"Don't you dare bully my mom!"
Wang Huiting's blood rushed to her head as she charged upstairs like a madwoman, roaring with fury all the way.
Many residents had already gathered to watch the commotion, crowding the hallway. As Wang Huiting dashed through, they pressed against the walls to make way for her.
When Wang Huiting reached her doorstep, she saw her grandmother—Zhang Cuihua, her stepfather's mother—grabbing Li Mei's hair with one hand while slapping her with the other, occasionally tearing at Li Mei's clothes and cursing viciously.
"You jinx! You killed your first husband, and now you're here to kill my son! You're living it up here while my poor son lost his life! Let's see how proud you are, how arrogant! Let's see you find another man!"
"Mom, I didn't…" Li Mei groaned in pain from the blows.
A chubby boy sat on the bed placed in the living room, holding a chicken in his arms while munching on an apple. Instead of being frightened by the scene, he cheered excitedly.
"Hit her, Grandma, hit her! She spent my money—she deserves it!"
Wang Huiting's rage intensified. She charged straight at the chubby boy, snatched a feather duster from nearby, and started whipping him.
Caught off guard, Tong Guangyao howled in pain, dropping the chicken in his arms, which flew away.
"You hit my mom, so I'll whip your grandson!"
Wang Huiting showed no mercy, striking with brutal force as Tong Guangyao wailed.
"You wretched brat! Filthy trash, how dare you hit my grandson! I'll kill you!" Zhang Cuihua erupted in fury, immediately releasing Li Mei to grab Wang Huiting.
Seeing this, Li Mei—who had only been dodging and never fighting back—quickly wrapped her arms around Zhang Cuihua, holding her back tightly.
Zhang Cuihua, nearly suffocated, swung one hand at Li Mei while trying to strike Wang Huiting with the other. When her arms couldn't reach, she resorted to kicking.
Tong Guangyao, now ten years old, wasn't one to take a beating lying down. Once he recovered, he started punching and kicking Wang Huiting back.
But the scene was too chaotic—the space was small and cramped. In his flailing, Tong Guangyao often ended up hitting Li Mei and Zhang Cuihua instead.
The living room was tiny, further crowded by the bed. Normally, just four people standing there would feel cramped, but now they were a tangled mess of fighting, with a chicken flapping wildly around the room. The neighbors watching had no idea how to squeeze in and pull them apart.
Before anyone could intervene, a small cannonball burst into the room. Before anyone realized what was happening, the little cannonball chomped down on Zhang Cuihua's backside.
Zhang Cuihua shrieked in terror.
"Our home is right here, the last unit on the third floor."
Wang Huizhen pointed upward, explaining to Su Ruyi.
"Mom originally wanted to come pick you up, but since we didn't know when you'd arrive, she stayed home to prepare food…"
Before she could finish, a chicken plummeted from above, landing with a splat right in front of Su Ruyi.
The chicken had fallen from the third floor. If it hadn't flapped its wings mid-air, it would have been a bloody mess on the ground.
Instead, it just staggered dizzily before wobbling to its feet and strutting away.
Throwing a chicken from such a height—who were they trying to kill?!
One hour earlier.
Li Mei stepped out of the car and spotted someone holding a sign with her name at the exit. She headed in that direction and saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Li Mei immediately guessed that this girl was probably her stepsister Wang Huizhen, who was less than three months younger than her. Over the years, Tong Aihua had not only sent money home but also corresponded with Li Mei. Her mother, Su Ying, had also been open about her father's situation, so Li Mei had a general understanding of the circumstances here.
Su Ying and Tong Aihua had divorced amicably, so there was no resentment between them. When they divorced, they agreed that if Li Mei didn't get into university after graduating from high school, she would go to Tong Aihua's side, and he would arrange for her to live in the city. Su Ying told Li Mei that her father hadn't abandoned her but had left to pave a broader path for her.
"Hello, I'm Li Mei. My mother is Su Ying. May I ask who you are?"
Wang Huizhen looked at the confident Li Mei, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. This was completely different from what she had imagined. Li Mei didn't look like she came from the countryside at all; she resembled a classical beauty stepping out of a painting—slender, gentle, with fair skin and softly curved eyebrows.
Just as Tong Aihua had explained the situation here to Li Mei, he had also told his wife and three daughters about Li Mei's circumstances. But this didn't match the description at all.
"H-hello, I'm Wang Huizhen. My mother is Li Mei."
Wang Huizhen snapped back to reality and hurried forward to help with the luggage. Li Mei shook her head and smiled, "It's fine, I can carry it myself. Please lead the way."
Wang Huizhen initially wanted to insist—the two bags were quite large and must be heavy—but she worried Li Mei might misunderstand. After confirming once more and receiving a negative response, she didn't press further.
Wang Huizhen felt uneasy, unsure of what to say to Li Mei. The usually talkative Wang Huiting had slipped away early in the morning, leaving Wang Huizhen alone to face the situation, which made her feel a bit overwhelmed. She wasn't good at socializing to begin with, and Li Mei was entirely different from what she had expected, making it even harder to know what to say.
