After Bringing Joy to the Short-Lived Mad Young Lady - Chapter 11

Lin Xinyou’s hands trembled violently, her knuckles turning white from the force of her grip, until warm liquid soaked her fingers, and bright red bl00d dripped out drop by drop.

She froze, her eyes widening as if suddenly realizing what she had done. She stared in horror at the bag in her hand before reflexively flinging it away.

The man opposite her slowly raised his hand to cover his bleeding nose, his brow slightly furrowed, yet his eyes showed not a trace of panic.

Expressionless, he locked eyes with Lin Xinyou for a moment before the corners of his lips curled into a cold, sinister smile.

Softly, he called out, “A-You! I just wanted to see our daughter. Why are you so worked up?”

He sighed lightly, his tone laced with a veiled threat, as though binding her tightly with a soft rope.

With just that one casual remark, he deftly shifted the blame onto Lin Xinyou.

He spread his hands in a gesture of harmlessness, the sudden chilling of the atmosphere making the trembling Lin Xinyou appear utterly disheveled.

“With you so emotionally unstable, what will the child think of you? What will Lin Lan think of you?”

The man took a step forward, forcing Lin Xinyou to retreat.

Lowering his voice, he leaned close to her ear and chuckled, his tone dripping with a twisted satisfaction.

“You’re so foolish. Did you really think that just because you didn’t tell me their school, I wouldn’t find it? Let me tell you—I followed you here.”

“Why didn’t you tell Lin Shuxing that she’s your child? I’ve heard she’s not well-treated in the Lin family. Even the Li family, who were supposed to marry her, sent her back. Why don’t we just take her in?”

“Enough! Stop talking!!!”

Lin Xinyou stood rigid, as if frozen. Her heart pounded violently, fear surging through her like a tidal wave. Finally, unable to hold back, she let out a scream and shoved him away with all her might.

The man staggered but brushed off the dust indifferently, showing no intention of retaliating. Instead, he closed in again, placing an unyielding hand on her shoulder. “You’re ashamed of yourself too, aren’t you? Too embarrassed to show your face? Then just come home quietly and listen to me, w-i-f-e—”

The man’s name was He Zhuang, a civil engineer at a state-owned enterprise.

From the start, he had married Lin Xinyou—who was already pregnant—while bringing along his own son, all part of his carefully laid plans.

During their blind date, he had acted the perfect gentleman, claiming that their blended family was all for the sake of the children. He would go out to work and earn money to support them, while Lin Xinyou would stay home and take care of the kids.

They were “teammates,” each getting what they needed to get by. He even respected Lin Xinyou’s wish for the children to take her surname.

As compensation, of course, he didn’t need to pay a single cent in bride price, and their wedding was hastily thrown together.

Though specialized in civil engineering, the man was more adept at scheming than the world’s top accountants.

Marrying Lin Xinyou saved him the cost of a nanny. By forcing her to quit her job, she had no choice but to rely on him.

If her child was a girl, she could be married off later for a hefty bride price.

If it was a boy, it’d be a bit of a loss—he’d have to find ways to recoup from his own salary. But boys were easy—just take him out for a few KFC meals, play some video games together, share a few drinks, and he’d find common ground. Once the boy married, there’d still be someone to take care of him in old age.

After all, he always had that ultimate trump card to play: “All these years, you and your daughter have been eating my food, wearing my clothes. Raising a child this big hasn’t been easy!”

But on the day Lin Xinyou gave birth, he was astonished to discover that the woman in the same maternity ward was none other than the wife of the wealthy Lin family.

Eager to boast at dinner parties, He Zhuang closely followed financial news and the stock market. He had once seen an interview with Lin Lan and Wen Qianxue on television.

Even more coincidentally, both women had given birth to daughters!

It was at that moment he felt as though God had opened a door for him.

A door to wealth.

Swapping the babies was no easy task, but thanks to the loving husband persona he had carefully cultivated, the nurses didn’t suspect a thing.

This way, they would raise Lin Lan’s wealthy daughter, Lin Qingwan, and when she eventually returned to her affluent family, she could never forget her adoptive parents!

As for Lin Shuxing—well, as their daughter, of course she should dutifully care for her poor mother and her devoted adoptive father. Was there anything wrong with that?

This was nothing short of a stroke of genius! Even the stock market legend Warren Buffett couldn’t have dreamed up such a foolproof investment!

…

The man noticed Lin Xinyou’s fearful hesitation, and the gleam of triumph in his eyes grew stronger as he pressed on:

“As long as you listen to me, I promise they’ll be fine. But if you keep acting crazy, who knows what might happen? Heh.”

His low chuckle dripped with malice, like a bucket of ice-cold water dousing the flames of Lin Xinyou’s defiance.

