The Epoch of Miyu

Xu Miyu hid beneath the cover of the heavy rain, allowing tears to stream from her eyes and mingle with the raindrops as they ravaged her face.

She looked up at Ji Feng and asked him, "But I don’t know how to be strong. No one has ever taught me what to do. They are my family. Is it wrong to want their attention and approval? Is that something to be hated?"

Ji Feng lifted his gaze to her, the corner of his mouth quirking upward into a smile—one tinged with speechless mockery.

"So what? To gain their attention and approval, you’ll keep complying with their unreasonable demands without principles or dignity? Is that what you call seeking approval? You’re just asking for suffering. Do you think you’re making a noble sacrifice? In reality, you’re only degrading yourself!"

Xu Miyu was left dizzy and disoriented by this barrage of words.

The truth was always so hard to hear. Yet only such blunt truths could jolt someone awake.

"But they’re my family..." Xu Miyu instinctively murmured again.

This ingrained thought was deeply rooted in her mind. Because they were her parents, her family, bound by blood, she always felt tied to them and held onto hope. No matter how excessive their demands, she always felt helpless.

"Is a family as rotten as this worth clinging to? Why not cut ties decisively? Still hoping to receive affection from them? Can’t you wake up from this dream? If you keep being this confused, you’ll never have a good life. If you can’t see things clearly, don’t complain about how miserable your life is—no matter how hard it gets, you deserve to endure it."

Xu Miyu stood frozen in place, shaken by Ji Feng’s relentless questioning.

She had never considered this possibility—cutting ties with her family. She had grown up in that household, and though she harbored grievances and resentment toward everything that happened, she had come to accept this state of affairs as normal.

Nie Yucheng had once used the term, saying she was being emotionally manipulated by her family. At the time, she hadn’t fully understood what it meant.

Now, she seemed to grasp it a little. For so long, under her parents’ ingrained brainwashing, she had accepted their unfair treatment without resistance.

"But how do I cut ties? No one has ever taught me. How do I do it?" In the sound of the rain, Xu Miyu’s questions were weak and lost.

"Is it that difficult? Can’t you refuse unreasonable demands? Can’t you sever connections with parasitic family members? Not every demand should be met, and not every family member is worth cherishing. Family who betray you and fail in their responsibilities—why do you care about them?" As he spoke, Ji Feng thought of Ji Shengming, the man who had betrayed his family and failed in his duties as a husband and father.

Such so-called family weren’t worth caring about. Living well without them was the greatest mockery of them.

In an instant, he thought of his mother. Frowning, he continued, "Placing your hopes in people who don’t deserve them, living for such rotten hopes—it’s nothing but self-disrespect! If you don’t love yourself, how can you expect anyone else to genuinely love and cherish you?"

Ji Feng’s cold voice, filled with inexplicable anger, echoed through the wind and rain, each word striking Xu Miyu’s eardrums. "If you can’t let go of the burdens dragging you down, you’ll never be able to live a proper life or be your own person."Xu Miyu stood frozen in the rain, pinned by those words. No one had ever spoken to her with such gravity before; the words seemed to strike her very soul, jolting her awake from her dazed state.

After standing in a daze for a long moment, she noticed Ji Feng turning to leave.

She hurriedly stopped him.

Tilting her head up in the rain to look at him, she pleaded urgently, "Mr. Ji, please wait! The 200,000 yuan you gave me earlier... that card was taken by my mother. I tried many times to get it back, but I couldn't because the card wasn't registered under my name. So, could you... could you please just transfer the 200,000 from the card yourself? Consider it as me repaying you."

This debt of 200,000 had always been a heavy burden on her conscience.

To her surprise, Ji Feng seemed taken aback by her request. He hadn't expected her to stop him just to bring up this matter.

He frowned. "I've said before that once I give money, I don't take it back. Later, I'll have my assistant report the card lost and issue a new one for you."

After saying this, Ji Feng waved to Xue Rui, who was waiting outside the teahouse. Xue Rui held two umbrellas printed with the teahouse's logo.

As he approached, Xue Rui said, "Boss, the staff searched for a long time but only found these two umbrellas."

While speaking, he opened both umbrellas.

