There had been a stabbing.

Xia Ziyu and Wang Jianhua could no longer “stay neutral.”

When Xia Ziyu saw her mother grab some money from the drawer, she quickly helped along with Wang Jianhua. Xia Dajun was a burly man, and Xia Changzheng couldn’t carry him alone. With Zhang Manfu’s hands still covered in flour, Wang Jianhua had to step up:

“Uncle, let me go with you.”

Wang Jianhua didn’t mind that Xia Dajun was covered in blood. Together with Xia Changzheng, they applied pressure to Xia Dajun’s wound and took him to the hospital. On the way, he finally revealed that Liu Fen had stabbed him. But Xia Dajun didn’t explain why Liu Fen had attacked him.

“Ziyu, she will never remarry me.”

That vicious cleaver strike had been meant to kill him.

Even if Liu Fen agreed to remarry him now, Xia Dajun wouldn’t dare. Married couples share a bed, and what if Liu Fen decided to attack him with a knife in the middle of the night while he was sound asleep? How would he know to dodge?

Xia Ziyu hesitantly asked, “Second Uncle, are you going to report this to the police?”

Xia Ziyu and her mother were thinking along the same lines.

Even though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t done the stabbing, they could use the threat of a police report as leverage. Liu Fen had injured Xia Dajun, and if they pursued charges, she would certainly face several years in prison. Xia Ziyu didn’t care whether Liu Fen went to prison or not, but she saw an opportunity to manipulate the situation. Xia Xiaolan might refuse to yield and return to the Xia family, but wouldn’t her mother’s imprisonment affect her?

It would affect Xia Xiaolan’s ability to pass political background checks and impact her studies.

Getting into university wasn’t easy – Xia Ziyu knew this from her own extensive efforts. Once you lose focus on your studies, it’s not easy to get back on track.

The future was uncertain, but with only five months left until the college entrance exam, this would burden Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Ziyu’s question to Xia Dajun was insincere – she believed filing a police report was necessary. As the victim, if Xia Dajun reported the crime and insisted on Liu Fen’s guilt, there was a high chance Liu Fen would be convicted.

Xia Dajun didn’t answer at first. At the hospital, the doctor removed his padded jacket to examine the wound.

The thick winter clothing had blocked most of the damage, but there was still a large gash on his shoulder. The wound looked horrific with flesh protruding, requiring fifteen stitches.

Due to significant blood loss, the doctor ordered an IV drip of nutrients.

Xia Changzheng paid the medical fees and arranged a bed for Xia Dajun, who needed to finish the IV before leaving.

Xia Dajun hung his head. His niece had advised him to “endure humiliation,” but he couldn’t contain himself when thinking about Liu Fen being involved with another man. In his impulse, he had ruined everything.

“I told her to return Xiaolan to the Xia family, or I’d go to the police station and report Liu Fen to be arrested… Then Xiaolan came, wiped away the fingerprints, and said since no one saw Liu Fen stab me, I could go ahead and report it if I wanted.”

Xia Ziyu contained her excitement.

She patiently explained to Xia Dajun:

“It doesn’t matter that Xiaolan says no one saw it. Even without physical evidence, we still have witness testimony.”

Xia Xiaolan was clever enough to wipe away the fingerprints from the knife.

However, the incident happened at Principal Sun’s house – surely Principal Sun and his wife had witnessed it. Xia Xiaolan’s smooth-talking couldn’t fool everyone.

Xia Dajun shook his head: “Principal Sun and his wife are on Xiaolan’s side. Principal Sun said if the police ask, he’ll say he didn’t see anything.”

Xia Ziyu was shocked.

“How could Principal Sun…”

How could Principal Sun help Xia Xiaolan provide false testimony?

Xia Ziyu felt Xia Dajun wasn’t telling the whole story, but as the “good niece,” she couldn’t continue pressing him to file a report when Wang Jianhua returned from washing his hands.

Xia Dajun kept his head down. The reason Principal Sun would lie to Xiaolan probably had to do with what Xiaolan had told them about how the Xia family had treated the mother and daughter. They say family shame shouldn’t be aired in public, but Xiaolan had no such reservations and told Principal Sun everything… Principal Sun seemed very upset after hearing it.

Xia Dajun thought Principal Sun was sympathetic.

He couldn’t understand that Principal Sun was more angry about being deceived and used.

