"Grandma, what are you doing with that kitchen knife?"
"Want to seek justice for your eldest grandson?
"As the old saying goes, you should accept the outcome of a bet. Cousin has been studying for over a decade. How come he's learned to go back on his word?"
Hua Qingqing held an axe but didn't open the door. Instead, she leaned by the window and chatted with the furious Grandma Fang, goading her with each sentence.
Grandma Fang trembled with anger and uttered a familiar line.
"Hua Qingqing, do you believe that I'll chop down your door right now?"
Hua Qingqing grinned. "I don't believe it."
"Grandma, if you move a muscle now, when I go to college later, I'll mess up this house first, making it uninhabitable and unusable for storing things."
Threat!
This was definitely a threat!
Grandma Fang was on the verge of fainting!
How could this burden be so hard to deal with? She was like a slippery eel, making people itch with hatred but having no real way to handle her.
Grandma Fang shouted at the top of her lungs, "Why did you beat Xiaosen? How can he show his face at school? He's your cousin!"
Thank goodness the Yu family's house wasn't adjacent to others. Otherwise, the neighbors would have had endless gossip every day and their lives would have been extremely eventful!
Hua Qingqing suddenly spoke earnestly.
"Grandma, I'll tell you the truth. This matter really isn't my fault. Hey, don't be in a hurry. Cousin is the most convincing person in this matter. I want to have another chat with him. If he still says it's my fault later, I'll give you two hundred yuan!"
"Two hundred yuan isn't a small amount. Grandma, don't you really want it?"
Grandma Fang began to waver. These two hundred yuan could be obtained almost effortlessly. Anyway, her eldest grandson must be on her side. She just had to wait for the money!
Seeing that Grandma Fang had made up her mind, Hua Qingqing pointed at her kitchen knife.
"Let's meet each other halfway. I'll put away the axe, and you put the kitchen knife back in the kitchen."
Grandma Fang agreed.
Taking advantage of the short time when the other party went to the kitchen, Hua Qingqing opened the door and rushed straight to Yu Linsen's room, then closed the door neatly.
Yu Linsen was lying in bed resting. In such a short time, the wounds on his face had become more and more swollen. His face was puffy like a bun, squeezing the space for his mouth.
Yu Linsen was terrified when he saw who it was.
Hua Qingqing stood beside the bed. "Don't worry. I'm not here to beat you. I'm here to get my bike back."
Yu Linsen couldn't speak.
But Hua Qingqing always felt that the other person was scolding her from his eyes. She tightened her fist. Seeing this, Yu Linsen shrank back again.
Hua Qingqing didn't care about his change. "I won't beat around the bush with you. There's just one thing. Last time when I went to the county town, I saw you enter a billiards room. I asked someone about it. It's not a good place. They do more than just play billiards there. Cousin, I'm sure you don't want your family to know that you don't study hard at school and go to such messy places every day, right?"
How did she know?
Yu Linsen stared at Hua Qingqing with wide eyes and heavy breathing.
Hua Qingqing rolled her eyes. "If you keep staring, I'll give you a good slap!"
"Pa, pa, pa—"
"Hua Qingqing, what are you doing with the door closed? What do you want to do to my eldest grandson? Come out now!"
After putting away the kitchen knife, Grandma Fang realized she had been tricked. By the time she reacted, Hua Qingqing had already run into her eldest grandson's room.
She didn't even dare to imagine what inhumane treatment her eldest grandson would suffer in there in these short two minutes. His face had already been beaten like that. Would she break his legs next? How could this good-for-nothing burden be so cruel...
The more Grandma Fang thought about it, the more scared she became. Just as she was about to go get a knife to break in, the door opened from the inside. Her eldest grandson stammered, "Grandma, that, the bicycle, give it to Qingqing. I did it voluntarily."
"Ah?"
Grandma Fang really wanted to ask her eldest grandson what was wrong with him. How could his tune change in just two minutes?
But Yu Linsen didn't want to say more and went back into the room and closed the door.
Hua Qingqing grinned at Grandma Fang. "Grandma, there's nothing I can do. Cousin is so considerate. He knows I've had a hard time going to school, so he specifically left the bike for me. Don't worry. I'll cherish this bike. After all, I bought it with my own money. Am I right?"
Grandma Fang said, "You... don't go too far!"
Hua Qingqing immediately changed her expression. "I'm going too far? How am I going too far?! Is it me being abused by your Yu family for over a decade that's too much, or is it you taking my living expenses that's too much? I'll tell you, my dad is a glorious soldier, a national cadre, and a leader in the armed police force! I've successfully contacted him. If he knows that his daughter has been bullied in the Yu family every day, this matter won't end well!"
Contacted him?
Grandma Fang was suspicious.
She hadn't been in touch with those in the capital and Hong Kong Island for thirteen years and didn't know the situation of the two. She only knew that Hua Jia was a leader in the capital. If the other party found out about this...
Grandma Fang trembled and felt a bit flustered.
"… I've already returned the money to you."
Hua Qingqing waved her hand. "To be precise, you've only returned half. If you behave yourselves, I won't do anything. After all, I'll leave as soon as I go to college and have no more connection with you. Do you understand? Let's get along well and achieve win - win cooperation."
As for the bicycle, she had wanted to get it back before their agreement. It didn't count as deliberately causing trouble.
It was the first time Hua Qingqing used Hua Jia's name, and she successfully intimidated Grandma Fang.
When Yu Jianshan and Feng Xiang came back and learned that their son had been beaten and wanted to go find Hua Qingqing to settle the score, Grandma Fang persuaded them back.
Six days later, Yu Linsen returned the bike.
Hua Qingqing officially became a bike owner.
A few days ago, she learned from Yu Linsen that he didn't ride the bike back because he had lent it to a classmate. Hua Qingqing understood at a glance. This "lending" might be related to money.
If she hadn't retrieved it in time, this bike would probably have been sold soon, right?
Based on the other person's spending habits, Hua Qingqing thought that Yu Linsen was very likely gambling in the billiards room.
Hua Qingqing rode her bike to the county town to find Yu Linxiu. Before she reached the supply and marketing cooperative, she was stopped by an acquaintance.
"Hey, Yang Wang. Why aren't you at work today?"
The one who stopped her was the son of Chef Yang from the state - run restaurant. The other person was squatting in the corner eating peanuts.
Yang Wang said, "There's a temporary worker today. Hey, don't you want to know about Xu Guangzong? I paid more attention after you told me last time, and I really found something."
Hua Qingqing was just short of solid evidence to convince Yu Linxiu!
Yang Wang told her that Xu Guangzong went to see his girlfriend every other day of the week.
He clicked his tongue. "But recently, the two broke up. The girl didn't agree and went to the boy's house to make a scene. There seems to be something about a child. I don't know much about what happened later. But I can guarantee that this is true. There were quite a few people there at that time. You can find out just by asking around. Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Hua Qingqing's face looked a bit pale after hearing this.
Going to see his girlfriend every other day of the week, breaking up, going to the boy's house, and the matter of the child. All these descriptions couldn't be about Yu Linxiu.
There was only one explanation then—
Yu Linxiu had become the other woman unknowingly!
Men are only the most obedient when they're six feet under!