"We have already contacted Shin Chang-kun of the Shin Min Daily News, and Chan Yung-wen will definitely be punished."

"Hey?!" Huang Wanzhen raised her hand to interrupt him. "You want to get rid of me just by punishing someone casually? How is that possible?!"

"I have collected evidence that Hua Ming Daily has slandered me and have already spent a lot of money to hire a lawyer."

"I know, I know," Liu Ziwen nodded repeatedly. "Although this was Zhan Yongwen's idea, it was definitely Zimo who did it. Zhan Yongwen actually wanted to use Zimo to get Mr. Huang to go back to him. After all, you're in the media industry, and he's the one you know best. If you went back to him for help, to clarify or counterattack in the newspaper, you would have played into his hands. But you didn't. You're much more clear-headed than Zimo."

"To be honest, we all admire you very much. We will soon issue a public apology in the Hua Ming Daily and compensate you for the losses we have caused you."

Huang Wanzhen folded her hands in front of her, "Compensation for the losses? Do you know how much my Jixiangtang's daily turnover is? How long has this been delayed? I didn't sue you, but you all acted as if nothing had happened and let me suffer the losses. Now that I've decided to sue you, you're getting anxious."

"Why? Afraid of being embarrassed?"

"I'm going to tell you today! I want you, the Liu family, to be embarrassed!"

Chu Yanzhi quickly stood up and filled Huang Wanzhen's teacup. "Calm down. My son, Brother Wen, asked me to be the mediator today. For my sake, please give them a chance to make amends."

Huang Wanzhen glanced at him sideways, "I want to give you face today, do you owe me a favor?"

"Alright! I owe you a favor, so I owe you one. Don't you want me to get a gun license? I'll get it for you tomorrow!"

"Hey? Stop it! Don't even think about that! You promised me that gun license a long time ago. You've already eaten the steak, so you're not going to ask for more money, are you?"

"Haha, look at what you said, am I that kind of person?!" Chu Yanzhi laughed, "Of course I can owe you a favor, but you can't go too far and ask me to kill people and set fires in the future to repay you, right?"

"Hold your heart back. I, Huang Wanzhen, would never do something like that! I would only come to you if it was in accordance with public order and morality."

Chu Yanzhi, who had been laughing the whole time, suddenly became serious. "We've known each other for such a long time, and we can be considered close friends. I don't owe you any favors, but when you asked me to do something in the past, and it didn't violate public order and good customs, when did I not help you?"

"Our Chinese nation has always followed a culture of etiquette and customs, which emphasizes personal relationships and social etiquette, right?"

"Pa—" Huang Wanzhen clenched her left hand into a fist and lightly struck the palm of her right hand, saying crisply, "You're right!"

At the end of the conversation, Huang Wanzhen's expression relaxed, her tone changed, and the atmosphere at the table gradually became better.

Until Liu Ziwen took out five hundred yuan from his bag and said, "This five hundred yuan is a small compensation from us. Please accept it, Mr. Huang."

Huang Wanzhen's upturned lips suddenly straightened, and she pushed him back with her hand. "Hey! I just said that Dr. Chu owed me a favor, why are you doing this again, Mr. Liu? If I really want to calculate, your five hundred yuan is not enough."

"Since we're all friends, talking about money would hurt feelings. If you feel bad about it, just consider it as something you owe me."

"This..." Liu Ziwen turned to look at Chu Yanzhi. Chu Yanzhi stood up, took the banknotes on the table, and stuffed them back to Liu Ziwen. "Okay, treat us to a meal some other day, and we can talk and laugh, and then the matter will be over. It's getting late today, so let's not bother Mr. Huang any more."

Huang Wanzhen watched the few people leave, wrapped her coat tightly around herself, and looked at the fireworks being set off in the distance. Only then did she realize that it was already the twelfth lunar month. As the new year was about to arrive, she also had to replan her future path.

The matter came to an end. Huang Wanzhen calmed down and got busy early the next morning. She first practiced a set of boxing in the yard. Then, while eating breakfast, she flipped through the newspaper and saw the apology statement in the "Hua Ming Daily". The heavy stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.

Looking at Liu Zimo's appearance, he didn't seem like a wicked person. The matter was discussed yesterday and his apology statement was published in the newspaper this morning. She didn't have to worry too much about him stabbing her in the back again.

However, I should pay more attention to that guy in the future. He turned from a book fan to a hater in the blink of an eye. It's too scary.

As for Chan Wing-man, he didn't have a big background, so it would be much easier to deal with him. Huang Wan-zhen thought about waiting until Sunday when she had a holiday and then taking people to the Xinmin Daily to make a scene.

After thinking this over, Huang Wanzhen quickly ate her meal, picked up the newspaper and went to Beiman Girls' High School.

As soon as Huang Wanzhen entered the classroom, she attracted the attention of her classmates. Huang Wanzhen smiled and waved the newspaper in her hand, greeting everyone along the way. After taking her seat, He Lanshan, who was sitting at the table in front of her, turned around and greeted her with a smile, "I haven't been to school recently. I just heard the news that you became famous when I got here. You are really good, and you can even make the young master of the Liu family apologize to you in the newspaper."

Huang Wanzhen didn't want to talk about it any further, so she changed the subject and asked, "What have you been doing recently?"

"I went to see a man."

"Really? Or is it fake?"

Seeing Huang Wanzhen's disbelief, He Lanshan elaborated, "I've attended no fewer than ten banquets, both large and small, recently and met two people. One is the grandson of the Jiangbei Guards, named Wu Suiyuan, and the other is the youngest son of the Director of the Trademark Office, named Qi Xunyuan."

"I feel I get along better with Wu Suiyuan. We come from similar backgrounds and share many of the same views."

"But my parents prefer Qi Xunyuan. They say the situation is unclear right now, with wars going on everywhere and frequent changes in leadership. What if one day..."

"The Trademark Office isn't an important place. No matter who's in charge, I can live in peace for the rest of my life."

Huang Wanzhen looked at her in surprise, "You know whether you like it or not after just one meeting?"

He Lanshan gave her a reproachful look. "Don't laugh at me. I'm so much luckier than so many people. Even though this is a new society, many people still marry at the behest of their parents. They never even meet before they get married. That's why they say 'blind marriage'."

"Didn't you see those scholars arguing a while ago about the height of the slits on women's cheongsams?"

"I've finally seen through it. They've got freedom, family wealth, fame, all the good things in this world, but instead of fighting for the country's success or failure, they just stare at women's feet and clothes all day long."

"Even if I break free, I don't have the resources or prestige to rally everyone and save this country."

Huang Wanzhen looked at He Lanshan worriedly, "What happened? Why is your family so anxious to find a husband for you? You're only eighteen, not that old."