Fu Lingxiang, although unreconciled, was fully aware that having just arrived in Jiangzhou City, confronting her direct superior in person was certainly improper. She outwardly agreed to drop the matter but had deeply engraved Ye Xiao's face in her memory.
...
Zhou Yun had already returned home with Wang Qian, both of them carrying large and small bags.
Before even entering the door, from a distance, Zhou Yun had already seen the Dongfeng 308 parked at her home's entrance and her steps involuntarily halted.
"Yunyun, your second uncle still hasn't given up, has he? Didn't your mom make things clear to him last time?!"
Wang Qian's face was ashen. On a previous visit to Zhou Yun's house, she had overheard that Zhou Yun's second uncle wanted her to go on a date with a man over forty years old — and the man even had a family!
"How could he possibly give up? He's come several times since then, and it's made my mom so angry she nearly had to be hospitalized."
Zhou Yun's eyes were rimmed with red as she failed to understand why the world was treating her and her mother this way.
Her mother had to leave for work before dawn every day, and she never came back home until after Zhou Yun had fallen asleep at night.
Her father had passed away early, but she and her mother had never given up. Yet instead of receiving sympathy from relatives, they had come to view her as a tool to accomplish some end.
"I'll go have a proper talk with that old fossil! This is outrageous!"
Wang Qian, furious, hurried over with the large and small bags, screaming outside before even stepping through the doorway.
"Hey! What's the matter with you guys?! What kind of relatives act like you do?! And you even want your own niece to become someone else's mistress?! Is this something humans do?!"
It was just dinnertime and the neighbors, hearing the noise outside, came out one by one.
Having a niece become someone's mistress? This was something they had truly never heard before.
The Zhou Family inside had not yet reacted when the neighborhood folks had already rushed out, and seeing Wang Qian standing at the Zhou's doorstep, they immediately understood.
"It's Zheng Hongxiu's daughter — no wonder!"
"Even the heavens have turned a blind eye, bestowing such beauty and sensibility on her daughter but taking her family man so soon."
Zheng Hongxiu and her daughter Zhou Yun were very well-regarded by the neighbors not only because of Zhou Yun's beauty and good character but also because they always saw what Zheng Hongxiu did every day.
Frankly speaking, if Zheng Hongxiu did not want to strive for more, she just needed to marry her daughter into a wealthy family and then she could live without worries for the rest of her life.
However, Zheng Hongxiu had not chosen this path and had consequently gained the goodwill of their neighbors, who would always lend a helping hand whenever there were hurdles to overcome.
"What's all this commotion about? Is it your place to speak?"
The Zhou family door opened and a group of people walked out, led by a middle-aged man.
"Why haven't you been run over by a car yet? Last time when you tried to have Zhou Yun be someone else's mistress, you nearly sent her mother to the hospital with rage, and now you're here again? Bringing people with you too? What, if Zhou Yun doesn't agree today, are you planning to kidnap her?!"
Wang Qian spoke without mincing her words. Ever since Zhou Yue had come over last time to persuade Zhou Yun, the two families had completely fallen out, so there was no possibility that they were here to visit Zhou Yun and her mother.
"Tsk! You girl, not of age yet, but why is your mouth so foul? The matters of our Zhou family are not for you, an outsider, to criticize!"
Zhou Yue shouted back fiercely, but feeling the gaze of the surrounding neighbors, he also felt his face heating up with embarrassment.
"Your Zhou family? When Zhou Yun's dad passed away, why didn't you come by? In these years, I haven't seen you visit either. Now when there's something you want, you come over? Have you no shame?"
Wang Qian was not at all overshadowed by the bunch of gossiping aunts and uncles behind Zhou Yue. She had shouted so loudly just now because she knew Zhou Yun and her mother were well-liked in this area.
"Relatives of the Old Zhou Family are really despicable; all these years, they didn't lift a finger to help, and now they're even forcing Old Zhou's daughter to be someone's mistress."
"Looking like humans but acting less than pigs and dogs!"
…
Neighbours all around were indignant, and some had even taken handy objects from their homes, deciding that if Zhou Yue and the others dared to make a move, they were going to pay for it.
At that moment, Zheng Hongxiu had also rushed out from her house, with a kitchen knife — now whittled down to just two fingers' width — pressing against her own throat, "If you dare take Yunyun away today, I will not let you off even as a ghost! Don't believe me? Try laying a hand on her!"
This woman, just over forty, already had hair graying at the temples, dishevelled and withered, looking as old as an elderly person.
Her hands, gripping the handle of the knife, were covered in calluses, the toll of years struggling with household chores deeply etched into her.
"Mom!!!!"
Seeing her mother appear, Zhou Yun dropped all the bags she was holding and quickly ran forward to firmly grasp her mother's hand.
"Mom! Don't do anything foolish! I definitely won't agree to it! If they dare to take me away, I will die before their eyes!"
Tears almost instantly filled the incredibly beautiful face of Zhou Yun, her eyes showing a resolute determination to meet death heedlessly, as mother and daughter embraced each other.
Zhou Yun felt wronged; her mother had worked the jobs of several people every day alone just to raise her, and now she had to face threats of death in front of a bunch of relatives just to keep herself safe.
Seeing her best friend in this state, Wang Qian also had tears in her eyes, but the Hermes bag she was holding reminded her of something.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Yunyun is not the same as she was before. If you don't want trouble, you'd better get lost now!"
Wang Qian didn't know how capable Ye Xiao was, but a person who could command respect from the chairman of Longteng Square and Emperor Bar definitely wasn't someone these relatives, who needed Zhou Yun to become a mistress to climb upwards, could compare with.
In the midst of talking, Wang Qian lifted the bags she was holding, signalling to Zhou Yue and the other relatives to take a clear look.
The neighbours followed Wang Qian's gesture and looked over, and immediately, some were astonished.
"A Hermes bag? So many?! My God!"
Even though the residents of the area were not extremely wealthy, their pursuit of brands made them very sensitive to designer packaging.
Just the Hermes bags that Wang Qian was holding numbered several, not to mention those that Zhou Yun had carried earlier!
"Hermes? Ha! What, Zheng Hongxiu sent you a message, and you bought all these bags to bluff us?"
Zhou Yue glanced over and had already drawn a conclusion.
The contents of these bags, even the wealthy merchant he was trying to ingratiate himself with couldn't afford to buy so many all at once.
How could Zhou Yun know someone with such a generous hand?
"Believe it or not, it's up to you. I'm only reminding you because of the slight blood relation you have with Zhou Yun."
Wang Qian was quite indifferent, if anything she hoped these relatives would make a bigger scene because if things escalated, Zhou Yun's brother would surely find out!
Zhou Yue's expression shifted, wavered with uncertainty. Wang Qian's confident demeanor did indeed invoke some apprehension in him.
"Who are you trying to scare?"
Behind Zhou Yue, a woman took out her phone, opened her social media feed, and said in a shrill voice, "My friend's Hermes store was robbed, maybe it was you two who did it?"