Li Chutian, upon seeing her, still glared and puffed out his chest as usual.
He wanted to scold her, but when he met Li Shu’s “innocent” eyes, the words stuck in his throat.
He was inwardly annoyed.
Once the commotion died down, he decided he must marry this girl off again. If she stayed at home, constantly staring at him, he would be driven mad!
Having resolved this, Li Chutian shot Li Shu a glare and left to meet friends, leaving her alone.
Li Shu didn’t care about her father. She wandered the house lazily but noticed that ever since she had hidden a kitchen knife, Zhou Shi had started guarding against her. That day, an extra cabinet appeared in the kitchen, with two new locks, and anything of value worth ten big coins was hidden away. It was amusing in a way.
Li Shu wasn’t concerned with the contents of that single cabinet—she had far bigger plans.
One day, she would leave the Li family utterly stripped of everything.
But for now, Zhou Shi seemed intent on starving her.
Though Li Shu had her own food, the deliberate targeting made her rebellious. Her eyes narrowed on the cabinet, a hint of malice in her gaze.
As an injured person, she wouldn’t recklessly kick or strain herself unless necessary. So, for now, she planned a peaceful solution.
Two large locks…
Li Shu turned toward Li Aman’s room.
The original owner’s younger sister’s room was elegant. Though not filled with expensive items, clean porcelain vases held wildflowers, delicate boxes contained jewelry, and three large wooden trunks held seasonal clothing.
The room was well-ventilated, unlike the stifling original owner’s room. It even had a mosquito net, keeping insects out.
In an ordinary home, these conditions would be considered top-notch.
Li Shu didn’t envy others’ possessions, but… why did the original owner, also a Li child, have nothing? The parents weren’t incapable—they simply refused to share any care with her.
“You’re in my room?! Go away, filthy!” Li Aman was displeased at seeing Li Shu, her delicate face flushed with anger. She grabbed a teacup and threw it at her.
Li Shu dodged, and the cup shattered on the floor.
Her temper flared like a coiled dog. Usually quiet, she instantly wanted to strike, to kill and bury the annoying thing.
She restrained herself slightly.
Then she stepped forward, locking eyes with Li Aman. She targeted a butterfly-shaped hairpin inside a small box, exquisitely made. Its butterfly antennae were coiled copper wires, lifelike in appearance.
“What are you doing?! That’s mine!” Li Aman lunged to snatch it back.
Li Shu held the item and stepped back. “Don’t move… my injuries are severe. If I fall and spit blood, the next killer will be you.”
She turned and walked away, completely ignoring Li Aman’s furious protests.
Li Aman cried, calling for her mother.
Li Shu went to the kitchen, broke off the butterfly’s antenna, and jammed it into the lock. After fiddling with it a bit, the lock clicked open.
Opening the chest, her eyes brightened.
No wonder it was hidden—they had bought meat today!
Li Shu didn’t hold back and helped herself to the food. By now, Zhou Shi had rushed over with Li Aman.
Both were outraged.
The butterfly hairpin lay in ruins on the floor. The antennae were broken, trampled underfoot—this was a brand-new piece Li Aman had just bought that morning!
Zhou Shi was focused on the cabinet. Seeing the lock open, her eyes widened. She rushed over, peering inside, heart in her throat: “Where’s the meat? The big chunk not cooked—where did it go?!”
“I threw it out the window. Luckily, a dog grabbed it,” Li Shu said with a smile. “Go find it—you might still recover it.”
Though furious, Zhou Shi rushed out, powerless to scold her in time.
Li Shu sat by the stove, enjoying her meal.
After all, Zhou Shi was a mother. Her daily care and cooking skills were excellent. The original owner had also learned some of these skills, so under Zhou Shi’s tutelage, she had mastered cooking well.
Li Aman sobbed, gasping, staring at the “corpse” of her hairpin, furious.
Finally calming slightly, seeing Li Shu enjoying the food regardless of her feelings, she began to complain angrily:
“Who do you think you are, eating our meat! You murderer, unwanted girl! I’ll have my brother beat you! Give me back my hairpin!”
These words sounded like childish noise, but in the original owner’s short, unlucky past, they had occurred every single day.
“Stinky Li, your mother’s dead—why aren’t you?!”
“You’re so annoying, ugly, dumb, dirty, and hateful. Go away!”
“You’re not our family. You’re an orphaned servant! Wash my clothes, massage my legs while I pretend to be a lady!”
“You’re not my sister. If you call me that again, I’ll have Father lock you in the courtyard to be eaten by mosquitoes, drink all your blood…”
Li Shu’s memories stirred with these taunts.
Li Aman was only thirteen. Outwardly, she was polite, well-behaved, cute, lively, and popular. But just like her father, she treated the original owner as less than human.
A shadow crossed Li Shu’s eyes. Somehow, she now had a kitchen knife in hand. When Li Aman kept babbling, Li Shu held it to her neck.
Li Aman immediately quieted. “Wh-what are you doing?!”
Li Shu’s gaze was dark, her mind racing for how to cover the original owner’s unlucky past.
She pondered, realizing there was only one way: anyone in the way must meet the underworld.
But killing recklessly without a plan was wrong. You couldn’t repeat the same move twice.
She smiled, grabbed Li Aman by the hair, pulling her down to crouch, and put away the knife. From under the stove, she retrieved a smoldering piece of wood.
“Ever killed a chicken?” she asked.
“Kill a chicken… must scald the feathers,” Li Aman stammered.