Chapter 613: Chapter 529: Breakdown

With the help of the hotel staff, Wu Xiaowen dragged Wu Qin into the car like a dead dog. Once home, she gave Wu Qin a vicious beating, threw her into the bathroom, and doused her with cold water from the tap until she came to her senses.

Wu Qin felt deeply wronged. ’What did I do? I don’t know anything!’

All she remembered was Uncle Bai taking her to dinner at the Junyi Hotel. The grand hotel had such a nice atmosphere; as soon as they entered the private room, someone was there to help store their belongings, and she handed her schoolbag to the waiter. There were several people at the table. Uncle Bai told her to call them ’Uncle’ and said that since she was just a kid, she could grab a taxi home by herself after she finished eating. But she wasn’t even full yet. She had only drunk a glass of champagne someone had poured for her when she started feeling dizzy and giddy. She wanted to laugh, talk, and sing all at once. The mood was so exhilarating she felt like she could fly. It felt so wonderful, so strange!

’The one sitting next to me with his arm around me was clearly Brother Bai, so why did Mom say it was Uncle Bai?’

But Wu Qin wasn’t an idiot. As she slowly pieced together her memories, she managed to reconstruct some of the truth, and her face turned deathly pale. ’I was still clear-headed when those seductive women came in. It was after I drank the champagne one of them poured for me... This is bad! Was I drugged? Did I also become one of those shameless women who throws herself at any man she sees?’

’If it had been any other man, I could have just let this go, but that was Uncle Bai!’

’When it came to men, her mother had a heart the size of a pinhole! First, it was Tang Qingyun. Mom’s actions caused Wu Xiaorui to be stuck in that ignorant, impoverished mountain valley for seven years, giving birth to four children!’

’And now, me and Uncle Bai... No, no! Nothing happened between me and Uncle Bai! He’s so old, I don’t even like him! I just went to have dinner, that’s all!’

Wu Qin quickly knelt before Wu Xiaowen and explained everything that had happened during the day in perfect detail. She hugged her legs and wept, half-coaxing and half-begging for mercy, saying she was wrong and would never again carelessly go to such places for dinner with adults.

Wu Xiaowen kicked the sopping wet Wu Qin away in disgust. She crossed her arms and stared down at her coldly, her gaze filled only with loathing and hatred, devoid of any trace of motherly love or warmth:

"You knew I hadn’t seen Lihua in days and that I missed him! Even if he came back to Beijing on business and was too busy to see me, he ran into you first and took you shopping. Would it have killed you to let me know? Why didn’t you call me? Just last night, I told you I was going to Aunt Song’s new shop to look at clothes. You know she has a phone, you know the number, and you’ve called me there more than once before! Why not this time? Huh? Lihua had a dinner party and you hid it from me to cozy up to him yourself? What do you know about handling these kinds of social functions? How dare you stand by his side, drinking and entertaining with him? Where does that put me? Are you brain-dead? Don’t you know I’m his woman? What do you think you were doing, sitting there hugging and holding him? I’m the only one with that right! The only one who should be going to a hotel for dinner with him is me, you understand?"

Wu Xiaowen wanted to maintain her elegant, ladylike image, but she grew more agitated as she spoke. She jabbed her finger into Wu Qin’s forehead until it was red, wishing she could poke right through it. Her rage surged, and she slapped Wu Qin hard across the face, once on each side.

"You ungrateful brat! I must have been possessed to have kept you. You’re the one who tore my perfectly good family apart... It’s all your fault! You damn little bastard! You’re the reason I got divorced and ended up with nothing, completely disgraced and pathetic like this! They were right: we’re not related by blood, Qingyun divorced me, and I can’t even take care of myself. Why should I waste my money and energy raising a fake like you? I never should have brought you to Beijing! I thought since Qingyun spoiled you so much growing up, he wouldn’t be able to give you up and would still come around. Who knew he’d be so heartless he wouldn’t even let you use the Tang surname! If that’s the case, what use are you to me? Don’t even think about the college entrance exams. Even if you get in, I won’t let you go. I really don’t want to see you anymore! Pack your things. Take whatever you want. Tomorrow, I’m putting you on a train. Get the hell back to your hometown!"

The words struck Wu Qin like a bolt from the blue. She kowtowed to Wu Xiaowen repeatedly, weeping and begging. Wu Xiaowen walked around her, went into her room without a backward glance, and shut the door. In doing so, she missed the vicious glint that suddenly flashed in Wu Qin’s despairing eyes.

Wu Qin had been raised by Wu Xiaowen; she knew her well. She had truly lost all her usefulness and her only option was to cling to Wu Xiaowen. But given Wu Xiaowen’s personality, she had probably wanted to get rid of this burden for a long time.

’But since I’ve already latched on, how can I willingly let go before finding a new provider? Even if Wu Xiaowen were crippled or turned into a corpse, staying by her side would still have its benefits—it’s a hundred times better than being sent back to the countryside!’

Wu Qin silently retreated into her own room. Only she knew what she was planning.

It could only be said that Wu Xiaowen was far too careless, lacking any sense of caution and overly self-confident. She thought that with Wu Xiaorui gone, no one would try to harm her. As for Wu Qin, she had raised the girl herself; she was sure she wouldn’t dare do a thing!

On the first floor of the building where the mother and daughter lived, there was a family whose only son had developed schizophrenia after a bad breakup. His family couldn’t bear to send him to a psychiatric hospital. The man would often run downstairs at night. Just the previous night, he had climbed up a pipe and onto a second-floor balcony. The family on the second floor, a man and his teenage son, quietly subdued him and returned him to his parents. They all worked for the same company, so who wouldn’t feel sympathy for a family whose child was going through something like that? The neighbors couldn’t bear to upset them further, so they just said a few words and let it be.

Wu Xiaowen would never have imagined that Wu Qin was audacious enough to use the madman!

Wu Xiaowen didn’t dare to remember, but terrifying images flashed through her mind involuntarily, making her scream over and over. In the dead of night, the room was dimly lit. She had suddenly woken up to see a dark figure standing by her bed, giggling foolishly. It was holding something that glinted coldly in the dark—it looked like a knife. When Wu Xiaowen realized what was happening, she shrieked for help. The figure by the bed was startled at first, then let out a strange cry of its own and lunged, pinning her down. She managed to scratch him a couple of times, which enraged the figure. He raised the knife and began slashing at her body. She was wearing little, as it was summer. As she dodged and thrashed about desperately, flailing her arms and legs to block the blows and shaking her head wildly, she was cut everywhere. Soon, her face and body were dripping with blood.

Suddenly, the living room light flashed on. Wu Qin’s crying voice called out, "Mom! Mom, what’s wrong? Somebody help! Help my mom!"

In her terror, Wu Xiaowen caught a glimpse of Wu Qin’s figure flashing past the doorway. She didn’t come in to save her. Instead, she ran out the front door. But she didn’t immediately knock on the neighbor’s door across the hall, nor did she run downstairs to get the madman’s family. Instead, she ran upstairs, knocking on every door on the floor above!

Wu Xiaowen was filled with fear and sorrow, but more than anything, despair. She almost gave up resisting. She felt she was going to die under the madman’s blade tonight.

’I know with absolute certainty: before going to bed, I personally locked the front door and the balcony doors and windows. I even reinforced them by propping a table against the door, all to keep that madman from the first floor out!’

’But how did he get in? And how did he know to grab a knife? That fruit knife was a gift from Bai Lihua. It was exquisite and sharp and came with a sheath that made it tricky to draw if you didn’t know how. I clearly put it away in a cabinet, so how could the madman have possibly gotten it out?’

’The answer was obvious. The only way the madman could have gotten in was because of that wicked, damn child, Wu Qin!’

’What was she trying to do? I was just going to send her back to her hometown, and she decided to go all the way and use someone else’s hand to kill me?’

’Is she even human? She’s not just an ungrateful brat, she’s a demon! Aaaah!’

Wu Xiaowen broke down, sobbing, her voice already hoarse. The madman slashed her face twice more. ’I’m disfigured! How can I live without my beauty?’ Overcome with anger and panic, Wu Xiaowen couldn’t catch her breath. Perhaps it was from blood loss, but her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

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