Chapter 59: Let Him Die
A stood behind Sui Yi, watching the tight line of her brows, his fists unconsciously clenching. Trouble followed her relentlessly; she handled it all with composure, but even she must get tired sometimes. He… was far less capable than Jiang Yunxiu, unable to offer her any real help.
“Sorry I haven’t been of much use to you.”
“Hm?” Sui Yi turned to glance at him, then shook her head. “You’ve already helped… Your cooking… is very good.”
…
Sui Yi had no idea how Monkey’s group was handling the situation. She was busy, as usual. A watched her tending to medicinal herbs while packing clothes and couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “What are you doing…?”
“I’m taking Grandma back to Nanxun. At the very least, I don’t feel safe leaving her alone in the village right now.”
Her illness aside, even that grave gave Sui Yi a chilling sense of foreboding. Letting the old lady stay here felt decidedly unwise.
“I’ll call someone to come pick you up, then.” With so many belongings and an elderly woman, they’d need a car.
“No need, I’ve already arranged everything.”
“And the house…?”
“I’ve also asked Mr. Tang to help keep an eye on it. For now, we have a place to stay…” A put down his phone, sighing inwardly. Just how independent and self-possessed could one person be? Quietly, she had already taken care of everything.
“Sui Yi, how old are you this year? Seventeen?”
“Hm?... Nearly eighteen.”
——
By noon, the old lady had awakened. A didn’t know what Sui Yi had said to her, but after much resistance, the old woman finally agreed. She kept holding Sui Yi’s hand, repeating, “You mustn’t drop out of school. Study hard. Grandma will come with you; that way you won’t have to run back and forth, and you won’t have to quit school…”
The people sent by Mr. Tang arrived quickly—a roomy car, parked boldly at the entrance to the village. Some villagers, having heard Sui Yi was leaving, came to see her off. No one tried to persuade them to stay; everyone understood her family’s situation, though there was still a sense of regret.
“Look at that car…”
“I’ve seen one like it in town… I heard it costs over a million… What’s it called? Oh, Hummer!”
“That horse is expensive! Is it made of gold?”
“Heh, old man, these days, even if you had a horse built of gold, it wouldn’t be as imposing as this!”
The villagers were still rattled by what had happened at the grave, but as they saw Sui Yi off, their mood lightened a little. Sui Yi had said, “Nothing happened before, and nothing will happen after. Besides, none of us have ever gone inside, have we? If there’s any vengeance to be had, it won’t fall on us…”
She paused, then added, “It’s just that others might be less lucky.”
Her words reached Monkey’s group, who were standing nearby, battered and miserable. Their expressions were as mournful as could be. Ye Zhang, uneasy and wanting to leave, happened to see Sui Yi helping the old lady into the car.
He froze, then a thought occurred to him as he stared at the car. He hadn’t expected Sui Yi to have such connections after all. In that case…
The same Ye Zhang who usually wished the old woman dead suddenly rushed over with feigned warmth, grabbing the old lady’s hand and shouting at Sui Yi, “Sui Yi, what do you think you’re doing to my mother?! Where are you taking her?!”
Sui Yi turned to look at him, her gaze cold and indifferent. Ye Zhang’s heart stuttered; he loosened his grip slightly, but stiffened his neck and said, “She’s my mother. If you want to take her, I won’t agree unless…”
Everyone present knew exactly what he meant by “unless.” The outrage was palpable.
Damn it!
——
That bastard must have been a miser in his past life!
Too damn disgusting!
The young man nearby, who’d been making a call, frowned at the commotion. What kind of person is this Ye Zhang, anyway? If they weren’t working together by chance, he’d never have associated with such scum.
By now, Sui Yi had helped the old lady into the car. She turned to Ye Zhang and asked, “You want money?”
“Heh, she’s my mother after all. It’s not right for you to take her away so easily…” Ye Zhang spat on the ground, face twisted with spite.
His logic was enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
“Besides, haven’t you hooked up with a rich man now…? Still short of money? Look at that car… You should at least give me a million or two. And hand over the valuables you’ve been hiding with the old woman—that stuff belongs to me!” Ye Zhang demanded outrageously, not the least bit worried Sui Yi wouldn’t comply. After all, the old woman mattered only to this girl.
“Such wickedness!”
“Beast!”
Aunt Wang and the others were furious, charging at Ye Zhang. But A was quicker—his fist landed squarely.
Bang!
Ye Zhang was knocked to the ground, howling in pain. Before he could get up, A’s foot landed on him—once, twice, three times, each blow solid, leaving Ye Zhang writhing in agony.
