Chapter 6: Stirring Up Trouble

Shen Qiang and Li Xiuhua charged out with snarling faces. When they saw the people at the door, their expressions froze and immediately fell into the eyes of everyone standing there. Those present couldn’t help but murmur in their minds.

Li Xiuhua, still holding the bamboo stick that Liu Xinghe had thrown, couldn’t stop the momentum she had gathered in the rush to strike. The stick swung straight toward Director Zhang’s position.

“Ah—”

Everyone gasped, mouths agape, their faces frozen in shock.

Director Zhang was a battle-hardened veteran before retirement; this was nothing for him.

He pushed Liu Xinghe to the side, lifted his foot, and kicked the bamboo stick away. The momentum carried Li Xiuhua to the ground, and before she could get up, Zhang’s foot pressed her down, subduing her completely. She dared not move an inch.

Shen Qiang had no time to deal with Li Xiuhua writhing on the ground. Seeing all these people and Director Zhang, he felt both anxious and frustrated—how could he have lost his mind and forgotten about this matter? Decades of a good reputation were ruined today.

All because of that damn girl!

He forced a smile and hurried over to Director Zhang, fawning: “Director Zhang is here! Please, come in, please.”

“Cough, cough~”

Liu Xinghe coughed at just the right moment, breaking the little blood blister in her mouth. A few drops of blood spattered as she covered her mouth, showing off her skill in the dramatic art of coughing blood.

“Liu girl, are you okay? Come inside. Let me help re-bandage you. Dr. Liu went back to the hospital to get the medical kit; he’ll be here soon.”

Old Zhang anxiously ran over, helping Liu Xinghe and offering a handkerchief, scolding Shen Qiang at the same time: “Shame on you as a father!”

Liu Xinghe didn’t take it. She pulled out her own handkerchief to wipe the blood from her mouth, forcing a faint, awkward smile, shrinking her body, and glancing fearfully at Shen Qiang and Li Xiuhua on the ground. Weakly, she shook her head:

“I’m fine. Just some pain in my chest and neck. Grandpa Zhang, it’s okay, thank you. I know the injury on my neck isn’t serious—it has nothing… nothing to do with my dad and stepmother.”

“Oh my, she’s coughing up blood! How bad must the injuries be!”

“This girl still worries about these parents—such a good child, bah, what wicked hearts they have.”

“That couple is inhumane.”

“This girl is also pitiful, sigh~”

The more Liu Xinghe spoke like this, the more people saw her as kind and sympathetic.

Voices quickly rose, blaming the Shen couple.

Liu Xinghe: pretending to be the fragile little flower really feels good!

She would make her parents pay, protect her reputation, and occupy the highest moral ground. Acting like a shy, delicate little flower seemed perfect.

Today, this persona would stir things up—and it was working perfectly.

Even Director Zhang was moved.

His gaze hardened as he looked at Shen Qiang approaching. He radiated authority and coldness; his voice carried ice-like sharpness. If they hadn’t come today, who knew if the poor girl would have ended up lying in a pool of blood again?

“You promised to take care of her? Is this how you take care of her?”

Old Zhang angrily demanded:

“Shen Qiang, when you two took her away, you repeatedly promised to care for Liu girl properly. And now, you beat your own sick daughter—she’s coughing up blood, her neck wound split open—and you two still call yourselves human?”

Li Xiuhua, pressed under Zhang’s foot, was so terrified she couldn’t even move, trembling violently, losing all her previous bravado at home.

But when Shen Qiang shot her a look, she acted immediately. Ignoring her image, she clutched at Director Zhang’s leg, crying and shouting:

“It’s unfair, Director! It’s unfair! This girl played tricks on us early this morning! We didn’t hit her; she hit us!”

No one believed her. Everyone had seen and heard what happened.

Aunt Wang, annoyed by their behavior, spoke up boldly:

“Liu girl’s neck is bleeding again, she’s coughing up so much blood, and you dare lie in front of the director? I bet you two just don’t want Liu girl to survive!”

“What nonsense! Wang, shut your filthy mouth!” Li Xiuhua glared at Aunt Wang fiercely.

“Then tell us, isn’t Shen Xi the bastard you two conceived while having an affair?”

Aunt Wang, fearless, asked the question everyone wanted answered.

All eyes turned to the couple.

Liu Xinghe silently approved Aunt Wang—straight to the point.

Shen Qiang’s heart skipped; his face turned dark. Losing all patience and civility, he shouted:

“Wang Cuihua, you’re spreading rumors! Director, I want to report Wang Cuihua for slander!”

“See! I was right—you’re panicking now, admitting it yourself!” Aunt Wang scoffed, unafraid. “Director Zhang, you really need to investigate these two.”

“You—”

Shen Qiang gritted his teeth in anger. Li Xiuhua, Zhang’s foot still on her, tried to rise to attack Aunt Wang but was pushed back.

“That’s enough! All of you, shut up and go inside!”

Director Zhang’s roar brought silence.

He directed the police to take the couple inside while he checked Liu Xinghe’s condition, handing her over to Dr. Liu, who had returned with the medical kit. An aunt helped Liu Xinghe inside.

Outside, Zhang’s officers interrogated the couple while onlookers watched.

Dr. Liu changed Liu Xinghe’s bandages, while another aunt assisted, handing over supplies. Liu Xinghe sat on her bed, tilting her head for bandaging. Her hand reached under the blanket, touching a tape recorder, and she pressed the switch.

“Zzzz—”

“Enough, isn’t this already embarrassing enough…”

“What’s that sound?” Aunt Meihua tilted her head, trying to locate it.

“Nothing, nothing,” Liu Xinghe said, denying it, but her face showed panic. She hastily lifted the blanket and clutched the recorder, trying to turn it off.

Of course, in her flustered state, the button couldn’t be reached in time.

A man’s voice continued quietly but audibly from the recorder.

“Is that Shen Qiang’s voice?” Dr. Liu paused, puzzled.

“Seems like it.”

“No, no, it can’t be,” Liu Xinghe denied, terrified.

Aunt Meihua, noticing Liu Xinghe’s fear, recalled what they had overheard earlier and Aunt Wang’s questions. She realized there might be a major revelation and eagerly reached to stop Liu Xinghe from turning off the recorder.

“Liu girl, don’t be afraid. With Director Zhang backing you, let us hear what…”

“Aunt, I’m scared of being beaten…”

Liu Xinghe cried while showing the scars on her arms. Her hand loosened slightly, and the tape recorder slipped into Aunt Meihua’s hands.

Aunt Meihua noticed the arm wounds but focused more on the recorder, holding it firmly: “Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you. I want to hear this myself.”

The recorder now played a woman’s voice:

“After all, this is a piece of flesh I carried for ten months, your own flesh and blood…”

“Ah! Li Xiuhua’s voice! Ah! Shen Xi is the bastard they conceived in their affair!!!”

Aunt Meihua was so shocked her mouth could hold a large egg. She shouted, holding the recorder and running outside: “I have evidence! Big news! A bastard! Director Zhang…”

This chapter is packed with drama and tension, with Liu Xinghe skillfully playing the “fragile, righteous victim” while evidence surfaces to expose her parents’ treachery.