They will never believe you they will only believe me.
Huo Qiyuan raised his eyebrows wearing an exaggerated expression his tone thoroughly insolent as he spoke. “I finally understand what a green tea b*tch is now. It turns out it means someone just like you.”
“Wuwuwu.” He shook his head rolled his eyes upward and pouted at her.
“You use crying to confuse the issue. You have clearly stolen what belongs to the poor little thing yet you still put on such a pitiful wronged face.”
“Who are you performing for?”
“Do you think I cannot see through you?”
“But your tricks only work on those two brainless men or those who have their brains somewhere other than their heads.”
Li Chuxin who had felt completely unmoved up until this point found herself wanting to laugh at Huo Qiyuan’s words.
She had not expected Huo Qiyuan to have such a sharp tongue with stinging remarks coming one after another.
It was true.
His words were crude but they hit the nail right on the head.
He certainly knew how to cut someone down.
And sure enough after hearing all that Li Jianhan and Li Jianyong both turned distinctly unpleasant shades of pale.
Li Jianyong stepped forward trying to act like the responsible elder brother. “What exactly do you think you are saying?”
Li Xixi seeing that she had gotten what she wanted bit her lip and looked over at Li Chuxin. She had not expected Huo Qiyuan who usually kept entirely to himself to actually speak up for Li Chuxin.
Then again Li Chuxin had an exceptionally beautiful face. Her beauty was different from that of anyone else in the Li family.
It stirred a strange instinct to protect her in people.
If she wanted to compete with Li Chuxin for what she wanted she would have to cry and act hurt to get her way.
Worried about provoking a conflict with Huo Qiyuan she bit down hard on her lip and pressed both hands to her chest. “Eldest brother I.” She drew in great shaky gasps struggling to breathe.
Li Jianhan’s eyes flashed with genuine concern for Li Chuxin but he quickly swept Li Xixi up into his arms looking alarmed. “This is bad Xixi is having one of her episodes.”
Li Jianyong glared fiercely at the others around him. “You just wait. If anything happens to Xixi you will regret this deeply.”
Huo Qiyuan’s gaze turned cold and hard. “If she is sick then take her to a doctor. If you want to fight then come ahead.” He tugged at his own clothes signaling he was fully ready to confront Li Jianyong.
“As far as I am concerned a man who only dares to bully women or who raises his hands against women is no man at all. A man who picks on women is no better than a good for nothing.”
“You you damn well just wait.” Li Jianyong was seething with rage challenged by a stranger.
He stared fixedly at Huo Qiyuan and was just rolling up his sleeves to start a fight when Li Jianhan called back to him. “Second brother come along right now. Stop causing trouble. Can you not see what matters most right now?”
Li Jianyong understood what his elder brother meant. This was not the time to pick a fight with this insolent boy. Xixi came first.
“You just wait.” He spat out the words before following Li Jianhan away.
Huo Qiyuan scoffed completely unimpressed. “Tch what was that supposed to be?”
He turned to leave but not before pausing. “You poor little thing learn to be more careful from now on. Those two ungrateful brothers of yours are not worth your heart.”
With that he was gone.
Li Chuxin called out to his retreating figure. “Sir thank you.”
“Do not mention it.”
Li Chuxin realized Huo Qiyuan was nothing like how Li Xixi had described him in her past life. He was not difficult to speak to ill tempered or dismissive just because she had come from the countryside.
She watched her second brother and eldest brother carry Li Xixi away. There had been genuine concern in her eldest brother’s eyes for her just a moment ago. Guilt and an apology had been on the tip of his tongue. But as soon as Li Xixi fainted it had all turned back into blame directed at her.
Such unfair treatment.
It was her things. They had turned against her beaten her and scolded her all for Li Xixi. Li Xixi had admitted with her own mouth that the jade pendant was not hers yet not even one of them had questioned her further.
She had treated them as brothers as family.
But from the very beginning they had never truly treated her as their sister.
She was not allowed to be happier or better off than their precious Li Xixi. When Li Xixi was in the wrong they would pressure her to take the blame. They would take what belonged to her and give it to Li Xixi just to keep her happy.
In her past life she had once asked her eldest brother why they treated her this way.
He had told her it was because Li Xixi was frail and unwell so naturally they had to look after her a little more.
Later when she herself fell ill and Li Xixi had recovered they said she had brought it all on herself that she could not hold a candle to Li Xixi.
Li Xixi was innocent and kind they said.
But in their eyes Li Chuxin would always be the wicked one.
Li Chuxin wiped the tears from her eyes changed back into her own clothes and was just about to step out of the hospital room when her eldest brother Li Jianhan caught sight of her. “Chuxin where are you going?” He had settled Li Xixi down and come straight over.
Before leaving he had seen that look of quiet resolve in his fifth sister’s eyes something that made her seem like a completely different person. The more he thought about it the more uneasy he felt.
Li Chuxin said. “Eldest brother I have already been discharged.”
Li Jianhan caught hold of her wrist kind words dying on his lips turning instead to accusation. “Li Chuxin how far do you intend to be willful? You promised to donate a kidney to me. You said you would save me.” He remembered telling her his kidney had failed and he needed one urgently.
She had agreed without a moment’s hesitation offering him hers.
He had been so moved so grateful at the time.
But he had also been filled with guilt and unease because he had lied to her all along to get her kidney for Xixi.
These past days he had felt deeply unsettled. Yet seeing her leaving like this a sudden sense of panic took hold.
How had she never noticed before Li Chuxin thought that even the mild mannered Li Jianhan could be so thoroughly hypocritical.
She spoke calmly and evenly. “Eldest brother your complexion is ruddy and healthy. People whose kidneys have failed do not look like that. Usually they have dark circles around their eyes and puffy swollen eyelids.”
“Eldest brother would you like me to go with you for a check up right now?” His kidney was perfectly fine yet he had lied to her.
All just to take her kidney and give it to Li Xixi.
If they had simply asked her from the start that Li Xixi was seriously ill and needed a kidney she would have given it to her willingly.
But now reborn and seeing their true faces their scheming and deceit she understood clearly. They had never truly accepted her as family.
No amount of pleading pleasing or yielding would ever earn her genuine affection.
Li Xixi’s kidney was perfectly healthy there was nothing wrong with it at all.
She was the only fool the sacrificial lamb in this whole scheme.
For a moment Li Jianhan felt as though his sister could see straight through him reading every thought in his head.
He grew flustered. “Chuxin did I not show you the medical report?” His heart sank. Could she know?
Li Chuxin drew a deep breath. “Eldest brother you taught me when I was little that one must always be honest true and kind.”
“Eldest brother is it your kidney that is needed or is it Fourth Sister Li Xixi’s?”