All the demands she wanted to make had already been voiced by someone else—what more could Su Qing say?
She could only take small, hesitant steps over to Wang Cuifen, her eyes shining brightly as she spoke in a soft, sweet voice, "Auntie Wang, you're so kind~"
Wang Cuifen instantly flashed a smug, lopsided grin.
"Don’t be scared, Qingqing. From now on, I’ll take care of you. With me watching your back, let’s see who dares to mess with you."
"Mm." Su Qing nodded earnestly, praising, "Auntie Wang is the most formidable woman on this street."
"Of course I am." Wang Cuifen’s chin lifted unconsciously.
She pointed at the defeated Su family members sprawled on the ground and scoffed, "As if they could ever stand a chance against me. Still wet behind the ears, yet they dare to stir up trouble? I’ll make sure they’re left with their pants down, humiliated for all to see."
Xie Jianhua glanced at Wang Cuifen, then at Su Qing, pressing his lips together in silence.
He Laidi, unable to match Wang Cuifen’s ferocity, redirected her fury at her own daughter, screeching, "Su Qing, you ungrateful brat! I raised you with my own sweat and tears, and this is how you repay me? Standing by while they bully your own mother? You heartless, unfilial wretch—I should’ve drowned you at birth! If you dare side with Xie Jianhua, don’t ever call me your mother again!"
When logic failed, she resorted to emotional blackmail.
No wonder the original owner, given a second chance at life, had wanted to end it all. Being saddled with parents like this was downright suffocating.
But Su Qing couldn’t care less. They weren’t her real family anyway—why would she indulge them?
Only a fool would take He Laidi’s threats seriously.
Covering half her face with her hand, her eyes reddening, she let out a delicate sniffle before saying, "Since you don’t want to acknowledge me as your daughter, let’s get a severance agreement written up later."
"Oh yes, yes! The severance agreement—let’s get that done too. From now on, Su Qing will have nothing to do with your Su family," Wang Cuifen quickly added.
She’d felt like something was missing earlier, but now everything was falling into place.
Wang Cuifen pressed impatiently, "Well? Are you agreeing or not? Spit it out already."
Su Qing then sweetly piled on, "You’d better agree quickly. Otherwise, if the Xie family reports this to the authorities, not only will Su Xue suffer, but Dad and Second Brother might lose their jobs—or even end up in jail. And the whole neighborhood will be laughing at the Su family."
"If you won’t agree, fine. I’ll go file the report right now," Xie Jianhua said, standing up as if to leave.
Between Wang Cuifen’s relentless pressure, Su Qing’s sudden betrayal, and Xie Jianhua’s forceful ultimatum—
"We agree! We agree!" Su Xue was the first to crack. After all, if this went to the authorities, she’d suffer the most. She relented, "I’ll give up the job, and I’ll pull strings to get the household registration sorted. But 500 yuan… the family really doesn’t have that much right now."
As long as she could secure the job transfer and get a work unit to accept her, arranging for an educated youth’s return to the city wasn’t too difficult—especially since Su Xue’s lover had connections. The household registration issue could be resolved easily.
But 500 yuan was an astronomical sum. Su Youjin worked at the rubber shoe factory, earning just 33 yuan a month. He Laidi had no job, and with four children to feed, their meager income had barely covered expenses in previous years.
Only in recent years, with Second Brother Su Lei and Third Sister Su Xue starting work, had things eased slightly—but young workers earned very little. And arranging Su Lei’s job and marriage had already drained their savings.
The 500-yuan betrothal gift from the Xie family? They couldn’t even scrape together 200 now.
"Can’t pay? Then figure it out yourselves. Borrow, steal, or rob—I don’t care how, but you’re coughing up that 500 yuan," Wang Cuifen snapped, showing no mercy.
She grabbed Su Xue by the collar, hauling her up like a chick. "You can pay part of it now and write an IOU for the rest. You’ve got two days to gather the money. But today, you’re going to that work unit and handing over the job."
"But… it’s the third day of the new year. The supervisor’s on leave," Su Xue mumbled weakly.
Wang Cuifen scoffed. "They say ‘no rest on the 30th, back to work on the 1st.’ Everyone’s working through the holiday—if your supervisor’s skipping out, go to her house and drag her back."
Right now, with Su Xue’s pregnancy as leverage, they still had control. But if she secretly got rid of the baby in a day or two, all evidence would vanish.
Wang Cuifen wasn’t about to let that happen. Today, Su Xue would finalize the job transfer. As for collecting the money, she entrusted that task to Xie Jianhua—if the Su family refused to pay, he could search the place himself. After all, the Su family was in the wrong; they wouldn’t dare call for help.
With no other choice, Su Xue surrendered, letting Wang Cuifen march her out to settle the job transfer with Su Qing.
In an era with little nightlife, people rose early. Despite the morning’s chaos at the Su household, it wasn’t even 8 a.m. when they left—prime time for workers heading to their jobs. The streets were packed, including neighbors Wang Cuifen had earlier shooed away.
The trio of Su Qing, Su Xue, and Wang Cuifen immediately drew stares.
The onlookers couldn’t help but gawk at Su Xue—her eyes red, head bowed, face marred by a glaring slap mark.
"What happened here?"
"What’s going on?"
"Su Xue, who hit you? Such a delicate face—it’s heartbreaking to see!"
"Where are you all headed?"
Su Xue bit her lip, refusing to answer, and trudged forward in silence.
When she didn’t respond, the busybodies turned their attention to Su Qing.
"Su Qing, what’s really happening in your family?"
"Where’s Xie Jianhua? Still at your place?"
"Did Wang Cuifen start beating people up in your house?"
Su Qing lifted her gaze, tears rolling down her cheeks in fat drops, her eyes brimming with silent anguish.
With both sisters putting on such a show, how could anyone tell who was right or wrong? The crowd was utterly baffled.
Once the three were out of earshot, the neighbors immediately concluded: "It’s definitely Wang Cuifen’s doing. That shrew even glared at me earlier!"
Deprived of juicy details, their curiosity burned like an itch they couldn’t scratch. The old ladies muttered among themselves, eyes fixed on the retreating figures.
"What on earth did Wang Cuifen do? Both Su sisters were crying their eyes out!"
"Did you hear anything when their families were talking inside?"
"How could I? Between the clattering pots, wailing kids, and those brats setting off firecrackers at dawn—it’s not like I could eavesdrop at the door!"
"So who was it really? Su Qing or Su Xue who slept with Xie Jianhua? Did anyone actually see?"
"Couldn’t tell. They were covered with a quilt. But probably not Su Xue—I swear I saw her when I went to the outhouse this morning."
"Whoever it was, promiscuity is a serious moral issue. One report, and they’re done for."
"But if Xie Jianhua’s the one with loose morals, how is Wang Cuifen getting away with acting so high and mighty?"
That was the million-dollar question. The group fell into deep thought, scratching their heads in frustration.
Oh no… it feels like my brain’s about to grow from all this thinking.
