Chapter 7: Scum Comes in All Ages p1
Zhou Wanfeng was currently sitting on a chair at the Qiantang Road Public Security Bureau. Next to her sat a boy of sixteen or seventeen, who had been babbling at her nonstop. “Your dad’s name is Zhou Zhiru, and he remarried my cousin. By seniority, you should call me uncle.” Yun Lang had a flighty personality and a wandering train of thought. “Hey, you just said you were staying over at South Lake for the past two days, so how did you end up reporting to the police here? It’s a long way.”
Zhou Wanfeng glanced at him. The boy’s face was bruised, and his clothes were torn. On another row of chairs sat several other boys of the same age, all with cuts and bruises.
Yun Lang had gone out with his classmates today. They got into a conflict with the people at the next table during dinner. There were three adults on the other side, and four of them. It was a draw, with both sides sustaining injuries.
However, in the midst of the fight, they had wrecked the restaurant, so the owner called the police.
While they were being questioned about the cause of the incident and who had started it, this girl walked in.
Yun Lang heard the commotion and glanced over, covering his mouth to stifle a laugh. He nudged his classmate to look. The girl was wearing a pea-green school uniform that was so plain it was practically crumbling. It was only August, but this uniform was meant for September or October. It was obvious she was from a poor place.
He was close enough to overhear a little.
“I’m here to report a crime. Someone has abandoned…”
Abandoned? What the heck is that? You can report that to the police?
“My father is Zhou Zhiru. After he remarried, he moved to South Lake Mansion. My stepmother is Yun Lan…”
Hearing the familiar names, Yun Lang nearly fell off his chair. He abruptly pulled his chair closer. “Wait, what did you say your dad’s name was, and where does he live?”
After hearing her out, Yun Lang slapped his thigh. Just a moment ago, he had been ignoring the police, but now he was all smiles and “uncle.” “Officer, wait a minute. Can I make a phone call? What a coincidence, my surname is also Yun. I know the Yun family at South Lake Mansion. My uncle lives there. Let me make a call and ask.”
Yun Lang kept his eyes on the girl while he was on the phone. Well, I’ll be. On closer inspection, doesn’t she look just like my cold-faced cousin-in-law?
Cousin-in-law’s kid from his hometown is here? I haven’t heard anything about it. My aunt is really good at keeping secrets.
After calling South Lake Mansion, Yun Lang hogged the phone to quickly call his own home. “Mom, Mom, I’m at the Qiantang Road Public Security Bureau. You have to come quickly. What’s wrong? I got beat up, but that’s not important. Just come quickly, there’s a good show to watch. You’re getting a facial? Do it later. Oh, Mom, your son’s leg and ribs are broken. I’m lying here at the police station. You have to come quickly.”
The police officer looked at Yun Lang with a speechless expression. He had been stubbornly refusing to contact his family, dragging it out until now.
Yun Lang was just hoping his mom would hurry up and come see the spectacle at his aunt’s house.
“Your name is Zhou Wanfeng, huh? Is my cousin not treating you well? Have you met my aunt? Does she have a fake smile? And she’s from a prestigious family, a well-bred young lady… the Qing Dynasty ended years ago, but she still treats her family’s old almanacs and moldy genealogy books like treasures.”
Zhou Wanfeng shot him a cold glare.
“Hey, don’t say it, the way you look at people sideways is just like your dad.”
“Why don’t you call me uncle and let me hear it?”
Yun Lang was talkative and gossipy. Zhou Wanfeng was annoyed, and her face was terrifyingly grim.
The incessant chatter in her ear hadn’t stopped. Yun Lang was still talking when suddenly, his cheeks were fiercely pinched by a hand, squeezing his jaw until it ached. Only then did he see a pair of ice-cold eyes.
His body shivered instinctively, a cold chill running down his spine. For a moment, it was as if he was staring into the eyes of a wolf.
Zhou Wanfeng warned sternly, “Shut up.”
She had wanted to start over in this new life, to live differently, to abandon some of her old ways. But now she found that it wasn’t easy.
On the contrary, her methods from her past life were simpler, more direct, and more suited to her.
She was now considering the most advantageous course of action for herself.
Clearly, her previous approach had not been smooth. People like Granny Zhang were the grassroots lackeys of her nemesis in her past life.
