"What...what are you doing, grabbing my hand?" Song Rumeng panicked when her fingers were suddenly grabbed by Song Yueying.

"What do you think?" Song Yueying smiled mysteriously, then gently twisted her hand in the opposite direction, producing a crisp sound of her knuckles dislocating.

"Ah!" Song Rumeng's face turned deathly pale with pain. She felt as if her fingers had been broken. She angrily shouted, "Song Yueying, what's wrong with you?"

One sentence stunned the aunties present, especially Aunt Xu, who was completely dumbfounded.

It feels like I've been slapped in the face.

Without saying a word, Song Yueying grabbed Song Rumeng's index finger, which was twisted in a bizarre posture, and wouldn't let go.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! It hurts so much!" Song Rumeng jumped up and down in pain. "Let go! Let go of my fingers, Song Yueying! Are you deaf? Can't you hear me?"

"You slut, you damned widow, Song Yueying, you're a jinx, you deserve to have your man die. I'll make you let go of my fingers."

The pain caused Song Rumeng to lose her mind, and she cursed whatever came to mind.

"Dr. Song, you can..." Aunt Xu's words stopped abruptly, and she stopped walking. She was about to step forward to save Song Rumeng, but she froze when she heard the cursing.

Looking at Song Rumeng, whose eyes seemed to be filled with poison and whose face was contorted and twisted, Aunt Xu felt a chill run down her spine.

No matter how bad Song Yueying is, she's still Song Rumeng's cousin! She always says how good she is to her cousin, and just now she even spoke up to defend her cousin.

Now they're using the most vicious and hurtful words to insult their own cousin.

"Slut, damned widow, jinx, deserves to have her man die"—these words all came from the mouth of the gentle and kind Song Rumeng.

If Wang Muxiang had uttered these vicious words, no one would have thought anything of it. Wang Muxiang never held back when she cursed; that was her image in everyone's mind.

But ironically, these words came from Song Rumeng's mouth.

Not to mention Aunt Xu, even the other aunties found it hard to believe.

"Song Yueying, have you bullied my daughter again?" A roar came from the neighboring courtyard. The gate opened from the inside, and Wang Muxiang was the first to rush out.

Following behind him was Uncle Song.

Upon seeing her parents come out, Song Rumeng immediately cried out, "Mom, Dad, come save me! Song Yueying broke my finger! It hurts so much, it hurts so much!"

"Mengmeng, don't be afraid, Mom is here, Mom is coming to save you." Wang Muxiang said fiercely, her steps quick, as she arrived in front of Song Rumeng and Song Yueying.

Seeing her daughter crying with tears streaming down her face, her fingers still being held by Song Yueying, her anger surged to its peak, and she reached out to grab Song Yueying's wrist.

Song Yueying dodged easily, avoiding Wang Muxiang's outstretched hand.

As her fingers were grabbed, Song Rumeng moved involuntarily, screaming in pain, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much! Mom, Mom, please save me!"

Hearing her daughter's heart-wrenching cries of pain, Wang Muxiang was extremely anxious. "Song Yueying, you little slut, let go of your cousin! Let go right now!"

Wang Muxiang dared not act rashly again, fearing that Song Rumeng would be implicated by Song Yueying again.

"You tell me to let go, so I'll let go? Why should I listen to you?" Song Yueying's tone was soft, but her words were quite infuriating.

"You little slut, how dare you disobey me? You've gone too far! I'll beat you to death today!" Wang Muxiang's small eyes were filled with rage.

She glared fiercely at Song Yueying, only losing focus because Song Yueying was holding her daughter's fingers.

Why would she need to make threats here? She could have rushed up and killed that little bastard long ago.

"Wang Muxiang, who are you trying to kill?" With a bang, the courtyard gate was opened, and Song's mother rushed out with a wooden stick in her hand, and started hitting Wang Muxiang wildly.

"If you dare hit my little shadow, I'll kill you first."

"Zhao Dongxue, you crazy woman, how dare you hit me, I... Ouch, Zhao Dongxue..." Before Wang Muxiang could finish her harsh words, Song's mother hit her arm.

She screamed in pain and, no longer caring about Song Rumeng, ran away.

"Don't run, Wang Muxiang, if you have the guts, don't run away!" Song's mother chased after Wang Muxiang with a wooden stick and beat her.

Upon seeing this, Song Rumeng was completely stunned. Her mother had actually abandoned her and run away? Turning her head, she saw Aunt Xu and immediately looked at her with teary eyes.

"Auntie..." Song Rumeng looked at Aunt Xu for help, hoping that Aunt Xu could save her.

