Chapter 86

Although they were talking about food, Lin Tao always felt that the tone of voice sounded strange, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.

And the man's voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Lin Tao frowned and looked through the window. There was only a man and a woman inside. The woman looked to be about 20 years old and was chatting and laughing with the man while sorting out documents. The man was wearing a Zhongshan suit and was facing away.

Lin Tao looked at him from this angle and felt that he looked familiar. She thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered that she saw a man jumping from the second floor when she was staying at the guesthouse a month ago. It was also from this angle.

It seems to be this person!

Lin Tao's heart started beating wildly for some unknown reason. This was because she was excited and nervous because she had discovered something incredible.

That night, someone anonymously reported that all the men and women in the hotel were having sex. Was that the person he was referring to? What about the woman? Was it this woman?

Lin Tao couldn't help thinking about the information related to this matter. At this moment, the two people in the office seemed to have agreed to come out. Lin Tao quickly dodged and walked to the other side.

But when she turned the corner, she glanced at the two again, and this time she saw the man's face clearly. He had a flat head, was wearing a Mao suit, and gold-rimmed glasses. He looked steady and honest, like an old cadre. He was the man who had been married to Jin Pingping for a short time - Fan Jianshu.

It’s actually him?

That day he jumped from the second floor of the guesthouse in the middle of the night. If he said he didn’t do anything shameful, no one would believe him. Now he is openly flirting with a female comrade in the office under the pretext of having dinner…

The good man that Jin Pingping swore at the time turned out to be such a person under that skin.

Although Jin Pingping often quarreled with Lin Tao when she was on the island, and Lin Tao did not like Jin Pingping, she did not feel happy when she knew about this, and it was even more impossible for her to gloat over the misfortune.

In her opinion, these are two different things. Jin Pingping's personality is not good and she is not likable, but she is not that bad. Even if she is bad, it is not a reason for Fan Jianshu to have affairs outside after getting married. If he did not really like Jin Pingping, he should not have married her in the first place.

What does it mean to be married to Jin Pingping and still have affairs behind her back?

Lin Tao pinched the flesh on the palm of her hand with her fingertips. The slight stinging sensation made her frown. Her thoughts, which had been a little confused due to the huge shock just now, became much clearer.

First of all, who was Fan Jianshu with in the guesthouse that day? If we ask the young comrade in the guesthouse, we may be able to find out something.

Who was the anonymous informant that day? Could it be Jin Pingping?

If it was Jin Pingping who reported it, then she must have known that Fan Jianshu was two-faced. She chose to report him, which shows that she is still smart and has a clear mind. At least it is much better than someone who knows the truth but is unwilling to believe it and even helps others to hide it.

Lin Tao thought to herself, and at the same time hoped that the person who reported it that night would be Jin Pingping.

While Lin Tao was thinking about things, Jin Pingping had already arrived at the Education Bureau.

She came to bring lunch to Fan Jianshu. When she saw the female comrade joking with Fan Jianshu, she looked unhappy and called out to Fan Jianshu, "Jianshu, I'm here to bring you lunch."

Fan Jianshu put away the smile he had on his face when facing his female colleague, and a hint of impatience flashed across his face, but he still pretended to reply to Jin Pingping: "I'll be right there."

When the two of them arrived at the office, Fan Jianshu's expression immediately changed. He did not take the lunch box that Jin Pingping handed over, and said in a cold tone: "Didn't I tell you that I have been eating in the cafeteria recently, so don't send me lunch anymore?"

Jin Pingping put the lunch box on the desk, opened it, and said, "My mother asked me to deliver it. I don't have a job now, and I don't know what to do all day. If I don't even want to deliver you food, she will tell others that I'm lazy."

Jin Pingping never imagined that she would live such a life after getting married.

Before getting married, she fantasized that she would have a married life as good as Lin Tao's. Even though Fan Jianshu was not as good-looking as Li Chengxi, he was really good in all aspects and was the best and most suitable person for marriage among all the people she had met.

Moreover, after only two or three days of contact, Fan Jianshu revealed to her his plan to marry her.

She was surprised and happy, thinking that this man really liked her. After all, dating someone without the intention of getting married was just a hooligan, and she was aiming for marriage. The two met before the New Year and got married at the beginning of the year.

When they got married, Fan Jianshu promised her that they would move into the house allocated by his unit and live alone after the marriage. However, after the marriage, she found out that the house allocated by Fan Jianshu's unit had already been occupied by Fan Jianshu's sister and her family.

Jin Pingping asked Fan Jianshu about this matter, and Fan Jianshu said that she was his biological sister, so what was wrong with giving her the house allocated by my unit? It's not like there's no room for you in the house, so why do you have to move out?

