SC Chapter 20

Yun Muye took the tissue that Yun Shang had handed him and wiped his tears.

“Yun Shang, why are you still here so late?” Yun Muye asked as he looked at his cousin.

“I told you,” Yun Shang replied, pointing at Yun Muye with a suddenly earnest expression in his eyes, “I have superpowers.”

That cousin of Yun Muye was peculiar—even as a child he had insisted to the adults that he possessed superpowers. At first, they dismissed it as the wild nonsense of a kid who’d seen too many fantasy films.

But as time went on, Yun Shang would always offer comfort whenever someone was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Whenever people asked how he sensed their feelings, he would simply answer, “I have superpowers.”

In time, even though few truly believed him, everyone grew fond of him. Yun Muye was no exception. When the little bear his aunt had given him went missing and he searched for it for what felt like an eternity—just when he was about to break down in tears—Yun Shang appeared once more. With a gentle, compassionate look in his eyes, he held the little bear in his hand.

There was also the time when Yun Muye and Yun Shang were having fun at an amusement park. While they were enjoying themselves, Yun Muye carefully nudged Yun Shang, only for Yun Shang to suddenly fall, scraping his skin in several places. Yet Yun Shang didn’t scold him—instead, he treated him even more kindly afterward, not even demanding much in compensation. This only made Yun Muye like his cousin even more, and he vowed from that moment on to always treat him with genuine kindness.

Yun Shang then sat beside Yun Duanyue, silently staring at the inconsolably crying girl. With a choked voice, Yun Duanyue managed to say, “Yun Shang… my mom and my dad…”

“Shh,” Yun Shang whispered, pressing his index finger to his lips as he looked at her with concern.

“I know what happened, but for now—close your eyes, alright? Let me perform a little magic on you.” His eyes took on a hint of mischief as he interlaced his fingers, as if he were about to pull off a trick at any moment.

Trusting him completely, Yun Duanyue and Yun Muye exchanged a glance before slowly closing their eyes. The moment they did, Yun Shang’s expression darkened as he cast a disdainful look over the siblings.

“Listen to me, calm down,” he said while taking out his phone and opening the top-pinned WeChat conversation with Yang Qiu. “Don’t be afraid; just consider what just happened as if it were a dream.” After typing his message and carefully placing a period at the end, he sent it off.

“Have you ever wondered what if what you saw was nothing more than the disguise of a fool?”

Yun Shang’s little “magic” worked its charm—both of them felt significantly better.

When they arrived home, everything had returned to its usual state. Yang Qiu, too, had calmed down; she sat at the table absorbed in her phone, though the spilled soy sauce on the side still lay uncleaned.

“You’re back. Did little Shang go and comfort you just now?” Yang Qiu said, placing a pudding beside Yun Muye.

Yun Muye stared at the bouncy pudding for a moment before taking a spoonful. It wasn’t sweet… in fact, it had no sweetness at all.

“You see, some people just don’t have a shred of emotion in their hearts.” With that, Yang Qiu cast her gaze toward the door of Yun Jun’s room.

Seeing her like that, Yun Muye grew anxious. “Mom, what on earth is wrong with you today?”

Yang Qiu didn’t reply; she simply looked out the window, cool and unruffled.

“I recall that upstairs lives a top student—just like our Muye—and I don’t want to disturb his peace,” she said as she moved toward the kitchen.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yun Muye grabbed Yun Duanyue’s hand and ran back to his own room, promptly locking the door behind them.

Carefully, Yun Duanyue crept around Yun Muye and peered through the peephole—

There, Yang Qiu had tied her long hair high on her head. Her eyes looked terrifying—like that of a puppet utterly devoid of reason—and her gaze was fixed unblinkingly as she clutched a rusty kitchen knife in her hand!

“Ahhhh!” Yun Duanyue nearly fell over.

“What’s wrong?” asked Yun Muye.

Trembling, Yun Duanyue pointed at the door, unable to speak, and collapsed into Yun Muye’s arms, unable to believe what she had just seen.

The door wasn’t soundproof at all, and the muffled voices outside came through clearly.

“Muye, Duanyue, let me tell you a story,” a voice began.

“I once sacrificed someone for Yun Jun—and even gave birth to you both—but now, I regret it…”

“It isn’t that your mom dislikes you—it’s your father!” Yang Qiu roared, her voice like that of an enraged lion as she lifted the knife-holding hand to her chest.

“Your father! He has another woman out there! Another woman! In fact… he even arranged for her a month ago!”

“Hahaha! All these years, I’ve toiled without complaint, serving that old man—and what did I get in return?”

