Zhang Jingui was so furious she felt like vomiting blood. She never expected Shen Jiaojiao to be so shameless. Having dominated Yangcheng for decades, this was the first time she had encountered such a formidable opponent.
Shen Jiaojiao leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t force me to expose Xi Zihua and Wang Jianjun’s dirty secrets. If the neighbors find out your son isn’t just a useless eunuch but also a pervert, will the Xi family be pelted with rotten eggs whenever they step outside?”
Zhang Jingui’s face paled, and she hissed, “How dare you?”
“Want to test me?”
Shen Jiaojiao smiled sweetly, even eagerly. Zhang Jingui’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach, a chill running down her spine. She knew this bitch was capable of it.
But she wasn’t.
The Xi family couldn’t afford such humiliation!
“From now on, show me some respect when you see me. Don’t provoke me again, or I’ll make sure the Xi family can’t stay in Yangcheng!”
Shen Jiaojiao’s smile vanished, her eyes flashing with murderous intent.
Zhang Jingui couldn’t help but shiver, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She could only watch helplessly as Shen Jiaojiao and her daughter swaggered away.
The neighbors also dispersed, their dinner conversations now enriched with fresh gossip. The Xi family’s young daughter-in-law had triumphed over her wicked mother-in-law, and Xi Zihua’s “teapot spout” would surely be the talk of the town for at least half a month.
Fuming, Zhang Jingui abandoned her business and rushed home to find her son. Pushing open the door, she saw Xi Zihua tied to a chair, her heart aching with both pity and rage. She clamored to call the police.
“Mom, you can’t… that bitch took photos of us…”
Xi Zihua desperately grabbed his mother’s arm. He couldn’t bear the shame.
“What photos? With whom?”
Xi Zihua hung his head in shame. Zhang Jingui understood immediately and slapped him hard, scolding in frustration, “That little temptress is prettier than a movie star. Why can’t you do it with her? Why must you be with that bastard Wang Jianjun? Are you trying to kill me?”
Zhang Jingui continued to berate him while slapping his body. She had thought Shen Jiaojiao’s beauty would make her son settle down, but even after eight years of marriage, he hadn’t touched her once. The Xi family’s lineage was on the verge of extinction.
Xi Zihua covered his head, dodging the blows. Unable to bear the pain, he shouted, “Don’t you think I want to? I can’t… you know, I can’t…”
He simply couldn’t, no matter how beautiful the woman. Shen Jiaojiao was right—he wasn’t a real man at all.
Zhang Jingui was stunned. She had only known about her son’s problematic preferences, unaware of his physical defect. She had hoped marrying a beautiful woman would change his ways.
“Are you really a teapot spout?” Zhang Jingui panicked, reaching to pull down Xi Zihua’s pants.
“Yes, and a tiny one at that!”
Xi Zihua clutched his pants in humiliation. Zhang Jingui stood frozen as if struck by lightning, the words “tiny teapot spout” echoing in her ears, a vivid image of a small, delicate spout forming in her mind.
“Heavens, you are blind!”
Zhang Jingui wailed in despair. With such incomplete parts, how could she ever hope for a grandchild?
Shen Jiaojiao took Xiao Yueyue out for a hearty meal, bought her several new dresses and sandals, and returned leisurely. She wasn’t surprised to see Zhang Jingui.
“Now that you two have had your mother-son talk, let’s discuss our business.”
Shen Jiaojiao gave Xiao Yueyue a dollar to buy a popsicle and play outside for a while before coming back.Xiao Yueyue happily went out. Fifty cents could buy an ice pop, and the remaining fifty cents could buy ten packs of pistachios. She would treat Xiaoming to some later.
Zhang Jingui’s eyes were filled with resentment. If she had known earlier that her son was a Heavenly Eunuch, she wouldn’t have wasted money marrying this slut eight years ago. The Shen family had demanded an exorbitant bride price of three thousand yuan, and after eight years of marriage, she hadn’t even laid an egg. She had to get that money back.
