“Shen Mingtang, you were seven or eight when you came to my house. Unless you’ve got a screw loose, you should know who really owns this home.”
Shen Mingtang sneered coldly. “So what? Uncle only has one daughter, and what use is a daughter anyway? Eventually, she marries and bears children. Everything in the Shen family should belong to me.”
“Uncle must be crazy to leave it to you.”
Shen Mingtang despised women. In his eyes, women were merely tools for bearing children; property and inheritance were unquestionably for men.
Shen Li’s lazy expression vanished. She walked slowly toward him. Shen Mingtang wasn’t afraid at all—he straightened his back and tried to intimidate her with his height. He reached out to shove her.
His hand froze midair as Shen Li grabbed it. He tried to pull it back but couldn’t.
Shen Li yanked him close and slapped him across the face.
Shen Mingtang slammed into the stone pillar by the doorway. His head buzzed, his stomach felt as if every organ had been ripped apart. He howled in pain.
To avoid dirtying her dinner, she set aside her shopping bag and picked up a wooden stick meant for firewood.
She struck Shen Mingtang hard with it.
Her parents were her irreplaceable limits—anyone who crossed them deserved death.
After drinking the spiritual spring water for so many days, Shen Li’s body had been nurtured to peak condition. She was no match for Shen Mingtang, a pampered weakling.
Shen Mingtang couldn’t defend himself; he was completely stunned.
When had Shen Li become this powerful? She wasn’t supposed to be a mindless fool!
Dad always said Shen Li’s only asset was her face; she was useless for everything else.
“Stop!”
“It hurts!”
“Help!”
“Someone save me!”
Shen Li had read some medical texts. She knew which spots hurt the most when struck but controlled her strength carefully so that it wouldn’t leave real damage.
Each hit was precise, perfectly controlled.
“How’s that? Aren’t you a man, all capable? Why aren’t you fighting back?”
Shen Mingtang was terrified and in pain. He felt as if he were truly going to die.
He was scared—scared for his life.
Then, he wet himself.
Shen Li recoiled in disgust two steps back.
“Mingtang.”
Zhong Shuhua and Shen Liren rushed over. They had originally wanted to reason with Shen Li but found Shen Mingtang beaten instead.
“Shen Li, you little brat! You hit my Mingtang? I’ll tear you apart!”
Zhong Shuhua lunged at Shen Li, but she deftly dodged.
At that moment, neighbors who had heard the commotion came out.
“What’s happening?”
“Shen Li, you’re hitting people! The police will take you in!” Shen Liren felt sorry for his son, but the situation actually worked in their favor. He could use it to threaten Shen Li, make her stop those four men from interfering.
Because those four men had been loudly following them all over Shanghai, Shen Liren’s family dared not rent a place in the city. They had been forced to the outskirts, among slums.
Shen Li beating Shen Mingtang gave him leverage to manipulate her. They could move back in and reclaim their position as the “owners” of the house.
He lowered his voice. “We’re family. Your uncle doesn’t want to see you go to jail. As long as you listen to him from now on, he’ll pretend nothing happened.”
Shen Li thought it was ridiculous. Her despicable uncle really was shameless—he could even manipulate his own son.
Remembering how, in a dream, he tried to send her to an old man’s bed just for a ticket to Hong Kong, Shen Li’s fists clenched.
Shen Li dropped the stick. Startled, she half-covered her face in surprise. “How… how could it be Mingtang?”
Aunt Zhao saw and approached, lowering her voice. “Li Li, what happened?”
Zhong Shuhua kept shouting that Shen Li had beaten her son and should be reported to the police.
Shen Li’s eyes were red, her voice trembling slightly. “I just came home and saw someone trying to pick the lock with wire. I thought it was a thief. I was so scared.”
“I was home alone. I was afraid it would be like last time, so I hit him with the stick.”
The lock wire Mingtang had used was still at the door—a clear piece of evidence.
“They really are a family of thieves. If I don’t hit him, who should I hit?”
“Good job, Li Li. Today he opened your lock. Who knows whose door he’d try next?”
“Li Li’s just doing good deeds, learning from Lei Feng.”
Shen Liren hadn’t expected Shen Mingtang to be so foolish. Now, Shen Li had turned the tables.
But Shen Liren was experienced; he wouldn’t be defeated so easily. He put on a show. “Li Li, you shouldn’t hit so hard! Look at how badly you hurt Mingtang.”
“Yes, Mingtang did something wrong, but you changed the lock without telling us. He had important things in the house and wanted to get them back. You weren’t there, so he had no choice.”
“He wasn’t trying to steal—just reclaim what was his.”
Shen Li’s eyes glistened, like a frightened little animal—instilling pity.
“I was scared, that’s why I hit him. I’m just a girl. Could I really hurt him badly? I don’t even know myself. Uncle, look at Mingtang’s injuries first.”
Shen Li looked soft and weak—but Shen Liren was no longer fooled. Inwardly, he cursed. Shen Li really could act.
Mingtang lay on the ground wailing, pitiful, combined with Shen Li’s hatred for their family. Surely she had hit hard.
“Fine, you hurt Mingtang this badly, I…”
His words trailed off. Shen Liren lifted Mingtang’s shirt—there were only faint red marks, light enough to fade soon.
Aunt Zhao laughed. “See? No real injury. Soon the red marks will disappear too.”
“I told you, Li Li looks so delicate, she can’t really hurt anyone.”
“Shen Mingtang’s still a ‘man,’ and he’s crying like this?”
“Wait, do you smell that? He peed himself—before, he shat his pants, now he’s urinating again. Something’s wrong with his body.”
Mingtang was only eighteen—so many flaws. In Shanghai, he’d never find a bride.
“Impossible, there must be other injuries.”
Shen Liren checked. Aside from a slightly noticeable forehead injury, his body was fine.
The crowd disliked Mingtang. Shen Li spoke with a slight pout. “There was a thief in the house. I was scared, so I changed the lock.”
“Uncle, this morning when I came to pick you up, I was actually delivering your keys, but you ran too fast, I couldn’t catch up.”
“I searched for you for so long, that’s why I came back so late. Had I returned earlier, Mingtang wouldn’t have had to do such a lowly thing.”
Yes, lowly.
Only petty thieves would do such vile things.
“I was there in the morning. The ‘Shen Leech’ family escaped faster than rats; we couldn’t even catch them.”
Shen Liren blushed in shame and anger at the reminder. Before storming off, Shen Li pulled out a few keys.
“Uncle, I really didn’t intend to kick you out.”