She let out a hearty laugh, raised her hand to cover her vermilion lips, and continued launching magical attacks in Liu Jia’s ear: “Just like those words the Huanxi Bookstore and its owner overheard yesterday…”

“You… you… you!”

Liu Jia bit her lip in fury, glaring fiercely at Ming Yue. Suddenly, those very words rang in her ears again—especially the word “three,” which seemed to echo like a curse, constantly reverberating in her mind and stabbing straight into her heart.

To make matters worse, right at that moment, Ming Yue, wearing an expression of sheer amusement, leaned even closer to her ear and unabashedly lowered her voice to whisper, “What’s wrong with me? Little Jiajia—or should I call you ‘the daughter of the Third’?”

Ming Yue deliberately emphasized the syllable “three,” letting it roll off her tongue like a drumbeat, pounding directly against Liu Jia’s eardrums.

The others in the room couldn’t hear a thing.

But Liu Jia, standing just a few feet away, could hear every single word crystal clearly.

Instantly, her scalp began to tingle. She clutched her head with both hands and bolted into her room, determined not to say another word—or even half a word—to this madwoman before her. All she wanted was to get as far away from her as possible.

The farther, the better.

Yet that didn’t stop Ming Yue’s plan.

In the days that followed, no matter where Liu Jia went, Ming Yue somehow always managed to appear “by chance” by her side, by her friends’ sides, or by her colleagues’ sides.

And that wasn’t even the worst part.

The real problem was that, regardless of the setting or who was around, Ming Yue could skillfully—and without anyone noticing—easily slip in that word “three,” which Liu Jia had grown to loathe more and more.

After a while, Liu Jia was on the verge of collapse.

She dreaded going out for fear of running into people, and she dreaded walking through her own door for fear of encountering Ming Yue. Even in her dreams, she couldn’t find peace; time after time, day after day, all she wanted was to buy a sharp knife, hone it until it was razor-sharp, and then plunge it straight into that omnipresent madwoman, ending her once and for all.

Liu Qinxin began to sense something was amiss.

Unfortunately, despite several rounds of questioning, she still couldn’t get any answers.

Especially after Ming Yue kept subjecting Liu Jia to constant magical attacks using the word “three,” Liu Jia grew increasingly resentful toward her own mother, developing stronger and stronger opinions about her—and coming to believe that everything happening now was entirely the fault of her mother, the one who’d been labeled “the Third.”

Liu Qinxin didn’t know the root cause, but she could tell there was definitely some connection with Ming Yue.

To prevent any unforeseen mishaps, after careful deliberation, she decided to temporarily send her two children to live with the nearby Liu family, effectively creating a brief separation from Ming Yue’s sinister tricks.

Little did she know, though, that this was exactly what Ming Yue had been aiming for!

At the Liu household, Liu Jia was sullen and dejected.

Aside from her younger brother, Liu Lai, she hardly spoke to anyone else in the Liu family.

Especially that annoying cousin, Liu Hao, whose origins were completely unknown—just looking at him made her feel inferior. She genuinely detested him, down to her very core, let alone having any conversation with him.

Liu Hao wasn’t stupid; he’d figured it out long ago.

But that didn’t stop him from frequently trying to win over Liu Jia and Liu Lai.

He especially went out of his way to curry favor with Liu Jia, practically showering her with attention.

That day, when Liu Jia came home from work, Liu Hao once again approached her, striking up a conversation.

With a broad grin, he waved at the exhausted-looking Liu Jia and said, “Cousin, you’re back from work? What would you like for dinner? I’ll cook it for you!”

Liu Jia shot him a sidelong glance and ignored him, continuing to walk inside with her bag slung over her shoulder.

Undeterred, Liu Hao kept trailing behind her, smiling and joking, “Cousin, have you been in a bad mood these past few days? Let me tell you, women shouldn’t be like this—it’s easy to develop nodules and can easily disrupt your menstrual cycle.”

“Will you ever stop?”

Liu Jia glared at Liu Hao, clearly growing impatient.

End of Chapter 81: Counterattack 7