Chapter 33 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: "I just can't do anything with you..."
Xu Tianzhou was already angry.
He originally had something to say to Ni Zhenzhen, but now he's lost all interest.
He had forgotten how he had waited so long to see Ni Zhenzhen get off work, only to be dismissed with a simple "I have something to do." He had also forgotten how he had tried to suppress the flutter in his heart and pretend nothing was wrong when he heard the familiar footsteps and the sound of the key turning in the lock.
He is now heartbroken and not much better off than Ni Zhenzhen.
Xu Tianzhou suddenly threw the book aside, his face terribly gloomy.
Ni Zhenzhen is always like this. She will give money to beggars behind his back, and she will easily agree to unreasonable requests from her colleagues, even if she knows he will be angry.
He was so eager to know, as if he were being stubborn, what she had done now.
Xu Tianzhou was surprised that he could still laugh under these circumstances.
He stood up and slowly walked over, immediately enveloping the previously lonely Ni Zhenzhen in his shadow.
Along with it came an undeniable sense of oppression. Ni Zhenzhen shrank back a small step, her head hanging even lower.
This action made Xu Tianzhou even more agitated, but only temporarily. Ni Zhenzhen's disheveled yet cautious appearance caused his heart to ache sharply, and his voice softened, "What happened?"
"that is……"
Xu Tianzhou thought he was mentally prepared, but this still exceeded his expectations.
Ni Zhenzhen said she had just returned from the police station. "Today, a customer was swearing at someone, and Song Likun couldn't hold back and hit the customer. The customer was slightly injured."
"So?" Xu Tianzhou didn't think this matter had anything to do with Ni Zhenzhen.
"The police said that Song Likun could either be punished and detained for a few days, or he could agree to the other party's demands and pay compensation."
Xu Tianzhou frowned slightly. "How much compensation?"
Ni Zhenzhen's voice lowered further, almost inaudibly, "Thirty thousand."
Xu Tianzhou choked up. He had already guessed what Ni Zhenzhen wanted to say. The sound of an anti-Japanese war drama came from next door, with gunfire and artillery fire, which was a true reflection of his inner feelings.
However, he did not show any emotion, at least not as furious as Ni Zhenzhen had feared. He remained the calm and composed Xu Tianzhou.
He looked down at Ni Zhenzhen, and although it was a question, his tone was unusually certain: "You're going to pay this money?"
Ni Zhenzhen clasped her hands together, bit her lip, and nodded.
Upon receiving a positive answer, Xu Tianzhou surprisingly did not feel the anger he had expected; instead, he felt a sense of dejection enveloped by helplessness.
Ni Zhenzhen continued, "He just graduated, where would he get so much money? And with something like this happening, he doesn't dare tell his family..."
Xu Tianzhou didn't understand. "He did something wrong, so he should pay the corresponding price so that he can learn his lesson."
Ni Zhenzhen explained on behalf of Song Likun, "Actually, it's not entirely his fault."
"Whose fault is that?" Xu Tianzhou raised an eyebrow. "Your fault?"
"..."
Xu Tianzhou sneered and said unhurriedly, "If he wants to kill someone, are you going to pay with your life?"
"This is different."
"How are they different?"
Ni Zhenzhen couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was just different. No matter what Song Likun did, she was responsible for it, even if he was her apprentice. Moreover, this whole affair was ultimately her doing, so she couldn't just sit idly by.
Ni Zhenzhen said, "Anyway, he was determined to go to jail. He even said that he couldn't be allowed to succeed. He said he would just give up his job. But what about the future? This time he has a criminal record, which will affect his ability to find other jobs in the future."
Ni Zhenzhen absolutely cannot let this happen. If she really ruins someone's bright future, she will feel guilty for the rest of her life.
Xu Tianzhou remained silent. It wasn't that he couldn't think of a rebuttal, but rather that he genuinely didn't want to argue with Ni Zhenzhen over another man.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't want to continue arguing about this issue. As for the money, she didn't need Xu Tianzhou to worry about it. "I have some savings. Actually, 30,000... isn't something I can't come up with..."
Xu Tianzhou understood that Ni Zhenzhen hadn't come to discuss anything with him at all; she had just come to inform him, just like before.
"Fine..." He seemed to laugh in anger, his tone mournful and desolate, "Very well..."
Ni Zhenzhen looked at him cautiously, unsure of what he was thinking.
At the same time, the shadows looming over her seemed to darken further, and Ni Zhenzhen whispered an apology: "I'm sorry."
She understood Xu Tianzhou's uncontrollable anger, so from the beginning, she was determined not to blame him no matter how angry he got.
"Have you made up your mind?" Xu Tianzhou asked.
His voice was as calm and unhurried as ever, as if he were talking about something insignificant, and he didn't seem like he was about to lose his temper.
Only Xu Tianzhou himself knew that he just wanted to give Ni Zhenzhen another chance.
Unfortunately, Ni Zhenzhen didn't appreciate it. After hesitating for a few seconds, she nodded and said, "Mm."
"Is there no room for negotiation?"
“Mm.” Ni Zhenzhen nodded again.
Xu Tianzhou didn't even know what he was expecting, and he kept spouting nonsense.
