In that moment, Wen Dongrong mobilized all the wisdom he’d accumulated over half a lifetime, his expression gravely serious:
“Since the police have been called, we’ll leave everything to them. We’ll wait for the results. Whoever did wrong won’t escape!”
Though he didn’t explicitly accuse Shu Lu, he also didn’t defend her.
Chen Ru snorted:勉强算过关吧。(Barely passing.)
Wen Ying’s gaze softened slightly.
Wen Dongrong knew he’d passed the test and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
He wasn’t a coward. As the head of the family, he had to remain impartial!
But the atmosphere just now had been so tense, like when a big leader at work summoned him alone to entrust a critical task, waiting for his response. One wrong word, and the task would go to his arch-rival, Old Li—a similar sense of pressure.
Wen Ying added, “Honestly, I don’t want to believe Cousin instigated Yue Shanni. If it’s true, I’d like to ask her how deeply I’ve offended her. She’s in the junior high section, I’m in the senior high section—we rarely cross paths at school. Why would she want to force me to transfer?”
The Provincial Key High School was arguably the best in Rongcheng.
Two other high schools were on par with it, including Rongcheng Ninth High, where Song Shao studied, but in terms of hardware and software, the Provincial Key still led.
Having been admitted to the Provincial Key, Wen Ying was virtually guaranteed a university spot; the only question was the quality of the school.
Transferring would mean moving from the best high school to a lesser one. Chen Ru’s anger flared: “What else could it be? She just can’t stand to see you do well!”
This was the Shu family’s typical character!
Shu Guobing could write anonymous letters to try to bring down Wen Dongrong, and Shu Lu, at such a young age, dared to instigate a delinquent like Yue Shanni to extort and bully Wen Ying, making her too scared to go to school and forcing her to transfer to escape harassment!
“If certain people hadn’t sponsored this family of ingrates, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Chen Ru snapped.
Wen Someone wanted to protest, but Judge Chen’s tongue was like a machine gun, leaving Wen Someone defenseless.
In the end, it was a call from the police station that saved Wen Someone.
As Wen Ying had mentioned, Yue Shanni had gone to the police station to “turn herself in.” The police contacted the school, found Chen Ru’s number in the school’s directory, and now asked her to come in.
Naturally, Chen Ru had to bring Wen Ying along.
The “case” left the police station baffled.
It was a case, sure, but all involved were minors, and the robbery had been aborted halfway—an attempted crime.
Yue Shanni had shown up to “confess,” covered in bruises, crying her eyes out to the officers. To an outsider, she’d look like the victim!
If she had such high moral awareness, why commit the act in the first place?
But with someone confessing, the police had to act. Based on Yue Shanni’s account, they notified all relevant parties.
Since minors couldn’t be held accountable, their guardians had to accompany them.
Wen Ying, the victim, was the last to arrive. Before she and her parents reached the station, it was already a lively scene.
Yue Shanni had “confessed” to attempting to rob her junior high classmate Wen Ying, though she denied taking any money.
The robbery failed due to infighting—Yue Shanni’s recruited delinquent helpers turned on her and beat her up.
Based on her statement, Xi Jie and the other delinquents were summoned to the station. Xi Jie denied Yue Shanni’s accusations, and her group, following her lead, stayed silent no matter what the police asked, shrinking back like timid quails with innocent eyes.
Yue Shanni claimed she was acting on someone’s orders, so Shu Lu was also called in.
When Shu Lu arrived, Yue Shanni was being beaten by a woman pulling her hair. The woman hadn’t even changed out of her pajamas, wearing slippers and reeking of cigarette smoke.
This was Yue Shanni’s mother, who’d been at a mahjong table when the police called. Reluctantly, she came, and upon learning the seriousness of the situation, she began hitting and scolding Yue Shanni for being a disgrace.
The officers shook their heads. This wasn’t concern for her child—it was embarrassment over losing face.
With such parenting, no wonder Yue Shanni turned out this way!
As for Shu Lu, she didn’t come with her parents but with Xiao Cai.
With Xiao Cai by her side, Shu Lu was composed. When Yue Shanni accused her of giving the orders, Shu Lu flatly denied it.
Yue Shanni had no proof—no call logs, no text messages. Xiao Cai was firm, and Shu Lu steadfastly rejected the claims.
Xi Jie and her crew, some with guardians present, some without, were there too. Xi Jie had swapped her daytime leather jacket for a school uniform, looking docile. Since even Shu Lu denied everything, and Yue Shanni, that “idiot,” had no evidence, Xi Jie wasn’t about to admit a thing.
When Wen Ying and her parents arrived, Shu Lu greeted Wen Dongrong.
Wen Dongrong didn’t respond, but Shu Lu put on a wronged expression: “Second Uncle, this has nothing to do with me! If Sister has a conflict with a classmate, why drag me into it?”
Wen Dongrong’s disappointment deepened, and he spoke bluntly, “Whether it’s related to you or not, if you still see Wen Ying as your sister, you should at least show some concern for what she’s been through!”
