Chapter 9: I’m a Bastard, So You’re an Old Bastard

The elders and Lin Zhou Sheng, hearing the sound of slapping, stood at the entrance of the hall, exchanging glances while pretending not to hear anything.

“Enough! It’s just a severing of ties, right? I agree to it.” Standing in the courtyard, Old Man Lin, pretending to be deaf, watched as his wife was being beaten and understood that the elders would not speak up for them. He knew that today, the marriage with Lin Dayou had to be cut off.

Feigning deep sorrow as he looked at his wife lying motionless on the ground, the sight of her getting pummeled by Lin Luoxi made him feel helpless. He could only voice his agreement to the severing with difficulty, hoping to evoke a sense of sympathy from Lin Dayou.

As soon as he spoke, his back noticeably curved over, and he gazed at Lin Dayou with pain in his eyes, trying to pull at Lin Dayou’s heartstrings in hopes he would take back his words.

“It’s about time.” Lin Zhou Sheng smiled as he heard Old Man Lin’s words, internally chastising him: This truly is a shameless creature. It takes a beating for him to behave himself.

If he had known this would happen, why bother with pretense earlier? What’s the point of him acting miserable now? It’s all just disgusting.

“Grandpa is bad! Grandpa is bad! You show favoritism! You didn’t say a word when she was hitting my dad…” Lin Luoxi, having absorbed the memories of the original Lin Luoxi, took advantage of the fact that although this Lin Luoxi was already fourteen, her intelligence was that of a three or four-year-old. She intended to use this to her advantage, pretending to be foolish and playing the innocent to deal with the shameless old Lin family.

Having no feelings whatsoever for Old Lady Lin, especially given her sharp tongue and her parasitic behavior, Lin Luoxi didn’t even bother to refer to her as “grandma.”

“You little bastard, who are you calling bad…” Lin Daguan, already anxious to attack Lin Luoxi, pushed past Lin Zhou Sheng, his fists clenched as he charged towards Lin Luoxi.

Hearing that his father had agreed to sever ties, he felt it threatened his financial prospects. Thus, he had long harbored resentment against Lin Dayou. Now, seeing Lin Luoxi beat his mother and dare to scold his father, his resentment peaked, and he unleashed all his pent-up fury on Lin Luoxi.

As Lin Luoxi noticed Lin Daguan approaching her with fury, she gave him a provocative smile in a spot where no one could see.

“You little brat, I’ll make you understand respect for your elders! I’ll show you lowly spirits! It’s you are making a fuss over the severing of ties. Your conscience must have been eaten by a dog…” Lin Daguan saw the smile on Lin Luoxi’s face, and he lost all reason, swinging wildly at her.

Though he was scolding Lin Luoxi, his words twisted to also insult Lin Dayou: calling him unfilial and lacking in moral integrity.

“Big sister!” Lying on the ground as Old Lady Lin hit and scolded him, Lin Dayou, enraged by the sight of his brother attacking his daughter, pushed Old Lady Lin off him and quickly jumped up to shield his daughter from his so-called “big brother”’s blow.

Inside the room, Lin Wengqian heard his uncle’s abusive words directed at his sister. Fuming, he wanted to rush out and confront Lin Daguan, only to see his uncle—disregarding his seniority—aiming to strike Lin Luoxi. Consumed with rage, he grabbed a broom from the doorway and rushed forward.

Just when Lin Daguan’s fist was about to crash down on Lin Luoxi, Lin Wengqian’s broom had already struck Lin Daguan’s face, thwarting the blow aimed at Lin Luoxi.

Lin Dayou, already frail from the ongoing ordeal, had been restrained by Old Lady Lin. His speed was significantly hampered. Watching his own elder brother about to hit his daughter made his heart leap into his throat; he wanted nothing more than to rush to Lin Luoxi’s side to protect her from the impending strike.

When Lin Wengqian saw a broom suddenly appear, hitting Lin Daguan squarely in the face and interrupting his punch aimed at Lin Luoxi, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Hatred simmered in him for this lazy brother who only wanted to bully those close to him.

In the courtyard, Old Man Lin watched with excitement as his eldest son tried to strike his granddaughter. Instead of stepping in, he leaned forward eagerly to see more. He hoped Lin Daguan would beat Lin Luoxi, that “worthless girl,” to death for daring to act above her station; that would be too good for her.

The elders and the village chief, standing off to the side, were shocked by Lin Daguan’s audacity to show such aggression in front of them. As they witnessed his disrespectful behavior toward Lin Luoxi, they felt their hearts leap into their throats.

“Lin Daguan, how dare you…” The clan elder was about to criticize him when he saw Lin Daguan caught off guard by the broom, leaving him speechless.

“Good, good. Lin Dayou, you’ve raised such a wonderful child,” Lin Daguan said through clenched teeth, wiping the blood from his nose caused by Lin Wengqian’s strike, angrily pointing at Lin Dayou.

Though Lin Wengqian was a bit frightened to see Lin Daguan bleeding, fearing his father’s wrath for retaliating, he stood firm with the broom, ready to fend off any attack on Lin Luoxi as if nothing could intimidate him.

“Humph! Lin Family’s eldest uncle, if you want to talk about upbringing, you really have no right to criticize my dad. After all, your father didn’t raise you well either. You think it’s okay to hit people whenever you want? Your upbringing clearly leaves much to be desired!”

Lin Luoxi felt moved by Lin Wengqian’s defense of her. As she absorbed the moment, she decided to jump in with her own comments when Lin Daguan began spewing insults again.

“You, you worthless bastard! A bastard child! How dare you say I lack proper upbringing? Wait until I deal with you!” Lin Daguan was seething, the physical pain from the broom on his face adding to his rage, causing him to lose all reason and hurl every insult he could think of.

“Eldest brother, what are you saying about my daughter? Is that how an uncle should behave?” Lin Dayou, seeing the cruelty in Daguan’s words, couldn’t hold back his anger, even though he restrained himself from being too harsh, knowing they were family.

“Dad, listen to your eldest son! Has he lost his mind? He’s calling my daughter a bastard! If she’s a bastard, what does that make you?” Lin Dayou, unable to control his fury, didn’t care if he hurt the old man’s feelings.

“You ungrateful child! Your brother must have been angry to speak such nonsense. Why do you have to nitpick? That girl is a bit difficult, but I think your brother’s words aren’t wrong,” Old Man Lin said in a dismissive tone, siding with Lin Daguan.

Old Lady Lin, furious at being called out, quickly regained her footing and charged at Lin Dayou, pushing him down to the ground.

“Dad!” Lin Wengqian shouted anxiously, torn between protecting Lin Luoxi from Lin Daguan and worrying about his father being attacked by Old Lady Lin.