Chapter 565: Beaten Up, Planning to Target the Fool

Chapter 565: A Beating and Targeting the Fool

A roar like a thunderclap startled Su Jianjun, who looked at Wang Xiaocui in terror.

Without hesitation, Wang Xiaocui leaned sideways to grab the broom on the ground.

Su Jianjun’s pupils shrank, striking a Tom-and-Jerry fleeing pose—his body lurched forward, legs churning like a cartoon character's as he bolted outside in panic.

This was the problem with Wang Xiaocui—she genuinely wouldn't stop till you were half-dead. Last time at the steel mill’s residential building, she had grabbed him, body-slammed him to the floor, picked him up, and flung him again.

Even now, the memory made him ache.

But while Su Jianjun was fast, Wang Xiaocui wasn’t slow either. Though the detour from behind the counter delayed her slightly, her pent-up fury fueled her as she hurled the broom with all her might.

Swish~

A perfect parabolic arc—the bundled bamboo cane broom flipped midair with a whooshing sound before *clattering* against the back of Su Jianjun’s head.

Su Jianjun’s mind went completely blank for a couple of seconds from the impact. By the time he regained his senses, Wang Xiaocui had already caught up.

Panicking, he tried to run, but Wang Xiaocui lunged forward, seized his arm, and yanked him backward. Su Jianjun instantly felt his feet leave the ground before face-planting onto the street.

"Ah~"

His cry had barely left his lips when the bamboo cane broom came raining down on him relentlessly.

"You shameless piece of trash! How dare you show your face in front of me?! Think I’m still that pushover Wang Xiaocui you could manipulate?! I’ll beat you to death, you worthless scum! I’ll beat you to death!!!"

"Making me sick to my stomach just sharing the same planet with you, and you still have the gall to strut your stuff in front of me?! A ‘strict father’?! You’ve got the nerve to call yourself that?! I’ll beat you to death!!!! May you be reborn every lifetime with a ‘strict father’ just like you!"

"You wanted to do something for us? Then drop dead, you bastard! If you croak, I’ll throw a three-day banquet!"

Su Jianjun shielded his head with his arms, howling in pain. "Stop! Stop! I came here for serious business! Let me speak—"

Wang Xiaocui’s voice grew even rougher, booming like thunder, her bamboo cane broom whipping through the air with terrifying force. Her furious roars drowned out Su Jianjun’s pleas entirely.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Damin and his wife, Liu Cuihong, rushed out from the kitchen. "What’s going on? Xiaocui, what happened?"

Liu Cuihong spotted the man curled up on the ground, shielding his head, and assumed they’d caught a thief.

"Xiaocui, stop! Don’t beat him—just hand him over to the police!" She grabbed one of Wang Xiaocui's arms to restrain her.

Wang Damin moved to pin down the man on the ground—only to freeze in recognition.

"Su Jianjun?"

???

Seizing the moment of their shock, Su Jianjun scrambled up and fled like his life depended on it.

Wang Damin’s face darkened as he prepared to give chase. "Don’t run! What the hell were you doing in our shop?"

Panting, Wang Xiaocui called out, "Damin, let him go."

Wang Damin halted, scowling. "Did he harass you? Why didn’t you shout for me? I’d have killed the bastard! How dare he cause trouble here!"

Su Jianjun didn’t stop until he was far away, leaning against a wall, gasping for air. His face, arms, and body burned with pain, his heart pounding wildly.

Lifting his arm, he saw raised red welts streaking his wrist and forearm from the bamboo cane strikes. When he gingerly touched his cheek, the sting was unbearable.

"Holy shit, she was really trying to murder me, like she was afraid she wouldn't whip me to death."

When the hell did Wang Xiaocui grow a backbone? Before, she wouldn't dare make a peep in front of me, walking on eggshells around me, afraid to displease me, obeying my every word like a mindless puppet.

Su Jianjun’s eyes darkened. It seemed this approach wasn't gonna work.

He had just looked at that shop and heard the upstairs was still being renovated. Business was booming, and the daily income must be substantial. The pittance he earned guarding the warehouse for a month might not even compare to their earnings in a single day.

If he could win over Wang Xiaocui, he’d become the owner of Xiaocui’s Eatery in the future. With his higher education, he was far more suited to managing a restaurant than that backcountry bitch Wang Xiaocui.

He knew Wang Xiaocui well—she was a spineless woman. Her current hostility toward him must be because of the children.

It seemed he’d have to start from there. As long as Su An and Su Ping were willing to accept him as their father, Wang Xiaocui would surely relent for the sake of the kids...

Su Jianjun thought it over. Su An wasn’t home, and Wang Xiaocui was guarding against him like he was a wolf. It seemed his only option was to start with that fool.

"Fuck—"

"That bitch nearly took me out. You’ll regret this one day."

Su Jianjun headed toward the west district, pondering how to approach Su Ping. That fool couldn’t think straight and was the easiest to manipulate. Wasn’t he working at Good Luck Restaurant? He could just ambush him at the restaurant’s entrance.

And he had the perfect excuse ready.

Lin Zhaodi had died. By any decent measure, as her grandson, he should pay his respects.

With his own mother gone, he could work Su Ping over with some sob story to bridge their father-son bond.

The idiot was as gullible as a kid—no child would wish for their parents to be apart.

Once Su Ping accepted him, Wang Xiaocui would surely soften for the sake of her child...

Then, while Su An—that lunatic—was away from City A, he could reel in both Wang Xiaocui and that moron. By the time Su An returned, she’d be stuck respecting Su Ping and Wang Xiaocui’s feelings.

The more Su Jianjun thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. He was practically salivating at the thought, and even his throbbing wounds didn't hurt as much.

Just as he passed the alleyway, a figure emerged from within.

Su Jianjun froze, instinctively sidling closer to the wall.

Why was Ji Qingqing here?

Ji Qingqing emerged from Gao Shuibing’s place carrying two bags.

Ever since Su Jiao ran off with the money, Su Jianjun had not only stopped going to work but also neglected the household. Later, Ji Qingqing managed to call in favors to get him a warehouse job, but he hoarded every cent of his earnings.

He said Ji Qingqing would just waste it, and he refused to contribute a single cent of his salary.

Ji Qingqing was barely keeping the household afloat alone. On top of that, Su Jianguo and Liu Huilan had shown up shaking her down using Lin Zhaodi’s affairs as a pretext, making life even harder.

Gao Shuibing knew her difficulties and kept bailing her out—sometimes with money, sometimes with goods. Whenever the factory distributed benefits, he’d set some aside for her.

So lately, Ji Qingqing had been visiting this place much more frequently.

Su Jianjun glanced back into the alley, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.