Sui Yi said nothing, merely fiddled with her phone. After a moment, she closed the car door so the old lady couldn’t hear what was happening outside.
Everyone was taken aback by this simple gesture.
Then they heard Sui Yi say to Monkey’s group, “He didn’t tell you, did he? About the forbidden ground? Everyone in our village knows not to go near it—bad things have happened before, so no one dares cross the warning line. But you all went in… I suppose you just didn’t know. I suggest you be more careful in the future—”
Such a thoughtful warning, yet Monkey’s group turned green. Damn, seriously? There was such a thing?
“You bastard!”
“Damn it, he did it on purpose!”
“He wanted to harm us!”
“Whether it was on purpose or not, it was his concealment that led to this mess. Boss Feng…”
The young man had finished his call and come over. He crouched before Ye Zhang, long, powerful fingers wrapping around the man’s throat, his voice emerging through gritted teeth.
“I hate being lied to most of all… Because of your lies, we suffered huge losses. My first failed mission—Miss is very disappointed in me…”
His knuckles whitened as he squeezed. Aunt Wang and the others watched in horror as this neatly dressed young man choked Ye Zhang until his face turned purple and his eyes rolled back.
He looked as if he might die.
This young man—at this moment, he was terrifying.
“I’ll give you one day. You’d better cough up three million, not a cent less. Plus half a million in compensation. Otherwise, I’ll dig you a new grave right here.”
He flung Ye Zhang aside like garbage, dusted off his hands, and shed his previous menace. Turning to Sui Yi, he said coolly, “Miss Sui Yi, I think, at least in our attitude towards this trash, we’re of one mind. Even if we can’t kill him, we can make him wish he were dead.”
He paused, eyes narrowing. “At the very least, he won’t trouble you for some time.”
Was this a shift from enemy to ally? Common ground? Was he offering an olive branch?
Sui Yi neither confirmed nor denied, merely nodded. “Then I’ll leave it to you…”
“My pleasure.”
She got in the car and left, not sparing a single glance at the pathetic, thunderstruck Ye Zhang left sprawled on the ground.
After the car was gone, someone in the village sighed, “How many times does Ye Zhang have to be taught a lesson before he realizes he’s no match for Sui Yi?”
“Bad people always meet their match—Sui Yi’s the one meant to deal with him.”
——
The villagers talked amongst themselves, while Monkey’s group sidled over, grinning, trying to get the young man to share stories about the grave.
He squinted after the departing car, noticing another vehicle driving in the opposite direction toward the village entrance.
Someone got out.
As soon as the man stepped out, he paused in surprise, frowning. “Feng Sha, what are you doing here…?”
Feng Sha was equally surprised—the man was one of his superior’s subordinates. What was he doing here?
After a brief conversation, the newcomer made a call.
“Sir, apologies, I didn’t manage to meet her… She’s already gone.”
——
“How come someone else is driving into your village now?” A glanced at the passing SUV with a smile.
Sui Yi didn’t pay it any mind. “No idea. Let it be…”
The old lady, weary, seemed all too accustomed to her son’s behavior. After a long silence, she finally said, “Xiao Yi, always making you worry, so many troubles… Actually, you could have…”
“No matter how bad things get, it won’t be worse than living alone in the world with nothing to hold you here… Having someone to care for makes me happy.”
Sui Yi patted the old woman’s hand and smiled softly, her voice gentle. “These years, I’ve been happy, and at peace.”
She had never been one to lie, nor could anyone make her do so.
The old lady gazed at Sui Yi for a long time, then squeezed her hand with deep affection.
Who says family must be bound by blood?
Perhaps she and Sui Yi were fated from a previous life—in this one, when they met on that snowy night, she had felt an unbreakable bond at first sight.
Never mind, there’s no need to say more…
Perhaps she didn’t have many wishes left—she could only spend more time with this girl.
She, it seemed, was even lonelier than herself…
——
A remained silent, his gaze drifting over Sui Yi from time to time.
To have no ties—was that also a kind of pain?
To have ties—was that what happiness meant?
Sui Yi, what kind of person are you, really?
——
By the time they returned to Nanxun, it was late afternoon, nearly evening. Mr. Tang came in person to greet them, especially warm to the old lady, and led Sui Yi to a certain place.
It was the Mingyue Residential Complex by the park, near the Nanxun River—a peaceful environment, with tall apartment buildings on the left and rows of townhouses on the right.
Mr. Tang led Sui Yi to one of the townhouses.
Sui Yi frowned—she’d thought they’d agreed on an apartment in this complex, not a townhouse. She paid rent every day—
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian to vote and support the author. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.reading.)