“I don’t understand—”
Xiao Lan looked at her with a half-smile, “You understand. Let’s be frank – I wasn’t free to deal with you before, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what you did. You think you can make a comeback by getting close to that Hong Kong boss?”
Xiao Lan raised and waved her right hand, reminding Xia Zi Yu about the ambush before the college entrance exam.
Xia Zi Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
Not out of concern for her parents, but because Xiao Lan knew about her connection with Du Zhao Hui?
Had she accidentally revealed her movements at the Pengcheng Hospital?
Xia Zi Yu struggled to maintain her composure.
Whatever happened, Xiao Lan couldn’t guess the foundation of her cooperation with Du Zhao Hui.
Xia Zi Yu desperately wanted to slap Xiao Lan’s face – that beautiful face that filled her with both admiration and jealousy. But she knew she couldn’t, because her original backing, the Wang family, had fallen from grace, and her new support, Du Zhao Hui, hadn’t truly valued her yet.
Xia Zi Yu knew well she lacked the strength to wrestle with Xiao Lan, but she could endure more than most!
Xia Zi Yu sighed softly, “You also broke my father’s hand. I wronged you before – I wasn’t mature enough then and didn’t maintain proper distance from Jian Hua. One mistake forced me to choose him… Xiao Lan, I made mistakes in the past, but now you’re better off in every way. Without Jian Hua, you found someone with a better family background. We both have Xia family blood, we’re cousins. Can’t we put past grievances to rest?”
Xiao Lan resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She spoke as if Xiao Lan’s relationship with Zhou Cheng was some generous gift from her.
What Xiao Lan cared about wasn’t Xia Zi Yu stealing Jian Hua Wang. That kind of man, appearing decent on the surface, could forget ‘Xiao Lan’s’ sacrifices just because he got into university – even if Xia Zi Yu hadn’t taken him, Xiao Lan would have dumped him anyway.
What Xiao Lan cared about was that these despicable people had built their relationship on someone’s death!
When Xia Zi Yu had the upper hand, she showed no mercy, using hidden and poisonous methods to drive ‘Xiao Lan’ to crash into a wall – where was her concern for sisterly love then? Searching through her ‘memories,’ Xiao Lan found no deep blood feud with Xia Zi Yu, yet Xia Zi Yu could be so ruthless. How could Xiao Lan easily forgive?
Xiao Lan had no right to forgive, after all, she had truly died once.
“Xia Zi Yu, stop joking. I’ve always found you quite twisted – wanting to do evil but hiding in the shadows. Jian Hua Wang can’t hear you, so who are you performing for? You’re at a disadvantage now, so you beg me to stop, but when you rise again, you’ll surely take revenge a thousandfold – I won’t waste time on that. Between your parents, you can only save one this time. Now answer me, which one will you protect?”
Xia Zi Yu’s eyes reddened.
The current Xiao Lan overlapped with her memory – back then, she had even knelt and begged… No! She wouldn’t kneel to Xiao Lan.
Xia Zi Yu straightened her back, “Xiao Lan, I don’t understand what you mean. My mother just wanted to catch up with her Second Aunt. Even Chief Ma doesn’t have the authority to keep detaining my mother.”
Evidence?
There was none!
Even if Zhang Cui truly intended to harm Fen Liu, she hadn’t committed any crime yet.
Planning a crime in one’s mind was different from actually committing it.
After Xiao Lan’s intimidation, Xia Zi Yu became calmer. The police station would have to release her mother eventually. Since coming to Beijing, Zhang Cui has obeyed the law. Even with the Zhou family’s backing, Xiao Lan couldn’t do whatever she pleased!
“Fine, I understand. You are a filial daughter – seems you’ve chosen your birth mother.”
Xiao Lan clapped lightly, ignoring Xia Zi Yu as she turned and went back inside.
“Chief Ma, let her go.”
Chief Ma was startled. Xiao Lan lowered her head with a bitter smile: “There’s no real evidence. These things are hard to prove.”
