Chapter 170: Sheng Shiwen’s Breakdown
Seeing his sister sobbing, her face streaked with tears, Sheng Shiwen could only relent and go right the dining table.
He then started to clean up the bowls and chopsticks his sister had smashed on the floor. He was a man; he couldn’t hold a grudge against his own little sister.
Mrs. Sheng, stunned by her daughter’s actions, sat frozen in her chair, completely at a loss.
Sheng Yueyue saw her mother just sitting there, unnervingly still, not rushing to comfort her as she usually would.
This came as a huge blow, and she lashed out in uncontrollable rage. "Mom, aren’t you the leader of the art troupe?
"You can’t even keep your own husband in line! How are you supposed to lead the art troupe in their performances?
"Did Dad forget all about us, his wife and daughter, now that he has that ungrateful adopted girl?
"Tell me! Is he so bewitched by that ingrate that he’s going to abandon our family?"
As Sheng Yueyue ranted, she grabbed a drinking glass and smashed it on the floor.
Then she kicked over the dining table that Sheng Shiwen had just righted, setting off another series of CRASHES and SMASHES.
Furious, Sheng Shiwen gave up on cleaning. He slumped onto the sofa, his hair disheveled and an inscrutable look on his face. The man looked utterly defeated.
"Yueyue, how can you talk to Mom like that! Stop crying. Crying won’t change anything.
"If you hadn’t gone and provoked Gu Jiaojiao today, would she have dragged you off your bike?"
"You moron, what right do you have to blame me? You’re a grown man, and you couldn’t even beat a weakling like him. Tell me, did you throw the fight on purpose?"
Sheng Shiwen’s face darkened, and he roared, "Sheng Yueyue! What nonsense are you spouting? Who threw the fight?"
’He knew, deep down, that he really hadn’t been able to beat that weakling, but he would never admit it.’
Sheng Yueyue arrogantly pointed a finger right at Sheng Shiwen’s nose. "If you didn’t throw the fight, then why did that ingrate get to step on my back?"
"Who told you to just lie there after you were pulled down? You just stayed on the ground, so who else was she going to step on? If you had gotten up, could she have kicked you down again?"
"You... You... You’re unbelievable..." Sheng Yueyue was so angry she trembled from head to toe. The hand she pointed at Sheng Shiwen was shaking so violently it looked like she was drawing talismans in the air.
Consumed by rage, Sheng Yueyue started grabbing the cups from the living room cabinet and smashing them on the floor, one by one.
After smashing several cups in a row, she finally seemed to let out a breath, then pointed at Sheng Shiwen and started berating him again.
"Well, well. I’ve really learned something new today. Turns out my dear second brother is a master of the sharp tongue."
"Sheng Yueyue, you’re insane! I’m warning you, stop being so sarcastic. I’m just telling it like it is. I haven’t wronged you."
Sheng Shiwen gritted his teeth in fury. He shot to his feet. "You smash one more. I dare you."
SMASH. Sheng Yueyue immediately smashed another one, letting out a defiant, cold snort.
"Hmph! You think I’m afraid of you? I’ll smash what I want. What are you going to do about it?"
"You’re crazy. You’ve completely lost your mind. I can’t be bothered with you," Sheng Shiwen said.
But he immediately started cleaning up the shards on the floor anyway. He was afraid the enraged Sheng Yueyue would step on the porcelain fragments.
He was also afraid his distraught mother might suddenly stand up and step on the shards. He would blame himself if either of them got hurt.
"You think I want to waste my breath on you? If you weren’t my brother, just looking at you would be an insult to my eyes.
"Are you thinking how wonderful it would be if that bitch Gu Jiaojiao was your real sister instead?"
Sheng Shiwen: "..."
’How does Yueyue know I’ve thought that?!’
’I’ve never told a single soul!’
Seeing Sheng Shiwen freeze mid-motion with a guilty look on his face, Sheng Yueyue knew she had hit the mark.
Seething with rage, she swept the thermos off the table and onto the floor. Still not satisfied, she stomped on it a few times for good measure.
She planted her hands on her hips and said viciously, "Is there something wrong with you Sheng family people?
"You ignore your own flesh and blood to dote on some unrelated bitch.
"Open your eyes and look! I’m the true daughter of the Sheng Family! I haven’t done anything to let you all down, so why won’t you love me?
"What sins did I commit to deserve being beaten by that bitch Gu Jiaojiao for no reason?"
Seeing that their only thermos had been smashed, Sheng Shiwen’s heart ached. He retorted, "How was it for no reason? You’re the one who started it by calling her man a cripple—"
Sheng Yueyue rolled her eyes in fury and cut Sheng Shiwen off, her rage boiling over.
"Oh, for heaven’s sake! Even now, you’re still defending that bitch. What’s so good about her?"
"I’m not defending her, I’m just telling the truth! Yueyue, just think about what you—"
"SOB... Oh, heavens... SOB... What was the point of letting me be reborn? Did you just want to watch me die of anger all over again?"
Mrs. Sheng had remained in her chair the entire time, watching the daughter she doted on to the core of her being descend into madness.
Her daughter’s actions today had shattered her entire worldview and shaken her to the very soul.
Mrs. Sheng felt as if her heart had been split right down the middle, the pain so intense she wished she could just pass out.
But she remained conscious—more clear-headed than ever. The agony of her heart being torn apart made it impossible for her to even sit steadily.
Mr. Sheng had taken a bowl of food over to his younger brother’s house, and he chatted for a while with his own father and brother before heading home.
He heard the sound of CRASHING and SMASHING from inside his house as he reached the courtyard gate. He quickened his pace and walked into the living room.
The first thing he saw was his wife, her face as pale as a ghost and her eyes lifeless, sitting motionless in a chair.
In the middle of the living room was a madwoman, gesticulating wildly, a savage, demonic smile on her face as she giggled incessantly.
She was like a patient in a frenzy, a chilling sight to behold. His entrance didn’t affect her at all; she just kept screaming madly.
This was their biological daughter—the daughter his wife doted on completely, the daughter she had so carefully cherished.
Meanwhile, his second son was dejectedly and carefully cleaning up. Looking at the mess scattered on the floor, a bitter smile touched his lips.
He couldn’t remember the last time their home had been filled with laughter.
’Has our family... really come to this?!’
"Dad, you’re finally back! Look at Mom, she’s just been sitting there without saying a word! She’s scaring me to death! WAAAH..."
The sudden sound of the door opening shattered the eerie atmosphere in the room and gave Sheng Shiwen’s breaking spirit a pillar to lean on.
He instantly collapsed to the floor, sobbing like a helpless child. His heart-rending cries shook Mr. Sheng to his core.
"Xiao Wen, it’s okay now. It’s my fault, I came back too late. Get up," Mr. Sheng said as he went to pull his helpless son to his feet.
He then lifted his eyes to look at his daughter. There wasn’t a trace of sadness in her eyes, and she opened her mouth as if to say something more.
"Yueyue, don’t say another word. Go upstairs and go to bed."
In her two lifetimes, Sheng Yueyue had never seen her father look so stern. She didn’t dare act out.
She stomped her foot but ultimately didn’t dare say anything else. Without a backward glance, she headed upstairs.
「The next day.」
After Gu Jiaojiao and the others finished breakfast, they all left together in high spirits. She headed to school for class.
Su Shuochi, meanwhile, took everyone else to see their operating room.
Outside, the sky was a vast, brilliant blue, as if it had been washed clean. Cotton-like clouds drifted across the clear expanse.