Lin Chu rang the doorbell as she arrived at the entrance of the orphanage.
After a few tries, it took a moment before Teacher Yuan came out. Perhaps it was very noisy and the doorbell was not heard, or maybe n.o.body could answer the door at the moment.
When Teacher Yuan finally came out, her eyes were red and she looked upset.
When Teacher Yuan saw Lin Chu and her company, she was shocked. Just like she had just seen her savior, she immediately opened the gate and took Lin Chu"s hand as she walked her inside.
"Hurry up and have a look, Zhu Hexuan"s lost her mind! She came by just now looking all gloomy so I opened the door, but she pushed me away and went straight to the princ.i.p.al and started scolding her! The children were still in the house earlier on and they started crying, so Teacher w.a.n.g had brought them to the back as they were frightened by her. She"s looking after the children there now while I deal with Zhu Hexuan, but I can"t budge her at all. In addition to that sick mouth of hers, the princ.i.p.al"s almost crying with rage."
"What"s her problem? Does she remember who raised her since young? What an ungrateful brat!" Xu Moyan rolled up her sleeves and dashed inside with Lin Chu and Zheng Yuntong following right behind her.
Yan Beicheng decided that he would only keep an eye out for Lin Chu and make sure she did not hurt herself. It was best for him to not interfere in a catfight.
As soon as they entered the house, Zhu Hexuan"s shrill voice sounded from the living room.
"I"ve even lost my job now and it"s all because of Lin Chu! Are you guys happy now? You"ve always taken Lin Chu"s side since young, so are you still siding with her? I only went to do an interview, that"s my responsibility as a reporter! Great, it"s just great now! Not only is she not helping me, but she"s also abusing her power to destroy me!"
"Stop it! Just shut up!" The old princ.i.p.al was so mad her chest started to hurt. She had not expected a child whom she had raised would turn around and point a finger at her to scold her.
The distorted truth was undeniable.
"What? Do you think you"ve mistreated me as well?" Zhu Hexuan snorted.
"Mistreat my a.s.s!" Xu Moyan grumbled angrily as she rushed inside.
Lin Chu followed closely behind. The pair had a certain unspoken recognition when it came to fighting arm in arm.
Earlier on, Teacher Yuan was afraid that Zhu Hexuan would lose her mind and attack the old princ.i.p.al so she kept a firm grip on Zhu Hexuan"s arm, but she had let go when she went out to the courtyard to open the door for Lin Chu and the others to come in.
When she returned this time, she went straight to Zhu Hexuan once again.
Just as Zhu Hexuan was about to shrug her off, Xu Moyan had grabbed her other arm.
Zhu Hexuan was still rambling on. "What are you guys doing? Let go of me! You"re all here to bully me, aren"t you? Let me tell you then, this is not ——"
"Pa!"
Lin Chu slapped Zhu Hexuan straight across the face, leaving a particularly noticeable red print on her cheek.
Lin Chu then shook her hand. Her palm ached from the slap and she also felt slightly dirty.
Yan Beicheng frowned and held her hand. "Why did you do it yourself? Look, your palm"s all red now. Does it hurt?"
Lin Chu nodded in response. "Yeah, just a bit."
An aching palm felt different in comparison to other body parts. It felt itchy while it hurt at the same time as if one had gotten frostbite where one would not dare to scratch it.
With a disapproving snort, Yan Beicheng glanced at her with a distressed look. "Why are you so stupid? Zheng Yuntong"s right there, you should"ve just left something like this for her to do."
Lin Chu, "..."
Zheng Yuntong, "..."
Xu Moyan, "..."
Even Zhu Hexuan was stunned to the point she forgot to continue screaming for the moment.
Lin Chu was disgusted at her dirty hands after slapping Zhu Hexuan so she headed to the kitchen to wash her hands. The cold water rus.h.i.+ng over her palms soothed the burning sensation and she instantly felt better after.