The frail woman trembled, stealing a tearful glance back at Lin Shuxing, then at Lin Qingwan, before swallowing her pain and humiliation. Choking back sobs, she bowed her head to the man. “Please… don’t say anything to them. Please… They’re still young, they don’t understand…”

“That depends on your behavior.”

Satisfied, He Zhuang gripped Lin Xinyou’s shoulder, eyeing Lin Shuxing like a commodity. “There was just a little misunderstanding earlier. My apologies—we were all too worked up. Let me introduce myself, I—”

“Hello, sir.” A slender, well-defined hand suddenly cut between them, interrupting him.

Fang Yi, her face hidden behind a mask and cap, steadied her breath after running over. She pulled out a small pack of tissues, took one, and reached toward the man.

“You’ve got bl00d on your face. Let me help you wipe it off.”

Still catching her breath, she acted without waiting for a response. Seizing the moment of his confusion, she clamped onto his shoulder, swiftly prying his hand off Lin Xinyou.

A sharp pain shot through He Zhuang’s collarbone, his face twisting in agony. As he raised his hand to retaliate, Fang Yi swiftly kicked upward, stuffing the tissue into his mouth the moment he opened it to howl.

Writhing in pain, the man was utterly helpless under Fang Yi’s grip, his eyes wide with shock as if he couldn’t believe he was being treated this way. His legs buckled, his hands flailing wildly.

Fang Yi gave him a taste of his own medicine. Mimicking his earlier threatening posture, she hoisted him by the collar and dragged him away from the crowd, casually explaining to onlookers:

“This is my patient—late-stage syphilis. Causes hallucinations and mistaken identities. He must have slipped out by accident—”

At the mention of syphilis, the crowd instinctively recoiled, clearing a path.

Glancing back to confirm that Lin Shuxing’s driver had arrived, Fang Yi tightened her grip on the man and quickened her pace.

She moved with swift precision, as if starring in an action blockbuster, leaving behind only an enigmatic silhouette. The onlookers hadn’t even realized she had just thrown a punch.

“Wow!”

Wang Quan, who had been helping Fang Yi watch the bicycle, jumped up from a distance, enthusiastically giving a thumbs-up. “That was amazing! How did you do that? So smooth—I thought it was gonna be a brutal fight!”

“Teach me, teach me! I took two years of sanda, but it never looked like that. Please, teach me?!”

“There’s a male weak spot,” Fang Yi said. “It just depends on whether you’re ruthless enough.”

Wang Quan’s eyes widened in shock. “Really?”

Fang Yi nodded. “Yeah. Wanna try? Go ahead—just don’t kick him to death.”

Eye-gouging, groin-kicking—Fang Yi had mastered these dirty tricks early in her past life.

Simple. Effective. Unexpected.

Wang Quan rubbed his hands together excitedly, then asked, “But if we just drag him off like this, won’t someone call the cops?”

“No. Did anyone call them during all that commotion just now?”

Fang Yi gripped the man’s throat, slowly tightening her hold, and asked politely, “Will you?”

You psycho!! The man stared into Fang Yi’s cold eyes, utterly convinced she would strangle him to death. He could only shake his head frantically in panic.

“Good. Just a friendly chat between law-abiding citizens.”

Fang Yi took out her phone and snapped a selfie with the man. In the photo, he forced a smile while Fang Yi, wearing a cap and mask, revealed only her eyes, her wrist pressing against the back of his neck.

Lowering her voice, she spoke as if discussing the weather:

“Does your loan shark know your son is in college?”

“Does your boss know you embezzled company funds to gamble?”

“Don’t even think about causing trouble at the school again. After all, it’d be a shame if Sister Long found out about such a clever trick.”

Sister Long was He Zhuang’s biggest creditor—a small-time gangster who’d done time and had no family or scruples.

How did she know? Who the hell was she?!

He Zhuang had always kept his secrets well-hidden. This was the first time he’d ever been threatened like this. He shook his head wildly, the napkin stuffed in his mouth muffling his desperate whimpers.

Fang Yi’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she patted the man’s cheek with eerie gentleness. “I’ll let you go this time. Try it again, and it won’t be this easy.”

The moment she released him, the man collapsed to the ground, then scrambled forward on all fours, clutching his groin, casting terrified glances over his shoulder.

Fang Yi stood still, one hand in her pocket, her indifferent gaze like the barrel of a gun—always locking onto its target in a crowd, waiting for the perfect kill shot.

Noticing the man’s furtive look, Fang Yi’s narrow eyes curved into crescents.

Her amused expression seemed to say: Run.

But I’ll always be watching you.

Psycho! Freak!!!

The man’s fragile psyche shattered. A scream burst from him as he nearly crumpled to his knees.

Wang Quan was so exhilarated he almost cheered, feeling like the intersection wasn’t under surveillance but was instead a film set, the bustling streets now draped in the moody filter of a Hong Kong crime thriller.

