Lin Wanqiu remembered how, in her previous life, Chen Zhigang had constantly reminded her that his mother had sacrificed so much to raise him.
He had used that excuse time and again to make her work tirelessly without complaint.
But when it came to actually caring for his mother, what had he ever done for her?
Just look at what happened today.
He had been given an entire container of chicken soup, yet it hadn’t even occurred to him to save a single mouthful for his own mother, who lay paralyzed in bed.
“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Lin Wanqiu took back the empty lunch container.
“I should get going now. It’ll be dark soon.”
“Let me walk you back!” Chen Zhigang offered eagerly.
“There’s no need.”
Lin Wanqiu shook her head.
“We haven’t held our wedding yet. It wouldn’t look good if people saw us walking together.”
Chen Zhigang considered her words and decided she had a point.
“All right, then. Be careful on your way home.”
He suddenly remembered something and added enthusiastically, “Oh, and don’t worry about the wedding preparations! I’ve already started getting everything ready. When the time comes, I’ll make sure you marry into my family with a grand celebration!”
Lin Wanqiu merely smiled.
She said nothing more before turning to leave.
A grand wedding?
There won’t be any weddings next month.
Just wait, Chen Zhigang.
There’s quite a show waiting for you.
She walked in the direction of her village, but instead of returning home, she turned onto a narrow path leading toward the western outskirts.
Her destination was the Zhang family’s house.
Zhang Tiezhu’s home stood in the most secluded part of the village’s western end.
It consisted of three shabby mud-brick rooms surrounded by unusually high courtyard walls.
Lin Wanqiu wondered whether the walls had been built so high to prevent outsiders from witnessing the violent episodes of the family’s mentally disturbed son.
She stopped outside the courtyard gate.
The moment she looked at the familiar house, her entire body began to tremble.
Not from fear of the cold.
But from hatred.
A wave of overwhelming hatred surged from the depths of her heart, threatening to swallow her whole.
In her previous life, this was where she had been imprisoned.
This was where she had suffered endless abuse.
Zhang Tiezhu and Old Madam Sun had tortured her with burning fire pokers, leaving agonizing burns across her body.
And in the end, she had been burned alive!
How could she possibly forget?
How could she not hate them?
She wanted nothing more than to tear those two monsters apart!
Zhang Tiezhu, that simple-minded fool, appeared harmless and dimwitted on the surface.
But beneath that foolish exterior lurked a sadistic, violent brute.
And Old Madam Sun, the elderly woman who had initially greeted her with warm smiles and sweet words, had been his willing accomplice.
Whenever Zhang Tiezhu hurt her, the old woman would dismiss his cruelty with the same excuse.
“Tiezhu is sick. He doesn’t understand what he’s doing.”
Yet it was that very woman who had locked Lin Wanqiu inside a room, denying her food and water.
Eventually, she had even joined her son in tormenting her.
And what about Lin Wanqiu’s own family?
The people for whom she had sacrificed everything?
Not one of them had ever come to see her.
Not once.
She had been abandoned like a broken weed, left to wither away in that miserable mud-brick house.
And finally, she had died there in a raging fire.
That last fire…
Lin Wanqiu closed her eyes.
Even now, she could almost feel the unbearable agony of flames licking across her skin.
She could almost smell her own flesh burning.
And she could still hear Zhang Tiezhu’s strange, twisted laughter coming from outside the burning house.
She had been burned alive in this very place.
And now, here she stood again.
Right at the gates of her own personal hell.
Lin Wanqiu drew a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She couldn’t retreat.
Her revenge had only just begun.
Slowly, she raised her hand and knocked on the battered wooden gate.
“Who’s there? Who is it? Coming, coming!”
A shrill voice rang out from inside.
It was Old Madam Sun.
The gate creaked open.
The old woman stood in the doorway, and when she saw Lin Wanqiu, she froze in surprise.
Her eyes traveled up and down the young woman’s figure.
A flash of astonishment and calculation crossed her face before she quickly arranged her features into a broad smile.
“Well, well! If it isn’t Lin Wanqiu, the only person from our village with a permanent job at the textile factory! What brings such an important guest to my humble home?”
Old Madam Sun was in her fifties.
Her hair was streaked with gray, and deep wrinkles carved harsh lines across her face.
When she smiled, her eyes narrowed into thin slits.
But there was no genuine warmth in that smile.
Only false friendliness and hidden calculation.
Lin Wanqiu suppressed the hatred churning inside her.
Then, in a perfectly calm voice, she asked, “Tiezhu is almost thirty and still unmarried. Aren’t you worried about him?”
Old Madam Sun’s smile vanished instantly.
Her expression darkened, and her voice turned cold.
“What do you mean by that? Did you come all the way here just to make fun of us?”
“Of course not.”
Lin Wanqiu shook her head.
“I actually came because I have a marriage proposal for Tiezhu.”
Old Madam Sun stared at her.