The war drama next door abruptly ended, and the tension that had been building in Xu Tianzhou's heart suddenly snapped. Amidst the festive advertisements, Xu Tianzhou waved and said, "Come here."
Ni Zhenzhen took a small step forward.
This clearly did not satisfy Xu Tianzhou.
"come over."
Before Ni Zhenzhen could react, Xu Tianzhou stepped forward, put one arm around her waist and pressed the back of her head with the other, and pulled her into his arms.
"Afraid of me?" Xu Tianzhou said reproachfully, then sighed resignedly, "I really can't do anything with you..."
With her exhausted body finding support, Ni Zhenzhen could no longer hold on and began to sob, her tears instantly soaking Xu Tianzhou's chest.
"I'm sorry..." Ni Zhenzhen sobbed uncontrollably.
"There's nothing to apologize for," Xu Tianzhou said gently. "We're family, so of course I support all your decisions."
"Really?" Ni Zhenzhen looked up at him, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Xu Tianzhou gently patted Ni Zhenzhen's back and said with a smile, "Of course it's true."
After Xu Tianzhou finished speaking, he lightly touched Ni Zhenzhen's forehead, the warm touch bringing her a sense of peace. She leaned tightly into Xu Tianzhou's arms, her burning cheeks merging with his heat.
"Thank you..." Ni Zhenzhen felt relieved. After such a long time, she finally smiled.
However, in the dressing mirror behind her, Xu Tianzhou had a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with a sinister look.
After Ni Zhenzhen went to bed, she realized that she hadn't eaten dinner, or to be precise, she hadn't even eaten lunch.
Ni Zhenzhen thought with a sense of loss, "So human potential really is limitless. I've been starving all this time and I'm still okay, haven't I? If I hadn't insisted on going to eat back then, would things have turned out differently?"
Ni Zhenzhen spent the entire night blaming herself, and Xu Tianzhou also didn't sleep well. In just one day, Su Wenjin noticed that he looked much more haggard.
Su Wenjin roughly knew what had happened, and therefore found it even more incomprehensible; in his view, it was really not a big deal.
Su Wenjin said, "I sent someone to ask him. He's a scoundrel who does all sorts of bad things, from stealing chickens and dogs to fighting and faking accidents. So he's very experienced in this kind of thing. No matter how others hit him, he just won't fight back. Then he'll make an exorbitant demand and take the opportunity to extort money from them. If we follow the proper procedures, we'd only pay him one or two thousand yuan for medical expenses at most. Now he dares to ask for thirty thousand."
From the moment he sat down in the conference room, Xu Tianzhou kept his gaze fixed on the distance. He held a pen, opening and closing the cap repeatedly.
Su Wenjin paused, then continued, "These kinds of people are like chewed gum; once it's stuck on you, they'll cling to you. Of course, it's not that you can't teach them a lesson, but if you really anger them, they might do something drastic, so it's better to just throw them away. Actually, things that can be settled with money aren't really problems, so..."
Su Wenjin's idea was to pay the money privately, so that there would be no more trouble on this side, Ni Zhenzhen could feel at ease, and everyone would be happy.
Seeing that Xu Tianzhou remained silent, Su Wenjin even doubted whether he was listening. He had no choice but to tentatively ask, "Should I have someone send the money over now?"
Xu Tianzhou didn't answer, so Su Wenjin took it as a yes.
Just as he was about to make the call, Xu Tianzhou suddenly put his pen down on the table. He was still looking into the distance, and no one knew what he saw, but his gaze suddenly turned gloomy. "Tell him to ask for 100,000."
"What?" Su Wenjin thought she had misheard. Everyone else would lower their prices, not offer a high price.
Or was he just saying it out of anger?
However, that was exactly what Xu Tianzhou meant.
"Tell him to ask for 100,000." Xu Tianzhou's calm voice gradually revealed a hint of ruthlessness, almost as if he were gritting his teeth. "I want to see if she'll give it to me."
To avoid any unforeseen complications, Ni Zhenzhen went to the scarred man's house on her day off, hoping to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
She knocked on the door. "Hello, is Mr. Liu home? I'm from the bank..."
The person who opened the door was not the scarred man, but a woman. She said the scarred man had gone to the bank, "and had just left not long ago."
Oh no.
Ni Zhenzhen immediately had a bad feeling. That day at the police station, the police said that they had advised the scarred man to ask for less during the mediation, but the scarred man was adamant and insisted on 30,000 yuan, saying that the price could be raised at any time.
Could he really be backing out and want more money? Or is he going to cause a scene at the bank if he doesn't get it?
In this incident, Ni Zhenzhen's only relief was that the events of that day were not filmed and posted online by those present. If it had really blown up, the reputation of the entire bank would have been damaged.
Ni Zhenzhen hurried towards the bank, and when she turned the corner, she didn't even dare to look in that direction. Unexpectedly, the branch was orderly inside and out, and no one was causing trouble.
The security guard said that the scarred man had indeed arrived and was currently in the director's office.
Upon arriving at the director's office, Ni Zhenzhen knocked and entered, "Director..."
"You've come at the right time; we were just looking for you."
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