It took Zhu Hexuan a moment to realize Lin Chu"s actions and finally reacted furiously. "Lin Chu, what"s the meaning of this? Why are you acting like some high and mighty, innocent little white flower? Are you happy I lost my job just because of some things you"ve said, and now you feel so high above me? When have I done anything that wronged you? How could you do this to me?"
Zheng Yuntong knew nothing about Zhu Hexuan, but she had just witnessed Zhu Hexuan"s rude and brutal curses directed at a nice old lady like the princ.i.p.al and realized the hidden meaning behind her words, she knew enough.
She felt useless just standing there and nothing doing anything, so she quickly grabbed the rag on the coffee table and stuffed it into Zhu Hexuan"s mouth, then continued to tie a dead knot behind the head.
Yan Beicheng, "..."
Teacher Yuan, "..."
Lin Chu, "..."
Xu Moyan, "..."
This young lady was extraordinarily bold!
Zhu Hexuan had both arms held together and with the foul disgusting rag in her mouth, she felt extremely nauseous. Even if the rag was frequently washed and cleaned, there would still be a slight trace of a rancid scent. She was so frustrated her eyes turned red as she started whimpering.
Lin Chu and Xu Moyan exchanged a glance and brought Zhu Hexuan to the courtyard.
Right at that moment, the police also arrived, and when they saw Zhu Hexuan who was gagged, they almost thought she was the one who was kidnapped.
Fortunately, Yan Beicheng came out in time and said, "I was the one who reported just now. She barged in here and caused a scene here."
The police went into the house and have a look. Sure enough, the chairs had fallen to the ground, gla.s.s shards were all over the floor from when the gla.s.ses were smashed, and the table had toppled over too.
The old princ.i.p.al sat on the sofa with her hands covering her face as she cried out, "How did she become like this? What happened?"
Mo Jinxi seized the opportunity and quickly bounced over. He looked up with his huge innocent eyes and said, "Mr. Policeman, the aunt outside"s very evil. She barged into our house and smashed everything up. We"re all very scared."
"Wa ——" Tian Tian also ran out with s.h.i.+ Tong following right behind. "Mr. Policeman, I"m scared!"
It turned out Mo Jinxi had seen the police coming through the windows and quickly took the opportunity to run back into the house to get s.h.i.+ Tou and Tian Tian out to launch an offense.
s.h.i.+ Tou was one step slower behind because he went to the other room to call the younger boys and girls out.
Sure enough, within seconds, a group of small kids stumbled out crying and wailing. Even the policeman was getting a headache from their cries.
Lastly, the policeman took a couple of photos on the spot and together with his colleague, they took Zhu Hexuan away.
Zhu Hexuan was in disbelief that Lin Chu had actually reported to the police.
This was just a personal grudge, was it necessary to lodge a police report?!
"I was just reporting facts! Lin Chu, do you hate me so much?" Zhu Hexuan continued screaming as the policemen dragged her away.
After Zhu Hexuan was taken to the police car, Lin Chu made her way towards the car. She had heard what Zhu Hexuan said and responded coldly, "I haven"t done anything to you yet you"re still constantly fussing over my personal affairs. I just want to ask you, is this how you"re going to continue hating me? Are you saying that you"re the only one allowed to do those disgusting things to me and I"m not allowed to do anything? That"s really funny!"
After Lin Chu was done, Zhu Hexuan was pushed into the backseat of the police car so Lin Chu could not bother with her anymore. She turned around and returned to the courtyard, not forgetting to close the gate.
Xu Moyan already had her arm around Zheng Yuntong, her eyes widened as her eyelids fluttered rapidly. "Yuntong, I didn"t expect you to act so tough at such a crucial moment!"
Zheng Yuntong had stood her ground and held herself all-powerfully just now but after everything had ended, she was skeptical on how did she become so brave moments ago.
