PWE – Chapter 40 I just can’t do it!

“Xiao Wange! Get out here right now!”

Zhan Songbai stormed into Zhan Zeyan’s courtyard, shouting with arrogant fury.

He was truly arrogant — voice loud and face twisted with anger, as if the whole world owed him something.

Inside the kitchen, Xiao Wange was pouring the washed rice into an iron pot.

When she heard the shouting from the yard, her lips curved, and a cold, mocking smile appeared on her face.

She covered the pot, added a few sticks of firewood to the stove, then stepped out of the kitchen.

By that time, Zhan Zeyan had already come out from the main room and reached the yard before her.

His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes turned icy as he looked at Zhan Songbai. “Uncle, what business do you have with my wife?”

His tone was cold and distant, filled with obvious dislike and disgust.

Zhan Songbai’s expression darkened — clearly, he didn’t like being spoken to that way.

He frowned deeply and growled, “I came to settle scores with her! That wretched woman ruined my entire family! She has to take responsibility!”

Zhan Zeyan’s frown deepened, his face darkening. “Uncle, what does your family falling apart have to do with Wange? Isn’t that the result of your own doing?”

“You—”

“Zeyan,” Xiao Wange’s voice interrupted coldly as she stepped out from the kitchen, a mocking smile on her lips. “Why bother reasoning with him? You could talk until you’re blue in the face — he won’t understand a word.”

Hearing her, Zhan Songbai’s hands clenched tightly, rage burning in his eyes.

He turned toward her, took a step forward, and raised his hand to slap her. “I’m still your elder! Is this how you talk to your elders? Since your in-laws died early and no one taught you manners, I’ll teach you myself what respect and hierarchy mean!”

Seeing him about to strike her, Zhan Zeyan’s face darkened immediately.

He rushed forward to stop him.

But Xiao Wange only sneered, eyes full of disdain. “You call yourself an elder? And you think you have the right to teach me respect? How about I teach you what it means to be a decent human being?”

With that, she lifted her long leg and kicked a pebble hard toward him.

Zhan Songbai suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his knee — a pain so deep it felt like it pierced his bones.

He cried out, his legs buckling, and dropped to his knees.

Xiao Wange looked down at him with cold contempt. “Comrade Zhan Songbai, take responsibility for your own mistakes. Stop shamelessly blaming others. The only thing your excuses show is how utterly pathetic and dishonorable you are.”

“You… you…” Zhan Songbai’s mouth opened, but the pain was too much — his knee felt like it had been shattered.

Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongxin rushed forward to help their father up.

Zhan Hongda glanced worriedly at the injured knee, then turned and shouted at Xiao Wange, “You venomous woman! My father’s already old, and you still hit him like that! You’ve injured his knee — you’d better pay for his medicine! You have to compensate us!”

He even lifted his chin slightly, like he expected her to pull out money any second.

Xiao Wange laughed coldly.

Glancing at him with scorn, she said, “Still trying to extort money at a time like this? Zhan Hongda, you really are desperate for cash, huh? If you’re that broke, why don’t you work for it? Oh wait, I forgot — you’re a lazy good-for-nothing parasite.”

“You—!”

“Get your shameless father and get out of here,” Xiao Wange’s voice turned icy, each word cutting like frost. “You’re not welcome in this house.”

Zhan Hongda froze for a moment. He didn’t know why, but hearing that chilling tone made him feel as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over him — a suffocating coldness spreading from head to toe.

He stared at her in shock, then steadied himself and turned toward Zhan Zeyan. “Zeyan, aren’t you going to control your wife? She attacked my father, and now she’s kicking us out! What kind of attitude is that—”

“What about her attitude?” Zhan Zeyan interrupted coldly. “I think it’s perfect. Your mother killed my mother, and you all tried to hide it for her. Did you really think… I, Zhan Zeyan, don’t have a temper? That I’d just let it go?”

His voice was icy, his lips curling into a sneer.

Seeing him like that, Zhan Hongda’s chest tightened — he suddenly found it hard to breathe, like his throat was being squeezed.

Meanwhile, Zhan Songbai took several deep breaths before the pain in his leg finally eased a little.

He looked up at Zhan Zeyan and ground his teeth. “Zeyan, your mother wasn’t killed by your aunt. There’s more to the story. Your aunt was framed by that poisonous woman, Xiao Wange! She used ghosts to scare your aunt and Qiu Xianghui into confessing to things they didn’t do. Your aunt might’ve had her flaws, but she would never kill anyone — especially not a kind sister-in-law!”

Xiao Wange laughed coldly.

