Chapter 39: Not Humoring You!
“Comrade Lin Wan, I’d like to treat you to lunch!” As soon as Wu Xue stepped out of Deputy Bureau Chief Wu’s office, she caught up with Lin Wan, Luo Jiahui, and the others.
The few comrades had just agreed to have lunch together.
Hearing Wu Xue’s suggestion, Lin Wan said, “We’ve already planned to eat at the cafeteria. Why don’t we all go together?”
Since it was her first day on the job at the post office, Lin Wan was incredibly curious about the cafeteria.
Wu Xue nodded readily. “Sure!” She naturally linked her arm through Lin Wan’s as they walked forward.
This girl had an exceptionally sweet smile, and Lin Wan didn’t mind her familiar demeanor at all.
Seeing this, Luo Jiahui hurriedly linked her arm through Lin Wan’s other side.
The three of them walked side by side, laughing and chatting, while the others crowded around them.
When Xu Hui saw this scene, she was driven to tears of frustration again.
Why had she gone out of her way to broadcast Lin Wan’s personal business? Hadn’t it been to isolate her? Yet as it turned out, there were barely any people around her now, while Lin Wan was completely surrounded. Even Wu Xue had been won over by her cooing.
“Lin Wan!” A thoroughly obnoxious voice suddenly rang out.
Lin Wan turned around and spotted a disheveled, heavily stubbled Guo Xuyang standing next to a profoundly aggrieved Zhang Qin, whose eyes were swollen like walnuts.
The smile on Lin Wan’s face instantly vanished.
“Wanwan, congratulations on getting the job!” Zhang Qin’s emotions were a tangled mess.
Lin Wan had secured a job. And she was a permanent employee of the post office at that. Since she already had a job, why couldn’t she bear to see her happy? Was she trying to force her to divorce Xuyang? But right now, no matter how much grievance she felt, she could only swallow it down along with her tears. She couldn’t ruin Xuyang’s serious business. She had to coax Lin Wan into withdrawing the case.
“Wanwan, let’s go eat at the state-owned restaurant together, alright? To celebrate for you.” She looked at her with pleading eyes.
Wu Xue asked Lin Wan, “Comrade Lin Wan, who are these two?”
Lin Wan curled her lips into a smile. “My stepsister and step-brother-in-law.”
Catching sight of Xu Hui approaching like a dog sniffing out a scent, she pointed at Xu Hui and asked Zhang Qin and Guo Xuyang, “You two arrived just in time. This Comrade Xu Hui over here claims that I tried to snatch your man and egged on my stepfather to kick you out of the house. Why don’t you clarify whether that’s the case?”
She knew the exact purpose of their visit. Therefore, she wasn’t afraid at all that Zhang Qin would spout absolute nonsense. Zhang Qin wouldn’t dare.
Zhang Qin’s face turned stark white in an instant.
Xu Hui was far from willing to let this opportunity slip by. She quickly leaned in and said to Zhang Qin, “You must be Comrade Zhang Qin, right? Just say whatever is on your mind. Don’t be afraid, I will help you demand justice.”
Zhang Qin hurriedly shook her head. “No, there’s no such thing.”
She was the one who had cut ties with the family; how could she possibly dare to admit otherwise? Even the matter of snatching the boyfriend couldn’t be acknowledged given the current circumstances. Xuyang couldn’t afford any more waves right now.
Xu Hui was thoroughly disappointed. She truly felt a sense of frustrated impatience. “Comrade Zhang Qin, but that’s what everyone in your family compound says. I actually went around to ask, and everyone says Comrade Lin Wan has always been bullying you…”
Everyone’s attention was drawn over.
Lin Wan waited composedly to watch Xu Hui’s performance, maintaining a smile without saying a word.
Guo Xuyang cut Xu Hui off sharply. “Comrade, what business do our family matters have to do with you?”
He recalled the words Lin Wan had spoken before. If she brought that skewed logic out into the open, the one left unable to save face would be Zhang Qin. At the thought of this, he pulled Zhang Qin behind his back, shielding her.
When Xu Hui saw this scene, her heart felt an inexplicable wave of misery. She recognized this man—he was the very man who had been in a strange state in the alley that day, whom Lin Wan had knocked unconscious and dragged out. He was barking at her. Grievance struck her, and her eyes welled up instantly, her gaze toward Guo Xuyang turning thoroughly mournful.
The bystanders: “…”
Uh… This… Didn’t Xu Hui say Comrade Lin Wan tried to snatch her stepsister’s boyfriend? Why did it look exactly as if she had some sort of history with this man instead?
Guo Xuyang’s brow furrowed even tighter.