She abandoned her bicycle and playfully chased after him for a few steps, her exaggerated clawing gestures sending the limp, eel-like man scrambling into the crowd in terror. Seizing the red light, he dashed across the road, nearly getting himself killed. The screeching of brakes rose one after another, accompanied by a chorus of honks and angry curses.

“Ah, so fun! This is so fun!”

Wang Quan ran back to Fang Yi, his eyes sparkling like stars, nearly swooning from her cool, composed demeanor. Swallowing hard, he clasped his hands over his heart and gushed, “Boss, you should star in a cop movie—I’d definitely invest! Once you become a superstar, you could promote our game! Fame and fortune, all in one go!”

Fang Yi gave a slight nod and said, “Haven’t played the bandit in years.”

Wang Quan: !!!

“Of course, you’d be the righteous police officer!!”

Luckily, the commotion caused by He Zhuang had been loud enough that Wang Quan, stuck in traffic, had spotted the spectacle from afar. He’d even heard someone shouting Lin Shuxing and Lin Qingwan’s names.

Fang Yi, armed with the original worldline’s script, knew full well that Lin Qingwan’s adoptive father was a money-grubbing beast through and through. He had always put on a show for outsiders, using the children as leverage to keep Lin Xinyou from divorcing him—even Lin Lan had been fooled.

But she hadn’t expected Lin Shuxing to come looking for Lin Qingwan here.

She’d left too quickly—Fang Yi hadn’t even had a chance to speak to her.

Fang Yi silently cursed her haste.

Outside APU’s gates.

The farce had come and gone as quickly as it had erupted.

Once order was restored, Lin Xinyou found herself in an awkward, uncomfortable position.

Lin Qingwan softly called out, “Mom,” and stepped forward to hug her.

The woman grew even more flustered, returning the embrace but not daring to meet Lin Shuxing’s eyes. It was as if all her strength had been spent in the confrontation with He Zhuang. Mumbling, she said, “I’m sorry… I embarrassed you both…”

“I’m… I’m Xiaowan’s… adoptive mother.”

Her hair was disheveled from the earlier struggle, and amidst the well-dressed crowd, her distress and helplessness were painfully obvious.

“Embarrassed? That trash is the one who should be embarrassed.”

“Don’t punish yourself for someone else’s mistakes.”

Lin Shuxing reached out and calmly straightened Lin Xinyou’s collar.

“You protected us just now. When you stepped in, you were amazing—so brave. Thank you.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact as she spoke, but to the woman, the words struck like a thunderclap.

Brave? Covering her face, she broke into sobs. “R-Really? I should be the one thanking you… Thank you… Thank you for existing. You’re the reason I keep going…”

Finally gathering her courage, she looked up and asked, like any ordinary mother would, “So… did you both have a good day today? How was school?”

Lin Qingwan blinked, subtly pulling Lin Xinyou’s hand closer to herself, and answered sweetly, “I’m doing great, Mom.”

Lin Shuxing also replied, “Mm.”

She had no idea how much her simple response meant to the woman—like a burst of confetti, a shower of color, a gift from a dream.

Lin Xinyou wept tears of joy, endlessly wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Good… good, that’s good. You’re both such good kids.”

“It’s time to head home, young ladies,” the driver, Sister Wang, reminded them with a respectful bow.

“Okay.”

Lin Qingwan had seized the chaos earlier to loop her arm through Lin Shuxing’s—and she hadn’t let go. Lin Shuxing didn’t shake her off.

In the car. Fang Yi looked down and saw the kitten avatar blinking on her screen.

She didn’t open it right away, glancing around instead, pretending to be busy.

Even with her hat and mask on, she had a gut feeling that Lin Shuxing would recognize her.

She hadn’t replied to any messages all day, and even after racking her brain on the way here, she still hadn’t figured out how to explain it in a way that would make Lin Shuxing believe she hadn’t done it on purpose.

Still, the fact that Lin Shuxing had taken the initiative to message her was progress.

Had she scared her just now? Maybe she’d come off a little too fierce?

Fang Yi unlocked her phone, realizing she might have acted a bit impulsively. How could she have resorted to violence in front of a kid?

At the very least, she should’ve taken the person away first.

On the screen, the scowling kitten stared straight at Fang Yi.

AAA Fiancée: What are you doing at APU?

Oh boy! The system, ever the instigator, helpfully pieced the words together into a full sentence:

Fang Yi, you heartless woman. You didn’t even reply to my messages, and now you’re showing up at someone else’s school? What exactly are you up to?

Fang Yi rubbed the tip of her nose, clutching her phone for a long moment. The ruthless, domineering cop aura from earlier had completely vanished.

How should she respond?

She typed a few lines, then deleted them.

Nothing she wrote seemed right—inexplicable, harder to articulate than an algorithm.

After much deliberation, the endless “typing…” finally condensed into a few small words amidst the metaphorical June snowfall.

Fang Yi: I wanted to see you.