Chapter 2: Breaking Up

After Song Nanting finished speaking, Wei Dani was stunned for a long time. Was this still the same foolish Song Nanting who used to believe everything she said without question? If it weren’t for the fact that the current movement to eliminate the “Four Olds” banned superstitions, Wei Dani would have suspected that Song Nanting had been possessed by a ghost after that fall—how could she seem like a completely different person? But no matter what, Wei Dani couldn’t accept the way Song Nanting was talking to her. Why should she have to? Just because Song Nanting had her sights set on her son, she now thought she could turn the tables and act high and mighty? That wasn’t going to happen.

Still, when she thought about her son and her future, Wei Dani had no choice but to calm herself down. Holding back her anger, she looked at Song Nanting and forced a smile. “You’re right, Shiying isn’t a child anymore. But she’s still your sister-in-law, right? That’s not fake. She only accidentally pushed you. She splashed cold water on you because she was worried you might be seriously hurt and thought it would wake you up. If you had stayed unconscious for too long and something happened, how would we explain it when Shifeng comes back? Besides, she didn’t even splash you in the end. How can you…”

“You shut up too.” Song Nanting, still not fully adjusted to her rebirth, grew even more irritated hearing Wei Dani squawk on like a duck. “I’m not listening to any of this right now. All I know is that I’ve been working like a mule for your Pan family for years, and none of you ever treated me like a human being. And what happened in return? I got pushed from behind and nearly died from the fall. What if I had died? And now you want to say it was just a light push? Well, what if I pushed back? Would that be okay?”

“I’m telling you now—I’m done. I never even officially married Pan Shifeng. We never registered. We didn’t even complete the wedding ceremony—he ran off before we could finish. So I’m still an unmarried girl, technically a virgin. We’re not even in a common-law marriage. And don’t think you can threaten me with any of your usual tricks. It won’t work. I’m not putting up with this anymore.”

Song Nanting had always been a quiet and kind person. But kindness only led to being bullied. In her previous life, she had been oppressed by this mother-daughter pair for half her life. Why should she continue to endure it now?

The people watching from the doorway were stunned. Had the Pan family’s daughter-in-law finally come to her senses? There had been no shortage of gossip behind her back—many people had said she was dumb. Any other woman would’ve found an excuse to leave long ago, but not Song Nanting. Because of that arranged engagement, she had worked herself to the bone in this household for years without a moment’s rest. She hadn’t had a single good day—only suffering. Lots of people had been secretly waiting to see how it would all turn out.

Seeing the firm resolve in Song Nanting’s eyes, Wei Dani finally panicked. She yanked the still-dumbfounded Pan Shiying and said with a dark expression, “That’s enough. Stop crying. Go shut the courtyard gate.”

Wei Dani actually still had some confidence in handling Song Nanting. If she didn’t have some real tricks up her sleeve, how could she have managed to keep her here for all these years, even when Song Nanting’s mother came looking for her? Part of the reason was her mother beating Song Nanting, but the other part was because Wei Dani knew how to play the game—at least on the surface, she made it so Song Nanting couldn’t complain.

“Okay,” Pan Shiying also sensed something was wrong. She quickly went outside to shoo away the onlookers and then slammed the courtyard gate shut with a bang. The walls weren’t high, but they were enough to block the view.

Wei Dani then shut the inner door too, cutting off all outside visibility. She swallowed her anger and went into the inner room to grab a packet of brown sugar, then made a sweet drink and brought it to Song Nanting. Speaking softly, she said, “Nanting, I know you’ve suffered. Here, drink some sugar water to warm yourself up. No matter how mad you are, you shouldn’t harm your own body. In my heart, you and Shiying are the same—you’re both like daughters to me. If you really get sick from anger, I’d be heartbroken.”

Song Nanting glanced at the reddish-brown sugar water, feeling a bit disdainful. But for some reason, just looking at it made her mouth water uncontrollably. She had a strong urge to drink it. And soon, she realized why.

Back then, she had worn herself out trying to support both her in-laws and her own family. She had deprived herself of even the basics, ending up malnourished. Even brown sugar water was a luxury to her at the time. Now that she was back in her younger body, those physical needs and reactions were resurfacing, sending signals straight to her brain.

Sensing her gaze, Wei Dani inwardly sneered. Just some sugar water and she’s drooling already. Pathetic. On the surface, though, she smiled and pushed the cup into Song Nanting’s hand. “Come on, drink up. It’s sweet and tasty. Ah, you really are unlucky. Your mom never treated you like a person back home. But here—have I ever cursed you or laid a finger on you?”

That last comment only made Song Nanting angrier. It was true that her own mother had treated her horribly—always favoring her brothers with the good food and constantly beating her. The sentence she’d heard most growing up was: “We’ll sell your worthless hide for money one day.”

