She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Their relationship with Sanya has just broken down, but it hasn't reached the point where they'd really ruin her life. If they soften their attitude a little, Sanya will definitely be closer to them.

As for the sons, just like this kid said, they're all so grown up now, but they still can't stand up for themselves. After the old couple passes away, will their sons and grandsons starve?

Before Sanya got married, they could freeload off her. But if Sanya gets married, even if she's willing to help them, her in-laws probably won't. They might coax her into giving them a break, just like they are now, and they might not only not give her a penny, but also ruin the future of several of her grandchildren.

He dared not gamble on the hatred this brat harbored for their family.

So let's not make things worse now.

Mr. Fang helped Mrs. Fang leave calmly, as if nothing had happened that day. Before leaving, he stood in front of Fang Yingdi and said many words of concern.

However, Fang Yingdi remained expressionless.

The crowd dispersed sparsely, those who needed to go to work went to work, and Grandma Xia and Qiao Yi hitched a ride back to the factory. Along the way, Qiao Yi kept trying to persuade Fang Yingdi, but it seemed to be of no use.

When the group of people returned, they were greeted by factory workers who were waiting to hear the follow-up gossip. They only calmed down when they saw the factory manager and the others, and rushed back to work, planning to wait for the parties involved to have a good listen when they finished get off work.

Unfortunately, as soon as Fang Yingdi got off work, she went straight to her dormitory. Qiao Yi brought her food, but she didn't eat it. I don't know what she's thinking all day. She won't say anything when I ask, and she won't eat. It's really worrying me.

As darkness fell, Old Mrs. Xia returned home and cooked and ate with Xia Yu'e, vividly demonstrating the ugly faces of Fang Yingdi's parents and the aftermath of Jiang Wenhua's actions.

Xia Yu'e sighed, "She's a woman with a tragic fate, but her older sisters have it even worse."

Grandma Xia: "Girls who can't go to school, can't leave the village, and can't get rid of their parents who treat them badly, really don't have many good lives."

Xia Yu'e coughed a few times. Perhaps it was the change of seasons in spring, and her body was already weak, so she often felt tired. Old Mrs. Xia took her to see a doctor and got some cough medicine, which relieved the symptoms somewhat, but it didn't cure the problem completely.

"Sis, even though the weather is starting to warm up these days, you should still wear more clothes. It's chilly in the mornings and evenings. You've been coughing for quite a while now. I'll take you to see a doctor again when you have time off this week. It's also good that you need to have your leg checked again."

Xia Yu'e: "Okay, I'll listen to you. You're interfering with me more and more these days."

The two sisters made two cups of sweet brown sugar water, drank them, washed up, and were about to go to bed. Before falling asleep, Grandma Xia suddenly wondered if the factory manager would be too nauseous to sleep that night.

Fang Yingdi seemed to be lost in thought, and while the others in the dormitory went to wash up, she ran out. She had spent the whole day thinking about why she was alive. From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever truly cared about her, and she had never felt loved by anyone.

She longed for love, but she couldn't have it.

In the past, she could keep deceiving herself that her parents loved her at least a little, that they just loved their son more. But today, after hearing with her own ears that they were just treating the girl as a transaction, an object, or a tool, Fang Yingdi could no longer deceive herself. She had no reason to deceive herself anymore.

In such a miserable family, the sisters lived numbly. In some families, sisters might huddle together for warmth because of the heavy burden of family, but that wasn't the case in her family. Her sisters were even worse off than her. At least she could still fantasize that her parents loved her, and she slowly grew up on that illusion. But they didn't know the meaning of life at all; they only knew to do whatever their parents told them to do.

They worked when asked to work; they ate only coarse food and refused to eat meat; they married bad men when asked to marry. Her fourth daughter, though suffering, only hoped to prolong the pain, not to escape or find a solution.

Fang Yingdi was the same, except she had studied for a few more years than the others, so at least she had something she wanted. However, this thing was too unrealistic; it was simply too difficult to obtain in that kind of family.

Even if she were willing to give everything, they would only skin her alive and devour her whole; she would never get what she wanted. And all the reasons she had previously used to convince herself crumbled the moment her parents stopped saying nice things and started telling her the truth.

Fang Yingdi lost her last reason to live. She listened to everything in the hospital and absorbed it all. She knew what Comrade Jiang said to Fang's father, but it wasn't love; it was just a last resort for their own retirement, a desperate measure.

Fang Yingdi was seething with hatred; she had no intention of letting them have an easy time. What kind of getaway was that? She wouldn't give them one; she wanted to shatter their dreams.

She was consumed by hatred and her mind wasn't clear, so the way she came up with to punish them was to make them suffer with her own life.

The river water was still cold in spring, and Fang Yingdi's mouth was trembling, but she still walked over step by step. Finally, she made up her mind and jumped directly into the deep part where there were no steps.

She couldn't swim, and it was very uncomfortable when the river water filled her nose. Fang Yingdi instinctively struggled.

There was no one by the river at night, and Fang Yingdi was terrified. But as soon as she opened her mouth, river water poured into it. She dared not shout and struggled haphazardly.

She regretted it. After choking on the river water, her mind cleared up. She didn't want to die. Why should she die for those people? Even if she died, she wanted to die with value, like taking them all with her. It would be too much of a loss for her to die alone.

She suddenly realized.

"Help!" she cried out, but her voice was weak, and with no one around, how could anyone come to her rescue?

Fang Yingdi waved her hands haphazardly, bobbing up and down, choking on water—flailing her arms and legs—trying to surface for a breath—then sinking again—choking on water, repeating this for about ten minutes, and then, Fang Yingdi... learned to swim!

But it was too dark at night, and she had no idea which direction she had struggled to. Fortunately, the river wasn't very wide, so she found the nearest bank and swam across.

But why are there no steps? She was exhausted and grabbed the ground on the bank, but she really didn't have the strength to pull herself up.

Grandma Xia was old and went to bed early, but Jiang Wenhua didn't sleep for most of the night. He sat by the river late at night, gazing at the dark sky, letting his mind wander. After every battle, he needed to relax, but because he was afraid of spending money, he could only find ways to do so without any cost.

For example, there is a narrow passage leading to the river right in front of the main gate of their compound. It is the same river as the one in Old Lady Xia's backyard, but very few people go to the river at night, and they don't even use flashlights.

Jiang Wenhua was still contemplating life when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a head bobbing up and down a few steps away from him, accompanied by a faint, strange sound (actually, it was Fang Yingdi's heavy breathing).

Jiang Wenhua's heart tightened. He was a staunch materialist, but even if he didn't believe it, he still felt a little uneasy when something like this happened late at night.

He picked up a stick from the ground, hesitated, and poked the head as it rose up.