Bengtie, I'm really not a villain!

Chapter Thirty: Silent Parents

Although Jingye has started to make unwanted physical advances towards Aistar in front of the cameras, it hasn't reached the most terrifying level yet.

This is just a small appetizer; the real show is yet to come.

As Jingye gently stroked and teased Estella's macaron, Estella's parents on the other end of the communicator shouted angrily once again.

Feeling Estella's delicious trembling, Jingye posed his first question:

"First question, at what age did Estelle begin to love the stars?"

As soon as the question was raised, the noise on the other end of the communicator instantly quieted down.

It was utterly silent.

For Jing Ye, this was simply a very basic question.

After all, although his relationship with Estelle has broken down, they are still childhood sweethearts and "good friends" who have been together since kindergarten.

What was an incredibly simple answer to Jingye, an outsider, must have been even easier for Aistar's parents.

Normally, any parent who cares about their child and is willing to spend time with them will know when their child's interests and hobbies started to develop.

After all, a child's interests and hobbies are closely related to the upbringing by their parents.

However, what made Jing Ye chuckle was that the noise on the other end of the communicator had fallen into a deathly silence ever since the question was asked.

Estella's parents, who were just angrily accusing Jing Ye, and Lü Nu, who was pursuing Estella, all seemed to have become mute.

This unique question immediately puzzled everyone, prompting them to give each other strange looks.

"Isn't this kidnapping? Why aren't they asking for your credit card PIN?"

"Why ask such trivial questions? Is it the answer to Estella's secret code?"

"I don't understand. Why not just interrogate Estella directly? Why specifically ask Estella's parents?"

The communicator carried the discussion of many distinguished guests from the Interstellar Peace Corporation. It was clear that none of them knew that Jing Ye had gone to such lengths to kidnap Estella and even broadcast the conversation live, so why were they asking such questions...

A trivial matter.

To everyone else, Estádio is a walking gold mine... but even that might not be enough to describe her; she should be described as a giant celestial body that can produce an infinite number of precious gems.

After all, she is the daughter of the Interstellar Peace Company, and the daughter of a cosmic-level company must represent unlimited wealth.

Whether it's a trade secret, a demand for money, or at the very least, a golden hoe, right?

However, what kind of nonsensical answers did Jing Ye give to his questions?

Not to mention the many distinguished guests of the Interstellar Peace Company, even Estella's parents obviously did not expect this question and were stunned for a moment.

All the distinguished guests gathered at the Interstellar Peace Company held their breath and stared intently at Estella's parents.

Of course, the many guests from the Interstellar Peace Corporation couldn't possibly know the answer to this question; only Estelle's parents could provide it.

As for Lü Nu... although it seems there's some intention to arrange a marriage, he's still just an outsider and has no right to answer questions so closely related to Está.

For Estelle's parents, who have been praised for their "good parenting" for many years, people often lauded Estelle's excellent character and poise, and raved about her beauty and talent.

Therefore, everyone believed that since Estella's parents had raised her to be so excellent, they should naturally know Estella very well.

Everyone was waiting for their answer, after all, it concerned Estella's dignity and the face of Estella's parents.

However, at such a crucial moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, Esther's parents remained silent.

While the many VIPs on the other end of the communicator, and even Estella's parents, remained silent, only Estella, who was being manipulated by Jingye, suddenly trembled all over!

Although Jingye was fiddling with macarons the whole time, Aistar didn't seem to have any intolerance to them.

Compared to the truly pampered heiress, Daheita, she is more energetic and can handle more activities.

Compared to the big black tower who cries at the slightest touch, Estella, though just a naive girl, is more persistent and determined.

Jingye had already deeply understood this point when he confided in Está.

The real reason for Estella's trembling was also the question raised by Jingye.

Like many of the "VIPs" of Interstellar Peace Company, Estádio thought Jing Ye's questions would be about money, such as trade secrets or credit card passwords.

The image of Jing Ye that she held in her heart—a warm, kind, and gentle one—was shattered when she was tied up and publicly humiliated in this way.

But in that instant, a flame rekindled within Estella's trembling heart.

Could it be that the warm sun has returned?

At what age did Estelle begin her love for the starry sky and her pursuit of the vast universe?

This is a question that others may not know, but for Estádio, it is undoubtedly the simplest question.

Although the answer to this question is a bit old, Estelle, as an explorer who loves stars, can certainly remember that initial thrill clearly.

That romantic opportunity that made Estelle willing to spend her whole life exploring the stars, the day she truly fell in love with astronomy.

Estelle still can't forget it.

The same goes for Jingye, Estella's best friend who has been by her side since childhood.

As Estella recalled the day she first fell in love with the stars, she also felt the warmth of Jingye's large hand as she trembled.

Just now, because of fear and despair, Estella had completely forgotten that Jingye's large hand was always so warm and ardent.

Although it's not appropriate to say these things while being live-streamed handling macarons in front of everyone...

However, Estella had a vague suspicion in her heart:

Could it be that Jing Ye's purpose in kidnapping her wasn't money at all, but rather...?

Rather, it was to make her parents truly realize what their daughter wanted.

Could it be that everything Jing Ye did was for her?

Estella still couldn't fathom the thoughts hidden beneath Jingye's mask, just as she couldn't see that Jingye was brewing a plan to kidnap her while posing as the warm sun.

However, the warmth emanating from Jing Ye's palm was just as intense as when they had confided in each other earlier.

It all penetrated her chest and reached deep into her heart, leaving a warm feeling...

Jingye's hand kept moving, causing Estella's faint feelings of gratitude to turn into shame and indignation.

