Chapter 51

“I just got the keys and haven’t had time to clean yet. You can just walk in with your shoes on—it’s fine. I’m going to do a full cleaning again before I move in anyway.” 

The place wasn’t actually dirty, but since she bought it for herself to live in, it just didn’t feel right without doing a proper cleaning first. 

After speaking, Qiao Xinyi turned around, grabbed Chen Yubing and Qiao Baihe—who were still hesitating at the doorway—each by one arm, and yanked them inside. 

Once the three of them were in, they started tiptoeing as if they were sneaking around. Qiao Xinyi, on the other hand, stomped confidently ahead with heavy steps, leading the way. The noise of her footsteps made the other three wince with sympathy. 

“These floor tiles have patterns on them, sis~ Are you sure stepping on them with shoes won’t wear them out?” Qiao Yunbai asked. Then he immediately kicked off his shoes and followed barefoot behind Qiao Xinyi. 

Chen Yubing and Qiao Baihe followed suit, and just like that, the psychological pressure eased a lot. 

“Xinyi, aren’t you going back to Fushan’s hometown with him tomorrow? You can leave the key with me. Yunbai and I aren’t doing anything these days—we can come help you clean up,” said Qiao Baihe. “That way, when you come back, you can move in right away.” 

“I can help clean after work too,” Chen Yubing added. 

“Mom, I feel tired just hearing all that,” Qiao Xinyi said, clearly not planning to work her family to death. 

“How could helping my daughter clean her house be tiring? I’m happy—when I’m happy, I have endless energy,” Chen Yubing said with a beaming smile. “Cleaning isn’t even hard work. It’s way easier than all the overtime I used to do.” 

“Helping you clean such a beautiful house—I’d be happy even if I dropped dead doing it,” said Qiao Baihe. She’d always been looking for ways to help Qiao Xinyi, and now that she finally had something she could do, she was willing to come over and clean every day if necessary. 

“Me too!” Qiao Yunbai nodded enthusiastically like a pecking chicken. “I can help wipe the furniture! I can sweep!” 

Seeing how the three of them were getting more and more excited, and how genuinely willing they were, Qiao Xinyi finally nodded. 

She was always decisive—she just pulled the key straight out of her bag and handed it to Qiao Baihe. 

“Then make a few extra copies of the key tomorrow while you’re at it,” Qiao Xinyi said, pointing upstairs. “Clear out the entire third floor for me. As for the rooms on the first and second floors—pick whichever one you like and stay there.” 

She then turned to Chen Yubing. “Mom, once you divorce Qiao Laiwang, the three of you can move in and live here.” 

The three of them had been touching the couch in the living room, but when they heard what Qiao Xinyi said, they all looked at her in stunned disbelief. 

“Big Sis!” Qiao Yunbai jumped up on the spot, grinning. “Can I really move in and live with you?!” 

“You really can,” Qiao Xinyi nodded. “The house is big, there are lots of rooms, and it’s enough for all of us to live comfortably.” 

If she didn’t get along well with them, Qiao Xinyi definitely wouldn’t have let them move in. But after spending time together, she’d come to genuinely like the temperaments of all three. 

Chen Yubing, although the elder, never used her seniority to control or limit Qiao Xinyi’s behavior or thinking. 

Qiao Yunbai, despite being at that age when most teens are annoying and unbearable, was surprisingly mature and not the least bit bratty. 

As for Qiao Baihe—though she had taken over the original host’s identity, she was actually one of the victims in that situation. Ever since Qiao Xinyi returned to the Qiao family, Qiao Baihe had been cautiously trying to please her and win her over. She was a simple, kind-hearted girl. 

Besides, from a safety standpoint, it really wasn’t ideal for Qiao Xinyi to live alone in such a big house. 

These days, there were a lot of loafers around—people who had returned from the countryside, failed to get into college, and couldn’t find jobs. They spent their days wandering aimlessly, and it wasn’t uncommon for some of them to resort to petty theft or shady dealings. 

