Chapter 185: Who wronged who (II)?
"Ziyan, you are being unfair. How am I supposed to know why he did not like you? Maybe he just didn’t want to get along with you. How can you say that I was the one who defamed you?" Han Ruochen questioned with a raise of her brow. She didn’t do anything, and she was not going to admit that she did something as petty as defaming someone.
"Mom, look at this! Sister refuses to admit that she did it. There is no way to get the truth out of her; she is being shameless!" Han Ziyan was at a loss for words.
But Han Ruochen was not going to let this woman speak against her and receive a one-sided beating. She turned to look at her father and said to him, "Dad, do you know what happened earlier this morning? My sister came to the docks when Master Zhai and I were looking at the newly delivered motorboat. She then told him that I was not acting like a woman at all. That I should stop pursuing something that only fools would, and I should look for a job just like hers. Then Master Zhai asked her if she was someone who bribed the higher-ups and purchased her job."
Han Ziyan was stunned when she realised that the young man was actually Zhai Heng. the young master of the Zhai family and her intestines turned green with regret but that only made her hate Han Ruochen even more. She hated Han Ruochen for not introducing her to the young master. If she had told her that it was Zhai Heng, then she would have been even more careful with him.
"Isn’t it because you told him the truth?" Han Ziyan now refused to admit defeat. She did not believe that Han Ruochen did not badmouth her in front of Zhai Heng.
"Why would I tell him the truth? Not to mention that I had no idea that you bought a job. Our family is in such a situation and yet you ended up buying a job. How can I know about it?" Han Ruochen quarreled back and as soon as she began speaking, Meng Yunhan’s expression changed. She glared at her and said, "You are talking nonsense; there is no such thing. Ziyan got the job with her own efforts!"
Han Ruochen ignored her mother and continued, "Dad, everyone in the quad knows that Madam Zhai followed her husband and quit her own job. The women around her told her that there was no point in following her husband to the military, and she should just continue with her job. But Madam Zhai followed Master Zhai despite all the rumours and comments. Of course, Young Master Zhai is going to be pissed off. Who asked her to say such a despicable thing?"
"Saying that following one’s passion is foolish and all of that – isn’t it the same as telling young master Zhai that what his mother did was foolish as well?"
"Ziyan, did you really say that?" Han Yichen sucked in a breath and turned to look at his adopted daughter with a bit of a headache. He already had a very good idea what this girl had done. He couldn’t believe that Ziyan said such a foolish thing. It was not a surprise that Zhai Heng lost his temper with her. In fact, she should be thankful to Han Ruochen for stopping Zhai Heng from taking this matter any further.
Because last time someone mentioned this matter in front of Zhai Heng, that boy had beaten the person up. Compared to that, Zhai Heng had been fairly courteous with Han Ziyan because of Han Ruochen; at least he did not beat the person up.
Han Ziyan was able to escape a beating from Zhai Heng all because of her sister, and yet the second she returned home, she lodged a complaint against Han Ruochen, saying that she had ruined her reputation. It was truly too much!
"I did not know that!" Han Ziyan exclaimed. She really had no idea that there was such a history to the Zhai family; if she knew that Madam Zhai had followed the same unreasonable path as Han Ruochen, then she would have never said those words.
"Even if you don’t know how, can you be tactless like this? What is wrong with choosing your own field of work? I don’t work a government job, does it mean that I am not doing well in life?"
Han Ruochen waited for her father to finish speaking; she then continued, saying, "Dad, let’s go back to the point where my sister said that I defamed her. How did I defame her? Firstly, I had no idea that my mom had given her money to purchase a job, so how could I even mention it in front of young master Zhai? Secondly, even if I did mention it, where did I defame her? Mom gave her the money, and she bought that job; this is a simple and honest truth. There were no job openings that could have explained Ziyan’s getting into the army canteen. Defaming her would mean that I was telling lies, but where is the lie here? I haven’t even started asking about why mom is still spending money without thinking, but before I could even bring this matter up, I was held accountable for something that I did not even do."
"You...you shut up! I did not give Ziyan any money!" Meng Yunhan was worried that things might escalate further if her husband were to blow his fuse again and scolded Han Ruochen, "Stop spewing lies or else I will sew your mouth shut."
"Alright, shut up. Do you think I don’t know what is going on?" Han Yichen was furious. They had such a shortage of money; he was worrying all day long about how to split himself in half and get more money in his hands because he still had kids he needed to take care of, and yet Meng Yunhan was still focusing on Ziyan. The fact that she could take out a thousand yuan to buy Han Ziyan a job proved that she still had money at hand, and yet she kept asking him to give her more money!
