Chapter 18

Strange Things Happen Every Year, This Year Especially

Two pairs of lips pressed together.

Two pairs of eyes showed simultaneous terror.

“Ahhhh… Li Chengye, I’m going to kill you!” Shen Zhou pushed him away and even punched him.

Li Chengye grimaced in pain, climbed up, and said pitifully, “I didn’t mean to! My pants were too long, and I accidentally stepped on them and fell.”

Shen Zhou gritted his teeth and said, “You’d better hope that’s true.”

Li Chengye rubbed the spot where he got hit and pouted, “I like women.”

Shen Zhou snapped back, “Who cares whether you like men or women?”

He just felt dirty.

This little episode lightened the atmosphere considerably.

Li Chengye brought someone out. “Grandma, how do you want to deal with him?”

Xu Jiajia looked at Li Chengye. “This is a family matter. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to stay here?”

Thick-skinned, Li Chengye replied, “The Xu family is like my second family. Everyone here is my family. If something happens, of course I have to stay.”

Xu Jiajia: “…”

His skin is thicker than a city wall!

Despite the complaint, she didn’t chase him away.

Grandma He saw Wang Bo and was so angry she wanted to kill him.

She rushed over and slapped him. “When you married Taohua, what promises did you make to us back then?”

Now that things had reached this point, Wang Bo no longer hid his original intentions for marrying He Taohua. “It’s just words; I can say whatever I want. What does it matter to you?

Why did I marry her?

It’s because she’s timid and introverted.

If she were even a bit braver, I wouldn’t have pursued her.”

Grandma He, enraged, pounced on him, hitting and scratching. “You beast! You beast! The daughter I carried for ten months and gave birth to wasn’t meant for you to trample on! I’ll kill you, you beast!”

Wang Bo’s face was left with several scratches.

Beads of blood rolled down his face.

It was a rather ghastly sight.

Second Uncle He, who had a fiery temper, heard this and kicked Wang Bo in the chest. “You bastard! Today I’ll show you just how hard my fists are!”

Bang bang bang…

Second Uncle He’s punches rained down on Wang Bo like a storm. Wang Bo let out heart-wrenching screams. “Ahhh…”

Xu Jiajia, afraid Second Uncle He might lose control and beat Wang Bo to death, was about to intervene when Guagua’s voice suddenly rang out.

[Host, your aunt’s husband’s drama isn’t over yet. Oh my, he’s quite something! Since his own equipment doesn’t work, he had his older brother sleep with your aunt instead. Those two kids your aunt had are actually his brother’s.]

Grandma Xu: “…”

Strange things happen every year, but this year there are especially many.

Xu Jianguo: “…”

With a system to spill all sorts of secrets, what a blessing!

Shen Yuebai: “…”

Xu Jiajia: “…”

What a genius!

What was he even thinking?!

Xu Jiajia was still pondering how to break this news when she heard Grandma Xu say, “Jiajia, step out for a bit.”

Xu Jiajia didn’t quite understand but nodded and left.

As soon as she was gone, Grandma Xu turned to Wang Bo and asked, “That thing of yours is so small, it probably doesn’t work, does it? Tell me, how exactly did those two kids come about?”

He Taohua abruptly looked at Grandma Xu. “Mother-in-law, what… what are you implying?”

Grandma Xu’s face darkened. “I suspect those two kids aren’t his.”

At these words, Wang Bo’s pupils shrank, and he began to struggle violently. “You old hag! Don’t talk nonsense; those are my kids!”

Old Madam Xu turned to He Taohua and asked, “When you were doing that, was there anything strange about it?”

He Taohua, being shy, blushed instantly. She stammered for a long time without managing to say a word.

Grandma He, anxious, urged her, “Hurry up and speak! This isn’t the time to be embarrassed.”

Encouraged by everyone’s gaze, He Taohua finally revealed the awkward truth. “When we were… doing that, he covered my eyes and never said a word. I don’t even know if it was him.”

Shen Zhou, still a child, couldn’t listen any further. Embarrassed, he blushed and left the room.

Xu Jiajia immediately approached him. “What were they saying inside?”

With a slightly flushed face, Shen Zhou avoided looking at Xu Jiajia and stammered, “N-nothing much.”

Xu Jiajia raised an eyebrow. “Nothing much? Then why is your face so red?”

Inside the house:

Second Uncle He kicked Wang Bo hard. “You beast! You’re not fit to be human!”

Li Chengye followed with a punch to Wang Bo. “I thought that scumbag Song Ran was bad enough, but you’re even worse! You’re a disgrace to men!”

Then he added furiously, “Having a small ding-dong isn’t your fault, but letting your brother sleep with your woman is your fault!”

Wang Bo let out another scream of pain.

Grandma He grabbed Wang Bo by the collar, her voice trembling with rage and grief. “Whose child is it?”

Seeing her distressed, Wang Bo smirked cruelly. “Hahaha… Want to know? I won’t tell you!”

Li Chengye clicked his tongue. “What a scumbag!”

Old Madam Xu stared at Wang Bo and said slowly, “The child belongs to your brother.”

Wang Bo’s smug smile froze instantly. His face turned pale as he looked at her in shock. “H-how do you know?”

From everyone’s reaction, it was clear that Old Madam Xu had guessed correctly.

Grandma He fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, Big Uncle He caught her in time; otherwise, she would have hit the ground.

He Taohua panicked and cried out, “Mother, Mother, what’s wrong? You can’t leave us!”

Xu Jiajia, who had been pacing in the courtyard and keeping an eye on the situation, heard the commotion and rushed inside. “What happened? What’s going on?”

Shen Yuebai leaned close to Xu Jiajia and whispered, “The two kids Aunt Taohua had… both belong to her brother-in-law.”

Xu Jiajia, who already suspected this, replied, “That beast confessed?”

Shen Yuebai shook his head. “No, Grandma guessed it.”

Xu Jiajia, holding a high opinion of Old Madam Xu, who had fought in the war against the Japanese, wasn’t surprised. “Grandma’s amazing as always!”

Shen Yuebai didn’t deny it but found the timing of her guess suspiciously accurate. He began to wonder if Old Madam Xu could read minds.

Xu Jiajia pinched Grandma He’s philtrum, and she slowly came to.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she burst into tears. “Poor Taohua… her life is so hard! Wuwuwu…”

Xu Jiajia turned to He Taohua. “Aunt, what are you planning to do?”

He Taohua, overwhelmed, stammered, “I-I don’t know.”

Second Uncle He glared at her in exasperation. “Things have come to this, and you’re still not thinking of divorce? What, are you going to let him keep beating you?”

Xu Jiajia’s voice turned cold. “Not only should you divorce him, but you should also send him to the police.”

Big Uncle He hesitated. “He hasn’t broken the law. How can we send him to the police?”

Xu Jiajia enunciated every word clearly. “This is domestic violence. Aunt’s injuries are evidence. With evidence, he can’t escape.”

Everyone else was taken aback.

It was the first time they’d heard that domestic violence could be reported to the authorities.

He Taohua grabbed Xu Jiajia’s arm nervously. “The police won’t arrest him. There was a woman in our village whose husband broke her nose. She went to the police, but they ignored her, saying this is just how things are and that it’s fine as long as she’s not dead.”