The sequence from Liu Fen seizing the knife to her swinging it at Xia Dajun happened in an instant.

Principal Sun and Mrs. Sun hadn’t even processed what was happening. Faced with death’s approach, Xia Dajun only instinctively dodged backward. This movement saved his life – Liu Fen’s knife struck the front of his shoulder. Already weakened by anger at Xia Dajun, her strike merely cut through his padded jacket and possibly grazed the flesh beneath. Xia Dajun felt the pain!

She had gone mad!

Xia Dajun was terrified.

He, a grown man, didn’t dare try to grab the kitchen knife from Liu Fen’s hands, only knowing to desperately dodge backward. Liu Fen swung the knife several more times without technique, all of which Xia Dajun managed to evade. Mrs. Sun finally came to her senses and grabbed Liu Fen:

“Sister, it’s not worth it! It’s not worth killing him! Calm down, think of your daughter! Old Sun, come help quickly!”

Principal Sun had never encountered such a situation.

As a scholarly man without the strength to tie a chicken, he trembled while Mrs. Sun held Liu Fen firmly and he took the kitchen knife from her hands. He feared that if Liu Fen had gone berserk, she might give him, the meddling intermediary, a couple of slashes too.

Fortunately, Liu Fen still knew she couldn’t attack the principal. Principal Sun took the knife, his hands shaking as he went to hide it in the kitchen.

“…Let’s talk this through reasonably.”

Xia Dajun’s face had gone pale with fear. He moved his arm and found it was just flesh pain – the bone probably wasn’t injured.

“You’re crazy, you woman have gone crazy!”

Xia Dajun clutched his shoulder. If he hadn’t shifted backward slightly, Liu Fen’s first strike would have surely hit his neck. With such a sharp kitchen knife, could anyone survive a strike to the neck?

Realizing Liu Fen truly meant to kill him, Xia Dajun grew fearful.

Still in Mrs. Sun’s embrace, Liu Fen silently wept.

If she killed Xia Dajun, at most she’d forfeit her life for his, but then Xiaolan would become a murderer’s daughter – how could she live with that?

Xia Dajun wanted nothing to do with this madwoman, but still thought of his biological daughter who could attend university and bring glory to the Xia family. Clutching his shoulder, he said to Principal Sun: “Principal, she’s just a madwoman. How can Xiaolan study for university living with a madwoman? What if she takes up a knife and attacks people in the middle of the night? Can you see why Xiaolan should be returned to my care?”

What could Principal Sun say?

Just thinking about what had happened made his hands and feet go cold.

If Liu Fen had killed Xia Dajun in his home, forget about Xia Xiaolan achieving better grades – she wouldn’t be able to continue at County First High School, and Principal Sun suspected his position as principal would be finished too.

How does one live a long life? By minding one’s own business!

Principal Sun now dared not meddle further. With mother and daughter relying on each other, forcibly separating them to let Xia Dajun raise the girl? If Liu Fen didn’t kill Xia Dajun, what if she came to kill him, the meddling principal? Principal Sun felt completely innocent – he was the one who most wanted Xia Xiaolan to get into a prestigious university. Take the scholarship matter – without Principal Sun’s approval, could Xiaolan have been classified as a “Special Grade”?

But he had bungled things.

Principal Sun was now at his wit’s end.

As Xia Dajun continued to pressure him, Principal Sun’s sympathy turned to disgust. Liu Fen found it laughable to hear Xia Dajun go on about wanting to raise Xiaolan. “The entire Xia family has lost their conscience. When Xiaolan was lying in the **** barely alive, I knelt and begged your mother to take her to the hospital, but only her granddaughter Xia Chunhua was worth anything, going to study in Beijing and draining the whole family’s money… Xia Dajun, I’m waiting to see heaven’s retribution, to see how your niece will show you filial piety!”

Who was Xia Chunhua?

Principal Sun was completely lost.

