Upon hearing this, some parents immediately glared at them and questioned, "Teacher Xie, do you think the price we offered isn't high enough, which is why you don't want to take the order? We can raise the price. Tutoring one or two children is the same as tutoring a group of children. If there are more people, you don't have to go to each family. We can just send the children to your home."

“That’s right, the price we offer will definitely not be less than the one you’re currently paying for tutoring. Just take our job and turn down the one you’re constantly going back and forth to. We’re offering you a high price.” Another parent chimed in, their tone somewhat forceful.

Xie Lin'an looked serious and firmly refused these people.

When he had a cold expression, he exuded an aura that made people afraid to approach him. Seeing this, the parents could only slink away.

Xiang Shanshan saw all of this. Just then, Su Xiulan also arrived at the bookstore, and Xiang Shanshan also saw the man following behind her.

Su Xiulan came to inquire about the bookstore owner; it was too late last night, and she had originally planned to give up.

So much time has passed; if we drag this out any longer, who knows how much more time will be wasted.

Xiang Shanshan quietly walked up to Ye Jianguo and, seeing his gloomy face, mustered her courage to speak: "Those aunties were all chased away by Teacher Xie."

Ye Jianguo glanced at Shanshan with his gloomy eyes. Seeing that it was her, he didn't immediately chase her away. Instead, he asked in a low voice, "What does this have to do with you and me?"

In his eyes, Xiang Shanshan was a greedy woman, completely unlike his Xiulan.

Xiang Shanshan took a step forward and whispered, "I have a way to prevent Teacher Xie from tutoring at Xiulan's house."

No sooner had he spoken than Ye Jianguo grabbed Xiang Shanshan's arm and said urgently, "Tell me, what's your plan? If you can pull it off, you'll get your share of the rewards."

As he spoke, he took out his wallet, pulled out a ten-yuan note, handed it to Xiang Shanshan, and added viciously:

"If you can't do it, get out of here right now, or you won't want to know the consequences."

He reached out to Shanshan and snatched the ten yuan from her.

From any perspective, she had no reason to refuse the ten yuan.

After all, that's no small amount!

Her monthly living expenses amounted to only two yuan. In the past, Su Xiangyang would give her a maximum of two yuan, and she would have to give half of that to Zhang Heng.

That ten yuan is equivalent to five months of her living expenses!

Look at this man who spends so lavishly; his family must be very wealthy.

Su Xiulan is truly blind; she hooked up with such a good man but didn't cherish him, instead falling for a poor teacher at their school.

If she were Su Xiulan, she would never leave such a wealthy man, even if she were beaten to death.

With the ten yuan in her pocket, Xiang Shanshan hurriedly returned to school, sat down at her desk, and wrote a letter of complaint, which she then shoved into the principal's office.

Hmph, it won't be long before Teacher Xie is suspended.

Meanwhile, inside the bookstore.

When Su Xiulan learned that Xie Lin'an was the bookstore owner, she was so shocked that her eyes widened and she couldn't speak for a long time.

"Auntie, he's the bookstore owner? Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

She felt wronged; she had been waiting at the bookstore every day, only to be told that they had known each other for a long time.

The aunt looked completely innocent, holding a feather duster in her hand, sweeping away the dust while muttering, "I thought you two were getting along really well, but I didn't know you didn't know. You can't blame me for this!"

Xie Lin'an smiled and said softly, "Don't be angry. I'll treat you to a meal to make up for it. Auntie didn't know about our situation. It's all my fault. I've been wanting to tell you at the right time, but I only said it today."

Su Xiulan muttered under her breath, "I thought the boss would be an old man with limited mobility, but it turned out to be you! Oh well, it's not too late to find out now."

The two then moved to a state-run restaurant, where Xie Lin'an treated them to a meal and Su Xiulan ordered the dishes.

But now that she knows Xie Lin'an is the boss, she feels embarrassed to bring up the matter of transferring the shop.

She knew in her heart that Xie Lin'an treasured the books in the shop very much and would flip through them every day.

Although most of the books were secondhand, they genuinely helped many impoverished students.

Thinking about it this way, she found it even harder to speak.

Su Xiulan called over a waiter and ordered two dishes. The waiter rolled his eyes and said with a look of disdain, "I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't have these dishes today."

Su Xiulan frowned, clearly sensing the other party's hostility.

But the employees of state-run restaurants are always arrogant, so she had no choice but to change to two vegetarian dishes.

To everyone's surprise, the waiter still coldly replied, "No."

Su Xiulan was furious and questioned, "This is supposed to be a state-run restaurant! You don't have this or that, what kind of business is this?"

The waiter stubbornly insisted that there were none available, and even tried to shoo them away: "Madam, all our dishes for today have been reserved. Please leave."

Su Xiulan was furious and pulled Xie Lin'an out. This kind of service attitude is infuriating!

I'm determined to open a restaurant across from this state-run restaurant and take all their business away from them. Let's see if they can still be so arrogant then.

As soon as they reached the restaurant entrance, Ye Jianguo greeted them with a big smile: "Xiulan, I'm treating you to dinner. Just tell me what you'd like to eat, and we can chat."

When Su Xiulan saw Ye Jianguo's face, she felt nauseous and stared at him suspiciously: "Did you deliberately instruct the waiters inside to make things difficult for me? We have nothing to talk about."

Ye Jianguo remained silent, his expression clearly indicating his agreement, and he kept insisting on inviting Su Xiulan to dinner.

“I have a lot to tell you, and about our two kids. I haven’t seen them much. As their father, it’s not too much for me to see them, is it?”

He deliberately mentioned the children, glancing at Xie Lin'an from the corner of his eye every now and then, just to let this man know that Su Xiulan was his wife and had given birth to two sons for him.

Xie Lin'an remained calm and said softly to Su Xiulan, "The food here is just so-so. Let's go eat noodles. I know a noodle shop that's really good."

Su Xiulan smiled and nodded, then walked away alongside Xie Lin'an, leaving Ye Jianguo standing aside.

Seeing this, Ye Jianguo quickly stepped forward to stop Su Xiulan: "How can a small restaurant compare to a state-run restaurant? You'd rather eat at a small restaurant with him than have a meal with me at a state-run restaurant? Su Xiulan, how can you be so heartless!"

Su Xiulan wasn't about to let him get away with it. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face. "Who I eat with is my freedom! I'm just that ruthless. There's nothing more to say between us. Stay away from me, or I'll beat you every time I see you!"

Su Xiulan was so angry that she trembled all over. She never expected Ye Jianguo to be so shameless.

Xie Lin'an quickly stepped forward and gently comforted Su Xiulan: "Getting angry is bad for your health. Don't ruin your health over this scumbag."