After Being Locked Away for Three Years, the Real Daughter Made the Whole Family Cry After Her Release - Chapter 3:

Chapter 3: Get Lost, You’re Not Welcome in the Zhou Family

Zhou Qingyan dragged Wen Ning straight to a secluded terrace.

“Why did you come back?” Zhou Qingyan lowered his voice, fuming with anger. “It’s Yaya’s birthday, and you show up dressed like this? Were you trying to embarrass us on purpose? Hah! A waitress! If I hadn’t dragged you away, the Zhou family would’ve lost all face because of you!”

Wen Ning rubbed her reddened wrist and looked at her second brother with a cold, distant gaze.

“Young Master Zhou brought me back. I didn’t come back on my own.”

Zhou Qingyan paused for a moment, then snapped in frustration, “Why would Big Brother make such a decision on his own?”

He then looked her over from head to toe, his expression full of disdain.

“So what if he brought you back? Trash should stay hidden. What are you doing at the banquet? Trying to steal Yaya’s spotlight? Get out right now! The Zhou family doesn’t welcome you!”

Looking at the twisted face that bore some resemblance to hers, Wen Ning’s thoughts drifted to four years ago.

Back then, when she had just been brought back, everyone pitied her—except Zhou Qingyan. He was the only one in the Zhou family who never welcomed her.

From the first day she stepped into the house, he met her with hostility. At first, Wen Ning was unsettled by his attitude and tried hard to please him.

But the more she tried to please him, the more cruelly Zhou Qingyan treated her.

She used her first month’s allowance to buy a small gift for each family member. When she gave Zhou Qingyan his, he refused to accept it. During the struggle, he accidentally pushed her down the stairs.

“You think acting like a lapdog will make me accept you? Let me tell you! My only sister is Zhou Yaya! You’re just… just…”

But he never finished that sentence. Under the criticism of the others, Zhou Qingyan shouted through red eyes, “Get lost! The Zhou family doesn’t want you!”

Then he ran off without looking back.

Wen Ning never understood.

Later, Zhou Qingci explained that the year she was abducted at age three, it was because Zhou Qingyan had insisted on taking her to the amusement park. After they played and got sweaty, he gave her his woolen hat embroidered with “boy” to wear.

The police speculated that the kidnapper didn’t have the manpower to take both children, and because Wen Ning was mistaken for a boy—boys being more valuable in trafficking—she was taken instead.

Zhou Qingci told Wen Ning to be understanding toward Zhou Qingyan. After the incident, Zhou Qingyan had nightmares for days and woke up crying every night. Their mother was devastated and showed him nothing but coldness. Things only improved after their father adopted Zhou Yaya.

Wen Ning never understood why she, the one who was hurt, had to be the one to be understanding.

Still, for the sake of family harmony, even with a fractured bone, she kept trying to get along with Zhou Qingyan—only to be scolded and humiliated again and again.

But this time, Wen Ning no longer wanted to be understanding.

She raised her head and asked, “Zhou Qingyan, is your heart black?”

Zhou Qingyan froze. Meeting the calm, unwavering eyes of the girl, he felt an unfamiliar panic and shouted angrily, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

“You’re the reason I was abducted,” Wen Ning said, staring at him.

Zhou Qingyan opened his mouth, but it was as if an invisible hand was strangling his throat. No sound came out.

“I was sold to a mountain village. I was too young, so they made me a child bride. I had no school, had to work from dawn every day, and if I didn’t do well, I was beaten. They said once I started menstruating, I could start having children.”

“I prayed every day. Begged that it wouldn’t come. That it wouldn’t come.”

“Later, the police arrived and rescued all the trafficked women from the village. Because I was so young when I was taken, I had no memory of my family, so they placed me in an orphanage.”

“Zhou Qingyan, have you ever been to an orphanage? Do you know what it’s like? At ten years old, I had to do chores, take care of younger kids, and still study. At school, orphans are the easiest targets for bullying.”