Ji Feng stepped out from under the eaves. Xue Rui quickly held one umbrella over Ji Feng's head while using the other for himself, following closely behind.

But Ji Feng paused and, without turning around, instructed Xue Rui, "Give her the umbrella." With that, he strode directly into the rain. Droplets splashed onto his hair and shoulders, quickly soaking him. He paid no mind to the downpour, walking with long, swift strides—his tall, handsome figure cutting through the rain as if trampling some hidden anger underfoot.

Xue Rui was momentarily stunned. Turning, he saw Xu Miyu, drenched and shivering in the heavy rain.

Obediently, he hurriedly handed one umbrella to Xu Miyu, then rushed to catch up with Ji Feng. In just a few steps, he reached him and selflessly held his own umbrella over Ji Feng's head.

Ji Feng, however, waved it away.

"I'm already wet—what's the point of an umbrella now? Occasionally, getting caught in the rain can clear your mind and wash away misplaced sympathy. Isn't that a good thing?"

Xue Rui trailed behind Ji Feng, bewildered by his sudden sarcasm.

Abruptly, Ji Feng halted and spun around, standing in the rain with a fierce expression as he demanded of Xue Rui:

"Am I condescending?"

Xue Rui's pupils contracted: "..."

"Do I always mock, despise, and look down on others?"

Xue Rui's pupils tightened further: "..."

"Do I lack empathy?"

Xue Rui's pupils trembled violently: "..."

Xue Rui wished he could faint on the spot to avoid answering these questions that didn't need answers—

The answers were, of course, all "yes"!

Seeing Xue Rui's hesitant expression, Ji Feng's face grew even fiercer. "Fine, shut up! Don't say a word!" He could already tell the answers from Xue Rui's reaction.

He turned back and continued marching through the rain, striding ahead while muttering angrily, "How absurd."

Xue Rui wiped the sweat from his forehead, inwardly praising Xu Miyu for daring to speak the truth about Ji Feng.

He was utterly impressed by her boldness in confronting Ji Feng directly. How could she be so brave? That was the great demon king, Ji Feng, after all!...Damn impressive.

Xu Miyu remained standing there in a daze. Clutching the umbrella Ji Feng had instructed Xue Rui to leave for her, she stood frozen for a long time, pondering those brutally honest words from Ji Feng.

His words carried a mix of contempt and mockery—pitying her misfortune while despising her lack of resilience.

Yet in the midst of the pouring rain, that contempt and mockery struck her with an unprecedented, enlightening clarity.

Ji Feng had awakened her to a possibility she had never considered before—perhaps she truly needed to make a ruthless break from her parents.

The heavy rain seemed to cleanse Xu Miyu.

She began reflecting on her relationship with her parents in a way she never had before.

Ji Feng’s words echoed in her ears—harsh yet profoundly awakening truths.

After having her hopes crushed and her self-esteem shattered by those words, Xu Miyu finally began to sober up and face the cruel reality.

She finally acknowledged that her efforts to please her parents and endlessly fulfill their demands had never earned her genuine affirmation or care. In her mother’s eyes, she was merely a tool for withdrawing money. When she had money, her mother would take it from her and occasionally reward her with praise and a smile. Xu Miyu had mistaken these for belated affection, clinging to them obsessively, unwilling to let go.

But when she had no money, her mother never seemed to care about or understand her struggles, only attempting to squeeze even more money out of her.

It turned out others were right—she was so starved for love that even the slightest affirmation could make her abandon her principles and unconditionally comply with others’ demands.

Admitting her need for love turned out to be so easy. Admitting that she would never receive genuine care from her parents, and no longer deceiving herself—believing that if she were just more obedient or more useful, her parents would eventually love her—wasn’t that difficult after all. It just hurt a little more, felt a little more hopeless, and made her past years seem both laughable and wasted.

After allowing these emotions to pour out unrestrained, what emerged was a version of herself reborn from the brink of despair.

Xu Miyu cried all night. When she woke up the next morning, she calmly told herself: From today onward, she would truly live for herself.

She would no longer compromise herself or try to please others in pursuit of self-deceiving parental affection. She would no longer unconditionally yield to her mother’s greedy and unreasonable demands, nor would she degrade herself by desperately trying to win anyone’s praise.

