Volume 1, Chapter 51: Meng Wanying

Xu Li secretly took thirty thousand yuan from home to join a private women's club. The place was filled with women who called themselves wealthy madams. They often gathered together for beauty treatments, fitness, drinking tea, and playing cards, and more often than not, discussing how to seduce men. Zheng Juan also wanted to join, but she did not have that much money.

Xu Li was a woman with a massive appetite, maintaining relationships with at least three lovers outside. Zheng Juan also brought up why Xu Li hated me. It was not just because I was someone else's son; ever since she got together with my father, she had constantly wanted to give birth to a son of her own, a request my father had repeatedly refused. Therefore, Xu Li firmly believed that my existence was the exact reason her wish to have a son had fallen through.

Hearing this, I was quite surprised, coming to understand a different side of Xu Li. She was even filthier and more despicable than I had imagined. However, my expression remained indifferent. I had already left home; whatever Xu Li had done in the past or would do in the future had nothing to do with me.

"Xiaoyan, what Xu Li resents about you the most is that her daughter is very close to you," Zheng Juan reminded me.

"Let her think whatever she wants!"

I had no desire to talk about Fu Xiaoya with Zheng Juan, so I turned and walked away.

As night fell, the KTV became lively once again. The fifty percent off promotion had attracted a large wave of returning customers, and Fu Xiaoya was busy to the point of being overwhelmed. This had been Han Feng's idea. In a place like a KTV, popularity was essential, even if it meant operating at a loss just to build momentum. As it turned out, it wouldn't even result in a loss; the profit margins on alcohol were very high, they would just make a little less.

Brother Zhuang and two other hoodlums also arrived, chatting up Fu Xiaoya with smirking faces and spewing nonsense to congratulate her on her promotion. When they caught sight of me, expressions of fear crossed their faces, and they awkwardly raised their hands in greeting.

You have to be ruthless in life! This was a truth I had summarized after being bullied time and again. Brother Zhuang and the other two had been beaten into submission by me and no longer dared to provoke me on their own initiative. They had been invited by Fu Xiaoya to support the business, so I didn't hold a grudge against them, merely walking past them with a cold expression.

At a little past nine in the evening, a white sedan pulled up in front of the KTV. Two women stepped out of the car, one of whom I had just met—Meng Wanying.

"Xiaoyan!"

Meng Wanying smiled, raised her hand, and greeted me affectionately. I hurried forward and enthusiastically called out Sister Meng.

Meng Wanying told me to address the woman beside her as Sister Zhao, introducing her as someone working at the county tax bureau, and urged us to keep in touch.

Sister Zhao was exceptionally eloquent, repeatedly praising me for being handsome and having a great aura, calling me a breath of fresh air in the KTV. She had a wealth of flattering words, to which I only smiled in response.

"Xiaoyan, we came to support your business. Are we welcome?" Meng Wanying asked with a smile.

"Extremely welcome, and deeply grateful."

I bowed, making a welcoming gesture with a happy smile on my face. It wasn't faked; I was genuinely glad that I could also bring in customers for the KTV!

They walked into the KTV with me. Judging by their expressions, they were not entirely satisfied with the environment here, though they didn't voice it. After ordering at the front desk, they followed me into a private room, gathering their skirts as they sat down on the sofa.

"Xiaoyan, this is your tip."

Meng Wanying took two thousand yuan out of her bag and handed it over. I desperately wanted to accept it, but my lips refused.

"It is my honor that the two elder sisters came to support us. I cannot accept a tip, and I just hope you both have a good time."

I knew very well that Meng Wanying was doing this simply as another way to thank me for saving her son.

Meng Wanying cast an appreciative glance at me and said to Sister Zhao beside her, "Hongling, if any good opportunities come up, keep my little brother here in mind."

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

Zhao Hongling did not drink alcohol, so I proactively opened a beverage for her. After taking a few sips, she went off to sing.

