Chapter 28
Xu Yunhua's face was extremely ugly. He pushed Liu Fengqin away and said, "You're saying my Chu Ci extorted 100,000 from you?"
"Well……"
"You said you were abused when you worked as a nanny, and you also said you only made three thousand yuan a month?"
Several small groups in the community were tagging Xu Yunhua and posting the verdict in the groups, with everyone chattering and commenting.
Liu Fengqin was most afraid of her salary being exposed. The three thousand yuan was the money she gave to her husband every month, and she also had to subsidize her son. She was afraid that her husband would take it all to drink. Now that this matter was exposed in front of everyone, her husband would definitely find out, and then where would she get the money to give him!
Xu Yunhua's brows furrowed even more deeply. "You said the injuries on your body were inflicted by Chu Ci, and that you took ten thousand yuan from me."
Chu Ci lowered her eyes, a barely perceptible hint of mockery flashing across them.
“Uh…you didn’t say she was the scourge of your family,” Liu Fengqin said, cold sweat pouring down her body, “that your daughter has a promiscuous private life.”
Chu Ci felt that it was about time. "Liu Fengqin, you falsely accused me of extorting money, spread rumors behind my back, fabricated false information, and caused a wide impact. If the circumstances are serious, you shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to three years. If you extort 10,000 yuan on a fabricated basis, you shall be sentenced to imprisonment for three to ten years."
Huo Junyan immediately understood and raised his eyes to indicate, "Assistant Chen."
Only then did everyone notice that among the group that had just delivered the gifts, one of the older people had not left with the others, but was standing under the banyan tree.
He nodded. "Evidence is already being collected."
Liu Fengqin was horrified. She grabbed Xu Yunhua, then looked at Chu Ci, and suddenly burst into tears, "No, no, I... I'll be beaten to death by my man! You're trying to force me to my death!"
She sat on the ground and threw a tantrum.
Chu Ci looked at Chen Zhu and said, "I will not reconcile. I'll leave it to you to handle."
"OK."
Assistant Chen, experienced in handling affairs, ignored Liu Fengqin and instead smiled at the crowd that had been watching the commotion, saying, "Today, our General Manager Chu is visiting his family and has prepared some small gifts for everyone."
He waved and signaled to the other five people to carry huge bags and distribute gifts.
Some of the older women couldn't wait to take out their bags of skincare and toiletries, each containing a bag of practical items, and they were all beaming with joy.
There are no high-end shopping malls in the county town, so the items must have been purchased temporarily from the supermarket next door, and they were all the highest-end items from that supermarket.
These middle-aged women are very familiar with the price differences at different times of day, even down to the cents, and they were overjoyed at the moment.
As for the older folks, they were even more straightforward. They took two packs of cigarettes, which were more expensive than what they usually smoked, and began praising the Chu family's children for their success...
Xu Yunhua, holding Chu Ci's wrist, greeted everyone with a smile as they entered the apartment building.
You've changed a lot.
Chu Ci stiffened, feeling nervous as if she had been seen through at a glance. As if sensing Xu Yunhua's gaze, she turned her head away. The old corridor was dimly lit, and she couldn't see Xu Yunhua's eyes clearly before turning her face away.
Their home was on the third floor. The security door was open, and the aroma of food wafted into the hallway, along with the sound of cooking utensils.
Chu Songbai was stir-frying vegetables with one hand and turning down the heat of the soup pot with the other. There were four or five dishes on the table and several plates of chopped vegetables on the kitchen counter.
Chu Hao stood in the living room, several wooden boxes were open. When he saw people enter, he reluctantly made a gesture of hospitality, namely pouring tea.
The phone on the coffee table was still displaying the game's auto-play page, so he picked it up and put it in his pocket.
The room is bright and clean, with good ventilation from north to south. The furniture is simple and tidy, and all three bedroom doors are open, making it clear that only the parents usually live there.
Chu Songbai brought a clay pot from the kitchen. Chu Ning casually placed a placemat in the middle to separate the dishes. He put the clay pot down, looked up at Chu Ci, then at Huo Junyan, and mumbled a few times, "...It's here."
"dad."
"Uncle, my name is Huo Junyan."
Chu Songbai nodded and gestured towards the sofa, "Sit, sit... Pour some tea, Chu Hao, pour some tea."
The kitchen was sizzling, and Xu Yunhua immediately went in to turn off the stove. Chu Songbai followed him in, and the two stood side by side, one stir-frying vegetables and the other sprinkling seasonings. They exchanged a few glances and looked into the living room through the kitchen glass.
Chu Ci and Huo Junyan sat on the sofa. Huo Junyan held the teacup with a heavy wrist, gently blew on the tea foam, took a sip, and continued to blew on the tea foam and drink the tea without showing any expression.
