Chapter 388: The Rebound of Oppression

Chapter 388: Pushed Too Far, They Pushed Back

Although he was released due to insufficient evidence, Ai Chengpeng had his eyes locked on Lu Jin’an and Ai Xiaoqing.

He was convinced the person who had ordered Lai Hazi and Niu Er to bully Xiao Lan was none other than Lu Jin’an.

It wasn’t hard to see why.

Back when the issue between Lu Jin’an and Xiaoqing first came up, Ai Chengpeng had fought hard against it, considering Xiao Lan’s condition. He had even tried to push Lu Jin’an toward Xiao Lan.

In fact, he’d floated the idea of them getting married in front of Zuo Shangdang. Later, Lu Jin’an rushed to marry someone else—likely to avoid Xiao Lan.

And now, the fact that Xiaoqing went to the movies with him showed they still had a thing for each other.

If they cared, they’d resent—resent him or Xiao Lan for keeping them apart.

The doctor said Xiao Lan couldn’t take any more shocks, and yet Lai Hazi and Niu Er…

So it made sense that Xiao Lan would lash out at Xiaoqing. Unfortunately, he had no concrete proof.

But what puzzled Ai Chengpeng was why Xiao Lan had killed the Wu father and son.

Over the past six months, not only had Chen Aru devoted herself entirely to Xiao Lan, but he too had paid close attention to her. He knew Xiao Lan would never hurt innocents.

If she targeted the Wu family, then they must have done something unforgivable—something that might even have triggered her psychological issues…

What was he missing?

Ai Chengpeng slammed his fist on the table. He’d failed as a father!

When Lu Jin’an returned, Su Jiao finally stopped worrying—but then she learned that Ai Xiaoqing had stuck her neck out to testify for Jin’an and had even cut ties with her family. After being discharged from the hospital, she was moving into their home.

Remembering her father-in-law’s comment that Jin’an had gone to the movies with a friend before being taken in—and that complicated look in his eyes…

Su Jiao’s heart tightened, and her face darkened.

They’d just tied the knot—was he already cheating?

Ai Xiaoqing again! Why did she cling to Jin’an like a ghost, refusing to let go?

After half a month in detention, Lu Jin’an had lost weight. His short buzzcut and cold expression made him look cold and unapproachable.

During this time, Qi Sanmei had been locked in a never-ending feud with Lu Yazhi—bullying her, then having Lu Yazhi go crying to Zuo Shangdang, who would scold Qi Sanmei, prompting her to double down on the bullying. It had become a vicious cycle.

Now, the two had a grudge that wouldn’t die.

So when they saw Lu Jin’an, neither Qi Sanmei nor Zuo Nanfu were pleased.

First, because of Lu Yazhi—the disrespectful troublemaker who had thrown the household into chaos.

Second, compared to Zuo Zuying, Lu Jin’an had none of his charm. He hardly said a word, and there was even a hint of hostility toward Qi Sanmei and Zuo Nanfu.

Zuo Zuying used to interact with his grandparents by joking around or sucking up when it suited him.

Though Zuo Zuying had his own reasons, to the elderly, it felt like affection.

Not like Lu Jin’an, who would just nod, never saying a word, never calling them “Grandpa” or “Grandma,” as if they owed him big time.

Qi Sanmei felt even worse and stepped up her bullying of Lu Yazhi. If it weren’t for this scheming homewrecker’s influence, our Zuo family's children wouldn't be so cold toward me?

"I said, can’t you move faster? Shang Dang isn’t home—who are you trying to impress?"

You eat a lot and shit a lot but don’t know how to work. Even a damn donkey can pull its weight—what good is keeping you around?

"As the wife of this household, don’t you have a shred of common sense? What wife doesn’t take care of the elders and kids and keep the house in order?"

"Still playing rich capitalist princess? You think you deserve that? When you clung onto our Shang Dang, you were practically naked—no clothes to cover yourself with! Tell me, aside from being good for spreading your legs, what have you ever done for this family? And you still dare flaunt your jewelry!"

"A worthless thing like you only got lucky clinging to our Shang Dang. Try pulling this crap on someone else and you’d get beaten eight hundred times a day—useless bitch!"

Qi Sanmei held a large bowl of tea and yelled at Lu Yazhi, who was on her hands and knees scrubbing the stairs, occasionally pausing to sip her drink.

Seeing Lu Yazhi stay silent made her feel even more superior.

Hmph. No matter how hard this bitch fought back, Qi Sanmei had ways to break her.

She climbed the stairs, still holding the tea bowl, and kept picking faults. "You get to live in such a big house—you ought to be kissing our feet in gratitude! Without our Zuo family, with your background, you'd be rotting in some pigsty by now. Since you’ve got nothing better to do all day, scrub and clean more. Not just the handrails—every inch of these stairs needs wiping down, understand?"

Lu Yazhi had never been this humiliated before. Sweat soaked the strands of hair clinging to her forehead, and the composed mask she once wore had completely faded, leaving only exhaustion and misery.

Influenced subconsciously by Su Jiao and with resentment boiling inside her, she finally reached her breaking point under Qi Sanmei’s relentless abuse.

As Qi Sanmei passed by, Lu Yazhi summoned her courage and stuck out a foot.

"Ah—!"

Qi Sanmei, halfway down the stairs, tripped over Lu Yazhi’s leg.

She screamed bloody murder as the bowl crashed to the floor, her body going crashing down the stairs.

A sickening crunch—her head hit the ground.

Lu Yazhi flinched at the sound.

Instinctively, she glanced around, but soon the panic in her eyes faded.

Her father-in-law had gone out for a walk and wouldn’t return until mealtime. Shang Dang was at the construction site. Jin’an had been searching everywhere for Zuo Zuying these past few days and was now at the hospital visiting Xiao Qing. Jiao Jiao, unable to bear Qi Sanmei’s nagging, had fled back to her parents’ home.

Now, only she and Qi Sanmei were in the house. No one would know. No one could know.

"Mom?"

"Mom, are you okay?"

Lu Yazhi slowly descended the stairs, calling out softly to Qi Sanmei.

When Qi Sanmei didn’t respond, she reached out with trembling hands to shake her shoulder, then gritted her teeth and flipped her over.

Qi Sanmei’s eyes were half-open, blood trickling from her forehead, her face deathly pale.

"Ah—" Lu Yazhi stumbled back, hands covering her mouth, her eyes wide with terror.

Qi Sanmei’s breath was faint, her eyes rolling wildly toward Lu Yazhi. "You... b-bitch... dared..."

"Ah—No! Not me! It wasn’t me! You—you lost your footing! Not me, not me!" Lu Yazhi screamed.

Quickly, she steadied herself.

Staring into Qi Sanmei’s chilling gaze and then at the wet rag in her hand, the murderous impulse surging in Lu Yazhi’s heart could no longer be suppressed.

She stepped forward slowly, then slammed the wet rag down over Qi Sanmei’s helpless face.