Wen Dongrong hadn’t always been like this.
Shu Lu dared to pull this stunt because she believed Wen Dongrong wouldn’t dig too deeply.
In front of so many people, pursuing the matter would mean airing family dirty laundry. Wen Dongrong valued his reputation above all else. Even if he suspected Shu Lu, he’d likely cover for her… His character hadn’t changed. It was precisely because he cared about face that he despised Shu Guobing’s anonymous report against him. Wen Dongrong had leaned on workplace sympathy to downplay the report’s damage, but his rival, Old Li, kept mocking him with it. In his heart, Wen Dongrong had already expelled Shu Guobing from the Wen family.
Not a Wen family member? Then it wasn’t his concern. Why should he lose face over something the Shu family did?
As for Wen Hongyan, she bore the Wen surname, but by rural tradition, a married daughter was like spilled water—no longer part of the family.
Shu Lu understood Wen Dongrong’s personality but misjudged his logic.
The actions of the Shu family trio had led Wen Dongrong to mentally disown all three.
Moreover, Old Wen knew his wife, Chen Ru, was still evaluating him. His daughter, Wen Ying, still addressed him formally with “您” (you, polite), warm but not close. His position as head of the family wasn’t secure. If he defended Shu Lu now, he’d be homeless the moment they left the station!
Not that he couldn’t find a place to stay. But as a middle-aged man, unlike a carefree twenty-something, a home was where his wife and child were. An empty house without warmth? That wasn’t a home.
So, after Wen Ying got into Provincial Key and Chen Ru transferred to Rongcheng, Wen Dongrong made a point to come to Rongcheng nearly every week. Monday to Friday, he lived alone in their hometown, returning after work to a silent house—far too bleak.
How could a teenager like Shu Lu grasp Wen Dongrong’s feelings? Hearing him urge the police to investigate thoroughly, she panicked.
Xiao Cai, listening nearby, resolved never to underestimate Wen Dongrong again, despite his modest position.
Rumor had it Mr. Zhao initially considered targeting Wen Dongrong, but he was too cautious, impervious to bribes or seduction, forcing Mr. Zhao to give up.
His rank might be low, but his words and actions were airtight. No wonder Mr. Zhao couldn’t touch him.
“Second Brother, what’s that supposed to mean? You’re telling the police to investigate? You trust an outsider over Lu Lu?” Wen Hongyan shouted.
Wen Dongrong ignored her.
The officer told Wen Hongyan to quiet down. “If you didn’t do it, what’s there to fear from an investigation?”
If Wen Hongyan kept making noise, she’d be locked up with Yue Shanni’s mother.
Wen Dongrong was reasonable, and a preliminary mediation was reached. The police brought Yue Shanni’s mother back, and she was much more subdued.
When told Yue Shanni’s school would be notified, the woman didn’t care, fixated on extorting money from Yang Xi’s family.
Yue Shanni kept her head down, silent. Wen Ying felt a twinge of pity for her. In a way, Yue Shanni was less fortunate than Yang Xi.
But that pity was negligible compared to Wen Ying’s disdain for her. Wen Dongrong hadn’t dropped the ball today, and Wen Ying wouldn’t undermine him by pleading for Yue Shanni out of some saintly impulse. Everyone must pay for their mistakes. Even if Yue Shanni got expelled, she brought it on herself!
The police didn’t support the woman’s shameless demands and let Yang Xi and her group leave with the elder.
Wen Ying’s family stayed a bit longer at the station. Yue Shanni and her mother left last, with Shu Lu and Wen Hongyan departing just before Wen Ying’s family. Xiao Cai trailed at a distance.
“Second Uncle, I really didn’t mean to harm Cousin,” Shu Lu said pitifully, trailing behind.
Wen Dongrong smiled, “Then the police need to investigate thoroughly. If Yue Shanni slandered you, she should apologize!”
As a seasoned bureaucrat, fooling a junior high girl was effortless for Wen Dongrong.
Shu Lu didn’t want Yue Shanni’s apology—she feared the police uncovering something!
Flushing with frustration, she couldn’t think of a retort. While she was dazed, Wen Dongrong flagged a late-night taxi and left with Chen Ru and Wen Ying.
In the backseat, Wen Ying rolled down the window and smiled at Shu Lu, sending a chill down her spine.
No evidence was needed—Wen Ying was certain Shu Lu was behind it.
Realizing this, Shu Lu felt a shiver.
Why was Wen Ying unharmed when Yue Shanni tried to extort her, and how did Yue Shanni end up beaten by the delinquents?
How did Wen Ying manage to handle those delinquents?
Wen Ying was far more formidable than Shu Lu had thought. The task Zhao Dong assigned wasn’t so easy.
Shu Lu suddenly understood why Zhao Dong invested so much in her.
Wen Ying was tough to deal with, the job was hard, and thus the reward was high!
