Chapter 553: Have You Been Here Before?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crime of intentionally injuring someone to cause an abortion should have received a heavier sentence.

However, on the one hand, she had still been a minor at the time of the incident. On the other hand, the victim had issued a letter of understanding, so with the efforts of the lawyer, she was finally spared from prison.

She had been sentenced to two years of imprisonment, which had then been suspended for two years.

This also meant that as long as she did not commit another crime during these two years, she would not go to prison.

Overall, she could be considered as someone who was half-free.

Ning Li looked at the letter containing the verdict sent by the lawyer, and the corners of her lips curved into an extremely faint smile.

She was still very satisfied with this result.

The money and effort she had spent had not been in vain.

What was so good about being in jail?

The outside world was so wonderful that she, Ye Ci, should take a good look and appreciate it more.

This Mid-Autumn Festival should be very memorable for Ye Ci.

…

Yunzhou.

It had just rained heavily. The dilapidated residential area was empty. There were a few puddles of water on the bumpy road, reflecting the mottled walls of the buildings.

Ye Ci got out of the taxi and stood at the intersection of the alley. She looked at the scene in front of her without moving for a long time.

After staying in the detention center for a few months, she was extremely thin. Her face was especially pale, and the pride in her eyes had disappeared. Only cowardice and resentment remained. When she looked over, it made people feel particularly uncomfortable.

“Lil Ci?”

Su Yuan had taken a few steps forward before she realized that Ye Ci had not followed. She turned around to look at her.

“What’s wrong?”

Today, she had been the one who had gone to pick Ye Ci up.

Only after being called twice did Ye Ci seem to come back to her senses. She turned her neck stiffly and her dull gaze fell on Su Yuan’s face.

“Mom, why aren’t we going home?”

She should be back at Jingyue Residence and not here!

In all eighteen years of her life so far, she had only seen such a poor and shabby place on the news!

The expression on Su Yuan’s face did not look too good.

Everything she had experienced in the past few months had shattered all of her refinement and dignity.

She was no longer the well-maintained Mrs. Ye.

Now, she was just an ordinary middle-aged woman.

Between her brows and eyes, all the vicissitudes brought about by poverty and suffering could be seen.

“Lil Ci, didn’t mom already tell you about the situation at home?”

The Ye family had gone bankrupt, and all their assets had been frozen and sealed.

Ye Yiming had been implicated. Before the police had come looking for him, he had absconded with the money.

The entire Ye family had been defeated and scattered overnight.

They could not go back to Jingyue Residence. Even finding a place to stay now was very difficult.

After the past few months of torture, Su Yuan had already accepted this reality. She was humbled and had lowered her head.

However, Ye Ci was different.

She stood there with her fists clenched tightly. Her knuckles were pale, and her whole body was filled with resistance.

Before she had been put under investigation, the Ye family had still been a top-notch wealthy family in Yunzhou.

In just a few short months, how could such a drastic change have happened?

Her home was gone. Everything that she had before was gone!

Su Yuan, on the other hand, did not have much patience. She urged her, “Let’s go back first. Lil Cheng is still waiting at home.”

Just then, several children ran over from the other end of the alley, laughing and joking.

Just as a few of the children ran past them, one of them threw a stone into the puddle.

Splash!

The dirty, stagnant water from the puddle splashed upwards, dirtying a corner of Ye Ci’s clothes.

The dark, murky water stained her clothes and stuck to her calves. It was sticky and smelly.

Her eyelids twitched.

However, before she could react, she heard the laughter of those kids.

“That fat kid is becoming less and less resistant to being beaten up!”

“That’s right! I only hit him a few times and he already started begging for mercy. How boring!”

“Who cares, he’s rich anyway! I heard that his father used to be rich! Maybe he can get more next time!”

Su Yuan’s expression changed. She was no longer bothered about Ye Ci anymore and quickly walked forward.

Finally, she found Ye Cheng, who had just been beaten up, behind the trash can in the depths of the alley.

His face was bruised and swollen, and there were several footprints on his body.

Su Yuan’s face instantly turned red.

“Lil Cheng, are they bullying you again?!”

Seeing her, a hint of panic and disgust flashed in Ye Cheng’s eyes.

Su Yuan grabbed his hand.

“Tell me! Who were they? I’ll find their parents and fight it out with them!”

Hearing this, Ye Cheng became even more frustrated.

“No one! This is my own business. It’s none of your business!”

As he spoke, he flung Su Yuan’s hand away and turned around to run out of the alley.

The moment he raised his head, he happened to see Ye Ci.

A hint of hesitation flashed across his face.

The previous intimacy that they had was now unfamiliar because of the past few months.

Besides, during this period of time, he had also heard a lot of gossip.

The gossip about his father and Ye Ci… In short, nothing good had been said about them.

“Ye Cheng! Come back here!”

Su Yuan shouted sternly.

Ye Cheng’s expression became even uglier. Without the slightest hesitation, he ran away at an even faster speed.

Su Yuan wanted to chase after him, but she could not catch up at all. Moreover, Ye Ci was beside her.

Her eyes were red.

“Don’t come back if you have the guts!”

Ye Ci lowered her eyes, and her body could not help but tremble slightly.

There had never been a moment than now, when she had realized so clearly that she was no longer the Ye family’s daughter from before.

In front of her, what awaited her were poverty, destitution, humiliation, scolding, and ostracism…

When she had received the verdict, she had thought that she was finally free from jail. However, she had not expected that the real prison would be waiting for her.

She had nowhere to run.

…

Ning Li spent a leisurely and fulfilling vacation at home.

Finally, on the fourth day, Lu Huaiyu personally came to pick her up.

Second Master Lu wanted to watch a movie.

Ning Li looked at Lu Huaiyu, who had suddenly appeared at the door, and was stunned for a moment.

“But… There are a lot of people at the cinema during the holidays…”

She felt that Second Master Lu might not like being squeezed together with the crowd very much.

Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“Who said we’re going to the cinema? The Rongyue Mansion has an audio-visual room.”

Ning Li, “…”

Thus, Ning Li finally followed him to Rongyue Mansion.

The large apartment was quite spacious, and the decor was based on Lu Huaiyu’s preferences, including this audio-visual room with top-notch audio-visual equipment.

Lu Huaiyu leaned over and placed the juice and snacks on the coffee table.

“You can choose whichever movie you’d like to watch.”

Ning Li curled up on the sofa and nodded in answer. She deftly took out the remote control from the drawer on the left below the small table.

The curtains closed automatically.

Lu Huaiyu paused.

The room gradually darkened.

Lu Huaiyu’s gaze fell on her hand. He narrowed his phoenix-like eyes and casually asked, “Ah Li, have you been to this room before?”

Ning Li instantly froze.