Paranoid Girlfriend [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 9

The female lead continued squatting down to pull weeds.

This confrontation was clearly won by the female lead.

Dai Shi Yuan frowned in suspicion. This female lead didn’t seem as easy to bully as she was described in the book.

At the very least, she could talk back and didn’t just endure everything silently.

In the book, the early-stage female lead was very weak and was constantly made things difficult for by the male lead’s mother.

The male lead’s mother placed great importance on family background and social status. She desperately wanted her son to marry someone of equal standing.

The female lead’s family background was poor, so she was very disliked by the male lead’s mother and was often deliberately tormented.

As for why the female lead was able to marry the male lead, Dai Shi Yuan remembered that the marriage had been strongly promoted by the male lead’s father.

The male lead’s father actually liked the female lead very much.

Dai Shi Yuan carefully recalled the original plot. Before she knew it, an hour had passed, and the female lead had finished pulling all the weeds.

“Xiao Yuan, rest early. Don’t tire yourself out,” Shan Yaxin wiped the sweat from her face and smiled gently toward the window.

Dai Shi Yuan was startled by the sudden voice and quickly nodded.

Only after the female lead left carrying a full basket of grass on her back did her tense body finally relax.

Dai Shi Yuan took a deep breath, touched her wildly beating heart, and hurriedly closed the window.

This female lead always scared her. She really needed to stay far away.

After a good night’s sleep, Dai Shi Yuan woke up feeling refreshed.

Facing the mirror, she showed a brilliant smile, her eyes full of anticipation for the future.

She had just finished washing up when there was a rapid knocking at the door.

From the frequency, she could tell the person wasn’t the female lead.

After so many days of experience, she had already learned to identify whether it was the female lead outside based on the sound and rhythm of the knocking.

She had never been wrong.

This time, it wasn’t the female lead.

Dai Shi Yuan walked over with an unchanged expression and opened the door. Seeing it was a maid, she asked in confusion, “What happened?”

“Miss, Madam wants you to come downstairs,” the maid said anxiously, her face showing clear fear.

Dai Shi Yuan’s heart sank, and her body tensed slightly.

The male lead’s parents had actually returned…

If she went down, would she expose herself?

In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Dai Shi Yuan’s mind. The more she thought, the more worried she became. She hesitated and didn’t move.

Seeing Dai Shi Yuan standing still with her eyes lowered, the maid continued, “Madam is very angry right now. She called early this morning. You’d better go down quickly.”

“Called?” Dai Shi Yuan keenly caught this detail. After thinking quickly, she looked up and asked, “They haven’t come back yet?”

“Master and Madam haven’t returned yet. If they had, Ping Xue would definitely be in even worse shape,” the maid said, shivering as if still frightened.

Dai Shi Yuan frowned. She guessed something must have happened.

But knowing that the male lead’s parents hadn’t returned, she felt much more at ease and followed the maid out.

As she walked downstairs, she saw the housekeeper and all the servants gathered in the living room. Even the female lead was there.

Everyone stood with serious expressions, standing neatly in line.

Only one person was kneeling on the floor facing the coffee table, head lowered, body trembling nonstop.

Even without seeing her face, Dai Shi Yuan knew it was Ping Xue.

Beside Ping Xue lay a purple qipao scattered on the floor.

Dai Shi Yuan looked somewhat puzzled. Seeing everyone’s solemn faces, she didn’t dare ask too many questions.

When they saw Dai Shi Yuan come down, the housekeeper immediately held up a phone and said, “Miss, please tell Madam what happened yesterday in the ironing room.”

On the video call was the face of a wealthy-looking lady. Although she was a bit plump, one could tell she had been a beauty in her younger days.

Dai Shi Yuan felt nervous. She blinked, lowered her lashes, and recounted the events in a soft voice.

When she heard that Dai Shi Yuan had willingly given the dress away, Dai’s mother instantly turned livid with rage and scolded furiously, “Do you even know how valuable this dress is? I specially commissioned the best qipao master to make it. There are only two of these in the entire world.”

“I…” Dai Shi Yuan’s heart tightened. She lowered her head to hide the surprise in her eyes.

This male lead’s mother was really fierce. Although the original story mentioned she had a bad temper, facing it in person was truly hard to endure.

“All my friends have seen me wearing this qipao. Now you’ve given yours to a maid. Are you trying to make everyone laugh at me for wearing the same clothes as a servant?” The more Dai’s mother spoke, the angrier she became. By the end, her voice had risen to the highest volume, audible throughout the entire hall.

Her face occupied nearly half the phone screen, looking somewhat terrifying.

Dai Shi Yuan glanced up quickly, then lowered her head again and put on an apologetic attitude.

This Madam Dai was truly strict. She was scolding her own “daughter” so harshly over a single piece of clothing. It was something Dai Shi Yuan found hard to understand.

“Enough, don’t speak so loudly. What if you scare Xiao Yuan?” A deep male voice came through the phone. Soon after, the image on the screen changed to a mature and handsome face.

Dai Shi Yuan knew from the voice that it was Dai’s father. She couldn’t help lifting her head to take a look.

The male lead’s father was very good-looking, with sharp features, kind eyes, and the mature charm of his age. He looked very reliable.

