RGL – Chapter 126

After Teacher Zhang left, Tang Man huffed angrily and said, “What kind of person is that, always bullying others? You’re just too easygoing! Next time she provokes you, just slap her right across the face and let her see what’s what.”

Su Min couldn’t help but laugh. “And you’re a class monitor, aren’t you? How can you be thinking about hitting people?”

“What about it if I’m a monitor? Being a monitor doesn’t mean I just sit around doing nothing. If someone’s bullying me, do I just let them keep bullying me?”

Su Min smiled and said, “Did you not see how many people she brought with her just now? If it really came to a fight, I’d be the one at a disadvantage. If she tries to bully me alone next time, I’ll make sure to give it right back to her.”

Tang Man looked like she’d had an epiphany. “That’s true. I didn’t think your brain was not only smart for studying, but also sharp when it comes to this sort of thing.”

Su Min shook her head, laughing. “I was just joking, and you actually took it seriously? Fighting and brawling goes on your record, you know. I don’t want some ugly mark on my file because of someone like that.”

Once the costumes were ready, Su Min and Liao Zhaodi went outside with Tang Man and the others to watch the performances.

Zhang Panpan and Yin Jing had already saved seats for them. As soon as they saw them come out, they waved.

“Su Min, my sister came too!” Zhang Panpan said excitedly, pointing to a corner nearby. Sun Yan and Zhang Qingqing were sitting there, chatting while watching the stage. For past school events, none of her family ever came, so she was really happy that her sister made it this time.

Su Min waved to Sun Yan and the others in greeting, then turned to look for her own parents and uncle’s family.

There were too many people, so she couldn’t spot them at first. She searched more carefully and finally saw her family sitting toward the middle. Not only had her uncle’s family come, but even her grandmother and Doudou were there too.

Sun Qiufang was looking in her direction and, upon seeing her daughter, waved and called her over.

But with the noise of the crowd, Su Min couldn’t hear her.

So she simply got up and decided to go over and chat with her family for a bit. She had only walked a few steps when she suddenly noticed a familiar face not far from where her parents were sitting. It was Gao Hong’s current husband—the one she’d seen before.

Standing beside him was a male student, and the two of them seemed to be in a bit of a scuffle.

Su Min looked carefully and recognized the student—it was Li Liang.

Su Min knew that Li Liang more or less held a grudge against the Su family because of Zhang Lihong’s imprisonment.

So whenever she saw Li Liang at school, he always had an unpleasant look on his face. Su Min never paid him any mind—her family hadn’t done anything wrong. Like her parents had said, even if Zhang Lihong hadn’t been the mastermind, she was still directly involved. When she did it, she never thought it would kill someone, or that it would bring such calamity to the Su family. Now that something had happened, of course they wouldn’t sympathize with Zhang Lihong or Li Liang.

So even though she saw Li Liang and Gao Hong’s husband struggling now, she had no intention of getting involved.

She walked straight over to Sun Hai and the others, picked up Doudou and gave him a kiss, then said to Sun Qiufang and the rest, “Mom, Dad, it’s getting cold. If it gets any colder later, you should head home early. I’ll take a cab back by myself.”

“It’s fine. There are so many people here, it’s not even cold. I was feeling hot just a moment ago,” Sun Qiufang said.

She held her daughter’s hand and, feeling that it was a little cold, frowned when she saw that Su Min was only wearing a wool coat without a padded jacket. “I told you to put on an extra layer and you didn’t listen. What’s the point of looking nice if you’re not warm?”

“Mom, padded jackets are too bulky. I don’t feel comfortable wearing them.”

Just thinking of that big puffy jacket hanging at home made Su Min feel uneasy. She used to not care about appearance at all and would wear whatever was available. But now she was learning to care about how she looked. She didn’t want to be reminded of how round she looked at eighteen. In this life, she wanted to at least be pretty for once.

Sun Qiufang understood what her daughter was thinking and didn’t say much more in front of so many people. But she made up her mind to make Su Min dress more warmly once they got home. It would be bad if she caught a cold.

A little while later, the performance on stage began.

Su Min didn’t have a seat, so she squatted next to Sun Qiufang to watch together.

The first performance was Su Wenwen and her group’s traditional dance.

They weren’t professional dancers, but most of them had learned a little when they were young, so they had some foundation. Plus, the school had specially invited a teacher to help them practice for this show, so the performance looked quite decent.

Watching Su Wenwen on stage, Sun Qiufang was briefly dazed. She lowered her head to look at Su Min. “Why didn’t you ever tell me Wenwen goes to the same school as you?”

