When the word ‘jail’ was mentioned, everyone seemed to pause in shock, unable to react to the word. Weren’t we talking about a blind date? They would understand if it was jealousy at play that led to a fight, then finding a way to settle everything and whatnot. How did this… lead to going to jail?
Seeing the confusion spread among the crowd, Yan decided that she might as well explain the entire situation clearly since she had already said so much. She had a faint trace of a smile on her face as she made her decision, but the tone of her voice was completely frigid.
“I won’t hide it from everyone. Not only was Li Sihan involved in marriage fraud, but he was also involved in financial fraud. In fact, he has prior criminal records. Unfortunately, many victims were afraid of losing face. Thus, they refused to speak up, so that they could protect their reputation. Still, the sky is vast and nothing stays hidden forever. In the end, a police report was filed, shining a light on his crimes. Therefore, he went to jail for marriage and financial fraud; he was only released last year. I’m sure Mrs. Zhang is aware of his past transgressions, right? Are you still insisting that you introduced him to me for my sake? Is it really for my sake? Don’t tell me you were trying to throw me into a pit of fire?”
“What? He was convicted before? Who would want a man like that?”
“That’s right! How can Mrs. Zhang do that? Moreover, it’s marriage and financial fraud. I daresay he must have targeted Yan because her newly-opened ramen restaurant business is booming.”
“That’s too scary! The potential suitor Mrs. Zhang introduced to someone else previously had a history of domestic violence; this time around, it’s marriage and financial fraud! What are her intentions?”
“So, this is her true colors. No wonder her children have not returned home to visit her in so many years. They’re probably afraid that she would cause trouble for them.”
“Y-You all!” Mrs. Zhang was shocked to hear Yan revealing so many dirty facts about Li Sihan. Honestly, she did not know much about his past; she only knew that he had committed a crime in the past. However, she believed that all men were like that. How many of them were not scoundrels of some sort? It was fine if they had a few troubles in their past. Besides, nobody was interested in Yan anyway. She was simply being helpful by bridging a connection between them.
“As to whether what I said is the truth or not, you can verify it by yourselves if you are interested.”
They were only here for the gossip; none of them were bothered to ascertain the truth anyway. However, looking at the calm and serious expression on Yan’s face as she spoke, most of them more or less believed her words. The rest were probably waiting to see how the situation unraveled—just for the fun of it.
“I’ve said my piece; I hope Mrs. Zhang will not make any more slanderous claims toward me in the future. Otherwise, I will take you to court for defamation, even if we have been neighbors for years.”
Luo Huimei echoed her. “We will sue you!”
They had a fierce aura around them, making them seem imposing. The crowd stood around watching as these two women displayed their ferocious energy, while the two men stood behind them calmly—they looked as immovable as a mountain. They thought in their hearts, The women in the Zhou Family are not to be trifled with.
Thus, the entire farce was resolved. With this, there was no way for bad rumors to spread around wildly. Even if somebody decided to gossip about it, they still had to mention the ending, and it was enough if everyone knew how it ended.
Han Qing watched the young lady’s back as a slight smile appeared in his eyes. He thought that she would be terrified or cower in fear after what happened last night, but she managed to resolve the issue without him lifting a finger. While he was pondering over it, the young lady glanced at him suddenly. Her current expression was in stark contrast with the aggressive look she had while facing down the neighbors just moments ago. Now, she looked docile and slightly nervous as if she wanted to be praised, but was afraid of getting scolded instead. The changes in her expression were seamless.
After the matter was settled, the Zhou couple invited him upstairs and served him some tea. Yan sat to the side. At first, she intended to recount the entire story to her parents, but with him around, her speech was intermittently broken—like a cassette tape. Seeing how useless her daughter became in front of her crush, Luo Huimei felt immensely exasperated and slapped her on her head. “Speak properly; why are you stuttering?”
Yan took the slap, her eyes watering from the pain. Then, she endured it quietly as she glared at her mother resentfully.
“So useless.”
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Han Qing felt a pang of pain for her in his heart. However, he could do nothing in front of her parents. Thus, he pursed his lips and decided to speak, “Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, the events that occurred last night may be difficult for a girl to talk about. I believe it is quite normal to be hesitant when talking about it; I hope you will forgive her for it.”
Luo Huimei couldn’t help arching her brows at his words, then she gave him another once over. Not bad. He even felt bad for Yan and wanted to protect her even though her mother was the one that hit her. A man who knew how to protect his woman was rare, let alone one with his looks and temperament. Although Luo Huimei had been embroiled in the quarrel downstairs, she had quietly observed him. This man is not too bad; he seems very reliable.
“Please let me recount the events that occurred last night on her behalf.” Then, he began to talk about it. When he reached the point where Yan had been humiliated, he paused and glanced over at her before he lightly glossed over the event in a single sentence, trying not to reopen her wounds. Therefore, Luo Huimei’s evaluation of him increased by several points again.
This man clearly knows how to empathize with Yan’s emotions. Some people might provide a detailed explanation and exaggerate how tragic and terrifying the event was in an attempt to make themselves look good. However, that was equivalent to asking her to relive the incident all over again. On the other hand, Han Qing had dealt with it so well that Yan barely remembered anything from the incident. When he finished retelling the story, Luo Huimei rated him in her heart—he was caring, observant, organized, logical, aware of his priorities, and most importantly, patient.
He was completely unlike Yan’s father, who nearly broke the table in anger after listening to the story. He was gritting his teeth by the time the story was done. “That damn b*stard! It’s too light to let him off with a simple beating! Where is he right now? I’m going to cripple him!”
“That’s enough from you. Look at how exaggerated Mrs. Zhang was acting; I don’t think that Li guy got off with light injuries.” And, all of this was probably the work of Han Qing.
Luo Huimei glanced at him, then frowned suddenly. This man seemed like the calm and down-to-earth type; she simply couldn’t imagine that he could beat a man half-to-death. Hopefully, it was a moment of fury on behalf of her daughter, and not a tendency toward violence.
Right at this moment, both mother-and-daughter seemed to have the same thought. As if Yan was aware of what her mother was thinking about, she clarified, “Mom, he’s not that kind of person under normal circumstances. He just has a deep hatred for these kinds of things. If Dad had been there, he would have severely injured Li Sihan too.”
Luo Huimei was speechless. This d*mn brat; I’ve yet to determine what her relationship with this guy is, but she’s already protecting him! Moreover, she’s using her father as a comparison. What kind of lousy comparison is that?
