Chapter 2: You’re Playing with Fire

“It must be that she’s done too many bad things. Even Heaven can’t stand it anymore and sent down fire to temper her arrogance.”

“Maybe an immortal passing through these mountains couldn’t stand Wang Xiuzhi’s bullying ways and stepped in to teach her a lesson.”

For a moment, voices full of schadenfreude rang out.

Wang Xiuzhi’s screams grew even louder, yet the flames in her palms continued to burn. She tried desperately to fling away the broom in her hands, but her fingers were clenched tightly around the handle and simply wouldn’t let go.

She looked both strange and ridiculous.

“Just let go of it—if you drop the broom, won’t it be gone?” someone said, barely holding back their laughter.

Wang Xiuzhi deliberately shook her hands hard in front of that person and cried out in panic, “I can’t let go! It’s like it’s welded to my hands! Help me!”

In pain, she sank to one knee. Then she spotted a bucket of water nearby and staggered toward it.

Before her hands could reach the bucket, a small figure rushed in first and kicked over the bucket—nearly as tall as she was—sending water spilling all over the ground.

Wang Xiuzhi froze. So did everyone else around them.

Xu Qingmo’s small body appeared before Wang Xiuzhi. She looked up at her, and her childish voice rang out again, “Hand over the money!”

Though she was tiny, an invisible pressure radiated from her. The refusal that had risen to Wang Xiuzhi’s lips got stuck in her throat.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of awe toward the child in front of her.

But the thought vanished in an instant. How could she, Wang Xiuzhi, be afraid of a five-year-old child—especially a worthless girl from her own family?

Wang Xiuzhi sneered. “Why should I give you money? You mother and daughter open your eyes every day and all you see is money. You’ve fallen straight into a money pit!”

Xu Qingmo didn’t bother with nonsense and reminded her calmly, “Do you still want your hands?”

“You—” Wang Xiuzhi’s palms were still being scorched by the flames, the pain forcing her to half-kneel on the ground.

From an outsider’s perspective, Wang Xiuzhi—who always held her head high—was now kneeling before the granddaughter she despised the most.

“I’ll give you three breaths to think it over,” the childish voice sounded again. “Money, or your hands. Choose for yourself.”

Back in the interstellar era, she would have kicked someone like this away without a second thought.

But she couldn’t now.

She was injured, and this body was small and frail. Kicking over a bucket of water had already drained a lot of her strength, and controlling her fire ability pushed her body to its limit.

Still, she couldn’t show weakness.

If she collapsed, this body’s mother would surely be bullied by this old woman again.

“I… I can’t free my hands. How am I supposed to get the money for you?” Wang Xiuzhi’s earlier arrogance was gone, her voice noticeably softer.

Xu Qingmo said, “Take out the money now. Whatever you have, take it all out.”

As soon as the words fell, one of Wang Xiuzhi’s hands loosened from the broom handle. Her palm was burned raw and bloody, but the back of her hand and her fingers were completely intact.

Wang Jing watched that small figure standing in front of her, blocking her path again. Her emotions surged chaotically.

“Mo-mo, why did you come out? Your health is bad—hurry back inside and lie down.” Wang Jing stepped forward, intending to carry the child back into the house.

“Wait.” Xu Qingmo refused. She turned back to Wang Xiuzhi and urged coldly, “Hurry up and take the money out. Stop dragging your feet.”

Under Xu Qingmo’s gaze, Wang Xiuzhi didn’t dare to stall. After hesitating, she separated one yuan from the twelve yuan in her pocket and took it out.
“This is all the money I brought with me. Take this first. I’ll go home and bring you the remaining two mao.”

She clearly wanted to run.

Xu Qingmo didn’t take the money. “I’ll give you one more chance. Take out all the money you have on you. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving here today.”

Wang Xiuzhi clearly felt the pain in her left palm double. She didn’t dare delay any longer. Panicking, she pulled out the remaining eleven yuan, adding it to the first yuan, and handed all twelve yuan to Xu Qingmo.

Xu Qingmo took the money and said to Wang Xiuzhi, “Get out.”

With a dull thud, the broom fell from her hands. Wang Xiuzhi didn’t dare look back and bolted out of the barefoot doctor’s house.

Only after her figure disappeared did Xu Qingmo’s eyes close, and she completely lost consciousness.

“Mo-mo…” Wang Jing rushed forward anxiously, but she was a step too late and watched helplessly as Xu Qingmo collapsed in front of her.

Suddenly, a strong arm caught Xu Qingmo’s frail body, while another hand steadied Wang Jing, who was about to fall as well.

Wang Jing looked up to see Shen Jiang standing before her in a military uniform. With sword-like brows and bright eyes, a high-bridged nose, the once boyish, sunny young man from her memories had been tempered by time into someone mature and steady.

In her memories, back in high school, Shen Jiang had stood blushing in front of her on campus. After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, “Classmate Wang, can we be friends?”

After graduating high school, Shen Jiang enlisted in the army. Before leaving, he had someone deliver her a letter. In it, he confessed that he had liked her for a long time, and said that when he returned, if she was still unmarried and he still unwed, he would pursue her wholeheartedly.

Time passed in the blink of an eye—eight years went by.

Now, Shen Jiang was twenty-nine, and Wang Jing was twenty-seven.

She was no longer the carefree daughter of a capitalist family. Now, she was just a weak and helpless woman who needed her five-year-old daughter to risk her life to protect her.

Wang Jing suppressed the emotions in her eyes and treated him as though he were a stranger, thanking him stiffly.
“Thank you. Can you let go of me now?”

Shen Jiang noticed that the little girl in his arms had flushed cheeks. He touched her forehead—it was burning hot.

“She has a fever.”

At the mention of Xu Qingmo, Wang Jing panicked and quickly called the barefoot doctor over to examine her.

After checking Xu Qingmo, the barefoot doctor frowned deeply.
“This child’s fever is severe. On top of long-term malnutrition and such serious injuries, I can’t treat her here. She needs to be sent to the county hospital.”

The barefoot doctor first gave Xu Qingmo medicine to lower her temperature, then told Wang Jing to borrow a donkey cart from the village chief to take her to the county hospital.

Xu Family Village was dozens of li from the county town, and the county hospital also required an introduction letter from the village. By the time Wang Jing finished all that, Xu Qingmo might not survive.

Wang Jing begged the barefoot doctor to think of another way.

The barefoot doctor could only shake his head helplessly.

Shen Jiang looked deeply at Wang Jing. The once-bright, carefree girl in his memories had been worn down by time, her former radiance gone.

His heart clenched painfully. He took the initiative and said, “I have a car. I’ll take you to the county hospital. I can be the guarantor, so you won’t need to get an introduction letter.”

Tears filled Wang Jing’s eyes. Forgetting everything else, she thanked Shen Jiang profusely.

Without hesitation, Shen Jiang picked up Xu Qingmo. With his other hand, he grabbed the barefoot doctor by the wrist and brought him along into the car.

His stated reason was that if anything unexpected happened on the road, the barefoot doctor could help.

In truth, having someone from Xu Family Village in the car would also shut up those gossiping tongues.

The entire drive passed in silence. When they arrived at the county hospital, a doctor noticed the child in Shen Jiang’s arms and immediately showed dissatisfaction, pointing at both him and Wang Jing.

“I say, you parents really have no sense of responsibility at all. The child is already this sick—why are you only bringing her to the hospital now?”