bookcurios Chapter 226 Killing the Cuckoo (41)
Chapter 226 Killing the Cuckoo (41)
When He Xiaolian exported the surveillance video from the memory card, she found that it not only captured Li Tingyi banging on the door late at night, violently snatching the camera, and threatening her and Bao'er to hand over their phones, but also recorded his words, which could be heard very clearly when the sound was amplified.
Bao'er's sister started editing the video overnight and added subtitles to it.
But after the video was edited, He Xiaolian was caught in a dilemma.
She was well aware of the attention this video would attract if it were released, and the threatening words Li Tingyi had said were enough for her to call the police.
At that point, not only will they not have to return the 200,000 yuan dowry, but the Li family might even have to pay out of their own pocket to settle the matter.
Without a doubt, she can also extricate herself from this marriage, which was calculated and conspiratorial from the very beginning.
But what follows could be even bigger trouble.
For example, her parents, who were already feeling guilty for spending the bride price, might blame her for making a big fuss and ruining their reputation. In that case, her situation at home, where she was already neglected, would become even more awkward.
For example, if Li Tingyi were pushed to the brink, would he stab her to death like in the news?
She needs to carefully consider whether or not to release the video.
He Xiaolian hesitated for a long time and couldn't make up her mind, so she simply called Yan Zhen.
When Yan Zhen received the call, he was wearing a bathrobe, comfortably reclining in a hotel rocking chair, sipping wine and watching a movie on the hotel's large LCD TV.
Upon learning that her husband was gay, had deceived her into marriage, and had cheated on her, she was "heartbroken" and left the Fang family. Not wanting to trouble the few friends she had, nor wanting to go to the Gao family, she checked into a hotel for temporary accommodation.
Once the call connected, He Xiaolian explained her current situation and concerns to Yan Zhen: "Sister Gao, what should I do?"
Yan Zhen gently swirled his wine glass: "Do you have any money on you?"
He Xiaolian, not understanding why, honestly replied, "I have 20,000 yuan in savings."
"Run."
He Xiaolian was taken aback: "Huh?"
“You’re still young, with all your limbs intact and a sharp mind. It won’t be difficult for you to find a job in a big city and support yourself,” Yan Zhen said. “If you stay in your hometown, you’ll have to worry about being retaliated against by Li Tingyi, and you’ll also have to worry about your parents stabbing you in the back. You’ll be attacked from all sides. Isn’t that exhausting?”
Even assuming you successfully resolve this matter, and your parents profit from it, effortlessly earning 200,000 yuan for your brother, can you guarantee they won't sell you out a second time? Falling twice in the same place isn't unusual, but giving the same person a second chance to push you into a pit—that's your own fault.
He Xiaolian was stunned.
In an instant, all the grievances she had suffered in the past surfaced in her mind.
From a young age, her parents favored her younger brother. In order to gain their attention, she tried her best to be well-behaved and obedient, volunteered to do housework, learned to kill fish at a young age, and went to the market to help her father look after the fish stall as soon as she got off school...
But her obedient and sensible nature didn't earn her her parents' heartache. Instead, on the night she finished her college entrance exam at the age of seventeen, they told her that their family's financial situation was not good and they could not continue to support her to go to university.
They persuaded her to take over the fish stall, arguing that "what's the use of a girl reading so many books?"
She felt wronged, but had no choice but to accept her fate. She started working from dawn till dusk to kill and sell fish, and the money she earned was used to build a two-story house for her family. However, she was only allocated a storage room on the top floor, which was not even a proper room.
Last year, she had an argument with her father over a trivial matter. Her father pointed his finger at her and yelled, "Get out of my house!" She replied, "I earned the money to build this house," and her father slapped her hard across the face.
The pain of being slapped was secondary; what she still remembers is the metaphor behind that slap.
To her parents and younger brother, she was a daughter, an older sister, and the breadwinner of the family, but not a "family member" who could share resources with them on an equal footing.
She was an "outsider" who would eventually get married.
Girls grow up without a home.
He Xiaolian snapped out of her daze, forcefully wiped away the tears streaming down her face, and her gaze hardened: "Sister Gao, I understand, thank you!"
After hanging up the phone, He Xiaolian turned to her sister Bao'er and said, "Edit the text and mention that my parents accepted 200,000 yuan in betrothal gifts from the Li family to buy a house for my brother, and that they couldn't return the betrothal gifts after I found out that Li Tingyi was gay. Let's release the video."
Bao'er said worriedly, "But if we do that, we won't be in the right to annul the engagement. Not only will Li Tingyi be scolded, but you, your parents, and your brother will also be scolded."
He Xiaolian looked relaxed: "It's okay. Li Tingyi is right. Both my family and his family are at fault in this matter. We should each take equal responsibility. I accept it."
Bao'er hesitated and said, "Aren't you afraid your parents will be angry if they find out? Especially your dad, he has such a bad temper, what if he hits you..."
"Don't worry," He Xiaolian said. "I'll go pack my things, and we'll leave after you send the video."
Bao'er quickly asked, "Where are you going?"
“I’m going to apply for a fish-cleaning job at RT-Mart,” He Xiaolian said half-jokingly. “Every penny I earn from now on will be my own. I don’t want to be held hostage by the identity of ‘daughter’ anymore.”
At five o'clock in the morning, the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
After posting the video, Bao'er and He Xiaolian, who had packed their things, took the earliest minibus to the city and quietly left the town.
*
It's seven o'clock in the morning.
Li Tingyi was awakened by urgent knocking on the door.
He opened his eyes to the doorknob being turned sharply by someone knocking on it. His father's voice was urgent and angry: "Li Tingyi, are you fucking asleep?! Get up! Something's happened!"
Li Tingyi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately threw off the covers and got out of bed.
Before he could even open the door, Li's father shoved his phone in front of him and cursed, "You son of a bitch, that bitch from the He family posted everything you said to them last night online."
Li Tingyi's heart skipped a beat.
He took the phone; the video had been posted at 5 a.m. and after two hours, it had gone viral, reaching over 10,000 views.
This is even though it's morning and many people are still asleep.
Li Tingyi only watched half of the video before tossing it back to his father and turning to find Bao'er's phone—he knew better than anyone what he had said in the half of the video he hadn't finished watching, and he needed to delete the video as soon as possible.
However, when they took out Bao'er's phone, they found that the owner had already enabled the lost function on the phone, making it unusable.
Li Tingyi stood barefoot in the room, feeling as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head.
Li's father was still cursing and swearing, cursing him for not handling the matter well, cursing He Xiaolian for being shameless and despicable, cursing the He family for being a den of snakes and rats that raised such a shameless daughter... Finally, he pointed at Li Tingyi and cursed him for being a scourge.
"If you hadn't insisted on messing around with men, none of this would have happened. Now the whole world knows you threatened He Xiaolian. What sins did I commit in my past life to raise such a scoundrel..."
Li Tingyi hadn't slept well last night, and his father's repeated use of the term "rabbit god" enraged him. He suddenly raised his head and roared at his father at the top of his lungs, "Shut the hell up!!!"