Chapter 13
Yun Juan and Yun Shu's voices weren't loud. Li Yanzhen glanced at them and said disdainfully, "Your voices are softer than a mosquito's buzz. If you don't want to, don't speak. Children without fathers are no good, they have no manners!"
Yun Shu's small body trembled subconsciously. She quickly lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, trying to find a sense of security in this posture.
Yun Juan frowned and pulled her behind him, looking at the person in front of him warily.
He knew that Grandma didn't like them. Every time he went back with his mommy, Grandma would complain that they were children without a father, scolding them all day long. Sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, she would even hit them.
A year ago, Yun Shu was almost beaten unconscious. Neither he nor Mommy were home at the time. They later learned that Yun Shu had been beaten simply because she had accidentally dropped her unfinished cookies on the floor. That was the first time Mommy had argued with Grandma and she hadn't taken them back home since.
Unexpectedly, Grandma had come. Was it because of the phone call he had hung up on?
Yun Juan clenched his little fists, glancing towards the door every now and then. Mommy should be back soon. As long as they didn't anger Grandma, they would be safe.
He squeezed Yun Shu's hand reassuringly and whispered, "Don't be afraid, little Shu. Mommy will be back soon. Let's move the easel inside first."
Yun Shu didn't dare lift her head. Just seeing Grandma made her body ache. She gave a short, soft "En."
Yun Juan squeezed her hand and moved to the other side of the easel.
The two children, one on each side, carried the easel and slowly walked into the house.
"What a piece of junk! You didn't go scavenging for trash, did you? If so, you'd better stay away from me!"
Li Yanzhen fanned her nose with disgust. Seeing Yun Chuman wasn't there, she asked again, "Where's your mom?"
Moving the easel to a corner, Yun Juan and Yun Shu panted and were unable to catch their breath for a long time.
Before they could answer, Li Yanzhen felt ignored by the two children and raised her voice again, "I'm asking you a question! Are you mute?!"
Yun Shu's body trembled violently and she instinctively looked up in fear.
She had her hair tied in two small buns and her entire face completely exposed.
Li Yanzhen immediately showed a look of disgust. She pointed at Yun Shu repeatedly with her finger: "Ugh... why are you showing such a big red birthmark? It's so ugly! Let your hair down and cover it up!"
She stood up from the sofa, speaking as she strode aggressively towards him.
Yun Shu was so frightened; her mind went blank and her feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Seeing this, Yun Juan quickly ran in front of her, spreading his arms wide to shield her behind him. He glared angrily at the woman before him, saying, "Don't you dare say younger sister is ugly! Younger sister is the cutest!"
Li Yan laughed heartily, clutching her chubby belly, as if she had heard something hilarious. She stopped after a long while, her eyes filled with pity, saying, "Yun Juan, you're still young, you don't understand anything. I'm only doing this for Yun Shu's own good. That birthmark on her face is so ugly. People will laugh at her if she goes out."
Yun Shu lowered her head, covering the red mark on her nose with her hands.
Face flushed with anger, Yun Juan clenched his small fists and charged forward, shouting, "Yun Shu isn't ugly! You're the ugly one!"
Seeing that he was about to hit her, Li Yan sneered and forcefully shoved his shoulder.
Yun Juan couldn't even get close to the other person before he slumped to the ground, sliding a short distance backward.
"Elder Brother!" Yun Shu cried out in alarm, rushing to his side with tears welling in her eyes.
Yun Juan groaned in pain, feeling a tingling numbness in his legs and bottom, which then began to throb. He forced a smile and shook his head, "Don't cry, little Shu. Elder Brother's alright."
Yun Shu bit her lip hard, widening her eyes to hold back her tears. She gently rubbed Yun Juan's legs with her small hands, saying, "Huff huff~ all the pain will fly away."
This was the scene Yun Chuman saw when she returned: a messy room, clearly distressed children, and an unfamiliar woman.
Her mind went blank. Her first thought was that her house had been burgled, and her two children were injured!
As soon as she entered, Li Yanzhen noticed her. Her fleshy face instantly lit up with a smile. She said warmly, "Manman's back! Don't misunderstand, I'm helping you discipline your child. Yun Juan is too wicked. He even tried to hit me! That won't do!"
"But it's understandable. You were difficult to manage when you were little too. It's all thanks to your father and me that you didn't turn out badly."
Yun Chuman frowned. Only after hearing her words did she realize that the woman dressed in red and green was the original owner's mother—Li Yanzhen.
What did she say? Helping discipline the child? It was all thanks to her that the original owner didn't turn out badly?
