Meanwhile Xue Ning's parents hid a smile at their words. They had always wanted to get even with these people, but for the sake of keeping friendly relations in a small town, they were forced to hold their tongue more than once.
Yue Niang in particular, was the target of many malicious comments by these women, who eagerly spread rumours that she was a vixen out to seduce their husbands and sons. It didn't matter that they were all lies, everyone latched onto it like a starving man to a buffet, spreading it around.
Jealousy was a disease, and the entire town was infected with it! Things got so bad for a time that they had to dip even deeper into their savings to ensure that their restaurant survived, because no one would visit them, claiming that her food was poisoned or drugged.
Thankfully, with enough time, most people forgot the worst of the accusations, but Poh Jin Lian had never stopped making derisive comments about her or her restaurant, and Yue Niang and her husband could only endure.
Their restaurant needed customers for them to earn money to raise their children, and they learnt firsthand that poisonous words from her lips could do a lot of damage.
If this was 20 years ago, these women, especially Poh Jin Lian, would never have made a single peep in their direction, let alone damage their livelihoods and insult her children!
But now…the time for vengeance has arrived, and it was brought about by Sun Jingwei, the son of the man responsible for plunging them into this hell. Perhaps this was poetic justice, and the heavens just had a sense of humour!
"Who are you to even say this to us?" Poh Jin Lian declared haughtily. "I bet you're a nobody too, especially if you're mixing with someone like Li Xue Ning. Here's a word of advice, nothing good ever happens when you're with someone like her!"
"Someone like her? What do you mean 'someone like her'?" Jingwei asked casually, even as his eyes grew flintier with every word coming out of her mouth. This confirmed it; these women somehow had it out for the Li family, but what confused him was why? They seemed to be an entirely average family.
Poh Jin Lian drew herself to her full height, smugly preparing to insult her favourite victim. "I don't blame you for not knowing, but this girl is not a good person! Not only is she violent, she seduces men by pretending to be friends with them, always toying with their feelings but she never commits! A vixen!"
"A vixen! Wow Xue Ning, you didn't tell me your town had a bunch of crazy women!" Jingwei exclaimed as he raised an eyebrow at the group of women, then turned to Xue Ning.
Vixen? That was ridiculous - he had dealt with real vixens, and Xue Ning wasn't one of them. She was his adorable little kitten that he longed to cuddle and treasure.
"Well, it's not as though they're tourist attractions to brag about," Xue Ning said, sighing. It was people like Poh Jin Lian that reminded her why she had to leave, even if she would miss her family.
"Nah, I think their mouths are big enough to qualify for a world record." Jingwei said, shaking his head. "Calling you a vixen? They must have a vivid imagination - or maybe they're insane. A virus infected their brains and turned them into morons. Are you sure it's safe to be around them? What if they're contagious?"
Meanwhile, Mrs Poh and her gang of friends spluttered at his words. Never before had they dealt with someone so disrespectful!
"And you still want to get them to help at my family's restaurant?" Xue Ning let out an ugly laugh. "Fat hope."
"What to do? I'm someone that believes in the good in people," Jingwei said, only half-joking. "So what do you women think? Are you going to prove me right and go and help? Or are you going to stand here wasting everyone's precious time, spouting lies to soothe your ego?"
The group of women hemmed and hawed, trying to think of a way out of this mess. They've never expected things to escalate this far! They just wanted to make themselves feel better by picking on their 'favourite' family.
How did they know there would be unexpected support from Li Xue Ning's new city friends? Li Xue Ning was never supposed to have friends in the first place!
"Let's not waste any more time with this farce," Jingwei said, his face growing darker as he watched them continue to hem and haw in indecision.
"Since you've arrived, you've been nothing but rude to a family you claim to be helping. It's a measure of the Li's family magnanimity and good character that they haven't told all of you to shut the fuck up!"
"How dare you speak to us this way! Do you know who I am?!" Mrs Poh yelled. "My husband is the Mayor here! I'll have you arrested, even if you're a bigshot from Shanghai!"
Jingwei laughed condescendingly, and his smirk was better than the afternoon sun when it came to making Xue Ning hot under her collar. Her mouth felt drier than when she was trying to argue with her family.
"Call him here then. I'll wait right here for him to arrest me, if he dares. Let's make a wager - if he dares to arrest me, I'll kneel and humbly apologise for my words."
"Hmph! Of course!" Mrs Poh crossed her arms, tilting her chin up arrogantly. But Jingwei held up a hand to stop her from celebrating prematurely.
"But if he doesn't arrest me, you'll go on your knees and apologise for all the rude things you've said to the Li family. I have a feeling you'll be kneeling for a long time! If not, you'll be arrested instead!"
"Don't be disrespectful, young man!" Mrs Poh declared, shaking with rage. "Just you wait!"
Meanwhile Tai Cheng used the chance to pull his wife aside, hurriedly whispering into her ear.
"Should we stop him? What if he really gets arrested?"
"Nonsense, this is the best show I've watched in years." Yue Niang whispered back hotly. "You will not deprive me of the chance to see Poh Jin Lian on her knees!"
Yue Niang knew that if Sun Jingwei was anything like his father, she would be seeing metaphorical bloodshed by today, and she couldn't wait!
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only