“Elder sister and Aunt? Why are you here? We are just about to go and look for you,” Qiao Mei said in surprise.
At this moment, Xia He looked troubled. Xia Fang did not think much of it, but Xia He felt very apologetic towards both Qiao Mei and her aunt.
“Qiao Mei, I want to apologize to you,” Xia He said sincerely as she looked into Qiao Mei’s eyes.
“What’s wrong, elder sister?” Qiao Mei was puzzled to hear that.
Xia Zhe looked at Xia He. He knew that Xia He would not take the initiative to reach out unless it was something very important.
“Come, elder sister. Come in and talk.” Qiao Mei pulled Xia He into the house.
Xia Zhe looked at his aunt as they followed behind and asked, “What happened?”
Xia Fang shook her head helplessly and said, “It’s Xia He’s sister-in-law. She had caused some trouble.”
“You’ve both come over so early in the morning, have you had breakfast?” Xia Zhe asked.
“We haven’t eaten yet. Xiao He and I came out at dawn,” Xia Fang said.
“We haven’t eaten either. Let’s go out and buy some food and let the two of them talk.” After saying that, Xia Zhe and Xia Fang went out to buy breakfast from a nearby shop, and also to visit Zhou Sheng.
Inside the house, Qiao Mei brought Xia He into the main hall to talk and served her a cup of tea.
“Elder sister, don’t be anxious. Have some tea first. What happened?” Qiao Mei asked.
Xia He had not eaten or drank anything yet since waking up very early in the morning. She quickly took a sip of tea and then took out 2,000 dollars from her pocket.
“Sister-in-law, I’m so sorry. I know that the set of jewelry you bought for Aunt costs 2,000 dollars,” Xia He said.
“Yes, it’s 2,000 dollars. But elder sister, what is the money for?” Qiao Mei looked at Xia He and felt at a loss.
“It’s like this. Kong Li has taken that set of jewelry and I’m unable to remove what she had already worn, so I have no choice. Take it that I have bought over this set of jewelry and I’m compensating you for it.” Xia He pushed the money towards Qiao Mei.
That night, Xia He had repeatedly reminded Xia Fang to lock all the drawers and cabinet doors in the house, but she was still a step too late.
The next morning, Xia He woke up to find Kong Li wearing Xia Fang’s jewelry and admiring herself in the bedroom. She could not take the jewelry off Kong Li no matter how hard she tried. Whenever she tried, Kong Li would kick up a big fuss. Even though both she and Xia Fang tried, the two of them could not win against Kong Li, so she had no choice but to come and apologize to Qiao Mei.
“She slapped you, didn’t she?” Qiao Mei asked with a frown.
Although the marks on Xia He’s face had mostly disappeared, it was still obvious that the left and right sides of her face looked different. It was obvious that she had been hit by someone.
Xia He gently touched her cheek and used her hand to block the marks.
“I’m fine. It’s almost fully recovered,” Xia He said.
Qiao Mei went to the kitchen to get a hardboiled egg for Xia He to use on her face.
“Take this money and buy another set of jewelry. You can give it to Aunt or do whatever you want with it. This whole matter is my fault,” Xia He said guiltily as she looked at Qiao Mei.
Qiao Mei smiled indifferently. If the jewelry was broken, she could go and buy new ones. If she lost something, she could get a replacement. However, she felt that it was a little too much that elder sister had been beaten up for no reason and then still had to be the one to repay the money.
“I don’t want money, and you shouldn’t be the one paying for it.” Qiao Mei said as she pushed the money back.
“It’s alright, I’m willing to do it,” Xia He continued. “Just take the money. I’ll feel better this way.”
Qiao Mei did not refuse anymore. If this money was in Xia He’s hands, it would be taken away by the Kong family sooner or later. Moreover, Kong Li already knew that Xia He had come to find her to compensate her today. If she did not accept the money and Kong Li found out, then Kong Li would definitely find other reasons to ask Xia He for the money.
“Alright, then leave the money with me. But we can’t let this matter rest just like that. She definitely has to pay for the slap she gave you,” Qiao Mei said with resentment.
This gave Xia He a fright and she hurriedly said, “Mei Mei, you can’t go. You’re currently pregnant. What if she attacks you and something happens to you?”
Qiao Mei thought for a moment and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll have Xia Zhe with me. He won’t let anything happen to me.”