Wang Jianhua’s sleeves were soaked, and his pants were stained with blood that wouldn’t come off despite scrubbing at the sink for a long while.

When he returned to the ward, Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui had come back from paying the fees. Xia Changzheng felt they couldn’t let this matter go, while Zhang Cui was still worried about the store’s business. Xia Ziyu wanted to convince Xia Dajun to file a report, so she offered to stay and take care of her Second Uncle.

“Let me stay instead. You won’t be strong enough to help Second Uncle get out of bed.”

Xia Dajun could certainly get out of bed by himself, but people on IV drips need frequent bathroom trips. With the injury on his arm, one hand immobilized, and the other hand holding the IV bottle, how could he manage? Since Xia Ziyu wasn’t suitable, Wang Jianhua volunteered to stay.

Besides, staying at the hospital would be more peaceful than potentially running into Xia Xiaolan at home.

Xia Ziyu’s expression grew complicated.

She knew Wang Jianhua was a filial and responsible man, but his first display of filial piety was toward Xia Dajun… Xia Xiaolan’s father. How could Xia Ziyu’s feelings not be complicated?

Zhang Cui didn’t think that deeply about it – Wang Jianhua was taking care of Xia Dajun out of consideration for Ziyu.

Zhang Cui just wanted to quickly discuss with Xia Ziyu how to seize this opportunity. With Wang Jianhua present, mother and daughter couldn’t speak freely. Zhang Cui praised him: “Jianhua, we’ll leave Second Uncle in your care. The store still has lots of work to do, and we need to discuss how to handle Xiaolan’s mother stabbing someone. We’ll head back first to figure out what to do!”

Xia Ziyu was pulled away.

Wang Jianhua and Xia Dajun had absolutely nothing in common to talk about. Once they were alone in the ward, Xia Dajun unexpectedly asked:

“You were dating Xiaolan before, how did you end up with Ziyu?”

Wang Jianhua’s face turned bright red.

Xia Dajun had touched on the most sensitive secret. Wang Jianhua swore he never meant to be unfaithful – he had genuinely liked Xia Xiaolan before. The young and beautiful Xia Xiaolan had been like a light brightening his mundane days in the countryside. Among all her admirers, she had chosen Wang Jianhua, giving him great confidence.

But life is full of unexpected turns. After things happened with Xia Ziyu, what other choice did he have?

“…I wronged Xiaolan.”

Wang Jianhua hung his head as he struggled to speak.

Xia Dajun felt pain not just in his shoulder but in his head as well.

Wang Jianhua had admitted it!

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t been lying, at least about this. What about other things? And regardless of how Wang Jianhua and Ziyu got together, chronologically speaking, hadn’t Ziyu stolen Xiaolan’s boyfriend? Yet everyone in the family had the same story – his mother cursed Xiaolan for seducing her future brother-in-law, and not a single person spoke up for justice.

Sister-in-law Zhang Cui had tried to mediate, and Xia Dajun remembered her words, saying Ziyu didn’t blame Xiaolan at all… But Ziyu had stolen Xiaolan’s boyfriend – shouldn’t Xiaolan have been the one to make a scene?

Xia Dajun didn’t know what to say.

His head was throbbing.

He couldn’t make sense of the family affairs, nor did he know who to blame.

If he hadn’t trusted his family members back then, if he hadn’t forced Xiaolan to apologize to Ziyu, she wouldn’t have held scissors to her throat, insisting on leaving with Liu Yong. Getting stabbed had brought unprecedented clarity to Xia Dajun’s mind through the pain. He belatedly realized that Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen would never return to the Xia family.

Even if he had the police arrest Liu Fen, Xia Xiaolan would refuse to be his daughter. Being his daughter brought no benefits, only grievances. Xia Dajun’s headache intensified – in this big family, everyone seemed to claim they were wronged, and he felt powerless to resolve anything!

Wang Jianhua dared not continue discussing this topic. After all the chaos, it was already two in the afternoon. Xia Dajun seemed drowsy while receiving the IV, so Wang Jianhua decided to buy some food. When he returned with two pancakes, Xia Dajun’s hospital bed was empty – had he gone to the bathroom?

The IV bottle still hung there, with the bloodied needle dangling back and forth.

Wang Jianhua froze – Xia Dajun had pulled out his IV and secretly left the hospital?