Li Si’s mind flickered—no wonder they ca so boldly to borrow money today; turns out they knew about this. But how did they find out?
"You’re slinging mud! Uncle, who told you that? Huh? Who spreads rumors like this?" Li Si stayed calm, trying to bait them into revealing the truth. Anyway, the shop had already been transferred to Brother Leng; whatever happened wasn’t her concern anymore!
"How is it a rumor? Everyone in your aunt’s shop is saying it. If you don’t believe it, we can confront them in person and see what the truth is!"
Wu Dachuan was extrely displeased. Although his mother’s words were harsh, they were grounded in reality. Besides, things had already fallen apart—what was there to fear?
"Alright then, let’s go confront them. If it turns out not to be true, and you disturb the shop’s business and reputation, I doubt Uncle Cui will keep employing my aunt. Think carefully about your next move!"
Li Si truly didn’t want this to escalate, but the crowd gathered around kept growing. Soon enough, the entire campus would hear about this. Could it be that, after being given another chance at life, she’d have to endure the sa pointing fingers and gossip from others?
"This..."
The two fell silent, beginning to have their doubts. If Li Si was this firm in her denial, what if this really was just a baseless rumor? Losing such a good job over it—where would they find another like it?
Seeing their hesitation, Li Si pressed on, "I don’t know where you heard these rumors, but let give you a word of advice: greed knows no bounds. Be mindful of your own behavior!"
With that, Li Si pushed through the crowd and walked away, leaving the two of them standing frozen, conflicted expressions on their faces.
Kong Dan’s eyes flashed with doubt as he pulled the other two along to follow her.
At "Old Friends’ Private Dishes," the group sat in a private room on the second floor. After the dishes were served, Kong Dan only had a few bites before he couldn’t resist asking, "Li Si, what’s going on? Is that private restaurant really owned by you?"
"Yeah, we’d like to know too!" Yu Lili chid in.
Li Si, feeling a bit impatient, masked her annoyance considering they shared the sa dorm. "Of course not—otherwise, why didn’t they dare confront ? I’m just acquainted with Uncle Cui at that restaurant. I helped introduce my aunt there for work, and sohow it spun into this ridiculous rumor!"
"Makes sense. If you were that rich, why would you still be cramd in the dorm with us? If it were , I’d definitely move out and commute to school!" Yu Lili nodded in agreent—if she had that kind of money, living in a group setting wouldn’t even cross her mind!
"Your relatives are really sothing. Even if you were rich, so what? Does having money an you have to lend it to others? What kind of logic is that?" Jiang Fan, whose family was relatively well-off, often had poor relatives coming to mooch, so he sympathized with Li Si’s plight.
"Well, who really knows? Look at how you’re always buying this and that. Don’t tell your dad didn’t leave you a decent inheritance—I don’t believe it! You spend money like it’s nothing!" Kong Dan put down her chopsticks, her tone sour. From what she had seen of Li Si’s purchases, none of them ca cheap.
Li Si glanced at Kong Dan in surprise. Was she feeling jealous? Kong Dan hadn’t been like this before. What had changed this once-humble girl from a small town?
"Like Jiang Fan said, even if I were rich, it wouldn’t an anyone could just take my money! I’m not running a charity! Alright, alright, let’s drop it. We ca out to have fun, not argue about this. Co on, eat up! Don’t we have classes this afternoon?" Li Si didn’t want to keep debating, knowing it would only make things worse if the conversation dragged on.
After the al, everyone parted ways for their respective classes. Li Si made a call to Leng Mochen, giving him a brief rundown of events and asked him to look into it.
After hanging up, Leng Mochen imdiately summoned Jiang Feng. "Mr. Leng."
"Go to the private restaurant in a bit and speak to Old Cui. Tell him to investigate who’s spreading rumors about Li Si being the owner. Also, make sure he clarifies that the owner of the restaurant is . Anyone spreading gossip should be fired imdiately!"
"Understood, Mr. Leng!" Jiang Feng nodded.
"By the way, any updates on that thing I asked you to investigate?"
"Not yet, Mr. Leng. But the overseas team is following up. I believe we’ll have results soon!" Jiang Feng reported respectfully.
"Good. You may leave now," Leng Mochen said, swiveling his chair to face the window, lost in thought.
After work, Zhang ihua stopped by Central Market to buy groceries and unexpectedly ran into Zhou Rou’s mother, Zheng Shufang. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zheng Shufang pulled Zhang ihua into an alley near the market with an air of secrecy.
"What’s with the mystery?" Zhang ihua asked irritably, shaking off Zheng Shufang’s grip.
"It’s a big deal! Haven’t you heard?" Zheng Shufang looked around to ensure no familiar faces were in sight. "That Li Si from your husband’s family—she’s made it big!"
"Who? Li Si?"
Zhang ihua’s heart skipped—how did she know about this? Recently, she had tried warming up to Li Si several tis, only to be rebuffed coldly. She was already fuming, especially since her sister-in-law Hu Ling’s job situation hadn’t been handled, which her mother had frequently nagged her about in private.
"Yeah, I heard she’s got money now—hitched herself to a rich guy! How co you didn’t catch wind of this?" Zhou Rou had told her to leak this to Zhang ihua, promising a reward for her efforts.
"Her? I don’t believe it! You’re just making things up! Let tell you sothing, no matter what, that child still calls ’Second Aunt.’ She’s family, so watch your mouth!" Zhang ihua’s words were sharp, but internally, she was already hatching other thoughts.
"Oh, co now. I’m only repeating what I heard! I’m looking out for your family here. Think about it—so young, still a college student, and her morals are already questionable. What if sothing happens down the road? Oh, and I heard the biggest private restaurant around here is hers!"
Zheng Shufang didn’t believe for a second that Zhang ihua saw Li Si as real family. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made those complaints during their last chat. She secretly sneered at Zhang ihua’s theatrics.
"What? Which private restaurant?" Zhang ihua exclaid, her expression twisting. Could it be the sa one where Hu Ling wasn’t able to get a job?
"What other one? There’s only that one around here!" Zheng Shufang laughed maliciously, reveling in Zhang ihua’s shock.
"What? That’s definitely a rumor! No way! Who told you this?" Zhang ihua touched her hair self-consciously, unease creeping in. Could it actually be true?
"My daughter works there. Everyone in the shop says so. How can it be false?"
Zhang ihua clenched her teeth tightly, barely containing her anger. So, Li Si tricked her! Was Hu Ling’s job rejection just a setup to mock her? Just you wait—I won’t let you off easy!
"By the way, your daughter’s working now? You never ntioned it!" Zhang ihua adjusted her deanor, already formulating a plan. Changing the subject, she casually probed further. Knowing that Zheng Shufang’s daughter hadn’t gone to college, she asked offhandedly. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please head to Qidian to vote for recomndations or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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