NOVPUBChapter 199 -199: Beat You to Death (Monthly Ticket Extra)
Chapter 199 -199: Beat You to Death (Monthly Ticket Extra)
Xiaofen was in the middle of doing her homework when Fan Jiancheng’s shouting threw her into a restless state of mind. She was hardly ever the one to take care of Xiaobao, that was always Liu Gaimei’s job.
But today her biological father was in a bad mood, and she couldn’t go against him. If he really glared at her with those eyes, she too would be scared.
She put her pen down, went out to grab Xiaobao and brought him into her room, asking Xiaobao to sit on the bed and play while she sat at the desk to do her homework.
Xiaobao saw her doing homework and was curiously drawn to it, already making his way to the desk.
The bed was right next to the desk, so Xiaobao’s approach was no issue at all. Seeing the pencil in his sister’s hand, Xiaobao exclaimed, “I want that!” pointing at the pencil in Xiaofen’s hand.
Xiaofen, growing annoyed, snapped, “Go play over there, this isn’t for you to play with!”
Upon hearing this, Xiaobao became upset; both his mom and dad always listened to him. Why wouldn’t Xiaofen listen to him? His tiny hands reached out to snatch it.
Xiaofen quickly dodged, but because she was originally sitting on the chair in front of the bed, once she moved away, Xiaobao lost his balance while trying to grab the pencil and tumbled straight off the bed, hitting his head on the corner of the chair, and immediately blood gushed from his head.
Xiaobao’s cries were so loud that they startled his parents, who were about to go to bed in the other room, causing them to jump up. They threw on their clothes in a panic and rushed out.
Liu Gaimei put on her clothes inside out without even realizing it, and Fan Jiancheng ran out with one foot shoeless. They burst into Xiaofen’s room to find Xiaobao lying on the ground, his head covered in blood, while Xiaofen just stood there dumbfounded.
Fan Jiancheng was furious; not only had he had an unsuccessful day without making any money, but now his beloved son was bleeding from the head. His heart ached as if it was being drilled into. He scooped Xiaobao up from the floor, slapped Xiaofen across the face, then brutally kicked her down, shouting, “You heartless wretch, he’s your brother, your own brother, and you want him dead! I’m telling you, I’m taking Xiaobao to the hospital now. If anything happens to him, I’ll beat you to death in his stead!”
Liu Gaimei glanced at Xiaofen lying on the ground, clutching her stomach with tear-filled eyes. There was no need for her to play the villain. She turned around, grabbed her wallet, and followed Fan Jiancheng out the door, both of them rushing to the hospital.
Xiaofen lay on the ground, her stomach throbbing with pain, but her heart hurt even more. She knew her father preferred her brother, but he had always been nice to her as well, always gentle and never harsh. She never expected that in comparison with her brother, she would be less than a blade of grass to him.
Liu Gaimei, who had always been affectionate toward her, was someone Xiaofen thought cared for her even more than her biological mother. Yet today, she wouldn’t even spare her a glance of concern. Suddenly, Xiaofen couldn’t understand how everyone had changed so quickly, all within one day.
She pulled herself up, and recalling what Fan Jiancheng had said, coupled with the sight of blood on Xiaobao’s head, she grew frightened. What would happen to her if something happened to Xiaobao?
She believed completely that if Xiaobao was hurt, Fan Jiancheng would indeed kill her.
She immediately left the house and went to her grandmother’s place. Her grandmother had always been kind to her, and she had spent most of her days with her grandmother. Her grandmother should protect her, right?
At this moment, her grandmother was her only lifeline left.
As soon as she entered, the old lady was cooking, and her younger son was working at a nearby factory, almost doing overtime every day; household cooking chores were all expected to be done by the old lady, who was also hoping she could marry off her son soon and finally get some relief. Seeing Xiaofen carrying her swollen belly with her face swollen on one side, the imprint of five fingers distinctly visible, the old lady felt a complaint in her heart, “Elder brother’s hands moved too fast.” 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
“What happened to you?” The old lady didn’t rush to check on her as eagerly as usual; instead, she continued her work methodically.
Xiaofen suddenly threw herself into the old lady’s arms! “Grandma, my dad is going to beat me to death! You have to protect me.” At that moment, Xiaofen felt there was no better person in the world than her grandmother.
The old lady pushed her away, “How old are you already, still so reckless? Can’t you see grandma is cooking?” Her attitude was not warm at all.
Xiaofen froze all of a sudden.
What’s happening with grandma?
Could it be that grandma also dislikes her?
“Why would your dad want to beat you to death?” The old lady still thought Fan Jiancheng was finding an excuse to discipline the girl, just to show Chui Li some color.
“It’s all because of your mother! If she hadn’t disregarded your well-being, if she had provided you with living expenses, would your dad have vented his anger on you? If you want to blame someone, blame your mother. Go cry to her if you want to cry; she won’t pity you. Otherwise, why would you suffer like this?” This was the best time to drive a wedge, as the old lady wanted her granddaughter to turn against Chui Li.
Xiaofen fell silent; what did this have to do with Chui Li?
“Dumb now, are you? Why don’t you speak up? Every time we mention your mother, you act like this. You’re so close with your birth mother, but she doesn’t take you seriously. Otherwise, she would have considered whether you have a good life at your dad’s or not.” The old lady scolded with great zeal.
“Grandma, dad asked me to look after Xiaobao. It was an accident when Xiaobao bumped his head, and that’s why dad hit me. It has nothing to do with Chui Li!” She wasn’t making excuses; it just seemed to her that grandma could connect everything to her own mother, even though it clearly had nothing to do with Chui Li.
Upon hearing this, the old lady’s face immediately changed. She grabbed the spatula she was using to stir-fry and struck Xiaofen on the head and back, causing her to jump up as blood started flowing down, “You cursed, heartless little wretch, just like your mother, how dare you harm my grandson, my precious grandchild. I’ll tell you, if your dad didn’t beat you to death, I will, you even harm your own brother, why don’t you just die, what use are you? I’ll beat you to death, beat you to death!”
She showed no mercy at all, and Xiaofen ran out of the courtyard holding her head while the old lady, hands on her hips, one holding the spatula, pointed to Xiaofen and cursed, “You damned girl, you dare to run? I tell you, if you leave this house today, don’t even think about coming back; I’ll beat you to death.” By now, the old lady was mad beyond reason, partly because Xiaofen spoke up for Chui Li, and partly because she was convinced Xiaofen was malicious enough to want to harm her grandson. At this point, the old lady completely lost track of her own strategies and Xiaofen’s worth, blinded by rage.
Looking at her grandmother, who was cursing her evilly, Xiaofen suddenly felt that the world had become unrecognizable to her. Within a day, her world had turned upside down; her dad and grandma, who were usually so kind to her, and even her stepmother, now seemed to wish her dead. Now, she began to understand, the kindness her father, grandmother, and stepmother had always shown her, was thanks to the living expenses from her own mother.
Without that money, in fact, she was nothing at all.
There seemed to be no place for her in this world anymore.
