In the afternoon, Cen Ya arrived at the construction site of Taoxun Technology Park.
After she got out of the car, a worker approached and led her to see Ye Zhi.
As she walked on the path of the construction site, watching the swirling dust and hearing the occasional sounds of high-altitude operations, her face was filled with disgust.
She covered her nose with her hand, looking disdainfully at the worker leading her, her brows furrowed tightly. His sweat odor was truly unpleasant.
Soon, the worker led Cen Ya to Ye Zhi.
At this moment, Ye Zhi's hair was already tied up, and she wore a plain hard hat. Her protective clothing didn't look new either; it was speckled with cement, as if it had been worn by someone else and she had directly put it on.
Cen Ya felt both disgusted and confused, instinctively taking two steps back.
Ye Zhi noticed her movement, but her heart remained unmoved.
"Why are you looking for me?" Ye Zhi asked indifferently.
"I..." Cen Ya suppressed the revulsion in her heart and said with great grievance, "I hope you can let Ming Han go, and let the Cen family go. Ye Zhi, we won't fight you anymore. Can our two families just mind their own business from now on?"
Ye Zhi looked at her with a half-smile, "So, you are very clear that it was you who deliberately picked a fight with me before?"
Cen Ya's face stiffened. The next moment, her eyes welled up with tears, "Ye Zhi, it's okay if you want to humiliate me today. As long as you can be merciful and spare us a way to live, we will never bother you again."
"Who gave you the illusion that you could bother me?" Ye Zhi looked at her mockingly, "Cen Ya, if you came today just to say these pointless things, then you've wasted your money. You can go back, and you're welcome to visit again next time."
Unexpectedly, Ye Zhi asked her to leave so quickly, Cen Ya's face turned pale. She couldn't leave like this; she couldn't disappoint Ou Ming Han.
The next moment, as if she had made up her mind, she kicked away the small stones at her feet with the tip of her shoe. Then, her legs went weak, and she knelt down directly.
She spoke with a sense of tragic resolve, "Ye Zhi, I beg you! Whatever hatred you have, direct it at me. Please spare Ming Han, and spare my family..."
Ye Zhi: ...
t
"Cen Ya, if you are willing to do this for Ou Ming Han, do you think Ou Ming Han loves you?" Ye Zhi asked coldly.
"Of course he loves me, he is the one who loves me most in this world!" Cen Ya said eagerly, as if trying to prove something.
"You kneel so proficiently, you must have knelt quite a few times before, haven't you?" Ye Zhi said with a half-smile. "When he imprisoned you before, did he stop when you knelt down and begged him not to hit you?"
This question directly hit Cen Ya's most unwilling memory. Her face turned ashen, and she instantly recalled Ou Ming Han's almost frenzied face and the look in his eyes as if he were going to beat her to death.
"That, that's because there was a misunderstanding between us... His, his anger wasn't directed at me! He loves me, he just wouldn't admit it back then! We've finally seen the dawn after hardship, Ye Zhi, don't even think about driving a wedge between us!" Cen Ya shrieked, unsure if she was trying to convince Ye Zhi or herself.
Ye Zhi let out a scoff, "Whatever you say. However, even Ou Ming Han, who loves you deeply but refuses to admit it, wouldn't stop for your kneeling. Why do you think I would love you more than Ou Ming Han?"
Cen Ya stammered in anger, "You..."
"Stop with the 'you' and 'me'," Ye Zhi said coldly. "Instead of kneeling to me, you should kneel to your brother and beg him to save your beloved. What? Don't tell me you also know your kneeling is worthless, and even your brother wouldn't agree? How about this, I'll take a picture of you now and send it to your brother to see his reaction."
Cen Ya was both ashamed and angry. She must have been humiliated by Ye Zhi when she came to see her, but she never expected Ye Zhi to trample on her dignity so wantonly!
She had already knelt before Ye Zhi, yet Ye Zhi still mocked her like this, mocking that her dignity was worthless?
Seeing that Ye Zhi was indeed about to take out her phone to take pictures, Cen Ya stood up in anger, shouting almost maniacally, "Ye Zhi, you're just jealous of me and deliberately targeting me!"
Ye Zhi looked at Cen Ya mockingly, as if she had heard the funniest joke, "What is there about you for me to be jealous of?"
Cen Ya was stunned. She suddenly realized how weak her statement was.
Yes, what could Ye Zhi be jealous of her for? Her status? Position? Wealth?
Even though she was reluctant to admit it, outside of Country K, no one took her identity as a duke's daughter seriously. But Ye Zhi, important figures from any country were willing to give her face.
No, Ye Zhi was just jealous of her!
"You're jealous that I married well and have a husband who loves me deeply!" Cen Ya said hatefully. "What's the use of you being rich and capable? Aren't you still single? You're still all alone, and no man wants you! You don't even have a man chasing you!"
Ye Zhi: ...
There were so many flaws in this statement that Ye Zhi almost burst into laughter. She looked at Cen Ya with almost pity, as if she were looking at a different species from herself.
"So what?" Ye Zhi said lightly. "I don't need a man to 'want' me to prove my own worth. I am who I am, the CEO of Taoxun, and everyone calls me CEO Ye when they see me. They remember me as a person, but what about you?"
Cen Ya was rendered speechless, and in her fury, she blurted out, "You'll never get married anyway, and no one truly loves you!"
"You got married, but are you sure Ou Ming Han loves you, and not the identity of the duke's daughter? Are you sure that if you lost the support of the Cen family, he would still be as obedient to you as he is now?" Ye Zhi looked at her with sharp eyes.
Cen Ya stumbled back two steps. Ye Zhi's words struck at the thing she was most unwilling to face.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered this question, but she dared not think about it.
"No, that's not it..." Cen Ya clawed at her hair in a frenzy. "When he got back together with me after I returned to the country, he didn't know my identity..."
"Pfft~" Ye Zhi burst into laughter without restraint.