However, Principal Sun could tell that Liu Fen harbored a deep hatred for Xia Dajun. With Liu Fen having attacked him with a knife, how could the two ever reconcile? Principal Sun didn’t want them to continue fighting, “Comrade Xia Dajun, you should go get your wound bandaged first.”

Xia Dajun covered his shoulder with one hand, blood seeping through his fingers, the yellowed cotton padding of his jacket now stained red. Reminded by Principal Sun, Xia Dajun felt pain in his shoulder and suddenly remembered someone saying that injuring people was against the law.

“You’ve broken the law, the police will arrest you!”

If the police arrested Liu Fen, wouldn’t Xiaolan return to the Xia family?

Liu Fen grew frightened at his words. Mrs. Sun silently cursed her husband for bringing trouble home, while also noting that Xia Dajun, despite his seemingly honest appearance, spoke and acted quite unreasonably. Mrs. Sun recalled Zhang Cui and Xia Hongxia speaking ill of Xia Xiaolan – with everyone in the family against her, no wonder Xiaolan and her mother had to leave.

“Police don’t interfere in spousal fights.”

Mrs. Sun told Xia Dajun to stop threatening people and to go get his wound treated if he needed to.

Xia Dajun’s mind was unusually sharp at this moment: “But she’s not my spouse.”

Divorced and found another man – Xia Dajun wouldn’t wear such a green hat. What endurance and forbearance? Knowing he couldn’t accomplish his goal, Xia Dajun just wanted to make life difficult for Liu Fen. If Liu Fen wouldn’t return Xiaolan to the Xia family, he would report her to the police station and make her go to jail!

When a scholar meets a soldier, reason cannot prevail. Principal Sun had experience managing educational work at Xia, but faced with Xia Dajun’s unreasonableness, he truly didn’t know what to do.

“Bang bang bang!”

Someone knocked on Principal Sun’s door, the force suggesting the person was angry.

“Who is it?”

Mrs. Sun raised her voice to ask.

A gentle voice replied: “Hello, I’m Xia Xiaolan. I’m here to find my mother.”

It was Xia Xiaolan!

Principal Sun couldn’t face Xia Xiaolan, but Liu Fen found her backbone.

Mrs. Sun opened the door to find a group of people outside, including Chen Qing and several other boys from Class Three. Principal Sun was extremely embarrassed. Xia Xiaolan turned to Chen Qing and the others, saying, “Thank you for your concern, but this is my family matter. Please trust that I can handle it well.”

Chen Qing and the other boys blushed.

Classmate Xiaolan spoke so gently.

Classmate Xiaolan… was pitiful.

After persuading the concerned male students to leave, Xia Xiaolan entered the house.

“Principal Sun, Aunt Wu, could you give me that knife from earlier?”

Principal Sun feared the mention of the knife. “What do you want to do? Student Xia, don’t act rashly!”

Principal Sun worried that Xia Xiaolan might be as fierce as her mother and give Xia Dajun another slash – then all her bright prospects would be ruined!

Xia Xiaolan looked at Principal Sun very seriously, “I still want to attend university, I won’t commit murder.”

In the end, it was Mrs. Sun who retrieved the knife for Xia Xiaolan.

Blood still stained the blade. Xia Xiaolan showed a look of disgust but seemed completely unafraid. She carefully washed the knife under the tap, not cleaning the blood but the handle. Then, using a cloth as padding, she dried the knife and returned it to Mrs. Sun.

Seeing her return empty-handed to the living room, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Xia Dajun complained, “Your mother attacked me with a knife, I’m going to report her to the police station, make her go to jail…”

He tried to find panic and fear on Xia Xiaolan’s face. If Xia Xiaolan begged him not to report to the police, Xia Dajun would state his conditions for having Xia Xiaolan move back home. He hadn’t thought through what would happen after she moved back – the main thing was getting her home first, other matters could be dealt with slowly.

Unexpectedly, not only did Xia Xiaolan show no fear, but there was a strange smile on her face:

“Sure, go report it to the police station. Do you know where the police station’s entrance is? Would you like me to take you there?”