Aunt Xu felt a chill run down her spine, as if Song Rumeng was staring at her like a venomous snake, and she involuntarily took a few steps back.

Song Rumeng was taken aback. Could it be that even Aunt Xu was unwilling to save her? Hadn't she always praised her for being well-behaved, sensible, and kind-hearted?

"Little Shadow, don't be afraid, I chased Wang Muxiang away." Song's mother ran back breathlessly and saw Song Rumeng standing with her daughter.

With a frown, she walked over and shoved Song Rumeng aside, warning her in a harsh voice, "Get out of here! You and your mother are the same; you both want to bully my daughter."

"Ouch, ouch..." Song Rumeng screamed and fell to the ground.

Her fingers were finally free from Song Yueying's clutches, but she couldn't feel happy. Perhaps because the pain had lasted so long, she had become numb and her fingers didn't feel as painful as before.

Looking at her own fingers, twisted and turned outwards in a bizarre way, she felt like killing Song Yueying.

"Song Yueying... Ouch..." Song Rumeng only managed to utter three words before her mother struck her on the back with a stick. She winced in pain, her eyes glaring fiercely at Song Yueying.

The pain she suffered today was all thanks to Song Yueying. She remembered it and would definitely get it back tenfold in the future.

Song's mother waved the wooden stick in her hand and said to Song Rumeng, "Why are you calling my daughter's name? Do you want to bully her again? Let me tell you, don't even think about it."

"As long as I'm here, I'll beat anyone who bullies my daughter to death."

Song Rumeng dared not move again, lowering her head to conceal the emotions in her eyes.

"Daughter, stay away from these people in the future. They are not good people and will bully you." After lecturing the others, Song's mother then gave her daughter a long and earnest lecture.

"If you get bullied, be sure to come back and tell Mom, and Mom will help you get revenge."

"Okay." Song Yueying replied cheerfully, reaching out to grasp her mother's wrist and gesturing for her to look at the ground.

Seeing the rice, flour, and oil on the ground, Song's mother's eyes widened. "Is all this grain ours? Little Shadow, where did you buy so much grain?"

"I'll tell you about this when we get home. Let's move the things back inside first, so that no one will have designs on them." After saying this, Song Yueying gave Song Rumeng a meaningful look.

Song's mother immediately understood what her daughter meant. Firstly, she had seen Song Rumeng take her daughter's things on several occasions. Secondly, she listened to her daughter the most, so naturally she would do whatever her daughter said.

The wooden stick, which had played a crucial role in beating people, was shoved into Song Yueying's hand. Song's mother bent down, carrying rice in one hand and flour in the other, and quickly walked into the yard.

Song Yueying picked up the oil and net bag and followed her mother into the courtyard.

Suddenly, she felt a malevolent gaze following her. She stopped and turned around, but the gaze vanished without a trace, as if it had been her imagination.

But Song Yueying was certain that the feeling she had just experienced was not an illusion.

She subtly withdrew her gaze, turned and walked into the courtyard, put down her things, and closed the gate behind her with fluid and natural movements.

Outside the courtyard.

Wang Muxiang walked up to Song Rumeng and carefully helped her daughter up. "Mengmeng, are you hurt anywhere else? Mom will take you to the hospital."

"Didn't you abandon me and run away? Why did you come back?" Song Rumeng questioned. It was because her mother abandoned her and ran away that she was hit with a stick by Song Fengzi.

"Crazy Song" is what Song Rumeng and her sister privately call their mother.

Wang Muxiang didn't see Song Rumeng being hit by Song's mother. Faced with her daughter's resentment, she had no way to deny it and could only help her daughter curse Song Yueying and her mother.

"It's all Song Yueying and Zhao Dongxue's fault. My daughter and I have been cursed by them. Don't worry, Mengmeng, Mom won't let this go."

"If Song Yueying breaks one of your fingers, Mom will break all ten of her fingers to vent your anger."

“Zhao Dongxue hit you with a stick, so Mom will hit her ten or a hundred times to vent your anger.”

Song Rumeng didn't want to listen to her mother's boasting, so she impatiently interrupted her, "Alright, there's no point in scolding me anymore. Hurry up and take me to the clinic to get my fingers and the injury on my back checked."

"Okay, okay, okay." Wang Muxiang responded repeatedly, and when she looked up, she met Aunt Xu's gaze.

The two had just argued this morning, and now neither of them wants to talk to the other first.

Wang Muxiang glared fiercely at Aunt Xu, then called Song's father to take Song Rumeng to the commune's health center.