For a moment, she seemed unsure whether she had heard correctly.
“Really?”
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Old Madam Sun’s expression changed again.
The smile returned to her face, this time even wider and more enthusiastic than before.
“Oh, my goodness! You sweet girl! I always knew you had a kind heart!”
She hurriedly stepped aside.
“Come in, come in! Don’t just stand outside! Let’s sit down and talk!”
She gestured invitingly toward the courtyard.
Lin Wanqiu looked through the dark entrance.
Suddenly, her feet felt rooted to the spot.
She couldn’t move.
Every instinct in her body screamed at her.
Run!
Get away from here!
This courtyard is hell!
Memories from her previous life came rushing back with terrifying clarity.
The desperate struggle as she was dragged into the woodshed.
Her screams as blows rained down on her body.
The suffocating despair as flames surrounded her and devoured everything in their path.
Her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
The color drained from her face, and cold sweat gathered across her forehead.
“What’s wrong, dear? Come on in!” Old Madam Sun urged impatiently.
Lin Wanqiu inhaled deeply.
She forced herself to steady her breathing and push the memories aside.
Then she stepped into the courtyard.
It’s over, she told herself.
That life is over.
This time, I’m the one who will make them pay.
“Don’t close the gate,” Lin Wanqiu suddenly said.
Old Madam Sun paused, her hand already resting on the wooden door.
“Why not?”
“We can talk right here. The courtyard is open and bright,” Lin Wanqiu replied. “It’s better to discuss things openly. Closed doors can lead to misunderstandings.”
Old Madam Sun’s eyes flickered.
Then she laughed.
“Oh, you silly girl! You’re worrying over nothing! My Tiezhu is such a well-behaved boy!”
She waved a dismissive hand.
“But fine, fine. We’ll leave it open. Come, sit in the courtyard!”
Turning toward the main house, she raised her voice.
“Tiezhu! Come out! We have a guest!”
A large figure came lumbering out of the main room.
Zhang Tiezhu.
He was thirty years old and unusually tall.
He wore a filthy, loose-fitting jacket and a pair of trousers with two large holes at the knees.
At that moment, he had shoved nearly his entire right hand into his mouth.
He staggered forward, swaying his head from side to side while making indistinct noises.
When he spotted Lin Wanqiu, his eyes lit up.
He began giggling foolishly.
Saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
Lin Wanqiu felt her stomach churn.
The sight of him made her want to vomit.
“Tiezhu, say hello to your big sister!” Old Madam Sun instructed, giving him a light pat.
Zhang Tiezhu tilted his head and stared at Lin Wanqiu.
He giggled twice before mumbling, “Big… Sister…”
Lin Wanqiu fought down her disgust and instinctively took a step backward.
Old Madam Sun took her by the arm and guided her toward a stone stool in the courtyard.
The stone was cold beneath her.
Weeds grew wildly throughout the yard, and piles of broken household items had been dumped in the corners.
Old Madam Sun sat down nearby, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
“Now, about that marriage proposal you mentioned for my Tiezhu. Were you serious?”
“Yes.”
Lin Wanqiu nodded.
“Whose daughter are we talking about?”
“My younger sister, Lin Zhaodi.”
Old Madam Sun’s smile froze.
She slowly set down the tea bowl she had been holding.
Then she looked Lin Wanqiu up and down again, her expression turning wary.
“Your younger sister? Lin Zhaodi?”
“That’s right.”
Old Madam Sun immediately waved her hand.
“Come now, girl. Don’t play tricks on an old woman like me.”
She frowned.
“Everyone in the village knows how proud your sister is! She walks around with her nose in the air, looking down on everyone. Do you really expect me to believe she’d agree to marry my Tiezhu?”
It was true that Lin Zhaodi had always considered herself better than the other young people in the village.
Her elder sister worked in the city, and Lin Zhaodi herself was reasonably pretty.
Those two things had given her plenty of reasons, at least in her own mind, to look down on her peers.
“My sister does have rather high standards,” Lin Wanqiu admitted.
“But my parents love money.”
She looked directly at Old Madam Sun.
“As long as you offer a high enough bride price, my mother will definitely agree.”
Old Madam Sun’s eyes brightened.
But a moment later, suspicion returned to her face.
“Would your mother really be willing to part with her?”
Everyone in the village knew that Lin Zhaodi was Wang Guihua’s precious daughter.
Although Wang Guihua favored sons over daughters, she had always been unusually indulgent toward Lin Zhaodi.
Would she really agree to marry her beloved daughter to a fool like Zhang Tiezhu?
Old Madam Sun found that difficult to believe.
“Why wouldn’t she?”
Lin Wanqiu let out a cold laugh.
“I earn money every month, and I can work just as hard as anyone else. Yet my mother was still willing to marry me off to Chen Zhigang for a bride price of three hundred yuan.”
She paused, letting the words sink in.
“As long as you’re willing to offer enough money, my mother will agree. I’m certain of it.”