The phrase “No way!” hit him like a direct punch to the heart. His kick landed with renewed fury, causing the plaster around the frame to crumble and the entire doorframe to shake violently.
Realizing her cue had come, Tang Xin’er began pounding loudly on the windowpanes.
Just a second before the door was finally kicked open, she slipped into her spatial dimension, creating the convincing illusion that she had leaped out of the window to escape.
Since they lived on the second floor—about five meters up—jumping down was at least plausible.
As soon as she vanished into the space, Zhou Yaozu successfully smashed the door in. His face was flushed crimson, and sweat dripped down his forehead. He swept the room with a wild gaze, and upon spotting the wide-open window, dashed right over to it.
“Damn it!”
Seeing the open window and finding no trace of her in the wardrobe or anywhere else in the room, Zhou Yaozu assumed she must have jumped out to run away.
Gritting his teeth, he cursed viciously, “You stinking bitch, you just wait!”
Without wasting a second, he bolted out of the bedroom, slammed the front door shut behind him, and rushed outside to give chase.
He knew the local layout like the back of his hand; he was certain he’d be able to track Tang Xin’er down.
Watching him storm out of the house, Tang Xin’er stepped back out of her spatial dimension. Thinking about his frantic rampage, she muttered to herself, “Surely the kid doesn’t have actual anger issues, does he?”
It was just a passing thought, but upon a second reflection, she realized it was entirely possible. Zhou Yaozu had always possessed a notoriously short fuse.
“Oh well, whatever!” Dismissing the thought, Tang Xin’er walked out of the room and noticed the keys left sitting on the living room table. After a moment’s thought, she decided to lock the front door properly and pull the windows shut.
With everything secure, she retreated back into her spatial dimension to continue playing video games and binge-watching shows.
Let the idiot run around outside all he wanted. As long as he couldn’t get to her, it didn’t matter.
Though come to think of it, she was glad she had reacted so quickly when he swung that club, landing a direct kick right to his weak spot.
Otherwise, she would have ended up on the receiving end of a brutal beating.
In her past life, she often had to stay out late. One night on her way home, she had been cornered by a group of punks in a dark alley and nearly assaulted.
Fortunately, she had picked up a few self-defense moves. Even though this current body was frail and weak, she had managed to scrape together just enough strength to overpower them and escape.
Tang Xin’er resolved that once she settled in, she needed to properly train this body’s reflexes and physical conditioning.
She successfully finished watching an entire movie inside her space, brewed herself a refreshing cup of fruit tea, and took a moment to relax her muscles.
Just as she finished, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.
Zhou Yaozu returned looking just as red-faced and drenched in sweat as before, tightly gripping that thick wooden club in his hand.
He had searched the surrounding neighborhood until he was practically ready to drop, finding absolutely trace of her anywhere. Exhausted and worn out, he decided to head back and rest first.
Sooner or later, Tang Xin’er had to return to this house. He would just wait for her right here, and the moment she showed up, he was going to beat the living daylights out of her!
And when Zhao Meifang got back from work, he’d make sure to tell her how that ungrateful bitch had nearly ruined his future descendants.
He’d get their mom to join in on the beating!
Panting heavily as he reached the front door, he freed one hand to twist the doorknob, only to find the door firmly double-locked from the inside. Even the windows were sealed tight.
Zhou Yaozu’s brow furrowed deeply. Neither his parents nor his sister ever came home for lunch; they wouldn’t be back until evening.
That meant the only person who could have locked the door was Tang Xin’er.
“Damn it all!” Realizing he hadn’t brought his keys when he rushed out, he figured Tang Xin’er must have slipped back inside the moment he left, locked everything down tighter than a drum, and locked him out.
Just the thought of spending all that time baking under the blazing sun while she was comfortably locked away inside re-ignited his volcanic temper.
“Tang Xin’er, you worthless bitch! Open this damn door right now!”
Blinded by rage, he threw all caution to the wind, ignoring whether any neighbors might be listening as he started screaming curses at the top of his lungs.
“You stinking whore, if you don’t unlock this door this second, don’t blame me for smashing your windows to pieces!”
Safely hidden inside her spatial dimension, Tang Xin’er heard every single insult clearly, but she had zero intention of opening up.
If he had the guts to smash his way in, let him try.
She’d just vanish into her space again.
While Zhou Yaozu stood outside screaming at the top of his lungs, Tang Xin’er refused to budge. The language he used grew increasingly vulgar and outrageous, eventually drawing curious neighbors out of their apartments to see what was happening.
Seeing Zhou Yaozu standing there with a face bruised purple with rage and a murderous look in his eyes, one neighbor muttered under her breath, “How can a brother talk to his own sister like that? Calling her a bitch every other word!”
“Look at him—not only is his face completely flushed, but he’s holding a big stick. Is he planning to commit murder or something?”
“He’s acting so violently unhinged. Does he have some kind of mental disorder?”
Whispering amongst themselves, the neighbors didn’t keep their voices down, and a few choice words inevitably drifted over to Zhou Yaozu.