Meng Wanying asked me to stay and keep them company. Since they had come specifically for me, I didn't refuse, sitting down to drink with her while chatting casually.

Meng Wanying asked about my family situation. After hesitating repeatedly, I told her the truth: my parents were divorced, and I had a stepmother with whom I had an ordinary relationship. A few days ago, my father had been in a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Meng Wanying sighed with emotion about how important a stable family is to a child, noting that someone my age shouldn't be out working odd jobs. She also had a daughter a year younger than me, who would be starting her senior year of high school when the new semester began.

Fu Xiaoya had pretended to deliver a fruit platter and came in twice. Seeing that I wasn't engaging in any improper behavior with them, she stopped worrying.

After playing for over an hour and preparing to leave, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open with great force, and three police officers from the local station barged straight in. The one leading them was familiar to me—the very Officer Wu whom Qin Shaohu called uncle.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Meng Wanying's expression changed as she asked with dissatisfaction.

"We received a report that illegal transactions are taking place here, and cooperation with an inspection is required."

Officer Wu looked at me coldly, which immediately reminded me of the interrogation room; he had used that exact same gaze and tone to force me into admitting I had beaten Qin Shaohu.

Unable to bear looking back on the past, my heart swelled with indignation and anger I could no longer suppress. I spoke up loudly, "You're doing this on purpose! Coming here to make up excuses for inspections every single day—how is this KTV supposed to operate? This is an abuse of power!"

"Did you all see that? Zhou Yan is resisting law enforcement. Cuff him for me."

Officer Wu jerked his head, and two police officers immediately rushed forward, twisting my hands behind my back and snapping handcuffs onto my wrists.

Meng Wanying furrowed her brows tightly and scoffed, "Questioning you for a second is resisting law enforcement? Such mighty official airs."

"You two, honestly confess: just now, did you and Zhou Yan engage in that kind of activity in this room?"

Officer Wu looked unconcerned. He even pulled something out of his pocket—the trendiest voice recorder at the time—claiming that once he had the recorded evidence, they wouldn't even need to take formal statements.

Crack!

A crisp sound froze the air itself...

Meng Wanying raised her hand and landed a sharp slap across Officer Wu's face, immediately cursing, "Spitting dog crap! This room doesn't even have a door lock, how could that kind of thing possibly happen?"

Zhao Hongling also wore a look of dissatisfaction, sneering with contempt, "Zhou Yan was right. You are simply abusing your power. Do you think wearing a uniform makes you special?"

"You dare hit me?"

Officer Wu widened his eyes in disbelief before losing his temper and barking orders, "Arrest them all! Assaulting a police officer is a violent crime. Take them back for interrogation, they're going to jail for sure!"

Another police officer produced another pair of cuffs and strode toward Meng Wanying.

"Come on, cuff me then."

Meng Wanying sneered, proactively extending her fair wrists.

"No..."

I struggled and blocked the way in front of Meng Wanying, shouting emotionally and loudly at Officer Wu, "You can target me all you want, but don't drag other people into this, and especially don't ruin the KTV!"

"I was sleeping at home that night! Sleeping! Did you hear that clearly?"

"I have no idea who beat Qin Shaohu. He's a hoodlum anyway and has offended countless people. As the police, you should rely on evidence, not subjective speculation, to convict someone!"

...

At that moment, I felt my eloquence was exceptional, pouring out everything that had been weighing heavily on my heart in one breath.

Unmoved, Officer Wu pointed straight at the bridge of my nose, "Zhou Yan, don't bother trying to talk your way out of this. It was definitely you, and we will never let you slip through the net of the law."

He grabbed my collar and violently shoved me aside, sending me crashing against the coffee table. Taking advantage of the moment, another officer stepped forward and finally managed to snap the handcuffs onto Meng Wanying.

Ha!

Meng Wanying looked down at the handcuffs and suddenly burst out laughing.