Yet in her past life, Wei Chengliang had gone so far as to poison their twin daughters, only to put on a sickening display of grief—crying his eyes out and nearly fainting, almost fooling the police themselves.
If she had not suffered at his hands in that past life, she would never have seen through his deeply hypocritical and cunning nature.
Chi Yin could not be bothered to waste any more breath on Wei Chengliang.
She cast a cool glance at Chi Qiang, her tone neither yielding nor harsh as she shot right back at him: "That's right, brother. At first I thought being a housewife was just fine. No matter how sickening Wei Chengliang could be, I figured for the sake of your job, I should just bear it a little longer. But after you beat and scolded me last night, I got to thinking—why should I sacrifice my freedom just to safeguard your career?"
Chi Qiang felt his heart skip a beat. A sense of foreboding washed over him that Chi Yin was about to turn her fire on him next.
Wei Chengliang's brow twitched almost imperceptibly, his gaze shifting to Chi Qiang, who felt too guilty to meet Chi Yin's eyes.
In Wei Chengliang's mind, Chi Yin had adored him with a doting infatuation for the past four years. How was he supposed to accept that these past two days she was suddenly using her own brother to pressure him into a divorce?
Wei Chengliang had returned to the village last night precisely to demand a reasonable explanation from Chi Yin.
Yet Zhang Xiufen's sudden illness had delayed the whole matter.
Hearing Chi Yin shift her target to Chi Qiang now, true or false, he cared not a whit—his only thought was to appease Chi Yin.
Wei Chengliang grabbed Chi Qiang by the collar. "Well, if you aren't something else, Chi Qiang! It looks like you don't want that job anymore! Throwing your weight around outside is one thing, but flying into your dog-like tantrums with Chi Yin? Who do you think you are?!"
Suddenly thrust into the role of public enemy number one, Chi Qiang—all brawn and no brain—was caught completely off guard. He guiltily averted his gaze from Wei Chengliang.
Standing to one side, Chi Yin added fuel to the fire with cold indifference, "This rage is stuck right in my throat, refusing to go up or down. How about this, brother? You rewrite the IOU you tore up yesterday, apologize to me, and say you were wrong. Then maybe I'll forgive you, all right? Once I'm in a good mood, I might just decide I don't want a divorce after all."
With Wei Chengliang gripping his collar, Chi Qiang's face flushed a liverish purple as he swallowed a bitter pill of humiliation. "The hell? What does your marriage have to do with me?!"
"Then never mind," Chi Yin said. "Originally I hesitated because I was worried about you losing your job. But looking at it now, there's nothing left to hesitate about. Wei Chengliang, sign that agreement!"
In truth, it would have been better if Chi Yin had said nothing; the moment she spoke, Wei Chengliang fell right under her sway, convinced that once Chi Qiang was brought to heel, she would stop making a fuss.
Wei Chengliang glared at Chi Qiang. "Speak! How much money did you steal from Chi Yin?"
Chi Qiang was fiercely resentful, but unwilling to provoke Wei Chengliang's wrath, he lowered his eyes and said guiltily, "Fifty... fifty yuan."
What?!
Fifty yuan?!
Wei Chengliang felt the veins on his temples throb wildly!
He broke his back at the factory every day, enduring the managers' scowls; even for an administrator, fifty yuan was three months' wages without eating or drinking!
And now, this son-of-a-bitch Chi Qiang had stolen it just like that, and when asked for the IOU, had even torn it up!
In Wei Chengliang's mind, Chi Yin was his wife, and that fifty yuan was his hard-earned blood and money.
The thought that the money he had worked so hard to earn had been stolen by Chi Qiang to gamble made his fury utterly impossible to suppress!
Yet this was his father-in-law and mother-in-law's house, and reason ultimately prevailed in Wei Chengliang's mind.
He glared at Chi Qiang. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you! Right now, immediately, at once—write an IOU for the money you owe us!"
Intimidated by Wei Chengliang's imposing aura, Chi Qiang panicked inwardly.
Yet his monthly salary was only eight yuan—where on earth was he supposed to get the money to pay it back?
Shrinking his neck and darting his eyes about, Chi Qiang muttered, "It's just a worthless IOU, is it really necessary to make such a fuss? I'll pay it back later."
Chi Yin spoke up. "Brother, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that the way you went back on your word last night chilled me to the bone."
At that moment, Chi Zhenggang let out an angry roar. "Enough! Stop all this bickering! Chi Qiang, you're in the wrong—hurry up and write the IOU!"
