Chapter 6

The clothes in the shop were attractive, and there were quite a few orders coming in. Even the shop owner next door came over to take a look. When he went back, he immediately changed his designs, copying the popular styles from Shen Nanxi’s shop.

This was normal in business. Shen Nanxi didn’t have the time to pursue the matter anyway. Business was booming today; she was so busy her feet barely touched the ground. The fabric used for the best-selling styles had already sold out. She called her supplier to have more delivered and also scheduled a visit in the evening to choose new materials.

They talked about payment for a while, and the supplier finally agreed to settle the invoice in ten days.

The fabric was delivered quickly. The boss even came personally to check things out. Since the shop had changed ownership, he wanted to meet the new owner. When he saw it was a pretty young woman, he felt satisfied. Extending credit to a beauty like her didn’t feel like a loss.

His surname was Dong. He smiled warmly and joked with Shen Nanxi, but she responded seriously and politely. Boss Dong could tell—this wasn’t some frivolous little girl.

He told her to come by earlier in the evening, then left.

Not long after, another batch of fabric arrived. She needed to make clothes for both elderly and young customers—might as well do both. If she couldn’t handle the workload alone, she’d hire someone to help with production.

There were quite a few skilled seamstresses in the residential compound. She could ask them to help and pay them for the labor.

The shop was small and couldn’t fit two sewing machines, so some work had to be done externally.

“Yo! You’re working here now?”

While Shen Nanxi was busy at the sewing machine, Shen Chaonan came in with the same woman from yesterday, still looking sleazy and arrogant.

“Yes, I work here,” she replied.

“Where’s the boss? Letting someone like you work here—what if you seduce an old man? Won’t some granny come trash the place?”

Shen Nanxi was speechless. She needed a bodyguard, but with what she earned now, hiring one was impossible. Still, maybe Zhang Chenxuan could help her ask around—maybe a retired soldier could come work for her.

“I’m working. Please don’t cause trouble. Otherwise, I’ll go to Shen Cheng…”

There was more she wanted to say, but she held back, afraid Shen Chaonan would hit her.

“You bitch! You still dare bring up my dad?”

Shen Chaonan stormed over, kicked the sewing machine, and slapped her hard across the face—treating her like she wasn’t even human.

Shen Nanxi didn’t even have time to step back. She scrambled to her feet and retreated to the fabric corner, holding her stinging face. Tears fell immediately.

“Shen Chaonan! Do you know that no one has ever hit me like this before? You’ll pay for this!”

“Bitch! Still got that mouth on you?”

He lunged into the narrow aisle behind the shop. Shen Nanxi didn’t dodge—there was nowhere to run, and she couldn’t win a fight anyway. But she shouted fiercely, her eyes sharp and full of rage:

“Shen Chaonan, if you lay another hand on me, I swear I’ll make sure you lose that hand. Do you believe me?”

“Ha!”
“You think I’m scared of you?”

Shen Chaonan grabbed her by the hair and started beating her. Thump, thump, thump—punch after punch landed on her. He even yanked out a handful of her hair.

“Shen Chaonan! I’m your sister!” she cried.

“Sister, my ass! How could I have a sister like you? You should be selling yourself on the street—not marrying Huo Xizhou!”

Thump, thump, thump!

“Stop it, young man!”

An old lady had walked in to look at clothes, only to find someone being beaten. She rushed in to stop him.

Shen Chaonan let go of Shen Nanxi and shoved the old lady aside before storming off with his woman.

Shen Nanxi was in pain—her head, face, arms, and back were all aching. She had had enough. Tears streamed down her face.

“Ma’am, I want to go to the police. Could you be my witness, please?”

“He’s my half-brother. He comes to beat me all the time. I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Of course!”

The old woman was kind and immediately agreed to go with her.

Shen Nanxi closed up the shop and went to the police station, crying the whole way. It wasn’t far—just two bus stops.

At the station, she filed a report against Shen Chaonan. A female officer examined her injuries. There were old bruises from yesterday and new ones from today. The police went straight to the Shen household. Their housekeeper called Shen Cheng, and he was furious. He did have affection for this daughter.

He immediately called Shen Chaonan and told him to go to the police station, then drove there himself.

When Shen Nanxi saw the man who was her father in this life, she found him to be a composed, handsome middle-aged gentleman with an imposing presence. He was tall and dignified, with an air of authority.

