QTIMP -Chapter 254 Character Persona – Vicious (Part 17)

After lunch, Si Qiu had Lan Qing take her straight home. There were only six days left, so she needed to get everything settled as quickly as possible. By then, An Xin would be able to move into the small courtyard.

Thinking about that family struggling in the mire they had created for themselves, Si Qiu smiled—a smile completely free of gloom. Passersby couldn’t help but stop and stare when they saw it.

Lan Qing, riding ahead, didn’t see her smile. However, when he heard her softly humming a tune in obvious delight, the corners of his own lips curved upward.

He thought the little girl was surprisingly easy to satisfy. A single job offer was enough to make her this happy. That wouldn’t do. She was far too easy to move and impress.

For reasons even he couldn’t fully explain, he had become hopelessly obsessed with Si Qiu. He even felt as though every breath she exhaled drifted straight into his heart. The desire to possess her completely grew stronger and stronger.

He wanted to spoil her until she became arrogant, willful, and unreasonable—so much so that other men would be frightened away. Then she would never be able to run from him.

Since it was only a little after one in the afternoon, no one was home yet. Si Qiu packed up some things she didn’t currently need and tied them into a cloth bundle. She brought it downstairs and handed it to Lan Qing, asking him to take it to the small courtyard first.

After watching him ride away on his bicycle, she turned around and skipped happily upstairs. She put the household registration booklet away and then headed to the kitchen. Tonight, she intended to cook personally.

When Father Si and Mother Si returned home, they found the two youngest children sitting in the living room. Li Guifang frowned at Si Xi.

“What time is it already? Why are you still sitting here? Is dinner ready yet?”

Si Xi quickly stood up.

“Third Sister is cooking. She wouldn’t let me into the kitchen. She said I’m too filthy and would affect her cooking.”

Following her words, Mother Si looked her up and down.

Then she frowned and scolded her.

“No wonder your third sister said that. You’re already a fifteen-year-old young lady, yet you still look so sloppy and unkempt.

“If the neighbors in the building see you like this every day, who knows what they’ll say about me.”

Twisting her fingers together, Si Xi lowered her head. She had spent the day helping another family dig a cellar, so it was inevitable that she got dirty. She didn’t have a bath ticket, so she could only fetch some water from the communal washroom and wipe herself down.

“The food’s ready! Come help carry the bowls and dishes!”

Si Qiu called out from the kitchen.

Father Si immediately spoke up.

“Enough. The two of you, go help bring out the food. Look at the time already. All you do is stand here arguing about useless things.”

The mother and daughter immediately fell silent and hurried off to help.

They had assumed dinner would be the usual sweet potato porridge, pickled vegetables stir-fried with cabbage, and cornmeal buns.

To their surprise, although the sweet potato porridge was still there, the staple food had been upgraded to steamed buns made from mixed flour. The buns were stuffed with cabbage and pork cracklings. Even the pickled vegetables had been drizzled with sesame oil.

Father Si tapped his fingers on the table.

“Third Daughter, what’s the occasion? You actually brought meat home for everyone to eat.”

It wasn’t as though he didn’t know how well Si Qiu fed herself. Just looking at her fair, rosy complexion was enough to tell anyone she never lacked food.

Normally, bringing home a few pieces of candy each month already counted as filial behavior.

Si Qiu ladled herself a bowl of porridge with more rice and fewer sweet potatoes, then picked out two of the largest buns and set them beside her.

Smiling brightly, she replied,

“Nothing special. A classmate told me today that we’ll be able to collect our graduation certificates in a few days, so I’m happy.”

Father Si was somewhat suspicious, so he probed further.

“Then in a few days, should I arrange for you to meet that man for a blind date?”

“Sure, that’s fine. But I have one condition—the entire bride price from his family comes with me.”

“Why should it?” Li Guifang slammed the table immediately.

Unbothered by her fury, Si Qiu leisurely took a sip of porridge before answering.

“No particular reason. That’s simply my condition. If you don’t agree, then I won’t get married. Freedom of marriage isn’t just an empty slogan. If necessary, I’ll go to the Women’s Federation.”

Seeing how firm Si Qiu’s attitude was, Father Si actually felt more reassured.

Slowly drinking his porridge, he began contemplating the next steps of his plan.

Marrying Si Qiu off to that family wasn’t just about the bride price. It would also help him move up another step in his career, since his immediate superior was already nearing retirement age.

The hidden benefits in the future would be even greater.

Listening to the mother and daughter bickering beside him, Si Qiu waited until they had finished their porridge before slamming the door and returning to her room.

Soon afterward came Mother Si’s loud cursing and endless complaints. When Father Si finally came to his senses, he scolded her, but the amount of money involved was far from small, so Mother Si couldn’t help snapping back at him.

Father Si slammed the door and left.

Mother Si then redirected all her anger toward Si Xi, grumbling and cursing until late into the night before finally settling down.

Past one o’clock in the morning, their front door was suddenly pounded on.

The knocking was heavy and urgent.

The entire family was jolted awake.

Mother Si, Li Guifang, cursed as she got up.

“Who is it? Knocking on the door in the middle of the night! Are people supposed to sleep or not? Honestly, do you have any manners at all?”

As she spoke, she pulled open the door. The moment she saw the uniformed officers standing outside, her legs nearly gave way beneath her.

One of them grabbed her by the arm and steadied her while four officers entered the house.

Outside, a crowd of neighbors had already gathered, pressing around the doorway to watch the excitement.

The man who entered looked at the family of four and sighed.

“This is Comrade Si Chaoyang’s home, correct?”

After everyone nodded, he continued,

“We received a report from West Alley Bridge Lane earlier tonight that someone had collapsed and was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. We sent people to investigate, and several witnesses identified the man as Si Chaoyang, an electrician from the Machinery Factory. We’ve come to ask the family to go and confirm his identity.”

This time, Li Guifang truly couldn’t take it.

Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.

Si Qiu stepped forward and viciously pinched the pressure point beneath her nose. It took quite a while before Li Guifang finally regained consciousness.

The moment she woke up, she burst into loud sobs.

Si Qiu could only offer a few words of comfort before turning to the officer.

“Comrade, why would my father be there? And how exactly did he collapse?”

The young officer, who looked to be in his twenties, became visibly nervous when faced with such a beautiful young woman.

What made him even more uncomfortable was that the circumstances of her father’s collapse were rather disgraceful.

He hesitated and stammered for a long time without saying anything.

Before he could answer, Li Guifang suddenly reacted. She lunged forward and grabbed his pant leg.

“Comrade, you must avenge my husband! It must have been that little widow who harmed him. She’s the reason my husband collapsed!”

Faced with Li Guifang, the officer no longer felt nervous.

He spoke directly.

“According to the witness statements and the scene investigation so far, Comrade Si Chaoyang spent the night at Widow Liu’s house and suffered mashangfeng.”

“Although he has not died at this time, the doctors have stated that even if he survives, the aftereffects will likely be severe. The exact cause still requires further examination and confirmation.”

Upon hearing this, Li Guifang let out a strange choking sound and fainted again.

In the end, the building supervisor came over and arranged for people to take her to the hospital.

By the time they arrived, Father Si had already been revived.

However, the doctor informed them that there was a very high probability he would either suffer severe brain damage or become brain-dead and remain in a vegetative state.

Si Qiu hadn’t expected him to be so hard to kill.

But then she thought about it—wasn’t it better for him to stay alive and suffer?

She left the two younger siblings at the hospital to keep watch.

Then she accompanied Li Guifang to the police station.