“Good heavens, just for pretending a little, and now they want to have him arrested? Is there any justice left in this world?” The familiar female voice sent a chill down Yan Sisi’s spine. Could it be that family showing up again?
Yan Sisi couldn’t help but tap her mother walking in front of her and cautiously asked, “Mom, it’s not that family again, is it?”
Her mother recognized the voices immediately. How could she mistake the sound of the people who had wronged her daughter? She had been planning to confront them herself on this visit, but before she even had a chance, they had shown up at their door. Since they came, it was time to settle accounts properly.
Clenching her teeth, Mother Yan said, “It’s fine. I want to see what they think they’re up to this time. How dare they shamelessly show up again?”
Father Yan kept a cold expression, saying nothing, but his steps quickened. Anyone watching who didn’t know the situation would think a fight was about to break out.
After speaking, Mother Yan followed closely behind her husband, climbing the stairs angrily.
Yan Sisi watched their backs nervously, worried that in their anger they might strike first and lose the moral high ground. She hurriedly followed them.
As they stepped out from the stair landing, Yan Sisi saw a circle of people gathered around their front gate. The neighbors’ faces showed curiosity, gossiping about the scene and whispering their opinions to one another.
Someone with sharp eyes noticed Yan Sisi’s family returning and shouted, “They’re back!”
At once, all eyes turned toward Yan Sisi and her family. The crowd slowly parted, leaving a path for them to walk through.
Sitting at the gate, Su Dani, seeing the family return, quickly nudged the two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren who had come with her and started her performance. Forcing a smile, she said, “Ah, the mother-in-law is back.”
Mother Yan’s temper flared instantly. She threw down the bundle she was carrying at the doorstep, grabbed the broom beside her, and unleashed a fierce beating: “I’ll tear your mouth apart! Stop claiming fake relatives, I don’t recognize a black-hearted family like yours!”
She truly couldn’t believe that it had come to this, and yet this person still had the audacity to smear her family’s name.
Su Dani scrambled away, and the scene descended into chaos as the two of them alternated between attack and dodge. While retreating, Su Dani forced a smile and apologized, “I said the wrong thing! Just hit me to vent, anything to make you calm down, I’ll do it.”
For the sake of sparing her son some trouble, these matters were trivial.
Father Yan planted his tall frame firmly at the doorway, glaring angrily. “I haven’t even gone to you yet, and you come running over yourself? Were you planning to return the things you sent us?”
Thinking of all the items they had previously delivered, and that they had ended up in the hands of the people who had harmed his daughter, his eyes turned red with fury.
Hiding far away, Su Dani immediately changed her expression, putting on a sorrowful, tearful voice: “What things? My little grandson ate it all! Even if I wanted to return anything, I couldn’t! We have such a big family to support. My third son just started work a few days ago, and he was even taken by the police because of your daughter’s business. Where would I even have money to return anything? Please, have mercy on our whole family and let my son go!”
After saying this, she gestured to the daughters-in-law and grandchildren behind her, and they immediately began crying as well.
Listening to the women and children wailing, Yan Sisi felt her head ache. Bringing the kids along meant these people wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted.
Yan Sisi quietly approached Aunt Cai, someone she got along with, and whispered a few words to her. Watching Aunt Cai turn and slip away, she finally felt at ease and returned to her parents’ side.
Her mother gripped the broom tightly, fury in her voice: “Your son impersonates someone else and hurts people, he deserves to be arrested! If you ask me, he should be shot on the spot, people like that are just wasting food. And you still have the audacity to come begging for him? I haven’t even gone to settle accounts with you yet!”
Su Dani, along with her daughters-in-law, kept crying, “He’s just a child. He only made a small mistake. When he gets out, I’ll make sure to discipline him strictly. Please, talk to the police and ask them not to file a report. As long as my son is released, I’ll do anything, work as a beast of burden, whatever you want!”
Today, Su Dani had humiliated herself completely for her son. Seeing that they still wouldn’t relent, she continued: “My son is only twenty! He’s so young. If he goes so far away, what if he’s bullied, hurt, or can’t get enough to eat? He didn’t do it on purpose. My son has been afraid even to step on an ant since he was little. This time, he just went down the wrong path and made a mistake. He only wanted to find a girl to marry, never expected it to get this serious. Please, let him go! Our whole family thanks you!”
After speaking, they all knelt down and kowtowed toward them.
Mother Yan was shocked and quickly grabbed her daughter, moving them to another spot. Already furious, seeing them kneel made her blood boil even more. Were they here to plead? No, they were trying to intimidate them!
