Lin Jiaojiao looked at the woman lying on the ground with torn sleeves, ripped knees, and a face covered in blood so badly beaten that her original appearance was almost unrecognizable. A mocking curve appeared on her lips.
Xia Qiuyue—the original owner’s vicious stepmother.
And also Lin Miaomiao’s biological mother.
“You little bitch! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help me up!”
After slightly recovering from the fall, Xia Qiuyue saw that Lin Jiaojiao was simply standing there watching instead of helping her. She immediately flew into a rage.
Lin Jiaojiao crossed her arms and looked down at the disheveled woman with a cold sneer, her tone full of contempt.
“My mother died long ago. So are you that eager to die, daring to call yourself my mother?”
Xia Qiuyue blinked her triangular eyes in disbelief at the girl who had always been obedient and submissive to her—but was now looking at her with icy disdain.
For a moment, she couldn’t even react.
Was this little bitch just insulting her?
And in such a vicious way?
She’s gone too far!
Finally snapping out of her shock, Xia Qiuyue ignored the pain in her body and scrambled up from the ground.
Cursing as she lunged toward Lin Jiaojiao, she screamed, “You little brat! You dare curse me to death? I’ll beat you to death, you jinx!”
How could Lin Jiaojiao possibly let her land a hit?
She sidestepped neatly, avoiding the attack with ease.
Then she quickly moved behind Xia Qiuyue and kicked hard at her fat backside.
Xia Qiuyue let out a miserable cry and fell forward.
She crashed face-first into the ground.
A perfect dog-eating-shit fall.
The previous fall had already nearly cost her half her life, and this second one directly knocked out two of her front teeth, which fell onto the ground.
In so much pain she couldn’t even curse anymore, she could only lie there groaning like she was about to die.
Lin Jiaojiao looked at her without the slightest sympathy.
Compared to what she had done to the original owner, this was only a small interest payment.
“Mom! Mom, what happened to you? Who hurt you?”
At that moment, a shrill, tearful voice came from the doorway.
Lin Miaomiao rushed in, her face pale as if she had just survived a disaster.
She asked who did it, but her venomous eyes were already locked firmly onto Lin Jiaojiao like a poisonous snake.
Especially when she saw Lin Jiaojiao wearing the floral dress she had painstakingly made but never worn, her anger nearly drove her insane.
But she didn’t dare act rashly.
Seeing that hateful gaze, Lin Jiaojiao only smiled provocatively in response.
It nearly sent Lin Miaomiao into cardiac arrest on the spot.
But after what happened yesterday, she had learned to restrain herself. Without certainty of victory, she wouldn’t act.
“Mom! It’s her! That little bitch did it! Hurry up and kill her!”
Xia Qiuyue, seeing Lin Miaomiao, immediately found her backbone and shouted angrily.
However, because of the pain, her voice was hoarse and weak, sounding like a broken gong—harsh and unpleasant.
Even Lin Miaomiao frowned slightly upon hearing it.
But she quickly suppressed her impatience and helped Xia Qiuyue up while exchanging a meaningful look.
“Mom, you should get up first and check your injuries. We’ll deal with everything after Dad comes back.”
In other words, they were not Lin Jiaojiao’s match right now and needed reinforcements.
Xia Qiuyue was not stupid. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to charm Lin Fantong despite her unattractive appearance.
So she naturally understood her daughter’s meaning.
After analyzing the situation, she also realized something clearly—
This little bitch had changed.
She was no longer easy to control.
Weighing the pros and cons, she finally shut her mouth and allowed Lin Miaomiao to help her back up.
But her triangular eyes, when looking at Lin Jiaojiao, were filled with venomous malice.
Lin Jiaojiao met her gaze without fear, even smiling faintly in return.
It nearly drove Xia Qiuyue mad again.
“Mom, let me help you back to your room.”
Afraid her mother might lose control and attack again, Lin Miaomiao quickly supported her and returned to their room.
Lin Jiaojiao shrugged and ignored them.
She went to the bathroom, casually washed up, and then headed straight for the kitchen.
The Lin family really did have good conditions.
Cured meat, sausages, eggs, white rice, white flour, corn flour—everything was available.
In an era where most people couldn’t even eat coarse grains properly, the Lin family mostly ate refined food.
That suited her just fine—she never liked rough, scratchy food anyway.
Thinking of the coarse cornmeal buns and rough corn porridge she had eaten at her uncle’s house yesterday, she felt a wave of lingering fear.
She admitted she wasn’t someone who could endure hardship.
She could live without luxury clothes or branded bags—but when it came to food, she would never compromise.
Looking at the ingredients, she decided to make cured meat rice.
Simple and delicious.
She got straight to work.
She lit the fire first, washed and cut a palm-sized piece of cured meat into small cubes, and rinsed a bowl of rice.
She placed the meat on top of the rice, added water, and set it to cook.
After bringing it to a boil, she chopped two tomatoes and beat five eggs, preparing to make tomato scrambled eggs to go with it.
Soon, the rich aroma of food filled the kitchen.
The mother and daughter, who had been discussing how to deal with her, could no longer sit still when they smelled it.
After settling Xia Qiuyue in bed, Lin Miaomiao walked toward the kitchen.
Standing at the doorway, she saw Lin Jiaojiao—but Lin Jiaojiao acted as if she didn’t see her at all.
She scooped a full bowl of cured meat rice and sat right there in the kitchen, eating with great appetite.
Completely treating Lin Miaomiao like air.
“Elder sister, what are you cooking? It smells so good.”
Lin Miaomiao smiled sweetly as she spoke, completely different from her earlier vicious expression.
Lin Jiaojiao continued eating and glanced up at her lazily.
“Don’t tell me you have a nose just for decoration?”
Lin Miaomiao froze for a moment.
She didn’t immediately understand.
If it were eyes, she would have understood it as “blind.”
But what did her nose have to do with anything?
Seeing her confusion, Lin Jiaojiao swallowed a bite of egg and kindly explained,
“Otherwise why do you need eyes to breathe?”
At that moment, even the slowest person understood she was insulting her.
“Lin Jiaojiao, you… you…”
“What, you what? Being ugly isn’t your fault—but being ugly and still coming to annoy me is your problem.”
Before she could finish, Lin Jiaojiao’s words fired out like a machine gun.
Lin Miaomiao, who had never suffered such humiliation before, trembled so violently that her pointing finger shook uncontrollably, making it hard to focus just looking at it.