The afternoon sun is |
Xia Kui carried a stick upstairs. The door was not closed, and Ji Xiaoxiao was sitting cross-legged on the bed.
"Dad, you're back," Ji Xiaoxiao said gently.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the rough, cheap glass, leaving a thin layer of colored light that gently caressed Ji Xiaoxiao's face. Her fair skin, fine downy hair, and familiar features were slightly unfamiliar yet alluring. For a moment, Xia Kui was in a daze, realizing that this person was not his daughter, but a witch who had seen it all.
"So beautiful," Xia Kui murmured.
"Dad, would you like to come sit down and talk to your daughter?"
Ji Xiaoxiao curled her lips into a smile. As winter passed and spring came, all things grew and a hundred flowers bloomed.
Xia Kui swallowed hard. "Okay." He stepped over the threshold, closed the door, and locked it. Ji Xiaoxiao smiled even more brightly.
Downstairs, Xia Qingqing and the others heard banging and popping sounds.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared behind the mountains.
Xia Kui walked downstairs with an awkward gait, his legs clamped together and his steps barely three inches.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Xia Qingqing asked anxiously.
"It's nothing." Xia Kui's face was flushed, his breathing was heavy, and his limbs were trembling uncontrollably. He tried to appear calm and asked, "Is dinner ready?"
Xia Qingqing looked towards the restaurant kitchen, "Almost done."
After a pause, Xia Qingqing asked again, "Dad, how is that little bitch?"
It would be best to just kill that little bitch, otherwise it would be hard to quell the hatred in her heart.
"Who?" Xia Kui frowned; he didn't like that word.
Xia Qingqing asked in confusion, "Who else could it be but that little bitch Xia Muran?"
With a loud, piercing crack.
Xia Kui slapped Xia Qingqing hard across the face. "She's your sister. You can't talk to her like that. If I ever hear you say that again, I'll skin you alive."
Xia Kui bared his teeth and glared fiercely, while Xia Qingqing was filled with terror.
What's wrong with Dad? Wasn't he the one who called her a little bitch in the first place?
Xia Qingqing slowed her breathing, her blood seemed to rush back for a moment, Xia Muran had won over her father!
The unfounded idea took deep root in Xia Qingqing's mind.
Xia Qingqing is exceptionally skilled at reading people and acting accordingly, and she is not to be trifled with by Xia Muran, who is now very powerful and not to be trifled with. She would never be so foolish as to seek her own death.
Xia Qingqing sat back down and quietly watched TV.
On one side, Xia Cai pouted in dissatisfaction, "Dad, you didn't beat that little bitch to death, did you? I still wanted to do it myself... ah."
Clang, clang, Xia Cai curled up into a ball and rolled to the wall. Caught off guard, Xia Cai was in a daze, and after a long while, she burst into tears.
In the kitchen, Xia's mother came out upon hearing the noise, "Oh, my darling, why are you crying again?"
Xia's mother ran over and gently hugged her, comforting her.
Xia Kui's chest heaved violently as he shouted, "Put him down!"
Xia's mother was taken aback.
"Put him down."
The "he" that Xia Kui mentioned was Xia Cai, who was in Xia's mother's arms.
"Mom, no, I'm scared." Xia Cai clung tightly to his mother's clothes, shaking his head desperately. After being kicked away by Xia Kui, Xia Cai was filled with fear of Xia Kui.
Xia's mother loved Xia Cai, but that didn't surpass Xia Kui's affection.
"No, no."
Xia Cai frantically waved his hands, his black and dirty fingertips teeming with bacteria, and inadvertently cut his mother's face.
Whether she is a stunning beauty or an ordinary woman with a plain appearance, a woman always cherishes her face.
Xia's mother forcefully put Xia Cai down, turned around and ran back to her room, thinking that if she quickly applied some ointment, it might be fine by tomorrow and wouldn't leave a scar.
Xia Cai squatted on the ground, shrinking into a ball of flesh, "Dad, I was wrong."
Upon hearing this, Xia Kui's anger subsided somewhat.
"Where did we go wrong?" Xia Kui asked.
Xia Cai opened his mouth and uttered nonsensical nonsense, not a single word of which touched on the point.
Xia Kui was extremely disappointed and beat Xia Cai up.
Half an hour later, Xia Cai lay on the ground, his clothes disheveled. His once fair and tender buttocks were swollen and red, like a monkey's bottom. Xia Cai was weak and burping and whimpering.
"Go and call your mother out," Xia Kui said to Xia Qingqing.
Xia Qingqing responded and called her mother down.
Inside, the incandescent lights were not turned on, creating a dim and oppressive atmosphere. A man sat upright, his face solemn. Three other people stood in a row, their heads drooping.
Xia Kui looked at the three brainless people and announced loudly, "From today onwards, Muran will be in charge of this family. If I hear another disrespectful word about Muran, I will not only skin you alive, but also sell you all to that cripple."
"Lame?" Xia's mother screamed, shaking her head rapidly, muttering, "I won't dare, I won't dare, I really won't dare."
Selling someone to a cripple is worse than death.
Xia Kui took the initiative to propose it, and Xia's mother gave in. Xia Qingqing was good at dealing with people, and Xia Cai, who was afraid of being beaten, kept quiet. From then on, the sovereignty of the Xia family was handed over to Ji Xiaoxiao.
Second floor, Ji Xiaoxiao's room.
Ji Xiaoxiao carefully put away the rope, whip, candle, stick-like object, rubbed her throbbing forehead, pulled the blanket over herself, and went to sleep fully clothed.
She didn't have the energy to eat dinner.
The next day, Ji Xiaoxiao began to recruit members of the Xia family.
"Parents should act like parents. If children do something wrong, they should be punished, but not just by hitting them. They should be reasoned with and understand the consequences. Then they will not repeat the mistake."
Ji Xiaoxiao looked at the original owner's parents with her hands behind her back. They adhered to the educational policy of "spare the rod and spoil the child," which they learned from the older generation. They called them heartless and cruel, but they were just imitating them. They said they meant well but did bad things, but when they actually got physical, they would beat people to death or cripple them, showing no semblance of discipline whatsoever.
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