“She tried to snatch Yaya’s Bun Bun.”
Everyone in the family knew how much Yaya treasured that plushie called Bun Bun.
Just thinking about what Bun Bun looked like now, Yaya couldn’t help but sniffle. She pressed her little finger to her chest and shook her head firmly. “Grandpa, Bun Bun is hurt. Yaya feels all tight and uncomfortable right here.”
“Can Grandpa take a look at Bun Bun?”
Yaya handed the Bun Bun she was holding to Yue Guohuai. He examined it carefully, then pressed his forehead against Yaya’s to comfort her. “Grandpa believes Yaya’s Bun Bun will be just as strong as Yaya. It’ll definitely get better. Don’t be sad, Yaya.”
Yaya wrapped her arms around Yue Guohuai’s neck, buried her face in his shoulder, and said nothing.
Yue Guohuai’s heart was completely wrung out. He had never seen his precious grandbaby like this before.
“Jiusi, tell me exactly what happened.” Yue Guohuai asked Huo Jiusi.
“Yaya and I went to the study to read. Liu Qiqi insisted on following us. But once she got to the study, she kept making a ruckus, so neither Yaya nor I could read properly.”
“Yaya said she wanted to go home. I told her I needed to use the bathroom first, and then I’d take her home.”
“After I left, Liu Qiqi saw that Yaya was younger and easy to bully, so she tried to snatch Yaya’s Bun Bun. Yaya wouldn’t let go, and Liu Qiqi even tried to hit her. That’s when Yaya pushed her.”
Huo Jiusi wasn’t lying. That was exactly what happened.
The moment Liu Qiqi laid eyes on Yaya, she was consumed with jealousy.
Jealous of the pretty clothes Yaya wore, jealous of the beautiful little cat plushie in her arms, jealous of how gently and dotingly Huo Jiusi treated her.
She didn’t just want to snatch the little cat plushie—she wanted to snatch Huo Jiusi too.
But since she couldn’t take Huo Jiusi, she’d take the little cat plushie instead.
After all, in the alleyways, she often snatched things from other children. She was used to it. As long as she liked something, she didn’t care whether it belonged to someone else.
“Jiusi, Qiqi is your sister. Don’t confuse family with outsiders. You went to the bathroom—how could you possibly know what happened in the study? I think you’re lying.”
Hearing Huo Yingyue say this, Liu Qiqi, just like every time before, quickly put on her pitiful act. “Grandma, Brother Jiusi doesn’t like me, so of course he won’t take my side. I fell and it hurt so much.”
Huo Yingyue lifted Liu Qiqi’s hand. “Look, our Qiqi’s hand is all red. We can’t just let this go.”
“That’s right. We absolutely cannot just let this go!”
Huo Yingnian walked to the telephone, picked up the internal line, and dialed a few numbers. “Da Liu, bring the guard company over.”
“Brother, what are you calling the guard company for?” Huo Yingyue shouted. “Are you really going to have the guards throw us out? I just came to ask you for a favor. It’s the New Year—are you really going to be this heartless?”
“Didn’t you say we can’t just let this go? Even though it’s just children squabbling, we still need to figure out right from wrong, black from white.”
“Don’t worry. Da Liu and his men are professionals. They’ll take all three of them back in a moment, and it won’t take long to figure out who’s lying and who bullied whom!”
“Qiqi, don’t be afraid. Only children who lie get locked up. Children who don’t lie have nothing to worry about.”
Liu Qiqi was still young, after all. Hearing Huo Yingnian say this, she was immediately so frightened that she cried and shook her head. “Great-uncle, don’t lock me up! I’ll never lie again! It was me—I snatched her toy! I hate her! Why does Brother Jiusi play with her and not with me? I like Brother Jiusi so much!”
“What are you saying?”
Huo Yingyue smacked Liu Qiqi hard. Liu Qiqi cried even harder. “Grandma, I’m scared! I don’t want to be locked up, like Second Uncle!”
“You just keep talking nonsense! I’ll teach you to talk nonsense! Your Second Uncle was never locked up! Your Second Uncle was framed!”
Huo Yingyue hit Liu Qiqi even harder. Listening to Huo Yingyue’s scolding and Liu Qiqi’s crying gave Huo Yingnian a terrible headache.
“Yingyue, haven’t you caused enough trouble?!”
Huo Yingnian scolded Huo Yingyue. “It’s because you spoil your children too much and can’t tell right from wrong that you ruined Xiaoming. And now you’re doing the same thing to Qiqi!”
“Help if you want to help, don’t if you don’t. Ever since I was little, you’ve always found fault with me—this was wrong, that was wrong. You scolded me constantly. And now you look down on my children too!”
Huo Yingyue pointed at Huo Yingnian. “From now on, I don’t have you as a brother!”
When Huo Yingyue saw the guard company approaching, she quickly grabbed Liu Qiqi and left.
If they really got thrown out by the guards, that would be far too humiliating.
But what was she going to do about her Xiaoming?
“No wonder he has no son. He’s done too many wicked things—his line will end!”
“Just wait and see. Once that wretched girl dies, her son will be next!”
Huo Yingyue viciously cursed Huo Yingnian and Huo Jiusi. Suddenly, several wild dogs and cats rushed out from nearby and lunged at her and Liu Qiqi.
Even the birds in the trees flew down, pecking at their hair and circling above them, dropping droppings on their heads.
It was the first day of the Lunar New Year. People were going from house to house, visiting and exchanging New Year’s greetings.
The stream of people coming and going were all stunned by the scene, gathering at a distance to watch the spectacle.
“Whose relative is that? Why are they so miserable?”
“I think that person must have done something awful to end up like this.”
“The stray dogs and cats in our compound are all really good. They don’t attack people for no reason. If they’re acting like this, that person must have done something bad.”
“I think they offended Yaya.”
The last person to get this treatment was Ma Laidi. And everyone in the compound knew that these stray cats and dogs often stood guard at General Yue’s gate like soldiers, taking shifts in rotation.
And whenever Yaya came out, a few would always follow her at a distance, like her little bodyguards.
Everyone in the compound had different theories about this. Most said Yaya was a fortunate child, that little animals all loved her. Of course, a very few would whisper that Yaya was a monster—Ma Laidi, for example.
She said it plenty of times. Before she started causing trouble for Ye Zhiqiu, she had been spreading it everywhere. Later, after being taught a lesson by these little animals, she kept it on her lips at all times.
Ma Laidi wasn’t just taught a lesson by the stray cats, dogs, and birds. After that, her family was also particularly lively, especially at night.
There were always noises everywhere, especially under their bed.
At first, they couldn’t figure out what was making the noise. Eventually, they finally saw—rats. Hundreds of rats.
When they shone a flashlight, the space under the bed was packed densely with them.
Not only that, but their cabinets were full of them too.
In the end, all their belongings were chewed up by the rats. The bed collapsed, the cabinets collapsed, the coffee table collapsed. Ding Xiaopang was so frightened he ran a fever for several days.
Ding Jincai had originally wanted to send Ma Laidi back to their hometown, but Ma Laidi kicked up a huge fuss and refused to go. After all these incidents, she no longer dared to stay in this compound.
Huo Yingyue and Liu Qiqi had no idea that this was only the beginning of their suffering.
For a full half hour, the wild dogs, cats, and birds—as if they had received an order—scattered all at once.
