“Ahhh!! Qiao Nian, you bitch! How dare you hit me?”
Qiao Wei stood there in shock for a long moment.
The slap had completely stunned her.
Her cheek burned with pain.
In the Qiao family, she had always been the one who hit Qiao Nian.
She had never imagined that the obedient little wretch would actually dare strike back.
Looks like getting married has made her grow some wings.
With a furious scream, she lunged at Qiao Nian.
Qiao Nian didn’t even bother to dodge.
She simply wanted to see whether Qiao Wei truly dared to touch her.
If Qiao Wei laid even a finger on her today, the rumor that she had beaten her own sister because she coveted her brother-in-law would follow her for the rest of her life.
In the 1970s, whether in the countryside or the city, gossip like that was enough to ruin a person’s life.
Just two years before Qiao Nian’s death in her previous life, people convicted of “hooliganism” could even be executed by firing squad.
Sure enough…
Before Qiao Wei’s fingertips could even brush a strand of Qiao Nian’s hair, Third Aunt Shen Guifang wrapped both arms tightly around her waist.
“Niannian, you can’t say things like that! Weiwei didn’t mean anything by it. She’s still young and just speaks without thinking…”
Before Shen Guifang could finish, Qiao Wei exploded in disbelief.
“Mom! That bitch is framing me! Why should I apologize to her?”
That worthless woman wasn’t even fit to carry her shoes.
Why should she lower herself?
Grandpa had always said Qiao Nian existed only to pave the way for her.
Her own future was destined to be bright and glorious.
A trace of mockery flashed through Qiao Nian’s eyes.
She really was still young.
Unlike the calculating woman Qiao Wei would become in her previous life.
Qiao Nian hadn’t been burned to death in her previous life.
She had died from living like a coward.
Damn it.
I’m so angry.
Without another word—
Smack!
Another slap landed squarely across Qiao Wei’s face.
“Qiao Wei, if I’m a little bitch, then what are you? What are your parents? What are Grandpa and Grandma? Big bitches? Old bitches?”
“You’re slandering the entire family because you couldn’t get your brother-in-law. Is that how they raised you?”
“If your parents won’t discipline you, then as your older sister, I will. Otherwise people will think our family has no manners!”
Even after saying that, Qiao Nian still wasn’t satisfied.
She slapped Qiao Wei several more times, left and right.
Only then did Qiao Qihang and Qiao Qiming seem to snap out of their daze.
Like enraged calves, they charged toward her with vicious expressions.
“Qiao Nian! You dare bully my sister? I’ll kill you!”
Sarcasm flickered in Qiao Nian’s eyes.
Qiao Qihang was one thing.
But Qiao Qiming…
He was her own biological younger brother.
Yet he was helping Qiao Wei and threatening to kill her.
Smack!
Smack!
Qiao Nian believed in treating everyone equally.
Whether they were cousins or siblings—
Each got a slap.
“If Qiao Wei keeps lusting after her brother-in-law like this, and she behaves the same way outside someday, she’ll be arrested for hooliganism! Are you trying to ruin her life?”
“You’re lying! I never did that!”
Qiao Wei felt like she was about to go insane.
Who on earth coveted Li Dachuan?
He was older than her own father!
How could she possibly be interested in him?
But Qiao Nian kept repeating “hooliganism” and “coveting your brother-in-law.”
She was deliberately trying to destroy her reputation.
How vicious!
“You didn’t? Then why did you keep saying how envious you were? How lucky I was? If you really want to marry him, then I won’t get married today.”
“Li Dachuan is yours.”
“You two can get married instead!”
With that, Qiao Nian plopped down on the ground.
Slapping her thighs dramatically, she burst into loud, exaggerated sobs.
“Heavens, what a sin! Boo-hoo! On the happiest day of my life, Qiao Wei is trying to steal her own brother-in-law! If only you’d said something earlier, I’d gladly have given you this marriage!”
She had never acted like this in her previous life.
But it was her mother-in-law’s favorite trick.
She herself had suffered countless times because of those theatrical crying fits.
“I can’t go on living! How will I ever face people again?”
“Get her inside! Right now!”
Old Master Qiao, who had been watching from inside the house, finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He barked the order angrily.
