novelraw Chapter 261: "I Should Have Drowned You When You Were Born.
Chapter 261: "I Should Have Drowned You When You Were Born.
A little before two in the afternoon...
That was not long after she had run out. She was still sitting dumbfounded in the arcade.
Zhou Mochen looked at Huang Chao in the driver’s seat. "Go back."
Xu Su froze. ’Go back where?’ she thought. ’Aren’t we at Imperial Central?’
"First, we’re going back to vent some anger." Zhou Mochen kissed her forehead tenderly. The anxiety that had been plaguing him all afternoon finally eased, and he buried his face in the crook of Xu Su’s neck. "Don’t be soft-hearted, Xu Su. I won’t let you be soft-hearted this time. He dared to hit you. He actually dared to hit you!"
His voice was vicious. Xu Su didn’t think much of it, but in the front seat, Huang Chao couldn’t help but shrink back.
It finally dawned on Xu Su. She looked at Huang Chao and said, "Zhou Mochen, you really are a vile capitalist. You won’t even let your assistant have a New Year’s reunion dinner."
"Miss Xu, you misunderstand. My work schedule follows Mr. Zhou’s itinerary, so regular holidays don’t apply to me." Seeing the conversation turn to him, Huang Chao quickly pledged his loyalty. "I’m very happy with this job. It’s my duty to alleviate Mr. Zhou’s worries."
Zhou Mochen didn’t even look up, completely unconcerned with anything else. He stared intently at Xu Su. "The Xu Family dared to hurt you like this. I’ll make their whole family pay a hundredfold."
He didn’t sound like he was joking at all. Xu Su’s heart skipped a beat, and a mix of emotions washed over her.
’I wonder what the Xu Family told him,’ she thought. ’They can’t be stupid enough to have confessed everything, right?’
’...But with the marks on my face plain to see, what they said probably doesn’t matter anymore.’
Less than half an hour later, the car turned into a small alley. Huang Chao’s driving was steady, and he parked directly in front of the Xu Family’s old house.
Zhou Mochen carried Xu Su out of the car as if she were a fragile treasure, refusing to let her feet touch the ground. He swept her up in his arms and walked into the Xu Family’s old house.
The wooden main gate was ajar. Huang Chao pushed it open from the front and, after they entered, closed it behind them.
Zhou Mochen carried Xu Su to a chair and set her down. As she looked up, she saw that the main hall was packed with people.
The entire Xu Family, young and old, including Xu Xiaogu’s family of four, had their backs to them. They were huddled in a corner like a flock of quails, with their necks pulled in.
Two dining tables were covered in leftovers, and broken bowls and plates littered the floor. A closer look revealed splatters of blood, making it clear a fight had taken place here.
Several burly men stood guard, some sitting and some standing, occasionally kicking the people squatting on the floor. When they saw Zhou Mochen enter, the ones who were sitting nervously shot to their feet.
In a main hall filled with so many people, the only sounds were the occasional wails of the Xu Family.
Xu Su was stunned. She had never seen a scene like this before.
Zhou Mochen patted her back soothingly and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. "All of you, turn around."
The Xu Family, who had their backs to them, were barked at by the burly men until they turned around. The moment they saw Xu Su, they became agitated.
Xu Xiaogu clutched her two daughters and wept. "Susu, quick! Tell these big brothers that it was your dad who hit you! We didn’t do anything, please spare us!"
"That’s right, Susu! Your uncle-in-law has always been good to you. Every debt has its debtor. Don’t pin this on my family!"
"Why are you begging her? I’d like to see if she really has the heart to be ruthless to her own family!" Mrs. Xu grabbed her daughter’s arm and yelled at Xu Su, "Even if you weren’t raised in the Xu Family, you’re still one of us! Go ask the neighbors! Find one daughter who, after getting slapped by her own father, calls a bunch of gangsters to make a scene at his door!"
"Xu Su! No matter how wrong your father was, he’s still your father! Look! Just look at what they’ve done to him! How can you be so heartless!" Chen Shulan, who had been squatting quietly, suddenly found a burst of strength at the sight of her daughter. She shot up and lunged at Xu Su, but was kicked by a nearby thug before she could even straighten up.
"Stay put!"
Xu Su paused, her eyes scanning the room. She saw Xu Weiguo and Yang Yun huddled together, their faces bruised and swollen. Mr. Xu’s face was unharmed, and Xu Hao and his brother weren’t injured either. As she looked from person to person, her gaze soon met a pair of resentful, furious eyes.
Seeing that his daughter had finally noticed him, Xu Weiping, his face swollen, sneered. "When you were born, I should have just drowned you."
"Heh..." Zhou Mochen let out a soft chuckle. The members of the Xu Family who had been shouting at Xu Su instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter, their eyes filled with fear.
"I had no idea this is how they bully you at home." Zhou Mochen’s smile vanished. "Listening to them is really unpleasant. Gag them all."
The burly men immediately moved, sealing the mouths of the Xu Family with tape.
Xu Su was speechless. ’They really know how to pick on the weak,’ she thought.
’They’re clearly scared to death of Zhou Mochen, yet the moment they see me, they assume I’ll be a soft touch and plead for them. They act so entitled, even trying to pull rank as elders to lecture me.’
’Even Xu Weiping probably still thinks that now that his daughter is here, he won’t be beaten anymore...’
’And so, he started putting on his fatherly airs again.’
Xu Su listened with a blank expression until she saw Xu Jianbang in the corner, his face covered in injuries. Her expression finally changed. "Let my uncle get up."
Zhou Mochen paused, then waved his hand.
A burly man helped Xu Jianbang to his feet, but his back was still bent. He was the most simple and honest of the family. When the group of men had burst in that afternoon, he had taken the worst of the beating trying to protect everyone.
"You hit him?" Xu Su stood up and walked over to Xu Jianbang. Seeing the dried blood on his nose, she turned and asked Zhou Mochen, "Why did you act on your own? The only reason I was able to get out was because my uncle protected me. Otherwise, Xu Weiping might have crippled me today."
If Xu Jianbang hadn’t blocked that slap, she might have truly gone deaf in one ear today. If there was anyone left in the Xu Family that Xu Su cared about, it was only this uncle, who had been mute from birth.
"You didn’t reply to my messages all morning. Then Shen Chen called and told me you’d promised to send him a photo, but you didn’t, and your phone was off. Xu Su, you have no idea how worried I was."
Zhou Mochen explained earnestly, "I came here looking for you and found pieces of your phone at the gate. They told me you had run off on your own. I wanted to know what happened at your house this morning. I asked them nicely, but they wouldn’t answer honestly. They forced me to get rough."
He paused for a moment, then said apologetically, "As for your uncle, I didn’t know he protected you. I’m sorry."
Xu Su stood without saying a word.
’...So that’s what happened,’ she thought. ’I was wondering how Zhou Mochen reacted so quickly and came straight to the Xu Family’s old house.’
’Her not replying to his messages wouldn’t have been enough to make Zhou Mochen show up at their door. The key was Shen Chen’s phone call, which must have set him on edge.’
’One moment, she’d agreed to it, and the next, her phone was off... No matter how you look at it, something was wrong.’
"To this moment, I still haven’t figured out what happened this morning, or if what they said is the truth." Zhou Mochen looked down at her for a moment, then suddenly pointed at Xu Hao. "You. Come out and talk."
Ever since he saw Xu Su, the boy had been staring at her with eyes as sharp as daggers.