He walked in briskly, concern in his eyes.
“That disgraceful bastard—where did he hit you?”

Shen Nanxi pointed to her bruises and said:
“I just want him to stop hurting me. I didn’t provoke him. He should also pay for my medical expenses and the income I lost. And he needs to be locked up and taught a lesson.”

“You’ve started working?”

Shen Cheng was pulling out money as he asked. The last time things blew up, he hadn’t bothered with her, but this time he came prepared.

“At a tailor shop, making clothes,” she replied.

Shen Nanxi had stopped crying, but her eyes were still red and swollen, and her face was puffy.

Shen Cheng took out 10,000 yuan and handed it to her.
“Put it away quickly, before Chaonan gets here.”

“I don’t need that much.”

Shen Nanxi didn’t take it and said:
“Medical expenses and lost wages only come to 200 yuan.”

Shen Cheng grabbed her hand and forced the money into it.
“Just take it.”

“Dad, you’re giving her money again?!”

Just then, Shen Chaonan walked in and saw them.

Furious, Shen Cheng slapped him across the face.
“You bastard! She’s your sister—how can you hit her?!”

Shen Chaonan covered his face and shouted,
“She’s not my sister! She’s that slut’s child!”

“You—!”
Shen Cheng kicked him in the leg before the officers separated them.
“Calm down. Let’s handle this properly,” said the police.

Both were made to sit. Shen Nanxi counted out 200 yuan and gave the rest of the money back to her father. Shen Cheng was left fuming—he couldn’t even give his daughter some money without trouble.

Shen Nanxi insisted that Shen Chaonan be punished. The police detained him for 15 days with no bail, exactly as she had demanded. Even Shen Cheng had given up on his son.

When they left the police station, Shen Cheng offered to take her to the hospital, but she declined.
“I’ll go by myself,” she said. She did need to buy some medicine.

Watching her walk away stubbornly, Shen Cheng felt a deep pang of guilt. He’d never taken care of her—not even once. He hadn’t given her a cent before now, and yet she’d grown up strong. That same stubborn pride was something she inherited from him.

No matter what, she was still his daughter. It was time he went home and gave the rest of the family a serious warning.

Shen Nanxi went to the hospital to get some medicine, then had a quick meal before returning to the shop. Orders were already running late, and she needed to get back to work.

Once people found out she had been attacked by a thug, the elderly customers didn’t blame her. In fact, they were concerned for her.

She stayed busy all afternoon. Thankfully, no one else came to harass her.

Today, she earned 120 yuan. Including the 200 yuan from Shen Cheng, she had 320 yuan on hand. Adding her clothing sales, she had more than a thousand yuan now.

She held her bag tightly and took the bus to Boss Dong’s fabric store.

Fortunately, no one tried to steal her bag—things were chaotic these days, with thieves and thugs everywhere.

Boss Dong was already at the shop waiting. The place had several fabric stores, selling both local and out-of-province materials in all sorts of colors and styles.

Shen Nanxi was efficient. She quickly picked out the fabric she needed and gave the quantities. Boss Dong couldn’t even write fast enough to keep up. His staff had already gone home, so he had to take care of it himself.

No matter how much she ordered, Boss Dong was willing to sell it on credit. But Shen Nanxi still gave him 800 yuan as a deposit. She owed him 4,000-yuan worth of fabric.

Once the total was settled, she left. There were no buses left, so she took a tricycle back. It was already 10 PM—she figured Huo Xizhou would definitely be upset.

Huo Xizhou had come home at 6:30 PM, only to find the house empty. That instantly ignited his anger. At 8 PM, he went out looking for her but couldn’t find her. By 10 PM, he was out again. When he came back at 11, he was determined to give her a piece of his mind.

As he stepped inside, he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. His teeth clenched.
“Shen Nanxi! So this is how disobedient you are?”

Shen Nanxi, startled, slipped and fell in the bathroom.
“Ahh!” she cried out in pain.

Huo Xizhou banged on the door anxiously.
“Get up! Open the door!”

“Wuuu… wuuu…”
Her sobs came through, making him even more agitated.

“Open the door! Or I’m kicking it down!”

“It hurts… I can’t get up. I need a moment…”

“Where did you fall?”