At this moment where Xu Moyan just praised her highly, her face immediately flushed red. She covered her face as she laughed awkwardly. "Hehehehe, I just… It"s as if something kicked in and I suddenly gained power or something. I"m not too sure either!"
The four of them then entered the house where Teacher w.a.n.g was accompanying the old princ.i.p.al. The old princ.i.p.al was wiping away her tears with tissues, but her eyes were still evidently red and swollen.
When she saw Lin Chu and the others walked in, she immediately looked up and asked, "Hexuan… She… What happened to her?"
Of course, Lin Chu could not say that Yan Beicheng was the reason Zhu Hexuan had lost her job, so she replied, "She received a lot of money from different companies some time ago to report false news, and now that her chief found out about it, her company made her resign. Just so happened that just yesterday, she went to interview Xu Jiaojiao, Dai Huimin"s daughter. She was planning on reporting a story on me and my birth mom, but her chief had her resign right this morning. She probably thinks that everything"s an unlikely coincidence since everything happened at the same time, so she thinks that I have something to do with it, hence she believes that I"m the reason she lost her job."
The old princ.i.p.al shook her head sadly. "Why is this child dwelling so much on such a matter? Something that just happened yesterday wouldn"t have such a quick reaction as to her getting fired this morning! Besides, she"s at fault now so how can she blame it on others! If she works hard and takes the right path, not bothering with those tricks and dishonest ways, will her chief still have a reason to fire her?"
Although the old princ.i.p.al said so verbally, deep down in her heart, she knew that perhaps Yan Beicheng had a hand in this whole situation.
However, she was not going to say anything.
She did not understand why Zhu Hexuan kept holding on to Lin Chu so badly either. If it were not for her constant plots against Lin Chu, Yan Beicheng would not have bothered with her at all.
Moreover, Zhu Hexuan"s behavior this time truly hurt the old princ.i.p.al"s feelings.
The old princ.i.p.al heaved a heavy sigh as her hand clutched her chest. The heartache she felt was indescribable. She had brought up Zhu Hexuan since young, and like Lin Chu, she had always seen her as her granddaughter.
However, now that this granddaughter of hers had grown up and turned against her, complaining that she was biased. She did not know how to let Zhu Hexuan know that she had never shown favoritism, and she never would.
"Granny," Tian Tian ran over and covered the old princ.i.p.al"s rough wrinkly hands with her soft little hands. "Don"t be sad."
"Granny"s fine," the old princ.i.p.al said as she patted her small little head.
s.h.i.+ Tou and Mo Jinxi climbed up the sofa from both sides and held the old princ.i.p.al"s arm just like small tiger cubs, then rubbed their small heads against the old princ.i.p.al"s arm adoringly.
When Lin Chu saw the mess Zhu Hexuan had made in the living room, she started cleaning up along with Zheng Yuntong and Xu Moyan. Teacher Yuan and Teacher Yuan also went to get mops, brooms, and dustpans.
Seeing that the children were slightly shaken, Xu Moyan quietly pulled Lin Chu aside and said, "I think the children are all scared, why not we have dinner here instead. That"ll be a change of mood for everyone."
Lin Chu agreed as well. After all, the snacks Xu Moyan brought for her and the hot pot ingredients were all in the car, so she went to tell Yan Beicheng and the old princ.i.p.al.
The children wiped away their tears the second they heard that there was good food, their red swollen eyes immediately looked outside longingly.
Lin Chu laughed and headed out to get the items.
"Don"t go, I"ll go get the things and have someone send over the rest of the ingredients and utensils from the house," Yan Beicheng said. As he walked out, he gave Nan Jingheng a call.
Nan Jingheng barked out in an annoying tone, "So you only think of me when there are errands for me to run! Who do you think I am, an express delivery man?"
Yan Beicheng pursed his lips and responded, "Are you coming or not? Do you want to eat with us?"
Nan Jingheng gritted his teeth. "You… Wait for me!"