“I’ve covered for Xi Zihua for eight years, worked tirelessly like an ox, and endured both mental and physical harm from your Xi Family. Let’s calculate it at five hundred yuan a month—six thousand a year, forty-eight thousand for eight years. That’s a nice number, auspicious with double eights. Pay up!”
Shen Jiaojiao stretched out her hand, demanding the money with righteous confidence.
“How dare you try to rob a bank? Forty-eight thousand? Don’t even think about four hundred and eighty!” Zhang Jingui cursed loudly.
“Robbing a bank is illegal. If you won’t give me the forty-eight thousand, that’s fine. I’ll go develop these photos right now and hand them out door-to-door tomorrow. I have plenty of time anyway.” Shen Jiaojiao smiled sweetly, hugging the camera as a threat.
Zhang Jingui tried to snatch the camera, but Shen Jiaojiao was prepared. She dodged to the side, kicked her, and said coldly, “Don’t push me too far, or none of us will have it easy!”
“Mom, don’t argue with her!” Xi Zihua pleaded.
He didn’t dare to break things off completely—he still had to live in Yangcheng.
Zhang Jingui glared furiously. She would never give forty-eight thousand. The family only had sixty thousand in savings. If she gave it to this bitch, what would she rely on for her old age?
“Keep glaring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
Shen Jiaojiao grabbed the scissors on the table and thrust them straight at the Old Witch. Zhang Jingui screamed and covered her face. When she calmed down, she saw Shen Jiaojiao’s contemptuous gaze, which only fueled her anger and shame. She wished she could kill this bitch.
“You have three days to gather the money. Three days from now, we’ll exchange the money for the photos!”
Shen Jiaojiao paused, then sneered, “If I don’t see the money in three days, I’ll make sure these photos are plastered in every corner of Yangcheng. I’ll disgrace your Xi Family, make people point fingers at you, and shame your ancestors in the afterlife!”
“Are you even human?” Zhang Jingui cursed.
“If you’re not acting like humans, I’ll play along with you!”
Shen Jiaojiao snorted disdainfully, went into the room, packed some spare clothes, along with Xiao Yueyue’s summer homework and textbooks, and went out to find Xiao Yueyue. They couldn’t stay at the Xi Family anymore—she’d find a guesthouse to stay in.
In the alley, many children were playing together. The boys were flipping cardboard pieces, while the girls were jumping rope and throwing sandbags. Xiao Yueyue stood alone to the side, eating her ice pop, with no one to play with.
“Yueyue!”
Shen Jiaojiao called out, and Xiao Yueyue happily ran over, holding up her ice pop for her to take a bite.
“You eat it. We’re moving somewhere else.”
Shen Jiaojiao pushed it away. The ice pop was covered in Xiao Yueyue’s saliva—she couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
“Mom, aren’t we staying home?”
“No, we’re going to a hotel.”
Shen Jiaojiao held Xiao Yueyue’s hand with one hand and carried the bag with the other. When a neighbor asked where she was going, she didn’t hide it. “Xi Zihua and I are splitting up.”
“Jiaojiao, you can’t be foolish. Zihua’s temper might be a bit bad, but what couple doesn’t argue? If you fight in the morning, you make up by evening. Why go so far as to split up?””As women, we have to endure more. You don’t have a job—how will you survive if you leave? That’s just how marriage is; it’s normal for a man to have a temper. When Zihua gets older, he won’t be able to yell or hit anymore, and your good days will come.”
Several women gossiped like busybodies, chattering away as they advised her, all while speaking in a tone that suggested they had her best interests at heart.
“Everything you say is right, but I have a bad temper too, and I’m narrow-minded—I hold grudges. When I was three, a bastard stole my cake, and I still remembered it when I was fifteen. I slipped laxatives into his food, and he had diarrhea for a whole week before I felt satisfied. Breaking up is actually for Xi Zihua’s own good. With my petty, explosive temper, who knows—I might not be able to hold back one day and end up stabbing Xi Zihua to death. Then I’d go to jail, and you’d all be left with bad luck. Don’t you think it’s better to just break up?”
Shen Jiaojiao spoke with a bright smile, reasoning calmly and unhurriedly. The busybodies’ faces stiffened, as if they had swallowed poison, and they fell silent all at once.