His gaze toward Qiao Nian was filled with disgust.
Nothing but an embarrassment.
Shen Guifang was furious.
She had never expected the usually timid coward to suddenly become so sharp-tongued.
She clamped a hand over Qiao Nian’s mouth and tried dragging her back inside.
If she kept shouting, Weiwei’s reputation would be completely ruined.
“Murder! Help! They’re trying to kill me to silence me!”
But Qiao Nian wasn’t stupid.
If she let herself be dragged inside, she’d be facing the entire family alone.
She wouldn’t stand a chance.
She flung open the courtyard gate and bolted outside.
When she had married Li Dachuan in her previous life, neither the Qiao family nor the Li family had held a wedding banquet.
The Qiao family had simply accepted 500 yuan and a guaranteed work position, then handed her over to Li Dachuan.
In those days, everyone was poor.
But selling your own daughter so openly…
The Qiao family was in a league of its own.
Although no guests had been invited, plenty of neighbors were secretly hiding inside their homes, eager to watch the drama unfold.
As long as she ran outside, everyone would have an excuse to come out and witness the spectacle.
The Qiao family’s reputation would be trampled into the dirt.
So when they saw Qiao Nian sprinting out of the gate while screaming at the top of her lungs…
The entire Qiao family panicked.
“You ungrateful brat! We’ve been too soft on you!”
Her father, Qiao Weiguo, and her third uncle, Qiao Yuemin, two tall, burly men, rushed toward her with furious expressions.
“Dad! Third Uncle! Please! I was wrong! Don’t kill me!” Qiao Nian cried as she ran.
“If you don’t want me to marry him, then I won’t! I promise I won’t tell anyone the truth!”
Her youthful body was light and quick, allowing her to stay ahead while shouting loudly.
Just then, someone nearby called out in surprise,
“Niannian, why are people talking about killing someone? Isn’t today supposed to be your wedding day?”
“Niannian has always been such a sensible and well-behaved girl. She takes care of everything inside and outside the house—everyone praises her. But just now, it sounded like your cousin was trying to steal your husband. Come on, tell Aunt Zhou what happened.”
Qiao Nian looked up.
Standing in the courtyard were Uncle Li and Aunt Zhou.
Without hesitation, she darted behind Aunt Zhou for protection.
Lowering her head, she raised it again, her eyes already red with tears.
“A-Aunt Zhou… it was my cousin… She… she actually wanted to…”
“Qiao Nian!”
The moment he heard her begin to speak, Qiao Weiguo’s eyes nearly split with rage.
How dare she!
How could she possibly dare?!
A trace of ridicule flashed through Qiao Nian’s eyes.
She could understand if the family favored Qiao Qiming.
But what she had never understood was why they would trample on their own daughter just to flatter a niece.
The two people standing beside her were exactly the ones the Qiao family least wanted to witness this.
Uncle Li worked at the same factory as her father and third uncle.
If he found out…
The entire factory would know.
As for Aunt Zhou…
She was the neighborhood’s most famous gossip.
Everyone said she couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.
If she heard about it…
The whole neighborhood would know by tomorrow.
These days, selling your daughter might earn a family some criticism, but after people gossiped for a while, it would eventually blow over.
But if word spread that they’d raised a daughter who wanted to steal her own sister’s husband…
Their jobs might not survive the scandal.
Qiao Yuemin hated Qiao Nian so much he wanted to tear her apart.
Yet he forced a smile onto his face.
“Niannian is just reluctant to leave us now that she’s getting married. She’s only joking with us.”
“Isn’t that right, Niannian?”
Seeing that Qiao Nian merely lowered her head without answering, he clenched his teeth in frustration.
Still, he had no choice but to sweeten the offer.
“She’s my only niece. How could I not dote on her? We were just discussing giving Niannian some money as part of her wedding dowry.”
Qiao Nian blinked her tear-filled eyes and looked at him pitifully.
“Third Uncle… do you mean the 500 yuan you just mentioned?”
Qiao Yuemin nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Five hundred yuan!
Not fifty.
Five hundred!
His monthly salary was only forty-two yuan.
How dare she ask for that!
Has she really decided she doesn’t want anything to do with her own family anymore?