Volume 1, Chapter 25: Rainbow After the Rain

"That is not my mother."

I shook my head. Liu Fangfei looked surprised, pinching her chin as she deduced, "I get it. You want to use these photos to blackmail my father, but that trick won't work too well. He’s always out chasing women; he’s got skin as thick as a wall!"

I couldn't help but laugh, finding Liu Fangfei innocent and endearing. It sounded like she didn't have much affection for her father either.

"That woman is my stepmother. I just want to use these photos to make her behave. Besides, I want her to stop bullying me," I admitted.

"Oh, I see!" Liu Fangfei nodded, then asked, "You mentioned earlier that my dad wants to call the police. How did you offend him? Don't get me wrong, I didn't give these photos to him."

I believed her. If she had handed those photos to Liu Ziwen beforehand, I surely wouldn't have been able to leave the jewelry store so easily.

"I worked as a security guard at your father's jewelry store for two days, and he just fired me. He framed me for stealing twenty thousand yuan and threatened to call the police." I told her the truth without holding back. Feeling a lingering sense of suffocation, I sighed.

"My father is a treacherous villain, a total piece of scum. He's exactly the type to do something like that," Liu Fangfei cursed angrily.

"Is your relationship with your father not good?" I asked boldly.

"He is the person I hate most in this world. Every day, I pray that a piece of trash like him gets hit by a car on the street or comes down with a dozen types of cancer." Liu Fangfei’s small face turned red, and her small fists were clenched so tight they turned a ghostly white.

It was raining outside, and no one came into the shop. Liu Fangfei told me that her parents had divorced over a decade ago. Liu Ziwen had transferred his assets in advance, leaving her and her mother effectively penniless, with only a small house in the suburbs to their name. This photo studio was owned by her uncle, and after she failed her college entrance exams, she came here to help out.

Liu Ziwen was very wealthy, but he never remarried. He spent his time indulging in debauchery and chasing women. Rumor had it he already had illegitimate children. He held his own daughter in contempt and completely ignored her, even defaulting on child support payments. Her mother, timid and weak-willed by nature, could only swallow her grievances and weep day after day. When Liu Fangfei went to the jewelry store to make a scene, Liu Ziwen had heartlessly slapped her and kicked her out, showing no mercy and not giving her a single cent.

A father like that was no better than an animal. Liu Fangfei was truly pitiful. By comparison, my father was much better than Liu Ziwen. I opened up to her as well, explaining my own family situation. My once-happy family of four had been torn apart by Xu Li.

For the past few years, I had lived under the shadow of my stepmother, always dreaming of a way to break free.

The rain stopped. A rainbow stretched across the sky, a magnificent sight. Liu Fangfei walked me out of the studio and gave me a light hug.

"Zhou Yan, I wish you success. I hope we can both break our chains and find our true selves."

I nodded vigorously, offering a friendly smile. "Thank you, you be happy too!"

"I’ve always been happy! If life deceives you, do not be sorrowful or resentful; keep your heart set on the future," Liu Fangfei encouraged with a giggle.

I looked at her. She wasn't exactly beautiful, and there were a few small freckles on her face. But she radiated youthful vitality, and her smile, in particular, was truly infectious. I waved goodbye and headed back home.

The post-rain sunlight felt warm on my skin. A warmth lingered in my heart, long after parting—a gift from a stranger named Liu Fangfei.

When I returned home, Xu Li was sitting on the sofa. The television was off, and her face was dark, as if she had been waiting for me.

"Xiao Yan, how could you do this?" Xu Li scoffed.

"What did I do?" I looked at her calmly. She was a master actress, fully immersed in her role.

"I went through so much trouble to find you a job, and you didn't even last two days before stealing money. You've humiliated your father and me," she said indignantly.

I curled my lips into a smile and asked deliberately, "Did Liu Ziwen tell you that?"

"Yes, he is furious and keeps threatening to call the police. For your sake, I’ve said every nice thing I could. I’ve never been so humble in my life."

"That was a frame-up. I didn't take his dirty money." My voice grew louder, yet remained calm.

Xu Li’s brows knit into a deep furrow. She looked at me—the boy who had always been timid—with surprise, before giving a contemptuous snort.

"Saying that is useless. You entered his office; either way, you can't clear your name." Seeing that I didn't speak, she continued her threat, "If they take you to the police station, one beating and you'll confess to everything. By then, you won't just be paying back the money; you'll be going to jail."

"But I don't have the money. What should I do?" I spread my hands.

"I don't know where you hid it, but knowing your character, you'll probably deny it until the end. I’ve just made a deal with Mr. Liu: you go back to work tomorrow, work for free for two years, and use your wages to pay off the debt."

The solution Xu Li proposed shocked me to my core. Their plan was to trap me, effectively shackling me to them.

"Impossible. I have to go back to school to retake my exams!"

"Retake your ass!" Xu Li cursed. "With your character, even if you got into college, you’d just be a piece of social scum, wasting the family's money."

Xu Li’s true colors were showing. She had never intended for me to retake my exams; she only wanted to kick me out of the house and continue her life of darkness.

It was time to show my hand. I gritted my teeth and said, "I will not go back to the jewelry store, but I believe you can handle Liu Ziwen for me."

"In your dreams!" Xu Li scoffed, dismissive.

"See for yourself!" I pulled the envelope of photos from my pocket, threw it onto the sofa, and turned to head upstairs.

At the corner of the stairs, I caught a glimpse of Xu Li staring at the photos, her mouth agape, frozen like a statue. At that moment, I felt a sense of relief I had never known before.

Not long after I returned to my room, Xu Li stormed in, shouting angrily.

"Who gave you the nerve to stalk and photograph me? This is illegal!"

"I don't care about the law; you forced me to do this." I threatened her nonchalantly. "Once I give these photos to my father, you’re finished!"

"They’re just a few photos that look intimate. Do you really think your father will believe you?" Xu Li sneered.

"Then let's find out."

"I really want to kill you!" she roared.

"Go ahead!" I puffed out my chest, having nothing left to lose. "You’re the one who’s cheap, spending my father's money while cheating on him behind his back. What right do you have to be so arrogant?"

Xu Li fell silent, her face ashen.

"Xu Li, do you really think I'm stupid? Zheng Juan framing me for harassment was your doing. Liu Ziwen framing me for theft was a trap you conspired with him to set. You gave me laxatives to ruin my college entrance exams, and you always secretly encouraged my father to hit me, making our relationship worse and worse until we were like enemies."

"I don't understand why you keep trying to destroy me."

"I’ve endured again and again, but you just won't stop. Do you really have to see me dead before you're satisfied?"

"How deep is the hatred between us?"

...

My years of suppressed resentment finally erupted in that moment.