“He hid it so well, keeping everyone in the dark! If it weren’t for your cousin Yun Shang, I would have never known!”

Bloodshot and wild, Yang Qiu’s eyes made her look anything but normal. Yun Muye reached for his phone to call the police, but couldn’t find it—until he suddenly remembered it was still on the dining table!

“Muye, you’re such a good kid; I won’t drag you into this,” Yang Qiu managed to force a smile. “Everything is my fault. Don’t open the door—Mom will always love you.” With that, she tossed the knife aside and strode alone toward Yun Jun’s room.

“Mom! Don’t do something stupid! / Mom!” cried Yun Muye and Yun Duanyue together.

“Hey! What are you doing?” came a voice from within.

“Yang Qiu! You’re crazy! Haven’t we spoiled you too much!”

After a moment of inner turmoil, Yun Muye finally pushed the door open—allowing Yun Duanyue to remain safely inside.

Anxiously, Yun Muye pounded on Yun Jun’s door, “Mom! Open the door! I beg you! Open the door!”

Inside the fourth-floor apartment, the sound of the heated argument downstairs was unbearably loud. A refined-looking woman, holding a cup of black tea, angrily slammed her window shut.

“Oh… I remember there’s a top student living downstairs. I was even going to ask him to tutor you—but never mind, consider it a good deed on my part. Sirong, call the police,” the woman said as she glanced at the young man beside her.

“Huh? Why are you crying? Sirong? Sirong, what’s wrong with you?”

Duan Sirong covered his eyes, choking as he whispered, “The noise… is too loud…”

By the time the police arrived at Yun Muye’s home, the intense argument was in full swing. Yun Muye muttered to himself while clutching his phone, and Yun Duanyue, sobbing uncontrollably, clung to him. The scene was utterly tragic.

Looking up as if he’d seen a lifeline, Yun Muye cried out, “Uncle! The room! The room!”

The police burst through the not-so-sturdy door, shouting, “Police! Don’t move! Hands up!”

Inside, the two were entangled in a vicious struggle—pulling at each other’s hair with droplets of blood falling to the floor, accompanied by a pungent odor.

Officer Chen Li was dumbfounded by the scene. The pair had been fighting fiercely with nothing but their bare hands for fifteen minutes.

But…

Several officers rushed in to pry their hands apart. Yang Qiu’s appearance was downright terrifying, yet in the midst of this near-chaos, the very first thing she cried out as she was pulled away was, “Comrade! This matter has nothing to do with my son or daughter! It was he who betrayed me first, so I—”

“Enough!” roared Chen Li. In truth, his shout was also meant to protect Yang Qiu—especially since the man behind her glowered at her with a fierce, sinister look, leaving no doubt he might do something outrageous.

Rubbing his forehead, Chen Li continued, “We’ll discuss this further at the station. Take her away!”

As Yang Qiu passed by, Chen Li’s eyes shone with admiration for the mother’s strength and courage—but his treatment of Yun Jun was entirely different. That man showed no remorse at all; he even wanted to settle the matter with money. He was practically unworthy of being called human.

After the two were ushered into a police car and driven away from the residential area, Chen Li turned to look at the two siblings huddled in a corner, clearly terrified by what they’d just witnessed.

Kneeling down, he gently patted their heads. “Don’t be afraid; your mom will be back soon.”

“You two… also come with me for questioning.”

In the interrogation room, Yun Muye answered the police’s questions truthfully. At first, he responded accurately, but when they asked one final question, he hesitated.

“How do your parents treat you and your sister?”

For a moment, Yun Muye didn’t know how to answer. Clutching his pants in helplessness, he finally replied, “My dad doesn’t really like my sister, though sometimes he’ll put a few peeled shrimp in her bowl.”

The police asked, “Can you explain why he doesn’t like her?”

Yun Muye continued, “My sister was born out of an accident. We had to spend a lot of money to have her, and my dad—being so money-minded and a bit biased towards boys….”

The officers furrowed their brows, astonished that such family issues still existed today.

“But… but… my mom is so good to us!”

“My mom treats us equally! She never respects that old family notion that ‘the elder should yield to the younger.’ Mom must have been forced into doing what she did.” Yun Muye’s words grew passionate, as he feared the police might misunderstand him.

“So! If you’re going to question anyone, then question my dad—don’t question my mom!”

The police’s eyes trembled slightly, as if they suspected that on the other side, Yang Qiu was saying the very same thing.

In another interrogation room, Yang Qiu herself declared, “None of this has anything to do with my son or daughter! If you want to question someone, then question me and Yun Jun—don’t question them!”