The neighbors were also taken aback by the sudden scene. A few standing behind Yan Sisi’s family hurriedly moved aside. Seeing elders kneel like that was practically shortening their own lives, this old lady had completely discarded her pride for her son.
Some of the older neighbors, seeing this, couldn’t help but feel softhearted and tried to intervene: “Sisi’s mom, they’re already kneeling. Why don’t we just let it go?”
“Yes, they’re old now, and they have a big family to feed. It’s not easy. Why don’t we just drop the matter?”
“This is just a small matter; there’s no need to make such a fuss.”
Yan Sisi, overhearing this, couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Looking at the people speaking so lightly about it, she didn’t wait for her parents and snapped back: “You haven’t felt the blade, so you don’t know the pain, do you?”
Immediately, everyone’s gaze turned to her in disapproval. Yan Sisi stepped forward and approached the last person speaking up, Aunt Qiao, saying: “Aunt Qiao, these past few days after school, I’ve been seeing different young men escorting Huihui home in the little alley. Which one of them is actually her boyfriend?”
Qiao Lan’s face darkened instantly upon hearing someone talk nonsense about her daughter. Frustrated, she shouted, “You little girl, what are you talking about? My eldest daughter has never had a boyfriend! If you say another word, I’ll report you to the police.”
Yan Sisi had only spoken casually, never expecting the anger to land on her. Seeing curious glances from the others, she realized she had to clarify things, or her daughter’s reputation in the neighborhood would be ruined.
Yan Sisi stared coldly at Aunt Qiao, who was practically ready to jump, and sneered in response: “This is just a small matter. Is it really necessary to call the police? I was only speaking casually. Aunt Qiao, your reaction is way too much, is this really serious?”
After speaking, Yan Sisi looked at her angry face and then, unhurriedly, said: “If I said something wrong, I apologize here.”
She returned the words from before, watching her fume without being able to respond, and continued: “Aunt Qiao, I’ve already apologized to you. You’re not going to hold a grudge against a little girl like me over this, are you?”
Qiao Lan was momentarily speechless. Only then did she realize that something she thought was trivial suddenly felt serious when it affected her personally. She hurriedly said to Yan Sisi, “I’m sorry,” and without a trace of curiosity or desire to watch the drama, she turned and left.
Seeing that the person had gone and no one else was pleading, Yan Sisi finally turned to the Su Dani family, who were still lingering, and said coldly: “Aunt, stop crying, throwing a tantrum, and kneeling. It’s useless. The law will judge as it should. If everyone who committed a crime could just cry and make a fuss to escape responsibility, society would be in chaos. Who would dare go out?”
Seeing the situation turn instantly and noticing the changed expressions of the people around her, Su Dani immediately tried to get up and use her last trick: playing dead. She was determined not to give up until the case was dropped.
Before she could act, a loud male voice rang from behind: “This young lady is right. In front of the law, everyone is equal. Regretting a mistake later doesn’t help. Making a fuss or begging won’t change that.”
Yan Sisi looked toward the source of the voice and saw two police officers in uniform approaching. Not far off, Aunt Cai caught Yan Sisi’s eye and nodded, which immediately put her more at ease.
The officers continued, with an imposing presence: “We received reports from the public that someone here was causing trouble. Was it you?”
Su Dani’s family froze, caught between staying and leaving.
Father Yan, though unaware who reported it, knew that his family was the only one causing a scene here. He stepped forward and nodded, replying: “Officers, this family has been causing trouble in my home for a long time. We can’t get them to leave. Please help us.”
Su Dani, meeting the officers’ gaze, felt her legs weaken. Swallowing nervously, she said: “Officers, we’re not causing trouble. We’re just here to talk.”
Behind her, the two daughters-in-law responsible for the crying clutched their children, glancing at their mother-in-law in frustration, and nervously added: “Yes, we were just passing by. Officers, this has nothing to do with us, it was our mother who asked us to come.”
The lead officer frowned at the family, his voice stern: “Whether trouble was caused, we’ll find out at the station. You all are coming with us.”
At his command, the rest of the family, following another officer’s lead, obediently walked toward the stairway. Finally, Father Yan went along to the police station to make a statement.
Once everyone had left, Yan Sisi picked up the package that had been at the door, opened the door, and after her mother entered, slammed it shut in front of the neighbors. She knew that gossip about their family in the residential compound would continue for some time.
The women outside, watching the door being firmly closed, murmured: “Sisi used to never dare speak up, and now…”
“Exactly. Maybe all the recent trouble at the Yan household has made the girl more bold?”