Chapter 11: Confrontation (Part 2)

Bai Yuanzhi carried two heavy bags and arrived at Zhou Xiangmei’s doorstep, pressing the doorbell.

While waiting for the door to open,

Bai Yuanzhi heard arguing inside.

Soon, the door swung open.

Bai Yuanzhi saw Li Yongzhen’s gloating smile.

Startled at first by Bai Yuanzhi’s sudden appearance, Li Yongzhen then grinned and turned back into the house, calling out in a mocking tone, “Uncle, your wife’s other daughter is here.”

Bai Yuanzhi watched Li Yongzhen with amusement.

In her past life, she had known Li Yongzhen all too well—vulgar, ignorant, materialistic, and obsessed with power.

But Li Yongzhen’s admiration for strength was reserved only for men.

Any decent-looking man could earn her exaggerated praise.

Yet women with higher education, inner strength, or financial success were, in Li Yongzhen’s eyes, merely “lucky to have married well,” “born into the right family,” or “just plain lucky.” She never envied other women—only resented, belittled, and mocked them.

But as Bai Yuanzhi looked at Li Yongzhen, a thought struck her.

—In a way, weren’t greed and foolishness the most powerful camouflage?

Still, now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

She had more important matters to attend to.

“Hello, Cousin Wu,” Bai Yuanzhi said politely to Li Yongzhen. “I’m Bai Yuanzhi. I’d like to speak with my aunt.”

Yes, Bai Yuanzhi had deliberately mistaken Li Yongzhen for Wu Jiayin.

Li Yongzhen was displeased and about to correct her, insisting she wasn’t a Wu—

Just then, the man of the house, Wu Hao, appeared.

Wu Hao, in his early fifties, was short and stout, with a ruddy complexion and a protruding round belly.

He studied Bai Yuanzhi for a moment before asking, “Your… aunt?”

Zhou Zhaodi rushed over, sobbing, “Third Sister!”

Startled, Wu Hao quickly stepped aside to make room.

Zhou Zhaodi threw herself into Bai Yuanzhi’s arms. “Third Sister! Wu Jiayin and Li Yongzhen bullied me, wuwuwuwu…”

Zhou Xiangmei hurried over as well. “Who is it? What’s going on?”

When she saw it was Bai Yuanzhi—and noticed two large travel bags at her feet—

Zhou Xiangmei’s face paled.

She hastily pulled Wu Hao, Li Yongzhen, and the others back inside. “Husband, you go ahead and eat with Jiayin and Yongzhen!”

Then she hurriedly explained, “She (Bai Yuanzhi) is here to see me. She… she won’t stay long. She’ll leave right away… hahaha, I promise!”

With that, Zhou Xiangmei shut the door.

Wu Hao, Wu Jiayin, and Li Yongzhen were left inside;

Zhou Xiangmei, Bai Yuanzhi, and Zhou Zhaodi stood in the apartment hallway.

Zhou Xiangmei glared at Bai Yuanzhi, her expression sour. “Didn’t I already give you… money?” She lowered her voice in the second half, afraid Wu Hao might hear through the door.

“So why did you have to come to my house?” Zhou Xiangmei demanded, pointing at Zhou Zhaodi.

Then she turned to Bai Yuanzhi. “And you! If Fourth Sister doesn’t know any better, shouldn’t you? Don’t you realize how much trouble you’re causing me?”

“Do you want me to get kicked out too?”

“Do you?” Zhou Xiangmei was furious, her chest heaving with anger.

Zhou Zhaodi sobbed tearfully, “Mom, how could you do this? Wu Jiayin is your husband’s daughter, but I’m your daughter too! Shouldn’t Wu Jiayin and I receive the same treatment?”

“Why doesn’t Wu Jiayin have to do any housework?”

“Why does Wu Jiayin have a closet full of new clothes and shoes?”

“Why can Wu Jiayin order me around?”

“And what did she mean just now—Third Sister, do you know? Wu Jiayin won’t let me eat at the table! She won’t even let me serve myself food. She says I have to wait until she and her father finish eating before I can go to the kitchen and eat the leftovers! Li Yongzhen even said that in this house, I’m treated the same as a Filipina domestic helper! Third Sister, do you know what a Filipina domestic helper is? It means a maid and servant!”