However, they didn't have much chance to chat along the way. The bus was crowded, and though they were initially standing close together, they soon ended up separated.
Just when Wang Huizhen thought they were almost home and she could finally relax, an unexpected incident occurred.
Li Mei looked up toward where the chicken had fallen—exactly where Wang Huizhen had pointed earlier. "Isn't this prepared for me?"
Before Wang Huizhen could process it, a neighbor from the first floor called out to her, "Oh, Huizhen, you're finally back! Your grandma and your mom are fighting!"
"What?!"
Wang Huizhen panicked and rushed toward the stairs but was stopped by Li Mei. "This chicken must be ours. Go and pick it up."
Wang Huizhen remembered her mother mentioning earlier that morning that she was going to buy a chicken. Since Li Mei was visiting for the first time and her stepfather wasn't around, they needed to treat her well. Wang Huizhen quickly turned back to retrieve the chicken, but by the time she realized it, Li Mei had already disappeared.
When Li Mei reached the third floor, she attracted quite a few glances. The corridor wasn't spacious, with stoves placed along it, and with people standing around, it was completely blocked.
"Excuse me, please make way," Li Mei said as she maneuvered through with her two large bags.
She didn't do it on purpose. Although everyone had already stepped aside, the space was cramped, and her bag was large, making it inevitable that she would bump into someone.
"That girl looks unfamiliar."
"Judging by her demeanor, could she be Accountant Tong's child from his previous marriage?"
Someone directly asked aloud, "Girl, are you Accountant Tong's daughter from his first marriage?"
"Yes, Tong Aihua is my father."
The person clapped their hands, "I knew it! You really resemble your father. Ah, look how well you've grown up. Your father would be overjoyed to see you."
"What a poor, unfortunate child. Why is heaven so blind?"
"Your family is in chaos right now. If your father were here, it wouldn't have come to this."
Su Ruyi merely nodded at them as a form of greeting.
Whether these people were genuinely concerned or had other motives, she didn't want to dwell on it at this moment.
"Hey, stop fighting! Can't you talk things out properly? What kind of scene is this!"
"Tong Yunyun, let go! That's your grandmother!"
Those living in corner units often did this—once they occupied the space, they considered it their territory. They could leave things in the hallway, unlike those in middle units who had to put away their oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and even pots and pans after cooking in the hallway to prevent theft.
Everyone was watching the commotion from outside the partition door. Two middle-aged women were trying to mediate at the doorway, but inside, chaos reigned as the two of them kept moving in and out.
Su Ruyi placed her luggage by the partition door and walked in empty-handed. "Let me handle this."
Before the two at the door could react, Su Ruyi had already entered.
"Hey, don't go in and make things worse—"
Before the words were fully out, Su Ruyi lifted Zhang Cuihua with one hand. Zhang Cuihua had two people clinging to her—one hugging the old lady and the other, despite being beaten black and blue, still tightly biting her butt.
Yet, even so, she was lifted up.
Li Mei quickly let go. The moment she saw Su Ruyi, she knew who she was and felt instantly ashamed.
Zhang Cuihua screamed even louder. With Tong Yunyun still biting her butt, the added weight from being lifted felt like her flesh was being torn off!
Su Ruyi glanced at the girl with the buzz cut and knew this was Tong Yunyun, her father's daughter with his second wife.
"Tong Yunyun, let go. How disgusting—biting anything you see. The chicken at home is missing, and here you are causing trouble."
Tong Yunyun immediately released her bite. Her mouth was a bloody mess, looking utterly terrifying. She spat on the ground, and two teeth fell out.
But she paid no attention, frantically searching for the chicken instead.
Su Ruyi frowned at the pool of blood on the floor but had no time to deal with it. She went to lift the chubby kid who was fighting back. Interrupted mid-action, not only did he fail to kick anyone, but Wang Huiting also managed to slap him, making him howl even louder.
The chubby kid kept kicking his legs, trying to break free, but Su Ruyi's grip was firm and unaffected.
Seeing both of them struggling fiercely, she tossed them upward and caught them again, startling them into immediate compliance.
Su Ruyi held both of them aloft, keeping their feet off the ground, suspended in mid-air as effortlessly as holding a badminton racket.
She walked to the door, where the two mediators were too stunned to stop her or say anything, simply letting her pass.
As she passed through the doorway, the heads of the old woman and the child bumped against the doorframe.
Su Ruyi walked to the partition door and gave a light toss outward, sending the two men flying seven or eight meters away.
Several men were gathered there, so the two didn't hit the ground but were caught by others instead.
Everyone stared in stunned silence—what kind of strength was this? Even throwing a bunch of greens wouldn't be this effortless.
Su Ruyi clapped her hands, a warm, spring-like smile on her face:
"I'm here now, so don't cause trouble. Otherwise, I'll beat you up."
Author's Note:
The female lead just wants to go all out now