“Dad, Dad, my cousin stole my chocolate, and he also took my bag… Brother, helped me, he pushed Brother, Brother fell, bleeding… wuwuwu…”
In the hospital, the little girl held onto her father’s neck, sobbing while recounting what had happened.
A group of people stood beside her: He Nian, He Yi, Mother and Father Huo, Huo Zhiwen, Huo Chenyang, and Jiang Xiaxia. Even Grandfather Huo came too.
Huo Xingchao’s face was cold and solemn as he held his young daughter, listening to her trembling words, his eyes fixed on the operating room, silent.
Standing beside him, tears almost overflowed from He Nian’s eyes, but she blinked them back.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Huo Xingchao pursed his lips and patted her shoulder.
He Nian had managed to hold back her tears, but as soon as she heard his comforting words, she almost burst into tears. However, looking into her daughter’s frightened and pitiful eyes, she had no choice but to suppress her emotions and force a strained smile.
“Luo Luo, don’t worry, Brother is fine.”
“But Mom, it was cousin, cousin pushed Brother, it was cousin…”
The little girl pouted, staring at Huo Zhiwen in the distance, tears streaming down her face, her voice filled with grievances and hatred.
…
Huo Zhiwen, despite his audacity, couldn’t help but feel afraid at this moment. He curled up and hid behind his mother, trying to shield his plump body.
…
The sequence of events was actually quite simple.
Huo Yiluo wanted to eat chocolate, and Huo Yihao was supervising her.
Huo Zhiwen, who overheard their conversation, quietly slipped away from the table and ran to his grandmother’s room, where he immediately noticed the small backpack in Huo Yiluo’s hands.
Inside it, there were not only chocolates but also some other snacks and toys. For Huo Zhiwen, who had never seen them before, they were quite attractive. His eyes lit up, and he reached out and snatched them away.
His mother had told him before that he was the eldest grandson of the Huo family and that everything in the Huo family belonged to him.
When Huo Zhiwen snatched the items, he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. He tore open the chocolate packaging and stuffed it into his mouth, leaving Huo Yiluo stunned.
Then he looked at his suddenly empty hand and burst into tears.
Seeing his sister cry, Huo Yihao became agitated and rushed forward, wanting to snatch the things from Huo Zhiwen’s hand.
But no matter how skilled he was, he was still just a little over four years old, while Huo Zhiwen was six years older and much bigger. With a single push, he sent Huo Yihao tumbling to the ground.
A loud thud.
What no one noticed was that there was a low stool on the ground. As Huo Yihao fell, his head hit the edge of the stool.
It made a hollow sound.
There was blood.
At that moment, Huo Xingchao pushed open the door and saw this scene.
His youngest son lying on the ground, his life hanging by a thread, his youngest daughter sitting on the ground wailing, and Huo Zhiwen standing there at a loss, holding a bag of things.
…
Fortunately, the hospital was not far from the Huo family’s home, just a few steps away.
And based on Huo Xingchao’s experience, he judged that the injury was at least not life-threatening.
He Nian was a medical student, so she should have had some idea, but when she saw the blood on her son’s head, even though she knew deep down that it would be fine, she was still extremely scared, even more so than Huo Xingchao.
She didn’t even know how she had made it to the hospital.
…
In fact, as Huo Xingchao looked at the tears in He Nian and Yiluo’s eyes, he felt somewhat guilty.
He knew that in the original plot, He Nian only had one son, who also had an accident that year.
But that was because at the time, Mother Huo planned to pass her job at the textile factory to He Nian. When Jiang Xiaxia found out about it, she ran to Grandfather Huo’s house to inquire about it.
Then they started arguing.
At that time, neither He Nian nor Huo Xingchao were at home. As they argued, Jiang Xiaxia, in her haste to “rescue Grandpa,” accidentally pushed He Nian’s son down the stairs.
A chaotic situation ensued, Huo’s grandfather suffered a sudden bout of hypertension, and under Jiang Xiaxia’s panic, the time for seeking medical attention was delayed, resulting in the child injuring his head and becoming mentally disabled.
So this time, when they came back, Huo Xingchao focused all his attention on Jiang Xiaxia, completely overlooking Huo Zhiwen.
As a result, an oversight led to this incident.
…
The door of the operating room was opened, and the doctor walked out. Huo Yiluo immediately turned her head from her father’s neck, her eyes still filled with tears, her voice soft and sobbing.
“Uncle doctor, is my brother dead?”
Everyone was startled by her words.
Unable to hold back, He Nian directly slapped her on the back of her head. “Don’t speak nonsense!”
The doctor took off his mask and smiled.
“Don’t worry, your brother is fine. The wound has been stitched up, and after he is transferred to the ward, you can go see him.”
He Nian instantly breathed a sigh of relief, tears gushed out, and she clung to Huo Xingchao’s arm, sobbing.
“Why are you crying, Mom?”
Huo Yiluo panicked in an instant. “Didn’t the doctor say that Brother is fine?”
“Mom is crying because she’s happy.”
Huo Xingchao patted her head and wiped the tears from her face. “Let’s go, let’s see your brother.”
He walked forward.
As he passed Jiang Xiaxia and Huo Zhiwen, he didn’t even glance in their direction, nor did he utter a word of reproach.
He only left them with a cold and distant back.
Huo Zhiwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while Jiang Xiaxia became completely panicked.
She knew.
She had known since she was a child that Huo Xingchao, unlike the gentle Huo Chenyang, was a little devil who would not show any mercy.
The more silent he was, the angrier he was, and the more severe his revenge would be.