Yan Beicheng hung up and returned to his car to grab the large bags of things before heading back to the house.
Nan Jingheng drove to Ding City and informed Aunt Zhuang the change of plans. She quickly started to pack everything up for him to take away.
Nan Jingheng got bored soon so he headed over to the restaurant. Turns out, Aunt Zhuang had estimated that Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were about to come back so she had prepared everything out on the table.
While she packed everything up, Nan Jingheng took a photo and sent it to his Moments, not forgetting to add three emojis of a mysterious face with shades and a cigarette. "Bringing some things to have dinner with Brother Beicheng!"
His post immediately stirred up a hornet"s nest.
Han Zhuoli, "Where!"
Wei Zhiqian, "Where!"
Chu Zhaoyang, "!"
His phone began to vibrate violently as Han Zhuoli and Wei Zhiqian messaged him personally at the same time asking where he was meeting Yan Beicheng for dinner and whether they were meeting at Ding City.
Nan Jingheng was just at Ding City yesterday for lunch and took a picture to show off. Everyone wanted to smack his face at the sight of his sneaky crooked smile.
Nan Jingheng had always got along well with them, so he responded to Han Zhuoli, "Praise me! I"ll tell you if you praise me."
While Nan Jingheng waited for Han Zhuoli to reply, he was added into the 8x8 is 64 group chat where everyone was waiting to press him for an answer.
Pleased with himself, Nan Jingheng still wanted to keep everyone guessing. Just then, Yan Ningbai sent a voice message in the group chat, "Jinxi said that big nephew and the others are having a hot pot dinner at the orphanage! They"re using the soup base niece Xu brought from Chengdu, it"s really good!"
Nan Jingheng, "..."
Now that Nan Jingheng had lost his value, n.o.body paid any attention to him anymore and began discussing going to the orphanage.
Wei Zilin was on a business trip so he was unable to rush over, but he continued to make noise in the group.
Wei Ziqi and his wife had brought their daughter and son to Disneyland so they were not around either whereas Qi Chengzhi"s family and Qi Chenglin"s family had made plans to watch Minions. They were already having dinner at the mall where the cinema was located so they could go straight to the cinema after their meal. Therefore, they did not join in the fun as well.
In the end, the bachelors decided to go together. Yan Ningbai kept bugging to go so Yan Huaian and Yu Zi set off with Yan Ningbai too.
Carrying the bags of ingredients and utensils that Aunt Zhuang have packed nicely, Nan Jingheng was just about to leave when something caught onto his legs all of a sudden. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move his leg.
He turned around strangely and found Chu Xi biting the sides of his trousers. It stared at him with its big eyes as it whimpered softly as if it was pleading.
Nan Jingheng, "..."
"Let go, this isn"t yours," Nan Jingheng shook his leg.
Chu Xi, "Awu—— Awu——"
"I"m not letting go! Even if I can"t eat it, I"ll just look at it!"
Nan Jingheng, "Hurry up and let go of me. Be a good little doggie and let go please."
Chu Xi, "Awu —— Awu ——"
"There"s no way you can bring good food out of my house!"
Nan Jingheng did not know what to do with Chu Xi so he turned to Aunt Zhuang. "Aunty, please put on its leash, I"ll bring it to the orphanage."
Aunt Zhuang responded with a soft yes and took out Chu Xi"s leash. Chu Xi seemed to understand that Nan Jingheng was about to bring it out as it immediately let go of the legs of his trousers and went out with him. It was as if food and itself was a pair.
When Aunt Zhuang closed the door behind them, she overhead Nan Jingheng talking to Chu Xi as they waited for the elevator, "Chu Xi, you"re still a girl all in all, can you at least behave in a more reserved manner like a young lady?"
Chu Xi, "Woof!"
When Nan Jingheng arrived at the orphanage, Chu Zhaoyang and the others were already there as well.