The male lead’s appearance probably wasn’t bad either.

“Xiao Yuan, don’t be upset. Your mom just has a quick temper. She’s not really blaming you. Don’t take it to heart,” Dai’s father comforted her gently. His softened tone was like coaxing a child, completely unlike a mature and steady man.

Dai Shi Yuan quickly shook her head, pursed her lips, and showed an obedient smile.

Seeing this, Dai’s father’s expression became even gentler and kinder. He said to Dai’s mother beside him, “The one at fault in this matter is Ping Xue. If you want to blame someone, blame her. Don’t take it out on Xiao Yuan.”

“Who’s taking it out on her?” Dai’s mother retorted unhappily, her momentum and attitude no longer as aggressive as before.

From their conversation, Dai Shi Yuan roughly understood who held the real authority in this family.

It was undoubtedly Dai’s father. Even the arrogant and domineering Dai’s mother acted somewhat like a little woman in front of him.

“Housekeeper, point the phone at Ping Xue. I have something to say to her,” Dai’s mother ordered while suppressing her anger.

The housekeeper immediately complied.

Seeing that she wasn’t needed anymore, Dai Shi Yuan obediently stood to the side.

She didn’t pay attention to where she stood, and only realized after she stopped that the person beside her was the female lead.

Dai Shi Yuan was startled and stood straight, looking straight ahead.

Shan Yaxin gave Dai Shi Yuan a faint glance before shifting her gaze to Ping Xue.

Ping Xue knelt on the ground, shaking like a sieve, not daring to raise her head to look at Madam Dai on the video.

“Ping Xue, you’ve grown bolder and bolder. You actually dared to secretly wear the young miss’s clothes,” Dai’s mother questioned coldly. Her expression was full of contempt and arrogance, her tone much harsher than before.

Ping Xue was so scared that she burst into tears. She kowtowed while begging, “Madam, I was just possessed for a moment. Please spare me this once…”

“You lowly girl still dare to beg for mercy? Housekeeper, slap her mouth hard so she can’t speak,” Dai’s mother said through gritted teeth, her voice vicious.

The housekeeper immediately obeyed.

“No… don’t…” Ping Xue struggled desperately, shaking her head from side to side. Tears streamed down her face, and her neatly combed hair became completely disheveled.

Her originally clean and tidy appearance now looked like a madwoman.

The housekeeper ignored Ping Xue’s pleas. He had people hold her arms and began slapping her face hard.

A man’s strength was no small thing, especially since the housekeeper showed no mercy.

Ping Xue’s mouth quickly began to bleed. Her pleas became unclear, replaced by muffled “wuu wuu” sounds.

In the large living room, the woman’s hoarse, desperate screams and miserable cries rang out from time to time.

Dai Shi Yuan could almost imagine the bloody scene. Fortunately, she had lowered her head in advance.

This villa had its own set of rules. From her perspective, they went against her values, but in this kind of old melodramatic novel, they were very common.

After these past few days, she had already grown used to it.

Beside her, Shan Yaxin quietly curled her lips, a trace of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

The servants present all watched the punishment quietly. No one spoke up to stop it.

Only after the housekeeper had beaten Ping Xue until her face was covered in blood and her expression was dazed did Dai’s mother finally feel satisfied.

“Throw this dress and this woman out together,” Dai’s mother said coldly, her face full of disgust.

The housekeeper immediately carried out the order.

When she was dragged out, Ping Xue was no longer struggling. Her eyes were hollow, and blood occasionally flowed from the corners of her mouth.

Dai Shi Yuan looked up and saw Ping Xue’s pathetic back as she was dragged away with her head hanging limply and her limbs powerless.

Compared to her arrogant attitude yesterday, she now looked lifeless, as if she was about to die.

Dai Shi Yuan was slightly shocked.

If the law didn’t forbid it, Madam Dai probably would have beaten Ping Xue to death.

The male lead’s mother was truly terrifying—almost twisted. She had tortured someone to the brink of collapse over a single piece of clothing.

The female lead had probably suffered no small amount of torment from her.

Dai Shi Yuan quietly glanced at the female lead beside her but saw no unusual expression.

She had thought the female lead would look happy, since Ping Xue had bullied her several times.

After Ping Xue’s punishment, the villa returned to calm.

Dai Shi Yuan returned to her room and quietly thought about the whole incident.

Ping Xue being suddenly punished by Madam Dai today was definitely not a coincidence.

Everyone in the villa knew about the qipao incident. Anyone could have reported it to Madam Dai.

Ping Xue had bullied quite a lot of people usually, so many servants held grudges against her.

But Dai Shi Yuan’s intuition told her that the female lead was behind this, even though she had no evidence.

Right now, she was truly a little confused. The female lead’s character setting was supposed to be gentle and kind to the point of weakness—she shouldn’t resist any injustice.

But this matter with Ping Xue felt strange to her.

Dai Shi Yuan rubbed her forehead and stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, she was going to stay far away from the female lead. No matter what the female lead became, it had nothing to do with her.

She just needed to protect her own life. There was no need to overthink other things.

Once the admission notice arrived, she would leave this place immediately, find a house near the school, and completely distance herself from this family.