Luo Bei led Fang Jingzhou to her house next door. She didn’t speak along the way, even when Grandma Luo asked her questions, she didn’t answer.
She was just too angry.
She remembered one thing, something that others thought she had forgotten but she had always remembered. When she was a child, her grandfather had her transferred to the best primary school here. The classmates around her were all from good families. However, good times didn’t last long. Before she reached the fourth grade, her family went bankrupt and they were left with only one building in the urban village. At that time, property prices had not skyrocketed, and real estate was not so popular. It was during a PE class in the afternoon, and she was resting in the classroom because she didn’t feel well. Perhaps because of the good weather, she fell asleep and slept soundly.
As a result, before the end of the school day, another beautiful female classmate said that her Walkman could not be found.
In the end, Luo Bei found the Walkman in her own desk.
She tried to defend herself and insisted that she didn’t steal it. Why did everyone look at her with the eyes of looking at a thief?
For a long time, Luo Bei was very depressed, and she began to dislike going to school.
Later, her grandmother found out about this incident and went to the school to find the teacher and the female classmate. Perhaps not expecting the matter to become so big, the female classmate eventually confessed that she had come up with this idea out of jealousy towards Luo Bei.
Although everyone later knew what had happened, Luo Bei still couldn’t forget the way her classmates and teachers looked at her during that time.
The memory of those looks still makes her clench her fists to this day.
Her grandmother noticed that something was wrong with her and helped her transfer schools before the new semester began. She returned to her original school and no one ever mentioned the incident again. Maybe even her grandmother had forgotten that there was a time when she was labeled a thief.
Luo Bei could hardly imagine what it would be like to be falsely accused of being a thief by one’s own mother.
Standing under the shower, Fang Jingzhou still cried while washing himself.
Luo Bei knew that although he said he didn’t like his mother, deep down he still knew that Chen Lan was his mother, so he couldn’t help but have feelings and attachment towards her. Now his mother was telling other people that he was a thief, even a five-year-old child knew that he was wronged.
After finishing his shower, Luo Bei wrapped him up and carried him to bed. She closed the door and said seriously to Fang Jingzhou, “Jingzhou, Beibei believes that you haven’t done anything wrong. Can you promise Beibei that you won’t listen to what your mother says and forget about it tomorrow when you wake up?”
Fang Jingzhou nodded with sobs and hugged Luo Bei’s neck tightly, rubbing against her with great affection.
“Bebe, I’m so scared. The room is all black, and no one talks to me.”
“I’m scared at night.”
“She doesn’t talk to me either. Later, I couldn’t even shout. It hurt here.” He pointed to his throat.
At night, when he was sleeping, Fang Jingzhou woke up many times. He requested the lights to be turned on because he was scared if they were not on.
Luo Bei sighed in her heart. It seemed that it still had caused some impact on him. She just hoped he could forget it as soon as possible and not keep it in his mind.
Jiang Sihan also heard about this from Luo Bei. He was still on the set, and he was not very happy about it. After all, he did not come from a professional background, and he was very uncomfortable facing the camera at first. He also couldn’t say he had any acting skills. Fortunately, he might have some talent in this area, and he was slowly adapting now.
They were all tenants of the same building, and Jiang Sihan had also played with Fang Jingzhou. Now, thinking about his experience at such a young age, Jiang Sihan couldn’t help but feel heartbroken and angry, but he couldn’t do much to help at the moment.
Without money or connections, it seemed that he would have to debut in a web drama. However, whether the drama could be successfully produced and whether it would receive any attention after airing were two different things. Therefore, Jiang Sihan had no confidence in his future, so what effect could he have on this matter?
It’s not Jiang Sihan’s fault for being passive. Even if he’s now a rising actor, he can’t do much about the situation with Fang Jingzhou. After all, Fang Jingzhou is Chen Lan’s biological son, and Jiang Sihan had no relation to them.
Luo Bei’s intimidation had indeed worked, sometimes fighting fire with fire is more effective than reasoning with facts.
Previously, Chen Lan had no interest in the background of the people in the urban village. She even felt that even if there was a building in the area, it didn’t matter much. They might have some money, but it was still far from being a real rich person. Therefore, she only knew that Luo Bei had a building, but she didn’t intentionally inquire about it. After all, what did the landlady’s background have to do with her?
Now, with just a casual inquiry, it was enough to scare her.
Luo Bei was right. Since the age of 15, she had been dealing with tenants from all over the country. She was not as kind and simple as she appeared on the surface. Otherwise, how could she manage a building in an urban village like this?
Of course, in addition to Luo Bei’s own abilities, her and Grandma Luo’s strong social circle was also a factor. Most of the people in the urban village were Grandma Luo’s fellow villagers. Although they would also argue and quarrel sometimes, when something really happened, these people would help the Luo family.
