"You vicious woman, I'm going to beat you to death today!"
Zhang Chenghui had completely lost his mind, swinging his fist straight at Qi Yuqing.
"Watch out!"
Director Qi had been on guard, but after all, he was over sixty years old, and his reaction was a little too slow. He lunged hard to shove Qi Yuqing out of the way.
Xiao Mandong, who had been standing in the crowd, stepped forward quickly and reached out to catch her.
Before Director Qi could dodge away, Zhang Chenghui's fist landed right on his face. He let out a muffled groan, staggered and fell to the ground, blood instantly gushing from his nose.
Dad! Qi Yuqing screamed, her face drained of all color.
Screams and shouts of condemnation erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"That's going too far! He even dares to hit an old man, he's not even human!"
"Worse than a beast! Someone call the police!"
Zhang Chenghui, his eyes red with rage, turned and lunged at Qi Yuqing again. Xiao Mandong pulled Qi Yuqing back, stopping her from rushing forward, and the two of them retreated step by step.
"Yuqing..." Director Qi, not even bothering to wipe the bleeding from his nose, struggled to climb back up from the ground. He had to stop Zhang Chenghui — his daughter was pregnant, and nothing could happen to her.
Just as Zhang Chenghui's fist was about to come down, Xiao Mandong pulled a scalpel out of his spatial storage.
At this critical, split second, a figure suddenly darted over, leaping into the air to deliver a fierce kick right into Zhang Chenghui's solar plexus.
Before Zhang Chenghui could even react, he was sent flying more than two meters away, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The crowd immediately burst into cheers.
"That kick was perfect!"
"Kick that shameless bastard to death! He acts like he's in the right when he's the one cheating on his family!"
"Ugh, what a piece of work. If it weren't for Director Qi, he wouldn't be worth a damn thing!"
Zhang Chenghui curled up on the ground like a shrimp, moaning in pain.
"Daddy," Yanyan came running over from a distance, trying to help Zhang Chenghui up. She had just woken up to find no one beside her, and when she couldn't find her mom, she got scared and hurried all the way to the family compound, just in time to see her father getting kicked to the ground.
"Yanyan, what are you doing running out here all alone?" Wang Dani rushed over immediately to grab the child, determined to get her away from the scene as fast as possible. She had already failed to give her daughter a complete family, and she couldn't bear to let Yanyan see their sordid mess and their humiliating state any longer.
By this point, Qi Yuqing had reached Director Qi's side, holding him up. "Dad, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. Let's go to the hospital." Looking at the smears of blood all over her father's face, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. It was all her fault. Her own foolishness had led to this entire mess. She really could kick herself — how could she ever have loved such a monster?
"I'm fine. I've already sent someone to call the public security."
Director Qi knew full well that if Zhang Chenghui lost his job, he would definitely come after his daughter for revenge. He couldn't let that happen.
He would never let Zhang Chenghui get away with this. Only by getting Zhang Chenghui sentenced to execution could he rest easy.
And for more than a decade, that man had been hurting his daughter, pretending to be a humble, gentle gentleman when he was nothing but a despicable scoundrel. This is New China, not the old days. Those photos alone were enough to ruin him completely. The man had even dared to dream of keeping two women at the same time — what a ridiculous fantasy.
When Wang Dani heard they were calling the public security, her legs went weak and her heart filled with panic. What if Zhang Chenghui really got taken away? What would happen to her daughter then?
She glanced at her pale-faced daughter, then at Zhang Chenghui, who was writhing in pain. She gritted her teeth and dropped to her knees with a thud right in front of Qi Yuqing.
"Yuqing, I'm sorry. I was just so panicked about my daughter's illness that I said all those stupid things... Can you forgive me just this once?" Her voice was choked with sobs, and tears streamed down her face nonstop. She reached out to grab the hem of Qi Yuqing's shirt, but Qi Yuqing stepped aside to avoid her.
"Look how poor Yanyan is. You've watched her grow up since she was little, you loved her too, didn't you? If we have to go to the capital city for her medical treatment, it will cost a huge amount of money. If the public security takes Zhang Chenghui away, what on earth will become of Yanyan?"
Wang Dani knew Qi Yuqing had a soft heart. That was how she had begged her ten years ago, and she was convinced it would work the same way this time — surely Qi Yuqing would let Zhang Chenghui go, just to make sure Yanyan could get the medical care she needed.
Qi Yuqing looked down at Wang Dani, her gaze icy cold. "Wang Dani, are you trying to pull the same trick you did ten years ago? But you're going to be disappointed this time."
Wang Dani crawled forward a few steps on her knees. "If you won't let Zhang Chenghui go, at least pay for Yanyan's treatment. I'll be your servant for the rest of my life to repay you, please, I'm begging you to help me."
Qi Yuqing smiled and patted Wang Dani's cheek. "All your scheming is for nothing. The woman in those photos is already pregnant. Even if I let Zhang Chenghui go, do you really think he has the money to take your daughter to the capital for treatment, without me paying a cent?"
"Or do you think I'm such a fool that after learning the truth, I'd still pay to help a pair of vicious people who have been trying to hurt me?"
Wang Dani snapped her head up. She had only caught the part about the other woman being pregnant, and she shrieked hysterically, "What did you say?" She ground her back teeth and scrambled to her feet from the ground.
That other woman was pregnant too. What if she had a son? Then her Yanyan would end up with nothing at all.
"I'm telling you, Zhang Chenghui got that other woman pregnant. Now your daughter Yanyan has a new little sister, or maybe a little brother. He's been spending all his money on that woman. Do you still think he'll save up to pay for your daughter's medical bills? You're living in a dream."
Wang Dani spun around sharply to stare at Zhang Chenghui, pointing a finger at him. "Zhang Chenghui, is what she said true? Is that woman pregnant?" She was praying he would give her a denial.
Zhang Chenghui was still lying on the ground at that point, and every breath he took sent a sharp stab of pain through his chest.
Then Yanyan suddenly let out a scream. "Why? Why did you let another woman have your baby?" She shook Zhang Chenghui hard.
"You're lying! You said I'd be the only child you ever had. I don't want a little brother or sister, wuwu..."
Her mom had told her that if her dad only had her as a daughter, all the good things would be hers alone — the house, the money, everything. Back in their village, most families had so many kids that the children all wore rags and never got any snacks. But she was different. She even had little dresses and leather shoes, and there was always a steady supply of snacks at home.
So even though her dad didn't live with them, she had grown up happy, never having to work in the fields like the other kids. Hers were the only little hands in the whole village that stayed soft and fair, something all the other girls envied so much.
Now if her dad had another child, she'd end up just like the rest of them, forced to take care of a little sibling and share all her treats. There was no way she could let that happen.
Zhang Chenghui, already in more pain when Yanyan shook him, lost his temper. He roughly shoved the little girl away.
"You ungrateful little brat! Haven't I done enough for you? All of you are trying to make me die without a son! What's wrong with wanting a son?"
Yanyan was knocked onto the ground. She grabbed a handful of the scattered photos from the dirt and threw them right in Zhang Chenghui's face.
"You liar! That time I caught you sneaking medicine into Mom's drink, everything you said to me afterwards was a lie, wasn't it?"
"You once said that having me as the only kid in the family was more than enough, and you didn't want Mom and Auntie Qi to have any more children. But now you're actually letting someone else have a baby for you? What am I supposed to do? How could you be so cruel? I won't allow it, no one is allowed to have that baby!" Yanyan was sitting on the ground, wailing and kicking her legs wildly.