“Mom, you’re my birth mother, and you’re also Wu Jiayin’s elder. How can you just stand by and let her bully me like this?”

“I don’t care. Back in our hometown on the mainland, you always favored Eldest Sister. Now that Eldest Sister is dying, you’re favoring someone else’s child? Mom, I was also carried in your womb for ten months…”

Zhou Zhaodi spoke with righteous indignation and immense grievance.

Unfortunately, Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Xiangmei completely ignored her.

Bai Yuanzhi stared straight at Aunt Zhou Xiang, “Auntie, I came to see you today to settle two matters.”

“The first is that Sister Sier’s luggage, which was left at school, might need to be temporarily stored at your place.” As she spoke, Bai Yuanzhi gestured for Zhou Xiangmei to look at the two large luggage bags placed at her feet.

Zhou Xiangmei froze, “This luggage… belongs to Sier?”

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “The second matter is that I wanted to ask you why you told Dr. Huang to stop resuscitation efforts for Sister Sier?”

Zhou Xiangmei froze again, “You… you’ve been to the hospital?”

Bai Yuanzhi pressed, “Why?”

Zhou Xiangmei grew flustered, “I, I…”

Bai Yuanzhi, “Is it because Sister Sier learned some unspeakable secret about you, so you had to make sure she died?”

Zhou Xiangmei grew both anxious and panicked, “You, you you you… don’t talk nonsense!”

Bai Yuanzhi, “Am I right?”

“Ahhhhh—”

After hearing Bai Yuanzhi’s words clearly, Zhou Zhaodi instantly forgot her own grievances and screamed in terror, “Mom, do you really want to kill Eldest Sister?”

In an instant, the Wu family’s door was quietly pushed open a crack,

and almost every household on the same floor had simultaneously and quietly opened their doors.

Zhou Xiangmei stared wide-eyed, shocked at Bai Yuanzhi and Zhou Zhaodi.

Sometimes, the poorer people are, the more they care about face.

Zhou Xiangmei was exactly that kind of person.

She had always prided herself on her Hong Kong City identity and felt superior because of her status as “Mrs. Wu.”

After all, many people had illegally immigrated to Hong Kong from the mainland just like her,

but for someone like her—illiterate, without any special skills, and not particularly young—

to obtain Hong Kong City residency in such a short time,

how could she not be proud?

But now,

with Bai Yuanzhi’s questioning and Zhou Zhaodi’s shrill cries,

Zhou Xiangmei lost all her dignity!

Enraged beyond reason, she raised her hand and slapped, “I’ll teach you to talk nonsense! Teach you to talk nonsense!”

After taking the slap, Zhou Zhaodi was stunned.

She covered her stinging, burning cheek and screamed, “It wasn’t me who said it! Mom, why are you hitting me? It was her! It was Third Sister… it was Bai Yuanzhi who said it!”

Hong Kong City had many migrants, and neighborly relations were relatively distant. Zhou Xiangmei really didn’t want this matter to become known to everyone, especially since there was a misunderstanding involved.

But Zhou Zhaodi had just arrived from the rural mainland, still following the old ways of “let everyone come and judge who’s right,” and besides, she truly felt she had suffered enough injustice.

Seeing the long corridor where every household had opened their doors and stuck their heads out to watch the commotion, Zhou Xiangmei grew even angrier. She raised her hand again and slapped Zhou Zhaodi several times with a series of sharp cracks. “They always say family shame shouldn’t be aired in public, and you think you’re in the right for shouting so loudly?”

Zhaodi shrieked, “It has nothing to do with me, it wasn’t me who said it! It was Third Sister, you should hit her! Hit her!”

This only made Xiangmei more irritated, and she showed no mercy, continuing to slap Zhaodi fiercely with loud smacks.

Just then—

A “ding” sounded from the elevator, and Aunt Jiang stepped out.

Bai Yuanzhi and Aunt Jiang quickly exchanged a glance before looking away.

Aunt Jiang first showed a surprised expression. “Mrs. Wu, what are you…”

Zhaodi screamed, “Aunt Jiang! Aunt Jiang, save me! My mom wants to kill my eldest sister! Now she wants to kill me too!”

