【Dislike Points +15】
【Dislike Points +20】
【Dislike Points +35】
...
Auntie was fuming, her words slipping out without restraint.
"Bah!" she spat.
"You heartless wretch, may your son be born without an anus!"
Shen Nanchu's face darkened instantly.
In both her lifetimes, this was the first time she'd become a mother. The child in her womb—the only one bound to her by blood—was something she cherished deeply.
Insults aimed at her? She could tolerate them for the sake of gaining dislike points.
But insults aimed at her son? That was unforgivable.
Crunch—!
The bag of sunflower seeds in Shen Nanchu's hand was instantly crushed flat.
Without even glancing, she tossed the crumpled bag in a perfect arc straight into the trash bin.
The air froze.
"Who gave you the right to curse my son?" Shen Nanchu rose from her seat.
Her sharp aura forced Auntie to stagger back two steps involuntarily.
A kind bystander tried to mediate,
"Auntie, how could you say such things?"
"Apologize right now!"
Auntie curled her lip. "I was just giving a friendly warning. Some people do too many wicked deeds, and the retribution falls on their children..."
Shen Nanchu let out a cold laugh.
"True. Some people do wicked deeds, and the retribution does fall on their children."
"Maybe you should start accumulating some verbal virtue?"
The sharper passengers immediately grasped the double meaning in Shen Nanchu's words.
Auntie, however, remained oblivious and smugly declared,
"If you give me your seat now, consider it karma for your son."
With that, she tried to plop herself down where Shen Nanchu had been sitting.
A glint of ice flashed in Shen Nanchu's eyes.
Fine. If she wanted to sit so badly, let her.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Shen Nanchu shifted slightly, stretching her legs.
The system watching from the sidelines noted its host's subtle movements.
It silently wished Auntie good luck.
Unaware of the impending disaster, Auntie sat triumphantly and began lecturing the other elderly women.
"Next time you're on a bus and see young folks, don’t hold back."
"Our old bones can’t take it—they should give up their seats."
"If they refuse? Just curse them out."
Playing the age card, huh?
Shen Nanchu nudged her foot again. A few loose screws clattered to the floor.
The faint sound was drowned out in the noisy bus.
Then, the show began.
After a stretch of straight road, the bus hit a series of sharp turns, swaying violently.
Suddenly—
Creak!
The last two screws under Shen Nanchu’s former seat gave way completely.
"Aiyo!"
Auntie yelped as momentum sent her flying—bags and all—before she landed with a thud, knees hitting the floor.
Now kneeling squarely before Shen Nanchu, Auntie looked up in shock.
Shen Nanchu gazed down coolly.
"Oh? Auntie, is this your way of apologizing on your knees?"
Auntie's belongings spilled everywhere.
Flushed with humiliation, she tried to stand, but the bus lurched again—
Bang!
This time, she knocked her forehead against the floor in a full kowtow.
"No need," Shen Nanchu waved a hand dismissively. "Even if you kowtow a hundred times, I won’t forgive you for cursing my son."
Then her eyes flickered.
"What’s this?"
Auntie’s large cloth bag had split open, its contents now exposed.
Shen Nanchu’s sharp gaze locked onto what lay inside.
"It's... it's nothing."
Auntie didn’t even bother to stand up from her kneeling position, scrambling instead to retrieve her fallen bag.
"Let me help you with that!"
Shen Nanchu was more than happy to play the good Samaritan.
She reached the bag before Auntie could.
Under Auntie’s stunned gaze, Shen Nanchu flashed a mischievous smirk.
Rustle—
Shen Nanchu "accidentally" lost her grip, spilling the bag’s contents all over the place.
[Disgust Points +30]
Two rolls of public restroom toilet paper, three packets of canteen MSG, and a stack of… military bathhouse soap coupons.
The entire bus fell silent.
Shen Nanchu feigned surprise, "Oh my, Auntie, are you… stocking up?"
Auntie’s face turned ghostly pale. "Th-These are mine! I bought them!"
Shen Nanchu picked up one of the soap coupons and read aloud lazily, "‘For exclusive use by the Military Logistics Department. Not to be taken outside.’ Auntie, are you stealing public property?"
Auntie’s legs began to tremble.
Stealing from the state? That was a crime!
The bus conductor finally made her way over, though the crowded vehicle slowed her down.
Seizing the chance, Auntie frantically gathered the scattered items back into her bag.
"What’s going on here?" the conductor asked with a frown.
A kind passenger quickly explained the situation.
Auntie, now clutching her bag, played the victim first. "This young lady refused to give up her seat for an elder like me, and now she’s accusing me of theft!"
"Comrade, I’m not lying," Shen Nanchu countered.
"Stealing military supplies is punishable by up to three years in prison if the circumstances are severe. This Auntie has taken quite a few things from the army."
The moment Shen Nanchu finished speaking, Auntie erupted.
"You’re just slandering me because I asked you to give me your seat!"
She clung to her bag like her life depended on it, adamantly denying any wrongdoing.
If anyone dared to inspect her bag, she’d wail and throw a tantrum.
"Comrade, do you have proof?" the conductor asked, rubbing her temples.
"Of course!"
Shen Nanchu crouched down, grabbed Auntie’s arm, and yanked her aside.
Under where Auntie had been sitting, a military bathhouse soap coupon lay pressed against the seat.
Caught red-handed.
Auntie’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.
---
That afternoon,
The sky hung oppressively low, dark clouds churning as distant thunder rumbled, as if the heavens themselves were brewing fury.
Shen Nanchu hurried back to Wang Village, barely making it before the storm.
Lugging her belongings, she had just reached the village entrance when shouts and the clanging of gongs echoed from the direction of the threshing ground.
Her brow furrowed, and she quickened her pace, an uneasy feeling settling in her gut.
Sure enough, as she rounded the old locust tree at the village entrance, she spotted two familiar tractors.
Those belonged to the Red Armband Brigade.
"Hah. Feng Kangping, that bastard, is causing trouble again while I’m away?"
Shen Nanchu scoffed, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
But she had only left for the military base to visit her husband yesterday. Feng Kangping showing up with his men today?
That was no coincidence.
Shen Nanchu didn’t believe in coincidences—only calculated schemes.
The question was, was the mastermind her old "friend" Jiang Shuyi? Or the newcomer Zheng Tongwei?
Shen Nanchu narrowed her eyes and sped toward the threshing ground.
