Grandpa Jiang’s heart ached, pondering the unfairness that his decades-old daughter was less sensible than children of a few years old. "Chenchen must feel terrible after hearing these words. Your little aunt, she... she..."
Grandpa Jiang simply couldn’t say that Jiang Xiumei did it unintentionally, even just to comfort the child. He just didn’t have the face to do so.
To his surprise, Mei Mengchen responded, "It’s okay, Grandpa Jiang. I’ve heard so much that I’m used to it now. It’s fine as long as I don’t take it seriously. Sister said that I’m not a wild child without a family. I have a sister, and she and I are a family. I have a home."
Just look at these words, look at this child. Jiang Xiumei was simply sinning. Nothing could compare to the sins she committed herself, and to think that she still needs pity from anyone.
The Jiang Family had once again moved Jiang Xiumei back onto the hospital bed. The commotion on their side had already attracted the attention of the nurses outside. But, given the timing, it coincided with the shift change and mealtime, so half of the staff were eating, while the others were busy smoking or administering injections and checking the wards. So, although they heard the noises, they could not simply abandon their tasks midway through. They waited a while before checking in, and by that time, the drama had already ended.
However, the ward was indeed full of people—a small room was crammed full. The nurse, eyeing the family members who filled the ward, urged again, "What are you all doing? Your ward is the noisiest. If you don’t rest, it disturbs others who need to. Just look at how crowded you’ve made the ward. Even for the sake of your own patient, let them rest in peace. Leave now, don’t bring so many people."
The nurse was about to persuade them to leave the hospital again when Mei Yinan agreed, "Okay, we will leave right away."
Seeing that they were indeed preparing to leave, the nurse said nothing more. But this time, it was Jiang Xiumei who spoke up, "No, Mei Mengzhen, you cannot leave. Dad, call the police! Call the police! She hit me. Are you just going to let her hit me and leave?"
Having been struck, why was Mei Mengzhen still putting on an act? "Go ahead and call. Call now. I’ll wait for the police to arrest me. I want to speak with the police and see if it was right for me to hit back after being provoked. We’ll see whose fault this is. I want to see if the police will punish me."
Mei Mengzhen had, in fact, intended to leave, but after Jiang Xiumei’s provocations, she thought again—no, she refused to leave. She moved a chair beside Jiang Xiumei’s bed and sat down. She gave the bed a kick, rattling it three times as if to show that she would not leave until the police arrived.
Conscious of being in the wrong, the Jiangs knew Jiang Xiumei deserved what she got. However, considering the recent loss of her son, they felt it wasn’t right for Mei Mengzhen, the younger relative, to be so aggressive. Jiang Sheng said, "Zhenzhen, we understand you’re angry, but one should be rational. What Xiomei did was definitely unreasonable, but please, show some understanding. After all, Feifei has just passed away."
"It’s precisely because Feifei has just passed that I restrained myself after those few slaps," replied Mei Mengzhen. "Otherwise, do you think she’d still be able to talk? What you’ve heard is just what has been said to our faces. Do you know what your family’s Xiumei curses behind our backs? Can a human even utter such words? She said Chenchen should have died long ago, that I won’t live long, and that our entire family is cursed with short lives. These are the exact words that came from your daughter’s, Mei Mengying’s, mouth. How old is Mengying? Without Jiang Xiumei’s teachings, how could she utter such words?"
"I never said that," blurted Jiang Xiumei in an agitated denial. "When did I ever say such a thing? I..."
"Shut your mouth." Grandpa Jiang did not want to hear any more of Jiang Xiumei’s excuses and sternly rebuked her. After all, if Jiang Xiumei was capable of expressing such words in front of them, what more could she have said in private? Hence, no one believed Jiang Xiumei’s defense and easily accepted Mei Mengzhen’s version of events.
Jiang Sheng then asked, "If these were said in private, how did you come to know of them?"
At this moment, Wang Qiuhe stood forward. "Mengying told me herself."
Mei Yifan was taken aback by Wang Qiuhe’s decision to speak up, tugging at her clothes, "What has it got to do with you? How do you know? I don’t even know."
Mei Yinan was also puzzled, knowing the strained relationship between Wang Qiuhe and Mei Mengying, "You don’t get along with Mengying. Why would she tell you all this?"
"Our relationship hasn’t always been bad," Qiuhe explained. "It only deteriorated after she said those terrible things. Besides, she wasn’t just talking about Sister Zhenzhen; she started by slandering me first. That’s why our relationship soured."
Recalling those words made Wang Qiuhe furious. Mei Yifan disliked seeing Qiuhe upset and immediately asked, "What exactly did Mengying say about you? Tell me, and I’ll deal with her."
Mei Yinan glared at Mei Yifan, "Yifan."
Then Mei Yinan turned to Wang Qiuhe, "Qiuhe, tell me what else Mengying said about you. If you’re going to speak, then say it all. There’s no point in hiding half of it. Just speak out in front of everyone. Today everyone is gathered here, but that might not be the case again."
Under the gaze of many eyes, Wang Qiuhe still felt a bit fearful. However, since she was telling the truth, she wasn’t afraid to speak, "She started with me, saying exactly what I’ve just recounted. Then she talked about Sister Zhenzhen, claiming that with her poor grades, she wondered how she got into university, commenting on her good luck. But she added that even a university degree is useless for Sister Zhenzhen, who won’t live long anyway. She also said that Chenchen should have been the one to get pneumonia instead of Feifei, to die sooner. And about Brother Tianyu..."