Helan Mingde wiped a layer of sweat from his brow. “Even if we–we were wrong, and we shouldn’t have acted on our own, shouldn’t you go a little easier on us?” he said anxiously. “What on earth did we do to deserve such anger and hatred? To have you do this to Suya? She has a good heart that was just used in the wrong way. You Yues…… You’re outrageous…… You’re too arrogant……”


  Mrs. Yue took another sip of water. “Don’t be so uptight, Helan Mingde. Grab a stool, sit down and listen. What comes next requires your full attention.”


  A sheen of cold sweat formed over Mrs. Helan’s aching body. Her eyes were like twin balls of fire. She had lost all feeling in both arms, but her brain was clear and sharp.

  “Let go of me. You Yues are truly shameless,” she snarled. “The entire city of Luo–the entire country will see your true colors. I don’t believe that……righteous society will allow you to challenge the authority of national law so presumptuously.”


  “You’re speaking as if you’re very righteous yourself,” Mrs. Yue chuckled. “Those who don’t know you would think that you are someone……virtuous; kind, even.

  “Zhang Suya, again and again you’ve tried to sabotage me. I really wanted to see how far you could go toying around with me like this. You’re not even up to Ding Fu’s standard—she has some brains, at least. You, on the other hand, can only act clever and to abuse your position to bully others. You’re like a circus bear who only knows how to jump. What would you be if not for the Su family? You will forever be the spawn of the second-rate Su who lives in my basement.”


  Background, past identity—these were things Mrs. Helan hated others bringing up the most. They were constant thorns pricking at her side.

  Now that Mrs. Yue had prodded the hornet’s nest, she quickly lost control of herself.

  “Yes, you have the Sus, and you have the Yues. So what? You’re just a sad widow who has been abandoned for decades, someone who has never been loved for half her life. My son and daughter are healthy, my family is happy—you’re just jealous of me. You can’t stand the sight of me leading a better life than you. But the reality remains: I’m happier than you.”


  “Happy? Happiness is watching your husband going off the rails, having a mistress and then other children? Is it having to still pretend to be happy, as if nothing happened? Oh, and your children? Your son—I won’t admonish him too much. He’s already so pitiful having you as a mother. Your daughter, though, hmph……the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. An old b*tch can only raise a young b*tch. She even tried to seduce my son; look at the way she acts. She will never convince my son to sleep with her—my son won’t even bat an eye at her. And she wants to be a Yue? Keep dreaming!”


  Mrs. Yue’s brutal words crashed, like a boulder rolling off a mountaintop, right into the three Helans—so harsh was her speech that they lost their balance and saw stars.

  It hit Helan Xiuse especially hard, and her pallor had turned green as she sobbed uncontrollably.

  Being reprimanded like this in public—and in front of all the wealthy and affluent of Luo city, no less. How……how……how could she ever live on like this?

  Mrs. Helan began to struggle madly after recovering from the initial shock. “You—you—b*tch—You shamed my daughter. I will—”


  Impatiently, Yan Qingsi kicked her right in her chest, knocking her backward again.

  Mrs. Yue pursed her lips. “What’s the rush?” she harrumphed. “I haven’t finished talking!”


  Helan Mingde began to tremble. “This is outrageous. I’ll lodge a police report. I have to lodge a police report……”


  He took out his handphone with shaking fingers. He did not even manage to unlock his phone when Qu Jing ripped it away from him.

  Qu Jing raised his hand, then flung the phone onto the floor with all his strength. The screen shattered. It flickered with light a few times, then died.