Chapter 90: Playing Dirty

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Playing Dirty

Mrs. Liu was counting five ten-yuan bills, her eyes glued to the money.

Upon hearing the remark, she said shamelessly, "Comrade Su Wan, wouldn’t it have been better if you had just admitted you were wrong? If you ask me, what’s a woman like you doing going to university? You should be at home serving your husband and raising children. If you weren’t going to university, I wouldn’t have even come looking for you."

"Insolent!"

Dean Xu barked, clutching his chest in distress.

"You ignorant woman! It’s bad enough that you’re a greedy extortionist, but now you want to stop our country from producing more top-tier talent?"

Master Ji nodded in agreement. "That’s right. Comrade He Ju, although you are Comrade Liu Lang’s mother, your current actions constitute fraud. If you return the money to Comrade Su Wan right now, I can pretend this never happened."

"Comrade He Ju, please consider Comrade Liu Lang’s situation as well," Political Commissioner Lin kindly reminded her.

Seeing the three leaders, Mrs. Liu retorted angrily, "Sirs, how can you take Su Wan’s side? Is it just because she’s exceptional and I’m just an ordinary woman?"

"Besides, Su Wan offered the compensation herself. I didn’t force her! The money was in her hands, it’s not like I snatched it." The more Mrs. Liu spoke, the more she felt she was in the right, and she even began to feel wronged.

A vein throbbed on Dean Xu’s forehead. "I’ve never seen such an unreasonable woman. Old Lin, what kind of ideological education are you running here?"

Having been unfairly dragged into the matter, Political Commissioner Lin rolled his eyes internally. Outwardly, he said gently to Mrs. Liu, "Comrade He Ju, please come with me for now. I’ll arrange for someone to handle this dispute."

"Go? No, I’m not going with you! This isn’t resolved, so Su Wan definitely isn’t leaving." Mrs. Liu directly blocked Su Wan’s path, pestering her relentlessly.

Su Wan and Lu Zhengchuan were both surprisingly patient.

However, a dark glint flashed in Lu Zhengchuan’s eyes.

"Aunty, you’ve already accepted the compensation money, so the matter is settled," Su Wan said, her anger rising. "You still won’t let me leave. Don’t go too far."

Mrs. Liu shoved the five ten-yuan bills back into Su Wan’s hand. "Here, take them back! I don’t want them! If accepting compensation makes me a fraud, then I don’t want the money. I just want you to solve my tooth problem!"

As she spoke, Mrs. Liu plopped right down on the ground and clung to Su Wan’s legs, refusing to let her leave.

Political Commissioner Lin narrowed his eyes and exchanged a look with Master Ji.

Hearing this, Dean Xu snorted with laughter. "Old Ji, looks like someone’s defying you. Apparently, your words as a leader are nothing but slander."

Master Ji’s face darkened.

He waved his hand. "Men, take her away."

A few soldiers came over and, ignoring Mrs. Liu’s struggles, simply carried her away.

Mrs. Liu was dumbfounded. ’She never expected things to develop in this direction. She was just causing trouble for Su Wan and delaying her trip. What did that have to do with these leaders!’

’Back in the factory compound, whenever she got into a conflict, the factory director and deputy director never bothered with such trivial matters. Sometimes she would deliberately pester someone, making them late for work and causing them to have their wages docked.’

’In the end, hadn’t they all given in? They would bow their heads and compensate her with money, coupons, and gifts. Only when she was satisfied would she let them off and stop bothering them.’

"The military region leaders are forcibly—"

A soldier clapped a hand over Mrs. Liu’s mouth and carried her away without the slightest hesitation, cutting off the rest of her words.

As she was restrained and led away, a powerful wave of fear suddenly washed over Mrs. Liu.

"Sob... sob..."

Master Ji waved his hand. "Let her speak."

The young soldier released his hand from Mrs. Liu’s mouth. All the arrogance she had shown while harassing Su Wan was gone. She cried, "It was that comrade, Gao Qiang! She told me to come and pester Su Wan."

"She told me to just keep bothering Su Wan until she missed her train, and that she’d give me ten yuan for it."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Master Ji waved his hand, and the soldiers led Mrs. Liu away again.

Mrs. Liu was led away in despair, gaining a profound understanding of the military leaders’ authority for the first time. She was filled with regret and fear, wondering what would become of her.

"So, it was Comrade Gao Qiang." Master Ji looked at Dean Xu and snorted. "Well, Old Xu, I suppose it’s my turn to laugh at you now."

Dean Xu’s face was grim; he felt utterly humiliated. "What is with this Comrade Gao? She just finished her self-criticism letter, and she’s already stirring up trouble again."

"Hmph. It seems I’ve been too benevolent as a dean, and now they’re all acting up and causing a scene."

"I’ll head back and deal with this right now." Dean Xu took a couple of steps, then turned back. He stuffed a slip of paper into Su Wan’s hand, his eyes filled with relief and encouragement as he looked at her. "Comrade Su Wan, you are a true talent. You absolutely mustn’t let these trivial annoyances affect your future."

"This is the contact information for my good friend, Professor Wang. He’s a professor at Capital University. While he might not be teaching your class, he is a leading authority in physics. I’ll have to trouble you to pay him a visit on my behalf. Just tell him you are my student."

"He will definitely give you some excellent guidance."

The leaders’ arrival had been the result of a discussion between Su Wan and Lu Zhengchuan.

She just hadn’t expected all three of them to show up.

Dean Xu had even extended an olive branch, offering her a valuable connection.

"Dean Xu, it would be my honor to be your student." Su Wan immediately seized the opportunity, accepting the contact information with a sincere expression. "I will definitely visit Professor Wang. Is there anything you’d like me to bring him?"

Dean Xu smiled, satisfied. "No, no, that’s not necessary. Just have a normal academic discussion with him. Old Wang doesn’t care for formalities. He only values a student’s genuine abilities. Whether you have what it takes to impress him, well, that’s something I can’t guarantee."

"In any case, thank you for your guidance, Dean."

Dean Xu patted her shoulder, offered a few more words of encouragement, and then turned and left.

"Xiao Lu, Comrade Su Wan, you two should hurry up and get on your way. You have duties to attend to and studies to focus on. Don’t let irrelevant people delay your future."

"We’ll be waiting for you at the Southwest Military Region."

Master Ji’s expression was kind, his admiration for the two of them clear.

Lu Zhengchuan gave the two leaders a military salute.

"Let’s go. To the train station." Under the watchful eyes of the leaders, Lu Zhengchuan helped Su Wan into the vehicle. Wasting no more time, the car sped toward the train station.

-

"Shaobing for sale! Get your hot shaobing!"

"Mantou! Freshly steamed mantou! Only five cents and a coupon..."

"Make way, make way!"

The train station was bustling with people, a scene of lively chaos.

Just as Su Wan and Lu Zhengchuan got out of the car, they saw Qin Yao and Zhao Cong waiting for them.

"Wanwan, I came to see you off!"

"Battalion Commander Lu, I’ll help with the luggage. I figured you’d have a lot, so I brought a large basket."

Zhao Cong was well-prepared. He and Xiao Li started loading things into the basket, then boarded the train first to find the couple’s sleeper berths and stow the luggage.

Su Wan took the opportunity to grab Qin Yao’s hand. "Yaoyao, I was just about to tell you, your fermented bean curd is excellent! You could totally sell it."

"Even someone as picky as Mr. He thought it was delicious."