Qiao Qingqing did not answer; she merely stared at him with dark, bottomless eyes.
Shi Jingye hurriedly gestured for Wang Meifang to stop. "Quick, go get the money and the vouchers!"
Wang Meifang was reluctant. "Do we really have to give them..."
Before she could finish, Qiao Qingqing suddenly spun around and lunged at her, brandishing a kitchen knife!
Wang Meifang shrieked in terror. "Ah! Okay, okay! I’ll give them to you!"
For Qiao Qingqing, the fact that the Shi family had murdered her had happened only a few hours ago. Her emotions were far from settled, and it was effortless for her to manifest a murderous aura. Wang Meifang, all bluster and no backbone, felt her limbs go weak just from the killing intent in Qiao Qingqing’s eyes.
Half an hour later, Wang Meifang emerged with a small box.
"All the money is in here..." she said, her voice trembling as she pushed the box toward her.
Qiao Qingqing glanced at it with a blank expression, then suddenly turned and brought the kitchen knife down hard onto the wooden sofa. The already decrepit sofa snapped instantly!
The sight made both Shi Jingye and Wang Meifang shudder in unison.
Qiao Qingqing turned back to them, staring fixedly as the corners of her mouth curled into an eerie smile. "This pittance is only enough to buy one person's life. It seems the rest of you don't need to stay around."
Shi Jingye and Wang Meifang gasped in unison, their breath hitching in their chests.
The next second, the couple hurriedly waved their hands, claiming they would go look more carefully to see if they could scrape up any more money. Qiao Qingqing pulled a chair over and sat by the door, leaving the couple to scramble through the house.
"That damn girl has lost her mind, and now you’ve lost yours too? If we really give her all our money and vouchers, are we all expected to live on thin air?"
"Shut up! Look at the situation we’re in! The girl has been pushed to a state of madness. We’ll keep her calm for now, and once she leaves, we’ll report this to the authorities. We'll tell the security team she threatened us and robbed us; they’ll have to return our money and vouchers!"
"So that’s your plan... No wonder I never noticed all the affairs you were having outside. I certainly can't compete with your cunning!"
"Stop blathering and find the money!"
Finally, Shi Jingye and Wang Meifang brought her another stack of cash and vouchers.
"Qingqing, here is 392 yuan and twenty-five vouchers. This is all the money and vouchers we have in the house."
Nearly four hundred yuan sounded like a lot, but Qiao Qingqing knew it wasn't even half of the Shi family's fortune. Most of it was hidden in Shi Jingye’s study. However, emptying the family’s coffers in this manner wasn't practical; she had other methods.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside, and Qiao Qingqing put the money and vouchers away.
When she was counting the money, she had naturally set the kitchen knife down. Seeing this, Shi Jingye’s eyes sharpened. Taking advantage of a moment when Qiao Qingqing wasn't looking, he snatched the knife away.
With the weapon gone, the couple breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Meifang, unable to wait a second longer, tried to snatch the money back. "You brat, your wings have grown, haven't they? See if I don't—"
Qiao Qingqing suddenly stood up, kicked the chair aside, and spun around to unlock the door. The moment she turned, the money and vouchers disappeared into her spatial dimension.
Outside, Zhang Ru was explaining the situation to the security officers. "...the poor child, she’s been doing chores for the family since she was a little girl, only to be beaten and scolded..."
As she spoke, the door suddenly swung open. Qiao Qingqing ran out, her eyes red and her expression one of pure terror. "Murder! Help, murder! My parents are trying to kill me!"
Seeing Auntie Zhang, the young girl threw herself at her, sobbing. "Save me, please save me..."
Inside the room, Shi Jingye was holding the kitchen knife, and Wang Meifang had her sleeves rolled halfway up... It was a perfect, damning misunderstanding.
Even though Shi Jingye and Wang Meifang tried to defend themselves repeatedly, and Shi Wang and Shi Lanlan tried to testify, no one believed them—especially after learning that Qiao Qingqing and Shi Lanlan were children maliciously swapped by Wang Meifang at birth. Asking the doctor who attended the birth whether Shi Lanlan had been born with a heart condition would make the truth clear. After all, the neighbors had witnessed Wang Meifang’s cruelty toward Qiao Qingqing for eighteen years. People had never understood it before, but with the truth exposed, everything suddenly made sense.
For a time, the neighbors condemned Wang Meifang in private, and her reputation was ruined.
As for Shi Jingye’s claim that Qiao Qingqing had threatened them with a knife and stolen the family’s entire fortune, no one believed a word of it. After all, they had searched Qiao Qingqing, and not a single cent or voucher was found! She had been in everyone’s sight the moment she left the room; if she had really taken the money, how could it have vanished?
Shi Jingye was stunned. Qiao Qingqing’s ploy had not only cost them a fortune but had also destroyed their reputation. However, Shi Jingye’s job remained unaffected. This was, after all, a moral issue that hadn't yet crossed into legal territory. In this era, as long as no one was dead, no law enforcement officer would forcibly intervene in such "family matters." Otherwise, Qiao Qingqing wouldn't have suffered abuse in the Shi household for eighteen years. Plus, Shi Jingye was a factory executive.
That night, Qiao Qingqing insisted on not returning to the Shi house, putting on a show of lingering fear. Others wondered if they should send her to her biological parents.
Qiao Qingqing said gloomily, "They don't like me either; they only want Shi Lanlan to be their daughter and sister. I don't want to go to the Qiao family."
Hearing this, the officials felt great sympathy for her.
In the end, Qiao Qingqing "gathered her courage" and chose to return to the Shi house. "My clothes and things are there. I have to go back."
Seeing her trembling, Zhang Ru felt a deep ache in her heart. "Don't worry, Qingqing. Auntie Zhang will go with you. If they dare to do anything to you, you come and stay at my place!"
Qiao Qingqing gratefully held Auntie Zhang’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Auntie, you saved my life. I will repay you in the future."
Looking at such a frail and well-behaved girl, Zhang Ru cursed the Shi couple once more.
When Qiao Qingqing appeared at the Shi family door, hiding behind Zhang Ru, Wang Meifang’s face darkened, and she instinctively moved to close the door.
Zhang Ru was quick to block her. "Wang Meifang, you swapped a perfectly good child into your home to abuse her, and now that the truth is out, you're still giving Qingqing attitude? Have you no conscience? The security officers educated you today—you can't keep acting this viciously. I don't think you listened at all! Tomorrow I'm going to the factory to ask how someone like you is even allowed to be an employee!"
Wang Meifang was so angry she wanted to scream, but her husband's voice came from behind her: "Let her in."
Wang Meifang turned and stomped back into the house, leaving the door wide open. Qiao Qingqing thanked Auntie Zhang repeatedly before taking a deep breath and stepping inside.
The moment the door shut, the Shi family watched in horror as Qiao Qingqing, who had been nervous and trembling just a second before, instantly traded her expression for a familiar, demonic grin.
Qiao Qingqing raised her hand in a warm greeting. "Hello everyone, I'm back~"
The family of four shivered in unison.