Tian Sangsang's expression turned icy. Summoning all her strength, she lifted her hand and grabbed Chen Guilan's hand, which was pinching her shoulder, and flung it away. Despite the pain, she climbed out of bed, staring at the fierce rural woman in front of her, and spat out a single word coldly, "Get out."
Her gaze was as sharp as knives, startling Chen Guilan. The old Tian Sangsang, though domineering, only bullied peers or children. She wouldn't dare make a sound in front of the elders, letting them mess around with her as they pleased.
"Indeed, just a lowly girl—no father, no mother, no upbringing. Is this how you talk to your third aunt?" Chen Guilan stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at her.
Tian Sangsang had already accepted the memories of the original host, so she naturally understood what type of person her third aunt was. She silently glanced around the room, taking stock. In the room, apart from her, there were two others—Chen Guilan and Tian Tian. Outside the door, a crowd of villagers were watching the spectacle.
Sigh… Even now, not a single person was willing to speak up for the original host. Clearly, the original host's relationships were abysmal.
Fine, for now, she could only rely on herself.
She, Tian Sangsang, was not someone who would let others bully her.
"I'm simply repaying like for like. Third Aunt, whenever you were at home, you never addressed me like a proper niece—always calling me 'fatty' this and 'fatty' that. If you never treated me with respect, why should I be polite to you?" Tian Sangsang smiled faintly, though the smile never reached her eyes.
Chen Guilan sneered twice, her grin sharp and mocking. "Fine, then I won't bother being polite today either. You beat up our Tiantian so badly, and now tell me—how are you going to compensate us? If Tiantian's face scars over, you couldn't afford to pay for the damage no matter how much money you have. My demands aren't even that high: let me hit you back once, and then apologize to Tiantian."
"You feel sorry for Tian Tian's injured face? Then what about my injuries all over my body, and the back of my head, which was bashed to the point of bleeding?" Tian Sangsang instinctively touched the wound, her brow furrowing from the sharp pain, and inhaled deeply: "All of these were caused by Tian Tian. How are you going to compensate me for that?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Chen Guilan was furious and shouted at Tian Sangsang: "You clearly rolled down the slope by yourself, and now you dare frame our Tiantian. Tian Sangsang, you must have a truly wicked heart!"
"With so many people present today, it's only fitting that I speak the truth." Tian Sangsang shifted her gaze away from her, and said indifferently, "Yes, I did write Teacher Zhou a love letter. Teacher Zhou invited me to meet him at the back hill, saying he wanted to give me an answer."
The crowd instantly erupted into sounds of disdain.
"But when I arrived at the back hill, I saw Teacher Zhou and Tian Tian flirting with each other. I never expected Tian Tian, who normally acts so demure, to be so uninhibited—cuddling openly with a man in broad daylight. When I went over to intervene, she attacked me. We fought, and maybe because their little secret got exposed, Teacher Zhou joined Tian Tian in hitting me. After that, I don't even know which of their feet tripped me, but I ended up rolling down the slope."
The truth was, Tian Sangsang had gone to the back hill with great anticipation to meet Teacher Zhou, only to see Zhou Zheng leaning close to Tian Tian, sweet-talking her. Zhou Zheng had first read aloud the love letter Tian Sangsang wrote, then tore it up, sneering: "There are some people who are dead, yet they're still alive. And some people who are alive, yet are as good as dead from being so fat." Tian Tian had mocked her outright too. It was then that Tian Sangsang realized Zhou Zheng and Tian Tian had conspired to humiliate her. You could say this marked the second epiphany of Tian Sangsang's life—the first being her bold decision to force herself upon a handsome man. What went through her mind was originally Tian Sangsang's own consciousness. It must be said, Tian Sangsang, the original host, truly had guts—even the transmigrator wasn't as uninhibited as she. For that, she deserved a nod of recognition. Tian Tian's ridicule deeply wounded Tian Sangsang, and the latter couldn't suppress her rage, slapping Tian Tian across the face. The pair then started grappling with each other. Zhou Zheng, seeing his beloved woman being bullied, picked up a rock and struck Tian Sangsang hard on the back of her head. Dizzy and unstable, Tian Sangsang was tripped by Tian Tian and tumbled down the slope. And while the injuries from rolling down weren't severe, Zhou Zheng's blow to the back of her head was ultimately fatal, leading to the original host's death. If evidence existed, this could count as intentional homicide in the modern day.
Though the original host was foolish, ignorant, domineering, and obese, none of these were reasons for her to deserve to die. Someday, she must avenge the original host and seek justice against Zhou Zheng.
People looked on with disbelief.
Someone immediately retorted: "Tian Sangsang, we've watched Tiantian grow up; there's no way she would do something so indecent. Maybe you're just blaming her because Teacher Zhou rejected you."
"Why would I accuse her for no reason?" Tian Sangsang turned to the speaker. "I was baffled, too. I heard that Teacher Zhou and Chen Ying were dating, so what's he doing cozying up to Tian Tian? I didn't believe it, so I asked her about it. Tian Tian mocked me, saying: 'Cousin, do you even know what kind of person you are? How could Teacher Zhou possibly like someone like you? Fat, dark-skinned, shameless, dragging around a bastard child. You should go home and see for yourself in a mirror. You're just a rural farm woman—what part of you deserves Teacher Zhou?'"
These words were indeed crude—so much so that it was hard to imagine Tiantian, such a delicate beauty, saying them. But this was the truth. People can mask their true selves.
She spoke sincerely, and the villagers hesitated.
Then Tian Sangsang struck another blow: "So what if we're farmers? This isn't the old society anymore; everyone is equal now. We don't steal, we don't cheat—honest work for honest pay. Are city dwellers inherently more noble than us? Are we really inferior to them? Tian Tian looks down on farmwomen, but wasn't she born and raised in the countryside herself?"
"This…" Li Xiaoqin's expression shifted as her gaze turned suspiciously toward Tian Tian. "Tiantian, did you really say that?"
Before Tian Tian could reply, Tian Sangsang preempted her with a sweet yet cutting smile: "Why would I waste my time fabricating this entire speech just to insult myself? Don't you agree, dear cousin?"
"I didn't—I really didn't say anything like that. Tian Sangsang, you're slandering me." Tian Tian trembled, eyes red, and looked pleadingly at Chen Guilan for help.
"What kind of disgraceful daughter has Big Brother and Sister-in-law raised? Shameless little wretch!" Chen Guilan, overwhelmed with rage, stormed forward and slapped Tian Sangsang hard across the face. "I'll teach you to spout nonsense! I'll teach you to falsely accuse my daughter! You damn jinx, filthy brat! Fat, unwanted mess! Keep talking nonsense and I'll beat you to death—"
The attack happened too fast. The villagers were shocked by Chen Guilan's wild behavior, but nobody stepped in to help—after all, most were inclined to side with Tian Tian. Even so, Chen Guilan's violent outburst was excessive, and her insults couldn't have been uglier. Especially considering how battered Tian Sangsang already looked.
Caught off guard, Tian Sangsang took two hard slaps, leaving her head throbbing painfully.
This was utterly intolerable! Biting her lip, she felt a surge of fury rise within her, and she suddenly reached out to seize the arm Chen Guilan was using to strike her.