Already at a boiling point, hearing those comments pushed him over the edge. He took two aggressive steps toward the crowd of neighbors, gripping his club tighter. “Say that one more time! See if I don’t come over there and smash your heads in!”
“Whose head are you going to smash in?”
Most of the onlookers gathered to watch the spectacle were women, but upon hearing those threatening words, the men of the households pushed open their doors and stepped right out.
“Zhou Yaozu, are you out of your damn mind talking trash like that?”
“Why don’t you repeat what you just said to my face?” One of the neighbor’s husbands stepped forward—a man significantly taller than Zhou Yaozu, built like a brick wall with thick, corded muscles.
With just a single stride forward, his imposing presence completely overwhelmed the hallway.
Though Zhou Yaozu had been burning with fury moments before, seeing someone towering over him and looking vastly more intimidating than himself instantly drained all the courage right out of him.
Another neighbor stepped out from the opposite side. “Still trying to act tough around here? You think the rest of us are like your family, willing to put up with your spoiled garbage?”
Recognizing that particular neighbor, Zhou Yaozu felt a fresh jolt of primal fear freeze him in his tracks.
He knew that man’s reputation in the neighborhood—someone who fought dirty and didn’t care about the consequences, once beating a guy so badly the poor fellow was bedridden for three solid months.
“Go ahead, show us some of that fire!”
Watching Zhou Yaozu turn bright red and swallow his anger because he was too terrified to speak, the neighbor sneered derisively, “So you only dare act tough against your own family, but turn into a coward the second you see someone else?”
“Let’s see some of that spirit you had a minute ago!”
Utterly cowed, Zhou Yaozu didn’t dare utter another syllable. He shrank back, shook his head, and shuffled away, leaving the neighbors to resume their murmuring.
“He’s clearly been completely ruined by his parents. If not for that, how could he turn into such an aggressive little maniac?”
“I’ve been saying for a while there’s something seriously wrong with that boy!”
“Good thing our men stepped out, otherwise he probably would have tried to charge right at us.”
“Who was he yelling at just now anyway?”
“Sounded like he was screaming at Tang Xin’er.”
“Come to think of it, that poor girl has had such a miserable life. Her mother brought her into this family when she remarried, and now she’s treated like dirt just so they can fund her brother’s life!”
As the neighbors continued discussing the situation in hushed tones, Zhou Yaozu didn’t dare let out a single peep, pretending he couldn’t hear a word of it.
However, swallowing his fear in front of the neighbors didn’t mean he was going to let Tang Xin’er off the hook.
Redirecting every ounce of frustration and humiliation he had just suffered from the neighbors straight back at her door, he barked, “Tang Xin’er, stop acting like a coward! Get out here!”
“Open this door!”
Hearing the commotion outside, Tang Xin’er offered a cold, detached smirk. She simply slipped a pair of headphones over her ears and went right back to her game.
After all, Zhou Yaozu didn’t actually have the guts to smash the door down in broad daylight—if he did, the neighbors would likely call the police on him themselves.
Besides, with their household finances completely wiped out, if he destroyed their own front door, wouldn’t that just make it easier for actual thieves to walk right in?
Realizing the futility of it, Zhou Yaozu kicked the door one last time in pure frustration and slumped down onto the floor right outside the entrance.
It was currently midday, the hottest hour of the afternoon, and their apartment hallway happened to catch the direct glare of the sun.
Baking under the heat and dripping with sweat, Zhou Yaozu finally gave up and slunk over to crouch by the staircase landing. Every time a neighbor walked past, they shot him judgmental glances and whispered amongst themselves.
Unable to talk back and forced to swallow a mountain of grievances, he sat there stewing in misery.
Inside her space, Tang Xin’er eventually felt a bit peckish from all the gaming, so she whipped up a quick snack in her kitchen before heading back out to check on things.
With nothing to eat, no water to drink, and sweltering in the heat, Zhou Yaozu sat slumped by the stairs for hours on end, waiting all the way until evening when Zhou Youyou finally returned home.
Because her factory job was relatively light, Zhou Youyou was always the first member of the family to get off work.
As she stepped up to the landing, she caught sight of a slumped shadow sitting in the corner and jumped in fright, swallowing hard as her hand trembled slightly against the handrail.
She took a cautious step upward, mentally preparing to bolt and run straight to the police station if some sketchy character was lurking around.
Fortunately, before she could turn tail, the shadowy figure spoke up in a familiar whiny tone, “Sis, is that you?”
Recognizing his voice, Zhou Youyou let out a sigh of relief, hurried up the steps, and blinked in confusion upon seeing Zhou Yaozu stranded outside their own front door. “Why are you sitting out here instead of going inside? You gave me a fright—I thought some creep was waiting out here!”
“That stinking bitch Tang Xin’er locked me out!” Zhou Yaozu vented, his voice shaking with accumulated rage. “Hurry up and unlock the door! The second I get back inside, I’m going to make sure she pays for this!”