In her past life, if someone like that had dared to bark at her, someone else would have taught them a lesson.
Zhou Zhiru had treated her words as a joke, and the Yun family had thought she was a child who was easy to manipulate. At this point, she had to admit that from the moment she set foot in Yunhai City, she had been wasting her time.
She should use the methods she was good at to do what she wanted to do.
Yun Lang’s eyes widened in shock. He touched his own face and became much more subdued. The police officer opposite them couldn’t help but glance at Zhou Wanfeng again. For a moment, he had felt a sense of confusion, as if he had been hallucinating.
At nearly eight-thirty, the door to the Public Security Bureau was pushed open, and Zhou Zhiru and Yun Lan, followed by Granny Zhang, rushed in.
Granny Zhang had been specifically summoned by Yang Yijun. Yun Lan was not of much use, and if Zhou Zhiru couldn’t handle it alone, he would need a helping hand.
In short, whether by force or by coaxing, they had to get her home first.
As soon as Zhou Zhiru arrived, he glanced at Zhou Wanfeng, who was sitting against the wall, and immediately identified himself to the police. “Officer, I am Zhou Wanfeng’s father. I apologize for the trouble. This child used to live in Dongshan City and only arrived a couple of days ago. She’s not familiar with the family and had a little disagreement, so she ran off in a fit of anger.”
The police officer looked down at the report. “But the child says you’ve abandoned her and are sending her back to Dongshan City alone.”
When Yun Lang saw his cousin Yun Lan, he immediately went over to greet her, also wanting to get closer to hear better.
Yun Lan stood behind Zhou Zhiru, nodding in agreement with whatever he said.
As for Granny Zhang, she had stood in front of Zhou Wanfeng the moment she entered, as if to prevent her from running away, while saying, “We’ve made a big dinner for you at home. I even went upstairs to call you when I saw you hadn’t come down for dinner. You’re so quick-tempered. The old mistress is still waiting at home, worried sick when she heard you’d left.”
Zhou Wanfeng stood up and took a step forward. Granny Zhang followed, sticking to her like glue.
She shot Granny Zhang a sneering glance. Two-faced, one in public and one in private. She wouldn’t use force, just soft, prodding words to provoke you.
Her gaze then turned to Yun Lan, who probably had the guts to say it but not to admit it now.
Zhou Zhiru was even better at hiding his intentions, revealing neither softness nor hardness.
In the original Zhou Wanfeng’s mind, she was probably being mocked and bullied by them, only to find that no matter what she did, it would always be her fault.
If she lost her temper and yelled, she would be called an uneducated country bumpkin.
You see, if she swallowed her anger now, it would only lead to a vicious cycle. What could a twelve-year-old do? Everyone thought that at twelve, you should just endure, be manipulated by adults, and follow their arrangements.
If she gave in today, it would become her being unreasonable.
If not, they would attack you. Your background, your education, your height—everything would become a target for ridicule.
Zhou Wanfeng understood now that whether she had come six years early or six years later, what she had to experience would not change.
After figuring this out, Zhou Wanfeng felt much more at ease.
She stepped forward in front of the police officer and pointed a finger straight at Yun Lan’s face. “Officer, don’t believe their glib words. This woman, just a few hours ago, personally told me to leave. She knew that the grandmother who raised me had just passed away, and that there was only an empty house back home. My only relative is here in Yunhai City, living in a big house, with a driver, servants, and managing a large factory, yet they can’t tolerate me.”
Zhou Wanfeng looked coldly at Zhou Zhiru. “To abandon a twelve-year-old child in her hometown? What, do you want her to fend for herself until she dies?”
Seeing Zhou Wanfeng’s pointing finger, Yun Lan was so frightened that she hid behind Zhou Zhiru, muttering, “No, that’s not it.”
Zhou Zhiru took a deep breath and said with great patience, “Who said anything about abandoning you in your hometown? Officer, it’s all a misunderstanding. She’s always lived in her hometown and is familiar with the area. She has uncles there to help look after her. It’s not like she’s on her own, fending for herself. But the child expressed her desire to stay in Yunhai City, and I respect her wishes. We even discussed transferring her school records from Dongshan so she can attend school in Yunhai City. I’ve been busy with work these past two days and was planning to handle it in a couple of days, but then this happened. It’s my fault too. I didn’t explain things clearly to the family when she arrived. They saw her for the first time and thought she was just here for a couple of days for the summer vacation. It was a misunderstanding on both sides.”
