Mr. Zhou was fierce and loud. More importantly, he was fairly large too. When he appeared, he had on a fierce and vicious expression—he looked like he was not to be trifled with. Under normal circumstances, the Zhou couple were amiable and pleasant people. Living in a tight-knit community, even if they were not close to the neighbors, they were still passing acquaintances that would greet each other when they met. Above all, it was common sense not to treat a smiling person badly.
Therefore, it was the first time anybody had seen Mr. Zhou looking so fierce. When the neighbors saw him like that, they scattered to the side. After all, they were only here for the gossip; they only wanted to pass their time peacefully—not play with fire.
As the neighbors moved aside, nobody stood out to provide physical support to Mrs. Zhang anymore. The first person to help her was a young woman, and when she saw everyone else backing away, she nervously helped Mrs. Zhang stand up, then said, “Mrs. Zhang, you can stand on your own, right?” Afterward, she turned around and followed the crowd as they dispersed.
Mrs. Zhang stared speechlessly at them. Do you have to be so snobbish? Didn’t they come forward, one by one, just now? Although everyone else was afraid of Mr. Zhou, she was not. She straightened her back. “You came at just the right time, Zhou. I have to ask; how did you raise your daughter? How can you spoil her so much that she slanders others the moment she opens her mouth? I watched her grow up; I’m practically like a parent to her, aren’t I? I may be getting on in my years with no children of my own, but you still can’t bully an old woman like me! Sob, sob…”
Luo Huimei was following behind Mr. Zhou. When she heard Mrs. Zhang’s tirade, she thought, This person is way too shameless! What do you mean by you watched her grow up so you are practically a parent to her? She recalled that the man Mrs. Zhang had introduced as a potential suitor had nearly forced himself on her precious daughter, yet here Mrs. Zhang was—throwing a fit so early in the morning, causing the neighbors to gather around. If this information spreads around, what will happen to our family and my daughter’s reputation?
Mulling over it, she couldn’t even muster up a friendly smile at Mrs. Zhang; instead, she threw out insults at her. “Mrs. Zhang, I’ll accept that you introduced a potential suitor to my daughter out of the kindness of your heart. I will also acknowledge the fact that you watched her grow up. However, I cannot accept you saying that you are like a parent to her. What do you mean when you said you are practically like a parent to her? Zhou and I put so much effort into raising her; I didn’t realize we were merely one-half of her parents.”
Mrs. Zhang, not expecting her to contend this point, choked over her words. “I meant it metaphorically, not literally. No matter how you put it, I’m still an elder, right?”
“Since you’re not her parent, you have no right to discipline our daughter.” Luo Huimei stepped forward, pushing Mr. Zhou aside. Women were still better at verbal fights; moreover, she had polished her verbal skills over many years—specifically to deal with Mrs. Zhang.
The Zhou couple had been listening to the conversation between Yan and Mrs. Zhang for quite a while. At this point, Luo Huimei was boiling with anger. Therefore, she had no intention to give Mrs. Zhang a chance as she continued, “Also, I heard your conversation with my daughter from upstairs. Every sentence that came out of your mouth accused my daughter of having a boyfriend, yet she dared to ask you to introduce a man to her. I must say; let’s not turn the truth on its head. Alright, Mrs. Zhang? From the beginning, you came running to our ramen restaurant to introduce Li Sihan to Yan. Before we could even say anything, you called the person up and invited him over. So, how did it turn into Yan asking you to introduce her to somebody? Mrs. Zhang, from the way you twist the truth around, I’m suspicious of your claim that my daughter’s boyfriend beat Li Sihan up. Moreover, I wonder if the story about him having more than 10 broken bones was also an embellishment of facts?”
Yan stood by the side watching her mom. After listening to her words, she felt extremely refreshed. At the same time, she also gained more confidence from it. Initially, she thought that her parents would be worried about how it would affect their reputation, and thus, keep it under wraps to settle amongst themselves. However, they came out and stood up for her instead.
“Why, you! Huimei! Just who are you accusing of twisting the truth around?! Explain yourself!”
“Well, did you or did you not come running to our shop on your own to set our daughter up, Mrs. Zhang? There are so many people coming and going in your life, but not everyone will take your nonsense lying down! If you still won’t admit to it now, then you’re just proving that my words before were the unmistakable truth!”
“I-I just forgot that in the heat of the moment. So what if I was the one to take the initiative to try and set Yan up? Didn’t I do it for her own good? Li is such a good person, but now, he is hospitalized after taking a beating from them. How evil of them!”
“Don’t change the topic, Mrs. Zhang. Let’s make this clear; just because you forgot something in the heat of the moment, does that mean you have the right to slander my daughter? What kind of logic is that? You claim Li Sihan was hospitalized and suffers from many broken bones. I’m thinking that this matter isn’t becoming any clearer, so why don’t we file a police report? We’ll let the police settle this dispute.” After saying that, she unwaveringly whipped out her phone in front of everybody, and insisted on calling the police.
Mrs. Zhang’s eyes spun as she thought hard about something, then she stepped forward abruptly to stop Luo Huimei. “My dear Huimei, why are you calling the police? The authorities wouldn’t be able to settle a family dispute anyway. Li is suffering from terrible injuries; if you won’t believe me, then we can go to the hospital together. Don’t you agree, everyone?”
The neighbors glanced at each other, unable to deny the truth in her words.
“Let’s check it out then; if he was roughed up, then he would be in the hospital right now. We’ll know whether it’s really is as serious as Mrs. Zhang said.”
“That’s right; I think it’s a good idea to go check it out. If it is as serious as she says, then it’s quite unreasonable.”
“Isn’t that right, everyone? I’m asking all of you to help me judge the situation, so why don’t you all come to the hospital with me?”
Just as they had decided to visit the hospital together, a voice rang out coldly. “There is no need for that!” Yan stood still and gazed at the people around her coldly. “Uncles and aunties, we are neighbors. As you guys are my elders, I will remain respectful. However, if you continue to fuss over this, then don’t blame me if I decline to remain respectful. I only have one thing to say about this entire situation: my friend would never hurt another person. If he did, then the person concerned must be asking for it due to his own despicable nature.”
“Hey, is this little girl getting scared because I asked everyone to come to the hospital with me?”
“Afraid?” Her lips curled upward, then she saw Han Qing out of the corner of her eyes. After she asked him to stay out of it, he had stepped back to spectate the entire thing. Although he had not made a move, he was clearly staying here as an indication of his support for her.
Before they came, she had looked through the copies of the information Su Jiu had prepared. Li Sihan was involved in various crimes; she could simply bring out any one of them and it would be enough. Their gazes met. Han Qing seemed to guess what was going through her mind and nodded at her.
Thus, Yan determinedly made her decision. “You don’t need to go to the hospital because it might be empty by the time you arrive there. As for the reason, you might find out when he goes to jail.”
