That evening, Lin Qingxiang stayed at the hospital with Lin Qin and Liu Yaya to watch over Chen Wenjun. He only left the following morning, once Chen Wenjun had finished his surgery.
No sooner had Lin Qingxiang stepped out than Liu Yongming arrived, carrying a bag of fruit and other items.
Lin Qin glared at him, pulling her daughter behind her. "What are you doing here?"
Liu Yongming glanced at Lin Yi lying on the hospital bed, then sneered, his expression insolent. "Look at your father, Lin Qin. He’s in such a sorry state he can’t even help you, and now you have to wait on him. Do you really think you can take care of Yaya? I’m here today to take my daughter home. She’ll never have a decent life trailing after you!"
Terrified, Liu Yaya gripped the hem of Lin Qin’s pants, trying desperately to hide behind her.
Liu Yongming stepped closer, looming over them. "Be a good girl, Yaya. Come here to Daddy. Listen to me, or Daddy is going to get angry!"
Liu Yaya continued to cower, and Liu Yongming’s face darkened immediately. "Did you not hear your father? Get out here!"
"Waaah!" Liu Yaya burst into terrified tears.
A nurse entered and warned them, "Family members, please do not make noise in the ward; it disturbs the patients’ rest."
"Yes, yes, we understand," Liu Yongming said, immediately changing his tune in front of an outsider.
But the moment the nurse left, his face fell back into a scowl. He stood there, blocking Lin Qin and Liu Yaya, determined to have it out with them.
"Let me tell you, Lin Qin, without your father to back you up, you’re nothing! I am taking Yaya with me today, and not even the heavens can stop me! When you’re ready to behave and clear your sister’s name of those rumors, then I might consider forgiving you!"
Liu Yongming looked down at her, his posture full of arrogant, unearned confidence.
"Pah! You want to take my daughter? Keep dreaming!" Lin Qin spat directly into Liu Yongming’s face.
Liu Yongming let out a savage laugh, wiped the spittle from his face, and lunged, his hands clamping tight around Lin Qin’s throat. "You ungrateful bitch!"
"Mommy, Mommy!" Liu Yaya shrieked in terror.
Just then, Lin Ying and Xu Dahai walked into the room and turned pale with shock.
Without a word, Xu Dahai rushed forward and yanked at Liu Yongming. "Let her go!"
Seeing her chance, Lin Qin raised her leg and kicked Liu Yongming with all her might in the crotch.
Liu Yongming’s eyes bulged, his face flushed a deep, painful red. Unable to speak, he released her, clutched his groin, and slowly crumpled to the floor.
Lin Qin, fueled by rage, kicked him in the head once more before collapsing by the bedside, gasping for breath as the adrenaline faded.
Confused by the chaos, Lin Ying picked up the terrified Liu Yaya to comfort her. "What happened?"
Lin Qin said to Xu Dahai, "Brother-in-law, this piece of trash tried to kill me, steal Yaya, and cursed my father. Help me throw him out—and wait, check his pockets to see if he has any money. My father’s surgery cost quite a bit."
Xu Dahai acted without hesitation.
Liu Yongming, no match for a man who had done farm work his whole life, roared in fury and pain. "Lin Qin, you dare! This is robbery! I’m calling the police!"
Lin Qin sneered, "Go ahead! We can settle our accounts all at once. My dowry, the wages I earned working for your family all these years—I want every single cent back!"
"Lin Qin, you’ll die a miserable death! I won't let you get away with this!" Liu Yongming glared at her with venomous hatred.
"Hand it over!" Xu Dahai pulled sixty yuan from Liu Yongming’s pocket and handed it all to Lin Qin.
"So much? It looks like you’ve been doing well for yourself! I suppose that’s what happens when you suck my blood and eat my flesh—why would you ever be poor?" Lin Qin mocked.
Knowing he was outnumbered and outmatched, Liu Yongming left in a rage.
Lin Ying was deeply worried. "Will he actually go to the police?"
Lin Qin shook her head. "Sister, don’t worry. He and I aren't divorced yet. My father is in the hospital; what’s wrong with having his son-in-law pay for some of the costs? Even if the police come, we’re in the right!"
"Mommy, Mommy hold!" Liu Yaya reached out, struggling toward Lin Qin.
Lin Qin quickly pulled her into her arms to comfort her.
After chatting for a long while, Lin Ying and her husband finally understood all the hardships Lin Qin had been through recently.
Xu Dahai said thoughtfully, "Father-in-law's injury must have something to do with Liu Yongming."
If they hadn't arrived in time, Lin Qin would likely have been strangled to death, or at least left half-dead, and the child would have been taken away.
Lin Ying asked, confused, "Since the Liu Family doesn't think much of Yaya, why would Liu Yongming want to snatch her?"
Lin Qin scoffed, "What other reason could there be? He just wants to use the child to get a grip on me. I went to Liu Li’s school to expose her true colors, and now she can’t stay there. That old hag Ma Cuihua is never going to let it go! I know what you want to say, but I have no regrets. My daughter won't be bullied for nothing. Those people in the Liu family think they can bully us and still live a good life? Dream on!"
Seeing the hostility radiating from Lin Qin, Lin Ying didn't dare say more, overcome with worry instead. "Then what do you plan to do? Liu Yongming was bold enough to beat Father like this—if you don't do as he wants, who knows what he might do next?"
Back home, Liu Yongming was absolutely livid.
When Fang Ying heard that Liu Yongming had been beaten by Lin Qin, she was equally outraged. "Is that woman crazy? She actually kicked you there? I think she’s tired of living! No! We have to show them what we’re made of! We have to get that worthless brat back. As long as we have her, I don't believe Lin Qin can slip through our fingers!"
Liu Yongming lay on the bed, still in agony. "Do you think I don't want to? I thought that old man was so badly hurt that taking the kid would be a breeze, but then those two barged in! What was I supposed to do?"
He had spent several days lurking around the village just to find an opening. Getting to Lin Yi had taken that much effort; taking on Lin Ying and Xu Dahai as well wasn't realistic.
Fang Ying fell into deep thought. After a long while, she stood up and sneered, "Leave this to me. You stay out of it."
"What are you planning?" Liu Yongming asked curiously.
Fang Ying didn't intend to explain, only telling him to rest and recover.
Lin Yi’s injuries required at least ten days of hospitalization before he could be discharged. Lin Ying’s husband had a pile of chores waiting for him back home, so he couldn't stay to help. After staying for one day until Lin Yi woke up, he took the bus back.
Lin Ying stayed behind to help Lin Qin with the caretaking.
Since both of them were daughters, it was awkward for them to handle Lin Yi’s personal needs, so they had to hire a temporary nurse. But they had to take care of their own meals.
Lin Qin couldn't take her daughter everywhere and keep her under her eyes every single second. She had only stepped away for a moment to get food, but when she returned, the child was gone. She searched the bathroom, but there was no sign of her.
"Sister, where’s Yaya?"
Lin Ying’s face drained of color. "She said she needed to use the bathroom, so I let her go. Is she not in there?"
Panic set in. The two of them began frantically searching the hospital corridors and every ward. Even the doctors and nurses were alerted. A missing child was a major crisis; concerned patients and their families joined in the search, calling out "Yaya" throughout the halls and outside the building.