Soon, another male voice came from the alley: "You're the one who should be apologizing! Don't you find it disgusting that you earned this money? You made it by pleasing those men and selling your body. I'm ashamed of you, not you!"

"It's none of your business!" Chen Limin snapped. "Give me back my money!"

"Get out of my way!"

Immediately following was another chaotic commotion.

The noise grew louder, and as the two pushed and shoved each other, they gradually reached the entrance of the alley.

Ning Wan also realized that the person arguing with Chen Limin was none other than Chen Zhuoyang.

Chen Zhuoyang was not tall and was very thin.

His cheeks were sunken and his eyes were dark, making him look dazed and half-dead.

Even so, Chen Zhuoyang was able to easily drag Chen Limin, who was clinging to his arm and refusing to let go, all the way from inside the alley to outside.

Standing at the entrance of the alley, Chen Zhuoyang also saw Ning Wan and the other two.

Seeing his embarrassment made him extremely angry and ashamed.

Chen Zhuoyang forcefully shoved Chen Limin away.

The force of the impact caused Chen Limin to lose her grip. She nearly crashed into the pile of construction debris beside her.

Fortunately, Ning Wan reacted quickly and caught her.

Seeing this, Lin Wei and Zhou Kai also rushed forward to help.

Zhou Kai couldn't stand men like that, so he rammed his shoulder into Chen Zhuoyang in front of him.

Chen Zhuoyang couldn't hold on for a moment and retreated repeatedly.

He clutched his injured shoulder, glaring at him angrily: "What are you doing!"

But when he looked up and saw the tall and strong Zhou Kai, Chen Zhuoyang realized he couldn't beat him and gave up the idea of ​​arguing with him again.

Having broken free from Chen Limin's control, Chen Zhuoyang twirled the wallet in his hand and pulled out a wad of cash.

He then threw his empty wallet on the ground and strode away.

Seeing Chen Zhuoyang about to leave, Chen Limin hurriedly pushed Ning Wan away and got up to chase after him, shouting, "Come back! Come back! Give me back my money! Give it back to me!"

Realizing she couldn't catch up, Chen Limin slapped her thigh and stopped in her tracks, cursing under her breath, "Bastard!!!"

She turned around and said to Ning Wan in an annoyed tone, "Why didn't you help me catch him just now?"

"Are you even being reasonable?"

Although Zhou Kai already knew what kind of person Chen Limin was, he was still shocked and stunned by her shamelessness time and time again.

Lin Wei also said, "If the boss's wife hadn't been there to support you, you would have fallen headfirst into that pile of junk."

Inside were mostly broken wooden planks and steel bars, with some rusty nails stuck in them.

If someone falls on it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Chen Limin was in a bad mood, and her words were sharp: "Did I ask her for help? Did I beg her for help?"

Ning Wan wasn't angry after hearing this, and said calmly, "First of all, I didn't mean to help you. I helped you up because that pile of renovation materials belonged to our store. I was afraid that if you got hurt later, you would try to extort money from us."

"Secondly, even if we help you catch your son, what can you do?" Ning Wan retorted. "You take the money back, and then what? Are you planning to call the police and have him arrested for theft, or will you just mutter a few sarcastic remarks and continue to do as you please?"

"This doesn't solve the problem at all. The real solution lies within yourself. Haven't you heard the story of how doting mothers spoil their sons?"

Ning Wan's words hit home, and Chen Limin, her eyes red and her teeth clenched, said, "I don't need your fake kindness. Every time I run into you, nothing good ever comes of it; you're a jinx!"

Zhou Kai couldn't stand it anymore and raised his arm to hit her.

Chen Limin nimbly got up from the ground and ran back into the alley.

Fearing that Ning Wan might take the other person's words seriously, Lin Wei comforted her, "Don't listen to her nonsense, she's a bit eccentric."

Ning Wan shook her head indifferently: "Forget it, there's nothing to fuss about. There's always a reason why someone is pitiful..."

...

Ning Wan did not believe in gods or Buddhas, nor did she engage in superstitious or feudal practices.

However, the fact that one transmigrates into a book is itself a very mysterious thing.

So, with Xu Xiufeng and Ning You's strong insistence, Ning Wan specially chose an auspicious day to officially open for business.

As the long bursts of firecrackers echoed throughout the street, the atmosphere inside and outside the shops was filled with excitement.

The opening day happened to fall on a weekend.

Ning Yanshu was overjoyed.

Not only because they didn't have to go to school, but also because their mother's shop was opening, and their good friends Tang Tang and Wang Zihao came too.

Ning Wan prepared a table and specially baked some desserts and cakes for the children.

Aman also learned to take care of the guests.

Since school was on holiday, Zhao Jiajia joined Zhao Shuigen and Xu Xiufeng at the store to celebrate.

There were so many opening flower baskets displayed at the store entrance that they almost spilled onto the street.

Among them were gifts from Lin Wei and Zhou Kai, and gifts from Xu Xiufeng and her husband.

Also, there were Sun Wen and her husband, and Jiang Zhiruo's family.

Ning You gave away two in her own name.

Even Lu Chen, who was absent, sent six flower baskets via a random secretary, showing Ning Wan the grandeur she deserved.

Along with the flower basket came a jade ruyi (a type of scepter), which looked quite valuable.

Ning Wan accepted the jade ruyi, beaming from ear to ear.

Perhaps it was the noisy and festive environment that made Ning Wan, who was in the very center, feel a sense of unreality, as if she were in a fog.

These are all the friends she has made since transmigrating into the book.

Unbeknownst to her, she had come into contact with and become entangled with so many people.

Suddenly, Ning Wan found herself unable to distinguish between what was real and what was fake...

...

To celebrate the opening, Ning Wan prepared a variety of local snacks and delicacies, which she distributed to the neighbors in the vicinity.

She specially set aside a copy for Ning Yanshu and gave it to her: "Little Shu, now Mom is giving you a task."

Upon hearing this, Ning Yanshu was immediately filled with a strong sense of responsibility.

He put down the cake fork in his hand and haphazardly patted his clothes.

He then stood in front of Ning Wan and gave a salute at ease: "Xiao Shu guarantees to complete the mission!"

Then, she blinked and asked, "Mommy, what kind of task is it?"

Ning Wan packed the food into a bag and handed it to him: "Give this to Aunt Chen in the alley. Do you know which one is Aunt Chen's house?"

"I know," Ning Yanshu nodded. "It's the one with the red, blue, and white water pipes at the entrance that keep going in circles."

"Yes, give this to her and say it's a gift for the store's opening. Everyone gets one."

Hearing this, Ning You asked, somewhat puzzled: "She's already like that, why are you still being nice to her? Do you expect her to repay evil with kindness?"

“I’m not some innocent white lotus, why would I do something so effeminate?” Ning Wan replied, “There’s always something hateful about a pitiful person. But there’s always something pitiful about a hateful person. They’re all just pitiful people.”