Watching the family of three leave in a hurry, Aunt Xu and the other aunties exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

The aunt carrying a basket asked, "Sister, you always said that Song Rumeng was a kind-hearted girl, but now it doesn't seem like that."

"I misjudged her." Aunt Xu wasn't a pretentious person; she admitted her mistake and corrected it—there was nothing shameful about it.

"Indeed, we all misjudged the situation."

"We can't blame ourselves for misjudging her; it's just that Song Rumeng is too good at pretending. We've practically watched her grow up, but who would have thought she'd turn out this way?"

"Yes, how could it have gone so wrong? Listen to what she just said to Dr. Song, it really hit home."

"It's already pitiful enough that Dr. Song lost her husband, but she actually called Dr. Song a jinx and said she deserved to lose her husband. Is that something a human being should say?"

"Even animals are no better than this."

The aunties chatted as they walked home, and the courtyard gate returned to calm.

After delivering the items to the kitchen, leaving Song's mother alone to happily cook, Song Yueying went back to her room to change clothes.

Halfway through changing, as I was buttoning my shirt, something flashed past my feet. Then came a strange, rustling sound from the side, sending chills down my spine.

Song Yueying turned her head to look at the source of the sound and saw two large black rats next to a cabinet not far away.

"Old...old...rat." Song Yueying's face turned pale with fright. She wanted to call her mother for help, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth.

She hurriedly buttoned up her clothes, only to find that her feet wouldn't obey her commands, as if they had gained their own will.

No, she has to escape.

Continuing to stay in the same room with the rat, what if the rat crawled onto her... Song Yueying quickly stopped thinking, not daring to imagine that terrifying scene.

While keeping an eye on the two black rats, Song Yueying moved her legs with difficulty.

She knew she was slow, but she had no choice; the thing she feared most in the world was mice.

Suddenly, two rats, seemingly provoked, charged wildly at Song Yueying. Startled, she screamed and, with lightning speed, leaped onto the person who had appeared.

Not seeing clearly who the person suddenly appeared, Song Yueying initially thought it was her mother. But she quickly realized it wasn't; the most obvious difference was that her mother wasn't that tall.

"How much longer do you want to hold me?" the deep voice asked.

This was the first time someone had ever let go of him in someone's arms, and Qi Yanjue felt utterly unworthy of the experience. The unique fragrance emanating from the woman stirred a storm in his usually calm eyes.

"I...I'm sorry." Song Yueying apologized softly, but she didn't let go of Qi Yanjue's arms.

"Song Yueying, my patience is running out," Qi Yanjue warned in a deep voice. "Are you going to get down yourself, or should I pull you down?"

"No, no, no, let's talk this out, let's talk this out." Song Yueying knew that Qi Yanjue was not joking when he gave her a choice. She looked down at the spot where the black rat had been.

"It's gone! How could it be gone?"

With the rat gone, Song Yueying dared not get off Qi Yanjue.

Thinking she was playing tricks, Qi Yanjue issued an ultimatum, "Song Yueying, I don't care what's missing from your possessions, get down here now, immediately."

"I don't want to." Song Yueying refused decisively, her firm tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Nothing is missing, it's just that the mouse went missing."

"If I go down, they will most likely crawl onto my feet."

So that's why she was afraid of mice. Qi Yanjue finally understood why she jumped on him. However, for a girl who grew up in the village, being afraid of mice seemed a bit pretentious.

"Song Yueying, I don't like repeating myself." After saying the warning, Qi Yanjue grabbed Song Yueying's arm, intending to use brute force to tear her off him.

"Brother, please, please, don't make me go down." Song Yueying said with a pained expression, "The rats will really run over my feet."

Qi Yanjue stopped arguing with her and pulled Song Yueying off him.

Once she had regained her footing, he quickly took a few steps back to create distance between them.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Song Yueying was extremely nervous. She carefully looked around but didn't see any sign of the rat. Thinking of Qi Yanjue's expression, she instantly understood what was going on.

"Qi Yanjue, you didn't think I was lying to you when I said there were rats in the house, did you?" Song Yueying felt wronged, even more wronged than Dou E.

He wanted to say, "How often have you lied to me? Didn't you get the marriage certificate by lying?" But the words caught in his throat, and Qi Yanjue swallowed them back down.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Song Yueying took it as a tacit agreement. "Anyway, the rat has already run away. If you don't believe me, I can't explain it. Whatever."

After speaking, Song Yueying turned and walked towards the door, but she stopped after only a few steps. Her whole body slowly stiffened, and her eyes were fixed on one spot.

My mind was screaming, "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"