From this moment on, she would strive to live with dignity.

In the past, craving her family’s attention had been like a belief to her. Now, she would completely break free from that belief. She knew it would take determination and courage to shatter it—the collapse of that belief might bring confusion, but it would also bring bravery.

She patiently reminded herself: If a harmful belief collapses, then she would build a new, positive one in its place. That way, she wouldn’t feel lost, directionless, or hollow with sorrow.

Her new belief—she found it on her way to work, lifting her head to the golden morning sun—was to commit herself wholeheartedly to her work. From now on, she would strive to make something of herself through her efforts at work.Gradually, she realized this new conviction was far better than her previous desire for family attention. Because this was a belief that could bring her tangible returns—a hopeful conviction. As long as she worked hard, this belief rewarded her with visible, measurable professional achievements.

Unlike before, when the more she craved her family's attention and validation, the more she received were vampiric demands and dissatisfaction. She thought this must be the difference between good and bad convictions.

One gives people hope, while the other drags them into a quagmire.

She felt grateful for the opportunity to soberly abandon the harmful conviction, no longer clinging to the desperate hope of gaining attention and validation from her dysfunctional family. She wanted to thank Ji Feng for his harsh awakening, giving her the courage to bid farewell to the old, detrimental beliefs.

A few days later, Xue Rui arranged to meet Xu Miyu again at the lobby café. He handed her a new bank card, explaining, "The previous card has been reported lost. The two hundred thousand yuan has been transferred to this new card. Please keep it safe, Ms. Xu."

This time, Xu Miyu firmly declined.

Xue Rui looked troubled. "Ms. Xu, if you don't accept it, you'll put me in a difficult position."

Xu Miyu smiled faintly. "But keeping it would put me in a difficult position too. If President Ji really has too much money, he can donate it. There's no need to give it to me."

Seeing her resolute stance and confirming she wouldn't accept the card, Xue Rui asked, "Shall I really donate the money as you suggested?"

Xu Miyu nodded and specified a cause: "If possible, please donate it to support girls in rural areas who need help. Many girls in the countryside face situations like mine—families favoring sons over daughters, denying them education or even medical care. I hope they can receive support to grow up healthy and complete their education."

Reflecting on it now, those two hundred thousand yuan felt almost mystical. It had been the final straw crushing her in familial relationships—for that money, Jiao Xiumei had disregarded her well-being, greedily trying to seize it, and when trouble arose, abandoned her to bear false accusations of theft alone.

Yet, those two hundred thousand also became the catalyst for her rebirth after she made the decision to sever ties with her toxic family. Through everything surrounding that money, she lost all hope in Jiao Xiumei and resolved never again to seek validation or self-worth from that quagmire of a family.

To her now, those two hundred thousand carried value and significance far beyond their monetary amount. She hoped it could offer other girls in similar circumstances the same chance for renewal.

She hoped its worth would extend far beyond just two hundred thousand.

Xue Rui looked at Xu Miyu, shaking his head with a sigh—whether in regret or admiration was unclear. But in the end, he gave her a friendly smile.

After resolving to sever ties with Jiao Xiumei, Xu Miyu blocked all her contact methods completely.

But even without answering calls or messages, Jiao Xiumei proved resourceful—she found the front desk number of Siwei Hotel and contacted Xu Miyu through the reception.

The first time, Xu Miyu didn't know the call forwarded by the front desk was from Jiao Xiumei. She rushed down to answer, only to be met with a torrent of curses from Jiao Xiumei.Jiao Xiumei called her an ungrateful wretch, a bastard child, said she was born for nothing, worse than pigs or dogs for not even answering her own mother’s calls. She also pressured her to prepare another 200,000 yuan, or else she would be a black-hearted, evil-minded wretch trying to cut off the Xu family line.

Listening to these curses, Xu Miyu felt both heartbroken and numb. Would any parent who truly loved their child speak to them like this? So she should have seen it long ago—she wasn’t a daughter; she was just a tool, brainwashed by her parents in a son-preferring family to become a sibling supporter. Not just her—her two older sisters were the same.

