The mother and daughter labeled Zhang Xinyi as inhuman with every other word, turning her into a synonym for someone not human.
Zhang Xinyi was instantly furious and pushed Shi Qing, "You brat, shut up!"
Shi Qing lost her balance but was thankfully pulled back by Wei Yumeng, narrowly avoiding a collision with the table corner.
Wei Yumeng cradled the child in one arm and, without hesitation, slapped Zhang Xinyi with the other, pointing at her nose with the most disrespectful gesture. "If you dare touch my child again, I'll make sure you don't leave this mall today!"
Her child was always her bottom line. Anyone who dared to cross it, she wouldn't hesitate to use extreme measures.
Seeing Shi Qing almost get hurt while defending her, Mu Linjing immediately called the restaurant's security. "This woman intentionally tried to harm someone, escort her out!"
Zhang Xinyi, blinded by anger, wanted to retaliate, but the security guards arrived swiftly. They grabbed her arms, leaving her with no ability to fight back.
The situation had escalated to Wei Yumeng resorting to physical violence, so the manager had to step in. Upon seeing Wei Yumeng, the manager immediately broke into a sweat. "Mrs. Zhan, please explain what happened. What is the conflict?"
Wei Yumeng, while comforting Shi Qing, spoke to the manager. "This woman nearly injured my child. Manager, please handle it."
Given the circumstances, the manager's solution was to have security escort Zhang Xinyi, along with her belongings, out of the establishment. Everyone in Pengcheng knew that offending anyone else was better than offending the Zhan family. Moreover, with Zhan Mohan now in charge, the person one absolutely could not afford to offend was this Mrs. Zhan, who was doted on to the extreme by Zhan Mohan.
Zhang Xinyi was also intimidated by Wei Yumeng's aura. As she was being thrown out of the restaurant, she was still in a daze. By the time she came to her senses, she could only stand at the entrance and curse a few times. However, the security guards at the door wouldn't allow her to keep yelling. They brandished their batons threateningly, forcing her to fall silent and huddle to the side, waiting for Xu Cheng to come out.
After she was expelled, Wei Yumeng, fearing Shi Qing might be traumatized, quickly held her and comforted her softly.
But the little girl was quite brave. Her big eyes blinked as she looked at her, "Mommy, Shishi wasn't scared at all. It was that auntie who was scared by Mommy. She didn't even dare to speak."
Hearing her daughter still in the mood to mock others, Wei Yumeng's worry lessened, but her anger remained.
Mu Linjing also felt deeply guilty. "Yumeng, don't worry. I will definitely find a way to teach her a lesson."
Wei Yumeng didn't stop her, but instead nodded. There was no need to be soft-hearted with someone like that. She could attack such a young child, so she deserved to be taught a lesson if she wasn't.
Seeing that her mother was truly angry, Jin Zhi also offered some comfort, "Mommy, please don't be angry. It's good that Shishi wasn't hurt. Let's let Second Uncle help us vent our frustration."
Jin Zhi, wise beyond his years, understood from Mu Linjing's words that the auntie had feelings for his Second Uncle. He inherited Zhan Mohan's excellent trait of striking first, knowing that his Second Uncle's intervention would be the most potent.
In reality, Xu Cheng had seen Zhang Xinyi being escorted out when he came out of the restroom. However, he didn't appear immediately. Instead, he waited until Mu Linjing and the others were seated again before approaching under the guise of apologizing.
"Ladies, that was my friend. I've brought her to apologize to you. Can we exchange contact information? I'll definitely pay a visit some other day."
Naturally, Mu Linjing didn't give any good reception to someone who associated with Zhang Xinyi. She directly refused his request. "There's no need for apologies. You should worry about your own situation. We are here to dine. Please leave our sight."
Having been rebuffed, Xu Cheng awkwardly put away his phone and left the restaurant after settling the bill.
Seeing him emerge from inside, the tears she had prepared burst forth. She looked at him pitifully, her meticulously applied makeup somewhat smudged, presenting a picture of a victim.
Upon seeing this, Xu Cheng quickly handed her a tissue. "Are you alright? I didn't see you after I came out of the restroom. What happened?"
Hearing this, Zhang Xinyi's grievances intensified. She recounted tearfully how she had been bullied by those two women.
"I just wanted to wish my cousin happiness from the bottom of my heart, but she always glared at me. I really don't know what I did wrong."
Whether what she said was true or false didn't matter. Xu Cheng knew that all he had to do was to say things that sided with her.
This tactic worked on most women, and Zhang Xinyi was no exception. With a few harsh words added, this woman was practically secured.
Seeing that Zhang Xinyi's gaze towards him was vastly different from when they first met, Xu Cheng knew she had taken the bait.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon together and didn't part ways in the evening. Instead, they went directly to a bar to meet Xu Cheng's friends.
Zhang Xinyi also believed that since they had reached the stage of meeting friends, this man was practically hers.
After lunch, the two children were drowsy. Wei Yumeng and the others had to go home. Wei Yumeng coaxed the children to sleep, while Mu Linjing went to investigate the man who had been with her that day. She had initially assumed he was a young master from some affluent family, but the result of her investigation surprised her.
Xu Cheng had no background here, nor was he a scion of any noble family. If one had to describe his identity, he was a hoodlum who mingled in various social circles.
This made Mu Linjing disbelieve. How could Zhang Xinyi be interested in a hoodlum? Her target was to snag a rich husband; a hoodlum wouldn't catch her eye. Was she deceived by Xu Cheng?
It would be best if she was deceived. Zhang Xinyi often used the pretense of being with wealthy people to swindle others. Now that she had encountered a fellow practitioner, it was her misfortune.
Mu Linjing had no intention of warning her. It would be best if she was scammed out of every last cent and slunk back to her hometown. That would be truly satisfying.
The moment Zhan Yichen entered, he saw her looking furious, muttering something under her breath, and nodding intermittently, as if silently affirming herself. He found it amusing. "Lin Jing, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing him arrive, Mu Linjing briefly recounted the day's events at the restaurant. "This Zhang Xinyi is really tired of living. She actually tried to hit Shi Shi. Fortunately, Shi Shi wasn't hurt, or I would have felt terrible."
Zhan Yichen gently stroked her hair and comforted her, "Then we must teach her a lesson. Leave it to me."
Mu Linjing felt the same way. If such a person wasn't taught a lesson, she truly wouldn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.