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Chapter 143: Like a Steamed Bun
When Zhang Qiu opened the door, He Mei knew it was definitely Zhang Qiu returning home. She hurried out and, upon seeing Zhang Qiu, rushed to his side and whispered, "Son, which Auntie is after you? Be careful."
"Don't worry, Mom."
"Auntie." Wang Jinghan greeted sweetly.
He Mei looked at Wang Jinghan and smiled, saying, "Jinghan is here! Come in, come in."
Zhang Qiu leaned close to Wang Jinghan's ear and said, "Don't tell my parents about my injury." Wang Jinghan nodded and helped Zhang Qiu into the house.
The living room was brightly lit by a chandelier. Zhang Zhi Hua sat in one corner of the sofa, looking serious as he smoked. On the other side of the sofa sat a man dressed plainly, slightly slouched with a dark face marked by deep lines, avoiding eye contact. Beside him was a plump woman sitting with an imposing demeanor, contrasting sharply with the man's figure. The woman's expression suggested someone owed her a large sum of money; her top was stretched tight against her body, reminding Zhang Qiu of an over-proofed steamed bun.
At that moment, the woman saw Zhang Qiu enter and jumped up, pointing at him as she demanded, "You are the one who is after our Jiang Xue, right?"
Although Zhang Qiu felt displeased with her rude attitude and coarse language, he respected Jiang Xue's family and respectfully called her "Auntie," then said, "I am Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue's boyfriend."
"Hah!" Upon hearing this, Auntie became even angrier. She stepped closer to Zhang Qiu until her large face was almost touching his. "You dare say you are Jiang Xue's boyfriend? Jiang Xue went to prison because of you!"
Zhang Qiu took two steps back, wiping the spit off his face as he replied, "Yes, it is because of me."
Auntie moved forward again, and Zhang Qiu hurriedly retreated, fearing more spit would land on him. He Mei tried to step in but was stopped by a glance from Zhang Zhi Hua. Auntie pointed at Wang Jinghan and said, "You are her boyfriend? She went to prison for you, and you bring this shameless girl home?"
"Watch your words." Zhang Qiu stepped forward to shield Wang Jinghan.
"Oh? So now you're protecting her?" Auntie turned her ire towards Wang Jinghan and scolded, "Do you know he has a girlfriend? His girlfriend went to prison for him! How can you still be with someone like him?"
"Auntie, right? I advise you to speak more politely. I have nothing to do with Zhang Qiu; don't involve me." Wang Jinghan looked coldly at Auntie. This unwarranted tirade was infuriating. However, thinking of Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue made her hold back her anger. It was better not to escalate things unnecessarily.
As the atmosphere grew tense enough to ignite with just a spark, the man sitting on the sofa finally spoke up.
"Why don't you ask for clarification first? Stop shouting all the time; let him explain..."
"Shut up." Auntie turned around and marched over to the man, berating him for being useless and how hard it was for the family to rely solely on women. The man shrank back into the sofa, staring at the ground without saying a word.
Auntie strutted back to Zhang Qiu like a victorious rooster. Before she could speak, Zhang Qiu interjected, "Auntie, please hold on a moment; we need to understand this first."
"Then you!" Auntie shot a glance at Wang Jinghan, who was standing next to Zhang Qiu.
"I am Jiang Xue's boyfriend. Jiang Xue ended up in prison because of me; it's all my fault..."
"Just admit it," Auntie interrupted Zhang Qiu.
Zhang Qiu looked helplessly at Auntie. Some people are just unreasonable, and there's nothing one can do when faced with such a person. After waiting for Auntie to calm down, he continued, "This girl is my friend and classmate. She is just sending me home today because of some matters. We are not lovers, and this whole situation has nothing to do with her. If you want to scold me, go ahead; she is innocent, so please don't target her."
"Innocent? How can she be innocent when she's linked arm in arm with you? I'm just a country person, but I'm not stupid! What kind of classmates walk around with their arms linked? I see that not only do you have a relationship, but it's also not an ordinary one!" Auntie was getting worked up again. She firmly believed in the saying that seeing is believing; from linking arms, she could imagine them as a couple, then kissing, and finally envisioning two bodies intertwined. Auntie had quite the imagination.
"Zhang Qiu, wasn't Jiang Xue just at our house a couple of days ago? How did she end up in prison? What on earth happened?" Before Zhang Qiu could explain, Zhang Zhi Hua slammed his hand on the table in anger. Just a few days ago, everything was fine; how did she end up in prison because of his son? His son hadn't mentioned anything about this to him.
Zhang Qiu looked at his furious father and the menacing Auntie in front of him, feeling overwhelmed. After a while, he said to Zhang Zhi Hua, "Dad, once there's no one else at home, I'll explain everything to you slowly. Right now, I can only say that neither Jiang Xue nor I did anything wrong; please believe me."
