While Wen Ying and her father discussed the topic of “credibility,” Wen Hongyan was facing yet another failed call attempt.
Last night, the message was, “The number you have dialed is switched off.” Today, it was, “The number you have dialed is currently busy.”
Not only was this the case with Wen Dongrong’s phone, but Chen Ru’s was the same.
This couple simply didn’t want to answer her calls!
Wen Hongyan rarely lost her temper with her daughter, Shu Lu, but this time she snapped, “You wretched girl, couldn’t you have held back? You just had to push her! Now look, your second uncle will be even less likely to let your dad out!”
Shu Lu thought to herself, what did it matter if her dad was released or not? Her father was so useless, unable to help Mr. Zhao in any meaningful way. Now, Mr. Zhao had shifted his sponsorship to her. Whether her dad was around or not made no difference.
But Shu Lu couldn’t say this to Wen Hongyan directly. If her mother found out about the task Zhao Dong had given her last night, with Wen Hongyan’s inability to keep secrets, she’d blab it to everyone, violating Mr. Zhao’s instructions.
“I only pushed her lightly. Who knew Second Aunt would fall? Mum, do you think Second Aunt did it on purpose?”
Wen Hongyan slapped her thigh.
Of course, it was on purpose!
How much strength could a young girl have? A light push causing an adult to fall?
Chen Ru was probably deliberately stirring up trouble.
“If she did it on purpose, we need to explain things properly to your second uncle, smooth things over with him, and get your dad released. He’s locked up—who’s going to earn money to pay for your schooling?”
Wen Hongyan was panicking. Not only did Shu Lu need money for school, but the mother and daughter’s life in the provincial capital—food, rent, daily expenses—all required funds. Without Shu Guobing bringing money home, could they even afford to stay in the city?
The seafood shop at Qingshi Bridge and the late-night food stall weren’t owned by the Shu family. Shu Guobing’s arrest didn’t stop the businesses from running—Little Cai was holding things together.
Little Cai was indeed capable.
With or without Shu Guobing, it didn’t affect Little Cai’s ability to manage the shops for Boss Cai.
The difference was, when Shu Guobing wasn’t arrested, Little Cai was all hustle and attentiveness. Now that Shu Guobing was detained, Little Cai claimed the shops were too busy and rarely came by the house.
More importantly, he wasn’t sending money anymore!
Wen Hongyan was fraught with worry, her former “boss’s wife” demeanor gone. Shu Lu quietly comforted her, “If Second Aunt didn’t have such filthy thoughts, I wouldn’t have pushed her. Uncle Cai said he’s already working on getting Dad out. We don’t necessarily have to beg Second Uncle.”
“Really?”
Wen Hongyan already knew about Shu Lu going out with Cai Youlun but was unaware she’d met Zhao Dong.
The things Cai Youlun bought for Shu Lu didn’t faze Wen Hongyan.
She didn’t recognize the brands and had no concept of how expensive luxury goods were, so she didn’t grasp the value of the pile of items Cai Youlun got for Shu Lu.
On second thought, if Boss Cai was still willing to buy things for Shu Lu and take her out to eat, wasn’t that all because of Shu Guobing’s face? It seemed Boss Cai hadn’t given up on getting Shu Guobing out!
Wen Hongyan gritted her teeth. “Since we don’t need to beg that couple, we can’t let that woman Chen Ru ruin your reputation.”
Wen Hongyan, playing the victim, turned the tables and spent the evening calling around, badmouthing Chen Ru to relatives. She accused Chen Ru of slandering Shu Lu, claiming Chen Ru had a dirty mind and saw everything through a filthy lens.
“Grown-up matters shouldn’t involve kids. If you want to fight, come at me! Bullying Shu Lu—what kind of skill is that? Utterly shameless!”
The Wen family relatives were baffled.
Calling in the middle of the night to talk about this?