“And all of this started because of you…”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Zhou Qingyan seemed to be pricked by an invisible needle. He jumped up and lunged to cover her mouth.

“You owe me so much—so why do you still act so righteous and cruel?” Wen Ning pried his hand away, her voice rising with every word. “Zhou Qingyan, my brother, just how black is your heart?”

“Go die! Just die already!”

Those long-buried truths stabbed through every ounce of his denial like sharp arrows.

Zhou Qingyan’s eyes turned red with fury. He gripped Wen Ning’s neck and slammed her against the railing of the terrace.

Her waist bent back painfully, and behind her was a steep slope covered in rose bushes.

She felt as if she were falling… or drowning.

The air was being squeezed out of her throat, bit by bit.

“Stop it!”

Someone rushed in and stopped Zhou Qingyan.

Wen Ning straightened up suddenly, gasping for breath. The tears caused by the suffocation blurred her vision.

Before she could see clearly who it was—

A choked voice cried out, “Ning’er, my daughter.”

The words had barely landed before a woman ran to her side, stretched out her arms, and tightly embraced her.

All Wen Ning could smell was the woman’s high-end perfume. But perhaps because she had gotten used to the scent of disinfectant over the last three years, she felt nauseous.

She instinctively stepped back and broke free from the embrace. “Madam Zhou.”

Lin Wanyi froze, clearly hurt. Tears streamed down her face. “What… did you just call me?”

Three years ago, when the Zhou family sent her to the sanitarium, they made it clear that she was no longer their daughter.

Wen Ning, having learned her lesson, kept her distance from the Zhou family and didn’t think her form of address was wrong.

But that one defiant phrase enraged Zhou Qingyan. He shook off Zhou Qingci’s hand and pointed at her, furious.

“Wen Ning! Because of you, Mom couldn’t show her face outside all these years. She cried herself to sleep and couldn’t eat a thing. And now that you’re back, you’re acting all stuck-up and arrogant? Do you even know what filial piety is?!”

What did they mean by filial piety?

Boiling water every night to soak Lin Wanyi’s feet, massaging her pressure points, staying up late to sew herbal sachets to help her sleep…

Cooking all kinds of nourishing food and herbal teas every day to improve her health…

Even learning veterinary knowledge just because Lin Wanyi liked her pet dogs…

Did those count as filial?

Maybe not in the Zhou family’s eyes.

The pain still lingered on her throat, and Wen Ning didn’t have the strength to argue. “Fine. If you say I’m not, then I’m not. Cough.”

Lin Wanyi turned to scold, “Qingyan, your sister just got back. What are you saying that for?”

“I didn’t even use any strength! Mom, don’t let her fool you.” Zhou Qingyan sneered and threatened, “Wen Ning, try acting pitiful again.”

Wen Ning raised her head, ignoring the pain, and pointed at the bloody marks on her neck. “How am I pretending?”

Her pale skin made the red finger marks even more vivid and jarring—so red they looked like they would start bleeding any second.

Lin Wanyi gasped. She reached out, wanting to touch Wen Ning’s wound, then drew back in fear of hurting her. Turning around, she slapped Zhou Qingyan on the shoulder. “You still want to argue? Look what you did to your sister!”

Zhou Qingci, equally furious, kicked him hard. “You used that much force on Ning’er?”

Zhou Qingyan’s fingers trembled. He hadn’t expected the mark to be so bad. He opened his mouth and said weakly, “She provoked me first. And why did she have to come back today of all days—on Yaya’s birthday? Who knows if she’s still scheming to be a homewrecker?”

Lin Wanyi wanted to argue but then remembered what Wen Ning had done three years ago. Her brows furrowed, and she didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Qingci glanced at Wen Ning with suspicion, then chose not to speak for her. Instead, he said, “I brought her back so she could apologize to Yaya in front of everyone. It’s almost time. Wen Ning, go outside and apologize.”