In the village, a child's sharp, piercing cries echoed in the sky, drawing the neighbors’ heated discussion and indignation.

"My God, what's going on with the couple of the Ruan family? This child is merely three years old, how could they beat her like this, with no signs of compassion?"

"Do you just find out? XiXi is not their biological daughter. Three years ago, they picked her up from a place unknown. After bringing XiXi, her mother got pregnant and gave birth to a son. Naturally, they even less tolerate XiXi."

"It's so pitiful!"

...

Their hearts twisted at the child's pitiful cries and they couldn't bear it anymore; so, they decided to walk straight to the Ruan house, hoping to reason with them.

Just at this moment, several black, shining cars arrived suddenly at the entrance of Ruan's house. Their glamorous appearance startled the villagers.

Before long, a man and a woman disembarked from the car, followed by a group of bodyguards.

The woman was dressed in a cheongsam, graceful and gentle. Her beautiful face was filled with worry, her eyes were slightly red, and tears were on the brink of falling. It was indeed a pitiful sight.

The man in his forties was wearing a suit, commanding and imposing, with deep eyes and a high nose; he clearly was not an ordinary person.

"Is this the place? I seem to have heard a child crying."

Lin Ziyan's eyes started to well up as she spoke.

Three years ago, her newly born daughter was taken away from the hospital. She had been searching desperately for three years and had recently received accurate information, so she rushed over immediately.

Ruan Chongyu squeezed the woman's hand quietly, comforting her.

The couple walked quickly towards Ruan's house, their bodyguards trailing behind them. The villagers were struck silent, not daring to make a sound, but they couldn't help but express their astonishment: "Was that woman just now the movie queen, Lin Ziyan?"

"It sure looks like it to me!"

"Me too!"

On the other side, Lin Ziyang just hurriedly stepped into the courtyard when suddenly, a small figure came running towards her like a whipcrack, and she was caught in a warm embrace.

Lin Ziyang quickly lowered her head and saw the tiny figure in her arms. The small hands and feet protruding from the clothes were skinny and fragile, covered in bruises and sores. The clothes were ragged and the little face had lost so much weight that it appeared almost distorted, making the foggy eyes look all the more prominent.

Despite this, Lin Ziyang could still see a resemblance between the small figure and herself in the innocent facial features.

It felt as if her heart was being brutally ripped out, forcing tears to drop from her eyes in a flood she couldn’t put a stop to.

"My baby, my precious baby."

Ruan Xixi was in great pain, her entire body ached, and the high fever blurred her consciousness. Her big eyes were fogged, she barely saw into whose arms she had plunged. All she could sense was the comforting warmth and soft scent of the person holding her, making her reluctant to let go.

A peaceful smile flashed on her face before she fainted.

Seeing her long-lost precious daughter faint, Lin Ziyang panicked. As soon as her hands touched the child's face, the flaming heat made her jump.

"Husband, our baby has a fever, a very high fever."

Ruan Chongyu felt a chill down his spine, without a word, he immediately picked up Ruan Xixi. As he felt the small weight in his arms, the veins in his temples throbbed violently. His fury was relentless, like a beast provoked to its extremes.

Ruan Chunsheng and his wife were cursing noisily as they emerged from their doorstep, "You little brat, you dare to run away? See if I won't beat you to death!"

Ruan Chunsheng, looking fierce and outrageous, had a broom in his hand, obviously used to beat Ruan Xixi.

Seeing the situation at the door, Ruan Chunsheng paused, then opened his mouth, revealing yellowed teeth and a face full of savage muscles. He roared angrily, "Who are you two? What are you doing holding my girl who only brings a loss to the family? Put her down right now!"

"A loss maker?!"

Veins throbbed across Ruan Chongyu's forehead with these three words. To think that his little princess, the darling of the Ruan Group, was being slandered as a loss maker! Was there nobody left of the Ruan family?

The man outright stared at him with blood-red eyes, making even Ruan Chongyu feel somewhat fearful.

He swallowed subconsciously, but then remembered that this was his home, he had no reason to be afraid. Just as he braced himself to confront the man again, before he could even finish speaking, he was suddenly kicked away by Ruan Chongyu, who was holding his child.

The force was so strong that it threw Ruan Chongyu several meters away. He fell on the ground, crying in pain, "Murder, murder!"

After yelling, the immense pain forced him to curl up. He widened his eyes, looking incredulously at the man, not too far away.

He was looking down at him, the chilling coldness in his eyes made him shudder.

Ruan Chongyu's wife was startled to paralysis by this scene. When she came to her senses, she charged at the two like a madwoman, ready to fight. "Son of a bitch, how dare this brute turn against us in our own house!"

But even before Ruan Chongyu had to gesture, the towering bodyguard behind him immediately stepped forward, grabbing the woman and swiftly striking her knee, making her kneel right before the two.

The sharp sound of her knee hitting the floor was loud and clear. The woman wailed out loud, driven to madness, "Who the hell are you?"

Lin Ziyao, facing the crazed woman, her gentle face filled with hatred, "We are the real parents of the baby, how dare you treat her like this? She is only three years old."

"What?"

The woman's face changed dramatically, her voice shrieking, "Impossible, that loss maker was abandoned. Nobody wanted her."

Hearing a nobody wanted her, Lin Ziyao felt a pain in her heart.

She had always been known for her elegance, she was even once the national goddess, with a soft temper. However, today, for her child's sake, she slapped the woman across the face. The strike was so powerful that it brought blood to the corner of the woman's mouth.

"Shut your mouth, she is not unwanted. She is our beloved daughter, the apple of our eye," after saying this, Lin Ziyan decided to ignore her. Even though he detested her, their daughter was the most important at the moment. There was always time for revenge.

Ruan Chongyu instructed his assistant before leading his wife and daughter back to the car, heading straight home.

Left behind, the Ruan couple were plunged into fear and unease. They could never have imagined that the baby girl they picked up three years ago was of such importance.

If they had known, they would have nourished her kindly from the start. Now that her biological parents had come knocking at their door, wasn't this good fortune falling from the sky?

However, it was too late for regrets now. All they could do was watch helplessly as the massive bodyguards dragged them away as if they were dead dogs. The couple were so frightened that their legs trembled, shouting for help to the villagers who were watching the commotion outside.

Meanwhile, the villagers hid at their doorsteps, gossiping that this was retribution.

...