zhou turned to Zhou Ruo in shock. What... what did that mean?

Even Zhou Wei froze. Zhou Ruo wasted no words and displayed the evidence.

As it turned out, Zhou Ruo's disappearance back then hadn't been an accident. Zhou Wei's mistress had plotted it.

After successfully stealing the child, his mistress had felt uneasy, too. But for the sake of the baby in her belly, she absolutely refused to let Zhou Ruo grow up safely in the Zhou family.

Troubled by her conscience, she hadn't sold the child. Instead, she had secretly left her outside the Welfare Home.

She had thought the child would never be found that way, only for Zhou Wei to discover her.

Fortunately for her, Zhou Wei hadn't recognized his own child. Even Madam Zhou hadn't recognized her and had kept searching.

At the time, she had been both worried and delighted. When Zhou Wei had even suggested passing their child off as Madam Zhou's daughter, she had been beside herself with joy. She had thought that although she had to remain a secret, her child shouldn't have to share that fate.

Something seemed to occur to Zhou Wei, and a delighted smile appeared on his face. "Ruo, listen to Daddy. I was misled. From now on... from now on, I'll make it up to you, all right?"

"We can settle our family matters at home." He still wanted to save face in front of all these people.

[If he cared about saving face, he shouldn't have done any of this.]

[If he knew it would come to this, why do it in the first place? He's still trying to guilt her into being a dutiful daughter. I don't think Miss Zhou is that easily swayed.]

Just as Ye Qing had guessed, Zhou Ruo wasn't someone who would give in easily. "Father, since you did it, you should have the courage to take responsibility."

Smack! Before anyone could react, Zhou Wei took a slap to the face.

Smack! Another slap rang out, this one landing on Zhou Yun's face.

A woman stood looking at them both, the hand she had struck them with trembling slightly.

[Wow, the mistress has entered the fray.]

[Ouch, that looks painful. Zhou Wei really does have thick skin. He didn't even make a sound.]

Gu Ze stole a glance at Ye Qing. Are you sure he didn't make a sound because he's thick-skinned, rather than because it happened too suddenly for him to react?

Sure enough, once Zhou Wei recovered, he shouted again. "What are you doing?"

His mistress laughed in fury. "Zhou Wei, you're asking me what I'm doing? How many years have I spent with you, only for you to treat me like this?"

"With your own daughter, no less. You really have no shame."

"You have the nerve to blame me? Your daughter came on to me."

Smack! Another slap landed. Both sides of Zhou Wei's face now matched, swollen like a pig's head—a clear testament to how hard she had hit him.

His mistress looked at her daughter, her eyes filled with boundless disappointment. She had never imagined her daughter would do something like this.

"You've disappointed me so much."

"You're no different yourself. What right do you have to criticize me?"

Smack! Another slap rang out. This time, the mistress was the one who had been struck.

[Are they playing a relay race? They're taking turns going up there to slap someone.]

The members of the Ye Family: Now that you mention it, it really does look like one.

Seeing her mother get hit, Zhou Yun scrambled to her feet and shoved Madam Zhou. "What are you doing?"

Although she disliked her mother, she couldn't tolerate someone hitting her.

Zhou Ruo hurried forward to steady Madam Zhou, then delivered another slap. "You deserve it. That's why."

[Wow, now it really looks like a relay race. If everyone takes a turn slapping someone, won't it go on forever?]

Ye Qing pictured the scene. It really was a lovely image.

Madam Zhou glared fiercely at the two women, no longer caring about her appearance. "If it weren't for you, how could we have ended up like this? How could my daughter have ended up like this?"

The mistress actually began to laugh. "Hahaha! Whose fault is that? You couldn't hold on to your man, and you couldn't look after your daughter."

"Your daughter was right in front of you, and you didn't even recognize her. Hahaha! Whose fault is that?"

The mistress laughed louder and louder until her laughter filled the entire hall.

[Holy shit, that's kind of creepy.]

Gu Ze glanced at Ye Qing, then discreetly moved a little closer to him.

Ye Qing was watching everything unfold with great relish and didn't notice.

The mistress's words stabbed deep into Madam Zhou. Remembering how she had treated Zhou Ruo, she was filled with endless regret. She had suspected it at the beginning. If it hadn't been for Zhou Wei, she...

In the end, she hadn't stood by her own instincts. If she had checked even once, things would never have turned out like this.

How could two people in this world look so alike? Remembering that the child hadn't called her Mom even once today, Madam Zhou felt utterly consumed by regret.

While everyone was distracted, the mistress slammed into Zhou Wei. A pillar stood directly behind him—she was trying to kill him.

That was indeed what the mistress intended. After all, she had stolen a child and would never escape legal punishment. Since that was the case, she might as well end her own life and take the man who had ruined her down with her.

Because Zhou Wei had been the one to approach her first. He had promised to divorce his wife, yet in the end, none of it had happened.

The sudden turn of events startled everyone. Fortunately, the security guards reacted in time, and nothing too serious happened.

Still shaken, Zhou Wei kept calling her a bitch, while his mistress could only feel disappointed.

[Scumbag! Scumbag!!!]

Afterward, Zhou Ruo had the people involved taken away, making it clear that the matter would be settled in private. She then apologized to the guests and announced that the banquet was over.

Everyone assured her that it was fine. After all, today's spectacle had been so riveting that they had all watched with great interest.

Once the guests had left, Madam Zhou looked tentatively at Zhou Ruo, no longer knowing what to say.

Zhou Ruo glanced at Madam Zhou and told her to go upstairs and rest, but anyone could see the distance in her eyes.

Perhaps time would heal everything, but not now. Right now, Zhou Ruo couldn't forget how Madam Zhou had treated her in the past, so she didn't know how to act toward her, either. For the moment, this was fine.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing had just reached the entrance when he received a call from Sister Li.