Zhao Hua didn't get to finish speaking when loudspeakers blared, broadcasting the voices of the Lin Family couple.
"If it weren't for the baby swap that year, what business would Lin Anning have with this? This marriage was meant to be yours in the first place. We intended to let Ma San ruin her reputation so that the Huo Family would naturally let you take her place, but Ma San botched it."
"Don't worry, when the birthday comes, the Huo Family will surely send someone. By then, mother will have Lin Anning embarrass herself in front of the Huo family. Humph, Old Master Huo wouldn't want a 'worn-out shoe' for a granddaughter-in-law, right?"
"Even the choice of who you're to marry has been decided by mother."
"Among Old Master Huo's grandchildren, there are just a few lads. The oldest is capable but wild, and you can't tame him."
"The youngest may be a college student, but he's disabled in both legs, not worthy of my Jiaojiao."
"That leaves Huo Wenchang as the only suitable one. He looks decent, and his mother holds sway in the Huo Family, you won't be short of benefits."
"Once you make them happy and get into the cultural troupe, mother can then live off your fortunes."
"As for Lin Anning, her ruined reputation, whether she lives or dies, has nothing to do with us…"
"Humph, if she helps you secure this marriage, it will be her way of repaying our kindness in raising her."
The look in everyone's eyes towards Lin Jianguo and Zhao Hua was full of contempt.
They thought the couple was merely biased, but now it seemed they were intent on destroying Lin Anning.
To say she's a person, no, even a dog raised for over ten years wouldn't be treated so cruelly!
Zhao Hua and Lin Jianguo turned pale, indeed, those words had come from them.
But why had it been recorded and played over the loudspeakers?
Huo Yang trembled all over, pointing at Zhao Hua and Lin Jianguo and cursing loudly.
"I knew you two were up to no good, but for the sake of your father, I've left you some face over the years."
"When your father passed, I said that with such a good child as Anning, if you didn't want to raise her, I would take her back to Beijing."
"You swore to the heavens that you would treat her well. Is this your idea of 'well'?"
"Stealing her marriage prospect and trying to damage her reputation, you're worse than beasts."
"I'm laying it out today; aside from Anning, the Huo Family wants none of you."
This statement dashed Su Jiaojiao's hopes of marrying into the Huo Family.
After so much plotting, to end up with nothing and even offend Old Master Huo.
Zhao Hua collapsed to the ground, powerless.
Ren Jing, limping, had just managed to squeeze out from the crowd.
Seeing the distraught Huo Wenchang, she gritted her teeth.
"Wenchang, you came with good intentions to celebrate Anning's birthday, and you got schemed against today too, didn't you?"
Then she glared fiercely at Zhao Hua, a good-for-nothing troublemaker.
With that reminder, Huo Wenchang snapped back to reality.
"Yes, Grandpa, Anning and I had agreed, after her birthday, we would get married…"
Before he could finish, Huo Yang kicked him away.
"Shameless scum, after causing such a disgrace, you still have the nerve to talk about marrying Anning?"
"Get out of my sight, don't disgust me."
Huo Wenchang stumbled downstairs, with Ren Jing wrapping her arms around him, full of pity.
"Tsk, the Lin Family couple are really something, ruining the girl they raised for over ten years!"
"Indeed, how did Glory Lane produce such a conscienceless family? Poor Anning, who knows how much she suffered behind the scenes. Did you see the marks on her face? They've never healed, who knows how they've been tormenting the girl at home."
"Exactly! Not long ago, Zhao Hua was dragging us to say how that big girl is ignorant and disobedient, as if she was trying to foreshadow excuses to us!"
Hearing the crowd's remarks, Zhao Hua came back to her senses.
"Old Master, the embarrassment caused by Jiaojiao and Wenchang today, it's all Lin Anning's doing."
"Don't be fooled by her, she's no good."
"She hadn't been back long before she got involved with the local ruffians here, she's nothing but a 'worn-out shoe'…"
Suddenly, the outdoor tables were overturned, dishes and plates shattered on the ground.
A young man dressed in a white shirt and black trousers walked in, towering at well over 180 cm.
With a closely cropped crew cut and features carrying sharp angles.
His eyes held a layer of coldness, his lips curled into a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes.
He held a file folder in one hand and rolled up the sleeve of his white shirt with the other.
"Break what? I didn't hear you clearly just now!"
Zhao Hua saw him and couldn't help but shudder.
The most terrifying person in the Huo Family was not the old master but this Huo Shen, who did not play by the rules.
He was the eldest among the grandchildren and had been orphaned since childhood.
The old master couldn't control him and would get a headache just at the mention of him.
He was a capable man nonetheless, having joined the military in his teens and made a name for himself through his own efforts.
After the old master stepped back, the Huo Family's affairs, big and small, all depended on this fierce god.
"Huo, Huo Shen, I, I am your aunt!"
Huo Shen stood firm, his eyes filled with a malicious intent as he raised his eyebrows slightly as if he heard the world's biggest joke.
His tone was cold and hard, without a trace of cordiality.
"What right do you have to call yourself my aunt? Where is she?"
"What?"
Huo Shen, running out of patience, took big steps upstairs, stepped over Su Jiaojiao on the ground, and headed straight for Lin Anning's room.
He raised his hand and knocked gently, softening his voice.
"I'm here, don't be afraid, open the door!"
There wasn't a sound from within the room, and everyone came to their senses, realizing they hadn't heard any crying from inside for a while.
Huo Shen frowned slightly and tried pushing the door.
"Open the door."
Still no response, his expression changed, and he lifted his foot.
Bang, the door and the cabinet behind it were kicked over.
He walked into the room to find it empty.
The window was wide open, with the night breeze bringing in the fragrant scent of gardenias.
Huo Shen walked to the window, propped himself up with one hand, and jumped down.
"Where, where is she?"
Huo Yang, hearing the commotion, rushed in, and seeing that both were gone, he became anxious as well.
"What are you waiting for? Go look for them, now!"
With a flurry of orders, everyone started to leave the house to help search for her.
Nie Dazui, having heard the noise at home and learning that Lin Anning had disappeared, was beyond distressed.
She let her husband and daughter help search while she, despite her poor health, stood at the Lin Family's doorstep and cursed loudly.
"Zhao Hua, you're truly despicable. How could you harm such a wonderful girl to death like this?"
"I live right next door to you, I can testify that since that girl came back, she hardly ever left the house."
"Anning is a good comrade; she even helped me, the aunt who spoke ill of her. I was blinded by lard to have helped you bully her."
"If anything happens to Anning, your whole family will not die a good death."
Toward the end, her voice began to choke up.
"I haven't had the chance to thank you! Please, don't let anything happen to you..."
——————
After Lin Anning blasted the loudspeaker, she jumped down from the second floor.
She took her luggage and ran out of the alley, hopped on a tricycle she'd hired early in the morning, and arrived at the train station.
Before entering the station, she found a deserted spot, smeared her face with a handful of soot, and in this way, her original appearance was no longer recognizable.
From this day on, she was free.
She would leave the mess of the Lin Family for them to clean up!
Following the distant sound of a train horn, she blended into the flow of people and entered the station.
After finding her seat and sitting down, she took out a pitch-black coat, draped it over her head to cover herself, and fell asleep snugly in the corner of her seat.