QTIMP -Chapter 67 Character Persona – Lazy (Part 15)

He reached out and patted the person standing in front on the shoulder. That person had been watching the commotion, right at the critical moment, and was clearly annoyed at being interrupted, turning his head with a frown.

Then he saw the husband involved—Commander Lu of the First Battalion—and quickly stepped aside, even shoving lightly at the person in front of him.

Lu Hongjun was carrying a lunchbox, the aroma wafting faintly, as he walked straight to the center of the commotion.

There, he saw Yang Fang lying on the ground, while his wife was gripping Si Lai by the collar, her eyes flashing with a cold, accusatory glare.

“Come on, tell everyone—how exactly did I take advantage of you?”

Si Lai had been maintaining a gentle, timid demeanor before, but being grabbed by the collar like this made it impossible to keep up the act.

“Qiuqiu, I didn’t— it wasn’t me, it’s a misunderstanding by Yang Fang.”

Si Qiu didn’t buy her excuses. “Oh? How is it a misunderstanding? Explain the situation clearly to me, don’t be vague.”

Si Lai stammered, repeating herself over and over, barely forming a few coherent sentences. “It really wasn’t my fault—I don’t know why Xiaofang said that.”

“I’m just asking you to clarify what happened, but you’re being vague and avoiding the point. What are you trying to cover up?”

Being questioned like this, Si Lai could only shake her head, tears falling freely.

Si Qiu spoke slowly, but every word was clear and loud. “This morning, you came back from tide-pooling with a bucket that had only a few seafood pieces and asked me if I wanted to trade. I saw that although there weren’t many, their size was decent, so I agreed to the exchange and took them home.”

At that moment, Yang Fang was helped to her feet by someone. Hearing this, she quickly pointed at her again. “Yes, you took them home—but did you actually trade anything? If not, isn’t this robbery?”

Si Qiu no longer looked at Yang Fang but turned to Si Lai. “I didn’t take anything in exchange, that’s true, but tell me—over this period of time, how much have you borrowed from my place? Just to name a few things: not long ago, you took two eggs and three ounces of fatty meat from my home. Tell me, is that enough to cover the things you took? At the time, she said it was in exchange with me, and I thought she was just using these things to settle the balance—repaying a debt isn’t natural? And that doesn’t even include the dried mushrooms, walnut kernels, pine nuts, and preserved vegetables you took from my place earlier, which my mother sent me. How do those compare to your two crabs? Si Lai, do you really think I’m a fool? I’m lazy, sure, and I don’t like fussing over small matters—but that doesn’t mean you can just take advantage of me.”

At that moment, Li Anmin, who had earlier been given two large White Rabbit candies and had gone to fetch help, arrived with Lu Hongqi. Wen Xin—Yang Fang’s husband—was also there.

On the way over, Li Anmin had already explained what happened, and combined with what they just heard, the two men now understood the full story.

Lu Hongqi felt embarrassed, and Wen Xin felt ashamed. Wen Xin was a man in his thirties, managing the Second Battalion together with Lu Hongqi.

He and Yang Fang were both on their second marriages. His first wife had given him a son and a daughter, but both children had passed away at ages eight and five due to illness. He married Yang Fang to help care for the children.

Yang Fang had been fairly attractive and young, so he had been satisfied—but who would have thought she was so reckless? Getting involved in other people’s family affairs—what were you thinking?

Now, being manipulated and having a handle on him, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

As soon as he came in, he quickly apologized to Lu Hongjun. “Commander Lu, I’m sorry. My wife hasn’t had much schooling. She’s impulsive and acts without thinking. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to educate her properly when I get home, so she knows what to say and what not to say.”

Lu Hongjun lounged lazily against the counter nearby, four stacked lunch boxes beside him. Hearing Wen Xin’s words, he lifted his eyelids slightly.

“That has nothing to do with me. Your wife wasn’t spewing nonsense at me either.”

Wen Xin was momentarily taken aback, then pushed up his glasses and forced a smile. “Captain Lu is right. I’ll have her apologize to your lady immediately.”

Lu Hongjun just smiled quietly. He didn’t say anything, but his support for Si Qiu was unmistakable.

Wen Xin went straight over and pulled Yang Fang to Si Qiu’s side. “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry! My wife wasn’t thinking straight and caused you trouble!”

“So you’re letting her apologize?” Si Qiu lifted her chin, looking both domineering and cute.

“All right, all right.” He stepped Yang Fang forward, tugging her hand and giving it a subtle, warning squeeze with a cold glare.

Surrounded by everyone and being pulled along by her husband, Yang Fang felt utterly embarrassed. But she had no choice but to lower her head and apologize, her voice barely audible.

“Si Qiu… I’m sorry?”

“What did you say? I didn’t hear clearly.”

Biting her lip hard, Yang Fang spoke louder. “Si Qiu, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come over and argued without knowing the situation.”

Tears fell as she spoke, her voice choked with emotion, as if she had suffered some great grievance. The crowd’s attention immediately shifted.

“Oh, it’s not a big deal. Apologizing is enough. We’re all living in the same military district anyway.”

“Exactly. Xiaofang may be a bit hot-tempered, but she means well.”

Si Qiu, lazy as she was, had a rebellious streak. Normally, a sincere apology might have been enough—but with her current attitude, forgiveness couldn’t come easily.

“All right, I accept your apology. But your words did hurt me. I’m not asking for compensation, though—you’ll spend a month cleaning the public areas in front of our building. Don’t say I’m bullying you; even thieves and burglars would have to do labor reform in prison! Your mouth has a way of speaking that could get someone killed. I’m only making you work, not reform—you should consider yourself lucky. And don’t claim you have no time. After all, you had time to come argue with me, so there’s time to accept your punishment. No one’s going to believe you otherwise.”

At first, Wen Xin thought his wife was fairly clever. But as soon as the tears fell and Si Qiu struck that pose, the mood immediately shifted. Who knew this captain’s wife was even harder to deal with?

With just a few words, she had turned the sense of justice and rightness entirely to her side—and his wife would spend the next month losing face. It was a subtle kind of “killing without blood.”

Yet he could do nothing; the leverage was in her hands.

“All right, all right, sister-in-law. I’ll make sure she follows through and accepts supervision from everyone here.”

His words and attitude were flawless, leaving a very good impression. Everyone whispered quietly about his honesty and tolerance.

Once the matter was mostly settled, Wen Xin pulled his wife to leave. Passing by Si Lai, he paused slightly and whispered:

“Sister-in-law, my wife’s not very cunning. She really can’t figure out your twists and turns. It’s better if she doesn’t interact with you much in the future!”