Chapter 29: Answering the Phone

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Answering the Phone

"Mom, if you’re going to blame someone, blame the Zheng Family for being so shameless. If the Zheng Family hadn’t spread it around on purpose, how would Lu Zhengchuan, a soldier who’s always at the base, have time to start rumors?" Su Wan naturally defended Lu Zhengchuan.

He was the man she had chosen, after all. She wasn’t about to back down; defending him was a given.

"I get it. Don’t you worry. After the official announcement in the village, Zheng Zhizhi’s reputation is completely ruined. And she even stole the things Xiao Lu sent you. How shameless."

"I’ll take your brothers and go with the brigade leader to the Zheng Family’s house right now to get your things back."

"Don’t worry, the military sent two soldiers to the village. They’re going to the Zheng Family’s place too in a bit. They said something about gathering evidence."

Hearing this, Su Wan was no longer worried about her family being at a disadvantage. No matter how arrogant the Zheng Family was, could they really pick a fight with the military?

On the other end, Mother Su quickly hung up.

After all, phone calls weren’t cheap.

The call had only lasted a minute or two.

Su Wan paid over a yuan.

Just as Su Wan was about to turn and leave, the phone in the communications office rang again.

Su Wan didn’t pay it any mind and continued walking out.

She had only gone a few meters from the communications office, still thinking about asking Xiao Li to give her a ride back.

The young soldier from inside the communications office ran out again.

"Comrade Su Wan, it’s a call for you."

"Hm? Who is it?" Su Wan was a little confused.

The young soldier said, "It seems to be another relative of yours. I think it’s your aunt."

Su Wan understood instantly. It was Aunt Zhang. If she remembered correctly, Lu Zhengchuan had said this morning that he was going to call the Zhang family.

’The notice about Zheng Zhizhi had reached the village, so the punishment for Zhang Yun must have arrived too. No wonder Aunt Zhang is calling me. Did she call right after my mom?’

All these thoughts ran through Su Wan’s mind in just a minute. Standing in front of the landline, she picked up the receiver.

"Auntie."

"Wanwan." Aunt Zhang’s voice held a hint of anger. "Your uncle and I already know about your cousin’s situation. She’s just a foolish girl who was duped by Zheng Zhizhi. If I’d known she’d dare do something like this, I would’ve broken her legs!" ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Hearing this, Su Wan nodded in response. "Auntie, it’s alright."

Aunt Zhang’s voice faltered, clearly taken aback by her forgiving tone.

"Wanwan, can you please help your cousin?"

Aunt Zhang got straight to the point.

"Help my cousin? You mean, teach her to use her brain so she doesn’t get tricked by people in the future?" Su Wan pretended not to understand the plea, deliberately steering the conversation toward Zheng Zhizhi’s mistake.

’Since Lu Zhengchuan is letting the military handle Zhang Yun, how could I possibly go soft on her?’

Aunt Zhang’s face turned pale, then livid. Anyone would be biased toward their own child.

"Wanwan, it’s like this... we can talk about disciplining your cousin later. The problem right now is her reputation. Only you can save it," Aunt Zhang begged, her voice thick with tears.

Su Wan raised an eyebrow. "Auntie, you’ll have to be more specific. I’m not really clear on my cousin’s current situation."

"How can you not be clear? Your cousin is right there at the military base! Don’t you know what’s happened to her?" Aunt Zhang grew more frantic.

Su Wan offered no comfort, only saying calmly, "Auntie, after my cousin arrived at the base, the incident happened. Then she was taken away for investigation and questioning. Even I can’t see her."

"But don’t you worry. I asked Lu Zhengchuan. He said it’s nothing too serious for my cousin, she just needs to write a self-criticism report."

"After all, we’re family. Of course I’m concerned, right?" Su Wan’s words sounded very pleasant.

The staff working in the communications office heard Su Wan’s words and all thought she was kind-hearted.

Among them was Aunt Liu’s niece, Zhang Cui. As the original culprit who spread the nasty rumors about Su Wan, she was now peering at her furtively from behind a desk, feeling both guilty and curious.

Hearing her words, Zhang Cui’s mind was already conjuring up all sorts of dramatic scenarios. She couldn’t help but think, ’Comrade Su Wan is so soft-hearted. Her own relative did something wrong, yet she still chose to forgive her.’

"Um, you’re the victim. Can’t you just go and tell the leadership not to pursue Xiao Yun’s mistake?"

Aunt Zhang felt a little guilty after saying this and quickly tried to make up for it. "Don’t worry, Auntie will definitely compensate you afterward."

"Auntie, actually, the reason Xiao Yun’s mistake is being pursued is because Lu Zhengchuan is insisting on it." Su Wan directly passed the buck.

"I know. Zheng Chuan called this morning and said so. He’s determined to handle it by the book, and he wouldn’t agree no matter how much I begged." As she spoke, Aunt Zhang started to cry.

Su Wan hadn’t expected Lu Zhengchuan to be so firm. She had only guessed that since a decision had been made, it meant Lu Zhengchuan hadn’t covered for Zhang Yun.

She was pleased, but she still had to placate Aunt Zhang on her end.

"Auntie, don’t be sad. I actually told him to let it go..." Su Wan said, playing the part of the good guy and sighing softly. "But Lu Zhengchuan said this is to teach Xiao Yun a good lesson, to make her understand that there are consequences for doing wrong, so she won’t dare to break the rules in the future."

"I even used my pregnancy to plead with him, but he still wouldn’t agree."

Su Wan dabbed at her eyes, making herself look even more innocent.

"What! Wanwan, you’re pregnant?" Hearing this, Aunt Zhang suddenly stopped crying. Her voice became tense. "Wanwan, are you alright? How’s the baby? Xiao Yun’s actions didn’t upset you, did they?"

Su Wan was momentarily stunned by her sudden change in attitude.

But she quickly figured it out.

’The Zhang family and Lu Zhengchuan both care a great deal about bloodlines.’

’It seems... they place a lot of importance on this child in my belly.’

She recalled from her prophetic dream that the reason she hadn’t retaliated against the Zhang family was that after she was pushed over and had a miscarriage, Aunt Zhang was the first one to go raise hell with the Zheng Family.

She had been a complete wreck. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the baby had been her own.

"Auntie, don’t worry. Lu Zhengchuan is taking great care of me, and the pregnancy is going very smoothly," Su Wan said, forcing herself to calm down.

She had her own ways of dealing with relatives. "I’ll do my best to talk to Lu Zhengchuan about Xiao Yun’s situation."

"No!" Aunt Zhang’s tone was completely different now. "Don’t worry about Xiao Yun. That stupid girl really does need to be taught a lesson, otherwise she’ll cause even bigger trouble after she gets married. The most important thing right now is the baby in your belly."

"You just focus on your life at the base. The Zheng Family can’t reach you there. And I’ll deal with them back in the village."

"Just focus on a healthy pregnancy. When you’re further along, I’ll come take care of you."

Su Wan was still wary of such a drastic change in her attitude and, not yet understanding the reason, said, "Auntie, I’ll take good care of Xiao Yun. As for the baby, I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but I’ll love it no matter what."

’The Zhang family’s only shortcoming, she felt, was the lack of a male heir. Aunt Zhang had only given birth to three daughters. It was only after Lu Zhengchuan became successful that she could finally hold her head high in the village.’

’She suspected that the reason for Aunt Zhang’s huge change in attitude was the issue of a male heir.’

"It’s okay, it’s fine even if it’s a girl. You and Zheng Chuan are still young, you can always have more later," Aunt Zhang said, now comforting her instead.