Chi Yin moved so fast that Wei Chengliang only felt a gust of wind whip past his ears. By the time he realized what had happened, a slap had already landed hard on Chi Yan’s face.
The group of women, who had been chattering away in support of Chi Yan, fell silent at the sound of the strike.
Wei Chengliang lunged forward, pulling Chi Yan behind him, and glared at Chi Yin. "What are you doing?!"
Chi Yan’s face was already swelling, a streak of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. She clutched her cheek, hiding behind Wei Chengliang with eyes wide, staring at Chi Yin in utter disbelief as tears welled up.
"Sister, did you... did you hit the wrong person?" She looked toward Wei Chengliang, then back at Chi Yin. In all the years they had grown up together, Chi Yin had never once laid a hand on her!
Chi Yin didn’t even blink. She stared coldly, enunciating each word with chilling clarity, "I hit exactly who I meant to. You absolutely disgust me."
She shook her stinging hand, her eyes locked onto Chi Yan’s with a fierce, icy hostility. "Any normal person, when their clothes are in tatters, would crouch down and cover their body. But not you. When people offer you a coat, you refuse it, and instead, you insist on rubbing yourself against Wei Chengliang like a dog in heat!"
"You—what nonsense are you spouting?" Chi Yan’s ears turned beet red; she might as well have had the words "guilty conscience" tattooed on her face.
"Chi Yin!" Wei Chengliang roared, furious. "Are you even human, talking to your own sister like that?"
"Compared to you two, I’m far more human than you’ll ever be!" Chi Yin felt a burning desire to tear these two wretches apart right here and now. But she knew that settling a blood debt required patience—like unraveling a silk cocoon, stripping them layer by layer until the vengeance was truly satisfying.
In her past life, she had discovered the truth too late, allowing this pair of scoundrels to die quick, painless deaths from a single bullet.
In this life, she would handle them herself, step by step, driving them toward their ruin just like sheep led to the slaughter.
After her outburst, Chi Yin cast a deep, lingering look at Wei Chengliang and said to Chi Yan, "But don’t say I didn't warn you. Once you’ve ruined your reputation for a pathetic man who can’t even perform in bed, who would dare to marry you?"
Chi Yin’s tone was laced with gloating. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, yet every word fell clearly into the ears of everyone present.
Chi Yan stood stunned, her mind blank, while the surrounding women began to whisper and gossip.
Wei Chengliang’s previous air of arrogance had vanished, replaced by a face contorted with rage. He lowered his voice, grinding his teeth. "Chi Yin! I’m warning you, stop this nonsense!"
Chi Yin blinked, asking with feigned sincerity, "I’m the wife who shares your bed—don’t I know you best? Or are you saying it’s a lie that you’re useless once your pants are off?"
"You—" Wei Chengliang balled his fists and took a few steps toward her.
The women, eager for the spectacle, covered their mouths to hide their smirks. One chimed in, "Now, now, Xiaoliang, don’t fly into a rage and hit your wife."
Another added, "Exactly! Never mind whether you can perform or not, but if what Chi Yin says is true, you—as a brother-in-law—holding a naked sister-in-law for an hour? That’s utterly shameless! Saving someone is one thing, but holding them for that long? Anyone who didn't know better would think you two were feeling each other up under that coat!"
The comment sent the women into fits of laughter, doubling over with amusement. They were grateful that Chi Yin had dropped this bombshell; otherwise, they would have been kept in the dark, thinking this was nothing more than a simple rescue.
Seeing the crowd of fair-weather bystanders pointing fingers at him, Wei Chengliang ultimately lacked the nerve to throw that punch.
Chi Qiang was cycling home on his heavy-duty bicycle when he turned into the lane and saw his front courtyard packed with people.
He felt a surge of alarm, thinking of Chi Yan being caught in the machinery at the textile mill earlier that afternoon. He pedaled furiously, rushing to the front gate.
Chi Yan was biting her lip hard, the surrounding whispers making her wish the ground would swallow her up.
Growing up, she had respected and loved Chi Yin. Even when she had feelings for Wei Chengliang, she had stepped aside the moment Wei’s mother chose Chi Yin as her daughter-in-law.
For years, she had kept her place. It was only because she had been terrified today that she had thrown herself into Wei Chengliang’s arms—and for this one minor incident, Chi Yin had dumped such a bucket of filth on her head!
Chi Yan’s hatred was so intense she felt like her molars were about to shatter.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of Chi Qiang.
A flash of vicious malice crossed her eyes. She wailed at the top of her lungs, "It’s all my fault! I shouldn't have let my brother-in-law save me! If my death can restore the innocence of my brother-in-law and myself, then I am willing to die to prove it!"
Without hesitation, she turned and bolted toward the river, ten meters away.
Chi Qiang was terrified. He dropped his bike and sprinted after her. "Yan’er! Calm down!"
He caught Chi Yan and held her tight. Seeing the purple-black slap mark on her face, he turned green with rage. "Chi Yin! You’ve been targeting her since you were kids, and now that something this big has happened, not only do you show no concern, you’re pushing her to jump in the river? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!"
Chi Yin looked at her brother, who felt as much a stranger to her as he had in her past life. In that previous existence, Chi Yan was the only one of the two sisters to receive Chi Qiang’s affection. Whenever they fought, Chi Qiang never asked why—he would only ever hit her.
And yet, she was his own flesh and blood!
In truth, what pained Chi Yin the most wasn't his favoritism, but the fact that even after the Paraquat incident, Chi Qiang had still stood by Chi Yan’s side, kneeling before her to beg for mercy for Chi Yan, pleading that she be spared the death penalty.
In this life, Chi Yin stared at Chi Qiang, her heart growing cold as if she were trapped in an ice cellar.
Chi Yan was putting on a performance, trying to goad Chi Qiang into forcing an apology out of her. She wanted to force her to admit that everything she had said was a fabrication.
Unfortunately for her, the weak, gullible version of Chi Yin had already died in the previous life.
"I know, sisters are supposed to yield to their younger sisters," Chi Yin said, her voice light and dismissive.
Chi Qiang felt a sudden, ominous thud in his chest at those words.
Chi Yin turned to Wei Chengliang. "I’m handing the position of wife over to Chi Yan. You’ll have the divorce papers in your hands by tomorrow."
Chi Yan’s eyes widened. How was Chi Yin so different from before?
Looking back at Chi Qiang, he had already abandoned her and was sprinting toward Chi Yin in three long strides.
He grabbed Chi Yin, refusing to let her walk away, his expression shifting faster than a masked actor on stage. "What divorce? You’re doing fine! What did Yan’er or your brother-in-law do wrong? Let’s close the door and talk this through properly. Listen to your brother."
Chi Qiang was impulsive and combative. His gambling and absenteeism at the factory had given Wei Chengliang endless headaches, but because he was his brother-in-law, Wei couldn't bring himself to fire him.
Chi Qiang was only thinking about his job security. He didn't care about Chi Yan’s feelings at all; instead, he threw his weight around as the eldest brother, shouting at Chi Yan, "Yan’er! You’re being unreasonable too! What couple doesn't argue? Why are you meddling in their business?"
Chi Yan had been proud and arrogant since childhood; she couldn't stand being slighted. Seeing her trap dismantled by a few sentences from Chi Yin left her boiling with frustrated, unvented rage.
Chi Yin glanced coldly at Chi Yan’s furious expression, her delicate brows arching slightly.
She had meant to goad Chi Qiang, and she certainly meant to divorce Wei Chengliang.
In this life, Wei Chengliang was worth nothing. If he dropped dead and turned to dust, that would be for the best.