The man in leather pants felt wronged when their professional capability was questioned, “Who says we didn’t complete the task? Xia Mian’s reputation is definitely ruined!”
Xia Mian: “…”
Brother Jitou: “…”
Another underling kicked the man in leather pants hard, hissing through clenched teeth, “Shut up!”
The crowd realized: So these people came here intentionally to ruin a girl’s reputation. Too vicious!
Several men who had daughters or sisters stood up, and a particularly tall and bulky guy grabbed the collar of the man in leather pants, “Who sent you to do such a despicable thing?”
The man in leather pants looked at Brother Jitou for help, but he insisted, “I don’t know.”
“Oh, it’s ‘don’t know,’ not ‘no,’” Xia Mian drew out her words.
People caught on, and the tall, strong guy, clearly quick-tempered, unleashed a flurry of punches, “Who was it?” he demanded, making the man in leather pants howl in pain.
Xia Mian said to Brother Jitou, “See, beaten down by society, I wasn’t wrong, was I?”
Brother Jitou’s face turned red with frustration, but with so many people around and seeing his underlings also about to be beaten, he hurriedly tried to play it down, “It was a joke. We didn’t intend to harm anyone’s reputation, really. We don’t know any girls in this compound.”
Xia Mian nodded in satisfaction, “Since the reputation isn’t ruined, then the task is a total failure, right? The money should be fully refunded.”
“…” Brother Jitou was on the verge of tears, “Miss, why on earth are you targeting us? Why won’t you let us go?”
Because she needs money — Xia Mian smiled sweetly, “Because I am Xia Mian.”
The man in leather pants blurted out, “You’re lying. Xia Mian has red hair! And she’s a thug!”
Hearing this, the tall, strong man landed a few more punches, “Dare you spread rumors again?! Huh?!”
“Once rumors fly out of the mouth, debunking them runs legs off.” Xia Mian pressed the knife, “Because of you, I’ve been receiving dirty water all afternoon today. Now, what do you say we do about it?”
Brother Jitou raised his hands even higher, “L-let’s talk this out, okay? Whatever you say, we’ll do. We’ll help you refute the rumors.”
The crowd, fearing Xia Mian might act impulsively and cause a bloody incident, hurriedly persuaded, “Little girl, don’t be impulsive. We’ll also help clear your name.”
“I see. Then I should thank all the brothers and sisters here.” Xia Mian finally put down the fruit knife.
Brother Jitou’s eyes were fixed on her hand holding the knife, and when he felt it was safe, he suddenly tried to snatch the knife unexpectedly.
Xia Mian’s body reacted faster than her mind, quickly grabbing the incoming wrist and twisting it while kicking at his knee, making Brother Jitou scream and kneel on the ground in the blink of an eye.
Aware of the shocked gazes around, Xia Mian gritted her teeth in annoyance. This damned guy pitted her! If she claimed she hadn’t done anything, would people believe her?
Ning Shaobai found this girl quite funny. With the knife in hand, what made her believe she still had a ladylike image?
For some reason, he still helped her out by saying, “Good reflexes.”
Xia Mian quickly reacted, “Yes, I’ve been agile since I was a child. And… well, since they’re still not behaving, I’ll personally escort them out. I’m sorry to cause such trouble today.”
Saying so, she exerted force on her hand, forcing Brother Jitou to stand up and walk forward with his underlings scrambling to follow…
The crowd initially wanted to watch more, but Ning Shaobai held them back, “Let’s go back, don’t delay your meals.”
Everyone immediately forgot about Xia Mian. After greeting Ning Shaobai, the crowd quickly disperses.
And so, Xia Mian escorted the guys to the entrance of the residential compound. Once they reached a somewhat secluded corner, she immediately changed her expression and furiously spat, “What’s wrong with you? Are you a masochist? Dare you make me lose face!”
Brother Jitou wanted to ask who exactly lost face but didn’t dare. He could only say in frustration, “What on earth do you want to do?”
Xia Mian was straightforward, “Give back the money. I’m not asking for much, just two hundred. Hurry up.”
Brother Jitou was on the verge of tears, “Where would I get that much money?”
Xia Mian was puzzled, “Zhang Qiming sent you to do this and didn’t give you two hundred?”
“Only forty,” Brother Jitou mumbled.
“Forty?!” Xia Mian felt insulted, “My reputation’s only worth forty yuan?!”
Brother Jitou: “…”
“Zhang Qiming is too stingy, isn’t he? To have people like you guys ruining someone’s reputation is almost equivalent to destroying their future, no less horrible than committing arson or murder, and yet he only paid this much?” Xia Mian expressed her frustration, “That’s why I told you to study more. You can’t even be proper thugs. You’ve been taken advantage of, yet believe you got a good deal. It’s just plain stupid!”
Xia Mian’s attitude of sharing the same hatred toward a common enemy made Brother Jitou actually feel like she made a lot of sense. They had suffered a lot of embarrassment today, how could a mere 40 yuan buy the face they had lost? However, he really didn’t want Xia Mian to look down on him, so he tried to salvage some dignity. “The forty yuan was just an advanced fee. They promised to give us another forty after the matter is settled.” A total of eighty.
“You think eighty is a lot?!” Xia Mian glared at him and finally decided not to argue anymore. She stretched out her hand and said, “Fine, eighty it is then.”
“…” Brother Jitou suddenly wanted to slap himself. Damn his vanity!
With the eighty yuan that Brother Jitou had scrambled together with his underlings, Xia Mian cheerfully headed to the nearby wet market for a big shopping spree. With the current purchasing power, eighty yuan could buy quite a lot. She bought a bunch of eggs, poultry, meat, fruits, and vegetables for just over fifty yuan. Still, Xia Mian had learned her lesson. In order not to be left penniless again, she stopped herself from spending the remaining money.
Thinking that they could have a relaxed and comfortable life for the next few days, Xia Mian’s steps lightened. With the Zhang family away, it was a good chance to nourish Xiao Feng well.
When she returned, many people were gathered downstairs, gossiping about the day’s events. After all, Huang Xiaojuan’s child abuse and her short arrest were sensational enough, and no one expected there to be even more drama afterward. It was even more exciting than a soap opera. Seeing Xia Mian’s drastic transformation, the crowd first expressed their surprise before showering her with warm inquiries. Some people were still skeptical, but the majority were condemning Huang Xiaojuan’s shameless behavior.
Seeing Xia Mian looking around, Teacher Mi smiled, “Xiao Feng went home with Xiao Bai. Kids usually are afraid of Xiao Bai, but it seems Xiao Feng is quite fond of him.”
Someone joked, “It’s not fear, it’s respect. Your family’s Dr. Ning has quite a presence. After all, those who returned from abroad are different from us.”
In this era, only the elite of the elite had the means to study abroad, so common folks usually had a certain awe about returnees.
Xia Mian was a bit surprised that Xiao Feng had followed Dr. Ning, but she guessed the little guy was probably scared of the crowd. After all, as people said, Dr. Ning had a sort of isolating aura around him, making his surroundings quiet and calm. People tend to be cautious even when greeting him.
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It would have been better for Xia Mian to make Brother Jitou openly admit in front of the neighbors that it was Zhang Qiming who paid him to tarnish her reputation, that way it’s solid evidence of his vile nature and ill intentions toward her. With the way events panned out, though, Zhang Qiming will only blame Huang Xiaojun and escape without any blame, once again retaining his gentle, innocent persona in front of the neighbors.
Thanks for the chapter! 😀