Li Na was suddenly choked by the clothes around her neck, almost suffocating at the entrance of the police station.
As she pondered how Chen Lishu dared to commit assault at the police station entrance, her cry for help died on her lips as the hands binding the clothes suddenly loosened.
Unprepared, Li Na stumbled a few steps, then fell to the ground on her back. Before she could even question Chen Lishu's intentions, a sharp glance from Chen Lishu silenced her.
Chen Lishu coldly stated, "Did I say you could leave? You need to come with me to school and apologize to those victims!"
Li Na retorted unhappily, "Why?! Didn't you resolve this matter yourself? Why should I be the one to apologize to them? Have you considered how I'll live in the west of the city after this?"
Chen Lishu had no inclination to lecture her on why she should do it. She merely said impatiently, "You don't have to apologize. I'm only responsible for getting you out of jail! If the families refuse to forgive you and choose to report you, even with all my influence, I won't be able to save you, especially since you and I aren't that closely related."
Hearing the severe consequences, Li Na's face froze for a moment. Seeing Chen Lishu turn to leave, she could no longer concern herself with pride. She quickly ran up to Chen Lishu and pleaded, "I know I was wrong. I misunderstood your good intentions. It's just an apology, isn't it? I'll go with you now!"
With that, Chen Lishu, her expression grim, hailed a taxi with Li Na and they arrived at the school entrance.
As soon as they got out of the car, a dense crowd surrounded them. Li Na could even see a few familiar faces among them, which made her falter, despite having finally decided to apologize.
She had merely wanted to earn some money to supplement her family's income, so why was Chen Lishu being so aggressive? To humiliate her in front of friends and relatives!
At the thought, Li Na's eyes welled up with tears, and a glint of malevolence flickered in them. She bit her lower lip tightly and choked out, "Dear parents, I, Li Na, sincerely apologize to you all here today. My family is so poor we can barely afford to eat, and I have a child crying for milk. I only wanted to earn some money to support my family, and I never expected to create such a huge embarrassment! To be honest, I'm a simple country woman. I didn't have much education growing up, and I genuinely didn't know what swill oil was. Of course, I'm not trying to shirk responsibility by saying all this. I will take responsibility! I will compensate where compensation is due. If you have any further dissatisfaction, please tell me, and I will do my best to meet your conditions!"
After speaking, Li Na's eyes, red-rimmed, looked at Chen Lishu like a bullied little white rabbit, and she tearfully asked, "Lishu, I've said what you wanted me to say. Can you let me go now?"
Let her go? Upon hearing these words, the surrounding crowd's eyes lit up, as if they had stumbled upon some big news, and they all perked up their ears.
From the moment Li Na set up her stall and sold at a discounted price, Chen Lishu knew the woman was a bit cunning, but her cunning was misplaced. Seeing Li Na's pitiable appearance, anyone else would have thought Chen Lishu had bullied and coerced her.
Ignoring the complex gazes of those around her, Chen Lishu put on a look of disappointment, saying, "The people you need to apologize to are not me, but these victims. Why are you asking me? Your brain is truly so foolish, no wonder you’d come up with such a wicked trick as using swill oil."
At this, the people present burst into laughter. Previously, some had suspected that Chen Lishu had used swill oil to deliberately frame Li Na, but upon further thought, that possibility was nonexistent. As a businesswoman and the boss of a listed company, Chen Lishu wouldn't have invested blindly without market research. While the dangers of swill oil weren't widely known, as a big boss, how could she risk such a thing for a small stall, feeding children unclean substances? It would be fine if nothing happened, but if something did, it would ruin the reputation she had painstakingly built in Kyoto! To ruin a large company and enterprise for a small stall business, not only as a businesswoman but even ordinary people understood this logic! Moreover, hadn't Li Na said earlier that she was from the countryside, uneducated, and knew nothing? It was precisely these ignorant people who dared to make money without considering the consequences.
Li Na had intended to shift the blame, but she never expected the outcome to be her own undoing. Facing the meaningful glances of everyone present, she was so ashamed she wished she could dig a hole in the ground and hide herself.
After the apology and the generous and timely慰问金 (compensation), the victim families ultimately chose to drop Li Na's responsibility.
With this matter resolved, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. With only two hours left until the two children finished school, Chen Lishu, having nothing else to do, decided to wait for them.
When she picked up the children, the sky had already turned a gloomy gray. Judging by the conditions, it looked like it was going to rain. Fortunately, Chen Lishu was lucky. It didn't rain on their way home, but only started to drizzle after they returned.
Back home, as soon as Chen Lishu had settled the children, she saw Qin Yue and Li Xiulan chatting, making the elderly woman burst into hearty laughter.
As if sensing movement at the door, Qin Yue and Li Xiu Lan turned their heads simultaneously towards the entrance.
Li Xiulan greeted them warmly, "Yi Cheng, Xiao Bai, finished school?"
Yi Cheng and Xiao Bai exchanged glances, suddenly remembering what their mother had said a few days ago – that Grandma was in an unfamiliar place and felt lonely without anyone to talk to. They had been doting on Chen Lishu these past few days and hadn't spent enough time with Grandma. Both felt a pang of guilt and were about to seize the opportunity to get close to Li Xiulan when, just as they reached her side and before they could speak, a pair of arms wrapped around them.
Qin Yue spoke enthusiastically, "Xiao Bai, Yi Cheng! Are you tired after a day of classes? Did you miss Auntie?"
Yi Cheng disliked being too close to strangers, and Qin Yue's sudden embrace startled him. He instinctively placed his hands on Qin Yue's shoulders and pushed forcefully, breaking free from her embrace.
Pushed away, Qin Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of hurt and helplessness. She just stared blankly at Yi Cheng and asked with a hint of a pout, "Does Yi Cheng dislike Auntie?"