Auntie was eager to see a father-son showdown but was surprised when Zhang Zhi Hua replied, "Okay, Dad believes you."
Auntie immediately became unwilling and pointed at Zhang Zhi Hua, scolding him: "I see you're not much of a father either! Your son has caused such a big problem that even my Jiang Xue got dragged into it, and you think just believing him is enough? No wonder your son turned out this way; in my opinion, it all stems from you. Chairman Mao's good teachings have gone to waste; your family isn't good people at all!"
Suddenly, Zhang Qiu reached into his jeans pocket and flicked his hand up. A playing card spun through the air and embedded itself firmly into the wall. Before Auntie could react, she stared blankly at Zhang Qiu. When she turned back around and saw the card stuck in the wall, her face turned pale as she pointed at Zhang Qiu: "What are you doing? Who are you trying to scare?" Suddenly realizing something was off, Auntie reached up to touch her hair and found a large clump had come out.
Auntie quickly turned her head again to look at the playing card stuck in the wall and then back at Zhang Qiu. Her eyes showed fear as she stepped back several paces while looking at him anxiously: "You... don't act recklessly! I warn you; I am Jiang Xue's aunt!"
"Zhang Qiu, don't do this," Zhang Zhi Hua said to stop him, his face showing no emotion.
"Auntie, can we sit down and have a proper talk now?" Zhang Qiu said with a grin as he plopped down on the sofa.
"What do you want to talk about?" Auntie looked at Zhang Qiu in fear. She wanted to point at him but quickly withdrew her hand when she remembered the playing card on the wall.
Zhang Qiu slowly said, "Let's sit down and drink tea while we talk. We need to discuss this matter seriously—no insults or random accusations. Especially no disrespect towards my family or friends; that's what bothers me the most."
"Fine, let's talk." Auntie's words were still tough, but her body obediently sat down on the sofa.
Zhang Qiu smiled at his mother and Wang Jinghan: "Come on, let's sit down and chat."
He Mei sat next to Zhang Zhiyuan. Wang Jinghan intended to support Zhang Qiu as he moved over but abandoned that idea when she saw Auntie's glare. Instead, she closely followed behind him, ready to catch him if he stumbled.
Once everyone was seated comfortably, Zhang Qiu got straight to the point: "Auntie, why did you come to my house? It can't just be for an argument; there must be some purpose behind it. If it's to help Jiang Xue, please rest assured that I am already doing my best."
Auntie had been making a fuss for half the time, her throat dry. After taking a sip of tea, she said to Zhang Zhi Hua, "My Jiang Xue is suffering in prison, yet your son is out here living it up and flirting with other girls. I truly feel sorry for our Jiang Xue." As she spoke, Auntie even began to wipe away tears, looking as if she might throw a tantrum on the floor.
"Auntie, how can you say that? Zhang Qiu has done so much for Jiang Xue, and just today he almost..." Wang Jinghan was filled with anger, glaring at Auntie. She was upset not only because Auntie always dragged her into this, assuming she was the bad girl who flirted with other people's boyfriends, but also because Auntie misunderstood Zhang Qiu.
"Auntie!" Zhang Qiu suddenly shouted, interrupting Wang Jinghan. Wang Jinghan understood immediately and quickly closed her mouth, realizing how close she had come to saying too much in her frustration.
"What are you shouting for? I'm not deaf or mute; is it necessary to be so loud? Let me tell you, no matter how loud you are, you are still in the wrong," Auntie had recovered from her momentary daze and believed that Zhang Qiu would not dare to do anything to her.
"Let's talk nicely, Auntie. The two kids are like this; we can consider ourselves family, can't we?" He Mei tried to mediate from the side.
"Who is family with you? Look at the son you've raised; he's caused my Jiang Xue so much trouble," Auntie sneered dismissively.
He Mei was left speechless by Auntie's harsh words. Looking at Zhang Qiu's expression, it was clear that Jiang Xue must indeed be in prison. However, He Mei believed that her son was definitely not the kind of person Auntie described. There must be some unknown hardship involved. But what exactly happened between you two?
Zhang Qiu looked at Auntie's arrogant demeanor and couldn't help but recall the hardships Jiang Xue had shared with him. Jiang Xue had suffered greatly at Auntie's hands. Her words echoed in his mind, and overwhelmed by emotion, Zhang Qiu finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his hand on the table with such force that the entire tea table shook, causing ripples in the tea cups.
Seeing Zhang Qiu lose his temper shocked Auntie. She raised her hands defensively and leaned back while screaming, "What are you going to do? Do you want to hit me or something? I warn you, if you hit me, I'll call the police!"
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