Chapter Forty-Eight
"Shut up!" With Zhou Yun's command, the room fell into a quiet silence.
Zhou Mo looked at Zhou Yun, and Zhou Yun was also looking at her.
In some ways, Zhou Mo is somewhat like Zhou Yun. Zhou Yun has experienced everything over the years, and she thinks she will never be suppressed by a junior.
But in reality, she was suppressed again.
Last time, she always thought it was because Zhou Mo had just lost her parents, and as an elder, she should take care of Zhou Mo's feelings, so she gave in to Zhou Mo.
But Zhou Yun knew perfectly well that Zhou Mo had no intention of saving face for her, just as she had done last time.
Zhou Mo pulled over her usual chair and sat down without any hesitation. Yu Xi poured her a glass of water, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.
As Yu Xi acted, Zhou Yun finally found an outlet for her anger. Pointing at Yu Xi, she said harshly, "Zhou Mo! Have you been fooling around with this guy all year? What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?! Girls should have self-respect and self-love!"
With a 'snap'.
Zhou Mo slammed her water glass down on the coffee table. "I don't care if you try to shift the blame, but I still hope you can stick to the facts and not involve my parents."
"I don't know how my dad feels having a sister like you, but I know how much my mom has suffered because of your slander. My dad doesn't mind, and my mom is magnanimous, but I'm sorry, I'm just petty. If you don't want to talk this out, then I'll call the police."
Qian Zhiwei quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Why call the police! You're just kidding, it's just children playing around. Ahao is your cousin, how could he possibly do anything bad to you?"
Qian Hao: "What makes you think I did it?! What makes you think I did it?!"
Qian Zhiwei slapped Qian Hao on the back of the head. The slap sounded loud, but it didn't actually use much force. Qian Hao saw Qian Zhiwei giving him a look, and then he reluctantly pouted and stopped talking.
Ignoring Zhou Mo's insistence on discussing the matter at hand, Zhou Yun adopted the demeanor of an elder and began to judge Zhou Mo's character and morality.
Zhou Mo listened quietly, a slow smile curving her lips.
“Zhou Mo! I’ve watched you grow up since you were a child. I used to think you were just immature and disrespectful to your elders, but now it seems that it was all because of your dead mother who spoiled you!”
"And Zhou Qinian, what kind of drug did Hua Rong give him to make him believe in her so completely? A perfectly good young girl, her parents are gone, and she's living with a man. Aren't you afraid of what people will say?"
"How will you ever get married in the future? People will gossip and curse you behind your back, and you'll bring shame to our Zhou family. They'll say we don't know how to raise our children. It's fine if you're promiscuous, but what if you ruin my children's reputation?"
"Do you know that Zhou Qinian's bad reputation has already spread here? Qian Hao is being talked about by his classmates because of this! If they find out he has a promiscuous older sister, how will he ever face anyone at school again?!"
Zhou Yun's fingernails weren't long, and she wasn't close to Zhou Mo.
But her words were like a sharp weapon, piercing her brow without mercy and nailing her firmly to a certain prejudice.
Zhou Yun became increasingly eloquent as she spoke, which was something she excelled at.
The more Zhou Mo listened, the deeper her smile became.
As Zhou Yun was speaking and cursing, she suddenly stopped when she met Zhou Mo's smiling face. She swallowed back the words she was saying and didn't utter another word.
"Are you done?" Zhou Mo lowered her eyes. "Oh, I mean, have you finished cursing?"
Qian Zhiwei stepped in to smooth things over again, "Your aunt is just a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Momo, don't be angry. We were just worried about you. If we weren't worried about you, we wouldn't have come all the way to Ming'an to see you, would we?"
Zhou Mo: "In that case, I should thank you."
Qian Zhiwei: "We're all family, so let's not speak like outsiders."
Zhou Mo raised her eyes and met Qian Zhiwei's gaze. The moment their eyes met, Zhou Mo's smile vanished, and Qian Zhiwei was taken aback.
“It’s been almost a year, and this is the first time you’ve come to see me since then. There have been no text messages, no phone calls, no messages, and of course I don’t need them. But I don’t want you to use such a high-sounding but utterly disgusting excuse as ‘caring about me’ to meet me this time. Also, I just warned you to stick to the facts and not to involve my parents.”
"Since you won't listen to my advice, I'll have no choice but to call the police."
Zhou Yun: "Call the police? What evidence do you have?"
Yu Xi, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a bad feeling. Then he saw Zhou Mo's gaze sweep over him unintentionally, openly and knowingly, with a look of indulgence.
“There are surveillance cameras everywhere in this house.” Zhou Mo pointed to the room, seemingly in a random direction, but Yu Xi knew that it was not random, but a pointed direction with a specific purpose.
When did Zhou Mo find out that there were surveillance cameras in the house?
He never saw Zhou Mo researching anything in the house on the surveillance footage, and when exactly? Moreover, this matter never appeared in their arguments.
In other words, in Zhou Mo's eyes, this matter was not even something to argue about.
Zhou Mo's tolerance for Yu Xi was perfectly embodied at this moment.
Qian Hao panicked, but he still stubbornly insisted, "So what if you have surveillance video? I just wanted to see your college acceptance letter, how could you think of me like that?"
