Chapter 8

Chapter 8

At the entrance to the yard.

Yan Xue had barely opened the large iron gate when several people aggressively surged forward, intending to rush inside.

The woman leading them was a tall, somewhat plump middle-aged woman with dyed yellow hair. She immediately pushed Yan Xue.

However, Yan Xue dodged lightly. Not only did the plump woman fail to push Yan Xue over, but she herself stumbled forward, barely catching herself with the help of someone beside her.

Once the yellow-haired plump woman stood straight, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment.

She yelled in an even louder voice, “You shameless hussy! Hand over your house’s thief!”

Her intent was clear: to attract everyone in the village.

The villagers already followed a regular schedule, sleeping early and waking early. In this modern era, those left in the village were mostly elderly, women, and children.

Everyone enjoyed a good spectacle and dreaded too much quiet. A piece of gossip like this could fuel their conversations for a month after meals, so naturally, no one who heard it would miss such a major event.

After shouting, the plump woman began to shove Yan Xue again.

If Yan Xue had initially thought these people were mistaken and was preparing to explain when she opened the door, she now had a completely cold expression.

Yan Xue easily caught the plump woman’s hand with one hand, twisting it casually. The plump woman let out a pained shriek, “Ow!”

“You damn well let go of me! You damn—”

Yan Xue snorted, not releasing her. “Watch your mouth. This isn’t your home. If you don’t understand manners, I can teach you slowly.”

She slowly increased the pressure, twisting the plump woman’s hand until it audibly cracked, then slowly let go.

The plump woman, now released, continued to shriek and curse, claiming her bones were broken.

In truth, Yan Xue also felt a lingering fear.

She had known since she was very young that she had immense strength. Additionally, her father was a Taekwondo coach, and before her parents passed, they had urged her to continue practicing Taekwondo.

To protect herself, Yan Xue had diligently kept up her training.

But at the moment she grabbed the plump woman, she had been so afraid that her strength and the physical conditioning from her Taekwondo training hadn’t crossed over with her.

Fortunately, heaven wasn’t so stingy…

The several people behind the plump woman were also women and children. Seeing Yan Xue’s actions, they didn’t dare step forward, standing hesitantly at the gate.

They had often observed Yan Xue and the children since the day they arrived, mainly because Yan Xue was indeed very beautiful, more so than celebrities on TV, and the two children were also strikingly handsome, completely unlike anyone else in their village.

However, after months of observation, they only knew Yan Xue was two-faced and malicious, often hitting the children. They never expected Yan Xue could handle Sister Liu, who was so much taller and plumper than her.

So, had her helpless demeanor—unable to carry burdens or lift anything—for the past few months in the village all been an act?

Was it all to seduce the refined, clean-cut male teacher from the city?

As these thoughts ran through their minds, their disdain for Yan Xue deepened.

At this moment, the two little ones, dressed and shod, came out of the house. Sister Liu saw the two little brats emerge and immediately changed her expression, becoming smug.

“Hmph, the thieves finally came out. What kind of person raises such people, doing bad things at such a young age?”

“Exactly. They look decent but only do sneaky things. A crooked beam makes for a crooked house. Sister Liu, today we absolutely must make them suffer the consequences.”

“You give me back my book! I didn’t lend it to you, you stole my book, you thieves…! That book cost over a hundred yuan!”

“That’s right, stealing even from children. Truly shameless.”

Everyone chimed in, their accusations directed squarely at Yan Xue’s family.

“We didn’t steal, we didn’t steal! We gave the book back to Dapang,” the two little ones argued, but no one listened.

In a short while, most of the nearby villagers had arrived, encircling Yan Xue’s house in a boisterous crowd.

Wei Siao held Wei Sixiang tightly behind Yan Xue. He took a step forward, wanting to explain, but Yan Xue stopped him, shielding him behind her.

After someone mentioned “Sister Liu” just now, Yan Xue finally realized which part of the book this was.

This Sister Liu was a widow. Her husband had died in a mining accident years ago, leaving her some compensation, making her one of the wealthier people in the village. Moreover, she was tall, robust, and particularly shrewish; normally, no one dared to provoke her easily.

Liu Hui’s son and daughter were also little bullies in the village, always leading other children to torment anyone they disliked.

Wei Siao and Wei Sixiang had been targeted by these two children from the day they arrived. The children thought Siao and Sixiang were from the big city and exceptionally good-looking, so they constantly wanted to play with them.

However, Siao disapproved of the two children’s behavior and, with his brother, refused to associate with them.

So, two days ago, Liu Hui’s son, Dapang, deliberately sweet-talked Sixiang when he was alone, even lending Wei Sixiang a book to read.

Sixiang naturally waited to go home and read the book with his brother.

The two little ones loved to read and knew many characters. In this rural area with little entertainment, finding a book was undoubtedly a joyous event for them.

After they finished reading, Wei Siao went alone to return the book to Dapang. It was evening when he returned it, and no one saw him.

Dapang then hid the book and claimed the brothers had stolen it.

–

Liu Hui saw Yan Xue lower her head and remain silent, assuming the woman was timid and scared. She curled her lips into a cold sneer.

“I’m talking to you, what are you doing? Don’t you dare play dumb! Hurry up and move, hand over those two children!”

Yan Xue’s thought hadn’t finished forming when Liu Hui suddenly shoved her, but she didn’t fall. Instead, the two little ones pressed tightly against her lower back, shielding her.

She froze and turned, seeing the two little ones, their noses red from the cold, staring fixedly at her without speaking.

But Yan Xue clearly saw protectiveness and concern in their eyes.

This was what children were like. Just a tiny bit of warmth from yesterday, and the two little ones seemed to have forgotten the original Yan Xue’s three months of abuse.

Yan Xue’s eyes welled up.

She couldn’t understand how the original Yan Xue could be so cruel as to push these adorable children out when facing these people.

Allowing the two little ones to be thrown to the ground, cursed, and disciplined in the icy snow. While the original Yan Xue herself locked the door and slept, only opening it at noon to let the children in.

After that, everyone knew the two little ones had no one to protect them. Anyone who was unhappy could find an excuse to bully them. So, Wei Siao could only take his brother out to play in the evenings when there were fewer people around.

Thinking this, Yan Xue closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly. The original Yan Xue was truly worse than a deranged animal.

A moment later, she gave the two little ones a reassuring glance and turned to face Liu Hui.

“You say my sons stole your book. What evidence do you have?”

“Bah! You still have the nerve to ask for evidence? My son, Dapang, kindly let your two wild children read a book, who would have thought—”

—Slap.

Liu Hui hadn’t finished her sentence when Yan Xue slapped her, knocking Liu Hui’s face askew. Everyone present was dumbfounded.