Su Xinghui hadn’t kept the parcel for herself, nor had she given it back to its rightful owner—instead she’d handed it over to Old Mrs. Su, all so she could watch Ling Xi suffer in silence, forced to swallow her anger without daring to speak up.
If Ling Xi went to demand the parcel back, Old Mrs. Su could refuse on the grounds that the family hadn’t divided yet and all property was to be turned over. If she didn’t go, she’d simply have to eat the loss.
What a clever scheme!
But Ling Xi would swallow anything except a loss.
She had already made up her mind. Once things were in Old Mrs. Su’s hands, the chances of getting them back were slim to none—but this wasn’t without its advantages.
Ling Xi’s real problem all along was that Su Changhe, out of gratitude for Old Mrs. Su having given birth to him, and wanting his father, who had died early, to rest in peace, had never been eager to split the family.
His only weak spots were his wife and daughter—that was his bottom line.
No matter how hard things had been before, he’d never once thought of dividing the family. But once he learned about today’s events, once he saw how his daughter had been bullied, Ling Xi didn’t believe he could keep enduring.
This family must be divided.
Ling Xi instructed Yu L
Ling Xi stood there with a faint smile, yet her whole body radiated an intimidating aura, her tone slightly cold. “Grandma, you certainly talk sweeter than you sing. You say you’re dividing things up, but where’s Second Family’s share? Did it get lost? Or is the Su family’s courtyard so small that it got you lost and you couldn’t find the Second Family’s door?”
Not giving Old Mrs. Su a chance to argue, she shot a mocking glance at the bundle. “I see the pastry bag is already empty, and Grandma still didn’t think of her granddaughter. I can’t even eat my own things, and I’m supposed to expect fairness from our old Su family?”
Su Changping had always taken advantage while still putting on a virtuous front. Outside, he claimed Old Mrs. Su treated the two brothers roughly the same, and even favored the Second Family because his second brother had no sons.
Hearing Ling Xi accuse the old woman of favoritism, he naturally wouldn’t admit it, but he had no intention of giving back what he’d gotten either. He just sternly reprimanded her: “Sanya, how can you talk to your grandma like that! Didn’t your second uncle teach you to respect your elders?”
“No need for you to worry about how my dad raised me, Third Uncle. With all that spare energy, why don’t you teach your own daughter to keep her hands to herself?” Ling Xi snorted coldly.
There was no way Su Miaomiao could hold back after that. She shrieked and lunged forward. “Su Lingxi, how dare you insult me!”
Though half a year younger than Ling Xi, she was considerably taller, and her sturdy frame—built on regular meat and eggs—made her unbeatable in fights with classmates.
She charged like a bull and knocked Ling Xi straight to the ground, scratching, pinching, and yanking her hair like a madwoman.
“Miaomiao, come back quickly. How can you hit your older sister?” Wang Guiqiu called out perfunctorily, not even lifting a hand, her eyes full of malicious glee.
Su Changping, however, feared something might go wrong and moved to intervene, but Old Mrs. Su stopped him.
“Mom, Sanya’s always been frail. What if something happens to her?” he said, somewhat frightened.
Old Mrs. Su said firmly, “If something happens, it’s on me. That cheap girl needs a lesson!”
That jinx had a charmed life—she’d crawled back from death’s door who knows how many times. How could anything happen to her so easily?
Su Xinghui stood to the side, unable to hide the smile on her face. She wished Su Lingxi would be beaten to death. After all, it was Su Miaomiao and the Third Family doing it—what did it have to do with her?
But the more Su Changping watched, the more something felt wrong. Sanya had struggled at first, so why had she stopped moving?
“Stop it, stop it! Something seems wrong with Sanya!”
He hurriedly pulled Su Miaomiao away and reached a trembling hand toward Ling Xi’s nose. His face went pale with shock. “Mom, Sanya’s not breathing!”
Not just him—everyone present was stunned.
Old Mrs. Su scrambled off the kang, asking in disbelief, “Not—not breathing?”
Wang Guiqiu’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground. “Impossible! How could she not be breathing?”
“Miaomiao, you’ve killed someone,” Su Xinghui reminded her maliciously.
She hadn’t forgotten how Su Miaomiao had mocked and taunted her these past days.
“I killed someone? That’s impossible, I didn’t kill anyone!” Su Miaomiao burst into wails. “Mom, I killed someone, I killed Su Lingxi!”
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Su Changhe stormed in, radiating cold fury, his face frozen over, his voice terrifyingly cold. “What happened to Xiao Xi? What happened to my daughter?!”
Yu Lian followed behind him. Seeing Ling Xi lying motionless on the ground, her vision went black. “Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, wake up, don’t scare your mother!”
Old Mrs. Su had never seen her son wear such an expression. A chill ran down her back, and she was so frightened she could barely stand, stammering, “Chang, Changhe… let Mother explain…”
Su Changhe had no interest in hearing her explain. He scooped Ling Xi up in his arms and headed straight outside.
On his way out, he ran into quite a few villagers who had rushed over after hearing the news, Su Shanren among them. “Changhe, Old Niu has gone to fetch the ox cart. It’ll be here any moment. What’s wrong with Sanya…”
With no energy to deal with everyone’s concerned questions, Su Changhe had only one thought left in his mind. “Third Uncle, I want to split from the family!”