Chapter 6 – I’m Serious About Pretending to Be Weak

In the previous generation of the Wei family, there were three brothers. Wei Ci’s father was the eldest, and he had two sons and one daughter.

The second brother had three daughters and one son.

The third brother had one daughter and one son.

The one scheming against Wei Ci was the eldest daughter of the second brother’s family, Wei Qingmiao.

Mogou Village had never been this lively before. First, several strong laborers in the village died in a mudslide. Just as the grief hadn’t yet settled, the authorities suddenly announced compensation—saying that to appease the people, every family who lost someone in the mudslide would be given a job slot in the county. The specific post would be assigned based on ability.

The news landed like a thunderclap, leaving everyone stunned.

A job! That meant access to state-distributed grain, a salary every month, new clothes to wear, and no more backbreaking farm work under the scorching sun. Wasn’t this basically like a pie falling from the sky?

While others in the village had faces mixed with both envy and sourness, before they could even gossip too much, shocking news spread—Wei Ci, the most beautiful girl in the village, had suddenly gone missing. Everyone searched for a whole day and night but couldn’t find her.

People originally thought she must be doomed. With her looks and her simple mind, how could she not attract trouble if she went out alone? Who wouldn’t want a wife that looked like a fairy?

Just as the rumors in the village grew more and more outrageous, Wei Ci’s second brother suddenly came back. People were baffled—wasn’t he supposed to be working in the county? Why did he suddenly return? Then, the public security officers appeared and immediately took him away.

Now the gossip in the village exploded. The speculations grew wilder, but no one actually knew what was going on. To make things even more confusing, more officers came again—not only did they take away Wei Ci’s second uncle’s family, but also her third uncle’s family. The whole village was in an uproar, people whispering and winking even while at work.

Finally, Wei Ci matched the people before her one by one with the faces in her memory, and her gaze stopped on a delicate-looking young woman.

Wei Qingmiao—her eldest cousin. The very same person who had lured the original Wei Ci out and handed her over to be sold by their cousin.

When Wei Qingmiao saw Wei Ci standing there safe and sound, she was utterly shocked.
“You… you’re actually fine?” How could she possibly be fine!

Of course Wei Ci understood what she meant. Remembering her aunt’s advice—to cry whenever she encountered something that couldn’t be explained—Wei Ci’s eyes immediately reddened. Large teardrops clung to her long curled lashes, wetting them into clumps. She looked pitiful to the extreme as she choked,
“Cousin, why did you sell me?”

Like a bolt from the blue, Wei Qingmiao’s heart shook violently. This girl recovered so quickly? How is that possible? It hasn’t even been enough time yet!

A gust of wind swept past, and with a loud bang, Wei Qingmiao was sent flying, slamming hard into the wall behind her. She let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up for a long while.

Everyone was stunned, frozen in disbelief.

At the sight of his little sister crying, Wei Qingfeng instantly lost all reason and went into a berserk rage. He pummeled Wei Qingmiao mercilessly, his fists raining down without pause, leaving her wailing and unable to dodge at all.

Meanwhile, having successfully diverted everyone’s attention with her fake crying, Wei Ci quietly shuffled her little feet, inching closer and closer until she hid behind the tall back of a public security officer. From there, she poked her head out to watch her brother go mad.

Hmm, Auntie was right—red eyes and falling tears really were a woman’s best weapon for accusing others. She had learned it well, she had! (✧◡✧)

“Ahem… Wei Qingzhi, calm down, don’t be impulsive.”

The officers, who had been busy looking at the sky, the ground, and their files, finally came back to their senses. They rushed forward, restraining the still-rampaging Wei Qingfeng. With stern faces, they lectured him that being controlled by impulse was like being possessed by demons—one must not let it rule one’s emotions.

Huddled silently in the corner, the Wei family’s second and third branches didn’t dare make a sound. Their eyes flickered, avoiding the tall and imposing Wei Qingfeng, afraid that if he remembered them, he’d give them another beating.

