"Help! Murder!" Zhou Tingting screamed at the sight before her.
If something happened to her mother-in-law here, her in-laws would skin her alive when they got back.
Si Nian called out, "Da Huang."
The crazed Da Huang immediately screeched to a halt.
Wagging its tail, it trotted obediently toward her.
The onlookers were stunned.
Wait, since when was Da Huang this well-behaved?
Earlier, when it was biting Aunt Liu, no amount of shouting from the crowd could stop it.
Back then, everyone thought animals were just animals—incapable of understanding human speech.
But now it seemed Da Huang wasn’t ignoring commands—it just didn’t listen to them.
"Mom! Mom, wake up!" Zhou Tingting sobbed, shaking Mother Wang, convinced she’d fainted from fear.
Si Nian rushed over, feigning panic. "Auntie! Auntie, are you okay? Don’t die on us!"
Mother Wang’s eyelids twitched violently, her nostrils flaring.
Seeing this, Si Nian knew the old woman was faking. With a sharp twist of her hand—
"Ahhh—!" Mother Wang howled like a slaughtered pig, leaping up from her "faint" and swinging a slap at Si Nian. "You bitch!"
Si Nian dodged swiftly, yanking Zhou Tingting into the path of the blow.
The slap landed squarely on Zhou Tingting’s face with a loud crack.
The force was so brutal it sent her reeling, her earring flying off.
"Ah!"
Mother Wang, now enraged, lunged at Si Nian—only for Da Huang to barrel into her, sending her crashing to the ground.
This time, she actually passed out.
When Mother Wang came to, several police officers stood over her.
The moment they mentioned taking her to the station for questioning, her legs gave out, nearly fainting again.
At the station, she spotted her injured second son, Li Mingjun.
Her face paled in horror. "Mingjun! Why are you here?"
Li Mingjun, carried in by a group from the livestock farm, was deathly silent, head bowed.
Mother Wang’s confusion quickly turned to fury. "You monsters! Beating my son wasn’t enough—now you drag him here in this state? If anything happens to him, I’ll make you pay!"
The men scoffed. "Who’s making who pay? That’s still up for debate."
Before Mother Wang could retort, Zhou Tingting and Si Nian emerged with another officer.
Zhou Tingting looked sickly, her face ashen.
Si Nian, meanwhile, played the victim, tearfully clinging to the officer’s reassurances.
Mother Wang’s glare could kill.
Si Nian shrank behind the officer, who immediately noticed the murderous look.
"Comrade Si, don’t worry. No one will trouble you here," the officer said sternly.
Sniffling, Si Nian whispered, "This auntie claimed her father works at the police station... that no one dares touch her. I’m scared."
Mother Wang: "..."
The officer’s expression darkened. "I wasn’t aware this station was her family’s property. ‘No one dares touch her’—what nonsense!"
Mother Wang turned ghostly white. She’d only boasted about connections to intimidate them—never expecting things to escalate like this.
She pointed a shaking finger at Si Nian. "Officer, don’t listen to her lies! She’s the one who seduced my son, got him fired, and beaten half to death! I went to confront her, and she set her dog on me!"
Si Nian frowned, all innocence. "Auntie, do you have a persecution complex? I’m practically a goddess—your son’s barely mud under my shoe. Why would I glance his way?"
Mother Wang nearly exploded. "You—you shameless—!"
"Enough!" the officer barked. A teacher cursing like this was a disgrace to the profession.
Besides, Si Nian wasn’t wrong. She did look celestial, while Li Mingjun... well, the comparison wasn’t flattering.
Why would she ever chase him?
Mother Wang collapsed into a chair. "Officer, she’s lying! My son’s innocent!"
Si Nian sighed. "Auntie, it’s tragic. After decades, you still can’t tell if your son’s human or a rabid dog."
Turning to the officer, she added, "Sir, everyone at the livestock farm knows the truth—including why he was beaten..."
The officer eyed the farmhands.
One stepped forward. "Li Mingjun brought this on himself. He used his ties to the Zhou family to harass Comrade Si repeatedly, even lying that our boss sent him to deliver meat. We used to handle deliveries, but he insisted on ‘helping.’ We didn’t suspect a thing."
"When she rejected him, he threw a tantrum at the farm, telling everyone she came onto him. Boss overheard and... well, you see the result."
Mother Wang’s face drained of color. "No... my son would never—!"
"We all heard it. You think we’re lying?"
"Exactly! He volunteered to ‘run an errand’ for the Zhous—next thing we know, he’s harassing our boss’s wife!"
"Tch. Face it—your son’s trash."
With so many witnesses, Mother Wang swayed, dizzy with shock.
Zhou Tingting’s expression soured further.
Then an officer recognized her. "Wait—aren’t you the one who bailed out a thief, only for them to steal your jade pendant? Comrade Zhou, why are you always mixed up in messes?"
Zhou Tingting blanched. She’d blamed her mother-in-law for the theft, straining their relationship while playing the forgiving victim.
She’d never admit Aunt Liu really took it.
Mother Wang nearly fainted again.
"You traitorous snake!" She flew at Zhou Tingting, clawing at her hair. "I’ll kill you!"
All along, Zhou Tingting had insisted Si Nian seduced Li Mingjun, provoking the beating.
That’s why Mother Wang stormed over for revenge.
Deep down, she’d sensed something off—but blinded by maternal bias, she’d ignored it.
Now, with this scandal, what decent family would ever marry into theirs?
Even now, Mother Wang’s priority was her son’s future marriage prospects. Priorities.
As the two women brawled, Si Nian watched, wide-eyed. This family is utterly deranged... (and honestly, it’s kind of glorious).
When Zhou Yueshen arrived, the scene before him was: his sister-in-law and mother-in-law tearing each other apart—while the woman he’d rushed here to protect spectated with popcorn-worthy amusement.
