Chapter 22 stripped Wang Juan naked.
The lights in the main room stayed on until after 10 p.m.
"Bang—!" The door to the main room was kicked open with a loud thud, slamming against the wall.
Zhao Qingda barged in, reeking of alcohol, his face contorted in the lamplight.
He looked at Wen Xiaoxiao sitting in front of the sewing machine, and the lust he had been simmering for so long, fueled by Wang Juan's urging, suddenly surged to the top of his head.
"You filthy bitch! What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for?!"
He started with foul language, swaying as he approached, "Why aren't you sleeping at this hour? Who are you trying to seduce? Huh? Giving me attitude, huh? I'll kill you today!"
The vile insults came like dirty water.
Wen Xiaoxiao had already stopped moving, her fingers gripping the edge of the sewing machine tightly, her nails turning white.
As Zhao Qingda reached out to grab her, she suddenly grabbed a pair of sharp tailoring scissors from beside her, turned around sharply, and pointed them at him with a fierce look she had never shown before.
"Come and try again!" Her voice trembled with murderous intent. "Zhao Qingda, I'll fight you to the death today!"
Zhao Qingda was stunned by the terrifying light in Wen Xiaoxiao's eyes.
Then came an even greater rage: "You've gone too far! You dare to take a weapon?!" Fueled by alcohol and strength, he recklessly lunged forward to snatch the scissors.
At that critical moment, the main house door was kicked open almost simultaneously!
Zhao Fei rushed out, keeping a close eye on the commotion outside.
Without any further ado, he took two steps to Zhao Qingda's side, swung his fist, and slammed it into Zhao Qingda's face with all his might!
A muffled thud.
Zhao Qingda's head snapped to one side from the blow, and he staggered back several steps. His lip split open instantly, and blood flowed out, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
He covered his face, staring at Zhao Fei who had suddenly appeared: "Zhao Fei! You fucking dare to hit me?!"
"I'm going to beat you up, you scum!" Zhao Fei's eyes were bloodshot as he stood in front of Wen Xiaoxiao.
At this moment, the door to the west wing also opened.
Li Yugu rushed out in a panic, wearing only his clothes, followed by Zhao Yidi, who had been startled awake and was standing at the door crying loudly.
The chaotic scene before her eyes made the old lady's vision go black. Her son's face was covered in blood, her nephew was furious, and her daughter-in-law was holding a large pair of scissors!
"Oh my God! What's going on?! A rebellion?!"
Li Yugu screamed, his first reaction was to rush over and hug Wen Xiaoxiao, who was holding scissors.
"Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao! Put the scissors down! Put them down now! You can't!"
She was terrified, fearing that Wen Xiaoxiao might do something irreversible.
Wen Xiaoxiao was hugged by Li Yugu, and the scissors fell to the ground with a "clatter".
Looking at Zhao Yidi, who was crying her heart out behind Li Yugu, she felt a surge of heartache.
She broke free from Li Yugu, ran over and hugged the terrified child tightly, tears streaming down her face: "Yidi, don't be afraid, Yidi, don't be afraid, Auntie's here..."
Zhao Fei breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Wen Xiaoxiao put down the scissors, but his anger had not subsided.
He approached Zhao Qingda step by step.
"Qingda! I think you've really gone mad!" Li Yugu also recovered and pointed at Zhao Qingda, cursing loudly.
"What kind of drunken rant are you spouting in the middle of the night! Do you want to tear this house apart?! Do you want to drive Xiaoxiao to her death?!"
Zhao Qingda spat out a mouthful of blood, his neck stiff: "Mom! Didn't you see her trying to stab me with scissors?!"
"If you didn't scold her, if you didn't hit her, would she have gotten the scissors?!" Li Yugu trembled with anger. "Look what you've done to Xiaoxiao! Look how scared you've made the child!"
Zhao Fei stopped wasting words with Zhao Qingda, stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and punched him in the stomach again.
Zhao Qingda was in so much pain that he bent over and dry heaved.
Li Yugu tacitly agreed; her son just deserved a beating!
Zhao Fei dragged him into the yard and started punching and kicking him, targeting the thickest parts of his body to make him feel the pain without causing any serious injury.
Zhao Qingda initially tried to fight back, but he was no match for Zhao Fei, who had been doing manual labor for many years. He was quickly beaten down and could only parry, begging for mercy repeatedly.
"Brother Fei! Brother Fei! Stop hitting me! I was wrong! Ouch!"
"What did you do wrong?!" Zhao Fei grabbed his hair, forcing him to look up.
"I... I shouldn't have cursed, I shouldn't have hit him..." Zhao Qingda mumbled.
"Anything else?!"
“There is… there is also…” Zhao Qingda’s eyes darted away.
Zhao Fei lowered his voice and gritted his teeth as he asked in his ear, "Tell me! What do you want?! Has that wild woman outside bewitched you again?!"
Zhao Qingda was both in pain and afraid after his secret was exposed, under Zhao Fei's horrifying gaze.
"It's...it's Wang Juan...she said...she told me to come back and find a way to force Wen Xiaoxiao out...she...she can then come in..."
Sure enough! Zhao Fei kicked him hard in the back of the knee: "Bastard! For some wild woman, you've abandoned your home! You've even stopped being human! Get out of here! Get out now! Don't let me see you again!"
Zhao Qingda felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet, limped out of the yard, started his car, and fled in a sorry state.
The courtyard finally quieted down.
Tears streaming down his face, Li Yugu grumbled as he carried Yidi back to the west wing, cursing under his breath: "What a tragedy! What a tragedy! I can't live like this anymore... Yidi, be good, sleep with Grandma, don't be afraid..."
