Chapter 17: The Heart of a Thief Never Dies

ion.After singing for half a night, Shao Meizhuo's mood finally improved somewhat. Wu Tiantian thought that since her friend had come to terms with the fact that Li An now had someone special in his l...Chapter 17: The Thief's Heart Never Dies

Li Yi shouted hoarsely, afraid that his mother wouldn’t hear him. He then gathered his strength and shouted again, "Mom... Dad is going to beat up my brother... Mom... Mom... Li An has an injured leg... He’s going to be beaten to death by Dad..."

"You stinky brat! Shut your mouth! You’re not allowed to shout!" Li Haonan was so furious that his face contorted in anger. "Do you think I’m going to give you a double beating Wait and see how I’ll deal with you today!"

Li An was already feeling bad for causing his brother’s punishment, and seeing his father angrily charging towards his big brother, he immediately started yelling at the top of his voice. "Yan Luoxi... Yan Luoxi... You still haven’t come out... My big brother got beaten up because of us... My big brother is about to be killed by my dad... Hurry and save him!"

Li Haonan was truly infuriated by the two stinky brats who were egging each other on. He lifted his belt, ready to swing it with more force when he simultaneously heard two clear voices say, "Uncle Li, stop hitting them!"

"Li Haonan, are you trying to kill them"

Fueled by anger and in the middle of a heated beating session, upon hearing his wife’s shout, Li Haonan reluctantly stopped. He spat out a curse and threatened, "You little brats! You’ve gone too far this time. Daring to call for help Today your mother is at home, so I’ll let you off, but if she’s not around tomorrow, I’ll give you the beating of your life!"

Li An immediately put on a scared shivering act.

Li Haonan was enraged. Before his wife could get there, he kicked him again. Knowing that his mother had arrived, Li An immediately cooperated by emitting an exaggerated, pig-like squealing sound.

"Li Haonan!" Gu Xiaobei's voice, filled with shock and pain, echoed in the hall.

Li Haonan was livid at Li An but dared not hit him again. Turning to look at his wife who had run down from upstairs, he unexpectedly noticed that Gu Xiaobei's face was covered in tears.

Both Gu Xiaobei and Yan Luoxi rushed downstairs at this moment. Seeing the living room in chaos, Gu Xiaobei looked at her two sons lying on the ground, their pants stained with blood from their injuries; it felt like a knife stabbing into her heart. No matter how wrong they were, they were still flesh of her own flesh and blood!

Seeing his wife crying, Li Haonan panicked slightly, his face changing dramatically in an instant as the vicious expression vanished. He moved to Gu Xiaobei's side, somewhat weakly saying, "I didn't hit anywhere else, just their buttocks. The skin on the buttocks is thick. Besides, these two brats are tough; a few hits won't hurt them..."

A few years ago, such 'belt-whipping' was common in Li An's household, and Li Yi would occasionally have to endure it too. Only when Li Haonan hit the children did he do so secretly from Gu Xiaobei, even if it was more severe than this time; Gu Xiaobei wouldn't see any of it.

Afterwards, both Li An and Li Yi who had been beaten would face danger from their father, and no one dared to show their injuries to their mother.

This time, however, was the first for Gu Xiaobei to witness a child being physically punished. Her tender heart as a mother couldn't bear it any longer. With tear-filled eyes she looked at Li Yi and Li An, her heart filled with mixed emotions but most prominently pain.

Li An lay on the ground, dramatically groaning after his father finally stopped hitting him.

In front of Yan Luoxi, Li Yi felt embarrassed. As a man nearing thirty years old, being beaten by his own father was not something to be proud of. He endured the pain and quickly stood up from the floor.

Although Gu Xiaobei was resentful of Li An for not living up to expectations, he was still her son. Hearing Li An's constant groaning, she felt heartache and took a step forward. Upon seeing Yan Luoxi standing beside her, however, she stopped.

Yan Luoxi stood there dumbly, her eyes filled with fear and confusion, unable to believe that the bloodied person was Li An.

Sincethroughout her childhood, she had known Uncle Li to be hot-tempered, but she hadn't imagined he would be this explosive. Seeing the bloodstains on Li An's pants, she felt both guilty and regretful.

It was all because of me that this nice family has turned into a chaotic mess.

Holding onto his servant for support, Li An stood up and hopped forward with each step accompanied by a pained gasp. Nevertheless, he made it to Gu Xiaobei and Yan Luoxi, pointing at the injuries on his face and bottom, looking extremely aggrieved and sticking out his swollen lips: "Mom, Luoxi, look at what Dad did to me! Are you satisfied now Luoxi, my dad really hit people hard this time; all your grudges must be settled!"

His expression was pitiful, but his father's anger seemed far from subsided. His mother remained his savior.

Liang Haonan showed weakness in front of his wife, but he couldn't let Li An sense any regret, otherwise it would have been in vain. This little rascal was quite shrewd; seeing Li An trying to win favor with Gu Xiaobei, he narrowed his eyes and, with a large hand like a fan, smacked Li An on the head: "Dare you say that Do you think I won't hit you again"

"Mom, look at Dad..." Li An rubbed his head pitifully in front of Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei felt annoyed and perplexed; she couldn't help her son but didn't know how to not help him either. She reached out and pulled Yan Luoxi over: "Luoxi, go for a walk with Auntie in the garden. My chest feels tight; let's get some fresh air!"

"Xiao Bei, are you feeling unwell" Li Haonan reached out his hand, and his wide, dry palm grasped Gu Xiaobei's arm. His deep black eyes were full of concern.

Usually, this gesture would evoke a sense of warmth and attachment in people’s hearts. But today, Gu Xiaobei was feeling extremely unhappy, so she tried to pull her arm back forcefully and replied coldly: "How could I be comfortable when the three of you have made me so angry"

After saying that, she grumpily took Yan Luoxi to the garden.

Hurt by his wife's words, Li Haonan recalled the two main culprits and pointed at Li Yi and Li An. With gritted teeth, he said: "What were you guys shouting just now Did it make you feel better seeing your mom sad and distressed"

Limited only to standing tall, Li Yi's figure slightly trembled. He had no injuries on him originally, but after getting beaten up once again, he looked much more spirited than Li An did. Not daring to loudly argue with his father, he muttered: "I didn't want Mom to see this either, but my brother has an injury on his leg! What if you hit him and make him disabled"

"Good for him if he becomes disabled, so that he won’t go out causing trouble every day!" Li Haonan felt extremely angry at the sight of Li An again, harshly scolding: "If I had known he’d be such a disappointment from the start, I should have broken his legs when he was born and kept him at home!"

"Dad, what’s our beef" Li An looked miserable with a half-collapsed posture on the sofa. His buttocks were severely beaten by his father and had an injury on his leg; now if he wanted to rest, he could only lie down.

Seeing Li An's bruised face and battered backside, Li Haonan felt both angry and amused, as well as heartbroken. The kid was still young after all and hadn’t really experienced the ways of the world yet; even if he acted more mature sometimes, childishness would inevitably surface.

No parents could bear to see their children suffer, so Li Haonan’s originally hard-hearted resolve suddenly softened. Feeling a sense of melancholy, he coldly harrumphed: "You must have been my enemy from my past life coming back for revenge!" Then, he sat down on the sofa and sipped at the tea brought by the servant; after hitting someone with such fervor, he was feeling quite thirsty.ally, admitting it readily. “I used some methods.”"Alright, you put yourself in a tricky position," Yan Luoxi followed up coldly and questioned him, "Then that Fang boss was also someone you manipulat...