Yes, there was room for her at home, but her mother-in-law would knock on her door at five o'clock every day, asking her to get up. Even if she had no work to do, she had to get up, saying that this was the rule in their family. If a daughter-in-law slept too late, she would become lazier and lazier, and they were not used to this laziness.

Also, before they got married, Fan Jianshu promised her that as soon as she quit her job on the island, he would arrange for her to enter the No. 1 Middle School in the city. However, just two days after she entered, she was fired by the vice-principal of the middle school.

Now she has no job and stays at home, and is often criticized by her mother-in-law. As soon as she walks out of the door, she can see her mother-in-law telling some old neighbors that she is "lazy and greedy, doesn't work, and is not a good daughter-in-law."

Fan Jianshu smiled strangely and said, "I don't know why you are in such a hurry to go to work. Isn't it good to have someone to take care of you without doing anything at home? How many people want to live like this but can't? And you still give up?"

Then he said in an impatient tone: "Okay, take the food back. I've already eaten in the cafeteria. I have a meeting later and I need to go get ready. I don't want to talk nonsense with you here anymore."

After saying this, Fan Jianshu didn't waste any more words with Jin Pingping and walked out of the office directly.

Jin Pingping sat in the office for a while, looking at the cold rice, and ate it in big mouthfuls. Before she finished eating, she closed the lunch box and walked out of the office.

Just as I walked out of the gate of the Education Bureau and turned a corner, I unexpectedly ran into Lin Tao.

Lin Tao was waiting for her here on purpose. She noticed Jin Pingping when she came. She waited outside for a while. When she saw Fan Jianshu coming out of the office, she simply walked out of the Education Bureau and waited for Jin Pingping here.

After all, what she was going to talk to Jin Pingping about later was not suitable to be discussed in the Education Bureau.

"Jin Pingping, I have something I want to talk to you about." When Lin Tao saw Jin Pingping, she went straight to the point.

It would have been fine if Lin Tao didn't know about this, but now that she knew about it, she couldn't help but think about it. She later thought that if she had reacted faster and told the Little Red Soldiers downstairs that someone had escaped, maybe the Little Red Soldiers would have caught Fan Jianshu.

However, she was frightened by the noise outside at that time, and her reaction was a little slow in the middle of the night. By the time she reacted, the person had disappeared, and she missed the opportunity.

So when she learned about this again, after thinking about it carefully, she decided to come and talk to Jin Pingping.

Jin Pingping had never expected to meet Lin Tao here. A hint of surprise flashed across her eyes, and she asked in confusion, "Teacher Lin? Why are you here?"

But she remembered that Fan Jianshu had just mentioned a meeting, and she figured it out, so she continued the conversation herself: "Are you here for a meeting?"

"Well, the island is busy building a junior high school now, and the principal is too busy to come, so she asked me to attend the meeting on her behalf." Lin Tao said.

"The junior high school is being built? So quickly? That's great." Jin Pingping thought of Shengshan Primary School on the island. She used to look down on the school and thought it was shabby, but now she thinks it's pretty good. "What did you say you wanted to tell me?"

After they no longer taught in the same school, they were no longer like before and could actually chat with each other.

Lin Tao also felt that Jin Pingping's temper seemed to have changed a lot. Her previous habit of always speaking harshly to others seemed not to be so serious anymore.

"I want to talk to you about Director Fan." Lin Tao said, "How are you doing after you got married? Are you okay? Did you have a quarrel with Director Fan recently? Last month, I happened to be out of the island, and I think I saw Director Fan in the guesthouse."

While speaking, Lin Tao was carefully observing Jin Pingping's expression.

Jin Pingping's expression froze for a moment, and she subconsciously retorted: "No! We are fine."

But after that, he added stiffly, "Last month...last month we did have a fight over something, and he got angry and said he wanted to stay at a guest house, but he came back soon."

That's what she said, but Lin Tao didn't believe it.

Jin Pingping is actually very straightforward and never tells lies. She doesn't look natural at all when she tells lies.

"I have something else to do. I have to go back first." Jin Pingping was about to leave without waiting for Lin Tao to continue speaking.

"Wait." Jin Pingping's arm was grabbed by Lin Tao. Lin Tao's force was not strong, but Jin Pingping gasped in pain.

Lin Tao noticed something was wrong. Seeing the purple bruises on Jin Pingping's arm, she understood what was going on. Her face turned ugly. "Fan Jianshu hit you again?"

Having affairs with men and women and beating people? What kind of people are these?

"No, I bumped into it accidentally." Jin Pingping hid the wound and said in a panic.

Lin Tao asked directly, "Jin Pingping, was it you who reported it that night? Did you already know that Fan Jianshu was having affairs?"

From Jin Pingping's evasive eyes, Lin Tao had already guessed that Jin Pingping must know what Fan Jianshu had done.

