Grandma Hua also realized that a meeting would be dangerous. "Then we won’t see him. As long as he turns over a new leaf and starts fresh, that’s enough."
Not long after Jie Jingchen, Qin Mei, and Jie Jingling left, Gao Yang came to their door to inform the elderly couple of Zhang Haoyuan’s death. Upon hearing the news, Grandma Hua immediately pretended to faint, while Old Zhang wore an expression of utter despair.
Had he not been in on the plan, he would have believed the two of them, seeing how grief-stricken they were.
Gao Yang offered a few words of feigned comfort and made to leave.
"Officer," a woman called out, stopping Gao Yang.
"Ma’am, is there something?" Gao Yang asked.
"I’m Old Zhang’s next-door neighbor. I just wanted to ask, is that troublesome son of his really dead?" the woman asked.
"He’s dead," Gao Yang replied.
"How did he die?" the woman asked curiously. She had just seen Zhang Haoyuan that morning, and now, in the afternoon, an officer was saying he was dead. It was all too bizarre.
"We busted a gambling den..."
"Good riddance," the woman interrupted, her voice filled with righteous indignation. "Those gambling dens are a menace. Who knows how many families they’ve ruined. Did Zhang Haoyuan resist arrest? Is that why you had to shoot him?"
"We were only able to raid that den because Zhang Haoyuan was working with us as an inside man," Gao Yang explained. "He was stabbed to death by the den’s boss."
"What?" The woman was stunned.
Back at home, the rash on Qin Mei’s face still hadn’t subsided. Jie Jingchen went to cook dinner while Jie Jingling went into Qin Mei’s room. She tightly grasped Qin Mei’s hand and looked at her with gratitude.
"Jing Ling, don’t look at me like that," Qin Mei said with a smile.
"Amie, thank you," Jie Jingling said. She knew a simple ’thank you’ wasn’t enough, but she truly didn’t know how else to express her gratitude to Qin Mei.
Qin Mei pulled her hand away, only to take Jie Jingling’s in her own grasp. "Jing Ling, there’s no need for ’thank you’ between us."
"Amie, you don’t understand. My master and his wife..."
"Jing Ling," Qin Mei said, shaking her head. She lowered her voice. "Careful. The walls have ears."
Jie Jingling clamped a hand over her mouth. She knew how serious this was. ’Loose lips sink ships,’ she thought. ’I have to take this secret to my grave.’
"Auntie!" Jie You’s voice rang out.
Qin Mei frowned slightly at the sound of Jie You’s voice. If Jie You was here, it meant Xu Chunyan was here again. Jie You was temporarily in Xu Chunyan’s care, which gave her an excuse to come over all the time.
’Qin Mei really didn’t understand what Xu Chunyan was thinking. She and Jie Jingwei were already divorced. Jie Jingwei had married Lin Yaru, who was now pregnant. Why couldn’t Xu Chunyan just give up?’
’If she really couldn’t let go, she should have stood her ground during the divorce and refused, no matter what. What could Jie Jingwei have done to her then?’
"Amie, it’s hot outside. You stay here with the fan. I’ll go see what’s going on," Jie Jingling said, getting up and leaving the room.
Sun Dexiang was in the courtyard, picking and eating grapes. Seeing her, Jie You ran over and hugged her enthusiastically. "Auntie!"
Sun Dexiang froze for a second before shoving Jie You off her. "Whose little brat are you? Stop hugging random people."
Sun Dexiang didn’t like children, especially boys. Her older brother’s son was always snatching her things, and her brother and sister-in-law would always guilt-trip her, saying that as an elder, she had to indulge the younger ones.
"Auntie, it’s me! Xiao You!" Jie You said, looking up at Sun Dexiang pitifully after being rejected.
"I’m not your aunt. You’ve got the wrong person." By now, Sun Dexiang had figured out who he was.
Jie You looked bewildered. He turned toward the main gate, where Xu Chunyan was just strolling in. "Mom, she said she’s not my aunt."
Xu Chunyan had only met Jie Jingling once and had long forgotten what she looked like. But judging by this woman’s age, she was too young to be Jie Jingling. ’She’s definitely not her.’ "Xiao You, come here. You’ve got the wrong person. That’s not your aunt."
"Huh?" Jie You scratched his head. When he saw Sun Dexiang reach for another grape, he immediately started yelling. "You’re a thief! You’re stealing our grapes!"
"What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat? You’re the thief!" Sun Dexiang gave Jie You a shove, only to be met with a flurry of punches and kicks. This infuriated her. She grabbed the boy and landed several hard slaps on his chubby bottom.
"Who the hell do you think you are, hitting my son?" Xu Chunyan was fiercely protective; she couldn’t stand seeing anyone lay a hand on her boy. Sun Dexiang had really messed with the wrong person this time.
She stormed forward and slapped Sun Dexiang hard across the face several times, leaving her stunned.
Xu Chunyan didn’t recognize Sun Dexiang, and Sun Dexiang didn’t recognize her either. The two women started brawling.
"You’re a bad guy! A bad guy! How dare you hit my mom! I’ll get you!" Jie You picked up the grapes Sun Dexiang had dropped, pulled one from the bunch, and threw it at her.