"Bang!" The sound echoed as Lin Qin fiercely slapped Liu Yongming across the face, "Haven't you said enough?"
Liu Yongming clutched his face in disbelief, "You hit me? You actually dared to hit me! Lin Qin! Is it because I've been too good to you that you don't even know who your man is anymore?"
"Know what? What's there to know? Know that your family is a bunch of lowlifes?" Lin Yi stood by Lin Qin, backing her up, glaring at Liu Yongming fiercely.
Liu Yongming's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, "Fine! Very good! Are you determined not to go with me today?"
Lin Qin glared at him intensely, unabashed hatred in her eyes.
Liu Yongming understood and sneered, "Fine! You don't have to come with me! But I will definitely take the daughter with me today!"
As he spoke, he started to rush forward.
Lin Yi and Lin Qin immediately rushed to stop him, "Liu Yongming, you bastard, touch my daughter and I'll chop you to pieces with a cleaver!"
Liu Yongming was certain Lin Qin was only threatening him and paid it no mind.
Lin Qin indeed didn't dare, but she and Lin Yi might not be able to stop Liu Yongming, also worrying Liu Yaya might suffer further harm.
It was apparent that Lin Yi was losing his grip.
Resolutely, Lin Qin grabbed a machete from the kitchen, hacking wildly at Liu Yongming's bicycle, "I'll show you for trying to take my daughter, die, die, die..."
Liu Yongming changed colors at the sound, finally giving up on running to the backyard, turning around to dash out of the yard, "Lin Qin, you lunatic, put the machete down! Do you hear me!"
Seeing his beloved bicycle damaged, Liu Yongming's heart ached as if it were bleeding, wishing he could strangle Lin Qin.
Lin Qin glared at him with the cleaver raised, menacing, "Liu Yongming, I warn you, you dare harass us again, next time I won't stop at just your bike!"
Liu Yongming, terrified, snatched the bicycle away from beneath Lin Qin's machete and fled in panic.
The daughter and everything else, he couldn't remember now.
The villagers never expected Lin Qin and Liu Yongming's feud to escalate so severely, realizing the issue wasn't as simple as they thought, and nobody spread rumors anymore, all secretly paying attention to the Lin family's situation.
Li Lian knew after Lin Qin smashed Liu Yongming's bicycle with a machete that she was no longer the Lin Qin to be trifled with, didn't dare to visit casually, fearing provoking Lin Qin and getting chased.
Liu Yongming first went to the bicycle repair shop, where upon inspection, he found severe scratches on the bicycle, the chain broken, the handlebars bent, and brake issues.
He completely lost it.
Fang Yin was shocked upon hearing his recount, "Didn't you say that woman was submissive and easy to bully? Why does it now seem like that's not the case at all? What now? Can you still get divorced smoothly?"
Liu Yongming was equally vexed, "Don't worry, let me think, I will definitely reclaim today's humiliation!"
Fang Yin, too angry upon seeing him like that, ignored him.
Lin Qin felt her gloomy mood lift a bit after slapping Liu Yongming and wrecking his beloved bicycle.
Ever since they were discharged, Lin Yi noticed black fish started appearing in his kitchen again, predictably, one each day.
More convinced about his prior suspicions, he occasionally glanced at Lin Qin furtively, wanting to speak but holding back.
Lin Qin knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't explain, pretended not to know, and continued enjoying her fish soup and meat at ease every day.
Lin Yi could only concede, having observed for days without catching any noise from outside, the fish seemed to appear out of thin air.
Finally, biting the bullet, Lin Yi stayed in the kitchen overnight, catching a nap instead of returning to his room to sleep.
He finally caught Wenjun delivering the fish.
"Hahaha... I knew it was you, kid! Finally caught you this time!" Lin Yi was as excited as if he had won the lottery.
Wenjun was amused and helpless, "Uncle! The sky hasn't even brightened yet, you weren't seriously keeping watch here all night, were you?"
Lin Yi chuckled gleefully, "If I hadn't, how would I have caught you? You're such a slippery one! Don't bring us fish anymore, I feel bad continually eating yours! Later, come with me to the vegetable field and take some veggies back. Although you can grow veggies on the boat, you can't grow too many."
"Uncle, no need for all that trouble, it's just the two of us at home, we can't eat that much, what we grow is enough." Wenjun quickly declined.
Lin Yi's curiosity was piqued instantly, subtly probing into Wenjun's situation, "What do you mean by just the two of you, you and your wife?"
Wenjun quickly shook his head, "I also have a son about the same age as Yaya, the child has some difficulty moving and can only stay on the boat."
"What about your wife?"
"She left, thought life with me was too hard, left the kid and I have no idea where she went."
"You didn't check her family?"
Wenjun said with a self-deprecating tone, "They look down on me too! Snuck away in the night with a boat, they've long left Nanxi, gone is gone, I can raise the child alone, without relying on them!"
Lin Yi sighed sympathetically, "You've got it tough too, lucky there wasn't trouble last time, otherwise what would've happened to your kid? Be careful going out in the future, return before dark, it's messy outside! Don't give us any more money, Ah Qin and the girl have me, they won't go hungry!"
"I'll do as you say, Uncle." Wenjun readily agreed.
Lin Yi finally showed a bit of a smile.
Since dawn hadn't arrived, it was hard to see anything in the vegetable patch, Lin Yi promptly asked, "Do you have anything to attend to? If you do, go ahead first, later I'll pick the veggies and send them to you!"
Wenjun quickly shook his head, "No need, no need, Uncle, no need to be so polite, I'll wait for daylight! I just set some traps in the field and won't get in the way."
Lin Yi said nothing more, promptly started cooking, making Wenjun's breakfast as well.
In the backyard, Lin Qin vaguely heard Wenjun's voice, guessed he'd been caught by Lin Yi, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Seeing the sky brighten, with Liu Yaya still sleeping soundly beside her, she quietly walked out of the shed.
Wenjun was visibly excited seeing her come out, whispered in the dark, "Your father is cooking in the kitchen, how's Yaya these days?"
Lin Qin poured him a cup of water in the dark, "She's fine, recovering, can sleep flat these days. I wasn't sure, so I let her continue lying prone. The day we got out of the hospital, Liu Yongming came to cause trouble, insisted on taking Yaya. I chopped up his bicycle with a machete, and that's when he ran off."
Wenjun's smile faded instantly, his expression becoming more solemn, "With his nature, he won't let it rest, what if he brings the Liu family to make trouble?"
Lin Qin remained calm, "This is Shanglin Village, the Liu family wouldn't dare act rashly, we'll play it by ear."
Wenjun clenched his fists, in the darkness, Lin Qin didn't see his cold and heavy expression.