Jin Pingping gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, I already know about it. I was the one who reported it that day."

Lin Tao heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. She was afraid that Jin Pingping knew that Fan Jianshu was such a person, but still chose to cover it up for him. In Lin Tao's mind, having affairs and beating people were very serious problems, and she could not tolerate them.

In Taohua Village, there was a man who always loved to beat his guests.

The man was ruthless and always beat the woman until she was bruised and blue. The Women's Federation came to inquire about the situation and asked the woman if she needed help. The police also wanted to arrest the man and lock him up for a few days.

But the woman refused, saying that the man was just drunk and hit her a few times, it was nothing. There were still chores to be done at home, and her man could not be arrested.

One day later, when Lin Tao and Lin Manman were twirling flower ropes at home, they heard someone shouting outside: "Someone's dead, someone's dead, Sister Luo was beaten to death by her husband!"

In the end, the man was arrested by the police for beating his wife to death, but he was later released. However, Aunt Luo was beaten to death and could no longer survive.

At that time, Aunt Fang taught her and Lin Manman that if a man beat them and they could not defeat him, they should seek help. They could seek help from the police or the Women's Federation. In any case, they should not be beaten in vain.

Moreover, men who beat women are not acceptable.

Lin Tao felt that as long as one did not speak for the man after being beaten like Aunt Luo, and as long as one knew how to resist, there was still hope.

The fact that Jin Pingping took the initiative to report Fan Jianshu shows that she is not like Aunt Luo, so she is happy.

"The Little Red Soldiers arrested the wrong person that day, and Fan Jianshu escaped. You have injuries on your hands now, which are just the evidence. Do you have any other evidence that he has promiscuous relationships? I can accompany you to report him." Lin Tao said.

She was not just helping Jin Pingping, she was helping a woman who was willing to stand up and protect herself.

But Jin Pingping pulled her hand out of Lin Tao's and said coldly, "I'm pregnant."

Lin Tao was stunned for a moment and said, "It's nothing. It's because you're pregnant that you have to protect yourself. Otherwise, if he beats you while you're pregnant, it will be even more serious if something happens."

"He said that as long as I was obedient and cooperated with him, he would not beat me. He beat me that day because I reported him and he was angry." Jin Pingping said, "I have been without a father since I was a child, and my mother doesn't want me anymore. I can't let my child be born without a father. I've had enough of that kind of life!"

Lin Tao knew that a child was indeed very important to a mother, but she did not understand or support Jin Pingping's choice.

She tried to persuade Jin Pingping, but Jin Pingping was devastated: "The knife didn't stab you, so you don't feel the pain. Lin Tao, you live such a happy life, and the man you married is so good, how can you possibly understand the pain in the heart of someone like me?"

Lin Tao pursed her lips: "How can I not feel the pain? My mother died when I was born, and I have been motherless since I was a child. Have you ever thought about it? You said you didn't report it for the sake of your children, but maybe your children don't want you to do this? Have you thought about the future? In fact, it is not as difficult to raise a child alone as you think, and you can go back to the island to teach. You can bring your child to the office like Yuting and I did, and we will help to look after him, you..."

Jin Pingping said, "You are just saying nice things, but if it was Li Chengxi who hit you, what would you do? Would you be willing to report it?"

"I will," Lin Tao said firmly, "If he really does something like Fan Jianshu, I will immediately leave evidence, report him, and ask the Women's Federation to help me."

"But Li Chengxi won't do that, right?" Jin Pingping smiled bitterly. "Captain Li loves you so much, how could he do that to you? Lin Tao, don't persuade me anymore. I've made up my mind. I won't go. Also, I beg you, please don't bother with this matter. Just pretend you don't know about it, okay?"

Facing Jin Pingping's pleading and sad gaze, Lin Tao remained silent.

After a long while, she said, "Okay."

Jin Pingping said "thank you" and turned away with her lunch box.

At first, she happily married Fan Jianshu, thinking that she could finally have her own family. But she accidentally discovered that Fan Jianshu was having an affair with another woman, and the other woman was the vice-principal of the No. 1 Middle School in the city, the woman she had just met when she was in the No. 1 Middle School.

That old woman who is almost forty years old!

She looked at her with disdain and said, "How can a technical secondary school student come to our city's No. 1 Middle School to be a teacher?" Then she fired her in front of so many people.

At that time, she thought that it might be because of her diploma that she was not qualified to be a junior high school teacher. She had only been attending university for a few years, and there were still many college students.

But after she discovered the secret between Fan Jianshu and the old woman, she realized that it was not the case. The old woman was not disdainful of her because of her diploma, but because she was Fan Jianshu's wife. She was disdainful because she thought Fan Jianshu actually chose such a daughter-in-law!