She knew Su Wenwen liked to set her daughter up—she’d done it many times back in middle school. Who knew what she was up to now in high school?

“She has nothing to do with me. Why should I mention her to you guys?”

To Su Min, Su Wenwen really wasn’t a big deal. Back then, even with her maternal grandfather’s backing, she couldn’t do anything to her. Now, even less so.

Sun Qiufang pursed her lips in displeasure and said, “If she tries any funny business again, you have to tell us. Don’t keep it to yourself like last time, got it?”

“Got it,” Su Min agreed obediently this time.

After Su Wenwen’s dance ended, the host came back on stage to announce the next performance. Su Min didn’t want to keep squatting, so after letting Sun Qiufang know, she returned to her seat with Zhang Panpan and the others.

Just as she sat down, she noticed Li Liang—who had been struggling with someone earlier—was now frantically looking for someone.

Their eyes met, and a flicker of excitement crossed Li Liang’s face. He immediately started running in Su Min’s direction.

Su Min was stunned. Is this guy coming to pick a fight with me?

“Su Min,” Li Liang called as he weaved through the crowd, stopping in front of her. “Su Min, I saw that guy. Come with me and help find someone!”

“What?”

Su Min didn’t react right away. She just stared straight at Li Liang.

“He’s the one who hurt your family’s supermarket. I’ve seen him talking to my mom. I only saw him once, but I remember his face. At the time, I didn’t know what he did, but when my mom mentioned the meeting time with that man, I realized it was him.”

Su Min was shocked and immediately stood up. “Are you serious? Where?”

“He was just here, but after I recognized him, I don’t know where he went. I kept looking but couldn’t find him.” Li Liang’s expression turned frustrated again.

Hearing it had just happened, Su Min immediately thought of the man who had been tugging at Li Liang earlier—Gao Hong’s current husband.

She asked anxiously, “You mean the man who was pulling you just now?”

Li Liang was surprised. “You saw that? Yes, that’s him! And he still wouldn’t admit it.”

Tang Man and Liao Zhaodi were listening from the side, completely confused. Tang Man pointed at Li Liang and said, “What are you babbling about?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” Li Liang replied sullenly. He then looked at Su Min with a hint of blame. “You saw it, why didn’t you come over and help? If you had, maybe we could’ve caught him.”

Su Min was still thinking about why Gao Hong’s husband would target her family. Hearing Li Liang’s complaint, she frowned and said, “How was I supposed to know what you were doing just now? Alright, I get it. I’ll go look for him.”

Scolded by Su Min, Li Liang immediately fell silent.

Although he resented the Su family for getting his mom sent to prison, he also knew that what his mom had done caused serious harm to their supermarket. So when it came to Su Min, he both resented her and felt inferior.

Now that she knew who it was, Su Min wasn’t in a rush.

She had identified the person, and she didn’t believe he could get far.

Plus, after what happened last time with Zhang Lihong almost turning the tables on them, she knew she had to be careful. She couldn’t act rashly, especially without evidence. So she planned to go home and talk it over with her family to figure out how to gather proof and catch the man.

The performance ended rather quickly—it started at 7:30 and wrapped up by 9:00.

With the teachers and student leaders organizing the exit, people began leaving in an orderly fashion.

After saying goodbye to Tang Man and the others, Su Min went straight to the school gate to meet Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang so they could go home together.

Just as she reached the gate, she saw Su Wenwen in a red wool coat with her hair down, being held close by a middle-aged man as they walked toward a car parked by the roadside.

Looking at the man’s back and his outfit, Su Min recognized him—it was Gao Hong’s current husband, the same man who might have sabotaged her family’s supermarket.

She thought to herself, He’s so close to Su Wenwen… Could it be that he did all this for her? Otherwise, what motive would he even have?

Meanwhile, Wang Mingsong helped Su Wenwen into the front passenger seat, then walked around to the driver’s side.

As soon as he got in, he naturally reached over and grabbed Su Wenwen’s exposed hand. “Why’s your hand so cold? Let me warm it up.” He began rubbing her palm between his hands, blowing warm air onto it and even letting his lips brush her skin.

Su Wenwen had already felt uncomfortable being held earlier. Now, with her hand being grabbed, every hair on her body stood on end. She quickly pulled her hand back. “Uncle, let’s go home quickly, I’m cold.”

“Alright, let’s head off now.”

Only then did Wang Mingsong release her hand and start the car, driving away from the school entrance.