Instead of rushing to clear her name.
Wen Dongrong recalled the time Shu Lu pushed Chen Ru down. He’d thought it was a moment of carelessness then, but combined with this incident, he was certain Shu Lu harbored malice toward Chen Ru and Wen Ying.
Wen Dongrong wasn’t against teenagers having some cunning—naive kids would just be stepping stones in the real world. He’d once liked Shu Lu’s sharpness and found Wen Ying’s quietness dull. But cunning should be used wisely. Pushing Chen Ru, targeting Wen Ying—what did Shu Lu gain?
To Wen Dongrong, Shu Lu’s actions were harmful without benefit, genuinely distasteful.
Besides, his wife and daughter were his own. Wearing the leather shoes Wen Ying bought him from Macau, Wen Dongrong couldn’t muster a kind face for Shu Lu.
Seeing only Shu Lu and Shu Guobing’s driver, Xiao Cai, Wen Dongrong couldn’t scold a child, so he gave Shu Lu the cold shoulder.
Shu Lu’s face flushed red from the rebuff.
Seeing Wen Ying, spirited and unscathed, Shu Lu couldn’t even fake concern.
Yue Shanni was useless!
Back in junior high, didn’t she lord over Wen Ying, bullying her at will?
After just one summer, Yue Shanni was no match for Wen Ying.
Even more laughable, not only was Wen Ying unharmed, but the delinquents Yue Shanni hired to extort her turned on her and beat her up!
Shu Lu appeared calm but was inwardly frantic.
She had promised Zhao Dong she’d drive Wen Ying away.
When Xiao Cai pressed her earlier, Shu Lu had been confident. Now, with Xiao Cai accompanying her to the station, she felt he was mocking her.
On the way, Xiao Cai had repeatedly asked how she contacted Yue Shanni. Shu Lu insisted she always met Yue Shanni in person, leaving no evidence. Xiao Cai was skeptical.
Wen Dongrong’s view of Shu Lu shifted from fondness to dislike, while Chen Ru’s was pure loathing.
Shu Lu was just rotten!
Though there was no evidence yet that Shu Lu was behind it, Chen Ru had already convicted her in her mind.
When Shu Lu called her “Auntie,” Chen Ru was icy: “Don’t call me that. I can’t bear it. From now on, treat me as a stranger. No need to greet me if we pass on the street.”
Shu Lu’s eyes brimmed with tears.
Wen Ying, the victim, was taken aside by a female officer who gently reassured her not to be afraid and to tell the truth.
Wen Ying nodded, “I’m not scared. This is the police station. You’ll protect me.”
The female officer sighed inwardly. This victim was clearly an honest kid.
Campus bullying often targeted such kids.
Yue Shanni kept apologizing, Xi Jie stared defiantly at Wen Ying, and Shu Lu played the victim.
An elderly man arrived at the station, trembling, and collided with Wen Hongyan, who rushed in. Wen Hongyan, eager to enter, pushed the elder aside, bumping him into the doorframe. Xi Jie instantly transformed from a docile kitten into a fierce leopard, slamming the table and cursing at Wen Hongyan, “You stinking idiot—can’t you watch where you’re going?”
Likely out of respect for the elder, Xi Jie swallowed the rest of her insults.
The elder, worried Xi Jie would get into a fight, quickly said he was fine, but Xi Jie still glared at Wen Hongyan.
Wen Hongyan, upon arriving, zeroed in on Yue Shanni’s mother, and the two began a shouting match. Their verbal combat was evenly matched—one a loudmouth who never lost a rural quarrel, the other steeped in the crude profanity of the mahjong parlor. The fight escalated from street insults to cursing each other’s mothers, then to graphic reproductive insults, and finally to cursing entire families. Words weren’t enough, and they started pulling each other’s hair.
Wen Dongrong’s face was wooden, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the floor.
He didn’t just want to disown his niece—he wanted to disown his own sister.
This wasn’t his sister. How could a respectable man like him have such a sister?
But the police wouldn’t let Wen Dongrong off. With this chaotic group turning the station into a marketplace at night, the matter had to be resolved quickly.
Since it was an attempted crime, it could only be mediated. An officer, losing patience, threatened to lock up Wen Hongyan and Yue Shanni’s mother, which finally quieted the two shrews.
“Student Wen, with everyone here, don’t be afraid. Speak boldly about what happened,” the officer said.
Yue Shanni’s mother, Wen Hongyan, and the delinquents’ parents offered no apologies to Wen Ying. Only the elderly man, hobbling over, tried to apologize for Yang Xi: “Did Yang Xi make a mistake? We’ll compensate, we’ll apologize…”
Yang Xi was Xi Jie.
The fearsome Xi Jie, who intimidated some students, had a surprisingly gentle name.
Hearing “Yang Xi,” Wen Ying confirmed she hadn’t mistaken her. Xi Jie was indeed the person she’d read about in the newspaper in her past life.
