That shameless woman Wang Meifang was actually trying to shift the blame, falsely accusing Mother Qiao of swapping the children!
Mother Qiao was a mute; she couldn't speak to defend herself and could only wave her hands and shake her head. But what good did that do? In her past life, it was precisely because Shi Qingqing believed Wang Meifang’s lies that she had felt such deep guilt toward the Shi family. The rebellious spirit that had once flickered within her had been slowly extinguished. Especially after she was married into the Zhou family, that place had brought her nothing but darkness, abuse, and suppression. Shi Qingqing had truly believed that life was just like that.
But the woman standing here now was a Shi Qingqing who had endured countless tribulations and climbed back up from hell itself! No one in this world had the right to trample upon her.
Facing Shi Jingye’s intimidating glare, Shi Qingqing looked at him coldly and said, "A dignified factory supervisor lacking even the basic ability to distinguish right from wrong, attacking and scolding a good person like me the moment you arrive. And now you want me to kneel? Have you gone senile? If so, I’ll head to the factory right now to report this and have the leadership select someone more capable to take over your position."
Shi Jingye’s pupils constricted violently. He seemed unable to believe that Shi Qingqing dared to defy him. Not only that, but she was already using the authority of the factory leaders to pressure him!
By now, Wang Meifang had regained some of her composure. She had expected to watch her husband give Shi Qingqing a harsh lesson, but she hadn’t anticipated Shi Qingqing’s retort, which had already drawn the attention of several curious passersby. Knowing her husband cared deeply about his reputation and would not want to lose his temper in a crowded place, Wang Meifang had no choice but to step in herself. Seeing more people gathering, she figured Shi Qingqing wouldn't dare strike her in public, so she marched forward aggressively.
"Shi Qingqing, have you lost your mind? How dare you speak to your father like that? If you hadn't been so vicious and harmed Lanlan, would we be this angry?"
Wang Meifang reached out to grab her ear as she used to, hoping to take the chance to slap her a few times and teach her a lesson. She had to ensure this damn girl didn't think her wings had hardened and continue to rebel!
But before her hand could even make contact, Shi Qingqing slapped it away. "Keep your hands to yourself! This is a hospital, not a place for you Shi family members to bully others. If you dare to hit me like you do at home, I will scream for help!"
As soon as the words left Shi Qingqing’s lips, all three members of the Shi family were visibly stunned.
Just then, a nurse was brought over. "It’s them! They’re trying to hit someone in the hospital, and this man is actually a factory supervisor!" The person who had called the nurse was an elderly woman, who looked at Shi Jingye with indignation.
The nurse recognized the young woman who had arrived earlier with the workers to drop off a patient. "What is going on here? This is a hospital! If you want to argue and make a scene, go home!"
The nurse’s stern tone made Shi Jingye feel humiliated. At the factory, he was the one who shouted orders at others—when had he ever been barked at like this?
Wang Meifang angrily explained, "We are disciplining our daughter! This wretched girl did something wrong, and when I scolded her, she hit me. Her father told her to apologize, and she’s still acting defiant!"
"Who is your daughter?" To their surprise, Shi Qingqing was even angrier than her! Her mouth moved rapidly, firing off words like a machine gun:
"Isn't your daughter the Qiao Lanlan inside? You swapped the children back then, made my parents pay for your daughter’s medical treatment, and treated me like a beast of burden for the Shi family! You forced me to wash clothes, cook, and do housework from the age of four. You beat and scolded me at every turn. When you ate, I drank thin gruel; when you drank thin gruel, I ate the dishwater!
"When I grew up and got a job at the factory on my own merit, you deliberately exposed the child-swap and framed my own mother so that I would feel guilty toward the Shi family and agree to give the job to your precious daughter. You even pretended to be sentimental, saying you’d raised me for eighteen years, just to keep me in the Shi family—but in truth, you were just desperate for me to keep serving as your maid and servant!"
The Shi family hadn't even caught up to her words before she finished. Once Shi Jingye and Wang Meifang realized what she had said, both of their faces turned pitch black.
Shi Wang, annoyed that the sister who usually took their abuse without a word was now defying their parents and making him lose face, grew hostile. "Shi Qingqing! Is your skin itching for a beating again? Do you want to see if I’ll clobber you?"
The nurse and the passersby originally hadn't believed that a couple dressed in workers' uniforms could be capable of such things. But when Shi Wang spoke, everyone’s gaze fell upon him. His attire and demeanor fit the image of a child from a dual-income worker family perfectly.
Opposite him, Shi Qingqing looked sallow and frail, wearing a washed-out blue shirt and black trousers with patches on the knees, her feet clad in cloth shoes with floral patches. Anyone who didn't know better would have taken her for a rural girl struggling for work points in the countryside. There wasn't a shred of the "commodity-grain-fed" city girl look about her!
Shi Qingqing gave Shi Wang a cold glance. She understood Shi Wang well and knew that the more she ignored him, the easier he would be to provoke. Before her death, the sight of Shi Wang grabbing her hair and slamming her head repeatedly against the floor and wall had been etched into her memory. At this moment, resentment and fury were intertwined in her heart. If not for the fact that years of suppression had made her good at stifling her emotions, she would have long ago rushed up to beat him to death!
She provoked him now, naturally, so that she could exact her revenge in a way that seemed perfectly justified.
As Shi Qingqing expected, Shi Wang could not stand her expression. The hot-headed youth immediately lunged at her and kicked toward her stomach. Although Shi Wang was only fifteen, the Shi couple were tall, and they had fed him the best of everything at home—he even drank malted milk with his parents—so he was already taller than the 1.7-meter-tall Shi Qingqing. His physique was, needless to say, twice as sturdy as the rail-thin Shi Qingqing.
No one believed Shi Qingqing could win against him, so the Shi couple stood by calmly, watching with cold eyes, waiting for their precious son to give Shi Qingqing a sound thrashing so they could vent their anger.
However, the moment Shi Wang closed in, Shi Qingqing suddenly bent at the waist, grabbed his lifted leg, and using the leverage of his hip and her own flexible core, performed a perfect shoulder throw!
*Thud!*
A wail echoed through the corridor: "Aaaah!"
But it wasn't over. While everyone was stunned, Shi Qingqing flipped over and sat on top of Shi Wang. Just as he had beaten her not long ago, she rained punch after punch onto his face and chest!
Her vision was blurred with red. The memory of her own family—people she had loved and trusted with her life—ruthlessly destroying her as she teetered on the brink of death made her fury nearly burn away her reason.
Wang Meifang shrieked and rushed over to pummel her, and Shi Jingye yelled and cursed as he tried to pull her away. Their voices, however, brought Shi Qingqing back to her senses.
That’s right—she couldn't throw her life away over a Shi Wang. There were still Shi Jingye, Wang Meifang, Zhou Hongjun, and that entire Zhou clan! They were all her enemies. She needed to keep this life, live it well, and slowly torture and exact vengeance upon every one of them!
Thinking of this, Shi Qingqing let Shi Jingye pull her away. Seeing her son clutching his head and crying in pain, Wang Meifang immediately turned and slapped her: "Smack!"