“Mom, what’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Xiaxia hugged her plump son tightly and anxiously instructed, “Wenwen, if your uncle wants to hit you or do anything, don’t argue with him. Apologize first, and then cry to your grandmother, got it?”
“Oh.”
Jiang Xiaxia was filled with fear for several days but found that Huo Xingchao had not reacted at all. Even Mother Huo, who had always cherished her grandson, scolded Huo Zhiwen severely. When she saw the whole family, even He Nian didn’t have a pleasant expression. Only Huo Xingchao, who didn’t say a word, cast a cold glance at Huo Zhiwen.
Then he held Huo Yiluo’s hand and left.
Jiang Xiaxia felt a chill and uneasiness in that gaze. It frightened her to the point where she couldn’t sleep for several consecutive nights, tossing and turning.
Huo Chenyang was driven mad by her, sitting up he asked,
“What’s wrong with you these past few days?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
Jiang Xiaxia held her knees, staring at him, and laughed bitterly. “This is all because of you! If you hadn’t made any progress in these years and only came back with the same dead salary of eight hundred yuan per month, would Wenwen envy He Nian’s child? Even if Huo Yihao had pushed Wenwen instead, He Nian wouldn’t have suffered like me! The biggest regret of my life is marrying such an incompetent man like you!”
…
Huo Chenyang stared at her for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes cold as ice.
“You regret it? I regret it even more.”
“Jiang Xiaxia, if it weren’t for my blindness, if I hadn’t fallen for you back then, you would still be in that Village, feeding pigs and working in the fields like your siblings! The biggest regret of my life is not listening to my grandfather’s words and giving up He Nian to marry you!”
“What did you say?”
Jiang Xiaxia couldn’t help but scream, “Huo Chenyang, say that to me again!”
“Jiang Xiaxia, don’t you know yet? Grandfather left his house to Xingchao. Xingchao told me that he originally planned to let me live in that house. But because I married such a wife, he said he would rather leave the house vacant than give it to me! Jiang Xiaxia, your Jiang family is damn disgusting. I always thought you were good people, but the result is that you killed someone’s father and pretended to be a great benefactor by adopting their child. Your Jiang family is simply terrifying!”
…
Jiang Xiaxia’s previously aggressive expression instantly froze. She stared at him with wide eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“What did you say? How do you know about this? Huo Chenyang, where did you hear it from?”
“I don’t need to hear it from anyone else. Xingchao told me everything. Jiang Xiaxia, I’ve endured it all because of Wenwen. Otherwise, I would have divorced you long ago!”
…
What? Huo Xingchao knows?
If Huo Xingchao knows, does that mean He Nian knows too?
Jiang Xiaxia’s face instantly drained of color as she sat on the bed, staring blankly, not knowing what she was thinking.
…
The next day was the day they went back to Jiang’s house in the Village to celebrate the New Year.
Jiang Xiaxia had a lost and absent-minded expression throughout the day. Every now and then, she secretly observed He Nian with a look of panic.
He Nian furrowed her brows and kept a little distance between her and Yiluo.
She now felt that both Jiang Xiaxia and Huo Zhiwen were dangerous predators best kept at a distance.
She was just waiting to finish the New Year celebrations and go back to the Capital, as far away from these troublesome people as possible.
Jiang’s family had always been warm and welcoming towards the Huo family, their in-laws.
In recent years, Jiang’s family had built brick houses, and their eldest son found a job in the city, relying on the money and things brought back by Jiang Xiaxia. Jiang’s grandmother was also good at handling relationships, so they were well-received and had a sumptuous feast.
However, Jiang Xiaxia, who was usually excited when she returned home, was completely absent-minded today. After sitting down, she lowered her head and fell silent. After a while, she couldn’t help but say a few words and then directly left the main hall to find her grandmother.
Her grandmother went to the backyard to pick vegetables, and Jiang Xiaxia walked straight to the vegetable garden behind the house.
Seeing Jiang’s grandmother, tears welled up in Jiang Xiaxia’s eyes. “Grandma!”
Jiang’s grandmother was startled. “Oh, what’s wrong?”
“Grandma, do you know…”
Jiang Xiaxia grabbed her hand, her face anxious. “He Nian and the others already know!”
“What do they know or not know? What did Nian Nian and the others find out?”
“They found out about Uncle He’s drowning incident back then, because of saving me! Grandma, what should we do? Chenyang told me yesterday…”
“Xiaxia!”
Jiang’s grandmother interrupted her, her smile somewhat forced. “What nonsense are you talking about? When your father went to the river that year, Uncle He was already gone. He couldn’t be saved, so what does it have to do with you?”
“No, Grandma, He Nian and the others really seem to know the truth. What should we do? If He Yi also finds out that his father died because of me, he will kill me! Grandma…”
“Xiaxia, stop talking nonsense!”
Jiang’s grandmother glared at her, her expression somewhat panicked. “I already told you it has nothing to do with you. Why would Xiao Yi want to kill you? Enough, go back and accompany your father-in-law and mother-in-law. Don’t joke around here.”
“Grandma, what’s wrong with you today? I already told you…”
Jiang Xiaxia’s voice trailed off, and her pupils suddenly dilated. Her whole body trembled. “Nian, Nian Nian…”
Just a short distance away, at the corner of the vegetable garden and the house.
Two people walked out.
One was Aunt Jiang with an awkward expression.
The other was He Nian, holding a vegetable basket, her gaze cold.
He Nian’s voice was soft, and she just stared silently at her.
“Jiang Xiaxia, what did you just say?”
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