Zhou Lanhua stood up and left, returning a moment later with paper and pen.
Condemned on all sides, Chi Qiang snatched up the pen with extreme reluctance and wrote out the IOU.
Chi Yin leaned over to inspect it, pointing a finger at the contents. "Brother, this is my money. My name has to be on the IOU."
Chi Qiang froze, a flash of annoyance crossing his eyes, but just as he was about to blow his top, he met Wei Chengliang's blazing glare.
Seething with rage, he most reluctantly crossed out the original name and wrote Chi Yin's instead.
As he wrote, he saw Chi Yin point at the IOU again. "Make it clear: if it's not paid back within a month, I'm going to demand it from Chi Yan."
"No way! Just last night you gave a two-month deadline. How did that change after one night of sleep?"
"Last night was last night, and now I've changed my mind. A month's deadline, non-negotiable."
A pain flared in Chi Zhenggang's chest from sheer anger, and he barked, "Stop squabbling! Listen to Yin'er!"
Seeing this, Zhou Lanhua hurriedly brought a cup of water to Chi Zhenggang's lips, then turned her stern gaze to Chi Qiang. "You started this mess by breaking the rules. Do as Yin'er says."
Chi Qiang's face flushed crimson. "Fine, I'll write it! A month is a month!"
He hadn't intended to pay it back anyway, so write it he would—what was there to be afraid of?
Besides, there was no way he was going to let Chi Yan pay it. Chi Zhenggang and Zhou Lanhua were the ones forcing him to write this, so if he couldn't pay it back later, they could figure out how to make it up to Chi Yin!
Chi Qiang filled in the repayment deadline and handed it to Chi Yin.
The IOU had been reissued, so if Chi Yin used him as a pawn after this, she would truly be a monster!
Chi Yin stuffed the folded IOU into her shirt pocket.
The movement inadvertently pulled at the swelling on her face, and she drew in a sharp breath of pain. "Hiss—"
What a brilliant trap to catch her foe.
Sure enough, Wei Chengliang took the bait.
With a single stride, he grabbed Chi Qiang by the collar once more. "You still haven't apologized to Chi Yin. She just said: reissue the IOU first, then apologize."
Chi Qiang said wretchedly, "Come on, you guys actually want me to apologize? What the hell does your divorce have to do with me? Fuck!"
Utterly disappointed, Chi Yin walked over to the wooden chair and sat down, tapping a finger on the divorce agreement resting on the tabletop. "Sign it. The sooner we divorce, the sooner we're free."
Seeing this, Wei Chengliang released his grip and squatted down in front of Chi Yin with a panicked expression. "Chi Yin, I know you've been wronged. From now on I won't interfere in Chi Yan's affairs anymore. Can we please not get a divorce?"
Chi Yin forcefully shook off Wei Chengliang's hand and turned her face away.
"Chi Yin..." Stung by the resolute look in her eyes, Wei Chengliang gazed at her with aggrieved pleading.
The only reason Chi Qiang had compromised and backed down was because he was single-mindedly desperate to save his job, so he chimed in with hurried persuasion, "Little sister, you mustn't be foolish. How could you hand such an outstanding brother-in-law over to another woman?"
Chi Yin glared at him. "I said before, I'm giving him to Chi Yan. The moment Chi Yan gets out of prison, you can have her move right on up."
Listening from the side, Wei Chengliang finally caught the drift: Chi Yin's anger had not yet subsided, and this entire fury had been stirred up by Chi Qiang and Chi Yan.
Intent solely on currying favor with Chi Yin to save his marriage, Wei Chengliang turned around in a rage and glared at Chi Qiang. "Are you even a man? You stole Chi Yin's money and hit her on top of that—is an apology really that hard?"
Chi Qiang forced a hollow laugh to smooth things over. "Come on, what kind of couple drags their brother- and sister-in-law into their marital spats?"
Seeing that Wei Chengliang was about to blow his top again, Chi Qiang hurriedly caved. "All right, all right, fine, it was my fault! I shouldn't have stolen Chi Yin's money, and I shouldn't have hit her. I offer you both my sincere apologies. Please don't let Yan'er and my foolishness ruin the bond between you two."
Chi Yin slowly stood up and asked him, "You really know you're wrong?"
Chi Qiang nodded repeatedly. "Wrong. Truly, deeply wrong."
"Then come a little closer."
Obediently, Chi Qiang walked right up to Chi Yin—just in time to see her raise her hand.
Crack!
Chi Yin delivered a fierce, stinging slap across his face, the crisp sound echoing through the entire living room.