Grumbling as she left the station, Wen Hongyan waited for Xiao Cai to fetch the car before quietly asking Shu Lu, “Did you really do this?”
“Mom, how can even you not believe me—” Shu Lu whined, dragging out her denial.
Wen Hongyan muttered, “It better not be true. Your second uncle’s different now. If he catches you, he’ll never let it go.”
Both Wen Hongyan and Yue Shanni’s mother were shrews, but there was a difference.
Yue Shanni’s grades were mediocre, and her mother seemed indifferent to her education.
Shu Lu’s transfer to the junior high section of Provincial Key had made Wen Hongyan proud. She feared Wen Dongrong’s persistence could lead to Shu Lu’s punishment by the school. Wen Hongyan dreamed of Shu Lu’s success, hoping she’d shine. Once, Cai Youlun had invited the Shu family to dinner, praising Shu Lu’s intelligence and beauty, urging Shu Guobing and Wen Hongyan to nurture her for a bright future.
Wen Hongyan believed Cai Youlun implicitly. Already spoiled, Shu Lu now didn’t even wash dishes, as Wen Hongyan feared it would coarsen her hands!
Wen Hongyan wanted to raise Shu Lu into a TV-drama-style heiress, destined to marry into wealth.
No heiress had a record of school punishment or expulsion.
Unlike Yue Shanni’s mother, Wen Hongyan had long recognized the importance of education, with Wen Dongrong as a living example. Without his academic success, the Wen family would still be farming in the countryside!
Shu Lu denied it verbally but was inwardly afraid.
The police shouldn’t find anything, right?
After Shu Lu’s group left, Yue Shanni and her mother exited last.
Yue Shanni’s mother reluctantly signed the mediation agreement, then berated Yue Shanni viciously outside the station.
Not for doing wrong, but for being stupid and causing trouble.
Why could others escape punishment while Yue Shanni foolishly “confessed”?
“You jinx, are you brain-dead? How did I give birth to such an idiot? If you get expelled, I won’t pull strings for you. Go work!”
The woman spoke enviously of a mahjong friend’s daughter who, at Yue Shanni’s age, went to work on the coast with a tattered suitcase and returned in a couple of years dripping in gold.
The friend’s parents, not yet fifty, had quit working thanks to their daughter’s earnings, spending their days at the mahjong parlor.
Her words hinted at urging Yue Shanni to drop out and work.
Yue Shanni paled.
She’d heard neighborhood gossip about that family. A teenage girl with no diploma or skills, earning big money in a few years? What kind of money was that—did people really not know?
No wall is airtight. The parents’ flashy wealth led to their daughter’s coastal “trade” being exposed—she was in the skin business.
Young, pretty, and a bit cunning, that trade paid fast!
The whole neighborhood knew, and Yue Shanni didn’t believe her mother was clueless.
What kind of mother pushed her daughter into prostitution?
Yue Shanni broke down, sobbing, and ran off covering her face.
The woman stood cursing, hurling a slipper at her.
“Don’t want to work? Then do better, you money-losing thing!”
Cursing, the woman began to cry too.
Life offered little hope, and with an unpromising child, Yue Shanni felt wronged, but the woman felt cursed.
Crying aside, she worried Yue Shanni might get into trouble at night. Picking up her slipper, she chased after her.
The police sighed. Long years at the grassroots showed them all kinds. Not every criminal was purely evil. Dig deep, and everyone had their share of bitterness.
Some swallowed their pain, turning frustration into drive. Others vented their discontent on others, making everyone miserable.
…
Wen Ying spent the night thinking about Yang Xi.
Xie Qian was right—she did like Yang Xi. She wouldn’t be so lenient with other delinquents.
The more she recalled, the clearer that news report became.
The next day, Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong went to the tutoring center, leaving Wen Ying home alone. Near noon, her phone rang—it was Yang Xi.
Yang Xi asked to meet.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hit you.”
“I’m not worried. If you wanted to, you’d have done it already.”
Yang Xi gave a time and place, then hung up, dodging Wen Ying’s teasing.
Wen Ying went as agreed.
Yang Xi took her to a small diner to treat her to a meal. Though unsure why Wen Ying lied for her at the station, Yang Xi disliked owing favors.
The diner was greasy, with peeling tables and stained stools—a classic “fly joint.”
The setting was rough, but the food was good. Yang Xi had chosen carefully.
At checkout, Wen Ying didn’t fight to pay. The meal was under fifty yuan, affordable for Yang Xi’s gesture.
Outside, Wen Ying suddenly asked, “Yang Xi, are you really short on money?”
Yang Xi laughed, exasperated.
Was that a human question?
If she wasn’t short on money, why collect protection fees?
Like a hedgehog under attack, Yang Xi bristled, entering defense mode: “Yeah, I’m desperate for cash. What, Miss Rich, you gonna charity me?”
