165. Heavy raindrops, little thunder.
Li Wei dialed the Luo family's number, but it was Luo's third uncle who answered. In the middle of the night, Luo's third uncle sounded incredibly energetic, and she wondered what he was doing.
However, after Li Wei mentioned looking for Luo Da, Luo Sanjiu called out to Luo Er and told him to go upstairs to look for him. Li Wei vaguely heard the clattering sound of mahjong tiles.
There didn't seem to be a phone in Luo Da's room, so his voice came through soon after. It sounded a bit nasal, as if he had just woken up. He only said "hello" once, and before Li Wei could say anything, just as she was thinking about what to say, Luo Da was already impatient: "Li Xiaoming, right? Why can't you say something tomorrow? Why do you have to call me all the time? Look at the time! Why aren't you asleep yet!"
Li Wei rolled her eyes while holding the phone. Did this guy have super hearing or super vision? She simply imitated Li Lin's voice in a high-pitched voice: "Hey, Brother Hua, this is Xiao Lin."
"Pfft!" Luo burst out laughing on the other end: "Xiao Lin, don't think I won't recognize you just because you're wearing a disguise. You have another disguise, Xiao Ming, right?"
The joke about the vest was something Li Wei had told them before, so everyone knew it. They didn't expect Luo Da'er's ears to be so useful.
Li Wei simply imitated Xiao Hui's voice: "Brother Hua, actually I am Xiao Hui. Don't listen to my sister, that's my second sister."
Luo Da rubbed his eyes: "Li Xiaoming, do you think I'm senile, blind, hard of hearing, and have level three dementia? Hurry up and get to the point... If you're asking about today... oh, about last night, I'm sleepy right now, let's talk about it tomorrow."
Li Wei, hearing Luo Da's meaning, knew he really wouldn't say anything more, so she simply stopped asking. Anyway, her aunt's husband would find out and tell her tomorrow. She then started rambling, "Actually, it's not about that. I just wanted to chat with you about how you made bad friends. Honestly, I don't think Geng Xinyang is that bad. He actually wanted to help me. He was just forced by the power of evil forces. So, if you see him again, just go about your business as usual. Don't do anything to him, okay?"
Luo Da: "You don't need to tell me that. I know better than you what to do. But some things are done and should be punished. Otherwise, if everyone follows suit, things will get out of control."
"Huh? He's all alone, who's he bothering? How did this turn into 'following someone else'? Don't make up excuses to cause him trouble. Let me tell you, you're not a police officer..."
Luo Da was a little unhappy: "If he didn't do something wrong, I wouldn't bother with him. Besides, who am I doing this for..."
"Hey. Don't think you can just use violence because of me. That's irresponsible. Besides, I didn't ask you to fight anyone. When did I ever ask everyone to retaliate, especially against your own classmates..."
"Li Xiaoming, are you done talking? Let me tell you, I kicked him twice and slapped him. That's it. If you're upset, go check on him yourself. He might be dead." Luo Da slammed down the phone, panting heavily with anger.
Not far away, Uncle Luo, while climbing the Great Wall, glanced at his son. He found his eldest son pleasing to the eye. How could he be so much like him?
He saw his son arguing with Li Xiaoming on the phone, and he seemed quite angry. He quickly called out, "Son, son, don't be angry. She's a girl; you have to be more considerate. Otherwise, you'll get the short end of the stick. Talk things out calmly. Why are you shouting? Remember, calm down! Calm down!" His son was still young and inexperienced. It seemed he'd have to find time to teach him. He thought Li Xiaoming seemed alright; he didn't want to mess with him. That wouldn't do.
Li Wei, sitting on the sofa, was also angry. This guy... how could he be so fond of violence? And he won't listen to advice. This is very dangerous. If he becomes a policeman, that's fine; he can beat people up at will. But if he becomes a bandit, that's really bad.
Even though it was for her sake, fighting is never a good thing, no matter the reason. Besides, did he really beat Geng Xinyang that badly? And kill him? Geng Xinyang didn't deserve to die, did he?
Li Wei felt increasingly uneasy. She picked up the phone and was about to dial when Luo Dadi's voice came from the other end: "I didn't hit Geng Xinyang much. I just touched him lightly a few times, and he's still lively and energetic."
Li Wei thought to herself that the two of them were really on the same wavelength. However, Luo Da's voice sounded quite soft, so she felt embarrassed to keep saying anything more, since this matter was caused by her. So she softened her voice and said, "Okay, I understand. I just wanted to tell you that although it's not good to be hit, it's not a good thing to hit someone either. Before you take action, try to think more about whether there are other ways to resolve the situation. I didn't mean anything else."
They exchanged a few more words and then hung up.
Li Wei sat for a while longer, then felt sleepy and went back to her bedroom to sleep.
The next day, before Li Wei even got out of bed, her mother called, asking when the three siblings were coming home. "Aren't you already on holiday? Have you forgotten you have a home and parents?" she asked.
Upon hearing her mother's strong complaint, Li Lin quickly deflected the blame: "Mom, you'll have to ask my sister about this. She's still asleep. I'll have her give you a reply when she gets up, hehe..."
