Han Ruochen didn't do anything to provoke her mother, but just the sudden ultimatum that Han Yichen passed down was enough to make Meng Yunhan glare at Han Ruochen as if she had done her some great personal wrong. By the time the entire family sat down to enjoy the braised pork that the auntie had cooked, Meng Yunhan was practically shooting laser beams with her eyes.
Han Ruochen had eaten enough at her grandmother's house, but after getting her ear almost torn off, she didn't want Meng Yunhan and Han Ziyan to have an easy time. She picked up the fatty and lean meat pieces that she liked and piled them in the bowl of her father, her brother and herself, only leaving the poorest pieces in the bowl.
Once she finished piling, she started to eat as if she were in a hurry to reincarnate, and when Han Beijiang saw her eating so fast, he too started to eat like he was in a hurry.
Meng Yunhan was already angry enough. When she saw that the meat in the dish had almost been wiped clean, she was so angry that she threw the chopsticks at Han Ruochen. "Alright, alright, alright. You are happy to see me suffer, right? Look at her; she is eating so well after making the two of us fight. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that by making us fight, she gets a better appetite." Meng Yunhan gave an angry stare and cursed even harder.
Han Ruochen was no longer the Han Ruochen of the previous life, who would always turn her other cheek around if she was slapped on one. When she saw that something was wrong with her mother's gaze, she hurriedly gobbled up her food in her bowl and mumbled to Han Yichen, "Dad, I have finished all my food. I need to wake up early because I need to take a look at the special schools where children like Beijiang can study."
Then, without waiting for anyone to speak, Han Ruochen picked her brother up and went back to her room. She didn't dare to let Han Beijiang sleep alone. She hadn't clearly provoked Meng Yunhan, but the latter was fiercer than her. If she allowed Han Beijiang to sleep alone, that cruel woman might take her anger out on her brother after seeing how much Han Ruochen cared for her brother.
Having known Han Ziyan for so long, Han Ruochen was very much aware of the virtues of the mother-and-daughter pair. In her past life, whenever something went wrong, Han Ziyan would cause trouble for her. She would even provoke her children, those white-eyed wolves, to beat her up.
So, how could she not understand her mother, who had raised Han Ziyan to become something so selfish?
Han Ruochen also knew that there was no point in fighting with her mother. She would not only lose the argument, but also cause an ugly scene, and that would only make her father displeased.
Having gone through another lifetime, Han Ruochen had already found a way to make things work in her favour.
The reason why Han Ziyan was able to please Meng Yunhan and make Han Yichen think that she was a good daughter and knew her position was that all she knew was to put up a 'sensible' front before their father. In the past, clearly, she was the one who ruined her life by joining hands with Yang Jianming but when she married into the Yang family, she put up an act of resistance as if she was not willing to marry in the Yang family but she was doing it because her elder sister had ruined all good deeds of the Han ancestors and she was only making up for Han Ruochen's mistake.
This stance of hers not only won her father's heart but even the entire village, while Han Ruochen turned into a despicable woman who couldn't keep her legs closed and slept with the crazy brother of her husband.
Being sensible? That was something that she could do as well.
The more her mother acted in this way, the more her father would know about the injustice that Han Ruochen had to suffer. There was no need for her to defend herself; she just needed to walk away silently, and certainly, this would make her father ache for her. She, the biological daughter and the true heiress of his assets, couldn't eat a simple meal and yet Han Ziyan, an adopted daughter, was living a good life. How could her father accept that?
After being taken advantage of by Meng Yunhan and Han Ziyan for an entire lifetime, Han Ruochen knew this: even if they were one family and they were the closest of the kin, she had to learn how to play some mind games. Well, anyway, they were the ones who started it; she was just going to end it.
An eye for an eye. It was just that simple.
Han Ruochen didn't want to live like she had in her past life—with no dignity and pride. She didn't even have any sense of self-worth.
Upon reflection, she realised that it was because she did too much for this family and didn't say much. She was silent and suppressed whatever she was feeling in her heart.
On the contrary, she now realised that if she was not going to say anything, then there was no need for her to do anything either. Live like she were not Meng Yunhan's daughter.
Seeing that their daughter was already used to Meng Yunhan's attitude and she had no warmth in her eyes even when she was smiling, Han Yichen's heart turned cold. His expression turned serious as he looked at his wife. "Who are you throwing your chopsticks at? Do you think that you are the head of this house? Raise your voice at anyone you like? Who are you trying to scare, huh?"