"And what if you add me to the equation?" Yu Mingxiang chuckled, well aware that Hao Jian was someone he couldn't afford to provoke, as he had no intention of letting Yu Zhixun's foolishness drag their whole family into trouble.
Yu Zhixun was suddenly stunned. He wasn't afraid of facing Yu Xiatang alone, but if Yu Mingxiang stood on Yu Xiatang's side, then the outcome would certainly be different.
"Fine, fine, fine, you're all wonderful."
Yu Zhixun gloomily gave Yu Xiatang and Yu Mingxiang a thumbs up and then huffed angrily as he stormed away.
"It's hard to imagine that Second Uncle, always known for his cunning and restraint, would throw a tantrum in front of Hao Jian like a spoilt child," Yu Jiayi shook her head, her heart utterly shocked.
"It's not that surprising, because that guy truly has the power to drive people insane."
Today was the day Hao Jian had classes at the Chinese Medicine Hospital. After breakfast, he left in his car with the little girl, Tongtong, escorting him.
But no sooner had he arrived at the school than he saw Qin Bing and a man in his forties tussling with each other.
The man was dressed in tattered, shabby clothes, much like a vagrant on the street.
"You can go. I'm not going to give you money anymore," Qin Bing said with a cold face.
"You're not giving me money? If you don't, I'll go to your hospital and school and make a scene. I suppose you don't want others to know you have a gambling-addict brother, do you?" the man shamelessly threatened.
"You... you dare to threaten me?"
As soon as she heard this, Qin Bing's pretty face frosted over, clearly enraged by his shamelessness.
"I don't want to, but you have to give me money. Before they died, our parents told me to take care of you, and I did. Now that you've made something of yourself, shouldn't it be your turn to look after me?"
"Look after me? Qin Huaiming, have you no shame? You were already gambling before our parents died. They told you to take care of me, but you tried to sell me off to become a prostitute. Is that what you call looking after someone?"
Qin Bing shook her head with a mocking laugh, not understanding where Qin Huaiming got the audacity to say such a thing.
Look after her? It had always been her taking care of herself, working part-time jobs and studying through college, juggling several jobs a day, shedding innumerable sweat and tears to achieve what she had today.
And the reason she had achieved this much had nothing to do with Qin Huaiming. It was all due to her own efforts.
Qin Bing had only just begun to enjoy a few good days, slowly opening up and adjusting to life, when Qin Huaiming showed up at her doorstep again.
Her nature had become so cold because of her personal experiences; she had suffered so much that she had lost all hope in life. It wasn't that she didn't want to smile, but that she simply couldn't.
"But in the end, that didn't happen, did it? And didn't I make sure you neither lacked food nor clothes?" Qin Huaiming said, his voice slightly defensive.
"Hah, if I hadn't discovered your scheme and secretly stayed vigilant enough to call the police, I would have been sold off long ago!"
She had nearly lost her chastity back then, it was only the timely arrival of the police that prevented it all.
And for all of this, she had her 'dear brother' to thank.
Hearing this, Qin Huaiming grew even angrier: "You said you'd run away, but why did you have to call the police? You got me into trouble with their boss, do you have any idea how I ended up getting beaten and sent to the hospital because of you?"
Qin Bing was left speechless; even at this point, all Qin Huaiming could think about was himself.
Qin Bing, somewhat exhausted, waved her hand dismissively at Qin Huaiming, "You can go now. I've already given you money several times and I won't continue to do so in the future. If you want to make trouble in my hospital, you can, as long as you're not afraid of being arrested and thrown in jail."
"Damn bitch!" Enraged, Qin Huaiming lashed out and slapped Qin Bing across the face; quickly, her cheek swelled up red.
But Qin Bing didn't cry out in pain. Instead, she stared straight at Qin Huaiming, her gaze as sharp as a knife.
Qin Huaiming spat out viciously, "I'm telling you, if you don't give me money today, you're not leaving this place!"
"No money!" Qin Bing flatly refused!
"Alright, alright, no money, huh? Then give me that jade pendant of yours!"
Qin Huaiming reached out to grab the old jade pendant around Qin Bing's neck.
Qin Bing apparently didn't expect Qin Huaiming to do this, and by the time the pendant was snatched away, she reacted fiercely, yelling, "Qin Huaiming, have you lost your mind? That's the heirloom our father left for us, are you planning to sell it? Are you even human?"
Knowing Qin Huaiming, she was certain he would immediately head to the pawn shop to sell the pendant.
The jade pendant was originally a set of two, one given to Qin Bing, the other to Qin Huaiming.
There was no need to speak of Qin Huaiming's piece; he had already sold it to a pawn shop. Qin Bing, however, had always kept hers, knowing its considerable value, and no matter how poor or hard-up she became, she couldn't bring herself to sell it because it was a keepsake from her parents.
But she never imagined that Qin Huaiming would be so heartless and desperate as to gamble away the only keepsake from their parents.
"If you want it back, give me the money, or I'll sell it to the pawn shop," Qin Huaiming threatened baldly, seeing how much Qin Bing cared for the pendant.
Qin Bing asked anxiously, now out of options, unable to stand by and watch Qin Huaiming, that beast, sell their parents' keepsake.
"One hundred thousand!" Qin Huaiming's face twisted into a greedy smile.
"One hundred thousand? Why don't you just rob someone?"
Qin Bing was flabbergasted. Her monthly salary was just over ten thousand, and Qin Huaiming was demanding one hundred thousand, effectively taking away her entire year's earnings.
"Fine, you're not going to pay, huh? Then don't blame me," Qin Huaiming sneered, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Qin Bing called out, her face ashen.
"What now?" Qin Huaiming turned back with a shameless grin, having guessed that Qin Bing would never give up the jade pendant.
It was precisely for this reason he had the audacity to start with such a high demand, knowing that Qin Bing would surely pay up.
"I don't have that much money on me right now. Give the pendant back to me, and then come by tomorrow; I'll have it prepared for you," Qin Bing said expressionlessly, no longer wanting to waste another word on the likes of Qin Huaiming.
"Give the pendant back to you first? Do you think I'm stupid? What if you play me? Let me tell you, if I don't see the money today, this pendant is going straight to the pawn shop," Qin Huaiming flatly ignored Qin Bing.
"Don't measure me by your filthy standards, not everyone is as shameless and pathetic as you," Qin Bing scoffed.
"I think you're asking for it!" Qin Huaiming became furious with embarrassment and raised his hand, ready to strike Qin Bing once more.
Qin Bing, too, was terrified, closing her eyes tight, but the anticipated slap never landed.