Li Lin felt that it was much more interesting for the three of them to be outside than at home. It was so exciting! In the dead of winter, there weren't many places to go at home, and it was quite boring. It would be better if her sister didn't go home so often.
Li Wei slept until after 10 o'clock, and only got up to answer the phone when her aunt's husband called.
What puzzled Li Wei and Ding Anping was that no matter what channels Ding Anping used to inquire, the Tong family remained silent. The only discordant note was that Tong's son, Tong Cheng, had apparently been attacked last night. As for who did it, the Tong family had no word on it. Finally, Ding Anping had no choice but to use his father's connections to find out that the deputy mayor had been punished by his wife the previous night because he had offended someone in official circles, causing his son to be attacked.
Ding Anping then used his connections to investigate Tong Yanei's henchmen, including Geng Xinyang. Several of them had also been badly beaten, with two suffering fractures and hospitalized, but none were in mortal danger.
The investigation revealed an even more absurd and ridiculous outcome: it turned out that a few people had gotten drunk and started fighting, and it had nothing to do with anyone else.
Ding Anping finally told Li Wei, "Don't worry, it's fine. I guess Luo Jianhua and Xiao Hui did a good job cleaning up and tidying things up, so the others won't dare to say anything out of line. At least we've passed this hurdle."
Yes, this hurdle has been overcome, but who knows what the future holds? However, what's done is done, and there's no use thinking too much about it. Li Wei could only try to put it aside.
However, Li Wei was still quite curious about how these two people had managed to produce such a result through violence, coercion, and inducement. It seemed she would have to find out more; it was simply unbelievable.
In any case, given Li Wei's brain capacity, she couldn't possibly imagine it.
If she couldn't figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it; she refused to believe it. She wouldn't be able to get the three of them, including Geng Xinyang, to talk about it later.
Li Wei then called her mother again. She had originally planned to come home this morning, but it seemed she would have to change it to the afternoon, as she had a martial arts class tomorrow. So she would have to rush back tomorrow afternoon.
Now Li Wei doesn't want to miss a single martial arts class. When it comes down to it, she's the most reliable person. And she's already seeing initial results. Li Wei is seriously considering whether to add some extra class hours during the winter break.
The three of them had lunch. Li Lianhui also got up a little late today. Li Lin, on the other hand, became quite diligent, getting up early to pack clothes and trinkets, looking for anything she didn't want to send home to save space.
Li Wei didn't bring much with her; she just carried a small bag with some everyday odds and ends, and she and her younger siblings were getting ready to take the bus home.
Before going home, she took her slightly damaged leather coat from yesterday to a nearby dry cleaner. She had several similar coats, enough to wear. Today, like Li Lin, she wore a short rabbit fur jacket. It wasn't exactly short, almost reaching her knees. But it was considered short under Li Wei's coat.
This is also what I realized while fleeing for my life yesterday: wearing too many layers makes movement difficult. Otherwise, why would the ancients have developed things like nomadic-style clothing, short-sleeved jackets, and other practical attire? It's all about convenience in crucial moments.
As for her aunt's family, she had already told Ding Anping to inform her. Since she planned to spend more time in the city during the winter break, she would go and visit them after finishing her work in the next day or two. As for the company, Li Wei felt that she could also visit and learn more about it. Otherwise, if she were to become disconnected from society for too long, it would be troublesome to reconnect with it in the future.
After all, it's my own business; I can't just ignore it like this.
Li Wei and her two siblings finished all their errands and were planning to just take a taxi home when Li Lin waved. Ding Anni's grinning head popped out of the lowered window of the taxi: "Hehe, I didn't have anything to do at home, so I thought I'd go visit Uncle Li and Aunt Li, hehe..."
Li Lin happily jumped into the car: "I think you really want to go have fun, but we're coming back tomorrow afternoon. What are your plans? Staying here is a good opportunity to visit your Uncle Li and Aunt Li, haha."
Ding Anni: "I only need to visit for one day, of course I'll come back with you." At home, her mother watches her like she's a thief, and if it weren't for the fact that she was going back with Li Wei and the others, her mother wouldn't let her go at all.
Li Wei and Li Lianhui also got into the car. Li Lianhui sat in the passenger seat, and the three girls chatted and laughed in the back, making it quite lively.
Actually, because of Cheng Fei, Ding Anni is a generation older than Li Wei and her sister, and is considered to be of the same generation as Cheng Min and Li Zhaoxing. However, Li Wei and her sister are not happy about this and feel uncomfortable calling him that, since Ding Hong is a generation older than Li Zhaoxing.
Finally, Ding Hong made the final decision. With the old man's consent, everyone would call each other by their own names, just like before. This way, everyone would feel more comfortable together.
Therefore, Li Wei and her friends still treat Ding Anni as equals. Otherwise, if Li Wei or Li Lin were to call Ding Anni "aunt" or "auntie," Li Lin would be very unhappy even if Li Wei didn't say so. If things went wrong, Ding Anni might be blacklisted.
Ding Anni dared not take that risk and never mentioned her esteemed status as an aunt—
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