She laughed bitterly to herself for not realizing this truth sooner. But she was also relieved that this time, she hadn’t fallen for her mother’s emotional manipulation again. Enduring the torrent of abuse, she held her ground and refused to compromise. Firmly, she told Jiao Xiumei, “I have no money, and I won’t be able to scrape together even a single cent for you in the future. Whether the Xu family line continues or not has nothing to do with me anymore. Don’t come looking for me from now on, because it’s useless. You’ve never treated your daughters as your own children, and from today onward, I no longer need parents like you. Let’s each live our own lives from now on.”

With that, she hung up the phone.

When Jiao Xiumei called the front desk again, Xu Miyu asked the girls there to help by saying she wasn’t available.

One of the front desk girls, Lu Xiaoyan, was close friends with Ke Wenxue, and they were known as the gossip sisters.

The fact that Xu Miyu’s son-preferring mother repeatedly called the hotel front desk, demanding that Xu Miyu answer the phone and provide money to support her brother, quickly spread from Lu Xiaoyan to Ke Wenxue, and from Ke Wenxue, it spread throughout the entire floor.

But this time, no one laughed at or ostracized Xu Miyu. They sympathized with her and even offered her various suggestions, encouraging her to stand firm against her son-preferring family of origin.

“Mi Yu, honestly, you should have cut ties with a family like that long ago! Son-preferring families are experts at emotionally manipulating girls, raising them to be timid and lacking confidence, so they remain obedient sibling supporters their whole lives, letting their brothers leech off them indefinitely!”

“That’s right, Mi Yu. A family like that really isn’t worth holding onto. Girls from such families are easily deceived by men because they’ve lacked love since childhood. If someone shows them even a little kindness or says a few sweet words, they’ll feel compelled to devote themselves heart and soul! The sooner you break free from such a family, the sooner you’ll find relief.”

“Mi Yu, we truly understand you now—why you’re so happy to hear words of affirmation. It’s because of the lack of love you experienced growing up. And we used to take advantage of that to tease and mock you. Looking back, what we did wasn’t right. Don’t worry, this time we’ve got your back. If your mother causes trouble for you again, we’ll stand up for you!”

Listening to these words of comfort and advice, Xu Miyu felt a warmth in her heart like never before.

So this is what it feels like to be genuinely cared for.

As her colleagues had predicted, Jiao Xiumei soon showed up at the hotel in person to cause trouble.

Furious that Xu Miyu had not only ignored her calls but also declared they should go their separate ways, she stormed into the hotel and began shouting and making a scene without any regard for others.Jiao Xiumei was wailing and carrying on in the hotel lobby, shouting at the top of her lungs about her ungrateful children. She slapped her thighs and pounded her chest, grabbing anyone in a hotel uniform to demand, "Your employees are heartless ingrates! Are you going to do something about it? Your staff won’t support their parents—shouldn’t you, as the hotel, uphold justice for an elderly person like me?"

Those she grabbed were startled by her outburst and scrambled to get away.

When Jiao Xiumei couldn’t find any more hotel staff, she turned to the guests, clutching their suits and sobbing, "Don’t stay at this hotel—it’s outrageous! The employees here are unfilial, ungrateful wretches who won’t support their own mother! The hotel won’t stand up for me either—this place is a den of crooks! Leave now, don’t stay here!"

The lobby manager was urgently summoned by the front desk staff to put a stop to Jiao Xiumei’s commotion. But he clearly underestimated her combativeness. With her alone, she had thrown the entire lobby into chaos.

Gradually, people coming and going in the hotel began to gather and watch the spectacle. Some watched with relish, while others looked on with disdain.

The lobby manager tried to coax Jiao Xiumei politely, suggesting they move to the office to discuss whatever she wanted to say in peace. But she wouldn’t budge.

Left with no choice, he called the lobby security, hoping to escort her out to avoid disturbing other guests and to prevent the farce from tarnishing the hotel’s reputation.

But as soon as the security guard reached out to pull her up, Jiao Xiumei plopped down on the floor and warned the manager and guard, "If any of you lay another hand on me, I’ll lie right here! I’ve got a heart condition, I’ll have you know—if you stress me to death, you’ll be in deep trouble!"