Wen Xiaoxiao stood alone at the cold doorway of the main room. Just now, she really wanted to die together with Zhao Qingda.
She slowly bent down, picked up the scissors, put them back in the sewing basket, then walked back to the east wing and closed the door.
The light in the west wing was on for a while, and then Li Yugu's soft voice could be heard soothing the child. The sound gradually faded, and finally the light went out.
The entire courtyard was plunged into a deathly silence and darkness.
Inside the main house, Zhao Fei stood by the window, listening to the commotion outside, his brows furrowed.
Only after confirming that the west wing was completely quiet did he gently open his own door and, like a shadow, silently cross the courtyard to the door of the east wing.
He gave a gentle push, slipped inside, and quickly closed the door behind him.
The lights were off inside; only the light from the snow outside the window illuminated the room.
Wen Xiaoxiao was startled by the noise, but when she saw it was him, her tense body relaxed.
Zhao Fei groped his way to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in the dark and saw the tear stains on her face in the dim light. His heart ached.
He sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and said in a low voice, "Don't cry, the man has been chased away. If he dares to do it again, I'll beat him up again."
Wen Xiaoxiao raised her tearful eyes and choked out, "My older brother... will arrive the night after tomorrow."
Zhao Fei's eyes lit up in the darkness: "Your brother's coming? That's great!"
He immediately had an idea. "Xiaoxiao, how about this? Since your brother is here, if he doesn't have any other work for the time being, could he... come and help out at my pig farm? I'm short of reliable help there. Firstly, your brother has an income, and secondly..."
He paused for a moment, then said, "You also have family here to take care of you. If Zhao Qingda wants to make a move again, he'll have to think twice."
Should we send the eldest brother to the pig farm?
Wen Xiaoxiao was stunned.
That's definitely a good idea.
With a place to stay and an income, the elder brother also had someone to rely on.
Zhao Fei... he's paving the way for her, he's thinking of her.
A corner of the icy despair was melted away by Zhao Fei.
She nodded gently, knowing he could see her in the darkness.
Zhao Fei breathed a sigh of relief, sensing that her emotions had calmed down slightly.
He reached out, groped for her hand, and gently took it in his.
He squeezed it again, trying to convey some warmth and strength.
Wen Xiaoxiao did not pull her hand away; instead, she squeezed it back.
Zhao Fei felt a surge of warmth in his heart and couldn't help but lean in and plant a tender kiss on his lips.
This kiss was devoid of lust, filled only with tenderness and comfort.
Wen Xiaoxiao let out a soft sob, but leaned forward and rested her forehead on his strong shoulder.
Zhao Fei gently put his arm around her, patting her thin back reassuringly, and whispered, "It's alright, I'm here."
After a long while, Zhao Fei finally let go of her and said in a low voice, "You should get some rest. I'm going back. I'll be busy tomorrow."
"Mmm," Wen Xiaoxiao responded, her voice slightly nasal.
Just as he had come, Zhao Fei left the east wing silently and returned to his own room.
The next morning, Zhao Fei went to the pig farm as usual.
But instead of starting work, he called over a worker from the pig farm who knew all sorts of people and was nicknamed "Old Second Black".
Zhao Fei called him to a secluded spot, gave him two packs of good cigarettes and fifty yuan.
"Hei Zi, do me a favor." Zhao Fei's voice was calm, but his eyes were cold. "You know Wang Juan, the ticket seller at the station, right?"
The second brother weighed the money in his hand and chuckled, "Boss Zhao, what do you say?"
"Find an opportunity to teach her a lesson. Don't hit her too hard, just a few slaps will do. The key is..." Zhao Fei lowered his voice.
"Take off her clothes and embarrass her. If anyone asks afterward, just say she had dirty hands, and don't say anything else."
Is your hand or foot not clean?
The second son's dark eyes darted around, and he understood.
This was a way to both humiliate the woman and have a plausible excuse. "Understood, Boss Zhao. Just you wait and see. I guarantee I'll handle it smoothly and keep my mouth shut."
That afternoon, Wang Juan was chatting and laughing with several familiar ticket sellers when two shady-looking men suddenly rushed over, one of whom was Lao Erhei.
Without saying a word, they grabbed Wang Juan by the hair and slapped her twice across the face, making her see stars and scream.
"You bitch! That'll teach you to be so cheeky! That'll teach you to steal!"
As Lao Erhei cursed the prepared lines, he and his accomplice quickly tore Wang Juan's coat and sweater to shreds.
Amid the gasps of the surrounding crowd, they actually stripped her upper body completely naked.
"Ah—! I didn't! You're lying! Help!" Wang Juan was filled with shame and indignation, struggling desperately to cover herself, her cries piercingly.
But the two men had a clear purpose. After they finished hitting and stripping the victim, they left a few harsh words like "If you touch me again, I'll deal with you again," and then quickly disappeared into the crowd amidst the chaos.
Wang Juan was left behind, disheveled and sobbing uncontrollably. The surrounding people gossiped, saying that the woman didn't look respectable and must have gotten into trouble with the local bullies.
When the news reached Zhao Qingda's ears, he was both surprised and suspicious.
He ran to the station and saw Wang Juan with swollen eyes from crying, looking resentful and bitter.
Wang Juan herself couldn't figure out who she had offended, and only insisted that someone had framed her.
Zhao Qingda wanted to find out who did it, but Lao Erhei and his accomplices had long since disappeared.
He wanted to call the police, but Wang Juan felt ashamed and was afraid that if the investigation were to find out, her past acts of taking advantage of others would be exposed, so she refused to go through with it.
When Zhao Fei heard Lao Erhei's casual report at the pig farm, he simply nodded and continued with his work.
It was as if the incident at the train station had nothing to do with him.
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