Chu Hao couldn't help but glance at them several times. He casually picked up a can of tea, opened it, and saw that it was almost empty. But since they had already entered the room, he poured the remaining tea leaves into the can for the two of them.
"Second sister, have some tea," Fang Xiyue picked up another cup, and frowned when she saw the tea foam floating on the surface. "Oh dear, this is old tea, it's better to drink it in winter. It's only September now. Chu Hao, quickly open the White Peony tea we brought back."
Chu Ning saw it too, frowned, and glared at Chu Hao with displeasure.
Chu Hao, taking advantage of Fang Xiyue's offer, immediately said, "Dad said that tea is delicious." He then opened a new can of tea and brewed it again.
Then, holding the tea, he reached out and offered it to Chu Ci without saying a word.
She glanced at Chu Hao, who avoided her gaze with disgust. Chu Ci didn't take the cup, saying, "Drinking green tea on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach."
Chu Hao's eyes suddenly turned fierce. He slammed the teacup down on the coffee table, spilling half of it. Chu Songbai and Xu Yunhua came out with the dishes and noticed the strange atmosphere in the living room. "What's wrong?"
"Mom's fine, Chu Hao just accidentally burned himself with the tea," Fang Xiyue quickly smoothed things over, then urged Chu Hao, "Pour a cup of hot water, quick."
"Let's eat first. You've come all this way, you must be hungry," Chu Songbai said. "Chu Ning,...Chu Ci, Huo,..."
Huo Junyan stood up. "Uncle, my name is Huo Junyan. You can call me Junyan."
"Alright, Junyan, sit down, take your seat."
Everyone else was gathered around the dining table, but Chu Hao stood still. Fang Xiyue tried to signal him with her eyes, but he remained unmoved. Xu Yunhua walked over and asked, "Hao Hao, let me see how badly he's burned?"
As she spoke, she opened the drawer to look for burn ointment.
Chu Ci watched coldly from the sidelines, suddenly feeling fortunate that she had lost her memory; otherwise, remembering how she lived in this family would surely have been very frustrating.
From the moment she entered the room, all her expectations were instantly replaced by suppression. Even though a table full of dishes had been prepared, even though she looked down on Chu Hao, and even though Fang Xiyue and Chu Ning had done their best to be considerate, she still felt suppressed.
It felt like my hands and feet were bound by invisible ropes, which I couldn't see and couldn't break free from.
It was as if a deeply buried memory was about to break through time and reveal to her the grievances she had suffered.
"Mom and Dad, we have something to do, we have to go now." Chu Ci could no longer hold back.
She knew she would never feel at ease unless she came back, but she regretted it once she actually returned.
Why won't she give up, even though we haven't contacted her family for five years?
Chu Songbai: "Let's eat before we leave."
Xu Yunhua, holding the ointment, looked at Chu Ci with displeasure upon hearing this.
"Are you crazy?" Chu Hao had been holding back his anger ever since he walked in and saw Chu Ci's arrogant gaze. "You're a menace! Every time you show up, nothing good ever comes of it. Why don't you just die out there?"
"Chu Hao."
Several overlapping voices stopped him.
Bang!
Chu Hao was punched in the face and fell onto the sofa. He touched the blood at the corner of his mouth and said, "Fuck your ancestors!" He then started fighting with Huo Junyan.
Apart from Chu Ci, everyone else was pulling the two of them.
The three women dragged Chu Hao, who was furiously cursing, and used all sorts of foul language that was unbearable to hear. They only stopped talking when Chu Songbai reprimanded them.
Chu Songbai glanced at Huo Junyan with his cloudy eyes. "Young man, what you did today went too far. You beat my son in my own home. You don't respect us at all."
Xu Yunhua and Chu Ning were busy feeling sorry for Chu Hao's so-called injuries, while Fang Xiyue stood aside, lost in thought.
Huo Junyan sneered, "What did your son say about your daughter?"
What kind of grudge could drive someone to curse their family members to death?
"I told you Chu Ci is a slut, what can you do about it?" Chu Hao shouted angrily after being slapped by Chu Songbai, his face contorted with rage. "She's a menace! She made me ostracized at school for three years, made all of us lose face, and made us cut off all ties with my uncle's family!"
Chu Ci narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Chu Hao. He suddenly stopped talking, and the others had different expressions.
She doesn't remember how she caused Chu Hao to be ostracized at school, or what she did that made her parents ashamed even though he got into Peking University.
Chu Ning avoided Chu Ci's gaze, seemingly feeling guilty.
