Chapter 28: Formal Split

Jing Shu truly admired this. People don’t fight back until they’re pushed to the limit. As long as these people had a bite to eat, they generally didn’t cause trouble. Not starving to death yet having endless work to do, living miserably—this was the greatest punishment for them. Sun Yinrui must have hated Jing Shu to death by now. His wife was practically dying to scratch Su Meimei to pieces. Once she regained her senses, she would probably shift some of her hatred onto Jing Shu—after all, she had watched Jing Shu grow up. How dare Jing Shu accuse her entire family? But Jing Shu guessed they wouldn’t have time to bother her for a while. Instead, it was her aunt, Su Meimei, who, just like in her previous life, brought her whole family storming to the villa. This familiar scene, reenacted ten years ahead of schedule, finally gave the slightly dejected Jing Shu an outlet for her frustration. Jing Shu’s frustration stemmed from her own mother. After Mrs. Jing and Mr. Jing moved from the city, the first thing Mrs. Jing did was inspect every nook and cranny, like a monarch surveying her territory to take stock of her possessions. Upon seeing the fishpond and the adjacent vegetable patch, she praised them. Seeing the thoughtful design of the boiler room, she praised Jing Shu profusely. Mrs. Jing was sensitive to the cold and had worried that the houses in Wu City wouldn’t be warm enough. Mrs. Jing was the kind of woman who wanted to grow flowers to brighten her spirits, but unfortunately, couldn’t even keep a pothos alive. So, the renovations to the kitchen and the sunroom greatly pleased her. However, when she saw the large drying terrace occupied by four enormous water tanks and covered with a dense array of solar panels, she couldn’t help but criticize, "You wasteful child! Are we lacking water, or do you not have enough to drink, that you’d place such ugly tanks out here? And what are all these densely packed, reflective water heaters? Why waste money on this?" Jing Shu had no choice but to invent a story. "Isn’t this just learning from the United States’ self-sufficient solar power generation and water filtration systems? If I set it up like the children of the wealthy here in the country, who would pay attention to my online content? The government is promoting energy conservation these days, and my setup has received a fantastic response online, attracting even more followers." Mrs. Jing saw the mountain of snacks, which Jing Shu claimed were gifts from fans. She also saw a pile of camping and outdoor equipment; Jing Shu explained they were preparing for an outdoor event with fans. Seeing a room full of shampoo, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, and the like, Mrs. Jing finally couldn’t hold back. "These are also gifts from fans? Tell me, where can I buy such wonderful fans? Not only can they cook hotpot, but they also give you enough supplies to last ten years!" Jing Shu was speechless. "Show me your shopping receipts. I want to see where all your money has gone." "Vegetables, rice and flour, oil, condiments, solar power generators, water storage tanks, central air conditioning, a refrigerator, a dishwasher, other appliances... 60 rabbits, 70 chickens, 300 quails, 2 pigs... The money adds up. So, are you saying your fans really bought all this?" So, when her aunt, Su Meimei, brought people over again, Jing Shu truly couldn’t suppress all the energies building within her. She had been drinking spiritual spring water for about twenty days, and her speed and strength had long surpassed that of an adult male. She had been eager to test her progress and was determined to cripple anyone who dared to initiate a fight; she couldn’t swallow this indignity otherwise. Unfortunately, it turned out that Su Meimei had been forced to come. She was accompanied by her husband, Zhang Zhongyong, her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, and her brother-in-law. Each of them wore a grim expression, especially Zhang Zhongyong, who was personally restraining Su Meimei, whose face was bruised and swollen. It’s exactly like in my previous life, just with a few fewer people, Jing Shu thought. Her fists clenched, her knuckles audibly CRACKING, as she repeatedly told herself to stay calm. "Jing Shu, my dear niece!" Su Meimei wailed. "Quick, tell them your aunt didn’t