“Beibei is really amazing. She will definitely have the ability in the future. Just the year before last, there was a person who came to her house to rent a room. Later, we heard that the person had just been released from prison, but we didn’t know what crime he had committed. We all advised Beibei not to rent a room to him, but Beibei said he was actually a good person and didn’t listen to us. This Beibei really has a good eye for people. That person stayed here for two years and didn’t commit any crimes. Later, we heard that when he was young, he was quite a character, and now that he’s out, he still has his connections and background…” The owner of the convenience store, Aunt Liu, said while munching on sunflower seeds. “When he left, he was very grateful to Beibei and said that if she encountered any difficulties or troubles in the future, she could find him. We didn’t have such an opportunity.”
Chen Lan was unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
When she heard that Mr. Cheng, the big shot in this area, was protecting the Luo family, Chen Lan was even more confused.
Although she had the most right to make decisions regarding Fang Jingzhou’s matter, as she was the child’s mother, others had no right to criticize or interfere with how she educated her child. If Chen Lan were a tough person, she wouldn’t have been frightened by Luo Bei yesterday.
Perhaps because she had always thought that Luo Bei was a kind-hearted girl next door, she never expected Luo Bei to show that side yesterday, so she was a little shocked.
After hearing that Luo’s family had such a background today, Chen Lan gave up the idea of going to their house to argue. She also knew that she was cowardly. Although her son was her own, she didn’t have the courage to confront Luo Bei. She was frightened by Luo Bei, and she felt that if she continued to treat Fang Jingzhou like that, Luo Bei might really do something. She had no foundation, connections, or background in this city, so if Luo Bei really targeted her, what would she do?
Chen Lan did not go to Luo’s house to bring Fang Jingzhou back, and Luo Bei did not let Fang Jingzhou go back either. That’s how Fang Jingzhou stayed at Luo’s house again.
When Luo Bei told Zhou Jianguo about the follow-up, he had just come back from the construction site and had just finished taking a shower.
The room was filled with the scent of Dove soap.
As Zhou Jianguo was drying his hair with a towel, he said, “You can’t let the child stay at your house forever. I estimate that Chen Lan may move out in a few months, and what you’re doing now is only temporarily scaring her. Once she moves out, you won’t have any control over her anymore. Her dissatisfaction with life may be vented on the child, so what you’re doing now is just treating the symptoms, not the root cause.”
Luo Bei also knew.
Having made a mess with Chen Lan like this, Chen Lan definitely wouldn’t keep renting here for long.
If Chen Lan moves to another place, would Luo Bei have to follow her there to keep an eye on her?
“I suggest that you investigate Chen Lan’s family background and some of her experiences. If you can contact the child’s biological father, given Chen Lan’s current financial situation and earning ability, if the biological father also wants to take the child back, the possibility is still very high. On the other hand, you can also investigate Chen Lan’s original family. Anyway, I suggest that it is better for the child to leave Chen Lan. Based on what you said, I think Chen Lan is a dangerous person.
“You should know that Chen Lan has only just begun. People change little by little. Maybe the impact she has on the child now is not significant, but over time, she will become even worse. Just like domestic violence, at the beginning, men who hit women will apologize and restrain themselves. Once they start, no one can stop them.”
Looking at the decorations in the room, as well as Zhou Jianguo’s speech and advice, Luo Bei couldn’t help but express her doubts, “I think you must be a very capable person, how come…”
Zhou Jianguo understood what she meant and laughed, “You didn’t expect that I’m just a laborer?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look down on your profession, but…”
“I had no choice, my family was poor, and I didn’t even finish primary school.”
Luo Bei looked at him suspiciously, “Really?”
He just smiled at her.
In fact, even himself does not really know what his educational background was…
“Oh, by the way, this is my business card.” Zhou Jianguo took a card from the cabinet and handed it to Luo Bei.
Curious, Luo Bei took the card and looked at it, “….”
“Well, the thing is, your situation gave me an idea. I think I’m pretty good at handling interpersonal disputes,” Zhou Jianguo said, recalling how he had settled conflicts among his colleagues on the construction site in the past. But in front of Luo Bei, Zhou Jianguo saw his talent, “So, if you have any difficult problems in the future, you can come to me. I’ll price it according to the difficulty of the situation. Of course, this time is free.”
“Have you gotten any business yet?” Luo Bei asked.
Zhou Jianguo nodded, “I successfully took on a job today. It’s for a tenant in Building 15. She was forced by her parents to go on a blind date, so she had no choice but to lie to them that she already had a boyfriend. Her parents will come visit in a couple of days, and I’ll play the role of her boyfriend for two days.”
Luo Bei: “….Aren’t you tired? I see you have so many part-time jobs. You also work on the construction site during the day. Can your body handle it?”
Zhou Jianguo smiled, revealing a set of white teeth, “Honestly, I don’t feel tired.”
To put it bluntly, he liked money, he liked to make money.
Even he himself didn’t know why he was so interested in making money.