With more and more educated youth returning to the city, this type of person would only become more common. 

And then there was another reason…

“I’m already in a relationship with Fu Qingshan. I’ll definitely follow him in the military in the future, so I’ll only come stay here on rest days or holidays. If the house stays empty all the time, it’ll just fall into disrepair anyway,” Qiao Xinyi said as she glanced toward the doorway.

She didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence—Fu Qingshan happened to be walking in right then and caught that exact line. Their eyes met directly, and Fu Qingshan stood at the door, immediately breaking into a smile. He liked what he heard.

“Look how happy you are,” Qiao Xinyi said, touching her nose awkwardly. She didn’t say the rest of what she was thinking.

If she was unlucky and didn’t find the little villain in time to officially trigger the mission—if she got “cut off”—then this little Western-style house would go to Chen Yubing and her two children. It would be her way of offering some comfort to the fleeting bond of mother and daughter, and also a way to give the three of them a home to shelter from the wind and rain.

Fu Qingshan was genuinely happy, and he didn’t hide it.

Chen Yubing smiled too, but her smile gradually turned into a sigh. “That man, Qiao Laiwang… getting a divorce from him won’t be easy.”

She had tried today and got exactly the outcome she expected. It was already hard enough to get divorced—trying to leave with Qiao Yunbai would be even harder.

“Not easy doesn’t mean impossible,” Qiao Xinyi said, eyes gleaming with excitement. “Do you know what I did when I went back there today?”

Before anyone could guess, she answered herself: “I tied Qiao Laiwang up and beat him. I told him, as long as he doesn’t divorce you, I’ll come back every day and beat him, until he finally agrees to the divorce.”

She added, “But I’ve thought of another plan—we’ll go at it from both ends. Maybe it won’t take long before Qiao Laiwang just can’t take it anymore.”

Seeing all four pairs of eyes staring at her, Qiao Xinyi gave them a warning first: “This idea is really nasty—but I think it’ll work.”

She looked at Chen Yubing and Qiao Yunbai. “Tomorrow, you two go buy two packs of rat poison. Time it right—during cooking, take the poison out in front of them, but pretend you don’t know they’re watching.”

“Oh, and make sure you dump out the rat poison ahead of time. Just keep the empty packaging.”

Qiao Xinyi instructed them on how to act. “Mom, while you’re cooking, hold up the empty packet and ask Yunbai, ‘Did you add the poison? Did you use it all up?’ Then say, ‘We *have* to poison them this time.’”

“Yunbai, you show Mom the empty package and say, ‘I used the whole pack. This time, we’re definitely going to poison those freeloaders to death.’”

“And then, a couple days later, do the same thing again while boiling tea.”

Just keep acting it out.

Once Qiao Laiwang and Chen Ju hear and see that, won’t they be too scared to eat or drink anything?

This was psychological torture. And along with Qiao Xinyi’s physical beatings, she really wanted to see how long Qiao Laiwang and Chen Ju could hold out.

“As long as Qiao Laiwang and Chen Ju get scared, when it’s time for the divorce, Qiao Laiwang won’t dare to fight for Yunbai. That man would definitely be afraid that Yunbai might poison him too.”

At his core, Qiao Laiwang was a selfish person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been persuaded by Chen Ju all those years ago, leaving Chen Yubing to carry the entire burden of supporting the family for twenty years.

Even when the child didn’t have money for school or medicine, he still wouldn’t ask Chen Ju to hand over his wages.

Qiao Xinyi had already thought everything through for Chen Yubing: “Once you get divorced, if your factory agrees, return your current two-bedroom place and ask for a one-bedroom unit instead.”

“Living in the staff housing will be more convenient—Mom’s work and Yunbai’s school will both be closer. Baihe will be in college anyway, and you can all come stay here during the holidays.”

“If the factory refuses to switch, then just let them take the housing back entirely. Either way, no one’s going to let Qiao Laiwang benefit from it.”