have an affair! I definitely didn’t get involved with any other man! This is a setup! You must have taken a bribe, right? Are you trying to get me killed? My dear sister, please, control Jing Shu! She testified against me, saying I had an affair with Sun Yinrui, WAHHH..." Su Meimei cried wretchedly, her hair disheveled, with visible footprints on her clothes. Mr. Jing blocked the group at the villa’s main gate. Mrs. Jing was utterly bewildered. Jing Shu, expressionless, took out the evidence Heng Jin had obtained and recounted Sun Yinrui’s corruption and criminal activities. "That’s how it is," Jing Shu stated. "I simply testified. Sun Yinrui got into trouble because of his own wrongdoings. When he was investigated, they incidentally uncovered his affair with Aunt Su. The court also recovered the 300,000 yuan of illicit funds—money from corruption and bribery—that Sun Yinrui had given her." Mr. and Mrs. Jing stared at Su Meimei in shock. Only then did they realize what kind of scoundrel Sun Yinrui was. And then they learned that their sister-in-law—Mrs. Jing’s own sister—had been involved with this scoundrel and had even taken his dirty money. While arguing back, Su Meimei desperately tried to break free from Zhang Zhongyong to scratch Jing Shu, but Zhang Zhongyong silenced her with a couple of slaps. Su Meimei had never expected her usually quiet niece to reveal everything, including the matter of the money. Yang Yunyun, that wretched woman, had only come to their door mentioning that someone had found evidence of their adulterous affair, casually adding that her niece, Jing Shu, had testified. Seeing Sun Yinrui’s downfall as inevitable and still relying on Zhang Zhongyong’s support, Su Meimei had vehemently denied the affair. If anyone doubted her, she’d said, they could ask Jing Shu, who must have been bribed. With Su Lanzi present, Su Meimei had believed she wouldn’t suffer any losses. After all, they were family; how could her sister side with outsiders? But she was gravely mistaken. Tears immediately streamed down Mrs. Jing’s face. "Go away! I don’t have a sister like you!" Mrs. Jing, trembling, pointed at Su Meimei and said, "He had money but deliberately didn’t repay his debt! You had money but deliberately refused to lend it to us! Fine, just fine! We sold our car to scrape together money, and you two conspired—one refusing to pay back, the other immediately swooping in to take advantage... Su Meimei, from this moment on, all ties between us are severed. Get out!" Mrs. Jing cried herself hoarse, using all her remaining strength for the final "Get out!" Mr. Jing, supporting his wife, began to usher the unwelcome visitors away. Watching Su Meimei gnash her teeth, her eyes filled with hatred, Jing Shu smiled contentedly. "A woman like that deserves to be put in a pig cage," one of Zhang Zhongyong’s parents said. "Son, don’t be in a hurry to divorce her." "Divorce?" Zhang Zhongyong sneered, yanking the despondent Su Meimei towards the car by her hair. "She won’t get off that easily." The family then got into their car and sped off. Jing Shu watched the car disappear and murmured softly, "Debts from a past life, repaid in this one." None of them will escape this time. "Quick, come inside and close the door!" Mr. Jing called out. "Coming." On December 15th, 2022, the Central Meteorological Observatory issued a red alert. It predicted a major planetary collision event for December 31st of that year. A vast amount of dust would enter the atmosphere, blocking sunlight. The Earth would become dim, but not pitch black. This reduction in sunlight would significantly impact the survival of plants and animals. Although crop yields would decrease, the announcement stated it wouldn’t be overly disruptive initially. Even if a total crop failure occurred, Huaxia purportedly had enough food reserves to last three years. This part of the statement was actually true; in critical times, some reserves could always be accessed to prevent mass starvation. "The Earth’s Dark Day will last for 30 to 40 days and will be accompanied by large amounts of dust. All citizens are advised to prepare sufficient food storage and take precautions when going outdoors. The elderly, frail, disabled, and sick are urged to minimize outdoor activity. Primary schools and kindergartens will be closed; all other work will continue as normal."