Chapter 24

With Lu Jingzhe’s words, the crowd fell silent.

“You gave it to her?” He Shanshan looked at Lu Jingzhe incredulously and blurted out, “Impossible.”

If it was really him who gave it, why didn’t Xia Qingning say so earlier? He was clearly trying to protect her. She immediately said, “She spent ten yuan on things today. I just happened to lose ten yuan. How coincidental is that?”

“Who said I only had ten yuan?” Xia Qingning coldly glanced at He Shanshan, confidently walking into the house.

She picked up her cloth bag and, in front of everyone, took out a handful of ten-yuan bills. Then she looked at He Shanshan and asked, “Is this your money too?”

Seeing Xia Qingning pull out so much money, He Shanshan was instantly dumbfounded. The aggressive attitude she had just had disappeared completely.

Seeing the situation turn around, the cunning Wang Mingfang immediately stepped in to smooth things over:

“Qingning, you really are something. Jingzhe gave you money, why didn’t you say so earlier? You caused such a big misunderstanding.”

It was clearly their fault, but now that the truth was out, they were pushing the blame onto Xia Qingning. Were they bullying her because she had no one to support her? Lu Jingzhe’s eyes narrowed, revealing a cold light. He asked in a low voice, “What? Do I need to report to you when I give her money?”

Finally, they got to the point. Xia Qingning knew it was her turn to play her part. She turned to Wang Mingfang, her voice tinged with grievance and helplessness, “Maybe Auntie thinks that the money you gave me should be kept by her, just like my monthly salary.”

Hearing this, everyone around understood. He Shanshan was so sure that Xia Qingning didn’t have any money, so it turned out that Wang Mingfang had been collecting her monthly salary.

In the silence, Wu Xiaodong, who had just arrived, suddenly spoke up, “No wonder Qingning Jie has been working at the textile factory for a few years, but she doesn’t have many decent clothes to wear. She also saves money on everything. It turns out that her money has been sucked away by a vampire.”

“Right, she took her salary and then accused her of being a thief. That’s too immoral!” Mai Miao, who was standing nearby, also spoke up for Xia Qingning.

Hearing what they said, the onlookers immediately started chattering:

“He Shanshan has only been working at the supply and marketing cooperative for a few months. Her salary isn’t high, and she’s always dressed to the nines. It turns out she’s been sucking her daughter-in-law’s blood to support her daughter.”

“She’s not her daughter-in-law. Jingzhe isn’t her son.”

“That’s even worse!”

“I thought Wang Mingfang was a nice person. How could she…”

Seeing that everyone was looking at her with strange eyes, Wang Mingfang knew that she couldn’t hide it anymore. She immediately changed her tune, “Jingzhe, don’t misunderstand. It’s not just Qingning’s salary. Your elder brother, your elder sister-in-law, and Shanshan’s salaries are all kept with me.

Shanshan just lost some money and was in a hurry. That’s why she said that to Qingning.” She pulled her daughter over and pushed her in front of Xia Qingning. “Shanshan, you stinky girl, quickly apologize to Qingning.”

He Shanshan didn’t have Wang Mingfang’s cunning and scheming. She still hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation. She argued, “Just because she has money doesn’t mean she didn’t steal my money. My money is really gone. If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?”

“You stinky girl, what are you rambling about?” Hearing her daughter’s stupid words, Wang Mingfang wished she could shut her mouth. After scolding her daughter, she immediately put on a smile and said to Xia Qingning, “Qingning, don’t mind Shanshan. It was our fault today. We shouldn’t have wrongly accused you. Auntie apologizes.” As she spoke, she bent down to bow to Xia Qingning.

Xia Qingning was quick and grabbed her arm. She wouldn’t let her get away with a perfunctory bow. She said sincerely, “Auntie, don’t do that. It’s not entirely Shanshan’s fault today.”

Hearing Xia Qingning’s words, everyone present was speechless. This Lu Er’s wife was really too easygoing. She was wrongly accused like this, and she was still speaking up for others. They didn’t know whether to say she was foolish or stupid!

Lu Jingzhe couldn’t help but frown. Wu Xiaodong and Mai Miao, who were standing nearby, looked at Xia Qingning with puzzlement.

Hearing Xia Qingning soften, Wang Mingfang was the happiest. She was overjoyed and was about to grab Xia Qingning’s hand and praise her for being sensible. But the next moment, she heard Xia Qingning say even more sincerely, “It’s also my fault. I don’t have any money on me. I have to be treated like a thief when I buy something.” As she spoke, she suddenly changed the subject, “To avoid this from happening again, I should keep the salary I gave you, Auntie. I won’t give you my salary anymore.”

As soon as these words came out, Wang Mingfang was stunned.

She had just said in front of everyone that she kept their monthly salaries and that it wasn’t Shanshan’s fault for wrongly accusing her. It turned out that she was trying to have a valid reason to ask for her salary back.

Now, she was also saying that she wouldn’t give her salary to her anymore. With so many people watching, the matter had been brought to light. Now, she couldn’t cover it up anymore.

Wang Mingfang couldn’t understand. When did this dead girl become so smart and calculating?

“How can that be!” Before Wang Mingfang could speak, He Shanshan couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted.

If she didn’t hand over her salary, where would she get money to buy beautiful clothes, shoes, and delicious food?

“Why not?” The one who spoke was Lu Jingzhe. He had a cold face, and his whole body exuded a cold aura. His voice was strong and powerful, with a hint of dissatisfaction and anger, and an irresistible force.

He Shanshan was intimidated by this powerful aura and didn’t dare to speak again. She could only look at her mother, Wang Mingfang, for help.

Xia Qingning seized the opportunity and looked at Wang Mingfang with a puzzled expression, “Auntie, is there anything wrong with me wanting my hard-earned salary back?” After asking, she said sincerely, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask for more. The money I gave you is all recorded in this notebook. It’s a total of 478 yuan. When I gave it to you, how much I gave, every entry is written clearly. Take a look.”

Then she took out the notebook that the original body used to keep track of her expenses from her bag and handed it to Wang Mingfang.