After Bai Xue stord out of the Li Family’s house in a fit of rage, she didn’t want to return to her cold and quiet ho alone. She knew visiting her younger daughter would only make her angrier. Finally, after so thought, she decided to turn to her niece at the local neighborhood office.
Bai Lianhua had recently switched careers and was assigned to work at the neighborhood office. She would usually intervene when there was a dispute among neighbors, most of whom were older people. In this office, Bai Lianhua, being the only young person, often stood out.
However, Bai Lianhua was capable, had a sweet tongue, and was steadfast, quickly earning the favor of the older won there within days. She didn’t have a boyfriend yet, and although she ca from a rural family, she was likable enough that everyone was eager to introduce her to potential partners.
It was Bai Xue who had ntioned Bai Lianhua’s situation when visiting the Li Family after Ye Ling left. Ye Zhenfen wasn’t foolish; after understanding Bai Xue’s intentions, she agreed to help, eventually assigning Bai Lianhua to the neighborhood office due to her lack of education.
There wasn’t much to do each day; other than reading newspapers, Bai Lianhua listened to gossip from the older won. At first, she was sowhat unwilling, but after a month or two, she grew content with having a place to live, a lunch al, and earning a monthly wage of over thirty yuan.
When Bai Xue arrived, she found her niece alone, "Where is everyone else?"
Usually, Bai Xue would stop by when she had free ti to hear gossip from the older won. Finding only her niece there today was quite unexpected.
"They’ve all gone ho." Bai Lianhua glanced at the sky outside, "Auntie, at this hour, why did you co by?"
Bai Lianhua lived in the courtyard behind the neighborhood office. The office was in front, and there were two rooms behind, one of which she stayed in, saving on renting expenses.
"It’s just the daily troubles." Bai Xue pulled up a chair and sat down, recounting the events of the past few days. Listening to Ye Qian’s plight brought a small sense of joy to Bai Lianhua. Ye Qian, who was always high and mighty, was now nothing more than a re sparrow after getting married, no longer the esteed swan back ho.
"Auntie, you shouldn’t get involved in this matter; let them sort it out themselves. Otherwise, the Liu Family might resent you for interfering too much and take issue with our younger sister." Bai Lianhua advised, feeling pleased herself, just as soone pushed open the door. She turned to look, only to freeze upon seeing who it was.
It was none other than Lin Tao.
Bai Xue also turned upon hearing soone enter and, seeing a young man she didn’t recognize, looked back at her niece, "Do you know him?"
"I don’t know him."
"I know him."
The voices ca one after the other, and it was Lin Tao who said he knew her.
"What’s really going on here?" Bai Xue asked her niece with furrowed brows.
Bai Lianhua ignored her, directly confronting Lin Tao, "What are you doing here?"
Lin Tao wore a cheeky grin, "You’ve been pregnant for in the past, how can you say you don’t know ? My sister says when a woman becos heartless, not even ten cows can pull her back—and she’s right, you truly are heartless."
Bai Xue sharply inhaled.
Bai Lianhua sprang up, furiously pointing at Lin Tao and shouted, "Get out, get out of here."
"No need to be like that. I know you don’t want to see , and now that I’m getting married, I just need a bit more money, so I thought I’d borrow so from you," Lin Tao said with a timid smile, "I noticed most people here are about to get off work, so I ca by; otherwise, I’d worry about causing trouble for you. See, I’m considerate, right?"
This was clearly a threat, disguised as concern.
Bai Lianhua was so enraged that her body trembled uncontrollably, while Lin Tao stood before her grinning, "Alright, today you have guests, so I won’t say much; just prepare the money, lend a hundred yuan, and afterward, I won’t bother you again. I’m getting married, which is a good thing, don’t you agree? Hence, you ought to lend the money."
With a glance at Bai Xue, sitting there in shock, Lin Tao then turned around and left with a smile.
Once the door closed, Bai Xue, pale-faced, turned back to her niece, "He said you helped him abort a baby, is that true?"
Bai Lianhua remained silent, covering her face as she began to cry.
"How could you be so shaless?" Bai Xue couldn’t hold back, raised her hand, and slapped her niece twice on the head, "You seed so honest usually, who knew you’d get involved in such a disgraceful matter? That man clearly isn’t a good person—what were you thinking?"
"Auntie, I’ve realized my mistake now. I t him at the Grain Bureau when I was a temp worker; once he got drunk, and I found out what had happened when I woke up. Not daring to tell anyone, I eventually conceived. His sister looked down on being from a rural area and took to have an abortion. Later, when I joined the military, their family seed interested in again and sent him to harass . I ignored him, so he reported to the company. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have changed careers. I thought switching careers would solve the problem, but he still wouldn’t leave alone. This is the third ti he’s asked for money, and I truly can’t give him more. But I’m scared he’ll spread the rumor, and I’m worried about how I’d work here afterward?" Bai Lianhua was thoroughly exhausted by Lin Tao’s harassnt. Now that her aunt had discovered everything, she let it all out.
Bai Xue stood stunned for a good half-minute, forgetting even to scold her, "You...."
Pointing at her niece, she remained speechless for a long ti.
"Auntie, please help . The older won here are helping introduce to n who are formal workers. If word gets out, I can forget about marrying. My parents depend on to support them; what will they do if I fail?" Bai Lianhua fell to the ground on her knees.
Bai Xue sat back helplessly, "How could I help you with this?"
She was genuinely clueless; any kind of romantic scandal was t with fierce condemnation, let alone an unwed pregnancy ending in abortion. Such actions would mark a person as shaless and lead to lifelong ridicule.
"Auntie, as long as Lin Tao doesn’t speak, the matter won’t surface. But Lin Tao knows I’m scared, so he’ll never let it go, always using it against . Only if our younger sister steps in to confront the Lin Family will they be wary of threatening again. Auntie, please ask our younger sister for help."
"Beg, beg, beg—that’s all you seem to do. If she treated like a mother, would I have to beg? It’s just a word from her, but right now, she doesn’t even regard . Why would she listen to ?" Bai Xue pushed away her niece who clung to her legs.
How could she have ended up in such a shaless predicant?
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