Chi Qiang lashed out in a fit of rage, but in the next second, Chi Yin raised her hand and delivered another vicious slap.
Though a crowd of bodyguards and Chi Qiang’s gang of street thugs loomed just two meters away, there was not a trace of fear in Chi Yin’s eyes. Instead, she pressed the jagged edge of the wine bottle even closer to the base of Chi Qiang’s throat.
She wanted nothing more than to drive it in right then and there.
In her previous life, back in the nineties, Chi Qiang had racked up so much debt that, unable to pay it off, he had let a mob of creditors storm the Chi Family home to haul away their valuable furniture as payment.
Chi Zhenggang had been so infuriated by that entire ordeal that he collapsed and died of a sudden stroke.
In that past life, she had done everything in her power for Chi Qiang. For the sake of their parents, she had taken every cent she had to help him pay off his debts.
And what had that earned her?
Even when he knew that Chi Yan had instigated Wei Chengliang to poison her child, he had knelt before her, crying and begging her to forgive Chi Yan and spare her from the death penalty.
Ha!
In Chi Qiang’s heart, there was no room for familial love or sibling bonds. Why should she show any humanity toward such a treacherous, animal-hearted wretch?
He had eavesdropped on her conversation with their mother and knew full well that that money was the sole means of survival for the two of them. Yet, he had stolen it all—not even leaving her a single yuan!
To deal with such a heartless, ungrateful creature, she had to be even more ruthless and vicious than him if she were to secure a path of survival for herself and her parents.
Chi Yin glanced at the small mountain of trash piled on the table: sunflower seed shells, fruit peels, cigarette boxes, and chocolate wrappers. A rough estimate put the value at over a dozen yuan.
It truly took zero conscience to spend other people’s money!
Trembling with fury, Chi Yin felt the jagged glass of the bottle vibrate against her own breath.
Blood began to trickle from Chi Qiang’s neck, visible to the naked eye. Panic began to set in. "Chi Yin, let's just sit down and talk this through calmly. Put down that broken bottle. You're being reckless—if you actually cut my carotid artery, we're both going to have a real problem."
Chi Qiang’s hand moved cautiously toward her, but he didn't realize that this gesture had only infuriated her further. She dug the jagged glass deeper into his skin.
As a stream of warm liquid trickled down his chest, Chi Qiang was terrified. His face contorted as he hollered, "Help! Someone help me! She’s trying to kill me!"
The bouncers watching the room tried to step forward, but as they took a stride, they locked eyes with Chi Yin.
Her gaze was like a bayonet, enough to make anyone who looked at her break out in goosebumps.
Chi Yin looked at the crowd, her eyes filled with intense hatred. "This man is Chi Qiang. He is my own brother, and he stole my life-saving money to squander it. I’ll die without that money. If you don't want to get dragged into this mess, stay far away!"
These words stripped Chi Qiang of every shred of his dignity. Gritting his teeth, he hissed, "Chi Yin, have you lost your mind? I won that money playing mahjong! I..."
Before he could finish, Chi Yin cut him off. "Not going to admit it? Fine. Let’s call the police. Let them handle it."
Hearing this, the blood drained from Chi Qiang’s face.
He knew exactly where that money had come from. Given his understanding of Chi Yin, he knew she would absolutely cause a massive scene.
Zhou Lanhua and Chi Zhenggang had always favored Chi Yin. If she claimed he had stolen the money, the two elders would undoubtedly side with her without a second thought. If the police station charged him with theft, he would lose his job at the Minsheng Textile Factory.
Chi Qiang forced a smile, though it looked more painful than crying. "No, no, no. Why involve the police between family? Chi Yin, I’m your own brother—how can you ruin my reputation like this?"
Chi Yin refused to carry that burden. She laughed coldly. "You’re wrong. I’m not the one ruining your reputation; Chi Yan is. If she hadn't been clinging to Wei Chengliang at the Minsheng Textile Factory, why would you have been punished and barred from living at home? Because you couldn't go home, you had to stay in a hotel, and because you couldn't afford the hotel, you stole my money. Look, all of this is because of Chi Yan, isn't that right?"
Chi Yan watched Chi Yin in disbelief. She had already been hiding, and yet Chi Yin was still using her as a target!
Chi Qiang was furious, but the movement pulled at the wound on his neck, making him wince in pain. "Chi Yin, if you have a problem, take it up with me. Why are you dragging Yan’er into this?"
Chi Yin didn't want to argue with him about anything else. She started searching him, pulling eight yuan and fifty cents out of the pocket of his floral shirt.
She stuffed the money back into her own pants pocket and jammed the bottle back under his throat. "How much more is left?"
Chi Qiang dared not move. "It’s gone. Spent it all."
Chi Yin sneered inwardly. She hadn't truly expected to recover the full amount.
Chi Qiang’s shameful theft would result in his termination at the textile factory if this were escalated to the point of a criminal record. The fact that he was unwilling to go to the police station was, without a doubt, the leverage she needed to control him and Chi Yan.
"If it’s spent, then write an IOU."
"Chi Yin, is this really necessary? It's not that much money, why write an IOU?"
"Are you going to write the IOU here, or at the police station?"
As Chi Yin moved to drag him up, Chi Qiang grabbed the sofa, determined not to move.
"Fine," he said, suppressing his anger. "I'll write it."
Chi Qiang picked up the pen and paper from the table and reluctantly wrote out the note.
As he wrote, Chi Yin’s icy voice drifted down from above. "Make it clear exactly where this money came from. Two months, at most. If you can't pay it back by then, Chi Yan will have to pay it."
Only then did Chi Qiang realize he had been played by Chi Yin from the very beginning.
He stopped writing, trembling with rage. "Chi Yin, don't you think this is a bit much? This is my business—what does it have to do with Yan’er?"
Chi Yin curled her lips slightly. "Are you telling me Chi Yan isn't here? That she didn't spend a cent? You stole this money for her sake. You need to write it clearly: if you can't pay it back within two months, Chi Yan will help you pay it."
When these words reached Chi Yan's ears, she was stunned.
So, Chi Yin was using Chi Qiang’s fear of a public scandal to kill two birds with one stone!
Just because Wei Chengliang had saved her at the Minsheng Textile Factory, did she deserve to be humiliated by Chi Yin over and over again?
It wasn't as if she had deliberately gotten herself caught in the machine—why should she be subjected to such insults?
She was already being mocked by neighbors and coworkers; she couldn't even return home, and she was about to lose her job. Even then, Chi Yin still wanted to shame her in front of her friends!
What on earth had she done wrong?
Chi Yan clenched her fists, filled with such resentment that she wanted to rush out and confront Chi Yin face-to-face.
Just as her anger reached a boiling point, she felt a light tug on her sleeve. She turned to find a pair of narrow, beady eyes peering at her with a sly grin.
He Liu crouched down beside her. "Chi Yan, is that woman beating up Chi Qiang really your sister?"
Looking at He Liu—his face scarred, his teeth yellowed, and his body reeking of stale sweat—Chi Yan felt a wave of disgust.
He Liu was nothing but a low-life thug. He was unemployed, spent his days loitering around the county, and even had the audacity to try to pursue her as a girlfriend. Bah! He could keep dreaming.
Ignoring him, Chi Yan continued to watch Chi Yin’s imperious display.
As she watched, Chi Yan’s eyes rolled, and a ruthless scheme to teach Chi Yin a lesson began to take root in her mind.