In this crucial situation involving Estella's chastity and their own pride, Estella's parents remained silent for a long time under the gaze of many.

Finally, he slowly offered an answer that no one expected—

"Estella...you like stars after all?"

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On this Lunar New Year's Eve, I present the story of Estelle, wishing everyone a happy new year and a joyous family reunion.

We also remind everyone to be vigilant against scams during the Chinese New Year period.

And spend more time connecting with family.

Chapter Thirty-One: For the Sake of Face

Seeing that Jingye had been fiddling with Estella's macarons ever since he asked the question, Estella's parents knew they couldn't delay any longer.

However, this tricky question was completely outside of Estella's parents' knowledge. If they were to ask what classes they had enrolled Estella in or what talents they had cultivated in her, Estella's parents could answer.

After all, Estella's parents often boasted about her talents, using them as fodder for their boasts about their "good parenting," and using Estella's music and dance performances, whether she liked them or not, as a source of pride.

However, Esther's parents wouldn't care about such a trivial topic as "stars," let alone pay attention to it.

Therefore, the answer given is that ridiculous and ironic question.

Many of the VIPs from the Interstellar Peace Corporation had assumed that Estella's parents, having remained silent for so long, would at least have given the correct answer after some recollection, even if they hadn't reacted immediately.

But to everyone's surprise, Estelle's parents asked in a puzzled tone:

"Estella, you like stars?"

Now, not only Estella, but also many of the VIPs gathered at the Interstellar Peace Company stared wide-eyed!

This confused tone indicates that Esther's parents had no idea the answer to the question!

This undoubtedly means that Estella's parents had no idea what Estella liked or disliked, and had never even cared about her!

The many VIPs of Interstellar Peace Company reacted to this answer in various ways, from initial surprise and wide-eyed stares to either ridicule or watching the spectacle unfold.

Or they could express understanding for Estella's parents, saying that as the heads of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, they are busy with business and it is normal that they do not remember such trivial matters.

Or they echoed their criticism of Estádio, scolding this immature girl for causing trouble for her parents despite having such a good family background, and for getting involved with this so-called "star."

Among the many reactions, not a single person cared about the real answer to the question, and no one cared about Estádio's story with the stars.

Everyone was just echoing Estelle's parents, treating her, this ignorant and kidnapped princess, as the source of all the trouble.

Estelle herself fell into a deep silence.

She knew perfectly well what kind of people her parents were.

Estelle knew perfectly well that her parents couldn't possibly know the answer to this question, even though it was an incredibly simple one.

But just now she had actually hoped that her parents would show even a little bit of concern, that they would care about her, and that they would give her the right answer.

Estelle bit her pink lips tightly, and despite her parents showing no concern for her whatsoever, she couldn't shed a single tear.

Because she had known all along, for the past ten years or so, that she was simply ignored.

Her parents only knew how to force her to perform many talents that she didn't like, imposing so-called "highbrow" dances, operas, and musical instruments on Estella, making her learn things she didn't like at all.

Estelle knew she was nothing more than a canary in her parents' cage, a prop used to show off to important guests and dignitaries.

The man standing next to her parents, Lü Nu, might be her last remaining value, or perhaps the man she would be forced into an arranged marriage with.

Even though Estella's parents had a bad argument with her, which led to Estella crying and seeking comfort from Jingye, it was all because of the topic of stars!

At that moment, when Estella's parents' answer wasn't exactly wrong, but rather that they completely failed to answer the question—

Jing Ye couldn't help but let out a soft hum!

"Hehehe...Hehehe hahahahaha!!"

Delicious! A delicacy!

Estella's heartbroken expression, chilled to the bone, revealed in front of everyone that she was completely uncared for by her parents!

There's also the scene where Estella's parents pretend to care but don't care at all about their daughter's shameful behavior being exposed!

This is the so-called "harmonious family" of rich kids, the ugly truth revealed after their glamorous facade is exposed!

Everyone gathered at the Interstellar Peace Company witnessed just how estranged Estelle was from her parents, and understood just how pathetic their so-called self-satisfied "rich girl" really was!

Estelle's parents, however, seem unaware of their own actions.

When Jingye saw Estella's parents on the other end of the communicator, they were furious. They smashed a wine glass next to them with their fists, as if they wanted to rush out and tear him apart, and questioned him about why he was laughing!

They clearly didn't even understand the question, yet they weren't ashamed at all for not being able to answer it, and they hadn't even realized their indifference towards Estelle.

Even at this moment, what Estella's parents cared about was that Jingye's question exposed their ugly side and made them lose face!

"Estella! Stop fooling around and tell me the correct answer!"

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Aren't you ashamed? Your parents are ashamed!"

Estelle's father roared in fury, his deafening curses coming through the communicator.

However, this time Estella's body did not tremble, nor did it react in the slightest.

Because she understood that she was used to this behavior of angrily rebuking her in order to save face.

This time, however, Estella had neither the energy nor the mood, nor the room to cooperate with her father in playing the role of a good girl.

Because Estella was being imprisoned by Jingye, and her mouth was sealed shut, she couldn't answer at all.

Even at this point, Estelle's father still didn't pay attention to his daughter's situation and was still preoccupied with saving face.

To this, Jing Ye could only smile with delight, his movements as he played with the Estella macarons became even more unrestrained.

"As parents, you have absolutely no idea what your child likes, no idea what she likes or dislikes as a living, breathing person."

"Even so, you still boast about how precious and talented your daughter is, and have people praise your excellent parenting skills!"

"How ridiculous! How ironic!"