"Look at my acceptance letter? Then why did Yu Xi say you wanted to destroy it?"
Qian Hao retorted, "That must be him talking nonsense! We're family, you can't really be infatuated with this man, can you?"
Zhou Yun: "Zhou Mo, I don't care what you're really thinking! Qian Hao is your brother, you can't hurt your brother for an outsider!"
"outsider?"
Zhou Mo pulled Yu Xi's hand and said, "Yu Xi is my only and last family member in this world. You are the outsiders."
“Yu Xi said you wanted to tear up my notice. He’s not lying. You must have told him, otherwise he would have arrested you.”
"Since you think you didn't say it, then go to the police station and have a good talk with the police. I remember your ID card says you're over eighteen, right? It's really thanks to your mom that you got your household registration two years early, otherwise, sixteen would have been too lenient a punishment."
Zhou Mo took out her phone to make a call. Qian Hao saw how confident she was and how calm Yu Xi stood beside her. He began to doubt whether he had really spoken his mind and whether Yu Xi had heard him, which was why he had been beaten so badly.
In a panic, Qian Hao went to look at Qian Zhiwei. In Qian Zhiwei's eyes, his expression confirmed that his son had said such a thing. Qian Zhiwei certainly wouldn't stand by and watch his son have a stain on his file because of this.
"Momo."
"Please call me Zhou Mo."
“Zhou Mo, no matter how much you dislike us, Qian Hao is still your brother. You all share the Zhou family blood. Your aunt just has a bad temper, and your brother isn't a bad person; he just lost his mind for a moment. Please forgive them, okay? I'm begging you.”
When Zhou Yun saw Qian Zhiwei so humbly begging a junior, who was Zhou Qinian's daughter, she strode forward, pulled Qian Zhiwei away, and was about to slap Zhou Mo across the face.
Zhou Mo neither dodged nor avoided the slap, but was intercepted just as it was about to land.
Yu Xi grabbed Zhou Yun's wrist firmly and shoved her backward without any politeness. Zhou Yun staggered and fell into Qian Zhiwei's arms. "What do you want to do?!"
Seeing his mother being pushed down, Qian Hao jumped up as if he'd been injected with adrenaline and charged at Yu Xi, yelling, "You dare hit my mother?! I'll cripple you!"
Qian Hao roared as he approached, only to be kicked back by Yu Xi.
Qian Zhiwei had to take care of both his wife and son. Looking at the chaotic living room, he didn't understand why he had come here. His wife, who was in his arms, wanted to lash out at Zhou Mo, but he held her shoulders down tightly.
This was the first time Zhou Yun had felt Qian Zhiwei's defiance. Before Qian Zhiwei could even utter a word of advice, Zhou Yun slapped him across the face. "What's it to you?! You want me to apologize to her?!"
Zhou Mo: "Apologize? I don't need your apologies. They're worthless and would only waste your time and effort. It's not worth it. Just stop bothering me, whatever."
Zhang Xing suddenly walked in at this moment. He had come with Zhou Yun and her husband at first, but he did not come in. Instead, he consciously stayed outside, leaving the space for them.
Perhaps because the commotion they're making is too big, he, a true outsider, has no choice but to get up and come in to check.
The first thing Zhang Xing saw when he entered was Zhou Mo's face. There was no crying, no anger, no despair—not any of the expressions he wanted to see.
He was somewhat disappointed and couldn't help but feel disgusted by Zhou Yun and Qian Zhiwei's uselessness.
Zhang Xing was completely unaware that he and Zhou Yun were the same kind of people, both of whom disliked Zhou Qinian.
Zhou Yun's dislike was more outward and unpredictable, while Zhang Xing's dislike was a deep-seated, persistent feeling—an emotion he both hated and couldn't bear to abandon.
What happened?
Zhou Mo glanced at Zhang Xing indifferently, not intending to pay him any attention.
Yu Xi's attitude towards Zhang Xing had always been indifferent and sarcastic. If Zhou Mo hadn't shown him some kindness before, he would never have let Zhang Xing in.
Zhou Yun had no interest in talking to an outsider, and Qian Hao, not recognizing Zhang Xing, naturally wouldn't engage in conversation.
The only one who could speak up, the 'honest man' Qian Zhiwei, was also somewhat unwilling to mediate, saying, "It's nothing, just a quarrel."
"We're all family, let's not make things too tense."
Zhou Mo scoffed, "Yes, we're all family." She looked at Zhang Xing, the implication clear: they were family by any measure, but Zhang Xing? He was a complete outsider, the one with the least right to speak here.
Zhang Xing understood the subtext in Zhou Mo's words, and he was somewhat unhappy.
Zhou Mo's attitude towards him became increasingly perfunctory. He didn't really expect Zhou Mo to get any information from Yu Xi. In fact, when he received this task, he didn't have any hope at all. Information is dead, but people are alive. Isn't it more important to make himself happy than to have information that could help others get ahead in one step?
"Zhou Mo, how can you face your father like this?"
Zhang Xing believed that Zhou Qinian was Zhou Mo's weakness, and that as long as he said those words, Zhou Mo would definitely show a sad and regretful expression.
Little did they know, Zhou Yun had already used it.
This tactic has now become ineffective against Zhou Mo.
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