Zhang Qin spoke up, “Comrade, you must have misunderstood something. Wanwan has never bullied me.” Except for taking her things and making her wash her clothes.
Lin Wan said, “Zhang Qin, let me ask you: when my mom first brought me to marry into your household, hadn’t your family already planned to make you drop out of school?”
Zhang Qin bit her lip and nodded.
Lin Wan added, “Wasn’t it my mom who persuaded your dad to let him continue to sponsor your education?”
Zhang Qin continued to nod.
Lin Wan didn’t bother to ask anything else. No matter how much more she said, nothing was as direct and visual as letting a girl attend school. In this day and age, plenty of biological parents wouldn’t allow the girls in the house to go to school. As long as Zhang Qin acknowledged this point, no one would believe her even if she turned around in the future to claim she was being bullied.
“Lin Wan, let’s go. The state-owned restaurant won’t have any seats left in a while.” Guo Xuyang didn’t want Lin Wan to continue speaking, so he urged her with a frown.
Lin Wan nodded. She said to Wu Xue and the others, “Let’s have lunch together another day.” Then, she followed the couple out.
The moment her front foot left, Wu Xue immediately directed a sarcastic remark at Xu Hui: “Heh~ Some people truly don’t know what they’re talking about! Snapping and hurling blind accusations everywhere like a mad dog!”
Luo Jiahui felt exceptionally refreshed! Comrade Lin Wan truly was capable! Making Xu Hui suffer a loss at her hands time and time again.
Under the peculiar gazes of the crowd, Xu Hui stamped her foot, covered her face, and ran away.
Ahhhh! It was infuriating her to death! That dead bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! That spineless coward Zhang Qin deserved to be bullied by the bitch! And as for Guo Xuyang, how could he possibly treat her like that!
Lin Wan followed Guo Xuyang and his wife to the nearest state-owned restaurant. Since someone else was picking up the check, she was certainly going to feast heartily! Not only did she intend to eat her fill, but she also planned to pack leftovers for Huang Guixiang.
In stark contrast, both Guo Xuyang and Zhang Qin possessed absolutely no appetite whatsoever.
“Are you finished eating?” Guo Xuyang asked with a trace of irritability.
Lin Wan wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. “Completely finished!”
“Speak up, then. What business do you have with me?”
Guo Xuyang got straight to the point: “How much money do you want before you’ll withdraw the case? Name a figure.”
Lin Wan said with a mocking smile, “I don’t want money. Publish a public apology to me in the newspaper.”
This bastard won’t even utter a word of apology upon meeting me. Who the hell does he think he is? Money? Is this big sister short on cash? If I ask for a hundred thousand, can you even afford it?
Guo Xuyang was thoroughly enraged by Lin Wan’s attitude. “Lin Wan, don’t throw my face back in my own line of sight when it’s offered to you! You know perfectly well in your own heart why I laid my hands on you!”
Zhang Qin quickly grabbed Guo Xuyang’s arm, saying anxiously, “Xuyang…”
“Wanwan, I’m sorry. Xuyang truly acted on impulse that day, but he harbored absolutely no malicious intent! Furthermore, even when he assumed you and Jin Cuicui were in league together, he still chose to smooth things over. Why can’t you just forgive him for the sake of that fact!”
How could he possibly publish a public apology in the newspaper? Publishing an apology would leave behind written evidence and permanent dirt.
Lin Wan let out a cold sneer. “So what? It’s all my fault? I’m supposed to turn around and be deeply grateful to you two? Does that mean the public security comrades’ investigation results are just a lump of shit? Or do you two simply refuse to believe the investigation results of the people’s public security? If you don’t believe them, you shouldn’t come to look for me; go find the public security instead!”
Zhang Qin grew frantic, looking entirely at a loss. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. My tongue is just clumsy. I just wanted to say that it’s all a misunderstanding… It wasn’t easy for Xuyang to reach his current position; every bit of it was fought for with his life…”
“Wanwan, you wouldn’t want to see his future entirely ruined because of this matter either, right?”
Lin Wan shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I would be absolutely thrilled to see it!”
“As a military personnel, he actually extends his hands toward the civilian masses he is supposed to protect. What does it matter how robust a person like him is in terms of individual capability?”
“Lacking organization and discipline, unable to distinguish friend from foe, pigheaded and self-righteous. Viewing himself as a judge, a juror, and the law enforcer. He possesses absolutely no respect for the law or the nation in his eyes.”
“What kind of future does he deserve to have? A future as a piece of rat droppings? With the ultimate objective of ruining the entire pot of soup that is the military?”