Xiangmei was so furious her face turned crimson, and she was at a loss. “Aunt Jiang, the children are being disobedient, I, I…”

Aunt Jiang smiled. “Oh dear, I’ve come at a bad time. I was actually going to invite Mrs. Wu to go shopping for discounted sauces together.”

Then Aunt Jiang changed her tone. “But then again, what exactly is going on here?”

Zhaodi rushed to speak first. “Aunt Jiang, come and judge who’s right! My third sister said my mom wants to harm my eldest sister, but instead of blaming Third Sister, my mom hit me! Aunt Jiang, tell me, isn’t that unfair?”

Aunt Jiang let out an “ah,” not concerned with Zhaodi’s grievances, but instead asked Xiangmei in surprise, “Mrs. Wu, is this true?”

Xiangmei was nearly furious to death. “Of course not!”

Zhaodi immediately puffed out her chest. “Then why did you hit me?”

Slap!

The response to Zhaodi was another slap from Xiangmei.

Zhaodi was stunned, covering her face and angrily demanding, “Mom? Mom! Why are you still hitting me?”

Xiangmei completely ignored Zhaodi, pulling Aunt Jiang aside and saying, “There’s a misunderstanding here, Aunt Jiang. Don’t listen to these children’s nonsense.”

Zhaodi said angrily, “I’m not talking nonsense!!!”

Slap!! Xiangmei gave Zhaodi another fierce slap. “From now on, no matter what you say, as soon as you open your mouth to speak, I’ll slap you!”

Furious, Zhaodi began to sob, shot a resentful glance at Bai Yuanzhi, then covered her face and ran off.

Finally, the world quieted down.

Xiangmei glared fiercely at Bai Yuanzhi, then pulled Aunt Jiang aside and said, “Aunt Jiang, you know about our Sier’s situation. I originally thought she was so diligent and upright—otherwise, how could she work during the day and attend night school for five or six years, finally achieving her status as a college student today, right?”

Bai Yuanzhi thought to herself, since Xiangmei used the word “originally,” it meant there was definitely going to be a twist.

Sure enough, Zhou Xiangmei continued, “But then I thought, how expensive is university tuition! Sier only lived with me for a year, Auntie Jiang, tell me, where did she get the money for tuition?”

Bai Yuanzhi sneered coldly, thinking that since she had already raised the question, she was bound to start answering it herself, wasn’t she?

And indeed, Zhou Xiangmei did just that. “It’s only now that I’ve realized what kind of shady business she was involved in! I won’t even mention anything else, but if she were truly a decent girl, why would she go to Bilanting in the middle of the night? Is that a place she could afford? Fine, even if she went, why was she wearing clothes like that?”

Zhou Xiangmei sneered, “I didn’t say anything before because I was thinking of her as my daughter. No matter what she did, I had to give her some face.”

At this point, Zhou Xiangmei glanced sideways at Bai Yuanzhi. “But since everyone’s already torn off the mask… and even started suspecting that I wanted to kill my own daughter, I have no choice but to explain in detail.”

Auntie Jiang chimed in, “Yes, yes, if there’s any misunderstanding, let’s just talk it out clearly!”

Zhou Xiangmei put on a righteous and solemn expression. “No matter what wrongs Sier has committed, she is still my daughter. If I had even the slightest ability, I wouldn’t give up on saving her.”

“But yesterday, I went to the hospital to check on Sier’s treatment costs…”

“Auntie Jiang, do you know? The doctor said that in just five days since Sier was admitted, the treatment fees have already reached almost twenty thousand yuan!”

“I also asked the doctor how much it would actually cost to cure Sier.”

“Auntie Jiang, do you know how the doctor answered?”

At this point, tears welled up in Zhou Xiangmei’s eyes as she spoke with sorrow and emotion, “The doctor said it’s hard to say how much Sier will recover in the future. But staying in the ICU costs at least three thousand yuan a day. No one knows how long she’ll need to stay in the ICU before she wakes up!”

“Not to mention, even if she survives, her recovery will take a very long time, and the treatment costs are simply a bottomless pit!”

“Auntie Jiang, I’m just a housewife. Where would I get so much money to save her?”

“You’re also a mother. I believe you can understand this pain of mine.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to save Sier. If there were even the slightest possibility, I wouldn’t give up. But the reality is… I’m truly powerless!” Zhou Xiangmei said painfully.

