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Inside the house, Li Jiangang lay on the bed, unable to move. His leg had been broken in the last fight at the village entrance when he clashed with Zhou Qingshan.
Liu Chunhua’s face was swollen and bruised, with several teeth missing. She carried a bowl of porridge over to Li Jiangang, and when she spoke, the gaps in her teeth made her look particularly ridiculous:
“That damn Zhou Qingshan! If I see him again, I swear I’ll hack him to pieces! Look at what he did to us!”
“It’s all that little whore Li Xia’s fault! She stole all the money and ran off! Now we don’t even have a single cent to take you to the hospital for your leg. God knows where she’s gone with that wild man of hers! If I ever catch her, I’ll skin her alive!”
Li Jiangang wanted to curse too, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the pain in his leg flared up so badly that he could only groan, crying out in agony.
Just then, a voice rang out from outside the courtyard:
“Excuse me, is this Li Xia’s home?”
“Looking for Li Xia? Let me see!”
As soon as Liu Chunhua heard Li Xia’s name, a fierce glint immediately flashed in her eyes.
She strode to the courtyard gate and saw a young woman in a dress standing there, smiling at her.
With a harsh tone, Liu Chunhua snapped, “You’re looking for Li Xia? What’s your relationship with her?”
If this woman had anything to do with Li Xia, Liu Chunhua had no intention of letting her off easily!
Su Wenyen was startled when she got a good look at Liu Chunhua’s swollen, pig-like face. She nearly gasped out loud.
So, they really are related to Li Xia! she thought to herself. Li Xia is ugly, and her family is just as hideous. What a terrifying sight!
Though she felt utter disgust, she still maintained a polite smile, determined to get the information she needed about Li Xia.
She greeted respectfully, “Auntie, hello. I’m a friend of Li Xia. I came to—ah!”
A sharp ‘smack’ rang out as Liu Chunhua swung her hand and slapped Su Wenyen hard across the face.
“You! How dare you hit me?!”
Su Wenyen clutched her face in disbelief, staring at Liu Chunhua in shock.
Just what kind of woman had Gu Weicheng married? Was everyone in the Li family a bunch of bandits? How could they just start hitting people the moment they met them?!
Liu Chunhua gritted her teeth and snapped, “You said you’re her friend? Then you deserve to be beaten too!”
With that, she grabbed a broom that had just been used to clean out the pigsty and swung it at Su Wenyen, cursing as she did:
“You go tell that little whore Li Xia to bring my money back! Otherwise, if I find her, I’ll skin her alive! And that bastard Zhou Qingshan! If I see him, I’ll chop his head off with a cleaver!”
Before Su Wenyen could dodge, she was struck several times by the filthy broom, and an overwhelming stench of pig manure quickly spread from her clothes.
This outfit was brand new—she had just changed into it! After spending an entire night on the train, she had felt her previous clothes were dirty and had deliberately dressed up before coming to the Li family home. She had wanted to make an impression, to intimidate them.
Who would have thought that instead of asserting dominance, she’d get beaten up and covered in pig filth?!
Once she had run far enough away and saw that Liu Chunhua had stopped chasing her, Su Wenyen finally dared to stop, panting heavily.
“That woman is crazy! Absolutely insane! But wait… what did she just say? She wants Li Xia to return her money? Li Xia stole from her?”
A sneer curled on Su Wenyen’s lips.
“Looks like not only is Li Xia an unfaithful woman, but she’s also a thief. Hmph, just as I expected!”
“Wait… she just said that Li Xia’s lover is named Zhou Qingshan?”
Su Wenyen had originally planned to use the pretense of being Li Xia’s friend to gather more information about her, but instead, she had ended up getting beaten. What terrible luck!
“Looks like I’ll have to find another way to get information.”
Her face burned with pain.
…
In her past life, she had suffered domestic violence at the hands of a man. After being reborn, she had sworn that she would never let anyone lay a hand on her again. But only a few days into her new life, she had been slapped and beaten by that crazy old hag, Liu Chunhua.
Li Xia, I won’t forget this!
Determined, Su Wenyen continued asking around. After much effort, going from one person to another, she finally managed to track down Zhou Qingshan.
Ever since he had been expelled from university, the educated youth at the village’s Zhiqing Point had refused to let him stay with them, considering his character too disgraceful. As a result, Zhou Qingshan had no choice but to live alone in a dilapidated old house.
By now, Zhou Qingshan was nothing like the dashing young man he once was.
He used to love wearing crisp white shirts, but the one he had on now was filthy and stained. His head was wrapped in bandages, covering fresh wounds.
When he heard that a beautiful young female comrade was looking for him, his heart leaped with excitement.
Could it be Xiaoya? Has she finally come to find me?
A surge of joy filled him at the thought.
But when he saw Su Wenyen standing in front of him, Zhou Qingshan frowned in confusion and asked, “Who are you? What do you want with me?”
The sight of Zhou Qingshan stunned Su Wenyen.
She had assumed that he must be good-looking, but the man before her…
He wasn’t even worthy of carrying Gu Weicheng’s shoes!
Was Li Xia blind?
How could she give up Gu Weicheng and choose Zhou Qingshan instead?
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such thoughts—she had business to attend to.
Ironically, just as Su Wenyen was feeling disgusted by Zhou Qingshan, he was feeling just as repulsed by her.
How long has this woman gone without bathing?
She reeked of pig manure.
“I’m here to discuss a deal with you,” Su Wenyen got straight to the point.
“I know about what happened between you and Li Xia. I also know that the two of you had a falling out… and that she reported you, didn’t she?”
“You must hate her to death by now.”
“Well, I know where she is. As long as you follow my instructions, not only can you get your revenge, but I’ll also give you a large sum of money. What do you say?”
Zhou Qingshan narrowed his eyes. “Who are you? Why are you helping me? And why should I trust you?”
Su Wenyen curled her lips into a smirk.
“Because I want to marry Gu Weicheng. I need Li Xia to divorce him. Only when they’re divorced can I have him.”