As soon as Mr. Song arrived, he tossed his things aside and went straight to the living room, only to find it empty, which left him utterly shocked.
"My Qingming River Painting, my screen, where did you all move my screen to?"
Mr. Song, bristling with anger, paced back and forth nonstop in the living room.
"Speak up, where has my screen gone, where is my Qingming River Painting?"
Qin Xiangnuan took a bite of an apple with a crisp crunch.
She shrugged her shoulders. You saw it already, it’s gone, "Gone."
"Gone?" Mr. Song’s eyes bulged in disbelief, "How could it just disappear?" He looked like a plucked lion, his hair standing on end.
"It’s gone means it’s gone."
Qin Xiangnuan now didn’t want to mention the Qingming River Painting; it was too heart-wrenching. A year’s effort, she could have given it away, just not sold by Qin Xiangmei. Now no one dared utter the words "Qingming Shangsa painting" in front of her, nor mention Qin Xiangmei, for fear she would suddenly explode in rage.
With another crunchy bite, she sank her teeth once more into the apple, her face long and downcast.
Mr. Song was the same, his face longer than a horse’s. He had come specifically for the painting today, only to find that it’s gone. The painting is really gone!
Standing outside, Jian Zhiqing sighed. In the face of the young and the old inside the room, he found himself utterly lost for words. He felt it was better to say nothing at all, lest Mr. Song make a scene and take the dispute to the school.
Mr. Song was a straightforward man who wouldn’t give up until he hit a wall. If he knew that the painting he cherished was sold, and at such a low price, he might just grab a kitchen knife and go after someone.
Qin Xiangnuan took another forceful bite of an apple, it was unclear whether she was crunching on the apple or gnawing on someone’s flesh and blood.
All of a sudden, outside came the loud shouting of Hu Li, as if a thief had broken into the house.
Qin Xiangnuan was just about to take another bite of her apple, when the shrill curses reached her ears, too familiar that it made her lose her appetite.
Outside, Hu Li had her hands on her hips, displaying to everyone the epitome of a shrew cursing the street.
"Qin Xiangyang, Qin Xiangnuan, and that damn old hag, do you really think we’re dead? We provided for you, gave you a place to live, and you’re this heartless and ungrateful? Qin Xiangnuan, you unworthy niece, may you be cursed to a life despised by thousands, trampled upon by multitudes. Bullying my Xiang Mei, is she someone you can bully? I’ve come to see for myself today, how you dare bully my Xiang Mei! Come on, grab a kitchen knife and hack away, right here, chop here..."
She beat her chest with resounding slaps.
Qin Guohua also wore an expression full of rage, his teeth clenched so hard they rattled.
These two damn brats, today he was determined to ruin them. Had he known they would turn out to be such heartless bastards, he would have strangled them at birth and tossed them into a manure pit. These two wolf cubs were born to his misfortune, no wonder he never liked them, just like that harlot Du Ping.
Hu Li was still cursing vehemently, with terms so vile you’ve never heard before, sparing no one from the ancestors down to the family’s mules, horses, and even the pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep. The ancestors of the Du family did not escape her foul language either.
Granny Lu now deeply regretted her decision. Why had she allowed that old man to marry her daughter Pingzi off to a good-for-nothing like Qin Guohua? In just a few years, her perfectly fine daughter had gone from escorting her through life to being the one escorted to an early grave. The two children had never had a good life either. The words they were being cursed with, were these even words that a human should speak? Even if they were not flesh of her own flesh, how could she bear to so mistreat someone else’s children? They too were born of their parents, and she feared they would eventually suffer retribution.
Qin Xiangmei stood there smirking gleefully at the disaster. Although she disapproved of Hu Li’s shrewish behavior, she had to admit, sometimes fear is necessary in this world. Bringing Hu Li here was the right thing to do. Qin Xiangyang and Qin Yangnuan are worthless anyway; no matter what, they are still Dad’s children, and the father-son bond cannot be broken.
Qin Xiangnuan walked out of the room, with Conghua, who was secured with a chain, trailing behind her. Lately, there had been a lot of people around, and for fear that Conghua would bark and accidentally hurt someone, they kept it tied up.
Her eyes, impassive as the quiet deep, contained not the slightest trace of affection. She had said it before: her familial love was already dead, buried in a past life, gone from this life. She, Qin Xiangnuan, was without father, without mother.
Conghua barked fiercely with a vicious air, its threatening display causing Hu Li, who was cursing to her heart’s content, to tremble with fear, rendering her speechless.
Qin Xiangming loosened Conghua’s chain slightly, and the dog lunged toward Qin Guohua and Hu Li, scaring them both white as sheets.
As the saying goes, scoundrels grind on one another. Of course, wicked people are also afraid of being bitten by vicious dogs.
She believed that Qin Guohua and Hu Li might not fear people, but they would certainly fear a dog.
"Qin Xiangnuan, you little slut!" Hu Li had just taken a deep breath to curse someone, when she saw Qin Xiangnuan curl her lips into a smile. Instead of anger, she laughed, and as her smile grew colder, it was as if she was an evil ghost crawling out of hell—an expression she thought she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Conghua barked madly, and it seemed like Qin Xiangnuan could barely hold it back. She loosened her grip a little and Hu Li and Qin Guohua turned tail and ran.
Jian Zhiqing took the chain from Qin Xiangnuan’s hand.
"This isn’t the way to solve the problem."
Qin Xiangnuan was noncommittal.
"I know, but it sure feels good to scare them. I feel very relieved, extremely relieved in fact."
"Have you no shame toward your own parents?" Jian Zhiqing flicked Qin Xiangnuan’s forehead. "Little girl, don’t harbor such a heavy grudge."
"How could it not be heavy?" Qin Xiangnuan sighed deeply.
"Brother Jian, the hatred for the murder of one’s mother cannot coexist under the same sky. I am not like the ancient people. For sparing those adulterers with a single knife-stroke, I think I’ve already been merciful enough."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Jian Zhiqing furrowed his brows, handed Conghua over to Qin Xiang, and told him to lock the dog up. Before this issue is resolved, it should not be let out again.
Qin Xiang had some trouble pulling Conghua along—it really was acting crazy today, like a military dog. Yet, as he gazed toward the entrance, it wasn’t that Qin Xiangnuan harbored a lifelong unprincipled hatred. In fact, he was still hoping, even though oftentimes all hope turns out to be in vain.
What was the point of having such a father, such a stepmother, such a blood-related sister? Did they really want their siblings to die that badly?
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!