NOVPUBChapter 181: Chapter 181 Bad Idea
Chapter 181 -181 Bad Idea
Fan Jiancheng glared furiously, “What business is this of yours?”
As soon as the security department heard, their attitude changed immediately. Having divorced, she was no longer a family member of someone at their hospital; this was no longer an internal issue.
“Who exactly are you? What do you do? With the sky darkened, why are you here making a racket? Leave now, or else we’ll detain you as an unauthorized individual. This is the Armed Police Hospital under local protection. If you cause trouble, that would be considered disturbing the peace of the hospital, and I have the right to detain you,” warned the security staff.
Fan Jiancheng was terrified. He might have the guts to bully Chui Li because she cared about appearances and feared he would treat the child poorly, but the security department had no such concerns about face. If they decided to actually detain him, it would indeed be a matter of minutes.
“Comrade, I’m just here for living expenses. You don’t know—the year Chui Li and I divorced, she was not proper with other men and insisted on divorcing me. The child was still young, so of course I had to take him,” Fan Jiancheng said, knowing that playing the victim would earn him sympathy.
The department staff’s expression softened towards him, for most people still sided with the underdog, especially those uninterested in sympathizing with men or women suspected of improper conduct.
Bai Xiao loftily threw out a remark, “Oh, is that so? That’s really strange then. Doctor Chui Li hasn’t remarried after all these years. How come I heard that you found a stepmother for the child just half a year after the divorce? Doctor Chui Li is known for her professionalism. I wouldn’t have expected this from her in private. It turns out she’s quite the opposite of what I thought. In the hospital, everyone knows she barely acknowledges even female doctors, let alone male ones.”
The security was taken aback and upon reflection, they realized that was right. Chui Li was known for her stern face at their hospital—it wasn’t that she was formidable, but she never smiled at anyone.
If anyone was accused of impropriety, they could believe it—but Chui Li? Who would buy that?
This was a lot to process.
It seemed the ex-husband might not have been telling the whole truth. Having found a new partner so soon after the divorce, who would believe he was abandoned by Dr. Chui Li?
Fan Jiancheng’s nose was nearly bent out of shape with anger. What was this girl meddling in?
“Who are you? What trouble are you causing?” he snapped.
Bai Xiao defended herself vigorously, “I’m a neighbor. So what? Can’t neighbors speak up? Don’t I have the right to speak? Who’s causing trouble? Isn’t this the truth? Comrade from security, you’d better hurry up and get rid of him. I need to sleep; I have to work tomorrow!”
Upon looking at Bai Xiao, who lived in the experts’ building—not an expert, then likely a leader’s family member—the security turned to Fan Jiancheng, “All right, enough talking. Get out quickly. Do you want us to escort you out, or will you leave by yourself?”
Their tone was already quite rude.
Fan Jiancheng could only slink away down the stairs.
Of course, he didn’t want to spend a night in the security office.
He resentfully glanced at the lit window of Chui Li’s apartment upstairs, convinced she was tucked away there, laughing at his misfortune.
Alright, wait and see!
Chui Li came out to thank Bai Xiao before returning to her room.
Bai Xiao closed the door, thinking how tough it is to be a woman.
Meanwhile, Fan Jiancheng despondently cycled home.
As soon as he entered his place, his significant other, Wu Ximei, was washing clothes. Seeing him return, she hastily wiped her hands on her apron and, while complaining, brought him the food still warm on the coal stove.
“How did it go? What happened that you were out all day?”
Usually, Fan Jiancheng had no trouble collecting debts, and he had never before spent an entire day on such matters. Wu Ximei felt a pang of jealousy, mainly fearing that there might still be some unresolved issues between Fan Jiancheng and his ex-wife Chui Li.
She worried that if things didn’t go well, they could remarry.
Wu Ximei was certainly not willing to have her hard-won official status threatened.
Fan Jiancheng began to wolf down his meal, cursing and swearing as he ate.
“That bitch just hid in her house today and wouldn’t come out. I see it clearly now, she’s deliberately not planning to give me the money. Today was just bad luck, if I had kept making a scene, Chui Li would have had to come out eventually—people talk, all those neighbors, all those eyes watching, ears listening, she cares so much about face, she would have had to give me the money in the end.
But then I ran into someone tough, who called the security department straight away. Said I was disturbing her rest, and I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t let the security department lock me up for the night.” The mere thought of Bai Xiao filled Fan Jiancheng with rage.
When Wu Ximei heard that it wasn’t because of Chui Li that he was delayed, she figured it wasn’t a problem.
“It’s fine, don’t bother with this anymore. Have the old lady take Xiaofen instead. Xiaofen is her rightful daughter asking for living expenses; it’s only natural. After all, it doesn’t look good for an ex-husband to be asking a woman for money,” Wu Ximei harbored a mean plan.
Upon hearing this, Fan Jiancheng nodded immediately, “Okay, I’ll go talk to mom about it later.”
After gulping down his meal, Fan Jiancheng headed straight for the old lady’s courtyard.
The old lady lived in the row houses behind his.
He, his wife, their four-year-old son, and Xiaofen, who was twelve, lived upstairs.
As he entered, the old lady was about to tidy up and lock up for the night.
Seeing her son walk in, she was filled with joy. She and her younger son were living there, and the younger son was about to celebrate a happy occasion—the two side rooms had already been cleaned out.
“What brings you here in the middle of the night?”
Fan Jiancheng explained to the old lady how he hadn’t managed to get the living expenses today.
The old lady’s eyes narrowed sharply, “Chui Li thinks she can turn things around on us? Don’t you worry about this anymore. Tomorrow, I’ll have Xiaofen take the morning off, and I’ll take her to the hospital to find her mother. I want to see if she dares to refuse to give her daughter living expenses in front of her.”
Fan Jiancheng knew full well that the old lady was still sprightly and had been a notorious shrew in the factory back in the day. She had thrown fits and rolled on the ground in front of the factory director’s door to secure his dad’s job—a person even the factory directors couldn’t deal with. If the old lady got involved, even if Chui Li didn’t end up physical harmed, she would at least be stripped of a layer of skin.
The old lady rebuked him, “Your brother’s about to get married, you and your wife can’t just watch from the sidelines. Your mom did everything she could to get you a job back in the day; you taking over your dad’s position while your brother doesn’t even have a job, he’s just doing temporary work for others outside. You can’t be ungrateful.” She knew her son all too well, even stingier than the old lady herself. To get money out of his hands was harder than reaching the heavens.
Fan Jiancheng was unconcerned. What did his brother’s marriage have to do with him? Why should he have to give money?
However, he was counting on the old lady for tomorrow, so of course, he spoke sweetly.
“Mom, that’s my own brother, how could I not care? Just relax, I’ll definitely give my brother a big red envelope when the time comes. Haven’t I always known how much you’ve suffered for my brother’s sake? I’m in a rush to ask Chui Li for money now, isn’t it all for the sake of my brother?”
The old lady nodded in satisfaction, confident that as long as the brothers were united, life would always get better.