It was strange. Aside from the eldest branch, the second and third branches of the Wei family—whether male or female, young or old—all had delicate features, thin frames, and short stature. Years of farm labor had also darkened their skin, making them look even more unremarkable.

But the eldest branch was completely different: tall builds and fair skin.

The boys took after their father—thick brows, big eyes, tall and strong.

And the only daughter had inherited the best of both parents’ looks, surpassing them. She had peach blossom eyes tinged with charm, a straight, delicate nose, rosy lips, and skin that could never be tanned no matter how much sun she endured. Her long, black, silky hair flowed down to her waist—a sight that filled the other girls of the family with envy, jealousy, and resentment, wishing they could replace her.

They all ate the same rice, drank the same water—so why did she just keep getting prettier, while they looked grubby and plain, barely noticeable? Their names were things like Sprout, Grass, Rice, or Seedling, while she was called Wei Ci. She used to be Wei Yuer (“jade child”), later changed to Ci (“porcelain”) to avoid taboos. Why was it that in the entire Wei family, only she was “jade” and “porcelain”? What, were they not worthy?

Wei Qingfeng flung aside the bruised and swollen-faced Wei Qingmiao. When no one was looking, his gaze toward her turned dark and venomous. But when her eyes met his, he curved his lips into a bloodthirsty smile. Hurting his sister—how could one beating ever be enough?

A shiver ran through Wei Qingmiao, and she suddenly felt regret.

Not regret for targeting Wei Ci, but regret for not having killed her outright with her own hands. Why had she left it to chance, giving the most unhinged member of the eldest branch, Wei Qingfeng, the chance to find her?

“Qingfeng, you’ve misunderstood me—it really wasn’t me,” Wei Qingmiao whimpered through her swollen, pig-like face.

“You dare say you lured Ah Ci out without malicious intent? Swear a lie, and may your face rot and your whole family die!”

The entire second branch: Hey, hey, hey—that’s too much, dragging the whole family into this!

They all shrank their heads and wept quietly, not daring to speak up, afraid of being beaten. If someone else hit them, it was one thing, but if this kid raised his fists—it was a beating that felt like he’d pound you to death. Among the men of the Wei family, apart from the womenfolk, which one hadn’t suffered at the hands of these brothers?

Wei Qingmiao choked. Was this brat just as impossible to talk to in the previous life? I don’t remember. Probably not.

After all, in the last life, the eldest branch had only grown more prosperous and powerful. How could they have turned into this kind of brutish figure?

Thinking of the miserable fate her family had suffered in that past life, her eyes flashed with cold light beneath her lowered lashes.

In the past life, the ones who got caught embezzling the state grain were not her uncle and aunt, but her own father and third uncle. And the ones who died because of it were also her father and third uncle.

This time, knowing what was coming, she had deliberately schemed to let her uncle and aunt take the fall in her father and third uncle’s place.

She knew they would die there—that’s why she had already contacted the traffickers in advance, waiting for her uncle and aunt’s downfall. With the eldest cousin stuck in the army and unable to return, and the second cousin occupied with the county job assessment, she had plotted to get rid of the thorn in her side—Wei Ci—by selling her off.

But what she hadn’t expected was that Wei Ci would be rescued so quickly, standing here now with neat clothes, not even a scratch on her, her complexion healthy, her once-vacant eyes now gazing at her with a half-smile that made cold sweat bead on her back.

Wei Qingfeng sneered. He hadn’t realized before how poisonous she really was.
“Scared now, aren’t you? You vile bitch…”

“Hey, hey, comrade, calm down. They still need to be interrogated, don’t lose your temper.”

Two public security officers hurriedly stepped in to block him, worried he’d lash out again. The earlier beating—they could overlook it as an outburst of anger on behalf of his sister. But if he struck again, it would escalate into a criminal case, and they had no choice but to stop him.