Anger surged within her. Without even glancing at the woman, she went straight to the two children.
"Mommy..."
Yun Shu called out pitifully.
Yun Chuman felt a pang of sadness and gently patted her little head reassuringly, "Mommy's here."
She knelt down and helped Yun Juan up from the ground, checking both children over carefully, "Little Juan, little Shu, how are you? Where are you hurt?"
"Elder Brother, he..."
Yun Shu wanted to tell her the truth about what had just happened, but Yun Juan quickly interrupted her, shaking his head, "Mommy, I'm fine."
Yun Chuman simply couldn't believe it. If he was fine, why would he be sitting on the ground for no reason? Why would Yun Shu be so anxious she was almost crying?
She couldn't believe that in just five minutes, her two children had suffered so much!
She felt a surge of anxiety. There were no signs of damage to the door, and the room was clearly too messy to have been done in just five minutes. That left only one possibility: Li Yanzhen had a key to this house and could come and go as she pleased.
Standing at the side, Li Yanzhen showed no fear or remorse and continued to grumble, "Why did you tie Yun Shu's hair up like that? Her face looks awful."
Yun Shu instinctively lowered her head, turning away to hide the red marks on her face.
Yun Chuman's eyes reddened with anger. She finally understood why Yun Juan wanted to hit Li Yanzhen. The little confidence Yun Shu had painstakingly built up had been destroyed by Li Yanzhen's few words!
Yun Juan noticed her unusual behavior and assumed she had been bullied into tears by her Grandma like before.
He quickly forced a smile: "Mommy, I'm really okay."
By this time, Yun Shu realized that mommy was no match for Grandma. Last year, mommy had argued with Grandma for her sake and had been slapped many times and her face was swollen.
Like Yun Juan, she didn't want Mommy and Grandma to clash, so she held Yun Chuman's hand and said softly, "Mom, I'm fine too."
Yun Chuman could somewhat understand their thoughts. After all, the original owner's size difference with Li Yanzhen was obvious and she would definitely suffer in a conflict.
Looking at these two well-behaved children, it didn’t sit well in her heart.
"Are you mute? You haven't even called me 'Mom' since you walked in! No wonder these two kids are so rude. They learned it from you! Your father and I have wasted our time raising you, haven't we!"
Seeing no one paying attention, Li Yanzhen gave up pretending and snapped, "You think you're all grown up now? You won't even answer the phone and I have to come all this way myself."
"Xinxin has only lived with us for eight years and she knows to send back her earnings from that variety show to support us. What about you?"
Li Yanzhen grew angrier with each word. "Your father and I raised you with great difficulty. We're getting old and it's time for you to show us some respect. As I'm your mom, I won't ask for too much money—500,000 will do."
500,000?
Yun Chuman almost laughed out loud. So she'd come to ask for money. No wonder she rushed over after just one phone call.
Unfortunately, she and the two kids only earned 400,000 for twelve episodes of the variety show. She was less famous, and Yun Juan and Yun Shu were younger, so their prices were lower.
She said coldly, "No."
Li Yanzhen was stunned, her expression gradually twisting into a grimace: "No?! Who are you trying to fool! Xinxin gave me 300,000 yuan, and you, a family of three, can't even come up with 500,000 yuan for a TV show? I bet you just don't want to give it! You selfish and unfilial thing, I'll teach you a lesson today!"
She raised her hand, about to strike Yun Chuman on the back of the head.
Yun Juan and Yun Shu stared wide-eyed in terror.
Yun Chuman held the two children close, letting their heads rest on her shoulder, and raised her other arm high, turning to block the descending slap.
Li Yanzhen's strength was great. With just that one blow, Yun Chuman's entire arm went numb, but she gritted her teeth and didn't utter a sound. Coupled with her bloodshot eyes, she looked particularly terrifying without any expression.
Li Yanzhen was startled. She had never seen Yun Chuman like this before. No matter how much she beat or scolded her, she never resisted and not even utter a word.
For a fleeting moment, she actually felt that Yun Chuman wanted to fight back.
Li Yanzhen instinctively took a step back, stepping on an empty bottle lying on the ground, and immediately lost her balance and swayed.
Yun Chuman casually raised her arm, coldly watching Li Yanzhen's bulky body fall backward and crash heavily to the ground. There was no intention of helping her up.
She wasn't the original owner of this body who wouldn't fight back or retaliate.
Want money? She wouldn't give a single penny.
Not only that, even if she couldn't beat her, she had ways to make Li Yanzhen avoid their family from now on. Never daring to enter this house again!
Author's Note:
Yun Chuman: The desire to harm someone can't be hidden!
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