Huangmao’s taunting words instantly enraged the Yan family.
Even Yan Shunzhong, usually so steady and rational, clenched his fists.
Yan Sui gave a cool smile and flexed her fingers.
After resting for so many days, her physical condition had improved considerably.
This was the perfect chance to test it out on them.
“Eldest Uncle.”
Yan Shunzhong froze, then stammered, “Yes?”
Neither he nor Yan Shunxia had any daughters, so they had no experience raising a girl.
It was the first time a sweet, well-behaved girl had called him Eldest Uncle, and he didn’t know what to do with himself.
Yan Sui smiled and took two steps forward, placing herself squarely between the two sides.
“It’s only a million. A single apartment in the city can cost tens of millions. A million is nothing.”
Huangmao was delighted. His interest in her looks vanished at once.
Money was more important than a pretty girl, of course.
After thinking it over, he spoke in a harsh voice. “I’ve changed my mind. I want two million!”
Yan Sui smiled brightly. “That can be arranged. But I’ll need to discuss with my elders how the money will be paid and how much we’ll give you.”
At the prospect of getting money, Huangmao’s attitude softened a little.
“Fine. Take all the time you need to discuss it.”
Yan Sui didn’t go to Yan Shunzhong. Instead, she took the Old Madam by the arm and led her aside.
“Grandma, you know how to fake an accident, right?”
She didn’t want to use a patient to stage a fall, but the Old Master looked so stern.
The Old Madam slapped her thigh. “I do!”
She had once been in the factory’s arts troupe.
Yan Sui smiled. “Just do what I tell you. I’ll handle the rest.”
The Old Madam had assumed Yan Sui wanted to fight fire with fire and extort money from them too.
Just look at what they’d driven the girl to.
But this was the only way forward. When dealing with scoundrels, you had to be even more shameless than they were.
She was all in!
The Old Madam gave a forceful snort and marched toward Huangmao.
“I’m telling you plainly: we won’t give you a single cent! If you think you can extort money from my family, keep dreaming! Go ahead and try laying a finger on me!”
The Yan family stared in disbelief as the Old Madam held her head high and drove Huangmao backward, step by step.
“Hit me, then! Go on, hit me! If you’ve got the guts, hit me!”
Yan Shunzhong’s heart quailed at her shameless antics.
Huangmao raised the club in his hand and roared, face twisted with rage. “You really think I won’t hit you?”
The moment he lifted the club, the Old Madam flopped to the ground.
“Help! He’s beating me! He’s killing me! All these men attacking one old woman—there’s no justice!”
“Oh, my slipped disc! My elbow! My poor kneecap!”
Yan Sui: “…” Those lines sounded awfully familiar.
But this wasn’t the time to nitpick the script.
She threw herself toward the Old Madam and wailed dramatically. “Grandma! Grandma, are you all right? Grandma, wake up!”
Yan Shunzhong: “…”
That was a bit much.
The Old Madam was still hollering at full volume. She clearly hadn’t fainted.
Yan Sui sprang to her feet. “Everyone, bear witness: they attacked my grandmother first. I was acting in self-defense.”
The Old Madam: “?”
What? This wasn’t how she’d pictured it going.
Wasn’t Yan Sui supposed to extort money next?
Medical expenses, recuperation costs—get calculating!
Instead, Yan Sui rubbed her palms together, blinked, and spoke in a sweet, demure voice.
“I’m not very good at holding back when I fight. Please forgive me.”
The words had barely left her mouth when—
With a sharp crack, Yan Sui slapped Huangmao so hard he soared into the air, flipping over before crashing heavily to the ground.
The air fell deathly silent.
“Pfft!” Huangmao spat out a tooth as he lay face-down.
Yan Sui drew her gaze back and looked at the men he had brought with him.
“Want some more?”
She stepped forward. They retreated, shaking their heads in terror.
She was terrifying.
Yan Sui smiled faintly. “I don’t usually get physical. You all saw it just now: he hit my grandmother first, so I was acting in self-defense.”
Huangmao: “!!!” What shamelessness!
It was obvious the old woman had staged the whole thing!
“I—I’m calling the police! I’m getting a lawyer! I’m suing you!”
Yan Sui clapped her hands. Now he was speaking her language.
“Great! I want to call the police too, and I need a lawyer. Want me to recommend one?”
She glanced at the few thugs. When she saw them trying to sneak away, she raised an eyebrow.
So much for their brotherhood.
“If any of you can give me information about him that’s enough to send him to prison, I’ll transfer you a thousand yuan per tip, right away! Only the first twenty tips count—first come, first served!”
Huangmao glared coldly at Yan Sui. “Ridiculous! These are my brothers. We’ve been through life and death together. They’d never betray me for money!”
Just then, Thug Number One, in a floral shirt, stepped forward.
He walked over to Huangmao with a stiff expression and patted him on the shoulder.
“Brothers for life!”
Huangmao’s eyes reddened with emotion. “I knew you—”
“That guy in the hospital is his cousin. The kid can swim—he never drowned at all!”
The man in the floral shirt was the first to switch sides, and he’d pointed out the key issue, too.
He gave Yan Sui an ingratiating smile. “Does that count?”
Huangmao’s eyes bulged with rage. “You’ve got no loyalty!”
Yan Sui affirmed, “It counts. That tip is worth two thousand. Show me your payment code.”
Beep! Two thousand yuan received!
The man in the floral shirt’s eyes lit up. “His dad came up with the idea. Their family just wants to extort money!”
Beep! One thousand yuan received!
The remaining thugs scrambled to speak up.
“His uncle works at the police station in town and deliberately covers for him!”
“His aunt works at the hospital. They’re in cahoots with his uncle because he promised to split the money with them.”
“The creep who keeps taking secret photos in the public toilets is him! He still has the pictures on his phone!”
“I also know he never changes his underwear! He can go a whole month without changing it! The red pair he’s wearing now—he’s had them on for eight days!”
“…”
Yan Sui: “Who wants to know what color underwear he’s wearing? That one doesn’t count!”
Ten minutes later, she had handed out twenty thousand yuan.
“Eldest Uncle, call the police.”
Yan Shunzhong nodded, his face taut.
He was still reeling from the force of Yan Sui’s slap.
They’d been tangled up in this mess for so long, and Yan Sui had settled it with such ease.
The Old Madam was still sitting on the ground. She winked at Yan Sui. Can I get up now?
Yan Sui hurried over to help her up, keeping up the act to the end.
“Grandma, I’ll help you inside to rest first. We’ll take you to the hospital for a checkup later.”
While Yan Shunzhong called the police, Huangmao tried to run.
A slipper came flying from who knew where and hit him squarely on the head.
Smack! Huangmao hit the ground.
Yan Sui was very pleased with her handiwork. The slipper she’d grabbed just now—whose was it?
She looked up and met the Old Master’s murderous stare. Guilt made her duck her head.
Yan Shunzhong had just ended the call. He grabbed Huangmao.
“Still trying to run?”
Yan Sui immediately chimed in. “Which of you wants to go to the police station and testify? I’ll give you another two thousand yuan!”
The thugs immediately raised their hands, scrambling to volunteer.
“Me! Me!”
“I’ll go!”
“What could you tell them that I don’t know? I should go!”
“I even know what color underwear he’s wearing! I’ll go!”
In the end, Yan Sui chose two of them, but didn’t transfer the money right away.
“Come ask me for it once the job’s done.”
If the police took Huangmao away only for him to be released right after, all their effort would have been for nothing.