"That's wonderful."
Ye Xiao's face bore a smile that hid all her achievements and fame, the setting sun casting on her face like a beautiful painting.
She had suffered from insomnia last night, the first in thousands she couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning restlessly, she decided to go out for a walk, only to find Li Ergou humming a tune while urinating by the roadside. Upon seeing her, he didn't bother to pull up his trousers; instead, he shook himself deliberately.
Thinking that it was now a civilized society, how could she allow such village-disturbing behavior to happen? As a member of Three Bulls Village, she felt obliged to teach Li Ergou a lesson in humanity.
So, without another word, she picked up Li Ergou and slammed him onto the newly paved concrete road in the village, and pummeled him with her fists. Li Ergou cried for his daddy and mommy, but he forgot his mommy had died of anger because of him, and his daddy had been killed by him; no matter how much he cried, it was useless.
Although Li Ergou appeared to be bulky and strong, he couldn't take a beating at all. After just a few punches, the "system" issued a warning, and she had to stop. However, the entire episode was witnessed by Grandma Li's dog, Da Huang, likely leaving it with a canine trauma.
"Mom, stop being stubborn. That child isn't even my own, it's all because of that nurse who switched two babies, making our Yingying suffer with that child's parents. We have no obligation to keep raising someone else's child, and her parents want to take her back too," said Li Yuee with a harsh voice, as Ye Xiao neared her home.
Ye Xiao hadn't yet entered the door when she heard the woman's mean voice, and her gaze immediately turned icy cold.
"No way, you don't know how hard Xiao Xiao's biological parents have it. Above her, there are five lazy brothers; Xiao Xiao would definitely suffer with them," insisted Grandma Li.
Ye Xiao's expression softened a bit when she heard this. Standing outside the mottled wooden door, she hooked her lip in a sneering smile and pushed the door open with a snake skin bag in tow.
The woman inside suddenly turned around, revealing a terrified look. When she saw the girl smiling sweetly at her, her soul shivered, as if she had seen something horrifying.
"Xiao Xiao is back, why are you picking up trash again?"
The old lady on the rocking chair, her hair white as snow, looked at Ye Xiao tenderly.
"Grandma, there are simply too many people littering nowadays. Everywhere you look there are signs about waste sorting, but they all turn a blind eye. I couldn't stand it and gave them a 'friendly education', and while at it, I sorted the scattered trash into the right bins and brought the recyclables back home so we can take them to the recycling collection station later," explained Ye Xiao sweetly, her face the picture of docility—a far cry from the icy demeanor she showed just outside.
The people she referred to as litterers were trembling in a dirty, smelly trash can, having not dared to come out for an hour, nor did they dare to call the police, because they didn't know if the Devil who had stuffed them into the trash can had left yet.
"Xiao Xiao is truly a kind and thoughtful child," praised Grandma Li as she reached out her aged hand to gently touch the docile Ye Xiao by her side.
Jian Ru looked at Ye Xiao, her eyes filled with fear, since she alone knew the girl's true nature. This child was the Devil, yet she possessed an innocent, pure face; no one would ever associate her with anything sinister.
"Mom, look at her, what a state she's in, even going out to pick up trash. And I send you ten thousand yuan every month; in a small village like this, it's more than enough. Anyone not knowing better would think I, as your daughter-in-law, was mistreating you," complained Jian Ru, looking at the corner of the room filled with sorted recyclables, turning the house almost into a half recycling station.