Xu Yunhua looked angry and refused to look at her, only touching her son's neck, which had just been slapped, with heartache.
As for Chu Songbai, he seemed embarrassed and even disgusted, showing a dislike for the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu).
Chu Hao didn't talk about what happened next, he just gritted his teeth and said, "Chu Ci, you're a menace."
A scourge.
In the courtyard of the residential compound, Liu Fengqin publicly declared, "She is a scourge to your family." Ha!
She suddenly grasped Huo Junyan's hand, looked up at him, and said, "I'm sorry, I regret it." She regretted coming here, and even more so, she regretted bringing you along.
Huo Junyan felt her struggling to suppress her trembling body, so he tightened his grip, pulled her around, and left.
"Hey Chu Ci," Chu Ning rushed over and stopped them, her face full of anxiety, and whispered to comfort them, "You've finally come back, and your parents have been preparing all morning. You should at least eat before you leave."
"Yes, Chu Ci, have some dinner before you leave. It's been years since you've been back, and your mother cries whenever she thinks of you..."
Chu Songbai echoed softly.
Fang Xiyue stepped forward with a smile, "You don't know, after Mom and Dad received the phone call this morning, they started making chili sauce. They said it was your favorite. It's Mom's family recipe, and many people have learned this recipe from Mom. Some people even use it to open restaurants."
Chu Ci said calmly, "There really is something."
She gently pushed Chu Ning, opened the door, and there was a rustling sound behind her. Except for Chu Hao, everyone else chased downstairs. Fang Xiyue was carrying two cans of chili sauce and took the insulated box from Chu Songbai.
"My parents prepared it early this morning."
Xu Yunhua walked last, her eyes full of disappointment, and she seemed genuinely heartbroken. "That's brown sugar glutinous rice cake, from the place where I used to buy fried dough sticks. It wasn't clean, yet you still loved eating it."
“The place that sells fried dough sticks hasn’t been in business for a long time. Dad called this morning and asked Uncle Chen to cook them specially. You used to say you liked the burnt taste, that’s from the oil used to fry the dough sticks. The taste might be different now.”
Chu Ning took the bag and insulated box from Fang Xiyue and handed them to Chu Ci.
She didn't answer.
The ice wall that had just been built in my heart cracked easily.
Huo Junyan glanced at Chu Ci, then took the bag and insulated box. "Thank you."
Chu Ci suddenly felt a sense of relief and turned her face away from them.
Chu Ning frowned, "Don't blame Hao Hao. Because of you, his job transfer was blocked, and his parents have retired. Their previous relationship..."
She felt a little uncomfortable under Chu Ci's gaze. "Are you still holding a grudge against your parents for what happened back then? They didn't know anything about it at the time. Besides, it was your own fault for not going to school, so your parents had to arrange for you to take a leave of absence. Later, didn't your parents use their connections to get you back to school? You think you did nothing wrong, so breaking your uncle's head must have been your fault, right?"
Chu Ci lowered her eyes and stared intently at Chu Ning.
This is a habit she has developed over the past five years: she doesn't respond to, refute, or express her opinion on past events, making it impossible for people to guess her thoughts.
In fact, she had no idea what they were talking about.
Her attitude angered Xu Yunhua, who said sternly, "Ignore her."
Chu Ning stopped her mother with a look, then pulled Chu Ci, who was about to leave, and took out a small gold lock pendant from her pocket. "I didn't know your son's zodiac sign, so I bought him a peace lock."
Chu Songbai seemed to remember something, touched his pocket, and turned back, "Where's the necklace you bought?"
"What necklace?" Xu Yunhua took out a gift box from his jacket pocket. "Ningning bought a peace lock in the city, and I only went out to buy groceries. I didn't have time to choose one slowly."
Chu Ning opened it and found a pair of children's gold bracelets.
Chu Ci's eyes ached, his chest felt tight, and the back of his head felt heavy and uncomfortable, as if something was about to burst out of the ground.
"Come back often." Chu Ning took Chu Ci's hand and placed the safety lock and gift box in her hands.
The things in her hands felt incredibly heavy. Chu Ci kept her head down, and even though she felt they were all following her, she stubbornly refused to turn around until she got into the car, when her eyes involuntarily glanced at the rearview mirror.
My parents and sister were all standing under the banyan tree.
Huo Junyan smelled the chili sauce. "This must be premium grade chili."
Chu Ci was taken aback, her heavy and suppressed emotions instantly dispelled, and she glared at him, "Who told you to take it?"
"Someone wants to eat."
"I didn't." The car started, and the person in the rearview mirror turned around. She rolled down the window and suddenly saw someone. She froze, the fog in her mind cleared, and memories flooded back. "Stop the car."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com