He didn’t speak much along the way, just calmly drove. He was still upset about being recognized by Zhang Lihong’s son at the school event today.

But after seeing Su Wenwen dance on stage, he felt the day hadn’t been a total loss.

Who would’ve thought? In just two years, this little girl had grown into such a graceful beauty—far prettier than Gao Hong ever was.

And she had a certain energy that Gao Hong lacked.

From what he’d observed, this girl probably wasn’t all that innocent anymore. She was always coming home late, often went out with boys, who knew how many boyfriends she’d had. Otherwise, how could she have that seductive aura?

The more he thought about it, the more heated he felt.

Although it wasn’t very late, it was a cold night and there weren’t many people on the street. Wang Mingsong deliberately took a detour to a quieter spot and parked the car.

Seeing Su Wenwen dozing off in the passenger seat, he suddenly reached over, yanked open her collar, and leaned down over her.

“Ah! Uncle, what are you doing?!” Su Wenwen jolted awake and began pushing him away with all her strength, one hand desperately reaching for the door handle.

Wang Mingsong grabbed her hand, about to pull up her thermal top, when suddenly a flash of light approached—headlights from a small car ahead.

Startled, he quickly let go and sat up straight.

It was just another car passing by with its lights on.

Not daring to act again, Wang Mingsong was waiting for the car to pass when Su Wenwen took the chance to open the door and escape.

He watched her run off into the distance and slapped the steering wheel in frustration.

Su Wenwen ran all the way to the main road and quickly hailed a taxi to rush home.

When she arrived, Gao Hong was coaxing her child to sleep. Seeing Su Wenwen come back disheveled and terrified, she was alarmed. “Wenwen, what happened to you?”

“Mom, help me! Uncle tried to assault me!” Su Wenwen ran into her mother’s arms, crying.

The noise woke up Wang Tianci, who had just fallen asleep, and he burst into tears.

Hearing what Su Wenwen said, Gao Hong was shocked, but with the baby crying, she could only focus on soothing him.

Outside, Madam Wang heard her grandson crying and came in wearing a coat. When she saw Su Wenwen crying, her face darkened. “What are you crying for? You scared Tianci!” She picked up the baby and muttered, “He’ll sleep with me. I’ve never seen a worse mother than you. No wonder your daughter turned out like this. You better not come near Tianci anymore.” With a cold huff, she walked out with the baby.

Gao Hong didn’t want to be separated from her son, but seeing how angry her mother-in-law was, she didn’t dare say anything. She could only watch silently as the baby was taken away. Sitting next to her still-crying daughter, she felt a sudden wave of irritation.

“What exactly happened? Stop crying in the middle of the night.”

Su Wenwen replied tearfully, “Mom, uncle tried to take advantage of me. He pulled at my clothes.”

“What? That’s impossible.” Gao Hong’s expression showed disbelief. Wang Mingsong might not be the best husband, but he had always treated the kids and her well—especially Wenwen. When Wenwen wanted to go to high school, he even spent money and pulled strings to get her in.

“Mom, I’m telling the truth. Look—my clothes are all messed up.” Su Wenwen quickly showed her disheveled clothes.

Seeing they really were messy, Gao Hong looked doubtful. She hesitated and said, “Go back to your room and rest. I’ll ask your uncle about it later.”

“Mom, you have to stand up for me.” After crying a few more times, Su Wenwen reluctantly returned to her room. She’d never been humiliated like this before and was determined to have her mom take her side.

After she left, Gao Hong couldn’t sleep. Although she suspected something was off, she also knew Wenwen had a history of reckless behavior and wasn’t always trustworthy.

Not long after, Wang Mingsong returned looking tired. Seeing Gao Hong still awake, he asked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I was waiting for you,” she replied with a frown. “Didn’t you go to Wenwen’s performance? Why did you come back later than her?”

“Why are you asking that?” Wang Mingsong undressed and lay down with his eyes closed.

Gao Hong hesitated, then said, “Wenwen said… you pulled at her clothes. Is that true?”

At this, Wang Mingsong shot up, furious. “She said that about me?!”

Startled by his reaction, Gao Hong could only nod dumbly.

His face darkened. “She dares accuse me? Do you know what she did? When I went to pick her up, she was hugging some boy! I scared him off and scolded her a bit, and she talked back and ran off alone. I didn’t say anything to you because I didn’t want to hurt her reputation. But now she’s slandering me?”

Listening to all that, Gao Hong’s emotions were all over the place. In the end, she asked uncertainly, “Are you telling the truth?”