Jin Pingping has always had a bad temper, and she couldn't stand it, otherwise she wouldn't have confronted Xu Yuting for so long on the island.

After she knew about this, she followed Fan Jianshu out one night and saw which guesthouse he went to. She immediately anonymously reported the guesthouse owner for having affairs with all the men and women.

That night, she was waiting at the door of her house. She thought she would hear the news that Fan Jianshu had been arrested and PDed. In fact, she struggled and regretted, wondering if she was too impulsive and whether she should give him a chance.

But what she waited for was that Fan Jianshu came back intact. Fan Jianshu questioned her, she talked back, and was beaten by Fan Jianshu. Fan Jianshu knew where to hit people, he didn't hit her face where others could see, he hit her somewhere else.

Her arm was dislocated. The next day, Fan Jianshu changed his attitude and sent her to the clinic to have her bones fixed. In front of the doctor, he scolded her for being stubborn when she knew the object was too heavy to lift.

Back home, Jin Pingping asked Fan Jianshu why he married her if he didn't like her. Why did he marry her?

Fan Jianshu smiled and said, "Because you are the only one left in your family, you have no backing and no support. Who else can you rely on in Shancheng except me? I married you, even if you know what I did, you can only rely on me. Do you dare to report me? Will you be okay if you report me? You better be honest and don't interfere in my affairs in the future."

That night, Jin Pingping stood alone outside the house for a long time, her mind going blank.

Jin Pingping's father died early, and her mother didn't want her after she remarried. She grew up in her aunt's home. She went to a technical secondary school with the compensation left by her father when he died, and later went to the island to become a teacher.

What she wanted most was to find a man who was good and treated her well, marry him, and start a family of her own. She thought she had found him, and that man was Fan Jianshu.

She hadn't expected this.

She originally wanted to fight to the death with Fan Jianshu, but Fan Jianshu said that she could only live by him? No, he was wrong. It was because she was the only one left at home that she was desperate. Even if she had to risk her life, she had to bring down Fan Jianshu and that old woman. So what?

However, Jin Pingping found out that she was pregnant.

She was pregnant. She felt stomach pain after being beaten by Fan Jianshu that day. The doctor told her when she went to the hospital for a checkup. She hesitated again because she was no longer alone.

She thought about it for a long time, and for the sake of her child, she decided to compromise.

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After Jin Pingping left, Lin Tao sat alone in the Education Bureau lobby for a long time.

She felt sad and upset about Jin Pingping's experience and decision.

She thought that what the Chairman said was right, that women had stood up and could hold up half the sky, so she got to know Yang Aidang, Xu Yuting, etc., but women had not yet completely stood up, so there were people like Huang Aidi, Luo Aizi, and Jin Pingping.

Women are born with more emotions than men, so Jin Pingping chose not to report it for the sake of her children.

As a mother, Lin Tao could understand emotionally, but deep down she felt that it was wrong. However, she couldn't persuade Jin Pingping, so she could only think in her mind that one day, all women would stand up.

One day.

It was already time for the meeting, and the principals and teachers from various schools who were attending the meeting were walking towards the meeting room one after another.

Lin Tao followed the crowd and walked in that direction. As soon as she arrived at the conference room, she found that Fan Jianshu was also there.

Fan Jianshu asked all the principals and teachers to take their seats. When he saw Lin Tao, he was stunned for a moment.

Lin Tao was very pretty, so he certainly couldn't forget her so he remembered who she was right away and greeted her warmly: "Teacher Lin, are you here for the meeting? Come, sit here, it's a good seat."

He chose a front seat for Lin Tao.

But Lin Tao didn't even look at him. When she thought of what Fan Jianshu had done, she wanted to tear off his mask and let everyone know his true character.

But she had no evidence, and Jin Pingping, who had the real evidence, was unwilling to report Fan Jianshu.

Lin Tao could only suppress the disgusting feeling and walked directly to the middle back row and sat down in a random seat.

Throughout the entire meeting, she did not even glance at Fan Jianshu. She felt that seeing Fan Jianshu's face would make the disgusting feeling in her chest even stronger.

There were three seats on the stage for this meeting. The person sitting in the middle and speaking was a leader who was also wearing a Zhongshan suit. He looked very decent. Although he was a senior leader, the Zhongshan suit he wore was obviously a bit worn out, which formed a sharp contrast with Fan Jianshu sitting next to him.

Fan Jianshu didn't say anything on the surface, but in his heart he resented Lin Tao for not giving him face in front of so many people.

After the meeting, all the principals and teachers left the Education Bureau.

When Fan Jianshu got off work, he walked to the guard room and said a few words to the guard: "This meeting is very important. Anyone who comes to the meeting tomorrow must bring the principal's work ID before they can be let in. Don't let in some random people."