This man was even more shameless than Xu Meifeng.

The facts were already laid bare, yet he still wanted to pin the blame on her.

Did he think Zhan Zeyan was that easy to fool? Or that she was that easy to bully? What a ridiculous dream!

Zhan Zeyan’s face turned as cold as frost.

He looked at Zhan Songbai with mocking disdain. “Uncle, I knew you were lazy, but I didn’t realize you were also this shameless. You refuse to face your wife’s crimes and still try to blame Wange? Do you take me for a fool who’d believe such a pathetic lie?”

“You—!”

“Wange’s right. You’re not welcome here. Get out,” Zhan Zeyan snapped, cutting him off with commanding force.

Zhan Songbai’s face turned a dark, ugly shade.

He pointed a shaking finger at Zhan Zeyan, trembling with rage. “You really are a fool! This was all Xiao Wange’s doing, yet you still defend her—”

“Get out!” Zhan Zeyan’s voice cut through the air like a blade — cold, deadly, and final.

Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongxin both flinched, their bodies trembling at the sheer force of his tone.

Even Zhan Songbai was startled, his face paling involuntarily.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Xiao Wange suddenly pulled out her bell and shook it lightly. “Oh, I really can command ghosts. This morning, Zhan Hongjun lost control because a ghost from this bell possessed him. Tell you what, Comrade Zhan Songbai — how about I let it possess you too? Then you can go dance a striptease in front of the whole village. I bet you’ll be very famous afterward.”

Zhan Songbai and his sons had never heard the term “striptease” before, but just from the sound of it, they could tell it wasn’t anything good.

Zhan Songbai’s face stiffened. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Xiao Wange smiled faintly. “Wouldn’t I?” she said, and gave the bell another shake.

Zhan Songbai stumbled back in fright.

He’d always known this wretched woman was dangerous, but now he realized she was far scarier than he ever imagined.

He glared at his sons. “What are you waiting for? Get me out of here!”

He was old — no way would he risk something as humiliating as that in front of the villagers. If that ever happened, he’d rather be dead.

But… he didn’t have the courage to die either.

So all he could do was flee — get as far away from that terrifying woman as possible.

Zhan Hongda and Zhan Hongjun quickly nodded and helped their father out of the yard.

Zhan Hongxin glared at Xiao Wange, stomping her foot in frustration. “Zeyan-ge, you’ve changed! You can’t tell right from wrong anymore — you’ve turned into a fool!”

Without waiting for his reply, she spun around and stormed out.

Watching her leave, Xiao Wange said to Zhan Zeyan, “That Zhan Hongxin sure has no shame.”

She couldn’t tell right from wrong — her mother had killed someone, yet she still dared to come here claiming her mother was framed.

The level of moral blindness was almost impressive.

Zhan Zeyan didn’t even bother looking her way. He just smiled faintly and said to Xiao Wange, “Mm, she’s indeed shameless.”

At the courtyard gate, Zhan Hongxin froze, hearing that remark. Her face flushed green with fury. She wanted to rush back in and strangle them both — those hateful, wretched people!

But she took a deep breath and forced herself to leave.

…

After the Zhan family left, Xiao Wange went back to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. Zhan Zeyan followed, sitting on a small stool by the stove, adding firewood.

Meanwhile, next door—

Zhan Songbai returned home, furious, and lay down on the bed.

But after a few minutes, hunger hit him hard.

His stomach growled loudly, a sharp, gnawing hunger that felt like a sudden flood.

He sat up, put on his shoes, and walked toward the kitchen.

But when he got there, the pots and pans were all cold — no one had cooked anything!

He stood there for a few seconds, then shouted, “Hongxin! Get in here and make dinner!”

The sky was already dark — how could she not have started yet? Was she trying to starve them?

Soon, Zhan Hongxin stepped into the kitchen.

She frowned slightly. “Dad, you want me to make dinner? I don’t know how. Maybe call my brothers — they probably can.”

At her words, Zhan Songbai’s anger exploded. He grabbed the spatula from the counter and swung it at her. “Useless girl! You can’t even cook?! Your brothers are men — of course they can’t cook! I told you to learn before, why didn’t you?”

The spatula smacked against her head, leaving a swollen bump.

She rubbed her head and started crying. “I just don’t know how! My sister-in-law always did the cooking before! She never had the patience to teach me — how was I supposed to learn?”

Then she glared out toward the courtyard and yelled, “This is your fault, brother! Why did you drive your wife away?! Now no one can cook, and we’re starving! You’d better bring Qiu Xianghui back tomorrow — if she doesn’t come home, we’ll have nothing to eat!”