Chapter 439: I

mayiwsk

"Who the hell are you calling your father? Who the hell are you calling your father?"

"Ten years ago, when you whipped my mother and us three with a whip, did you think you were our father?"

"Ten years ago, when you called us money-losing trash and refused to feed us, did you think you were our father?"

"Ten years ago, when you threw my mother and us three out of the house, you stripped off our cotton coats and pants—I and my sister walked out in thin clothes and bare feet in the dead of winter—did you think you were our father?"

"Now that you see we're doing well, you come crawling back to claim us, two money-losing trash. Do you even have the face for it? Are you here to claim us, or are you here to claim our money?"

"You're talking nonsense. Who ever heard of a father disowning his own daughter? You dare say that without fearing thunder and lightning?"

Bi Hongwei, lying on the ground, was scolded by the tiny Li Ying, his face turning bright red as he stammered in desperate protest.

But little sister Li Ying, once she had the upper hand, wouldn't let up, shaking her mink coat: "Five years ago, our clothes were patched from head to toe—where were you then?"

"Now that we're wearing clothes worth over a hundred yuan, you show up to play father? Don't argue—you're just a greedy bastard who abandoned his wife and daughters."

"When we couldn't even scrape together school fees, you vanished—now that my sister got into university, you come to pick up the easy fruit. The movie you watched the other day, 'Spring Goes, Spring Returns,' was about you."

Li Ye watched Li Ying spit out all that without pausing for breath, realizing he'd seriously underestimated his little sister.

Just that outburst—clear diction, sharp logic, every sentence a precise indictment of Bi Hongwei's crimes—ending with a reference to the movie 'Spring Goes, Spring Returns.'

Especially that last line, pulling everyone present into the story of 'Huaihua' and 'Chun'—

No one needed to think hard to judge Bi Hongwei's character—he was just a money-crazed leech who came down the mountain to steal peaches, shameless and greedy.

"Enough, let's go. Ignore him."

Li Ye grabbed Li Ying's arm and dragged the stubborn little girl away—if he hadn't, she might've kept going for half an hour, leaving Bi Hongwei on the ground, humiliated and desperate to die.

Li Juan was furious too, but her tongue couldn't match her sister's—she could only stand by, glaring and fuming—until Li Ye coaxed her away, and she reluctantly turned to leave.

But Li Ye never expected that humiliation could not only destroy a man's dignity—it could also drive him mad.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Li Ye had taken only two steps when he heard Bi Hongwei roar behind him.

He turned—and saw Bi Hongwei scrambling to his feet, eyes bloodshot, charging forward with a guttural scream.

"I'll fight you rich bastards to the death! I'll fight you! Waaahhh! You rich people are too cruel!"

"Fine! I'll oblige you!"

Li Ye loved fighting enraged bosses—they dropped better loot.

So when Bi Hongwei charged, Li Ye stepped forward without hesitation.

Impulse is the devil.

Bi Hongwei's impulse lasted one second—then he was pounded by Li Ye's fists, taking blow after blow, face smeared with dirt, utterly humiliated.

Li Ye punched for a few seconds, then got hauled off to the police station, where he endured hours of questioning, finally being picked up by Li Kaibian, face grim.

Back home, Li Ye was instantly on guard, eyes fixed on Li Kaibian's hands.

If Li Kaibian so much as reached for his belt, Li Ye would bolt—his adoptive father wouldn't catch him.

But Li Kaibian, face dark, stormed in and cursed: "You've been to school for years—how the hell did your fists get so weak? You hit him too lightly, damn it!"

"Xiao Ye, back? Wash up, dinner's ready. Chunmei, reheat the food."

Grandma spotted Li Ye and hurriedly told Han Chunmei to heat up his meal in the kitchen.

Han Chunmei stepped out, head down, and only raised her eyes as she passed Li Ye—offering a painfully awkward smile.

Li Ye beamed instantly, smiling as he said: "Mom, it's fine."

Han Chunmei froze—stunned for a full ten seconds—then lowered her head again and hurried into the kitchen.

Li Kaibian was equally stunned—Li Ye almost never called Han Chunmei "Mom." When he did, it was only under extraordinary circumstances.

"Did you get possessed today?"

Li Ye slowly shook his head, nodding toward the kitchen: "Has that guy been coming around lately?"

Li Ye had reason to suspect—when he first returned, Grandma Wu Juying mentioned someone borrowing money, and he'd noticed Han Chunmei's grim expression. Now, with today's events, the connection was clear.

