He Wan walked expressionlessly up to her, looking down from above:
“Scared now, you little bitch?”
“Weren’t you so good at cursing yesterday? Come on, repeat what you said yesterday!”
Yan Sui twisted her fingers, raising her eyes to look at her in confusion and bewilderment: “Auntie, what did I say yesterday? How could I possibly dare to curse at you?”
He Wan sneered coldly: “Playing dumb? You’re really good at acting!”
The young girl looked toward the man behind her as if seeking help.
She had met him once during the first family dinner—he was Lin Jian’s assistant and also He Wan’s distant cousin.
“I don’t know why this is happening. Auntie must have misunderstood me somehow. Whatever I did wrong, I’ll definitely change…”
She was like a helpless little flower in a storm, desperately trying to grasp at a lifeline.
He Qiang was momentarily stunned.
He Wan laughed in anger: “What an actress! Get on your knees!”
With that, she raised the ruler and swung it hard toward Yan Sui’s back!
Yan Sui quickly retreated a few steps, barely dodging the blow, and huddled behind the sofa, hugging herself.
“He Qiang, what are you standing there for? Grab her for me!” He Wan glared fiercely at He Qiang.
But He Qiang didn’t move, instead looking at He Wan:
“Sis, is there some misunderstanding?”
He Wan felt a surge of rage rush to her head:
“You fool! This bitch called me a dog to my face yesterday, and now you believe this act of hers? You believe her over me? He Qiang, don’t forget, without me, you’d still be nowhere, idling your life away!”
He Qiang, scolded so harshly, looked displeased but didn’t dare to argue back.
Yan Sui cried out tearfully:
“Auntie, why are you falsely accusing me like this? You know perfectly well I would never dare to disrespect you! I never cursed at anyone!”
“I have no mother, no one loves me. I thought I finally had a home…”
“Now that there are no outsiders here, if you just want to hit me, then go ahead. But please don’t pin false accusations on me!”
She closed her eyes, her slender body trembling on the verge of collapse.
He Wan looked at Yan Sui’s expression of extreme grievance and felt both furious and absurd.
She was starting to wonder if what she heard yesterday was just an illusion.
He Qiang couldn’t hold back any longer. “Sis, I don’t think you’re this kind of harsh person. What if you hurt her with that frail body of hers?”
“Harsh? I’m harsh?!” He Wan, enraged, shoved He Qiang aside, grabbed Yan Sui’s arm, and dragged her forward.
The slender girl had no strength to resist.
Yan Sui stumbled and fell to the ground, her fair arm instantly turning red.
He Wan raised the ruler high and swung it down toward her head—
“What are you doing?!”
A furious roar echoed through the room!
A young man rushed in like the wind from the front door and grabbed He Wan’s wrist!
“Abusing Yan Sui for no reason? How could you be this kind of person?!”
Lin Qi glared angrily at his mother, his other hand tightly clutching his phone.
On his phone was a message Yan Sui had sent him ten minutes earlier:
【I want to apologize to Auntie tonight, but I’m afraid she’ll get angry again. Can you come back and help me talk to her? I’m sorry, I can only turn to you for help. It’s okay if you don’t want to… Thank you.】
He had plans with friends tonight, but after seeing Yan Sui’s message, the image of her teary almond-shaped eyes flashed in his mind, and he decided to come back.
Never in a million years did they expect to hear Yan Sui’s tearful accusations and the mother’s furious shouts!
How could his mother have become like this?!
He Wan stood frozen in place, unable to believe her own son.
Lin Qi crouched down and helped Yan Sui up.
The girl reached out with tear-filled eyes, and he immediately spotted the bright red marks on her arm.
The hot-blooded young man felt a sharp pang in his heart.
Lin Qi angrily shielded Yan Sui behind him.
“Mom! I never imagined you’d stoop to abusing your stepdaughter!
“What did Yan Sui ever do to offend you? She was even thinking of apologizing and trying to please you, yet all you could think about was how to hit her?
“She’s already so pitiful—no one to protect her, no one to love her. Is what you’re doing even human?!”
He Wan trembled with rage!
And just at that moment, the little girl hiding behind Lin Qi suddenly flashed her a sweet smile.
Tear stains still marked her face, but her expression showed no trace of the timidity from moments before.
It was wicked and mocking, as if saying—
Look at how pathetic you are.
He Wan felt dizzy with anger and swung the ruler in her hand, aiming straight for them!
Lin Qi shielded Yan Sui, and most of the blows landed on him.
The girl cried out in panic:
“Auntie, please don’t do this! If you want to hit someone, hit me!”
Then she tugged at Lin Qi’s sleeve, her eyes brimming with tears as she asked worriedly, “Does it hurt? Please move away…”
He Qiang stepped in to break up the fight.
The woman’s screams nearly pierced the roof:
“You’re all fools! Every single one of you is blind! Lin Qi, I’ve raised you for nothing! Turn around and look at the expression on that little bitch’s face!”
Lin Qi turned around just as a tear rolled from Yan Sui’s beautiful eyes.
Her panicked expression looked utterly pitiful.
“Stop acting crazy!” He couldn’t stand his mother’s shrewish behavior any longer and shoved her forward!
He Wan staggered, nearly falling to the ground, but He Qiang caught her.
Trembling all over, she stared at her son. “You dare push me for that little bitch?”
Lin Qi rubbed his stinging arm and sneered, “Should I have just stood by and watched you hit Yan Sui?”
“No one else will protect her, so I will!”
With that, he grabbed Yan Sui’s wrist and strode out the door!
He Wan’s vision darkened, and her chest heaved violently.
Just then, He Qiang chose the worst possible moment to advise, “Sis, you really didn’t need to go that far.”
“Get out!! All of you, get out!!”
Yan Sui jogged to keep up with Lin Qi, suppressing a smile she’d held back for a long time.
She tugged at Lin Qi’s sleeve. “Where are we going?”
Lin Qi, the wealthy young master whose life had always been smooth, now felt the thrill of being a savior.
“My friends invited me to a quiet bar. Come with me. You just got back, so I’ll introduce you to my friends.”
Yan Sui widened her eyes in pleasant surprise. “Really? That sounds great.”
Lin Qi called his friend. “Come pick up your dad!”
At Jiangcheng’s most upscale quiet bar.
A few young men stepped out of a private room, laughing as they cursed into the phone, “You little brat, your dad’s on the way.”
As they passed a private bar counter, they glimpsed a man sitting in the corner through the glass, his face obscured.
Even though the sound couldn’t reach him, they instinctively lowered their voices and softened their footsteps.
“Is that someone from the Jiang family? First time I’ve seen anyone in there.”
“Not sure, but only members of the Jiang family are allowed in that area.”
“Hurry, hurry…”
The boys went out the door.
The man in the corner lowered his eyes, his eyelashes trembling.
It was a tremor induced by drugs and alcohol.
Dim lighting concealed his entire face in shadow, revealing only a pale, cold jawline.
The jazz music from outside filtered through the glass, leaving only faint vibrations that hazily enveloped his drug-slowed heartbeat. All sensations grew dull.
Jiang Yuan looked at the second hand on his watch, his vision gradually blurring.
10 hours, 23 minutes, and 54 seconds—he had endured this long already.
The new drug was indeed effective.
Combined with alcohol, perhaps he could sleep tonight.