Lin Chu prepared a small pot of clear soup on the coffee table for the children to eat whereas the a.d.u.l.ts had the spicy soup at the dinner table.
The rich spicy scent filled the air as the soup boiled, the savory scent making Yan Ningbai drool greedily.
He looked over with his soft dark eyes and his eyelids fluttered for a moment. Soon after, he ran over to Yan Huaian with his bowl and chopsticks. "Daddy, daddy, I want to try this."
Yan Huaian eyed him. "Aren"t you unable to take spicy stuff?"
Yan Ningbai swallowed a gulp. "I… I can try just one small sip."
He placed his white plump index finger above his thumb, only leaving a tiny gap indicating an extremely small amount.
Yan Huaian fished out a small slice of rib eye beef, and after blowing on it a few times, he placed it in Yan Ningbai"s bowl.
Yan Ningbai took a small bite and his eyes turned red immediately. He quickly closed his eyes and only reopened them after a long time. When he turned around, his friends had surrounded him, staring at him eagerly.
"It is delicious?" s.h.i.+ Tou asked excitedly as he swallowed a gulp.
Yan Ningbai resisted the urge to drink water and forced a satisfied expression. He licked his swollen lips and replied, "It"s delicious, not spicy at all!"
Yan Huaian, "..."
Everyone at the table was speechless as well.
He was clearly close to tears just seconds ago.
s.h.i.+ Tou hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then… I"ll try it too."
Then, the other kids followed eagerly. "I want to try it too!"
"Me too!"
"Me three!"
With that, each of them took their bowls and went over.
The a.d.u.l.ts gave them each a piece of cooked beef, none of them dared to give them vegetables as those were spicier than meat.
The innocent little guys ate the entire slice in one go without a second thought and tears immediately filled their eyes.
Tian Tian cried on the spot from the spice and searched for water as her face flushed red.
Everyone felt better after drinking water and each of them glanced toward Yan Ningbai, eager to get back at him.
Right at that moment, Yan Ningbai had already sat back on the small chair at the coffee table sneaking beef slices for Chu Xi. He looked up and blinked innocently. "I don"t think it"s spicy at all!"
With that, he even puffed his chest proudly. "I can take spice now!"
Meanwhile, Chu Xi who was by his feet looked up as well as if something was wrong. "Awu!"
"..." Yan Beicheng slipped a slice of cuttlefish into Lin Chu"s bowl and turned to Yan Ningbai. "Don"t corrupt Chu Xi."
Once again, everyone was speechless.
After finis.h.i.+ng dinner and everything was cleaned up, Yan Beicheng said, "Let"s leave the pots and utensils here, we might come by often in the future."
The old princ.i.p.al did not bother with this either. After all, she had received much more expensive things from Yan Beicheng.
Lin Chu was still not at ease. She held the princ.i.p.al by her arm and said, "If Zhu Hexuan comes back, please don"t open the door for her. The same thing that happened today might happen again, and that"ll frighten the kids once again. We"re usually working so what if we"re on a business trip? Who can you go to for help then?"
The old princ.i.p.al nodded and promised Lin Chu, but she knew that the old princ.i.p.al was very soft-hearted and might still let Zhu Hexuan into the house the next time. Perhaps the old princ.i.p.al might just not give up on Zhu Hexuan until she caused trouble again a couple times more.
Lin Chu did not know what to say anymore, and so left with Yan Beicheng.
Back at home, Yan Beicheng was in no rush to bathe or change his clothes. Instead, he lounged on the sofa in the bedroom. He only took off his suit, which was placed on the sofa seat, and he had his phone in his hand.
Lin Chu noticed his relaxed expression and knew that he was not dealing with official business, but chatting on WeChat, so she took out her phone as well. Han Zhuoli and the other bachelors were chatting in the 8x8 is 64 chat group while a green dot appeared occasionally beside Chu Zhaoyang"s name indicating he was online.