In his future life, he'd seen enough rotten behavior—people didn't care about face or reputation; for money, they'd do anything, even if someone called them a coward.

But Li Kaibian's eyes narrowed sharply: "He dares? If he even shows his face here, do you think you'd have to lift a finger? I'd have split him open long ago. He only dares bother your two sisters."

Li Ye instantly understood.

In the 1980s, public opinion still mattered deeply. Bi Hongwei could at most speak to Li Juan and Li Ying—they shared blood, and folk customs turned a blind eye.

But if he dared approach Han Chunmei, that was seducing another man's wife—something that could get him killed.

That night's dinner was especially lavish—as if Li Ye, having spent time in the police station, needed to rebuild his stomach.

Back then, anyone who'd been detained came out like a starving ghost reborn—families always spoiled them extra.

Even though Li Ye had only gone hungry for an hour.

After dinner, Li Kaibian had to report for duty at the factory—during holidays, key staff had to lead by example and ensure safety. As workshop director and senior Party member, he had to show more dedication than ordinary workers.

Han Chunmei took her two daughters to bed.

But Li Ye, who thought the day was over, was called back by his grandfather and grandmother.

Li Zhongfa said sternly: "Why were you so reckless? You just went straight for him?"

Li Ye replied: "I didn't just attack him—he provoked my sisters first, then the argument escalated—he was the one who threw the first punch. How is it wrong for me to hit him back?"

"You didn't do wrong—but now that you hit him…"

Grandma pointed to Han Chunmei's room: "She'll start overthinking again. She's lost weight these past days."

Li Ye frowned: "What's she overthinking? What does this have to do with her? What's she thinking?"

Wu Juying sighed: "She feels guilty—like it's her fault your father showed up. When she first came in, it was fine—but now that we've gotten rich, and these two incidents happened…"

"Her heart's too small, too soft. She can't hold onto anything. She thinks all this trouble is her fault."

Li Ye thought for a moment, then said: "Then you'll just have to take extra care, Grandma. Men can't talk sense into this kind of thing."

"Do you think I need you to tell me?" Wu Juying snorted. "I just feel sorry for this daughter-in-law. What's the world coming to? Why do such shameless creatures keep appearing?"

You haven't even seen what the future holds—that's what real eye-opening is!

Li Ye returned to his room, collapsed into bed, and slept restlessly. When he got up to urinate, he faintly heard movement from the west wing.

He listened closely—confirmed: someone was speaking in Han Chunmei's room.

Only the deep silence of night, combined with Li Ye's superior hearing, made it audible.

He hadn't wanted to eavesdrop—but once back in bed, sleep wouldn't come. So he got up, slipped over quietly, and just caught Li Ying whispering to Han Chunmei.

"Mom, stop crying! Dad won't blame you—we left Bi Village over ten years ago. How could we still have ties?"

"Who'd believe that?" Han Chunmei sobbed. "When we first came to the Li family, people said we climbed the social ladder. Now they say…"

"Mom, ignore those gossiping hags—they're just jealous of our good fortune. And back then, what choice did we have? Who else would take us, three women?"

Li Ye hadn't known—others had been spreading rumors about Han Chunmei. Of course, envy was everywhere.

In decades to come, Li Kaibian and Han Chunmei's union might've looked like social climbing—after all, a forty-something man with two kids might still find an unmarried girl.

But in the 70s and 80s? Any girl marrying Li Kaibian would've been laughed out of town—even if Li Zhongfa was a bureau chief.

So for a man with sons and daughters like Li Kaibian to marry Han Chunmei—a woman with two girls—wasn't strange at all. Especially since she was ten years younger than him, and stunningly beautiful.

Men never grow up. Li Kaibian married Han Chunmei because of her beauty—that was decisive.

So by the social standards of the 70s and 80s, Han Chunmei marrying Li Kaibian wasn't social climbing.

But now that the Li family had become rich? Everything changed.

Li Juan snapped: "Enough! Stop saying useless things. If you hadn't screamed at him like that today, how would your brother have ended up in the police station? You had your fun."

"You don't get it," Li Ying snapped back. "I was drawing a line—cutting ties with our past. If we hadn't made a scene now, he'd never stop coming back. Then we'd be covered in shit—and you think you could explain it away?"

Li Ye, eavesdropping, was stunned.

His little sister was only in her teens, and she understood all this?

(End of Chapter)