Chapter 55: A Rope Always Breaks at Its Thinnest Point
Hearing Gu Qinghuan’s words, Zhang Guangzong couldn’t wrap his head around it at all.
Just the thought of getting no money was enough to make him fly into a shame-fueled rage.
“You little brat, what do you know! You’re just spouting nonsense here!”
Gu Qinghuan knew reasoning with a man like this was pointless. She said it mostly for the benefit of the onlookers—to lay out the facts.
At the same time, she wanted to give Wen Ye some peace of mind: in this situation, Zhang Guangzong definitely wouldn’t get any money, and the law wouldn’t back him up. There was no need for Wen Ye to panic.
“Right, right, I know nothing and you know everything.” Gu Qinghuan nodded briskly. “By the way, you know that trafficking women usually carries a sentence of five to ten years in prison, plus a fine, right?”
Just hearing the word “prison” made Zhang Guangzong’s knees tremble. He blustered, “W-what trafficking women? Who trafficked anyone?!”
As he spoke, his eyes darted around shiftily. Taking advantage of Sister Liu and the waiter’s inattention, he bolted out the door.
The customers hissed, some even shouting “Get lost!”
Once he was gone, the restaurant’s lively atmosphere returned. A customer from another table even came over to Gu Qinghuan and said, “Little girl, you did great just now! What do you want to eat? Big sis will order it for you.”
This made Gu Qinghuan embarrassed, and she quickly declined.
She managed to refuse the customers’ offer, but not the owner’s. A moment later, in addition to the egg-sauce rice she’d ordered, Sister Liu personally brought over a glass jar, setting it on the table. “Here, take this egg sauce home with you.”
Wang Jia’an waved his hands. “Oh no, we can’t accept that—we didn’t do much.”
“It’s just a jar of egg sauce. If the other dishes kept better, I’d pack those for you too,” Sister Liu said, dismissing it with a wave. “Good thing it was Xiao Gu here—if it were us, we’d never scare off that shameless bastard so easily.”
It was precisely because they were in her restaurant, surrounded by so many people, that a young student like Gu Qinghuan had been able to suppress Zhang Guangzong.
If he’d dared to argue or lay a hand on her, that would be bullying a child, and the bystanders would have every reason to step in—who hits a kid in public?
If it had been an adult in her place, he would have started his shameless pestering within a few sentences. And if the other person had shown any sign of anger, he’d have just thrown himself on the ground, making it impossible for Sister Liu to run her business.
More importantly, he didn’t understand half of what Gu Qinghuan said—he was too busy panicking over her talk of prison and fines.
People like him always harbored a gambler’s mentality: thinking they could win money at cards, calling trafficking “arranging a marriage” for his sister, calling extortion “collecting support under the law.”
Did he really not understand? No—he just assumed that whoever he dealt with would know less than him, so he could get what he wanted.
But now, faced with someone who knew more than him and couldn’t be tangled up in shameless tricks, he naturally panicked. The moment he realized he’d “lost,” he chose to run.
Gu Haiyan accepted the egg sauce, promising to return the jar next time, then turned to Gu Qinghuan. “Do you know this Xiao Wen? Otherwise, how did you know his name was Wen Ye?”
Gu Qinghuan thought about it and realized—neither the waiter nor Sister Liu had said Wen Ye’s full name earlier, and Zhang Guangzong hadn’t said it once either.
But she had, right from the start.
She stayed calm. “Oh, I’ve run into him at the cafeteria before. He’s a schoolmate and a neighbor I know.”
“You’re a student at Mingde High?” Sister Liu looked at her with new respect. “When you said schoolmate, could you mean Su Lin?”
“That name sounds familiar,” Wang Jia’an murmured.
“I think so too,” Gu Haiyan said, frowning in thought.
“She was last year’s top scorer in the city’s high school entrance exam!” Sister Liu said excitedly.
“Oh—” Gu Haiyan and Wang Jia’an exclaimed in unison.
Gu Qinghuan hunched her shoulders slightly.
As she ate her rice, she listened to Sister Liu go on about Wen Ye and Su Lin’s background.
Wen Ye’s mother, Zhang Qingliu, was originally named Zhang Laidi (Laidi = bring brother)—a name that immediately told you she came from a family that valued sons over daughters.
From childhood, she had been beaten and scolded by her father simply for being a girl. When her younger brother was born, she became his babysitter.
After graduating junior high, her father sent her to work in another city to earn money for the family.
Away from home, she met more people, saw more of the world, and began to work toward escaping her toxic family.
She secretly switched to a better-paying job, still sending the same amount home as before, pretending she still worked at the factory.
Bit by bit, she improved her life, grew more capable, and even met someone she liked—Wen Ye’s father.
Her household registration was still under her parents’ control. To marry Wen Ye’s father, she came up with a plan: she pretended to be in debt, asked her family for money, and even hired people to show up at her parents’ house “demanding repayment.”
Sure enough, the Zhang family kicked her out immediately.
Zhang Qingliu finally gained the freedom and happiness she’d dreamed of. She changed her name and married Wen Ye’s father.
But her happiness didn’t last long. Not long after Wen Ye was born, his father was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer.
By the time it was discovered, it was already advanced. After months of hesitation, he chose conservative treatment.
The five-year survival rate for late-stage pancreatic cancer was notoriously low. Rather than spend their savings to slightly extend his life, he chose to leave the money to his wife and child.
Half a year later, he passed away. His in-laws immediately came to fight Zhang Qingliu for inheritance and custody, even insulting her—blaming her for “cursing” their son to death.
She endured and made it through. After finishing the lawsuit with her in-laws, she took Wen Ye and moved to this city.
The series of blows left her with deep emotional scars. Raising a baby alone was exhausting, so she didn’t work at first, living off her savings and her husband’s inheritance.
When Wen Ye reached school age, she began working again.
Being the hardworking type, she started with a street stall, working from dawn to dusk, saving enough to rent a small storefront near the school to open a breakfast shop.
Because she used quality ingredients, made tasty food, and kept the place clean, business was good.
Wen Ye was also sensible—helping at the stall before school, and later helping clean when the shop opened.
Life was getting better, and Zhang Qingliu was planning to save more to buy a decent second-hand apartment in a good school district for Wen Ye’s junior high years.
But some people just couldn’t stand to see others doing well. One of her fellow villagers, whose child went to the same school, grew jealous of her success and spread gossip—eventually leaking her whereabouts to the Zhang family.
“That Zhang Laidi from your family—she’s calling herself Zhang Qingliu now.”
“Her husband died right after she had the kid, left her quite a bit of money.”
“She used that money to open a breakfast shop—business is booming. She’s making tens of thousands a month!”
“I heard she’s even planning to buy a place in the city!”