Wen Ying’s aunt hung up and scolded her husband, “Your family’s mostly normal—how did you end up with such a lunatic? Second Sister-in-law can be overbearing, but I’ve only seen her nag Wen Ying. Would she really go pick a fight with Shu Lu? Does she have that much free time?”
Normal people work to support their families. Work is exhausting enough—would someone go out of their way after hours to hassle a relative’s kid? Is that even plausible?
Oh, right—Wen Hongyan quit her job. She’s the idlest one now, no wonder she’s stirring up trouble!
Aunt ranted about Wen Hongyan for ages, unable to fathom her actions.
Even if you weren’t overflowing with gratitude for Wen Dongrong and Chen Ru’s help, you shouldn’t turn on them the moment you strike it rich.
Life spans decades—who can guarantee they’ll never hit a rough patch? When you’re doing well, you’re surrounded by friends, but when you’re down, most scatter. Only family might lend a hand.
Wen Hongyan’s family had only been wealthy for a few days, and already they didn’t take Wen Dongrong seriously. Not only ungrateful, but repaying kindness with enmity—Aunt would be mad to side with Wen Hongyan.
After being nagged by his wife for ages, Uncle muttered, “Alright, you know what kind of person she is—just treat her words like hot air. Are you going to sleep or not?”
Aunt gave her husband a hard pinch, then burst out laughing: Wen Hongyan wasn’t just a lunatic, she was a fool.
Originally, the relatives didn’t know about Shu Lu going to a hotel with a man at night. Now, thanks to Wen Hongyan’s big mouth, they probably all did!
What “close uncle” takes a teenage girl to a hotel at night? If it’s not for a room, there’s still ulterior motives.
Only Wen Hongyan was naive enough. If it were Aunt, she’d beat the brains out of any “uncle” deceiving her daughter, then give the kid a harsh lesson to wise up, ensuring she’d never go out alone with a man at night again!
Wen Ying’s eldest aunt, Zhu Meiqun, was even more blunt, questioning Wen Hongyan over the phone, “Shu Lu’s out at night with someone, and you, her mother, are fine with it? Aren’t you afraid she’ll be taken advantage of? I’ve heard some men target schoolgirls, buying them gifts and small favors… Hello?”
Wen Hongyan didn’t want to hear Zhu Meiqun’s words and hung up.
Wen Hongyan had the call on speaker, so Shu Lu heard everything clearly. When Wen Hongyan cursed Zhu Meiqun and Chen Ru for being equally filthy-minded, Shu Lu’s face flushed.
If her own relatives thought this way, what would outsiders think?
Shu Lu changed her mind. With Zhao Dong’s sponsorship, she still needed her father, Shu Guobing. He didn’t need to achieve anything grand, but at least with him as a shield, she could openly use the things Zhao Dong bought her without people gossiping behind her back.
Zhao Dong had given Shu Lu a business card. She sent a message to the number on it, cautiously explaining her thoughts.
Half an hour later, Zhao Dong replied.
“Fine, your dad will be out soon.”
Shu Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
…
Zhao Dong’s efficiency was indeed impressive.
Since Chen Ru’s foot hadn’t healed, Wen Dongrong took two days off to stay in Chengdu to care for her.
The leave was requested on Sunday. On Monday morning, Wen Dongrong received a call from his boss, his expression grim.
“Shu Guobing’s about to be released. They say there’s insufficient evidence, so it’s just administrative detention and a verbal warning.”
Administrative detention lasts no more than fifteen days, so he was indeed getting out soon.
Chen Ru suspected Wen Dongrong had secretly pulled strings. Wen Dongrong nearly swore an oath to convince her it had nothing to do with him.
Wen Ying stuffed a bun in her mouth, biting down as if chomping on certain people’s heads.
This wasn’t Old Wen’s doing. She wasn’t wrong—Shu Lu had connected with Zhao Dong, and it was Zhao Dong helping Shu Guobing!
Wen Ying wasn’t angry. In fact, she hoped Zhao Dong would do more of this. The more he walked by the river, the more likely he’d get his shoes wet. She was sure she’d catch him slipping eventually.
