Chapter 70: The Obsessed Father, Striking the Rebellious Son

As those words, cold as ice, pierced the air, time seemed to freeze, awaiting only the silent emergence of a figure from behind Sun Peng. Each step he took landed squarely on the taut nerves of those present.

Then came a resounding slap, sharp as summer thunder, exploding across Sun Jun’s cheek—
“Smack!”

It was more than an echo; it was the proclamation of the scales of morality tipping into chaos.

“Beast!”
The word, each syllable sharp as a blade, carved into every heart in the room.

Sun Jun and Sun Fang, once so assured of their command over the family’s affairs, now stood like frostbitten eggplants, rooted in place, disbelief clouding their eyes.

But what shocked everyone most was that this sudden blow had come from their father, who for years had seemed lost to the world, a shell of senility.

The deathly silence that had enveloped the room was shattered by that slap, as if a crack had split open the darkness that had long enshrouded the family, letting in the light and the truth.

The old man’s hand trembled—not just with anger, but with heartbreak. Silent tears slid down his cheeks, each drop heavy with regret for the past and hope for the future.

Beneath the shell of dementia, it turned out, lay a heart that had never truly been lost. The ugly faces of his children had finally awakened the purest bond of kinship deep within him.

“Father, you—”
Sun Jun’s voice quivered, confusion mingled with fear, as he searched his father’s suddenly lucid eyes for answers.

Sun Peng’s timely explanation struck like another hammer, crushing Sun Jun’s last hopes:
“Father’s condition has improved. He’s not confused anymore!”

Like a bolt from the blue, this sentence darkened Sun Jun’s face to the shade of ink. Fury overtook him; he jabbed a finger toward Sun Peng’s face, shouting furiously:
“So that’s it! Father got better, and you not only kept it from us but set up this whole trap!”

His words were thick with resentment and unwillingness, yet they could not hide the panic and fear within.

Yet in this sudden storm, all eyes were drawn to the once-demented old man. His transformation was not only an angry rebuttal of his children’s misdeeds, but also a profound reflection and redefinition of kinship itself.

At that moment, all pretense and calculation seemed feeble and meaningless. Only the most genuine and pure familial love could withstand the storm and shine forth with radiant light.

“Isn’t this just sowing resentment in Father’s heart?”
Sun Jun’s protest was filled with indignation and bewilderment, as if he could not accept his brother’s exposure of the family’s disgrace before their father.

Then,
“Worthless scoundrel!” and “Utterly devious!” burst from his lips, each word like a sharp blade, attempting to sever their blood ties.

But venting his rage did nothing to quell the fire in Sun Jun’s heart. He lunged, fist swinging, driven by anger and humiliation, straight for Sun Peng’s face.

In that instant, he seemed to forget the man before him was his brother—remembering only the sting of betrayal and the bitterness within.

Yet Sun Peng did not choose to dodge or retaliate. He had deeper considerations. Quickly, he reached out, firmly catching his brother’s poised fist, fingers locking tightly, as if to bind up all their grievances in that single grasp.

With a sudden twist, Sun Jun let out a piercing scream, a release of pain both physical and spiritual.

Without pause, Sun Peng swept his leg in a powerful arc, shaking the entire room with its force. Sun Jun took the blow to his abdomen, sent rolling back like a leaf in a gale, only coming to a halt six or seven steps away.

He struggled to his feet, blood at the corner of his mouth, his clothes dust-streaked, a picture of utter disarray.

His eyes brimmed with both defiance and fear, fists clenched as if ready to attack again. But when he caught sight of Sun Peng’s furious, imposing presence, his courage drained away.

He realized then
that he might disregard the well-being of his elderly father,

But before such a resolute and powerful brother, fear overcame him at last, and he shrank back.
This scene left everyone present stunned, but for the old father, it was like a knife twisting in his heart.

He watched helplessly as his two sons, once united, now turned against each other for power and profit. The bond he’d thought unbreakable had become fragile and frail.

He knew then that the family had reached the brink of collapse, and the root of it all was that they had forgotten their original intentions, the preciousness of kinship.

Conceding defeat came as no surprise.

In Sun Jun’s furious shouts, his former bravado and arrogance seemed to evaporate, leaving only helplessness and humiliation.

He stared wide-eyed, clutching his phone tightly, attempting to salvage a shred of dignity with a final threat,
but Sun Peng’s calm smile and the words, “Go ahead, call them. I’ll wait,”
hit him with the force of a thunderclap, bringing him to his senses.

Sun Jun was stunned; he never expected his brother to face his threat so coolly.

His eyelids fluttered as he weighed his options, but in the end, reason prevailed.
Slowly, he put his phone away, making no further move.

It wasn’t that he feared his brother, but deep down he knew he was in the wrong, and even if he called the police, it would solve nothing.

Besides, he still needed his brother to care for their ailing father.

This reality forced him to swallow his pride. With a vicious glare at Sun Peng, he turned on his heel and stormed out.

Sun Fang hurried after him, and the two climbed into their car, escaping that place of discord and embarrassment.

Sun Peng’s father watched the car disappear into the distance, his face etched with indescribable loss and grief.

Perhaps he had never imagined his sons could turn against each other for power and gain, nor that the rift in their affections would be so hard to mend.

Their actions had wounded him deeply.

Sun Peng gently patted his father’s hand, trying to offer comfort through that simple gesture.

