As Ye Yongxian hadn't reacted, Ye Zhi swiftly snatched the broom and handed it to Ye Yuzhe beside her.
"Go put the broom away."
"Sure thing!" Ye Yuzhe immediately agreed and quickly took the broom to the storage room.
"Xiao Zhi, how can you indulge him like that?" Ye Yongxian said displeasedly.
"Dad, I don't even understand what's going on," Ye Zhi said, thrusting the cake into his arms. "Weren't we supposed to celebrate Yuzhe's belated birthday? Why are you two arguing?"
Ye Yongxian looked at the cake in his arms and could only carry it to the table.
"It's all because that brat deliberately provoked me!" Ye Yongxian said, annoyed. "He was fine at first. I told him to study hard and get a good education, and he agreed quite readily. Then I asked him what he wanted to do in the future, and he actually said he wanted to be a lawyer!"
"Isn't being a lawyer a good thing?" Ye Zhi pulled out a chair and sat down.
"A lawyer is good, but he wants to be a lawyer who provides legal aid! He even said he wants to help people reclaim their wages!" Ye Yongxian said indignantly.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ye Zhi realized. It seemed the hardships of the past month had helped Ye Yuzhe find his ideal, his own path.
"Good? What's good about it!" Ye Yongxian said, unhappy. "Lawyers who provide legal aid don't earn much money! And he spends money so lavishly, it's questionable whether he can even support himself!"
"It doesn't matter, we have money at home. I can support him for the rest of his life," Ye Zhi said calmly.
Ye Yuzhe, who had just put away the broom, froze on the spot.
Ye Yongxian said worriedly, "But this job can easily offend people..."
"Even if he offends someone, can't I help him sort it out?" Ye Zhi leaned back in her chair and said calmly.
Ye Yongxian opened his mouth, unwillingly saying, "Xiao Zhi, you're spoiling him too much. Haven't you heard what he said just now..."
"He's still a child, his thinking is still immature, and it's inevitable that he sees things from a one-sided perspective. You don't think he figured everything out in just a month on the construction site, do you? Give him time, let him learn slowly, and he'll understand more things."
"Xiao Zhi," Ye Yongxian said, somewhat helplessly, "Look at you. He lost the bet, but it looks like he won?"
"Dad, this is a win-win situation," Ye Zhi said with a smile. "Didn't we send him to the construction site so he could study properly and not be led astray by idle people? He's already developed a sense of responsibility now, do you still need to worry about him in the future?"
Ye Yongxian thought about it, and it did seem so.
Ye Yongxian turned to look at Ye Yuzhe. Seeing the incredibly determined look on his dark and handsome face, he asked with a stern expression, "Have you decided?"
"Decided!" Ye Yuzhe replied crisply.
"Alright! As long as you're willing to study hard, you can do whatever you want!" Ye Yongxian waved his hand and exhaled.
The family sat together for a meal. Liu Lingyu, concerned for her son, asked a lot about his time at the construction site, and the atmosphere at the table gradually became more lively.
After dinner, Ye Zhi called Ye Yuzhe to the second-floor balcony.
Basking in the pleasant evening breeze, she opened a bottle of milk and handed it to him, asking somewhat unexpectedly, "Yuzhe, is something bothering you? Are you in a bad mood?"
"Sis..." Ye Yuzhe looked a bit embarrassed and gave a wry smile. "You could tell?"
"Yes, otherwise you wouldn't have said such immature things directly to Dad. Tell me, what happened?" Ye Zhi opened another carton of milk and took a sip.
Ye Yuzhe hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Today... I received a distress call from Second Sister."
Ye Zhi's eyelids twitched.
"Second Sister said that Ou Minghan's sister fell down the stairs. Ou Minghan mistakenly thought Second Sister pushed her, so he pushed Second Sister down the stairs too. Second Sister, she... she miscarried..."
Ye Zhi: ...
The dead plot points are attacking me!
However, Ye Zhi was a bit surprised. She had actually read this part before. It was truly a cliché from a melodramatic abusive novel. Had they really reached this point?
"What happened next?" Ye Zhi asked.
"I wanted to save her, but I'm just a high school student. I know my abilities are limited and I can't save her. So, I called Brother Gu Feng, hoping he could help... Oh, right, Gu Feng is Second Sister's classmate. They have a very good relationship. Mom and Dad always thought they would end up together..."
Ye Zhi's expression became distant. She knew this person, the deeply devoted second male lead!
He had a secret crush on Ye Qinya. When he wanted to confess, Ou Minghan intercepted him! After that, he continued his silent devotion. Unfortunately, as soon as Ou Minghan saw him, he would feel that Ye Qinya was flirting with Gu Feng to cuckold him. Then, there would be domestic violence and make-up sex.
"Brother Gu Feng called the police. The police had already arrived, but Second Sister suddenly changed her story and said she fell down herself! Even more infuriating, Ou Minghan immediately produced a video of Brother Gu Feng visiting the Ou residence earlier, saying that Brother Gu Feng stole something from their house. Now Brother Gu Feng has been arrested..." Ye Yuzhe looked at Ye Zhi and said guiltily, "Sis, can you get Brother Gu Feng out? I asked him to help save Second Sister, and I don't want to harm him."
Ye Zhi nodded. "Okay, I'll find someone to bail him out."
"Big Sister, I don't understand," Ye Yuzhe said with a wry smile. "Didn't Second Sister ask me to save her? Why did she change her mind?"
Ye Zhi pondered for a moment. "Because for her, the way you're trying to save her would affect her relationship. She wants you to save her, but she doesn't want Ou Minghan arrested."
"Is love really that important to her? Why would she rather suffer than leave?" Ye Yuzhe asked indignantly.
"Because for her, the sunk cost is too high," Ye Zhi said lightly. "She has already abandoned her family for love. If she leaves now, she'll have nothing left. If she stays, she might still get the outcome she wants."
Ye Yuzhe fell silent, and said with some disappointment, "Big Sister, did I do something wrong?"
Ye Zhi's brows furrowed slightly. She asked calmly, "Yuzhe, if you saw a strange woman being domestically abused today, would you help her?"
"Of course, I would!" Ye Yuzhe said without hesitation.
"Then what if that woman had made mistakes, and wasn't a perfect victim?" Ye Zhi continued to ask.
"I would still save her!" Ye Yuzhe replied.
"Very good," Ye Zhi nodded slightly. "You're willing to save a stranger, and even more so your own sister who you grew up with? Yuzhe, whether she wants to be saved is her choice, but your choice to save her is for the justice in your heart, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I only ask one thing of you: no matter who you want to save, you must ensure your own safety first. Don't drown yourself while trying to save someone from drowning."