Wu Xuerou, smart and astute, learned from Di Ruihe that Qianqian had been taking medication for her throat. Carrying out the task assigned by Di Ruihe, she began to probe Jiang Ziyu.
"Qianqian has been much livelier lately. All this is thanks to you, my dear cousin-in-law," Wu Xuerou began with flattery, leading into the topic.
Jiang Ziyu, noticing the calculation in Wu Xuerou's eyes, replied humbly, "It's not entirely my credit; Di Mingjue also played a part."
"Women understand women best," Wu Xuerou said, her eyes conveying understanding, and she winked at Jiang Ziyu.
Understand?
That was rather presumptuous.
Jiang Ziyu fell silent.
The two had no prior interactions, like two parallel lines. Forcing a connection between them only led to awkwardness and discomfort.
Wu Xuerou racked her brain, unable to figure out how to get Jiang Ziyu to go from being taciturn to speaking endlessly.
"You're just a foolish and timid little mute!"
As they were playing nicely, Xiao Shan suddenly pushed Qianqian to the ground.
Wu Xuerou hadn't come up with a plan yet, and now she had a new problem. She stared at Xiao Shan with anger as Jiang Ziyu rushed over.
"You brat, who told you to bully your sister!"
A slap landed on his backside, and Xiao Shan began to cry aggrievedly.
Two sets of crying sounds, one strong and one weak, filled the air.
Jiang Ziyu picked up Qianqian and looked at Wu Xuerou with displeasure.
"Cousin-in-law, don't go," Wu Xuerou said with worry. "They're just children, they don't know their own strength. He didn't mean to bully her."
Jiang Ziyu took Qianqian back to the room.
The tears that had been falling instantly stopped. Qianqian looked at Jiang Ziyu with crystal-clear eyes, full of anticipation.
"Our Qianqian is so great!" Jiang Ziyu exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.
On the surface, Xiao Shan invited Qianqian to play, but in reality, Qianqian needed Xiao Shan as a human tool. During their play, Qianqian deliberately destroyed the castle Xiao Shan had built. As he repeatedly tried to reason with her, Qianqian continued to provoke him.
Children don't consider the consequences. Acting on impulse, he pushed her to the ground.
Jiang Ziyu took clean clothes and led Qianqian into the bathroom.
Downstairs, Xiao Shan was not so lucky. After being scolded by Wu Xuerou for ruining the plan, he was also beaten by Di Ruihe, who had rushed back upon hearing about the situation.
The small body lay on the sofa, his bottom facing the ceiling. The thick disciplinary ruler struck his backside repeatedly.
Xiao Shan wailed loudly. Beside him, Wu Xuerou, heartbroken, grabbed Di Ruihe's arm to stop him. "She hasn't even come down yet, and you're already giving him a real beating? Why not just pretend?"
Di Ruihe threw off Wu Xuerou, his voice harsh as he cursed, "Is this how you usually educate your child? Useless for anything important, and will grow up to be a good-for-nothing!"
Good-for-nothing?
Hearing her cherished child so devalued, Wu Xuerou went mad and tugged at Di Ruihe's arm. "No matter how useless he is, he's still your son!"
With a flick of his wrist, Di Ruihe's palm landed on Wu Xuerou's face. With a pile of vexing matters, not only was she not helping, but she was also causing trouble behind his back.
Wu Xuerou was stunned, standing there with vacant eyes.
"You hit me? You dare to hit me?" As the pain set in, Wu Xuerou疯癫ly clawed at his cheek.
Over the years, she had willingly played the fool, looked down upon and despised by everyone, just so their family could live comfortably in the Di residence. Not only had she lost her dignity, but in the end, she couldn't even earn his respect.
The anger stored within her body had nowhere to vent, and Wu Xuerou's outburst was like running into a muzzle. Di Ruihe unleashed all his might, and the disciplinary ruler in his hand snapped on Wu Xuerou's body.
Her spine felt as if it had broken, and Wu Xuerou immediately collapsed onto the floor.
Xiao Shan was so scared that he didn't dare to cry out loud.
This entire scene was witnessed by Jiang Ziyu, who stood on the stairs.