"What you're saying is ridiculous. Are you suggesting that if Mom and Dad were beaten by them, they should comfort the attackers and tell them not to be angry?"
Lin Sisi wore an expression of exasperation, as if Si Nian simply didn’t understand her. "Nian Nian, that’s not what I meant. I just think minor conflicts are normal. Which rural family doesn’t have disagreements? If everyone acted like you, sending their own relatives to jail, where would that leave us? Mom, Dad, don’t you agree?"
Si's Father and Si's Mother nodded in agreement. "Sisi is right. Nian Nian, you’ve gone too far. Go to the police station and bring them back immediately!"
"Why can’t you be as sensible as Sisi? Is this how we raised you?"
Si Nian didn’t get angry—instead, she laughed. "Uncle and Aunt Si, is that really how you feel? If one day you were beaten and hospitalized, and your own daughter not only refused to seek justice for you but also urged you to endure it, telling the attackers, 'It’s fine, it’s not your fault'—would you still think this way?"
Zhang Cuimei felt something was off but instinctively retorted, "You’re just being petty. If everyone acted like you, families would turn against each other!"
"Yes, I am petty. I can’t stand anyone bullying my mother. If someone hurts her, I’ll return it tenfold. So what if we turn against each other? If she dares to hit my mother, how could I still call her family? Am I the one who’s sick, or is she?"
"Honestly, Uncle and Aunt, I pity you. You’d willingly take a beating for people like this, and your own daughter doesn’t even stand by you. Instead, she brings the ones who hurt you to beg for mercy. If I were still your daughter, I’d never do such a thing."
She sighed.
Si's Father and Si's Mother fell silent, their emotions complicated. As outsiders, they had initially thought Si Nian was overreacting. But putting themselves in her shoes, if they were the ones beaten, even if they didn’t want to escalate things, forgiveness wouldn’t come so easily.
And if their own daughter showed up pleading for the attackers’ sake—that would be unbearable.
"That may be true, but the situation is different now. It’s not entirely their family’s fault either," Zhang Cuimei argued weakly.
Si Nian nodded. "Of course it’s not their fault. After all, who told my parents to run a business without sharing the profits with them? If they’d handed over all their techniques, maybe they wouldn’t have been beaten."
Zhang Cuimei choked on her words.
Before she could respond, the hospital room door swung open.
Lin's mother had woken up early. The thin walls made it easy to hear the argument outside. At first, she’d been happy to hear Lin Sisi’s voice, thinking her daughter had come to visit after hearing about her injuries.
But then she heard Lin Sisi dismiss the violence as "minor conflicts."
In the past, Lin's mother might have brushed it off, believing Lin Sisi was just trying to keep the peace.
But hearing her biological daughter stand unwaveringly by her side, defending her without hesitation—she finally understood. Real family would never sacrifice their own for the sake of others.
The stark contrast filled her with guilt and regret.
Her own daughter had just returned home, yet they were already pushing her to get married, leaving little time for her to bond with the family.
And yet, as a mother, she was still preoccupied with how well Lin Sisi was doing in the city.
But now, the only one standing by her side was herself.
Lin's mother felt as if a whirlwind of emotions had been stirred inside her—bitter, sour, and everything in between.
Dressed in a hospital gown, her head wrapped in bandages stained with traces of blood, Lin's mother looked utterly exhausted, her face pale and worn.
The Si family, who had been making a scene moments ago, fell silent the moment they saw her.
Lin Sisi was also taken aback, instinctively turning to look at Lin's mother, only to be met with an icy stare.
Her heart sank.
A bad feeling crept over her.
"Mom, why did you come out?" Si Nian quickly moved to support Lin's mother.
Lin's mother gazed at her with tender affection. "I couldn’t bear to see you being ganged up on by so many people for my sake. Nian Nian, you’ve suffered because of me."
Si Nian shook her head, brushing it off.
Lin Sisi finally snapped out of her daze and rushed forward, feigning concern. "Mom, are you alright?"
Lin's mother looked at her with detachment, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Why wouldn’t I be? Didn’t you say it was just a minor scuffle? Thanks to you, I’m still alive."
Lin Sisi was left speechless, her face alternating between shades of red and white.
She truly hadn’t expected Lin's mother to be this badly hurt. When she arrived earlier, her aunt Wang Cui had insisted it was just a scratch.
She’d even thought Si Nian was making a fuss over nothing.
Who could have imagined it was this serious?
Recalling her earlier words, Lin Sisi wished she could turn back time.
She did have feelings for the Lin family and didn’t want them siding with Si Nian.
Whether it was the Lin family or the Si family, she wanted to secure her place as the most important person in their hearts.
Because Lin Sisi knew the Lin family wouldn’t stay poor forever.
Her elder brother, Lin Xiao, would eventually make a fortune and rub shoulders with the wealthy.
Though not as influential as the Si family, they would still be useful to her.
So she wasn’t about to give up so easily.
Nor could she stand seeing the family who once doted on her now turn cold while favoring Si Nian.
"Mom, I misunderstood. I thought it wasn’t serious. Please don’t be angry—I know I was wrong," Lin Sisi pleaded pitifully.
In the past, this would have melted Lin's mother’s heart.
But after hearing those words earlier, any warmth she had left for this adopted daughter had vanished.
It was as if all the love she’d poured into Lin Sisi had been wasted on an ungrateful wretch.
"Don’t call me Mom," Lin's mother said coldly. "I’m not your mother."
Lin Sisi’s eyes welled up with tears.
Si's Father and Si's Mother shifted uncomfortably.
Noticing their hesitation, Wang Cui couldn’t hold back and sneered loudly, "It’s just a minor injury! No need to wrap it up so dramatically or even stay in the hospital. It’d heal in a couple of days. Who are you trying to fool? Or are you just looking for an excuse to extort your own family?"
Si's Father and Si's Mother exchanged doubtful glances.
They, too, found it hard to believe that a family dispute could escalate to this extent.
Could she be faking it?
Si Nian fixed her gaze on Wang Cui. "My mother needed over a dozen stitches in her head, and there’s still a risk of concussion. The doctor explained everything clearly yesterday in front of the police and all of you. The medical reports are still in the hospital room. And yet here you are, calling it a 'minor injury.' Aunt Wang Cui, at least have the decency to lie convincingly."
"That still doesn’t mean my son should be sent to prison! Comrade Si, please help my poor boy!"
Wang Cui, feeling guilty, turned to Si's Father and Si's Mother with tearful pleas.
Si's Father and Si's Mother hadn’t expected things to escalate so severely either. Indeed, prison seemed excessive. After some thought, they tried to mediate.
"Nian Nian, this matter isn’t without other solutions. Your cousin is still young—going to prison would ruin his entire life. You shouldn’t act so rashly!"
