Huo Jinlan walked out of the crowd and whispered into Jiang Nanfei's ear, "Nanfei, don't argue with the boss. If you really have to compensate, just do it. Your family is poor, and you don't have the money."
Jiang Nanfei turned her head, her eyes burning into Huo Jinlan, disgust threatening to spill from deep within her heart. Only her fool self in her previous life, blind in mind and heart, would have failed to see Huo Jinlan's true colors.
Such clumsy acting, wouldn't even a blind man see through it?
Looking at her face, identical to how it would be ten years later. Young, beautiful. In her previous life, she had been persuaded by Huo Jinlan to leave without pay, ruining her reputation and earning her the label of married to money.
Eventually, she dropped out of school while Huo Jinlan was admitted to a prestigious university. She felt like smacking that smug smile off her face, rendering her incapable of spreading rumours behind her back.
"Nanfei, listen to me. School is about to start, causing trouble with the boss will only hurt you," Huo Jinlan said, pretending to be concerned, her cold, mocking smile hidden behind a bowed head.
"Get lost! Or are you waiting for something even more embarrassing?" Tian Yuegui sneered, crossing her arms in triumph. "Don't think I won't reveal your dirty secrets. If you push me too far, I won't be afraid of looking bad."
"Madam, don't get angry. I'll talk to Nanfei." At Tian Yuegui's threat, Huo Jinlan quickly stepped forward to placate the situation. "Nanfei was wrong, I apologize for her, I'm sorry!"
The crowd was puzzled. Why did Huo Jinlan need to apologize when Jiang Nanfei was clearly in the wrong? What thick skin she had. So much for being educated. What a disgrace to the educated!
"Huo Jinlan, let Tian Yuegui speak. I want to see how she's going to malign me," Jiang Nanfei declared loudly. The suddenness and volume of her declaration caught everyone's attention, drowning out Huo Jinlan's apology.
Huo Jinlan's gaze turned cold when her plan was interrupted mid-sentence.
"Nanfei, I beg you, let it go!" Huo Jinlan was surprised. How come the usually docile Jiang Nanfei suddenly stood her ground?
Did she somehow find out about the sleeping pills she had mixed into the cold medicine?
"You think I don't dare? You little tramp," Tian Yuegui, who'd never been addressed so directly, rolled up her sleeves in triumph. "I thought about saving you some face, but your shamelessness astounds me. You pretend to be looking for work, but you're really just after successful men. Ha! Look at yourself first. As if you could seduce my man."
Huo Jinlan instinctively took a step back from Jiang Nanfei.
They were classmates who ventured out to work together, their relationship one of the best. Yet now Huo Jinlan distanced herself from her, intensifying the disdain the spectators felt for Jiang Nanfei. Even those who didn't initially believe Tian Guiyue, now had some doubts.
"She's usually such a proper girl, how can she be so shameless?"
"Exactly."
In rural China of the nineties, conservative traditions prevailed. If a girl was involved in a scandal, it could bring embarrassment upon her entire family.
Jiang Nanfei churned with fury. As expected, they were all awaiting her downfall.
In one stride, against the stunned onlookers, she grabbed Tian Guiyue by the hair with tremendous force. A scream echoed throughout the yard. Everyone was shocked.
"Ahh..."