“There’s no need for that, Mom. The hospital that I went to is the best and they are very professional, so we don’t need to change.”
Luo Huimei nodded, but she still wasn’t assured and gave Yan a thorough check again to make sure that there were no other injuries. After that, Luo Huimei was relieved. “Did they do anything else to you other than hurting you?”
Yan shook her head, fully knowing what Luo Huimei was asking about.
“Then, that’s alright. Those damn people should all go to hell. Didn’t their parents teach them not to hurt a girl? They really are bad people!”
“Mom, don’t be angry.”
“By the way, did you say that Lin Xuzheng saved you?”
“Yes. When I was delivering the meals, he was also there looking for someone. Then, he might have noticed that I didn’t come out at all, so he entered to save me before calling the police. In the end, we all went to the police station.”
“I see. Next time, we need to really thank Mr. Lin properly. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t know what would happen to you.”
In that kind of circumstances, there wasn’t anyone in the room to help Yan and the people who bullied her were all men. Just the thought of it was enough to send shivers of despair down anyone’s spine. “Yes, I’ll find the time to thank him.”
At night, Mr. Zhou reacted in the same manner as Luo Huimei during the day when he found out about the incident, but he was much more agitated than his wife. As soon as he was aware of what happened, he ran toward the kitchen before Luo Huimei grabbed his arm and asked what he wanted to do. Mr. Zhou stated that he was grabbing the kitchen knife to chop Yan’s assailants up.
As Yan sat aside, she held her forehead resignedly. “Dad, it’s illegal to kill someone. You will go to prison too.”
“Well, should I just sit here and do nothing after knowing that my daughter was bullied?”
“Your daughter just said it. The law will help us punish those bad people, so we don’t need to get our hands into it. At most, we can wait until they’re released to teach them a lesson and show them that no one can mess around with our daughter.” With that, Luo Huimei pointed at the kitchen knife in Mr. Zhou’s hand. “That’s not how you should use that knife. I use it to chop meat. Put it back now.”
Mr. Zhou could only put the knife back in the kitchen after that.
Yan quietly wiped off her sweat. Luckily, my parents are rational people and not extremists.
…
After recovering at home for a day, Yan still hadn’t gotten her phone back and she lacked the courage to call her cell phone, so she only stayed at home for the whole day. On the second day, she planned to go to the shop. The Zhou couple initially disagreed to let her go, but finally agreed when she promised that she would only be taking care of the shop while seated.
The other employees were curious about where she went yesterday because she hadn’t gone to work for a whole day. However, she only used a few words to calmly dismiss them. After all, this wasn’t an honorable thing to reveal to everybody. That was why she used the excuse of a car accident to explain why she wobbled when she walked. A few employees were even considerate enough to allow her to sit for the entire day so that she didn’t need to walk around. Their actions had really touched Yan deeply.
It was almost noon when Lin Xuzheng came. He couldn’t help but quirk up the corners of his lips when he saw Yan. “I knew that you would be at home yesterday to rest for a day before coming to the ramen restaurant today. I didn’t expect my guess to be right.”
When Yan saw him, she was initially startled before showing a grateful expression. The Zhou couple inside also quickly came out, especially Mr. Zhou, who even came up to Lin Xuzheng to shake the latter’s hand passionately. “Welcome, Mr. Lin. Your presence brings glory to our shop…”
Yan and Luo Huimei were rendered speechless while they revealed faces of disdain. Can he not embarrass us like this?
However, Lin Xuzheng politely held Mr. Zhou’s hand and spoke before the latter could say anything. “Let’s go to the private room on the second floor. It’s easier for us to speak there since there’s not many people.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
When they entered the private room, Mr. Zhou made some tea that he picked from his rare collection for Lin Xuzheng to drink. Then, he continued to serve Lin Xuzheng and thanked the latter, even going to the extent of wanting to thank him personally in his house. Otherwise, Mr. Zhou felt that it would make him appear insincere.
Luo Huimei also agreed to his idea. Lin Xuzheng shot a glance at Yan, who was sitting aside quietly, before he smiled faintly. “Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, you don’t need to be this modest actually. To me, I didn’t do that much about the incident. I only helped to open the door and make a phone call. If it were somebody else, they would definitely not turn their backs on her too. Besides, Miss Zhou is still my tenant, and to me, it is necessary to protect my tenant’s safety,” he responded in a formal way that was polite and clear.
Yan looked at him as the meaning he conveyed was obvious. The thing that he did felt nothing to him, so they didn’t need to focus too much on it as it was only a small matter to him. As she thought about it, Lin Xuzheng suddenly spoke, “Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, I have something to discuss about the shop with Miss Zhou alone. Could you two leave us alone for a while?”
“Sure, sure. No problem. You are our daughter’s savior, so do as you please.”
After Luo Huimei and Mr. Zhou left, Yan couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her lips as she was unsure whether to laugh or cry at her parent’s actions. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lin. My parents are enthusiastic and honest people. They are really grateful after knowing that you saved me, so… they might have gone overboard with their enthusiasm. I’m really sorry to have disturbed you.”
“Miss Zhou, your parents are just being sincere, so you don’t need to apologize. Actually, the reason why I came today is to look for you about other things.”
Yan could vaguely guess what he wanted to say and she felt her heart thumping. She lifted her lips, trying to say something to Lin Xuzheng, but suddenly stopped.
“What are you trying to say?” He gazed at her with a smile. “Why don’t I let you speak first? What is your current view on the situation?”
Yan remained speechless as she was confused. It seemed as though she had an idea, but at the same time, she didn’t. Therefore, she shook her head under his gaze in the end. “I don’t have anything to say. Mr. Lin, you can say it first.”
“You really don’t have anything to say? Alright. Looks like you are more introverted, so I’ll start first.” Yan lowered her eyes and didn’t respond. “Let’s start with this shop. When you learned that I knew Han Qing at the police station yesterday, was your first reaction that I leased this shop to you because he requested me to do it and I complied as a favor for him?”
Yan kept quiet as she pressed her lips tightly. She had actually thought of it that way, but after pondering on it when she returned home, she was unsure. According to Lin Xuzheng’s personality, how could he simply hand over his beloved wife’s possession to someone just like that?
He then continued, “To be honest with you, Han Qing did have a word with me back then, but I clearly stated to him that if you don’t comply with my requirements, I would not give you the shop. It didn’t matter who made the request, not even my best friend for the past few years. However, you fulfilled all of the requirements in the end because of your own ability and minute mind.”
