Shen Yueh suddenly charged out, startling Shen Li considerably. Still in the same clothes as yesterday, but looking much more disheveled, her hair was a tangled mess, and her makeup was beyond mention, likely her face remained unwashed. Her expression was very haggard, as if she had not slept all night, resembling someone just released from the police station.
She remembered that yesterday the police had taken Shen Yueh away too, and normally if Shen Yueh had not been involved, they would have released her after questioning. It wasn't possible for them to detain her overnight unless she had been involved, in which case they wouldn't just detain her for one night.
"You ungrateful wretch, it's all because of you," Shen Yueh screamed, lunging at Shen Li, ready to hit her.
Shen Li had her bag in hand and, on instinct, used it to block and then forcefully swung it. Having stayed in the detention center for a night, fatigued from lack of proper food and sleep, Shen Yueh was already overstretched. Hit by Shen Li's forceful swing, she was directly thrown to the ground.
"Having gotten your own parents thrown in jail, a person like you should've been strangled the moment you were born." Shen Yueh was exhausted all over, not getting up from the ground, but sitting there and throwing a tantrum. Pointing at Shen Li she cursed, "You little bitch, why don't you just die."
"You're not dead yet, so why would I?" Shen Li said coldly.
If it hadn't been for Fang Hongxia's affair, her parents wouldn't have divorced. And how had Fang Hongxia treated her over these years, claiming she raised her? If it weren't against the law to kill, Fang Hongxia and Father Shen would have strangled her a long time ago.
The good part was that by the time Fang Hongxia married into the family, she was already in her early teens. Fang Hongxia really wanted to lay her hands on her, but she could run away by then, and with relatives and school to turn to, Fang Hongxia dared not go too far.
While Shen Yueh was carrying on with her tantrum, neighbors and security guards from the community gathered around. They were pointing at Shen Yueh and starting to say, "Picking on somebody else again, it's just wicked, what kind of person does that make you?"
"Exactly, exactly, both mother and daughter are shameless, having broken up someone's family and still having the gall to hit the daughter. They're thick-skinned; people like that should be dealt with by the police."
Although the community was high-end, it had been around for over a decade, and most residents were long-term neighbors. The story of how Fang Hongxia moved up as the other woman and stole someone's husband, along with how she later abused the previous wife's daughter, was well known among them.
Especially when Shen Li and Shen Yueh stood together, one having been a model student from childhood, getting into a prestigious university and making her way through on scholarships, known for good behavior and academic excellence. Whereas Shen Yueh, with her dyed blonde hair, couldn't even get into college and had already gone through several boyfriends.
Not to mention Fang Hongxia and Shen Yueh pointing at Shen Li and cursing her, it wasn't the first or second time, it happened so often that even the local committee couldn't stand it anymore. As a result, Fang Hongxia ended up cursing out the mediators.
While Shen Yueh was in the midst of her rant, upon hearing the neighbors' words, she pointed at Shen Li and bellowed angrily, "It's this white-eyed wolf. She called the police and got her own father arrested. Why are you blaming me?"
"They committed a crime, and the police took them away, that's none of my business. Was it me who made them commit the crime, or do I have the power to control the police?" Shen Li said with a cold laugh, then added, "Doing wrong and then trying to pin it on me, truly, it's your usual trick."
With that, the neighbors began to talk even more, pointing fingers at Shen Yueh. The event of the police car coming and taking the three members of the Shen Family away yesterday was still fresh in their memories. Many people had said at the time it must have been Fang Hongxia abusing Shen Li again, and Shen Li couldn't take it anymore and called the police. But for such matters, the police would usually only mediate, and it would be unlikely they would really arrest Fang Hongxia.
Just like Shen Li said, if the police really took them away, then they must have committed a serious crime. They started saying, "They surely have done it to themselves, delivering themselves right into jail."
"Karma."
"Shen Li..." Fang Ze's voice came through; he had already driven away but then suddenly remembered he hadn't asked Shen Li for her phone number. When he drove back, he hadn't expected to see such a scene.
Shen Li's background was no secret; the Shen family was clearly well-off, and he knew exactly what kind of life Shen Li led. Back then, he had wanted to stand up for Shen Li, only to find out that Shen Yueh was still bullying her.
He stood directly in front of Shen Li, adopting a protective stance, and reprimanded Shen Yueh, "Are you still bullying Ah Li?"
Shen Yueh, who was in the middle of making a scene, froze upon seeing Fang Ze, blurting out, "Brother Fang, you're back in the country..."
She was a grade below Shen Li, yet they attended the same school. She had liked Fang Ze for a long time, but it turned out that Fang Ze liked Shen Li instead. The two were always seen together, which only fueled Shen Yueh's hatred for Shen Li. She frequently caused trouble for Shen Li, which led to Fang Ze disliking her even more.
Fang Ze nearly gagged at such a title and couldn't help but retort, "Who is your brother?"
Finally rising from the ground in front of her crush, Shen Yueh faced the criticisms from the neighbors and the aversion from her idol, growing increasingly aggrieved as she pointed at Fang Ze and accused, "It was her who called the police and got my mom arrested. The police said it's very likely she'll be sentenced."
Fang Ze's expression changed instantly. Fang Hongxia had done something to Shen Li that warranted a prison sentence? He wondered how Shen Li had been living these past years. He should have come back sooner and not waited so long.
The murmuring among the neighbors grew louder; to the common people, the word "sentencing" carried a different weight. A fight might result in detention, but what had Fang Hongxia done to deserve prison?
As everyone clustered around, chatting and pointing fingers, the sound of a police car approached from afar. It had been the security guard who had called the police, fearing an incident, so they had simply alerted the authorities. Soon after, the police car arrived, and two officers got out. Seeing Shen Yueh, they frowned and said, "You again, never learning your lesson. Come on, let's go to the station."
Shen Yueh was dumbfounded. She had just come from the police station and shouted, "I haven't committed any crimes, why are you arresting me?"
"Your mother's offense is too serious, and now we suspect you might have been an accomplice," the officer replied.
Shen Yueh wanted to argue, but the police were not listening and simply took her away. As Shen Yueh was led away by the police, the neighbors' chatter intensified. Shen Li chose to ignore them all and turned to leave.
All three of them were arrested, leaving her alone, which actually saved her a lot of trouble. As for the neighborhood gossip, even if someone truly came knocking on her door, she would just pretend not to be home.
"Shen Li…" Fang Ze followed quickly with long strides.
Shen Li looked somewhat embarrassed. Such matters were shameful enough in front of strangers, let alone acquaintances. She said, "I'm going home. You go ahead with your business."
Fang Ze watched Shen Li with a pained expression and said, "I didn't know you have had it so tough."
"It's not really about having it tough; they brought it on themselves," Shen Li spoke, feeling a sourness in her heart and eyes. If it weren't for Fang Hongxia selling her out, she wouldn't have ended up like this. In a way, meeting Huo Siyu was a stroke of fortune; otherwise, she might have been trapped in a cage as a sex slave indefinitely.
"I should have come back earlier," Fang Ze spoke with self-reproach. He shouldn't have hesitated because of Chen Na. He should have stayed in the country, accompanying Shen Li all along.
Shen Li pushed down the sourness in her heart and shook her head at Fang Ze, smiling and saying, "Don't say that, what's past is past. I have a boyfriend now."