The news that Lai Ergou had been made a eunuch spread throughout the entire Hongxing Brigade, and even to several neighboring villages, before the afternoon was over.
Lai Pozi cried herself unconscious several times at the brigade headquarters. Every time she woke up, she cursed Cheng An’an.
But with the police having already ruled Cheng An’an out as a suspect, her curses not only earned her no sympathy, but instead made people think she was like a mad dog biting anyone in sight.
By evening, Wang Xiulan returned.
She had a huge basket of pigweed on her back, yet her face was glowing and her steps were unusually light.
As soon as she entered the house, she dropped the basket on the ground and called toward the room.
“An’an! An’an!”
“We’re having eggs tonight!”
Cheng An’an poked her head out of the room. “Mom, what happened? Why are you so happy?”
Wang Xiulan was grinning from ear to ear as she headed toward the kitchen.
“You should’ve seen how miserable the Lai family looked.”
“Serves them right. Heaven really does have eyes.”
“I heard about it on my way home. That thing between Lai Ergou’s legs is gone. The Lai family can forget about having descendants now.”
“That’s what you call evil getting its due. Let’s see if he dares bully my An’an again.”
Wang Xiulan was a traditional rural woman who normally hated getting into trouble.
But this time, Lai Ergou had dared to bully her daughter-in-law and even tried to extort money from her family. She truly hated the Lai family to the core.
Now that Lai Ergou had suffered such a terrible punishment, she felt even more satisfied than she did during the New Year.
Leaning against the doorframe, Cheng An’an watched her mother-in-law bustling around, the corners of her lips curving upward slightly.
Her mother-in-law could be a little nagging sometimes, but when it came to protecting her own family, she really meant it.
Night fell like ink, and an oil lamp illuminated the inner room of the Shen household.
Shen Yu lay on the bed, staring fixedly at Cheng An’an, who was… currently doing tai chi at the air.
Yes, tai chi.
As she moved, Cheng An’an muttered under her breath, “Left hand draws a dragon, right hand draws a rainbow, and in the middle, give the finger to this goddamn life…”
Shen Yu’s gaze grew increasingly profound and inquisitive.
Ever since she had crippled Lai Ergou, that strange feeling had refused to leave him.
The old Cheng An’an had been greedy, lazy, timid, and scared of everything. She could scream at the sight of a dead rat.
But the woman standing before him now had crippled a man’s manhood without even blinking.
She was practically a completely different person.
Could it be… that she’d really been possessed by a ghost?
If their bodies could switch, then could their souls switch too?
His gaze was far too intense.
Cheng An’an finally couldn’t take it anymore. She finished with a White Crane Spreads Its Wings stance, turned around, and stared gloomily at Shen Yu.
“If your eyes could generate electricity, we could save on this oil lamp. What? Have you fallen for me? I know I’m naturally beautiful and impossible to resist, but your gaze is way too obvious. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were picking out pork at the market.”
Shen Yu’s thoughts had been exposed, but he didn’t panic. He simply withdrew his gaze calmly.
“I’m wondering who you really are.”
The air froze for several seconds.
Cheng An’an raised an eyebrow and walked over to the bed. Suddenly, she grinned, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.
“Who am I? I’m your heart, your liver, three-quarters of your life~”
“I’m the wife you married properly, the ancestral treasure your mother spent a fortune bringing home.”
“What? You’re so bored lying in bed that your brain has started rusting too?”
Shen Yu: “…”
He stared at that familiar face, trying to find even the slightest flaw.
“The old Cheng An’an didn’t have these abilities.”
“People change.”
Cheng An’an plopped herself down on the edge of the bed, pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket, and cracked them casually as she spoke.
“After experiencing life and death and seeing through all the chaos of this world, I suddenly reached enlightenment. Rather than making myself miserable, I’d rather go crazy and make everyone else miserable. That’s my new philosophy of life. In short—screw this life.”
Shen Yu was left speechless by her twisted logic for quite some time.
He watched Cheng An’an expertly spit the sunflower seed shells into her palm and simply couldn’t associate her with any kind of demon or monster.
What kind of monster was this down-to-earth?
One that even ate sunflower seeds?
“All right, spit it out.”
Cheng An’an clapped the crumbs from her hands. “I’m going to sleep. Staying up late makes your hair fall out, and going bald is a cardinal sin for a beautiful young woman.”
Shen Yu was silent for a moment before finally getting to the point.
“Tomorrow is the day you go back to your parents’ home.”
Cheng An’an froze.
“Huh?”
“According to the Cheng family’s rules, you have to go back every five days.” Shen Yu looked at her, a hint of probing in his eyes. “And you can’t go empty-handed.”
Cheng An’an searched through the original owner’s memories.
Good grief.
She hadn’t realized it before, but now that she did, she was shocked.
The Cheng family wasn’t a maiden home at all.
It was practically a nest of bloodsuckers.
The original owner had been foolish.
Her parents had brainwashed her from childhood into believing she was a burden and a money-loser, and that the only way to earn their smiles was to desperately send things back to her parents’ home.
Even after getting married, she had basically become a laborer planted by the Cheng family in the Shen household.
“Oh, I remember now.” Cheng An’an snorted.
“Are you going?” Shen Yu asked.
Actually, he felt somewhat conflicted.
He used to hate Cheng An’an’s behavior of constantly taking from her husband’s family to support her maiden family.
But now…
He actually found himself worrying a little about the Cheng family.
“Of course I’m going. Why wouldn’t I?”
Cheng An’an stretched lazily.
“Lai Ergou got my blood boiling, and I happen to be itching to find a few punching bags to practice on. Besides, I kind of miss my huge family.”
Seeing the cold glint in her eyes, Shen Yu subconsciously swallowed.
“What are you planning to bring? We don’t have many eggs left, and the rice jar is almost empty.”
“Bring something?”
Cheng An’an looked as though she’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Do I look like the kind of person who’d shortchange myself just to subsidize someone else? I’m not Mother Teresa reincarnated.”
She stood up and paced around the room twice before her gaze finally landed on a broom in the corner.
“Let’s bring this.”
Since she’d taken over the original owner’s body, she would avenge the original owner’s grievances.
Early the next morning.
The sky had barely begun to brighten.
Wang Xiulan was already busy in the kitchen.
She boiled two sweet potatoes, then hesitated before taking an egg out of the cabinet.
Although she was reluctant to give it away, her daughter-in-law was returning to her parents’ home. She couldn’t possibly let her go empty-handed, or people would gossip behind their backs.
“An’an, are you up?”
Wang Xiulan called through the window.
The door creaked open.
Cheng An’an walked out.
She wore simple homespun clothes, her hair casually tied into a ponytail. She looked fresh and neat.
“Morning, Mom.”
Wang Xiulan handed her the prepared basket.
“Take it. It’s not much, but it’s the thought that counts.”
“Come back early. Don’t let them bully you over there.”
Wang Xiulan actually didn’t want Cheng An’an to go back at all.
Every time she went home, Cheng An’an would get brainwashed by that family and come back causing trouble for several days.
But there was nothing she could do to stop her.
Cheng An’an glanced at the sweet potatoes and egg in the basket.
She took out the sweet potatoes and stuffed them into her mouth in two or three bites.
“It’s delicious.”
Wang Xiulan stared at her in utter astonishment.