Wei Dani had seen her once back then and immediately offered 150 yuan for the engagement. Her parents, greedy for money, practically handed her over on the spot.

At the time, she thought Pan Shifeng was good-looking, gentle, and somewhat considerate. Wei Dani had also seemed kind, so she believed she was finally escaping the cage of her birth family—and agreed to the match.

But she hadn’t escaped—she had stepped into a wolf’s den.

Right before the wedding, Pan Shifeng got selected as one of the first generation of worker-peasant-soldier college students. His ambitions soared, and he suddenly decided that the uneducated, not-gentle-enough Song Nanting wasn’t good enough for him. So he ran off without a word. Not only did he climb up the social ladder, but he and his mother and sister conned her into staying behind to slave away in the Pan household—so he wouldn’t have to worry about his mother’s care and wouldn’t burden his future bride.

What a joke.

The more Song Nanting thought about it, the angrier she became. Even though her later years had gone relatively well and those bastards eventually got what they deserved, she still couldn’t suppress the fury when she thought back on the past. She reached out, took the coarse porcelain bowl, and smashed it on the ground with a loud bang.

Wei Dani stumbled back a few steps, staring at the broken bowl in shock, heart aching. “Nanting, what are you doing? I gave you brown sugar water—was that wrong?” she asked, her voice trembling, trying to keep quiet so the people outside wouldn’t hear. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you. Why won’t you just live a good life?”

Song Nanting sneered. “A good life? Maybe for you—but not for me.”

“Then just forget about Shifeng!” Wei Dani shouted, her emotions flaring as she stared daggers at Song Nanting. “If it weren’t for your uselessness, why would my Shifeng have left? It’s all your fault. I’ve treated you better than your own mother, and this is how you repay me? If it weren’t for our Pan family, you’d still be suffering back at your parents’ house.”

Wei Dani’s chest heaved with rage. Her expression changed—she was done pretending. She reached out, trying to grab Song Nanting’s face.

But in her past life, after marrying Lu Jian’an, Song Nanting had trained for several years. There was no way she’d let this old hag touch her. She quickly turned her face and slapped Wei Dani hard across the cheek.

“You old witch—did you think I was going to keep letting you walk all over me?”

Wei Dani stumbled and fell to the ground, pain shooting through her mouth. When she opened it, a tooth fell out.

Staring in disbelief, she gnashed her teeth and cried out, “You dare hit me!”

“Damn right I hit you.” Song Nanting stepped closer, eyes burning. “You call that being good to me? You sweet-talked me into handing over all my wages to ‘show respect,’ but did a single good thing in this house ever go into my mouth? Did I ever get to wear any of the decent fabric in this house? The food in your mouth—wasn’t that bought with my money? The clothes on your back—didn’t I make those? All you ever gave me was empty words.”

While she was speaking, Pan Shiying finally snapped out of her shock and shouted, “I’ll fight you! How dare you hit my mom!”

Song Nanting was even angrier. She kicked Pan Shiying squarely in the stomach. “Go to hell, both of you. You disgusting pair of parasites—had enough yet?”

Fed up, Song Nanting went all in and beat the mother and daughter together.

Neither of them was strong or particularly tough. Meanwhile, Song Nanting had years of hard labor behind her and could easily overpower both of them. But she didn’t go for their faces—she specifically targeted their bodies, hitting only the places that would bruise but stay hidden. She made sure they’d be black and blue all over but too ashamed to show it.

And with their reputations? Even if they ran out crying, no one would believe Song Nanting had beaten them. People might even think they had staged the whole thing to frame her.

The mother and daughter had never seen this side of Song Nanting before—she was like a demon out of hell. Their bodies ached all over, and they looked at her in pure fear.

Song Nanting bent down, her eyes fierce, and snarled at Wei Dani, “Now let’s settle some accounts. Listen closely. I’ve been your live-in maid for four and a half years. Time to pay me. I’ll give you a discount—thirty yuan a month. That’s fifty-four months. That’s 1,620 yuan. Subtract the 150 yuan betrothal gift, then add 50 yuan for the medical bills from when your daughter knocked me out—so the total is 1,520 yuan.”

When Wei Dani heard that number, her heart skipped a beat. She immediately screamed, “Why don’t you just rob a bank!”

Song Nanting glanced toward the inner room and smiled coldly. “If you don’t cooperate… robbery’s not off the table.”

“You—you…” Wei Dani could tell that Song Nanting was dead serious now. Panic set in. She quickly said, “We don’t have that kind of money!”

Song Nanting smiled again, looking at her meaningfully. “You do. Don’t pretend. Doesn’t Pan Shifeng send you money every month? If you’re short, you can write to him and ask for more.”

Wei Dani stared at her in terror, her whole body frozen.