That wasn’t what Fen Liu had said.
Chief Ma was reluctant to release her. Fen Liu and Grandmother Yu were next door and had run over upon hearing Xiao Lan’s voice.
Grandmother Yu knew Xiao Lan was clever and tugged at Fen Liu’s sleeve. Fen Liu also agreed to release the woman.
“It’s just a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding, no harm done…”
Jian Hua Wang’s friend desperately tried to smooth things over.
With the leader’s face already involved and now both Xiao Lan and Fen Liu agreeing to release her, Chief Ma had no reason to persist. Zhang Cui had been detained alone for most of the day and was already terrified.
Seeing her daughter, Zhang Cui wept with joy.
Seeing Xiao Lan and her mother present, Zhang Cui didn’t curse like Jin Gui Wang would have – that wasn’t her style.
She tried to say something pretentious, but Chief Ma impatiently warned her:
“Next time you try anything suspicious in Xidan, getting caught won’t end so easily!”
Xiao Lan’s sudden reasonableness puzzled Jian Hua Wang, but Zhang Cui’s release was for the best.
Jian Hua Wang’s friend had figured out that Xiao Lan was Xia Zi Yu’s cousin:
“Your pretty sister-in-law is beautiful.”
His tone was full of inappropriate thoughts. Jian Hua Wang coldly replied, “Yes, she’s beautiful, that’s how she enchanted Zhou Cheng. She’s dating him.”
Zhou Cheng?
The friend’s inner fire was immediately extinguished.
There was a reason this person hadn’t abandoned Jian Hua Wang when Guang Ping Wang was transferred. His family background was insufficient to show off except among common people. He certainly didn’t dare to challenge Zhou Cheng.
But Jian Hua Wang couldn’t chat more with his friend. Xia Zi Yu supported Zhang Cui, both mother and daughter were silent, but Jian Hua Wang had to consider his girlfriend’s situation:
“Zi Yu, are we still opening the shop in Xidan? With Xiao Lan being so domineering and knowing the police station chief, if Auntie’s shop opens…”
What would happen if Xiao Lan harassed them after opening?
Xia Zi Yu’s mind wasn’t on the snack shop now but on Xiao Lan’s words earlier. Last summer’s incident of hiring thugs to break Xiao Lan’s hand – what evidence had Xiao Lan found?
Afterward, her father lost a hand in compensation.
The hired thugs also had their hands broken.
Who had helped Xiao Lan accomplish this?!
After more warnings from Chief Ma, Xiao Lan finally left the police station with her mother and Grandmother Yu. After being enlightened by Grandmother Yu, Fen Liu wanted to be actively involved rather than passive as before:
“Xiao Lan, Chief Ma said even if we couldn’t charge Zhang Cui, we could detain her for two days to teach her a lesson. Why did you want to release her?”
Xiao Lan explained patiently, “Detaining her for two days is useless. To catch a thief, you need evidence. We’d have to release her eventually, and knowing we couldn’t touch her, she’d become even more reckless. Let’s change direction – instead of targeting Zhang Cui, we’ll deal with Xia Chang Zheng!”
Deal with Xia Chang Zheng?
Fen Liu didn’t understand.
Xiao Lan decided not to hide it anymore, “Do you remember when my right hand was fractured before last year’s college entrance exam?”
Of course, Fen Liu remembered – Xiao Lan had taken the exam wearing a cast.
But hadn’t that been from a bicycle collision?
Now bringing up old matters, Fen Liu couldn’t help but suspect… could it be…
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. My fractured right hand was thanks to my dear uncle! And this wasn’t the first time their family of three attacked me. Before that, Xia Zi Yu had bribed teachers at County First High School to try to prevent me from taking the exam. Even earlier, the rural rumors were also manipulated by Xia Zi Yu. Between us, it’s already a fight to the death.”
Xia Zi Yu was very careful, never leaving evidence.
But some things were done by her parents, who weren’t as meticulous. Xiao Lan decided to first eliminate Xia Zi Yu’s helpers!