She slowly turned around.
Then she saw five large dogs standing behind her, less than two meters away.
The five dogs were in their prime, especially one of them—it was enormous, standing almost as tall as Niu Fen, who was just over 1.5 meters. The other four were slightly smaller but still sizable, each about a meter tall.
At that moment, the five big dogs were staring coldly at Niu Fen, their posture suggesting she was their prey, ready to pounce at any second.
Niu Fen could only be grateful she didn’t have a heart condition—otherwise, she might have had a heart attack right then.
But being stared at by five large dogs, their ten eyes practically glowing green with hostility, made her legs tremble. She even felt like she was about to lose control of her bladder.
Niu Fen wanted to run, but the doorway was blocked by the dogs.
Suddenly, she remembered that Officer Sheng, though not yet arrived, had sent someone to deliver dogs ahead of time.
Niu Fen had initially dismissed it as unimportant—until now, when she realized it was true. There were actually five dogs, and they were so vicious!
“Don’t bite me, don’t bite me,” Niu Fen pleaded, attempting to inch toward the door.
But with every step she took, the dogs advanced as well, as if preparing to surround her. They even barked at her.
Niu Fen was on the verge of tears. Following the dogs’ gaze, she realized they were fixated on the thermos she was clutching in her arms.
She knew—the dogs must have mistaken her for a thief.
But letting go of the thermos? She couldn’t bear it.
After a moment’s hesitation, Niu Fen closed her eyes. That’s right—she decided to make a break for it. She refused to believe the dogs would actually bite her!
So, the next second, with her eyes shut tight, Niu Fen hugged the thermos and bolted for the door.
But before she could get far, she found herself unable to move.
Something had clamped onto her pants.
Her eyes flew open, and she saw the largest of the five dogs baring its teeth at her. Its maw was terrifyingly wide, revealing sharp, glistening fangs—as if it could swallow her whole in one bite.
“Ahhh!” Niu Fen screamed instantly.
The thermos slipped from her arms.
One of the dogs deftly caught it with its tail, preventing it from smashing on the ground.
Meanwhile, Niu Fen, spurred by sheer terror, scrambled away in a panic.
One of the dogs gave chase, keeping a steady distance behind her, never too close but never too far.
Terrified, Niu Fen sped up even more.
Only after running for a while did she dare to look back—finally, the dog was gone.
By then, Niu Fen had sprinted all the way back to her new home, gasping for breath and still shaken.
At that moment, her daughter-in-law, Chun Xing, was in the yard reading a book to her little girl. She looked up and saw her mother-in-law, Niu Fen, panting and disheveled.
“Mom, what happened? Why are your pants wet?” Chun Xing asked.
Niu Fen looked down and saw the dampness.
As for why they were wet—the faint smell of urine in the air made it all too clear.
Already furious at her failed scheme, Niu Fen grew even angrier at being seen in such a humiliating state by her daughter-in-law.
“None of your business! Why are you asking? Don’t you have chores to do?”
Spotting the book in Chun Xing’s hands and the timid little girl hiding behind her, Niu Fen’s rage flared even hotter.
“Let me make this clear—our Zhang family doesn’t waste money educating girls. You’d better drop that idea.”
“Besides, that’s not even a Zhang family child!”
With that, Niu Fen spat in disgust and stormed off to her room.
“Mommy… can’t Zhi Zhi go to school?” Chun Xing felt a small tug on her sleeve.
When she turned around, she saw her timid daughter, Zhi Zhi, looking up at her with tears glistening in her eyes.
It was clear—Zhi Zhi had been hurt by her grandmother’s words.
Chun Xing quickly hugged her daughter, comforting her. “No, no. Mommy will definitely let Zhi Zhi go to school.”
Zhi Zhi trusted her mother completely. If Mommy said so, then it must be true.
Wrapping her little arms around her mother’s neck, she said, “Mommy, Zhi Zhi will study hard, go to college, and give Mommy a very, very good life.”
“Okay,” Chun Xing replied, holding her daughter tighter, her eyes reddening.
Chun Xing was in her second marriage. Two years ago, she had married Zhang Jianjun, also a divorcee, bringing her daughter Zhi Zhi with her.
Her first husband had been abusive.
Both Chun Xing and Zhi Zhi had suffered his beatings. If it were just herself, she might have endured it. But seeing Zhi Zhi nearly beaten to death by her own father—
Chun Xing couldn’t take it anymore.
So she thought of a way and decisively divorced him.
At first, Chun Xing had planned to raise Zhi Zhi alone. But everyone around her kept insisting—
A woman raising a daughter by herself? Too difficult. Too easy to be bullied. A family needs a man.
And one day, Zhi Zhi might even be taken advantage of as a “fatherless girl.”
In the end, Chun Xing was persuaded to consider remarriage.
And so, she married Zhang Jianjun, also a divorcee.
Everyone said Chun Xing—just a village girl—was lucky to marry Zhang Jianjun, a deputy regimental-level officer.
Especially since Zhang Jianjun’s ex-wife had been infertile, meaning Chun Xing didn’t have to be a stepmother.
Once she and Zhang Jianjun had their own child, life would surely get better and better.
At the time, marrying Zhang Jianjun had seemed like the best choice.
Chun Xing had also considered that, given Zhang Jianjun’s rank and monthly salary, life for her and Zhi Zhi wouldn’t be bad.
But after the marriage, Chun Xing realized—nothing was as she had imagined.
For example, Zhang Jianjun’s mother, Niu Fen, had come to live with them as a military dependent. Worse, Zhang Jianjun’s salary was entirely controlled by his mother, who ruled the household.
Zhang Jianjun obeyed his mother in everything.
Whenever conflicts arose between Chun Xing and her mother-in-law, Zhang Jianjun always took his mother’s side. His reasoning?
“My mother gave birth to me, raised me, and sacrificed so much to get me where I am today. As my wife, can’t you be more understanding?”
“Having my mother manage the household actually makes your life easier, doesn’t it?”
“You married into this family, so you should prioritize us. Zhi Zhi will just marry out someday—she’s an outsider. Why waste so much thought on her? Do you really think she’ll take care of you when you’re old?”
Only after marriage did Chun Xing realize how deeply their values clashed.
She knew Zhang Jianjun was wrong. At first, she had tried to reason with him.
But eventually, she saw that his mindset was too entrenched, so she stopped arguing.
Now, two years into the marriage, her mother-in-law had been relentlessly pressuring her to have a son.
Yet Chun Xing had never gotten pregnant.
As a result, her mother-in-law’s disdain for Zhi Zhi grew worse by the day.
Zhi Zhi was now six years old. This September, Chun Xing had planned to enroll her in elementary school.
Leave a Reply