Ming Xia had no idea where her older brother had suddenly gotten such a fiery temper from, and she simply couldn’t believe that these were the very words her own brother had just spoken to her!

That was her own brother!

The very brother who had loved and indulged her unconditionally since childhood!

No matter what mistakes she made, he had always stood by her without question. Even when she quarreled with her sister-in-law, he was always the first to come over and comfort her.

How could it be that today, when she hadn’t done anything wrong at all, he would turn around and act so cold and distant?

“Brother…”

Two hot tears rolled down Ming Xia’s cheeks as she lowered her head, biting her lip. Her eyes were red, and she put on the pitiful expression she’d always adopted whenever she ran into trouble since she was little.

But Ming Shuo showed not the slightest bit of sympathy.

With a stern face, he glanced at Ming Xia and said, “You want to leave, don’t you? Then why aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Shuo’er!” Ma Fengying tried to speak up.

Ming Shuo immediately cut her off: “Mom, this time don’t spoil her! Let her go! She’s in her forties and still hasn’t accomplished anything—she won’t even get a job, can’t manage her family well, and can’t even raise her daughter properly. And here I am, her uncle, having to look after her. The most infuriating thing is that someone so grown-up still doesn’t use any common sense when she talks or acts. If we keep her around, she’ll only bring trouble sooner or later. It’s better for her to leave as soon as possible—far away, the farther the better!”

Ming Shuo was truly angry now.

No matter what his mother said, he wouldn’t back down.

How could Ming Xia possibly accept such an insult?

She refused to lower her head any further.

Once her stubborn streak kicked in, Ming Xia simply wiped all expression off her face, gritted her teeth, squared her chin, puffed out her chubby cheeks, and stubbornly shot back, “Fine, I’ll leave! Ming Shuo, don’t think that I can’t get by without you! I’m not even interested in staying in this smoky, stinking dump of a place anyway!”

After spitting out those harsh words, Ming Xia turned around and started to walk away.

How could Ma Fengying bear to let her go?

She quickly grabbed her daughter and tried to reason with her son, all the while shooting a venomous glance at the fox spirit in his arms. Suddenly, she thought that her old, honest daughter-in-law Song Huiyun was much better—no matter how much she scolded her, she never argued back or secretly went to tattle on her son; at most, she’d just sulk and hide herself.

But then she remembered something: it had been many years since she’d seen her son lose his temper like this. Knowing that she probably couldn’t sway his mind today or save her daughter, she immediately gave Liu Qinxin a meaningful look.

Of course, Liu Qinxin understood perfectly.

But she understood even better what kind of look that old fox had just given her.

A flicker of darkness crossed Liu Qinxin’s eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. She stepped out of Ming Shuo’s arms and softly looked at him: “Brother Shuo, anger aside, please don’t really let Ming Xia leave. By herself…”

“Fox spirit, stop pretending to be a good person here! Isn’t it disgusting? Playing both the whore and the saint—don’t you feel sick about it? I do!”

Before Liu Qinxin, who was holding her nose to plead Ming Xia’s case, could finish her sentence, Ming Xia had already burst out in a tirade.

Liu Qinxin’s eyes filled with tears, and she immediately grabbed the corner of Ming Shuo’s shirt, snuggling into his embrace and sobbing.

Right after that, Ming Xia received a loud slap from her brother, Ming Shuo.

And so, the Ming family living room erupted into a heated battle.

The argument was absolutely raging.

When Liu Lai and Liu Jia, who had been sent back into the house by Liu Qinxin, heard the commotion, they hurried downstairs and both gathered around their mother, Liu Qinxin.

Sometime during all this, Ming Yue, standing on the second-floor balcony, watched the whole scene unfold. But instead of laughing, she just rested her chin on her hands, her arms propped on the railing, completely absorbed in the spectacle.

Especially every word and every move of Liu Qinxin—although she had done her homework before coming back and knew Liu Qinxin inside and out, if not intimately, then at least extremely well—still, seeing the way the Liu family spoke and acted firsthand, Ming Yue couldn’t help but marvel: setting aside Liu Qinxin’s face, just her seductive charm and perfectly timed displays of weakness alone made her utterly outmatched.

There was no doubt that Mom had lost.

But…

Just as Ming Yue was starting to drift off, two pairs of eyes came flying down from below.

They belonged to Ming Shuo and Liu Qinxin.

One was staring at her with icy coldness.

The other was looking at her with a half-smile.

Ming Yue yawned, neither dodging nor avoiding their gaze. She just kept lying there, locking eyes with the two of them, staring for what felt like ages—until finally, the two downstairs gave up and quietly withdrew their gaze.

“Boring! What are you even looking at? You’re not even bothering to fight with me—Grandma has all the insults ready, isn’t that a waste of effort?”

Ming Yue muttered under her breath, then looked down again—and everyone had already dispersed.

Ming Xia, the self-proclaimed heroine, was beaten so badly that she cried uncontrollably, and in her anger, she stormed out of the house, taking nothing with her except a backpack.

End of Chapter 21: Going to the Theater