Chapter 31: Beating Up Lu Xueting

“Disrespecting your elders and speaking recklessly—deserves a beating!” Xie Yunshu remained completely unmoved, her eyes burning with a calm but immense fury. Amid Lu Xueting’s angry curses, she suddenly shoved her back, then immediately slapped her again! This slap was heavy; a crisp sound echoed in the air. Lu Xueting’s half face visibly swelled up. “Xie Yunshu, let go of me! Let me go! My brother won’t let you off!” Probably scared from being hit, Lu Xueting’s voice weakened. Her makeup was smudged by tears, her hair was messy, and she sat weakly on the ground, her hair still tightly grabbed by Xie Yunshu.

The neighbors watching from the communal housing building all turned their heads in tacit agreement—not a single one came forward to intervene at such a critical moment!

No matter what, Xie Yunshu was one of their own kids. Any petty flaws were their internal matters, but they would never tolerate her doing something foolish like siding with outsiders! Besides, just yesterday Li Fenlan cried so pitifully watching TV, and here comes this so-called “young lady” insulting a mother and daughter as if they were prostitutes, rubbing salt into their wounds.

Wasn’t she just asking for a beating? So she deserved what she got!

Moreover, Xie Yunshu grew up in this community; she was always tough since childhood. The exact opposite of her mother’s weak nature. No boys or girls her age dared to fight with her—except maybe Lin Cuiping, who got braver after every failure.

Xie Yunshu had been married for over a year and was expected to have mellowed a bit, but she was still so fierce!

Lu Xueting never imagined Xie Yunshu would dare lay a hand on her. After her brother married, she had always looked down on Xie Yunshu, mocking her openly and behind her back. Sometimes at the Lu family home, she even ordered Xie Yunshu to wash her clothes and cook for her.

Because although this woman couldn’t do much else, her cooking skills were decent.

Each time, Xie Yunshu complied. Over time, Lu Xueting thought she was a pushover, someone she could bully at will! So when she heard from Chen Xue that Xie Yunshu moved her brother’s TV away, she stormed over alone, ready to give Xie Yunshu a good scolding.

But now, her entire scalp felt like it was being pulled bald, and her face burned fiercely! Without even looking in a mirror, she knew how shameful she looked.

Xie Yunshu coldly loosened her grip and looked down at the disheveled Lu Xueting on the ground: “Apologize to my mom!”

Lu Xueting was stubborn, too. She had never been hit like this or suffered such humiliation. She got up and pointed at Xie Yunshu’s nose, shouting: “Xie Yunshu, you’re dead! When I get back, I’ll have my brother lock you up—for life!”

“Oh yeah? Then I’ll kill you first!”

Xie Yunshu ruthlessly kicked her. Lu Xueting, just standing up, was stunned, clutching her stomach in pain, a thought suddenly flashing through her mind:

Xie Yunshu has gone mad. She must be crazy to hit me like this!

Unfortunately, Xie Yunshu didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath. She grabbed Lu Xueting’s hair again like dragging a dead dog, pulling her in front of Li Fenlan with a cold look: “Apologize or die. Your choice.”

Lu Xueting was scared now. She finally felt fear!

Her scalp hurt, her face burned, her whole body ached! Xie Yunshu was hitting her with full force; she suspected she might be beaten to death!

Li Fenlan was also a bit afraid. Lu Xueting’s insults were indeed harsh, but if Xie Yunshu really hurt her badly, what could be done? The Lu family was so powerful—it wasn’t something to mess with!

“Yunshu, stop. Let her go,” Li Fenlan carefully tugged on Xie Yunshu’s sleeve and whispered, “It’s not worth it because of her.”

Xie Yunshu didn’t move. Her gaze was dark and murderous as she slowly said, “I’ll say it one last time—apologize or die?”

“Waa… I apologize! I apologize, okay?”

Lu Xueting finally broke down and cried, terrified. She had never suffered a bit of hardship, and not even Lu Jianwei, so stern, had ever dared lay a finger on her. But now, this coarse, contemptible woman had beaten and cursed her, shattering twenty years of pride.

Still, she was so scared she didn’t even dare cry loudly. The sense of humiliation surpassed the pain on her body.

Xie Yunshu finally showed mercy, squatting down to tidy Lu Xueting’s messy hair and lightly patting her swollen face: “Lu Zhixing abused his power, locked his own wife in a psychiatric ward, and caused me to lose my job. Guess who’ll suffer if this matter gets reported to the government—me, or the Lu family?”

Lu Xueting’s eyes widened in terror. Although spoiled by her family, she wasn’t a fool; she understood what Xie Yunshu meant.

She hadn’t considered this before because they always thought Xie Yunshu was deeply in love with Lu Zhixing.

Xie Yunshu had moved into the family compound to make it easier for Lu Zhixing to go to work, willingly riding a bike over half an hour each day. She kept the house clean and worked hard to please every member of the Lu family. She faithfully delivered meals to the hospital every day, and even complained about the university cafeteria food to improve her diet weekly.

Lu Xueting had taken all this for granted. She believed Xie Yunshu should humble herself for her brother’s sake, especially considering their family’s status. Without her brother’s newly lost eyesight, how could she find such an excellent woman?

So when Xie Yunshu said she wanted a divorce, Lu Xueting just thought it was a lower-class woman throwing a tantrum, crying and threatening to go back to her parents’ home to force her brother to intervene.

That was what ignorant women did—repeatedly threatening with divorce or returning home!

But now Lu Xueting wasn’t so sure…

Xie Yunshu really seemed determined to divorce. Otherwise, why would she dare hit her so hard? The matter of her brother locking Xie Yunshu in a psychiatric ward—small, it’s a domestic dispute; big, it’s a huge threat to the Lu family’s reputation.

Did Xie Yunshu still love her brother? Or was she just throwing a tantrum?

Lu Xueting was truly afraid now. Covering her face, she momentarily froze. Just as Xie Yunshu was about to lose patience and slap her again, she finally bit her lip and said, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” Xie Yunshu lazily stood up, flexing her wrist: “Louder! If you’re going to curse, at least do it with spirit. Apologizing like a half-dead person?”

“I’m sorry! I was wrong!” Lu Xueting shut her eyes and shouted in humiliation, then without waiting for Xie Yunshu’s reaction, she stumbled out, terrified Xie Yunshu might go berserk and beat her again!

She had come in full force but left like a lost dog…