Chapter 24: The Shen Family

“Oh no! Third Brother, please don’t tell Mom!” Shen Yingying exclaimed dramatically. “You know I’m terrified of her!”

Shen Jiacai’s gaze landed on her face. She was clearly saying she was scared, but why did her over-the-top reaction make him so uncomfortable?

Still, remembering why he had come today, he didn’t want to waste time arguing. He waved his hand impatiently. “Since you know, then hurry up!”

Shen Yingying raised an eyebrow. “Alright, if Third Brother wants water, your little sister will pour it for you.”

With that, she stood up and walked to the next room.

A moment later, she returned, one hand holding a thermos, the other carrying a large porcelain bowl.

“Would’ve been easier if you’d just brought it earlier. Had to go and ask for trouble…” Shen Jiacai grumbled when he saw her return. He shot her a glare and reached out to take the bowl, but when he saw its size, he started complaining again.

“Are you stupid? Why bring such a big—OW!”

Before he could finish, Shen Yingying tilted her hand.

The large bowl slipped from her fingers, and steaming hot water splashed directly onto Shen Jiacai’s hand.

With a blood-curdling scream, he yanked his scalded hand between his legs and jumped up.

Chen Qingqing, watching from the side, was scared stiff. She clutched her crutch and scrambled to the corner of the room in panic.

If she remembered correctly, the water in Shen Yingying’s thermos had been freshly boiled that afternoon.

Getting burned by water that hot—his skin would probably peel right off!

Shen Yingying quickly took a few steps back. “Third Brother, my hand slipped. So sorry!”

Shen Jiacai bared his teeth in pain. “Shen Yingying, I’ll f*cking kill you!”

Clutching the thermos to her chest, Shen Yingying put on a panicked expression. But despite looking terrified, she still managed to correct him:

“Sorry, Third Brother! But my mother is your mother too—you can’t say that. It’s unethical.”

Shen Jiacai was in so much pain he nearly fainted from rage.

Was she an idiot? Couldn’t she tell he was just cursing in frustration? Did she actually think he meant it literally?

As the pain subsided slightly, he shoved his scalded hand under his armpit and furiously cursed,

“Shen Yingying, you’ve got some nerve today! You did that on purpose, didn’t you? First, you scalded me, now you’re talking back!”

While cursing, he swung his uninjured hand and charged at her. “Watch me beat you to death!”

“Aah! I’m so scared!”

Shen Yingying let out an exaggerated scream and bolted outside.

Just as Shen Jiacai rushed after her, she suddenly swung the thermos in his direction as if about to splash him with water.

Having just been burned once, Shen Jiacai was completely spooked. Seeing her motion, he immediately dodged to the side and roared, “Shen Yingying, are you insane?!”

Shen Yingying stopped in her tracks, widened her eyes, and tilted the thermos toward him, showing him the sealed spout.

She blinked innocently. “Third Brother, I was just scaring you. The stopper’s still in place.”

don’t come any closer. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself.”

Shen Jiacai: “???”

Hearing such words from someone who looked so harmless was even more infuriating than an outright threat.

He was boiling with rage, itching to beat her up, but he didn’t dare move while she was holding the thermos of hot water.

With no other choice, he once again played his trump card—Pan Yun. Gritting his teeth, he threatened, “Shen Yingying, if Mom finds out about this, you’re dead! She’ll beat you to death! Put down the thermos now, and I won’t tell her what happened.”

“No way. I’m afraid you’ll hit me,” Shen Yingying said, still clutching the thermos. “Besides, Third Brother, this isn’t entirely my fault. You were the one who wanted water, so I poured it for you. If you had been a little more diligent, you wouldn’t have been burned.”

She looked completely innocent, as if she were the one being wronged.

Shen Jiacai was so furious he nearly burst into tears.

He had never met someone so shameless. He was the one who got burned—what was she acting aggrieved for?!

“It’s a scorching hot day! Who drinks boiling water?! Shen Yingying, do you have a screw loose?!”

He gave up on arguing with her and just put his hands on his hips, glaring at her. “Cut the crap! Put down the thermos right now. I’ll just slap you once, and we’ll let this go!”

Shen Yingying answered firmly, “Not happening!”

Shen Jiacai clenched his teeth. What the hell was going on? He hadn’t seen her for a while, and now she was completely disobedient?

Before, if he said this, she would have obediently offered up her face.

She needed to be taught a lesson.

Under normal circumstances, he would have beaten her until she cried for their mother.

But then he remembered the real reason he came today, and he forced himself to hold back.

Taking a deep breath, he softened his tone. “Forget it. You’re my sister, so I’ll let you off this time.”

“I didn’t come here to pick a fight, anyway. We got your letter.”

“Mom was afraid you’d do something stupid, so she sent me to check on you. Good thing you didn’t act recklessly!”

“There are a lot of scammers out there. That guy is definitely a con artist. There’s no way he’s a factory director. Do you think a real factory director hasn’t seen plenty of women?”

“Why would he be interested in a countryside girl like you? If you ran off with him, you’d lose your golden ticket—the landlord’s brat. By the time you realized it, it’d be too late to cry!”

At first, Shen Yingying didn’t understand what letter he was talking about.

But then she recalled the original host’s memories and remembered that before she tried to elope, she had written a letter to her family.

In it, she had said that she had found a better man and was going to S City to live a good life with him.

She had instructed them to pretend they didn’t know anything and wait a while before coming to find her.

That way, when they couldn’t find her, they could pin the blame on Xie Fangzhu, accusing him of making a respectable girl disappear.

Given Xie Fangzhu’s personality, he would probably hand over money to make the problem go away, allowing the Shen family to squeeze some profit out of the situation.

The letter also mentioned the 500 yuan she had scammed from Xie Fangzhu, saying that once she got to S City, she would send the money back to help Shen Jiacai pay for his wedding.

Shen Yingying figured that besides checking whether she had run away, Shen Jiacai was probably here for that 500 yuan.

Sure enough, as soon as she had that thought, Shen Jiacai brought it up.

“By the way, little sister, in your letter, you said you already got the 500 yuan from Xie Fangzhu. That’s a lot of money, and it’s not safe for you to hold onto it. If you lose it, it’d be a disaster, and I won’t be able to get married. Give it to me. I’ll handle the rest of the bride price. You just need to get me a TV voucher, and you won’t have to worry about anything else.”

Shen Yingying thought, And what does your marriage have to do with me?

But she didn’t say that out loud. Instead, she looked troubled and said, “But Xie Fangzhu already took the money back. If you want it, you’ll have to ask him for it