Chapter 87: Shop Prices Rising

A gust of wind suddenly struck from behind, and the man who had been speaking was knocked directly to the ground by a sudden fist.

He looked back, only to see that the one who hit him was a man wearing a brown plaid suit.

"You, what right do you have to hit me?"

He wasn't wrong, after all.

Women simply couldn't live without men.

"I don't like the look of you; you have a face that begs for a beating, so it's no surprise you got hit."

Shen Qinghe had been through Gangdao, and the skills he possessed were for self-preservation; his punches were much heavier than those of an ordinary person.

The man's nose bled incessantly.

Seeing the terror and fear in his eyes, he scrambled up from the ground like he was fleeing for his life and ran away.

Si Rong had no time to wonder how Shen Qinghe happened to appear just then; she was looking at Zhang Cuilan, who was kneeling before her and kowtowing repeatedly.

So innocent, so pitiful, yet in just a short moment, she had molded herself into the image of a harlot stealing another woman's man.

However, she wasn't very angry at this moment; she just raised her eyebrows faintly and watched Zhang Cuilan act.

She even smiled and applauded Zhang Cuilan's sincere performance, then, when the other woman looked at her provocatively, she slapped her without warning.

The "slap" sound made those who had gathered to watch the excitement step back a little.

They seemed not to have expected that a gentle beauty like Teacher Si Rong would suddenly resort to violence.

"I know why you came, and I know you want to provoke me."

Although Si Rong knew this slap played right into Zhang Cuilan's hands, she really wanted to hit her.

"You hope that in a fit of anger, I will cancel my engagement with Jiang Cheng, so that you can take the opportunity to move in."

Zhang Cuilan's expression turned somewhat flustered.

Goodness, this city lady is actually quite smart; she even guessed this method of Grandma Jiang's!

What to do? How to end this scene now?

She could only continue to put on a show of fake crying.

Then she received another slap; Si Rong was still smiling, "You say I'm competing with you for Division Commander Jiang?"

She looked at the crowd, her tone cold, "You first met Division Commander Jiang at the banquet where we had long since confirmed our relationship and were discussing our engagement. What? Just by looking at a man, he becomes yours? Is this how widows always conduct themselves?"

Once the crowd heard this reason, the public opinion shifted immediately, and they began to curse the widow.

"I said Teacher Si wasn't that kind of person; it looks like the widow was the one framing others! How shameless! Everyone, hurry and keep an eye on your own men, don't let them all turn into hers later—that would make her too happy!"

"Look at you, this woman has such a flirtatious look; who knows how she seduces men behind everyone's back. Just based on her? How dare she compare herself to Teacher Si!"

Zhang Cuilan was pointed at by the crowd until she could barely lift her head.

Watching this scene, the corners of Shen Qinghe's lips curled up slightly.

He had thought she was a weak little white rabbit, but unexpectedly, she was a black-sesame-filled bun inside.

Not letting herself be taken advantage of—that's good.

Actually, Si Rong had not been this personality since childhood; if she had encountered such a thing half a year ago, she would certainly still have been a little woman who only knew how to hide behind the Si Family or Shen Lan.

But in this marriage full of deception, she understood one truth: people always have to grow up.

Today, Zhang Cuilan came to find her, which meant she had no opportunity to make a move on Jiang Cheng.

Since she went to such great pains to ruin her reputation, it wouldn't be right to let her come for nothing.

She chuckled softly and said to Ming Zi, "Help me call the police! Defaming someone's reputation is a crime."

"Okay! I'll go call the police right now!"

Ming Zi trotted upstairs.

Great! Looking at Si Rong now, she only felt gratified.

This is how it should be; when it's time to fight back, you fight back.

If you endure when bullied, that only tells everyone that you are easy to bully.

And that there is no cost to bullying you.

At least the move of calling the police stunned Zhang Cuilan, and also stunned those who were just parroting others.

Zhang Cuilan was bewildered; what did she do that was a crime?

Coming here, not only did she fail to achieve her goal, but she also got slapped twice; how could it be that it was now going to the public security bureau?

Then what about her son back in her hometown?

Zhang Cuilan got up to run, but two enthusiastic aunties had already come over to pin her head down.

These two aunties had just whispered quite a few bad things about Si Rong, and now they were thinking of making up for their faults; they hoped Si Rong wouldn't call the police to arrest them too.

Zhang Cuilan was held firmly on the ground.

Only then did Si Rong raise her eyes to look at Shen Qinghe, "Passing by?"

Shen Qinghe nodded, "Passing by."

"Many thanks."

Si Rong was somewhat surprised that he looked very thin, yet she hadn't expected his strikes to be so ruthless.

It was a great contrast to his gentle and easygoing personality.

"Just a small effort."

Soon the police arrived; such matters were usually handled through mediation, after all, no substantive harm had been caused.

But the police captain who arrived was a close friend of the Si Family's eldest brother, so he naturally knew that his friend had a temperament that wouldn't allow his little sister to be taken advantage of.

Consequently, Zhang Cuilan was taken directly into the police car.

At this moment, she was truly afraid and began to admit her mistakes and plead for mercy.

As a widow, her reputation was already poor to begin with.

Now with a prison sentence added on top, I'm afraid that in the future, let alone dreaming of a military scion like Jiang Cheng, even those mud-legged peasants in the village she looks down upon won't want her.

"Spare me! I know I was wrong!"

Zhang Cuilan cried and begged for mercy.

But Si Rong knew that a person like her wasn't truly admitting her mistake; she was only afraid because of the consequences of calling the police.

No matter how she cried and pleaded, Si Rong's expression remained indifferent throughout.

As the police car drove away, the crowd at the entrance of the dance studio also dispersed.

Shen Qinghe looked at the plaque of the Rongzi Dance Studio and asked Si Rong, "Is this yours?"

"Yes, would you like to come in and sit for a glass of water?"

Si Rong invited him.

"No need, see you at the driving school tomorrow."

Shen Qinghe politely said goodbye to her; he was very good at gauging others' thoughts, and Si Rong's invitation was not sincere, carrying a sense of indifference and distance.

He hoped that one day, Si Rong would invite him inside from the bottom of her heart.

"Hey, who was that? Quite handsome!" Ming Zi draped her arm over her friend's shoulder, "Is he pursuing you?"

"No, we met at the driving school."

Si Rong pinched her nose, "If you like him, I'll ask him later if he's married, and then introduce you two."

"Let's forget it for now," Ming Zi shook her head, "Although he's a bit of a Xiao Shuai, I'm a wealthy widow now; what if he tries to scam me out of my money while we're dating?"

Scamming her out of her feelings was fine, but scamming her out of her money was absolutely out of the question.

Si Rong:...

"By the way," Si Rong remembered something, "Housing prices are rising now, are you considering investing in real estate?"

The three commercial properties she bought had all gone up in value.