Yun Lan looked at Zhou Zhiru with admiration and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
Granny Zhang chimed in, “Yes, yes, it’s just a misunderstanding. Let’s go home, child. We’ve saved dinner for you.” With that, she reached out to grab Zhou Wanfeng’s wrist.
The moment her wrist was touched, Zhou Wanfeng cried out as if pricked by a needle, her eyes glaring fiercely at Granny Zhang. “I’m not going back! You can save your ‘misunderstanding’ for the ghosts. You’re just afraid I’ll go outside and make a scene. I said I would go to the newspapers, to the media to expose you, and you got scared.”
She turned sharply to Yun Lan. “You said your family is large and famous, and that you’d be laughed at. That’s perfect. I’ll go to the newspapers and have my picture and my story published on the front page, so everyone who knows you can see your true colors. I’ll go to the radio and television stations. I’ll make a banner and go to South Lake Mansion, to the factory gate. I’ll make you lose face and ruin your reputation.”
With that, Zhou Wanfeng violently shook off Granny Zhang and ran for the door.
Granny Zhang stumbled, but remembering Yang Yijun’s instructions, she shrieked, “Grab her! Don’t let her out!”
Yun Lang, who had been watching from the side, his mouth agape, finally understood why she had come to this police station to report the crime. Just a little further down the road, at the intersection, were the Yunhai City Daily News and the Press and Media Group. A little further on was the Radio and Television Media.
“Yun Lang, Yun Lang, don’t just stand there, help!” Yun Lan was so anxious that she pushed Yun Lang forward and went to help herself. The thought of her words being published in the newspaper made her feel like she could never show her face again.
She could not let her out of this door, even if it killed her.
Granny Zhang rushed forward to grab her, gritting her teeth and saying viciously, “You’re not going anywhere today.”
The police officer quickly stood up and shouted, “What are you doing? Let her go!”
Granny Zhang secretly used force, her nails digging into Zhou Wanfeng’s flesh, cursing in her heart.
A fire had been smoldering in Zhou Wanfeng’s heart ever since she left South Lake Mansion. It had been burning inside her, and Zhou Zhiru’s words just now had been the final spark, causing the flames to erupt.
If they came at her hard, she would hit back hard. If they came at her soft, she would push them until they snapped, and then she would hit back hard.
The sharp pain in her wrist was instantaneous.
“You’re pinching me,” she said, and in the next moment, she raised her hand and swung it hard at Granny Zhang’s old face.
Smack.
Yun Lan cried out in shock.
Granny Zhang clutched her face, her eyes wide with a murderous glare. She had been hit at her age? All reason vanished. With a roar, she leaped up, shouting, “You little beast, I’ll kill you!”
She swung her palm at Zhou Wanfeng’s face.
“Auntie Zhang!” Zhou Zhiru rushed forward to stop her.
Yun Lang was just watching when he was pushed again, stumbling forward.
A glint flashed in Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes. She inwardly scoffed at Granny Zhang’s slap, which was as slow as a turtle crawling. She raised her left arm to block and trap the incoming arm. She raised her right hand and quickly struck Granny Zhang’s jaw and neck with the base of her thumb, then followed up with another slap.
“You little beast, you’ll die a horrible death! You lowlife, you hit an old woman!”
Granny Zhang stumbled back slightly, her curses growing more vicious as she swung her other hand.
This time, Zhou Wanfeng blocked with her right arm, pressing down hard on her shoulder while simultaneously raising her knee…
“Zhou Wanfeng!” Zhou Zhiru shouted, seeing her hit someone. He stepped forward to grab her wrist.
He pulled hard, and she stumbled back, her knee strike missing its mark. Her eyes darkened for a moment, and she immediately switched to a kick.
Granny Zhang took the kick and sat on the ground, wailing, “Help, murder! You little beast with no mother to raise you!”
Zhou Wanfeng was grabbed. Zhou Zhiru was strong. She immediately bent her right elbow and struck him in the chin.