Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 10

After grabbing a cab, Shen Xian arrived at Lin Qinghan’s apartment building in about ten minutes. She ran upstairs and knocked on Lin Qinghan’s door.

Lin Zhixin’s heart tightened. “Sis, you didn’t really call the cops, right? I didn’t even see you talking into your phone.”

Lin Qinghan, holding her child, quickly walked around the coffee table to open the door. When Shen Xian saw her little one crying so hard her face was red, she immediately asked, “Are you okay? What happened?”

Lin Qinghan, still holding Shen Tian, stepped aside. Shen Xian then saw Lin Zhixin slumped on the sofa like he owned the place. When he saw her, his expression stiffened slightly.

“Qinghan, take the little one back to the bedroom. I’ve got this,” Shen Xian said, glancing at her child whose eyes were red from crying. Her heart ached.

“You made Tian Tian cry?” Shen Xian looked coldly at Lin Zhixin, making him rise from the sofa.

“No, I didn’t! And anyway, this is my sister’s house. Who the hell are you to — ” Lin Zhixin wanted to keep going, but Shen Xian yanked him away from the coffee table.

“Oh, I see. Guess I didn’t teach you a good enough lesson earlier. Don’t have hands of your own? Want money? Go earn it yourself!”

“Shen Xian, let go! I’m warning you, hitting someone is illegal.” Lin Zhixin tried to pry her hand off his wrist.

Shen Xian twisted his other wrist, and Lin Zhixin let out a howl. She then kicked him hard in the shin. “What are you screaming for? Can’t handle this?” she said, and gave him a few more kicks.

“System, can you hide any external injuries on Lin Zhixin? Like, make sure he feels the pain but no doctor can find any trace of injuries?” Shen Xian quickly asked the system in her mind. After all, if he ended up bruised and bloody and called the police, she’d be in trouble.

“Yes, Host. The system has many additional features. It can conceal external injuries while maintaining full pain perception. One-time usage requires a payment of { ‘1,000 yuan’ },” came the cold mechanical voice in her mind.

Oof, that expensive? She had to work a whole day of chores just to earn that much. But to deal with this piece of trash? Worth it. Shen Xian immediately paid the {- “1,000 yuan” -}. Now she could go all out without holding back.

She gave another sharp tug, and Lin Zhixin stumbled. Don’t be fooled by him being a grown man — Shen Xian actually had him pinned down, slapping him around. He wailed from the pain, his whole body aching like hell, but not a single mark was left on the surface. His skin looked as smooth as ever. Shen Xian twisted his wrist so hard he couldn’t move, and his shin was nearly fractured from her kick.

“Stop, stop! I’ll call the police, you hear me?!” Lin Zhixin yelled between sobs.

Shen Xian gave him another hard kick before finally letting go. “Go ahead. You forced your way in, came to demand money, and I hit you? Got any proof? Not even a single red mark on you. Who’s going to believe you?”

“You’re full of it! My leg’s practically broken!” Lin Zhixin looked down at his leg, but it wasn’t bruised at all — not even a change in color. Still smooth and pale.

Seeing he was still being difficult, Shen Xian landed five or six punches to his face. Normally, Lin Zhixin would’ve been black and blue by now, but even though the hits hurt like hell, there wasn’t even swelling.

A grown man like Lin Zhixin ended up crying from the beating. He didn’t expect Shen Xian to go all out like that and immediately begged for mercy. “Brother-in-law, I was wrong, I swear I was wrong! I won’t ever ask my sister for money again! I’ll leave now, right now!”

Shen Xian was tired from all the hitting and had vented her anger. She kicked him once more in the back and said coldly, “Get lost. If you dare come again asking for money, it won’t be this easy next time.”

“Ow, ow, I’m going, I’m going now!”

His hysterical shouting startled Lin Qinghan, who peeked out from the bedroom. She saw her shameless brother, not a single mark on his body, yet screaming like he’d been beaten half to death. Confused, she looked between the two of them.

