When Tang Ye and Tang Yi Yi ran away from home, they were at their most defiant.
Now, as they returned, the two of them were just as disheveled.
Because of their affairs, Tang Zhong Cheng rushed home as soon as he arrived at the company.
Tang Zhong Cheng knew better than anyone what kind of relationship Tang Ye and Tang Yi Yi had.
Facing such news, his reaction was even more intense than Zhang Mei Yu's.
"Kneel!" Tang Zhong Cheng commanded.
Tang Ye said, "Dad, it's just gossip. You believe it too."
Tang Yi Yi also said, "Dad, don't be blinded by those rumors. It's not like that."
Upon hearing this, Tang Zhong Cheng was furious.
Tang Zhong Cheng stepped forward and, with two sharp slaps, struck Tang Ye and Tang Yi Yi each across the face.
Tang Yi Yi, terrified, knelt down with a plop, covering her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Tang Ye said defiantly, "Dad, if you have any complaints, take it out on me. Why are you hitting Yi Yi?"
This remark, instead of calming things down, only fanned the flames of Tang Zhong Cheng's anger.
*Slap!*
Tang Zhong Cheng’s hand shot out again, delivering another slap to Tang Ye’s face.
"If you hadn't insisted on taking her away from home, would this situation have escalated like this? Dare you say you have no improper thoughts about her!"
"Dad..."
"Don't call me Dad. I don't have a beast like you for a son."
Tang Zhong Cheng, wearing his leather shoes, delivered two powerful kicks to Tang Ye’s body, forcing him to his knees.
*Sob…*
*Sob…*
Tang Yi Yi’s sobbing echoed intermittently throughout the villa.
She choked out an explanation.
"Dad, brother and I are really just living together. We're just siblings. Everything online is just a rumor, Dad."
Rumor?
Was it truly just a rumor?
The things Tang Ye had done for Tang Yi Yi, his extreme favoritism—had it reached a point of irrationality?
If there was truly nothing between them, what were those intimate, suggestive photos supposed to be?
Was it appropriate for siblings to exchange flirtatious glances?
It would be one thing if they weren't related by blood, but the fact that they were…
With this thought, Tang Zhong Cheng delivered several more brutal kicks to Tang Ye.
Tang Yi Yi panicked and said,
"Second Brother, explain to Dad! Hurry and explain, Second Brother!"
Explain?
What was there to explain? He loved Tang Yi Yi. He could fool others, but he couldn't fool himself.
Now, more than half of the people online supported him in making his own choices. This time, Tang Ye would fight for his and Tang Yi Yi’s future no matter what.
Tang Ye straightened his back and said,
"Dad, Yi Yi and we are not blood-related. I love her. I beg you, please agree to let Yi Yi and me be together."
*Boom!*
Something exploded within.
Tang Zhong Cheng was so enraged he nearly died, disregarding everything and madly kicking Tang Ye.
"You scoundrel! How could you say such a thing?"
Another kick.
"I'll beat you to death, you bastard, you reprobate!"
"Just beat me to death!"
...
Tang Ye was incredibly persistent, silently enduring his father’s brutal beating, his eyes resolute as he said,
"Dad, I beg you, let me be with Yi Yi."
Tang Zhong Cheng was so enraged he had a relapse and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Dad."
"Dad."
...
Butler Wang quickly brought him his emergency medication, and he eventually recovered.
Zhang Mei Yu and Tang Zhong Cheng watched coldly.
Tang Zhong Cheng was infuriated, and so was Zhang Mei Yu.
She stepped forward and said coldly to Tang Ye, "Tang Ye, I'm telling you. Even if Yi Yi is just Tang family's adopted daughter, with no blood relation, you were siblings before, and you will only ever be siblings from now on."
"Mom, I really love Yi Yi..."
*Slap, slap!!*
Zhang Mei Yu violently slapped Tang Ye twice.
Soon, a trickle of blood spread from the corner of Tang Ye's mouth.
"Mom..."
*Slap!*
Another slap.
"Shut up!" Zhang Mei Yu roared.
Her elegant, noble face contorted with rage.
Tang Ye wiped the blood from his mouth but still refused to yield.
"Mom, I beg you, let me be with Yi Yi."
What was stubbornness? This was it.
Seeing that Tang Yi Yi was about to speak, Tang Xiao Min spoke before her.
"What's the point of hitting Tang Ye? In the end, he was the one who was seduced."
"Tang Xiao Min, shut up!" Tang Ye shouted angrily.
Tang Yi Yi cried, not knowing what to do, kneeling on the floor, stammering an explanation to Zhang Mei Yu.
"Mom, I really didn't seduce Second Brother. I've always treated him as my brother. It has nothing to do with me, Mom, sob..."
"Second Brother and I really have nothing!"
"Second Brother, quickly apologize to Mom! Hurry!"
...
Tang Yi Yi was going mad. She never imagined that Tang Ye would say such a rebellious thing to their parents at this moment.
Their parents were traditional. Moreover, they would never allow anything that would bring shame to the Tang family.
Why was Tang Ye so foolish to pour oil on the fire at this time!
Tang Yi Yi felt utterly betrayed by him. If she had known, she wouldn't have run away from home with him. She regretted it deeply now.
Tang Ye, on the other hand, believed that Tang Yi Yi was simply intimidated by her parents.
He persisted, "Mom, please agree to our..."
Zhang Mei Yu was so infuriated by her own son that after all the beating, he was still stubbornly refusing to change.
As she was fuming, at a loss for what to do, Tang Xiao Min stood up.
She walked up to Tang Ye and Tang Yi Yi and said coldly,
"Tang Ye, you insist on liking her, don't you?"
Tang Ye said, "It's none of your business!"
What did she mean, it was none of her business? She was going to deal with it now.
*Slap!*
Tang Xiao Min slapped Tang Yi Yi across the face.
The crisp sound of the slap echoed, shocking Tang Ye and Tang Yi Yi.
Tang Zhong Cheng and Zhang Mei Yu merely watched coldly.
As Tang Ye was about to get up, Tang Xiao Min forcefully kicked him away, sending him flying into the wall before he stopped.
"Second Brother!" Tang Yi Yi cried out in shock.
Tang Xiao Min then delivered another fierce slap to Tang Yi Yi's face.
Unlike Tang Ye, Tang Yi Yi was merely an adopted daughter. She still had to rely on the Tang family.
Even after being hit, she dared not defy her parents' wishes, let alone stand up.
Tang Xiao Min said coldly, "Tang Yi Yi, tell Tang Ye who you want to marry in this life, so you can break Tang Ye's delusion. Hurry and speak!"
Tang Ye must still be in the dark about Tang Yi Yi, which was why he was so infatuated with her.
Tang Yi Yi glared fiercely at Tang Xiao Min, hesitating for just a moment.
*Slap!*
Tang Xiao Min delivered another slap, mercilessly striking Tang Yi Yi’s face.
In a flash, Tang Yi Yi’s lips, like Tang Ye’s, began to bleed.
Tang Xiao Min looked down at her with a cold gaze and said indifferently,
"Tang Yi Yi, you are the Tang family's adopted daughter. If because of you, the Tang family is criticized with rumors of incest between siblings, then to preserve the Tang family's reputation and Tang Ye's name, you will have to be driven out of the house."
"Do you want to tell Tang Ye who you like and break his infatuated delusion? It's all up to you."
"Didn't you just keep saying you didn't seduce Tang Ye? Then tell him who you like and who you want to marry!"