Li Chunhua felt her sister's suspicious gaze on her. so she quickly stood up from her seat. "I-I'm going to the restroom!"

After she left, Li Caiyi was left behind with Shao Jingfei and Dai Zhiqiang. None of them said a word for a good minute.

If it was only Dai Zhiqiang, she wouldn't be surprised, but Shao Jingfei was usually a chatterbox. He looked deep in thought. It was rare to see him so quiet.

'I guess what happened to his father got to him, despite him trying not to show any attachment to his family.'

"Uhm, Jingfei? Are you sure you want to stay here?" Li Caiyi asked carefully after much consideration.

Shao Jingfei chuckled. "Hm? Do you not like it when I'm here?"

"Of course not! But your father is still unconscious. Don't you want to wait on him with your brother?"

And Li Caiyi had a feeling that Shao Junfei had something to say to Shao Jingfei too. Although she hadn't the foggiest idea what that was.

"No. I don't think he needs me to look after him." Shao Jingfei simply replied before changing the topic. "But of course, you want to get rid of me with your boyfriend here. Sorry for failing to read the mood."

"What kind of person do you think I am? I was just concerned." Li Caiyi pouted.

"Oops, did my joke upset you? Sorry about that. Of course, I know you weren't deliberately chasing me away."

Even in this situation, he joked around as if nothing happened. Li Caiyi couldn't blame him for behaving like that, though. His position as an illegitimate child in the Shao house must be more complicated than she thought.

"Hey! Stop there! I won't forgive you if you disturb her!"

There were loud noises from outside the room. It sounded like two people fighting.

"Isn't that Chunhua's voice? She really has a knack for getting into trouble." Shao Jingfei sighed. "Wait, let me check the situation."

However, he didn't have to do that, because, at the next moment, Meng Shuchun went inside the room with a furious expression. Her eyes met Li Caiyi, and she strode towards her immediately. The clicking noise of her high heels was like the footsteps of a warden who planned to drag their prisoners back to the cell.

A lot of people came to visit her today. Since when did she become so popular?

From Meng Shuchun's hostility, Li Caiyi could already tell that this wouldn't end well. It was her face when she came to seek trouble with her.

Following behind her was Li Chunhua, who looked worried for her.

Li Caiyi prepared herself before asking, "Shuchun, what are you doing here?"

SLAP!

Before anyone could react, Meng Shuchun swung her hand and gave Li Caiyi a fierce slap. Everyone, especially Li Caiyi, was so shocked by that unexpected attack they couldn't react.

"I can't believe this. How can you be fine and kicking while my brother is suffering? This is hilarious," Meng Shuchun's voice was shaking, but the seething anger lurking under it was so palpable. She glared at Li Caiyi resentfully.

"Meng Shuchun, have you gone crazy now?! Who are you to cause trouble here and slap my sister like that?!" Li Chunhua was about to pounce on her but was stopped by Shao Jingfei.

"Ah! Let go! Let me go, I said!"

"Whoa, don't vent your anger on me! Chunhua, I know your feelings but don't make this situation worse!"

Li Caiyi's cheek felt hot. This reminded her a lot of the past when Meng Shuchun would slap her whenever she tried to stop her from taking her things. The arrogance and that pompous attitude she had, were no different from that time.

Thinking about those memories somehow calmed her down. Li Caiyi caressed her burning cheek before shooting a cold glance at Meng Shuchun, who looked ready to launch her second attack.

"Apologize to me."

"What?" Meng Shuchun seemed like she couldn't believe what she had just said.

"I said to apologize to me, and to everyone else who has to see this ugly scene you caused."

"Ha! Did I hit you too hard? Is it strong enough to make your almost non-existent brain fly out the window? I see you finally lost it. Shouldn't you be the one who apologizes for making my brother reduced into that state?!"

"Why should I? I'm not the one who beat him to a pulp. And even if I want to apologize, I don't see why I should apologize to you, and not your brother. Meng Shuchun, did you leave your brain somewhere before you came here?"

"Y-You! How dare you talk back to me?!" Meng Shuchun raised her voice in a fit of anger.

Li Caiyi had always been the easier one to deal with out of the twins. She would cower and give a way for her if she pushed her around a bit.

Meng Shuchun did notice that Li Caiyi seemed to change from their short interaction at Meng Renshu's coming-of-age party, but she thought she could act like that only because Qing Xiangjun was there. Meng Shuchun couldn't unleash her true authority when her mother was watching her.

"I always know you are rude and arrogant, but you reached a new low today. Do you take this place as a market where you can scold other people as you please? I can't believe the only daughter of the prestigious Meng family could behave like this. How embarrassing."

"Shut up! My brother got hurt because of you, and I can't forgive you for that!"

Li Caiyi scoffed. "You should at least get your facts straight before accusing someone, lest you invite embarrassment for yourself. Brother Renshu got hurt while trying to defend me, that's why I put my life on the line to save him. Not that I'm proud of it, but I take that we are even with this. I didn't owe your brother anything."

This meant that Meng Shuchun's action of demanding an apology was nothing more than an unreasonable act of a spoiled kid.historical

"You are finally showing your true color. As expected, you are just a parasite trying to take advantage of my silly big brother. How can you say that when my brother is still unconscious? You ungrateful bitch!"

Meng Shuchun raised her arm again, but this time, Li Caiyi caught her hand before it landed on her face.

With an alarmingly low voice, Li Caiyi said to her, "I'm getting bored hearing the same thing over and over. You always say that whenever you have run out of things you can say. Do you think people are as dumb as you to see how ridiculous you are right now? Stop embarrassing yourself, I can't even pity you because you brought this upon yourself."

Meng Shuchun's face turned red in a mixture of anger and shame, especially after she noticed how people stared at her like they were staring at a monkey in a zoo. The atmosphere was unfavorable for her.

While shooting daggers from her eyes, she roughly pried her hands off of her. "Don't think this is the end."

Then, she stormed out of the room with those noisy clicking sounds of her heels. Li Caiyi heaved a sigh of relief once the peace returned to the room.

"Xiaoyi! Are you alright?" Li Chunhua pushed Shao Jingfei away and approached her sister. She scowled in anger when she saw how her cheek had badly swollen. "Meng Shuchun, that brute! Just how much strength did she put into making it look like this?!"

Li Caiyi laughed. "I'm fine. This is nothing compared to the usual."

"What do you usually mean?! Has she ever slapped you before this?!"

"Ah no, I mean the usual wound I got. You know I'm clumsy and hurt myself a lot." Li Caiyi quickly corrected herself.

Meng Shuchun was two years younger than the twins, but she liked to talk down to them.

Li Caiyi and Li Chunhua didn't have a good impression of her. They would always fight whenever they came across each other. Meng Shuchun loved to show off her superiority, and Li Chunhua refused to buy any of it. Li Caiyi would often find herself dragged involuntarily into their fight.

However, Meng Shuchun's anger was directed only at her. Considering what happened to Meng Renshu, she should have seen this coming.

While Li Chunhua made a fuss about how she would get back at Meng Shuchun for this, Li Caiyi glanced at Dai Zhiqiang, who seemed awfully quiet since a while ago. He still had that brooding look on his face.

'Is he still blaming himself?'