The lobby manager and security were at a loss. The manager even warned Jiao Xiumei, "If you keep causing trouble like this, we’ll have to call the police!"

Most people would quiet down at such a threat. But Jiao Xiumei wasn’t most people—she had the thick skin and fierce determination to handle the situation.

"Call them! Hurry up and call! Anyone who threatens but doesn’t follow through is a coward! It’s perfect if the police come—let them judge whether forcing an elderly person to lie on the ground is something decent people would do!"

Jiao Xiumei was truly relentless, and the lobby manager felt even a hundred mouths wouldn’t be enough to argue with her. Suppressing his temper, he asked gently, "Ma’am, since you came in, you’ve been saying your child is unfilial and that they work here at the hotel. But when we ask who it is, you refuse to say. How are we supposed to help resolve this?"

Seeing that the other side was helpless and had softened, Jiao Xiumei raised an eyebrow smugly. "Of course I can’t rush to say who it is. What good would that do? At most, you’d just call them over and leave me to deal with it myself. I had to stir things up first, get all these people coming and going to pay attention. That way, you’ll have no choice but to step in!"

The lobby manager was stunned by Jiao Xiumei’s seemingly logical yet utterly unreasonable explanation. He tentatively asked, "So... how exactly do you want us to help you?"Jiao Xiumei was sitting on the floor, originally in a tantrum-throwing posture. Upon hearing this, she immediately became somewhat leisurely, even raising her hand to pat the wrinkles on her pants. She raised her voice and said, "It's very simple! You have to stand up for me and deposit my child's salary directly into my bank account instead of transferring it to her. If it goes to her, she won't support her old mother—I won't get a single cent!"

The lobby manager was once again astonished by Jiao Xiumei's unreasonable behavior. To have her daughter's salary deposited directly into her own account, she was making such a scene at the hotel. Wasn't she afraid the hotel might fire her daughter because of this?

Suppressing these thoughts, he tried to draw information from Jiao Xiumei: "Alright, ma'am, we now understand your request. Could you tell us which department your child works in and what her name is?"

Jiao Xiumei felt she had stirred up enough trouble and applied sufficient pressure, so she finally revealed Xu Miyu's name. "She's the one who manages room cleaning on your hotel's executive level!"

The front office manager immediately contacted the housekeeping department via walkie-talkie, hoping to summon the person involved while also sending down someone from housekeeping who could handle the situation.

Without someone of authority to control the situation, this farce in the lobby would be difficult to resolve.

Soon the housekeeping employee named Xu Miyu arrived. Judging by her uniform, she was actually a supervisor. It was surprising that the mother of a five-star hotel supervisor could be so unrefined.

Upon receiving the notification, Xu Miyu immediately rushed to the front hall. The situation was urgent—the front office manager had told her not to worry about whether it was an employee elevator, to take whatever elevator she could catch, and get down to the lobby as quickly as possible. Every second she delayed meant more embarrassment for the hotel.

Xu Miyu hurried to the elevator bank. All elevators were following Murphy's Law—the more she needed them, the less available they were, no matter how long she waited.

Coincidentally, someone had activated the VIP elevator on the executive level. Without considering other options, Xu Miyu apologized to the VIP guest while requesting permission to ride down with him once the elevator arrived, explaining that there was an urgent matter in the lobby requiring her immediate attention.

Fortunately, the guest was reasonable and nodded in agreement.

The VIP elevator soon arrived at the executive level. When the doors opened, Xu Miyu looked up and froze in surprise.

Ji Feng had an unexpected meeting to attend back at the group headquarters. He asked Xue Rui to notify the driver to bring the car to the hotel's main entrance in fifteen minutes.

But Jiao Xiumei had regained her composure and was struggling fiercely. Clearly, she hadn't achieved her goal yet—she needed to subject her ungrateful daughter to more public judgment, completely crush the defiance that had emerged from somewhere, severely suppress the rebellious thoughts that someone must have encouraged, and make her deeply recognize her own mistakes so she would never dare oppose or go against her mother again.

As the two of them remained deadlocked in their standoff, hurried footsteps approached. The sharp sound of leather soles striking the marble floor grew closer.

Then came a sharp rebuke: "What's all this commotion? When will it end? What kind of spectacle is this?"