As the sound of the door closing echoed through the apartment, the living room finally quieted down.

Shen Xian turned to Lin Qinghan and asked, “How’s Tian Tian? Still crying?”

Lin Qinghan nodded and walked back to the bedroom. “She’s still scared and crying,” she said as she walked.

Shen Xian followed her, and saw little Shen Tian still sitting on the bed, wiping her tears. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her little nose was sniffling nonstop. She looked like she’d just been pulled out of water.

It would’ve been better if Shen Tian hadn’t seen Shen Xian. The moment she did, she remembered how her little mangosteens were all eaten by her uncle. On top of that, he had yelled at both her and her mom. Shen Tian became even more scared, terrified that her uncle might pick her up again.

It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if Lin Zhixin had just eaten something else, but in a child’s mind, when Mommy says something is hers, then it is hers. And it was her hated uncle who ate it. Shen Tian felt so wronged that she reached out with her little arms and cried to Shen Xian, “Waaah! Mommy! The bad uncle ate all the mangosteens that were for me and Mommy! Waaaah! He was mean to me too! I’m scared!”

Shen Xian quickly scooped her up and comforted her. “Okay, okay, Mommy knows. I already beat up the bad uncle and sent him away. We’ll buy more mangosteens. If there aren’t any, Mommy will buy you something even tastier, okay?”

She gently rocked the little one in her arms. Lin Qinghan usually held Shen Tian very carefully, always worried she might drop her, so being rocked like this was new and fun for Shen Tian. Her small arms wrapped tightly around Shen Xian’s neck, and in no time, Shen Xian had her giggling.

“Heehee, Tian Tian likes playing like this.” Just moments ago she was crying, and now she was laughing.

Shen Xian finally relaxed when she saw her little one smile again.

Even Lin Qinghan was shocked — she couldn’t calm Shen Tian down, yet Shen Xian managed it? Seeing how Shen Xian had come over to help tonight and even coaxed Tian Tian, Lin Qinghan felt a slight pang of emotion. Otherwise, she would’ve had to call the police tonight. But then she remembered how Shen Xian used to be just like her brother, so she reminded herself once again not to let her guard down around her.

Just then, Shen Xian noticed the favorability score above Lin Qinghan’s head flicker into a shadow. Her smile froze — Wait, I came over to help and her favorability is still dropping? It wasn’t until the number finally stopped at [-90] that Shen Xian let out a sigh of relief.

Shen Tian was quite interested now. Lately, she had been seeing Shen Xian more often, so she no longer felt so unfamiliar around her. Hugging Shen Xian, she asked sweetly, “Mommy, what yummy food is even better than mangosteen?”

Shen Xian was amused by the little one’s behavior, and even Lin Qinghan, who had been expressionless just moments ago, was made to laugh by Shen Tian’s words. Smiling gently, she asked, “Good girl, how about changing clothes and washing your face first, okay?”

Shen Tian shook her little head, still thinking about the delicious food. She looked at Shen Xian and said, “No, I want Mommy to hold me.”

Shen Xian chuckled, rubbing the little tufts of hair on the child’s head. She said to Lin Qinghan, “Where’s Tian Tian’s pajamas? I’ll help her change.”

Lin Qinghan looked at the big and small pair for a moment. Not wanting to upset Shen Tian, who had just been coaxed into a good mood, she turned and found Shen Tian’s little bunny pajamas on the shelf. They were soft pink with two little bunny ears — quite adorable.

She handed the pajamas to Shen Xian and went to tidy up the coffee table and fridge that Lin Zhixin had just messed up in the living room.

Shen Xian helped the little one take off her clothes and put on the bunny pajamas. “Let’s go wash your face first. After that, Mommy will buy something yummy for you.”

“Mm-hmm!” The little one nodded enthusiastically, making the two tiny tufts on her head sway along with her, looking absolutely adorable.

Shen Xian led the little one to the bathroom, soaked a towel in warm water, and wiped her round little face. In no time, everything was done.