Huang Zedong raised her hand to strike him, and Xu Shen trembled, squeezing his eyes shut in fear, bracing for the pain.
But before her hand could land, someone caught her wrist. Before she could react, in the very next second, she was spun around—
PAK!
A sharp slap echoed through the room.
Huang Zedong stood frozen, one hand on her cheek, eyes wide in disbelief.
Xu Shen, too, slowly opened his eyes when he heard the loud, crisp sound. The pain he had braced for... never came.
And then, he saw her.
Qin Lian.
His eyes widened in shock.
The slap was meant for him, but Qin Lian blocked it. And not just that, she had struck Huang Zedong back.
In an instant, all the fear and tension that had been building inside him crumbled. His eyes turned red as tears welled up.
Just moments ago, he had prepared himself to take the hit. He knew no one would protect him.
If he avoided the slap, that woman would go mad and take it out on his brothers. He couldn't let them get hurt. So, he had quietly accepted his fate.
But never, not in his wildest hopes, had he expected Qin Lian to appear.
To protect him.
Now, she stood there firmly, her eyes cold as ice as she glared at Huang Zedong, who was still clutching her cheek in disbelief.
"Why do you look so shocked?" Qin Lian said, voice cutting through the silence.
"Weren't you just about to hit a little kid? How does it feel to be on the receiving end now, huh?"
Huang Zedong clenched her jaw at those words. Moments ago, she'd been too stunned to react, but now, what shocked her even more was the woman standing before her.
That face….she had never seen someone this beautiful in person. Her appearance alone made her hesitate.
For a split second, she even wondered if this girl came from an influential background. She couldn't afford to offend someone powerful without reason.
She pursed her lips and spoke coldly, trying to stay composed. "Who do you think you are? And what do you mean by saying I hit the child? I wasn't beating him."
"I was just teaching him a lesson. He was misbehaving. What's wrong with disciplining a child? And you… How dare you hit me? I am your elder!" she said, her voice rising with a forced righteousness.
Qin Lian raised an eyebrow at the woman's defiant tone. Teaching? Lesson? What a load of nonsense.
Just now, when she had stepped out of the bathroom, she had heard this woman's vicious words. She hadn't just scolded the kids but also said ill things about Xu Yinchen's dead sister.
And now she dared to put on the act of a caring elder?
"Who am I?" Qin Lian smiled coldly. "I'm someone who can throw you out of this house."
She took a step forward, her voice calm but dangerous. "I'm someone who's going to live here from now on. Xu Yinchen's betrothed, his wife and the mother of these three kids."
Xu Shen's breath hitched. He stared at her in disbelief. Mother of these kids? She had said it so casually, so confidently that it left him completely stunned.
"I know exactly how you 'take care' of the children," Qin Lian continued, her tone turning icy. "So don't play this elder act with me."
"I heard everything you said to them earlier. You might be able to fool others… but not me."
Huang Zedong was taken aback when she heard that. She frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly, as a realization dawned on her.
This girl wasn't the same one she had seen before. The girl she had seen last time was different. This couldn't be Xu Yinchen's betrothed.
In terms of looks, the Mu family girl and her daughter were about the same, ordinary.
But this girl? She was a beauty. Too beautiful.
She didn't look like someone from the countryside. She didn't belong to dirt, sweat, or hard work.
"You… You… what nonsense are you spouting?" Huang Zedong barked. "How can you be Xu Yinchen's betrothed? I've seen that Mu family girl! She's nowhere near as pretty as you. Are you trying to fool me?"
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'm sure you're here to deceive Xu Yinchen. You're after his wealth, aren't you? Using your face to seduce him and fool these kids!"
She spat the words like venom, now utterly convinced that Qin Lian was a fraud.
Qin Lian was momentarily speechless by the woman's twisted logic. She let out a snort, then sneered coldly."Well, I'll take that as a compliment."
"But you don't need to concern yourself with my family's matters."
She stepped closer, voice sharp. "You just need to understand one thing. I'm the girl who's now married to Xu Yinchen. These children? They're mine now. So don't you dare threaten them or raise a hand ever again."
"This time, it was just a slap," she continued, her gaze turning icy. "Next time, I won't hesitate to send you to the police."
"You might not know this, but abusing and harassing children is a crime. You could go to jail for that."
"What... What crime? Since when did an elder teaching some mischievous children a lesson become a crime?" the woman retorted shamelessly.
"You're not their elder. You're someone Xu Yinchen had hired to take care of them. You work here!"
"You're being paid to do your job and that, too, sixty yuan. Not only do you neglect your duties, but you also embezzle money and steal from the house?"
"And what you just did wasn't discipline, it was abuse. Also, do you even realize how much sixty yuan is worth? I'm sure the police would be very interested in this case."
Huang Zedong froze.
The moment she heard the word police, her expression faltered. She was just a common woman, and she had always feared the law. The mere thought of being reported was enough to send a chill down her spine.
She swallowed hard, glancing at Qin Lian's calm yet determined expression. Compared to her, she suddenly felt small... powerless.
This girl's eyes… They were so intimidating.
Grinding her teeth, she lowered her voice and spoke in a wronged tone, "It's all a misunderstanding. I was just teaching them a lesson."
"This brat Xu Shen, he hit me and pushed me to the ground. As an elder, I was just disciplining him, that's all."
Hearing this, Xu Shen's eyes widened in panic. He quickly shook his head, desperate to explain, "I… I didn't do anything! I just—"
"You brat!" Huang Zedong snapped, turning on him with a glare. "Shut up! How dare you speak while the elders are talking?"
She took a threatening step forward, but Qin Lian moved first and blocked her path with her hands.
She looked at Xu Shen, who stood behind the woman, his little face pale and anxious. She shook her head gently. "It's alright," she said softly. "I believe you."
Then she looked at Huang Zedong, her voice turning cold again. "I don't need you to teach my children a lesson. That's the job of their parents, not you."
"From now on, you don't need to come here anymore. You can take your leave. I will not tolerate someone like you in my house any longer. Get out."
Her tone was final.
Huang Zedong's eyes widened in disbelief.