Everyone watched the black vehicle disappear into the distance until someone finally shattered the heavy, suffocating silence with a scream filled with raw, unadulterated rage.
"Chen Meili! You are a complete and total jinx! You have single-handedly ruined all of us!" One of the male relatives shouted, his face turning a dark, dangerous shade of purple as he stepped toward her.
A female relative suddenly lunged forward with a snarl of animalistic fury and slapped Chen Meili hard across the face. The sharp, stinging sound of the impact echoed through the quiet street like a gunshot. Xue Jinghua instantly snapped out of her paralysed daze and shoved the woman away with surprising strength, shielding her sobbing daughter protectively behind her back.
"What do you think you are doing!? How dare you lay a hand on her!" Xue Jinghua shouted, her long-suppressed maternal instincts finally erupting in a desperate protective flare. "Meili, talk to me, are you alright?"
