Thinking of his beloved son's leg being broken by a sledgehammer, his five fingers being cut off, and the beatings and threats they had suffered these past few days.
Overwhelmed with hatred, Yao's mother lunged at Xia Mingyue with red eyes.
She was quick and agile, grabbing Xia Mingyue's long hair and swinging her arm, her rough and fat palm slapping Xia Mingyue's face repeatedly.
Xia Mingyue's delicate face was slapped into a pig's head in a few slaps. She screamed and tried to dodge, but she could not escape Yao's mother, who had turned into a shrew.
"Ah, Daddy, Mommy, help me..."
Lin Zhi couldn't bear it and stepped forward to try to pull Yao's mother away, but how could her pampered little strength possibly be a match for Yao's mother, a rural woman?
Yao's mother shoved her to the ground and continued to slap Xia Mingyue.
Xia Congwen quickly helped Lin Zhi up, then stepped forward and grabbed Yao's mother: "What are you doing?"
As Yao's mother waved her hand haphazardly, it brushed against Xia Congwen's face, leaving several bloody marks on his face with her sharp nails.
In a fit of anger, Xia Congwen shoved Yao's mother.
Even though she didn't use much force, Yao's mother still exaggeratedly lay on the ground and rolled around, starting to perform her art of faking an accident.
"Oh, my back, my back feels like it's broken."
She shouted in a shrill, high-pitched voice, "Someone's being hit! The professor's hitting someone! I'm an old woman from the countryside, and I'm going to be beaten to death!"
The Xia Congwen couple were used to being respectable, and this was the first time they had ever encountered such a shameless scoundrel, leaving them somewhat at a loss for what to do.
Lin Zhi retorted angrily, "You're talking nonsense. My husband didn't hit you at all. You hit my daughter first and then pushed me."
"You're talking nonsense!" Yao's mother sat up abruptly and started cursing at the couple.
"That little bitch is my daughter, what's wrong with me hitting her a couple of times? It's none of the business of outsiders to meddle."
The two were speechless after being confronted. What she said was true; Xia Mingyue was indeed her daughter, and they were outsiders.
The surrounding neighbors were drawn by the commotion; some stood outside to watch, while others simply drank tea and ate melons on the second floor of their homes.
The couple, Xia Congwen and his wife, who always valued their reputation, turned red and white-faced, experiencing once again what it meant to be socially dead.
This time it was even worse than the time in the hospital ward, because most of the neighbors knew them, and one family even lived with colleagues from the school.
Yao's mother was still rolling on the ground, and Yao's father was also slapping his thigh and howling.
"Everyone, please be the judge! Our daughter has been held captive by the Xia family for sixteen years. We just came to see her, and we're being beaten."
Is there no law anymore? This professor is just bullying us country folk!
The neighbors were shocked to discover that Xia Mingyue was not the couple's biological daughter.
The colleague who knew the inside story began to answer the questions of the others, and everyone suddenly realized the truth. Their eyes, when they looked at Xia Congwen and his wife, only conveyed two words.
Serves you right!
Xia Congwen's temple veins throbbed: "What nonsense are you talking about? The baby swapping was just an accident, and we only found out recently."
Besides, my daughter was also held captive by you for sixteen years.
Lin Zhi trembled with anger: "How did we treat Mingyue, and how did you treat Pian... Wangdi? How dare you say that?"
Yao's father retorted, "How have we treated her? She's still alive and well, neither sick nor dead."
That's how we poor people raise our children; of course, we can't compare to you rich people.
Yao's mother said, "We've already returned Wangdi to you, so we're taking Yao Mingyue with us too."
She not only described her escape as a voluntary return, but also casually changed Xia Mingyue's surname.
Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyue turned pale and clung tightly to Lin Zhi's arm, pleading.
“My surname is Xia, not Yao. I won’t leave, I don’t want to leave you, Mom, I don’t want to go, please, don’t send me away.”
Yao's father rushed forward and spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Xia Mingyue's face, making Lin Zhi, who was facing her, gag in disgust.
"You heartless little bitch, you just think your parents are poor, right? Even if you don't want to acknowledge us, you're still my creation, a member of the Yao family."
Li the Cripple seized the opportunity: "From now on, you're part of the Li family."
Xia Mingyue was speechless, and she vomited violently while rubbing her face.
She still doesn't understand why Yao's parents suddenly came to her and said that she had taken all the money.
Also, why do you suddenly hate her so much?
They used to call her their darling daughter on the phone, which made her feel that although her biological parents were crude and ignorant, they still loved her.
What exactly happened?
Xia Congwen felt burning hot all over from the stares of onlookers around him, wishing he could disappear into the ground.
He took a deep breath and shouted, "Alright, all of you shut up."
He looked at Yao's parents and said, "You don't need to throw a tantrum or try to extort money. Just tell me, what do you want?"
Upon hearing this, Yao's mother immediately scrambled to her feet, her back and legs no longer aching.
Mr. Yao wiped away non-existent tears, huddled with Mrs. Yao and whispered for a few minutes, then Mr. Yao made an outrageous demand:
“Give us five million, and we’ll give you this daughter.”
Li the Cripple was shocked. Good heavens, he just asked for five million?
He hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xia Mingyue again, wondering whether he wanted the money or the person.
A second later, I thought, "Fine, I'll just ask for the money."
I thought this city girl would be incredibly alluring, but it turns out she's not as pretty as Yao Wangdi, just a bit fairer-skinned.
"Five million?" Xia Congwen's face turned ashen. "Why don't you just rob us?"
Both he and Lin Zhi are university professors, and their salaries are at a normal level.
The reason they can live in villas, drive luxury cars, and live such a luxurious life is because they inherited their family property.
But at best they can be considered middle class, completely incomparable to the truly wealthy, with only about 20 million in liquid assets.
Mr. Yao chuckled and said, "Don't be so quick to refuse. Five million may sound like a lot, but compared to all the effort you've put into Mingyue, it's nothing."
"Only five million for such an outstanding and beautiful daughter like Mingyue? You've really struck gold!"
Xia Congwen and Lin Zhi exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat unnatural.
If this had been said seven days ago, they would have agreed, because they also thought Xia Mingyue was outstanding.
But just seven days ago, they witnessed the even more outstanding Xia Pianran.
Having seen a better biological daughter, who would spend an extra five million to buy a daughter with no blood relation?
Did you buy it from their biological parents? Have you lost your mind?
Xia Mingyue had clearly considered this as well. Suppressing her fear, she yelled at Yao's parents:
"You've gone too far. I've already given you so much money, and you're still not satisfied."
Yao's mother sneered: "You only gave a little over two million in total, and you took it all, including Yao Wangdi's 200,000 dowry."
"It's all your fault! We can't afford to give Li the Cripple a wife, and we can't return the bride price. Otherwise, why would we be coming to you?"
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