The rest of their day was rather uneventful. The pair had just gone on a shopping spree at the local plaza and ate again after. It seemed Liu Haoyu loved keeping her fed.

Zhao Yingyue had been wanting to buy some regular comfy clothes and, since she was moving out soon, now was the time. Her family wouldn't be able to control what she wore and when. She couldn't help but count down the days. Liu Haoyu had indulged her and brought her everything she wanted, along with a few new gaming accessories.

He had been shocked to find out how outdated her mouse, headset, and keyboard were. He'd learned that because her parents didn't know what she used it for, she was never able to find a good enough reason for them to upgrade those parts as the years progressed.

In addition to all this, he also brought her a gaming laptop that she could take on the go with her from now on. No more accidentally getting caught at the occasional sneak out to a gaming cafe.

Now, Liu Haoyu had just pulled up to the front of Zhao Yingyue's house. He made sure to bring her back just as the sun was setting, so as to not seem disrespectful to her parents. Once they married, he'd do a lot less to hide his disdain.

He winked at her before saying, "I'll see you tomorrow, fiancée."

Zhao Yingyue smiled and replied, "Later!"

She then happily strolled to the front door of the house. She'd completely forgotten what happened earlier and was now in a blissful state with her purchases.

The only unfortunate thing was that she had to leave all those things with Liu Haoyu until she could find a way to sneak them in. Still, it was nice to know that she finally had things that she actually wanted rather than what the world had expected her to want.

However, the second she walked through the door, her mood was shattered. Standing at the door were her mother and Gu Yan. And there was no question about it, they were angry.

In the matter of seconds, Gu Yanya's hand flew across Zhao Yingyue's face—flinging her head the other way, just how Gu Yan had been slapped earlier.

"How dare you force your father into such a situation where he would have to hit his own niece! Do you have a death wish?"

Yet, it seemed, hitting her own daughter wasn't as grave a sin as her husband hitting his non-blood-related niece who disrespected his blood daughter. There was no logic but their never was to Zhao Yingyue's mother's anger.

Gu Yan then took this opportunity to slap Zhao Yingyue across her other cheek.

Zhao Yingyue felt foolish. She had previously thought that this would stop now that she had Liu Haoyu backing her.

In truth, this was the ugly background of her family. Due to Gu Yan having been born first and pretty much being raised by Gu Yanya, her mother seemed to treat Gu Yan as more of a daughter than Zhao Yingyue herself! Even now, the duo abuse her as if she's offended them and their elders.

When her father was gone and no one was there to watch, this was what happened when she got on the bad side of her mother. When her father got back, her mom would tell the same old lie that she'd gotten sick and couldn't leave her room. And she'd stay there until the noticeable bruises faded and the pain no longer kept her bedridden.

At one point, she thought that her dad truly fell for her mom's tricks, but she eventually came to the conclusion that he chose to remain in blissful ignorance. To him, keeping his wife happy was more important than many things, including the well-being of his own daughter.

The very few times he'd get angry with her mother is when her actions affected his business—like earlier.

Of course, that just led to this situation where her mother chose that she was the perfect tool to take her anger out on.

Gu Yan was still furious from earlier and her cheek was still hurt. She wanted to make Zhao Yingyue suffer even more as a result.

"Auntie, my cheek still hurts, and I don't think my cousin has learned her lesson yet. Wouldn't it be wrong of us to not properly make sure she's taught a lesson?"

Gu Yanya simply nodded.

"It's alright dear. Now that she's home and doesn't have Liu Haoyu to hide behind anymore. What can she do now?"

Thinking of Liu Haoyu, Gu Yan had a new surge of anger rise inside of her, and she kneed Zhao Yingyue in the stomach.

Zhao Yingyue grunted in pain and doubled over. She couldn't give them the pleasure of seeing her cry, or they'd win.

Gu Yan was almost completely satisfied now. She pushed Zhao Yingyue to the floor and stomped on her waist for good measure. Only then did she stop and smile.

"I feel much better, Auntie. I think that cousin has learned a very valuable lesson. Seeing as she's soon to be married, she's learned how to share blame with her husband."

It wasn't until the duo walked off that Zhao Yingyue slowly picked herself up from the floor—clutching her side that Gu Yan had stepped on. She slowly trudged her way up to her room with tears starting to cloud her vision.

It hurt. Every single time it hurt. She'd wished over time that it would hurt less and less, but all she could do was endure until she was alone.

By the time she got to her room, tears were streaming down her face and all she could do was collapse on her bed.

As she was drifting in and out of consciousness, she heard her door open.

Gu Yan stalked in and grabbed Zhao Yingyue's phone. She didn't want her cousin complaining to her fiancé now. Her cheek stung extra as she remembered the result of the last time she got on the man's bad side.

Gu Yan hadn't even left the room before Zhao Yingyue had completely passed out. But unbeknownst to Gu Yan, Liu Haoyu would be coming the next day and the night was not enough time for Zhao Yingyue to heal.