Auntie Jiang looked at Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi spoke word by word, “Auntie, so you’ve already paid twenty thousand yuan for Sier’s treatment?”

Zhou Xiangmei’s mournful sobbing suddenly stopped.

The door of the Wu family’s house behind Zhou Xiangmei opened.

Wu Jiayin rushed out angrily, seemingly ready to confront Zhou Xiangmei, asking how she could use the Wu family’s money to save a daughter of the Zhou family.

Wu Hao stopped his daughter just in time.

Wu Jiayin stomped her feet in frustration, “Daddy, look at her! She took twenty thousand yuan from our family!”

Wu Hao whispered, “Where did I get twenty thousand yuan to give her? Let’s hear what they have to say first…”

Wu Jiayin froze.

Zhou Xiangmei also froze.

For a moment, she was caught in a dilemma.

All her earlier setup was meant to portray herself as a poor but loving mother who would never give up on Zhou Sier, no matter how disgraceful her behavior was.

Now that Bai Yuanzhi was asking her this directly in front of Aunt Jiang, how should she answer?

Say she gave it?

Then Wu Hao would surely explode!

Say she didn’t give it?

Then wouldn’t all the groundwork she had just laid become a joke?

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “I’ve also been keeping an eye on Sister Si’er’s condition these past few days. I asked the hospital, and they said that Sister Si’er’s current medical expenses are being covered by the Bilanting Hotel.”

“So, Auntie, since Sister Si’er’s treatment at the hospital hasn’t cost you a single cent… why did you go to the hospital and demand that her treatment be stopped?”

“Could it be that it was actually you who arranged for Sister Si’er to go to the Bilanting Hotel that day? And it was you who made Sister Si’er wear those clothes? Because you’re Sister Si’er’s biological mother, she didn’t resist your demands…”

Bai Yuanzhi went on, “Even when you reached out with both hands and pushed Sister Si’er off the high building, she didn’t resist!”

“Only this can explain—why you don’t want Sister Si’er to stay alive!”

“Because as soon as Sister Si’er wakes up, she’ll expose the truth that you murdered your own daughter!”

Yes, Bai Yuanzhi was talking nonsense.

But she wasn’t afraid to muddy the waters even more.

She vaguely sensed that in her past life, after her eldest sister fell from the building, she might not necessarily have died. It was because Zhou Xiangmei, as the immediate family member, gave up on treatment that her eldest sister lost her life.

The reason Zhou Xiangmei did this

was either because the real culprit behind her eldest sister’s death ordered it,

or because the Bilanting Hotel ordered it.

In any case, given the current situation, it was necessary to provoke Zhou Xiangmei.

People only lose their rationality and desperately try to prove their innocence when they are pushed to the brink of anger, subjected to baseless accusations, or wrongfully blamed.

Now seemed to be the perfect timing.

Zhou Xiangmei was fuming with rage.

Because, following Bai Yuanzhi’s baseless accusations, all the neighbors in the hallway who had quietly opened their doors to watch the drama let out a collective “Wow!”

And from behind her came the exclamations of Wu Jiayin and Li Yongzhen:

“Wow, if she’s this cruel to her own biological daughter, how could she possibly treat me, her stepdaughter, well?”

“Is she pimping out her own daughter?”

Zhou Xiangmei glared fiercely at Bai Yuanzhi, her eyes almost shooting flames.

Her chest heaved violently,

her hands planted firmly on her hips,

and she was just about to retaliate—

At that moment, the elevator chimed with another “ding.”

Someone stepped out of the elevator car.

“Mrs. Wu?” A fawning male voice rang out.

Bai Yuanzhi, Aunt Jiang, and Zhou Xiangmei all turned their heads,

only to see a middle-aged man of average height and slender build, wearing a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, jogging over from the direction of the elevator.

The first impression this man gave Bai Yuanzhi was—he was either a real estate agent or an insurance salesman.

Soon, Bai Yuanzhi also spotted Jiang Yiming, who was following behind the suited man and stepping out of the elevator.

However, Zhou Xiangmei probably didn’t notice Jiang Yiming.

As soon as she saw the suited man, her expression changed dramatically!

Author’s Note: