When Zhang Xiuqin initially called out to her, she hadn’t anticipated the unfolding of events to come, and thus hadn't avoided doing so in the presence of others.
The notion of evidence was purely a bluff. She did recall a button popping off her clothing when Zhang Xiuqin was pushing her, which might serve as a barely passable piece of evidence.
After all, at this point, even without wind a ripple could rise three feet high, let alone the fact that Zhang Xiuqin had indeed done this act.
It was a shame, though, that she wasn't able to exchange a life for a life to truly avenge the original owner.
She'll need to remember to put Zhang Xiuqin on the list.
Old Man Zhang subconsciously looked towards Zhang Xiuqin, whose face had turned exceptionally pale. What was there left for him not to understand at this point?
"Old Brother Yu! Since Xiuqin is here, why don’t we ask her about it? This child has never mentioned anything about this at home. We are just as clueless about the truth, why not let us ask her first?"
The people from the Yu family didn't respond, but other villagers didn't hesitate to keep their eyes busy, sweeping between Zhang Xiuqin and Li Feng'e, discreetly whispering between them now and then.
Zhang Junfeng looked at Zhang Xiuqin and felt an urge to strangle this undutiful daughter, but he suppressed his fury due to the presence of many people.
Li Feng'e stood still with an utterly flabbergasted look on her face, as if she'd been struck by lightning.
How could this be?
Why did they suddenly come looking for her?
She had provoked Zhang Xiuqin into doing such things more than once. Nothing ever happened before, so why did they show up this time?
That Gao Fang woman couldn't even raise a tit-for-tat protest, choosing to remain silent every time she was humiliated. Her daughter Yu Yue was merely a paper tiger; brave on the outside yet frail on the inside. With her mother as she usually was, Yu Yue always put on a bold front, but every time she talked back and had her father mentioned, she didn't dare utter a word.
She took advantage of the mother and daughter duo, exactly because she saw them as useless.
She’d never forgotten how her life had turned out after she had abandoned Yu Guangming, only to see him rise and thrive, even landing a factory job.
She refused to admit defeat!
Therefore, she would, from time to time, deliberately or otherwise, recount the old tales to Zhang Xiuqin, convincing her that Yu Yue's life should have been hers. That the person working at the bearing factory should have been her father, and all of Yu Yue's blessings should have been Zhang Xiuqin's.
Listening to these stories, Zhang Xiuqin eventually began to believe that her life had been stolen by Yu Yue. It led her to provoke Yu Yue whenever she could.
Zhang Xiuqin seemed to have completely forgotten about her own biological father, Zion Junfeng, never considering where she had come from.
Old Man Zhang looked at Zhang Xiuqin and Li Feng'e standing together and directed his words towards Zhang Xiuqin: "What do you have to say about this whole matter?"
Zhang Xiuqin was terrified. She'd heard what Yu Yue had said. She had simply acted out of the heat of the moment when she pushed her. She hadn't thought there'd be consequences, let alone imagined that Yu Yue would resort to getting the police involved!
"It wasn’t me! It really wasn't me! I-I just accidentally pushed her off balance!" Zhang Xiuqin was now utterly distraught.
However, Li Feng'e would not easily admit defeat: "Dad! Why are you taking their side? Just because the Yu family says Xiuqin pushed her, does it really mean she did? Didn't Yu Yue say she has evidence? Let her... Ah!"
Gao Fang had always been quiet and staying off to the side. But when she saw Li Feng'e coming out to speak, she suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Li Feng'e's hair, and forced her onto the ground.
Li Feng'e was dragged to the ground, with Gao Fang mounted on her, her hands flying from side to side, "I’ll teach you to meddle! I let it go when you mentioned things that didn’t matter, but now you dare to pester my daughter. If your man is not up to scratch, say it and I’ll find you a few! Ugh, disgusting!!”
This was the first time Gao Fang had said so much outside and acted so ferociously. Not only the Zhang family was taken aback, even the Yu family was amazed.
The words of Gao Fang shocked everyone. Dare Li Feng'e be so audacious?
Hearing this, Zhang Junfeng's face paled. Almost immediately, he understood what was happening.
He grimly watched Li Feng'e being pressed to the ground by Gao Fang, and didn't move.
Seeing him motionless, the rest of the Zhang family were also unsure of what to do.
Zhang Xiuqin stood crying on the side, not daring to watch.
Old Lady Yu watched the scene, grumbling in her heart, “This Gao Fang really doesn't know how to handle things. She even doesn't know where to hit when she fights."
Yu Yue came forward to hug Gao Fang, crying: "Mom, stop hitting, your hand must be hurting!”
Only then did Gao Fang get up from Li Feng'e, holding onto Yu Yue, her face full of tears: “Mom's not hurting, Mom's sorry, it's all Mom's fault for being useless! Wuu...”
The Yu family looked at the sorrowful Gao Fang - who was fighting spiritedly a moment ago with mixed feelings.
Li Feng’e remained on the ground, nobody came to help her up. Old Lady Zhang was secretly cursing her for being a troublemaker, Zhang Junfeng had lost his face and certainly wouldn't help her, and she knew she was in the wrong, hardly daring to move.
Old Man Zhang looked at this messy scene before him and he sighed deeply.
Their family were outsiders to Datang Village, whereas the Yu family had deep roots here. The head of the team was surnamed Yu, the village accountant was Old Man Yu's second son. They didn’t want to offend them!
Moreover, for this incident, the Yu family had evidence. Even if not, if the police were reported and Zhang Xiuqin's call for help at the riverside was verified, the outcome was frightening to think about.
"Old Brother Yu, with regard to today's incident...How would your family like to resolve it?" After thinking it through, Old Man Zhang took a deep breath and asked Old Man Yu.
"Hehe, the decision is up to my sister-in-law. You can ask her." Old Man Yu seemed quite agreeable.
Old Man Zhang cursed him silently in his head but had no choice but to turn to Old Lady Yu: "Sister-in-law, about today's incident..."
As Old Lady Yu looked at Yu Yue, about to speak, Yu Yue was the first to speak, "Granny, my head hurts so much. Will I turn stupid? I'm the first high school student in our family, what do we do if I turn into an idiot?"
Old Lady Yu gave her a approving glance. An anxious Gao Fang helped Yu Yue to sit down, "Sit down, sit down quickly, let me see your wound."
Saying this, she opened up the bandage on Yu Yue's head. Those who were paying attention looked over and saw the gruesome wound at the back of the girl's skull, clear as day due to the surrounding hair being shaved off for the stitches.
Everyone who saw gasped in surprise, feeling a chill creep up to the backs of their heads.
Such a large wound, yet the person was still in good shape - truly a case of having a strong life force.
Upon seeing the wound, a chill ran down Old Man Zhang's spine.
With sharp eyes, Old Lady Yu stared at him. "You’ve seen it too. You know the condition of the wound. In the beginning, we made a massive effort to save this child's life. The cost of the medical treatment, the nutritional needs, and we also don't know if there will be any after-effects. As for your family…"
"One hundred!" Yu Yue suddenly shouted out a number.