Qiao Wanyue’s heart sank.
Her eyes darted around before landing on a broom. She rushed over, grabbed it, and swung it at Qiao Xingwang. The first strike hit his eye—if he hadn’t dodged in time, he might have gone blind.
Qiao Xingwang kept shouting that a gentleman uses words, not fists, yet he immediately tried to snatch the broom from her. Qiao Wanyue didn’t give him the chance—she kicked him repeatedly, silent as she struck.
Several footprints marked his body. Beaten like a rat, he scurried back and forth, but she refused to let go of the broom. The Qiao family heard the commotion but assumed Qiao Xingwang was disciplining Qiao Wanyue.
No one came out.
After shouting for help to no avail, Qiao Xingwang, cornered and unable to win, ran outside. That suited Qiao Wanyue just fine—she chased after him.
He ran, she pursued.
In the end, Qiao Xingwang reached the riverbank, exhausted.
Pointing at her, he said, “I’m your brother, and you dare hit me?”
“My brother is already dead. You can go die too.”
Without giving him another word, she kicked him straight into the river.
Qiao Xingwang screamed for help, but the water was only half a meter deep.
Qiao Wanyue had fallen into it before.
Last year, when she and Qiao Shanshan were gathering grass, Qiao Shanshan cut her hand and cried to Qiao Xingwang. He had kicked Qiao Wanyue into the river. She cried for help for minutes, and he even stopped neighbors from rescuing her.
He wanted her to remember whether she would ever dare bully her sister again.
Now, she looked down at him. “Qiao Xingwang, the water isn’t even as deep as your thigh. Are you even a man?”
Hearing this, those who had been about to help put their shoes back on.
They looked at Qiao Xingwang with disdain. “Wanyue knew how to climb out when she fell in. You’re a grown man, even a city worker, yet you’re worse than your sister. What are you shouting for? Get up—don’t disgrace men.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? This water is so deep—” Qiao Xingwang stood up, only to find the water didn’t even reach his thigh.
“Qiao Wanyue…”
That damned Qiao Wanyue had made him lose face.
He looked toward the bridge.
She was gone.
“Ahhh—!”
Furious, Qiao Xingwang climbed out of the river, covered in mud. Ever since working in the city, he prided himself on being above rural people.
Yet Qiao Wanyue had humiliated him.
He stormed home, only to see Qiao Shanshan covered in injuries.
He rushed over. “Who did this?”
Qiao Shanshan closed her eyes.
“Qiao Wanyue.”
The words were squeezed through her teeth.
Qiao Xingwang’s anger flared. “Her again—”
“Shut up!”
Smack.
Qiao Sheng slapped Qiao Shanshan across the face. “You still have the nerve to accuse your sister? If you hadn’t made that fake contract, would you have been tricked? You scheme against your own family and still think you’re justified?”
He let out a heavy sigh.
That afternoon, he had received a call from the brigade office saying his daughter was in the police station and needed bail.
Only then did he learn that his daughter and niece had falsely accused the textile factory director of seizing Shanshan’s job for his daughter. After investigating, it turned out Qiao Shanshan had deceived Qiao Wanyue into signing a transfer document.
But Qiao Wanyue had already sold the job.
Qiao Shanshan and Yang Aijiao thought they had leverage over Director Li and even joined forces with the political department to bring him down—only to ruin themselves instead.
Yang Aijiao was suspended from the factory.
The injuries on Qiao Shanshan were from Yang Aijiao’s beating.
“Dad, you hit me?” Qiao Shanshan looked at him in disbelief.
In her memory, her father had never been angry with her.
“I don’t have a daughter as disgraceful as you. Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough, getting handsy with Yang Huaiyuan in public?” Qiao Sheng couldn’t even bring himself to repeat what the police had told him.
His lifetime reputation was ruined by this daughter.
“It’s all Qiao Wanyue’s fault. If she had just given me the job, none of this would have happened,” Qiao Shanshan said.
Qiao Sheng was also angry. “Where is Wanyue?”
Qiao Xingwang held his head. “After beating me, she’s in her room.”
Qiao Sheng’s anger surged. “Qiao Wanyue, come out.”
Qiao Wanyue slowly walked out.
“What is it?”
“Why did you send your sister to the police?”
Qiao Wanyue smiled faintly. “Me? Do I have that ability—to command Director Li? Wasn’t it Qiao Shanshan who slandered him and tried to use this opportunity to bring him down, only to fail and suffer the consequences? And you blame me?”
“Qiao Sheng, if you dare hit me today, tomorrow I’ll make sure the entire brigade knows your daughter eloped, registered her marriage privately, and is carrying a bastard child.” Qiao Wanyue gripped his raised hand.
Qiao Sheng glared at her.
The hand he had raised slowly lowered.
“Your sister is not pregnant,” he said coldly.
Qiao Wanyue smiled. “Whether she is or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that she slept with Yang Huaiyuan before the wedding. What do you think people will say? A younger sister seducing her brother-in-law—I’d like to see whether the civilized brigade you want can still be awarded.”
Qiao Sheng’s face darkened.
He hated being threatened.
“Wanyue, we are family.”
Qiao Wanyue looked at him with a smile. “Family? When Qiao Shanshan stole my fiancé, what did you say? When she tried to take my job, what did you do?”
“When I was young, I didn’t understand why everyone else could go to school. Even second brother, who studied the worst, was supported until he graduated high school. Why not me?
You said the family had no money. Yet you could easily take out thousands, but not even a few yuan for my tuition.
Qiao Sheng, your salary as brigade leader isn’t low, is it? And I’ve been earning work points since I was five, working for this family day and night. Was I not worth those few yuan?”
Qiao Sheng frowned.
Why bring up old matters again?
“As parents, every decision we made was for your benefit. We would never harm you. Even if we made a mistake, do you have to hold a grudge for so many years?” he said, unable to understand.
He hadn’t treated her harshly like others in the village, nor beaten or scolded her.
He wasn’t biased toward sons either.
What grievance did she have?
Qiao Shanshan and Yang Huaiyuan were already a done deal. Marrying Lu Yunzhou was a blessing—why refuse?
After following the army, she wouldn’t even need a job. What was wrong with giving it to her sister?
Yet in Qiao Wanyue’s words—
They had committed unforgivable sins.
Qiao Wanyue looked into his eyes.
She once wanted to ask him why.
But later, she no longer wanted to.
Lack of love was simply lack of love.
What was there to ask?
She said, word by word,
“What belongs to me—I won’t let anyone else take even a fraction.”