Chapter 32: The Shameless Aunt

Qin Shuzhen sat dazed on the ground. It wasn’t until Luo Yaqing picked up the cloth bag and was about to leave that she snapped back to reality.

“She hit me! She stole from me! Someone help, help! Robbery in broad daylight!”

Qin Shuzhen cried and wailed, calling for help like a scoundrel, leaving Luo Yaqing speechless.

Passersby started to gather around them.

“What’s going on?”

“Who hit you?”

“Auntie, who stole from you?”

Voices chattered from all directions. With the help of a kind woman, Qin Shuzhen climbed up from the ground.

She pointed at Luo Yaqing. “It was her!”

Luo Yaqing: “…”

Before she could even explain, two male bystanders grabbed her arms.

The cloth bag in her hands was also snatched away.

“Auntie, your bag.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Qin Shuzhen hugged the returned bag and looked at Luo Yaqing smugly.

Stupid girl, let’s see how you run now!

Some concerned bystanders suggested taking the “robber” to the police station.

Luo Yaqing struggled. “Let me go, at least let me explain.”

One person snapped, “You were caught red-handed. What is there to explain?”

Others chimed in, “You can explain at the police station.”

“Yeah, take her to the station!”

“To the station!”

“Shameless girl, so young and already doing bad things!”

The angry crowd’s shouting surged like a tidal wave, almost drowning Luo Yaqing.

Qin Shuzhen watched gleefully from the side.

“I have a witness!!” Luo Yaqing suddenly shouted.

The crowd fell silent.

Luo Yaqing continued, “The bag is mine. The salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative can vouch for me.”

“Let’s go, bring her there to verify!”

The two men held onto Luo Yaqing like a criminal and began dragging her toward the cooperative store.

Qin Shuzhen panicked when she heard that, slowly backing away to slip out.

“Auntie, you can’t leave.” The kind woman grabbed her.

Qin Shuzhen forced a smile. “W-why would I need to go?”

The woman replied, “To verify with us, of course.”

Qin Shuzhen quickly waved her hands. “No, I can’t go. I’ve got things to do at home.”

She just wanted to teach that brat a lesson, to embarrass her.

She didn’t expect it to backfire.

But the woman wouldn’t let her go. And the others didn’t understand why—wasn’t she the victim? She should be cooperating.

“What’s going on here? Take your quarrel elsewhere, don’t block the doorway!”

A staff member from the supply cooperative came over, clearly irritated by the commotion.

“Comrade, here’s what happened—”

Someone briefly explained the situation to the staffer.

The staff member glanced at the crowd. “Still, you can’t just rush in like this. It’s chaos.”

“Everyone wait outside.”

Then he turned to leave, but came back a moment later to take the cloth bag.

Qin Shuzhen grew more nervous.

She cursed the nosy onlookers inwardly—should’ve just sent Luo Yaqing to the police station.

Soon, the staff member returned with a female salesperson.

He pointed at Luo Yaqing, then at Qin Shuzhen. “Who among them bought something from your counter earlier?”

The female clerk didn’t even glance at Qin Shuzhen. Her gaze landed on Luo Yaqing. “It was this young lady. She bought yarn from my counter.”

“You’re sure?” the staff member asked.

The clerk nodded.

The staff member immediately handed the cloth bag back to Luo Yaqing.

Everyone turned to Qin Shuzhen with sharp, judgmental eyes.

“She hit me first and pushed me down!” Qin Shuzhen still tried to protest.

Luo Yaqing countered, “I didn’t push you. You fell on your own. I was just passing by.”

At that, the crowd understood the situation. They began to scold Qin Shuzhen for faking the incident to extort money.

Someone even suggested sending her to the police station for a good lesson.

Qin Shuzhen panicked. “I wasn’t scamming her—she’s my niece!”

Unfortunately, no one believed her anymore.

The onlookers started pointing fingers and muttering, some even cursing.

Luo Yaqing adjusted her bag and thanked the saleswoman who testified for her.

She didn’t care if Qin Shuzhen would be taken to the police station. She squeezed through the crowd.

Clutching the bag, she ran toward the soap factory.

Inwardly, Luo Yaqing groaned: I’m done for. I’m late!

Temporary workers already earn meager wages.

If they dock another yuan, she’d be even worse off.

Worse still, the leadership might develop a bad impression of her—then it’d be nearly impossible to become a full-time worker.

Qin Shuzhen watched Luo Yaqing leave, head lowered, enduring the scolding from the crowd.

Only after the people dispersed did she finally flee back to the Hongxing Guesthouse.

Bursting into the room, she said to the man on the bed, “I ran into your niece.”

Luo Kangwen opened his eyes, a flicker of joy on his sallow face. “Where is Yaqing now?”

Qin Shuzhen snorted. “Still hoping that brat will visit you?”

“She didn’t come?” Luo Kangwen asked anxiously.

Qin Shuzhen cursed, “That brat thinks she’s somebody now—turning her back on family. We never should’ve taken her in and raised her for nothing!”

Luo Kangwen sat up, clearly unhappy. “Don’t keep calling her that—she’s my blood niece.”

Qin Shuzhen retorted, “You’re defending her? She doesn’t even care about you.”

“Shut up!” Luo Kangwen glared at her. “If you hadn’t mistreated her all the time, she wouldn’t be holding a grudge.”

He sighed. “Just be nicer to her. Remember, we’re here to ask her for help—especially with Yafen’s issue. We’re counting on her.”

Mentioning her daughter made Qin Shuzhen tear up. “You think she’ll refuse to help us?”

Luo Kangwen didn’t answer. He lay back down, pulling the blanket over him.

From the capital to Beicheng, he’d had a hard time adjusting.

After two days of IV drips, he still didn’t have the strength to deal with this.

…

Luo Yaqing ran, regretting not taking her bike.

The soap factory was on the eastern side of town—it took at least 8 or 9 minutes on foot.

It didn’t seem far normally, but right now, it felt like a marathon.

She was exhausted.

“Luo Yaqing!”

She turned at the sound and saw a bicycle pulling up beside her.

The rider was Ge Chaopeng, the factory’s maintenance worker.

“Master Ge.”

“Luo Yaqing, who are you racing?”

“……”

“You run slower than a turtle. Come on, keep it up!”

“……”

“Alright, alright, no more jokes. Hop on, I’ll give you a lift.”

Ge Chaopeng noticed she might be upset and didn’t dare tease her further.

Luo Yaqing hesitated.

“Come on. If you’re late, they’ll dock your pay. One hour late counts as a full day’s absence,” Ge said.

Luo Yaqing was shocked. She hurriedly climbed onto the back seat. “Thank you, Master Ge.”

Ge Chaopeng grinned. “No problem. Hold on tight, I’m speeding up.”

Luo Yaqing gripped the back seat tightly, keeping some distance between them to stay balanced.

Just then, Jin Shuishan was walking out of the state-owned restaurant with some friends after a hearty meal when he saw this scene.

It hit him like a thunderclap, his mind buzzing.

His eyes were fixed on the man and woman on the bike.

How could they be…

Damn. This could be bad.

They were too bold. If something scandalous really happened, it would tarnish the soap factory’s reputation.

And he wouldn’t be able to explain it to the higher-ups.

“Director Jin, what are you staring at?” a friend asked, noticing his dazed look.

Jin Shuishan snapped out of it. “Oh, nothing. Let’s go.”