Courtyard House: Home Alone

Jia Zhangshi was so intimidated by Lin Yifan's aura that she was speechless for a moment.

But she was used to throwing tantrums, and she quickly recovered, shouting in a fierce but weak voice, "You...you're trying to scare me! I...I was just saying it offhand! You hit my son, you have to pay me! It's only right!" After saying that, she raised her hand and rushed towards Lin Yifan.

At this time, Madam Jia was not as fat as she would be in later generations, but she was still more plump than the average person. As for Jia Dongxu losing his hand and Jia Gui being beaten, she had long forgotten about it.

In her eyes, Lin Yifan was just a seven-year-old child, and it was a piece of cake for her to win him over.

If we can tame this child, then those rooms in his house will be ours! The Jia family will have their own house in Beiping. We can also save on the rent we pay the old lady every month.

Lin Yifan coldly watched Jia Zhangshi lunge at him, his figure blurring as he simultaneously kicked out with his right foot towards the side of her knee.

With a soft "crack," followed by a piercing scream from Jia Zhangshi, she fell to the cold ground with a thud. She clutched her knees and rolled around on the ground, tears and snot streaming down her face from the pain, groaning incoherently. All traces of her previous arrogance had vanished.

Lin Yifan looked down at her, his eyes devoid of any warmth: "Jia Zhangshi, this is what you asked for. I warned you long ago not to provoke me again. You wouldn't listen, and now you know the pain?"

Madam Jia Zhang was trembling with pain. Pointing at Lin Yifan, she cursed intermittently, "You...you little beast...you dare hit me...I'll fight you to the death..."

She struggled to get up, but the sharp pain in her knees made her wince in pain with the slightest exertion, and she couldn't move at all.

Lin Yifan sneered, "Fight? What do you have to fight me with? Just your old bones? Let me tell you, even if it were Jia Gui, I'd still make him leave lying on his back!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling pressure. Jia Zhangshi felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze; it was a complete disregard, as if she were less than an ant in his eyes.

She then realized that she had bitten off more than she could chew. This Lin Yifan was not at all the boy she remembered who she could easily manipulate.

"You...you wait...I...I'm going to find the police..." Jia Zhangshi said fiercely, but her voice was distorted by pain and fear.

"The police?" Lin Yifan said as if he had heard a joke. "Fine, go ahead and call them. Let the police settle this and see if you were right to falsely accuse me first, or if I was right to defend myself."

Just then, the neighbors in the middle and front yards heard the commotion and opened their doors to see what was happening. They were all stunned to see Jia Zhangshi lying on the ground groaning and Lin Yifan standing at the door with a cold expression.

"What...what's wrong? Aunt Jia, what's wrong with you?" Grandpa Liu from the front yard asked, frowning.

"Yes, Jia Zhangshi, why are you lying at Xiao Fan's door crying and wailing?" Aunt Qian asked from the side.

When Jia Zhangshi saw that the neighbors had all come out, she immediately felt like she had found her pillar of support. Ignoring her aching knees, she started throwing a tantrum: "Oh dear, neighbors, come and judge this!"

That little bastard Lin Yifan, he not only crippled my son's hand, but now he's hitting me too! Look at my leg, ouch, it hurts so much... He's trying to wipe out the entire Jia family..."

She cried and wailed while glancing at her neighbors, hoping to elicit their sympathy.

However, the neighbors looked at each other, most of them with suspicion on their faces.

Who doesn't Jia Zhangshi know? She's a master of gossip and twisting the truth. Lin Yifan may not be talkative, but he's not the type to cause trouble. Besides, everyone knows what happened when Jia Dongxu's hand was broken.

"Xiao Fan, what exactly happened?" Grandpa Liu looked at Lin Yifan, his tone relatively calm.

Lin Yifan spoke calmly, briefly recounting the events that had transpired: how Jia Zhangshi knocked on the door and began cursing, how she attacked him, and how he defended himself. He didn't embellish the story; he simply stated the facts.

"Listen, everyone! Listen, everyone!"

Jia Zhangshi immediately screamed, "He's lying! He's spouting nonsense! He clearly hit me first! I just came to ask him for medical expenses, and he beat me up like this! Oh, why is my life so miserable..."

"Aunt Jia," Lin Yifan's eyes turned cold, "you know in your heart whether I'm lying or not. Someone at the door should have seen you lunge at me just now, right?"

As soon as he said this, Li Guixiang, who was holding Xu Damao beside him, immediately said, "I...I think I just saw Jia Zhangshi rush towards Xiaofan first..."

Although the sound wasn't loud, it could be clearly heard in the quiet courtyard. Madam Jia's face changed, and she glared fiercely at Li Guixiang: "You slut! All you know is howling at night, what do you know?!"

Li Guixiang blushed as she was scolded, and shrank back while holding her child, not daring to say another word.

But her words just now had already given many neighbors a clue. After all, given Jia Zhangshi's character, her words were hardly credible.

"Mrs. Jia, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

Old Liu from the front yard couldn't stand it anymore and frowned, saying, "Guixiang meant well, why are you cursing her like that? Besides, Xiaofan is just a kid, why would he hit you for no reason? I bet you've provoked him again, haven't you?"

"I didn't! I didn't!" Madam Jia jumped up and down in a panic, but her knees hurt terribly, so she could only wail, "It was him! He's the one who hit me! None of you believe me! Waaah... What sins has our Jia family committed..."

Just then, Yi Zhonghai also came over after hearing the noise. Seeing the scene before him, Yi Zhonghai frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on? It's pitch black, what's all the noise about?"

As if seeing a savior, Madam Jia cried out, "Xiao Yi! You've come at the perfect time! Please, judge this for me! This Lin Yifan broke my son's hand, and now he's broken my leg! You must stand up for us, a widow and her orphan!"

Yi Zhonghai's gaze swept over Lin Yifan, then fell on Jia Zhangshi on the ground. His eyes flickered; he had been lusting after the voluptuous Jia Zhangshi for quite some time.

This is a good opportunity to put pressure on the Lin family boy and also to curry favor with Madam Jia.

"Xiao Fan," Yi Zhonghai turned to Lin Yifan, his tone stern, "Is what Aunt Jia said true? Why did you hit someone again?"

Lin Yifan met Yi Zhonghai's gaze with neither humility nor arrogance: "Uncle Yi, things are not as she said. She came to my door first, shouting insults and extorting money from me, and then she attacked me. I was just defending myself."

If you don't believe me, you can ask Aunt Xu and Grandpa Liu, as well as other neighbors who came out after hearing the commotion, and see who started it.