Chapter 12

“Shen Hongxing, don’t push it!” Lu Ping’an was furious. Shen Hongxing had called him incompetent in front of everyone? She’d never done that before. These thugs must have corrupted her.

He tried to grab Shen Hongxing, but before he could touch her, Xu Shuangshuang stepped in front. “As long as I’m here, none of you will bully our boss!”

“Who do you think you are, stopping me?!” Lu Ping’an’s anger intensified.  He addressed Shen Hongxing in a commanding tone. “Shen Hongxing, because I know you love me, I’ll give you one more chance. Come back to me immediately and promise never to associate with these thugs again, and I’ll forgive you!”

“You’re shameless! Did our boss ever say she liked you?” Chen Jiayi retorted angrily.

Cao Hongxia chimed in, “Yeah, don’t you have a mirror at home? Or pee?  Go look at yourself and see if you’re worthy!”

When Shen Jiaojiao first saw Xu Shuangshuang and the others, she found them familiar but couldn’t place them. Now she remembered – they were notorious local thugs.  They’d been dressed flamboyantly before; today’s refined attire had disguised them.

She’d given them money several times to cause trouble for Shen Hongxing.  But now they were siding with her! If they told Lu Ping’an about their past dealings, all her efforts would be wasted.

No. Absolutely not. She’d finally made everyone dislike Shen Hongxing and couldn’t fail now.

Shen Jiaojiao had an idea. She went to Shen Hongxing. “Sister, I know you’re angry with me, so you’re hanging out with these thugs. I’m here to apologize! Sister, I swear I won’t compete with you for Ping’an. Come home with us!”  She reached out to pull Shen Hongxing.

“B*tch, didn’t you hear what I said?!” Xu Shuangshuang, suspecting foul play, pushed her.

Shen Jiaojiao screamed as she fell hard to the ground.

“Jiaojiao!” Lu Ping’an rushed to help her.  Shen Jiaojiao’s knees and elbows were scraped.  With tears in her eyes, she looked…

Shen Jiaojiao sobbed, “Sister, no matter what, I’m your older sister. How could you let your gang bully me like this?”  Her strategy was to paint Shen Hongxing and the gang as a unit, making Lu Ping’an dismiss anything they said.

Lu Ping’an glared at Shen Hongxing. “Shen Hongxing, I’ve heard you’re unreasonable at home, bullying Jiaojiao, and abusing your parents. I thought you were influenced by your upbringing and turned a blind eye, but you’ve utterly disappointed me!”

“Lu Ping’an, are you an idiot? You believe everything Shen Jiaojiao says?” Shen Hongxing sneered. “Bullying Shen Jiaojiao, abusing her parents? If you had any sense, you wouldn’t believe this nonsense!”

“Yeah, Lu Ping’an, you probably don’t know what kind of person Shen Jiaojiao really is,” Xu Shuangshuang said, approaching Shen Jiaojiao, who tried to run away. Xu Shuangshuang held her back.  “She gave us money several times to wait for the boss on her way, to bully and threaten her, to force her to go back to her hometown!”

“What? Jiaojiao, did you really do that?” Disappointment filled Lu Ping’an’s face. He’d always thought Shen Jiaojiao was gentle and kind, blindly trusting her.  He never expected this side of her.

“No, no, I didn’t!” Shen Jiaojiao frantically tugged at Lu Ping’an’s clothes. “Ping’an, don’t listen to their lies! I didn’t do that. She’s trying to drive a wedge between us!”

Lu Ping’an looked at her coldly, saying nothing.  Seeing his disbelief, Shen Jiaojiao turned to Shen Hongxing. “Sister, I can tolerate you hitting and scolding me, but you can’t let your gang falsely accuse me! I’ve never met them before!”

She was right. They were Shen Hongxing’s gang and would naturally defend her. If Shen Jiaojiao had really bullied Shen Hongxing, why would she be so close to them?  This was clearly an attempt to drive a wedge between him and Shen Jiaojiao.

Lu Ping’an’s expression softened. Shen Jiaojiao, fearful, tugged at his arm. “Ping’an, I feel terrible. Can you take me to the hospital?”

Normally, Lu Ping’an would rush her to the hospital.  Today, however, he only wanted to ask Shen Hongxing why she’d complained to his uncle.

“Shen Hongxing, I ask you, did you see my uncle yesterday? Did you cry to him, saying I took Jiaojiao to the movies but not you…”

“Did you tell my uncle I was acting like a hooligan?”  So, he’d been beaten by Lu Jiaoyang?  Excellent!

Shen Hongxing watched Lu Ping’an with arms crossed, like he was a clown.

“Lu Ping’an, you think too highly of yourself.  Your sleazy actions would soil my uncle’s ears!”

“You…” Lu Ping’an was speechless, only able to yell, “Shen Hongxing, don’t gloat! You won’t last outside. You’ll be back begging us soon!” He raised his voice to maintain dominance.

Shen Hongxing wasn’t intimidated. “Lu Ping’an, instead of worrying about others, go get your head checked! You’re an idiot!”

“Shen Hongxing, you’re hopeless!” Lu Ping’an pointed at her, furious. “You’re jealous of Jiaojiao her beauty, intelligence, and competence! You’ll never be as good as her!” His hatred was undisguised.

“You think getting beaten by my grandfather and uncle will make me reconcile with you? Think again! I’m here to tell you, I can like anyone, but I will never like you!”

He scooped up Shen Jiaojiao in his arms. Shen Jiaojiao wrapped her arms around his neck, defiantly raising an eyebrow at Shen Hongxing.

See?  Still can’t beat her, can you?

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. If she does what I said, she’ll soon fall from heaven to hell!”