Then he turned to Chen Shan, apologizing,
“I lost my temper just now.”

It was an explanation not only for Li Chao, but also an expression of self-reflection.

He knew that in his anger, he’d lost the calm and reason he should have maintained,
but he also understood that only by truly facing and resolving the problem could their home hope to regain its former warmth and harmony.

“I couldn’t control my emotions for a moment!” Sun Peng said with a wry smile. “Sorry to make a scene.”

Li Chao shook his head with a smile, his gaze firm:
“In moments like this, there’s no need to hold back. When you need to act, act! If it were me, I’d probably have been even harsher.”

Sun Peng was taken aback, then laughed heartily.

Thus the storm faded quietly between their words.

Afterwards, Sun Peng bid farewell to Li Chao, who, with Yu Xin, made his way to the station, preparing to board a crowded, somewhat worn-out minibus back to Lijia Fortress.

As he gazed at the vehicle, Li Chao silently resolved that, given the means, he would buy a car himself one day, to make travel more convenient and comfortable.

...

Meanwhile, in the splendid Jinxiushanhe Complex—renowned as the heart of Huaxi City’s prosperity—Wang Lan sat alone by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the third floor, dressed in elegant loungewear and swirling a glass of crystalline red wine.

She gazed out at the cityscape, her eyes deep with thought, as if weighing an important decision or mapping out plans for the future.

This community, the epitome of high-end living in Huaxi, flaunted its opulence in every villa. From Wang Lan’s vantage, one could overlook the city’s bustling life below, stirring curiosity and envy about her identity and lifestyle.

With prices approaching a hundred million, these villas stood as symbols of power and wealth, homes to society’s elite, their gates far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Wang Lan’s favorite moments had always been to sit here, savoring her wine, surveying the moving crowds below, feeling as if she occupied a world far removed from the dust and noise of everyday life. That sense of superiority was both intoxicating and exhilarating.

Yet recently, she had fallen prey to unprecedented anxiety.

It had started when she keenly sensed a fleeting look of disdain on her husband Liu Zhenhua’s face.

For her, it was a devastating blow, for she knew that everything she now possessed—the luxury, the status—was bestowed by Liu Zhenhua.
Without his favor, she could plummet from the clouds to the abyss.

From the moment she entered the Liu household, Wang Lan had always walked a tightrope. As a later arrival, she was acutely aware that her position was never secure, that she had to step carefully to protect the fragile happiness she had won.

What troubled her most was that, while Liu Zhenhua had two daughters, he had no son. This planted in her the idea that bearing him a son might secure her place.

She fantasized that if she could give birth to a boy, it might transform her position in the Liu family, maybe even earn her a larger share of the family fortune.

But reality is always crueler than dreams.

Wang Lan’s anxiety and dread stemmed from her deep sense of uncertainty about the future. In a world so full of change, she had only her wits and courage to fight for her happiness and dignity.

The shadow of her past, the secrets of her private life, had followed her into the Liu family. Despite all her efforts, she had failed to conceive. This regret pressed on her like a stone, though in the beginning, she could still comfort herself with her youth and the hope that time was on her side.

But as the eldest daughter, Liu Lele, grew and soared, everything quietly shifted.

Liu Lele not only inherited her father’s business acumen, but also passed every test he set for her with astonishing speed. With her own efforts, she carved out a territory in Kaiyuan County, earning her father’s admiration and trust.

Liu Zhenhua had privately expressed his intention to hand the family business over to Liu Lele. For Wang Lan, this was a grave threat.

No longer able to maintain her composure, Wang Lan, as a stepmother, knew that should Liu Lele take charge, her own place in the family would become precarious, perhaps untenable.

This sense of uncertainty and fear for the future plunged her into deep anxiety.

After much deliberation and inner struggle, Wang Lan made a bold decision—to risk everything.

She knew that if she wanted to keep her position in the Liu family, she had to take action, by any means necessary, to secure more leverage and protection for herself.

The struggle for family, power, and status had already begun in silence.

While Liu Lele lingered in Kaiyuan County, a carefully orchestrated “accident” was meant to claim her life, erasing her without a trace.

Such a scheme was designed solely to ensure that the Liu family would ultimately fall into Wang Lan’s grasp.

But fate is ever unpredictable, delighting in its cruel games.

Just as Liu Lele seemed destined for death, fate sent her an unexpected savior—a rural doctor from a distant village.

This village physician, whose skills saved Liu Lele’s life, inadvertently exposed long-hidden secrets—those painful, repeated miscarriages—which instantly thrust her into the center of a storm, with nowhere to turn.

Liu Lele, meant to be a pawn sacrificed in this power game, escaped against all odds;
and the village doctor, Li Chao, became an unforgivable thorn in Wang Lan’s side.

Burning with anger, her eyes turned cold. Wang Lan resolved to act anew.

She took a fresh SIM card, inserted it into her phone, and let her fingers dance across the keys, composing a message laced with threat:

“Kaiyuan County, Lijia Fortress, Doctor Li Chao. This man requires attention.”

She attached a telling photograph and sent it through an encrypted channel to an unknown recipient.

It was not only a warning to Li Chao, but also an outlet for her deep desire for revenge.

In her mind, whether it was Liu Lele’s lucky escape or Li Chao’s unintended interference, both had challenged her plans and must be answered.

And this complex chess game of power, hatred, and unforeseen turns had only just begun.