The Head of the House
Mo Qianni was rooted to the ground. Her beautiful face, which was originally lit up with happiness slowly fell. Her eyes went from hopeful to hopeless in a matter of seconds.
Raindrops fell on her fair face. It was cool. And wet.
Standing next to the road, Mo Qianni felt her heart fall.
Why⊠Why did he leave so quickly? Does he really want to avoid me that much?
?she thought.
She didnât want to believe what had happened but at the same time, she couldnât ignore the signs.
Ma Guifang initially thought there was going to be trouble. Yang Chen hadnât been around for the past couple of days. Although her daughter was very sad, time wouldâve healed a broken heart. A fateful encounter might just bring forth their feelings once again.
However, Yang Chen didnât even roll his window down when he saw them. Instead, he just waved at them and sped off. It was as if he did not want anything to do with them!
Although she was uncomfortable with his attitude, it supported her cause which was more than she could ask for. It was time for her daughter to wake up.
Walking by Mo Qianniâs side, Ma Guifang sighed pitifully. She reached out to pat her daughter on her shoulder. Gently, she said, âMy silly child, canât you see? You were never destined to be together. The only reason you guys were together for as long as you were was that you couldnât see the truth.â
âYang Chen has finally listened to me. Youâre not like the rich girls. Weâre only a small family with little to show for. Youâll suffer because of Yang Chen, and Yang Chen would worry for you. You have to let go when it is time.â
Mo Qianniâs eyes reddened. She didnât want to look at her mother. With both her hands clutching her bag, she said, âEven if I let go, we still need to talk about it. We have to settle things once and for all.â
With that, Mo Qianni took her phone out of the bag, then dialed Yang Chenâs number.
However, Yang Chenâs phone was still charging in his room. Naturally, it was impossible for him to take the call.
When no one picked up, Mo Qianni angrily ended the call. Her bright eyes were now covered with a film of deathly grey.
Mo Qianni bit her thin lips, then clearly said, âMom, go back inside. Today, I must wait till he comes back, I need to confront him. He canât hide forever!â
âYouâŠâ said Ma Guifang, panicking. âAre you crazy, child?! You would rather wait for him here than go to work? Itâs raining for god sake. It might be drizzling but itâs still water. You canât just stand there. No one knows when heâll be back. What if you get sick?!â
âMom!â screamed Mo Qianni. She turned, tearfully, towards her mother. âI beg you, I beg you, please. Please just leave me alone⊠Even if I have to give it up, I still need to talk to him before I give him up. Let me calm down, let me deal with it, alright?â
Tears and raindrops fell upon her beautiful face, dripping onto the ground. The ladiesâ shoulders trembled under the grey skies. Their silhouettes exuded hopelessness.
Ma Guifang stared at her daughter, whoâd just shouted at herself. She clenched her teeth and stepped back. Coldly, she warned, âAlright, since youâve made up your mind, Iâll stop just this once. Iâll let you young ones deal with matters yourself. If youâre willing to do this, I have nothing else to say. But let me warn you, do not have hope. Men with power donât take women seriously.â
When she finished, Ma Guifang returned into the house without another word. These days, due to the scuffle with Mr Zhouâs wife, she did not return to Aunt Xiangâs. Sheâd rather not affect Aunt Xiangâs business with her presence. Hence she could only stay at home to cook for Mo Qianni and Rose, and clean.
To Ma Guifang, doing this was not a problem. After her past struggles, she had learned to appreciate all she had. As long as her daughter was happy, she was happy.
On the other hand, Yang Chen drove at top speed on the highway, racing to his destination. Within ten minutes, he finally arrived at the place Lin Ruoxi described on the phone.
It was at a crossroad. The red Bentley stopped by the road while a crowd surrounded them.
Yang Chen stopped his car at a random spot, then rushed into the crowd.
As he entered, he saw a small figure step hard on a short, fat boyâs belly!
âZhenxiu?!â
The angry girl, who was wearing casual attire, was indeed Zhenxiu. Behind her was a panicking Lin Ruoxi, biting her lip in fear.
âBrother Yang?!â Zhenxiu shouted in surprised.
When she saw him, Lin Ruoxiâs face looked like it had shed a huge weight. She ran to Yang Chen, happy but a little angry. She grumbled softly, âWhat took you so long!â
He grinned. âBetter late than never. Now you see my importance as head of the house?â
She rolled her eyes. âSome âhead of the houseâ you are. Since youâre here, Iâll leave this to you. I need to bring Zhenxiu to her exam hall. Sheâs going to be late soon.â
âYou wanna run?! It wonât be that easy!â
The fat boy, who was kicked onto the ground immediately had two rough men help him up. They approached the three of them, refusing to let any one of them go.
Zhenxiu shouted angrily, âYou hit us on purpose! Iâve given you 2000 bucks and thatâs already too much. You think weâre scared of you?â
Yang Chen surveyed the area. There was a twisted electric bike on the ground and Lin Ruoxiâs Bentley had a deep dent on her back door.
It looked like the three of them were already prepared to hit her when her car slowed down at a turn.
It was extortion and not a very well-planned one at that.
And theyâd chosen a date where everyone was bringing their kids for the exams. Everyone would be in a hurry. Good for business.
In this society, when a rich personâs car and a poor manâs bike collide, the first thing to consider wasnât whose fault it was but rather the rich person would pay for it to wrap the matter up.
Rarely anyone would investigate the truth.
They wouldnât talk online about how some rich man got conned of money. They would only share articles about how some rich man hurt, or killed someone in an accident and used their money to keep the matter under wraps.
When Yang Chen was selling mutton skewers, he would often see sellers purposely raise prices when the relatively richer ladies bought vegetables at the market. If they attempted to bargain, they would immediately spread rumors that the ladies were bullying the humble stall owners. However, when regular working-class folks bought vegetables from them, they would voluntarily give them a little more. This was very common.
The fat boy shouted back, âEveryone listen! My electric bike was ruined but I was lucky that I had only hit the back door. If I had hit the front of the car, I wouldâve died on the spot! These two ladies not only refused to pay for my medical fees, but they also kicked me! How is this fair?!â
The crowd didnât respond, for everyone knew the truth. Although they knew it wasnât Lin Ruoxiâs fault, they wouldnât say anything in fear of being accused of kissing a rich personâs shoes.
Zhenxiu was furious. Lin Ruoxi had woken up early today to make her breakfast and send her to the exam hall. She had already felt guilty, but with this, she hated the three guys to bits. The street smart in her started to rise and she wanted nothing more than to beat up the guys who were in front of her!
Yang Chen quickly held her back, then said solemnly, âStop, youâre a girl. Iâll take it from here. You and your sister can take my car. Iâll deal with them for you, or youâll be late!â
Zhenxiu pouted but nodded obediently.
Yang Chen gave the car keys to Lin Ruoxi. âHoney, bring the child for her exams. Iâll drive your car over to meet you there later. Weâll have lunch together, then bring her for her afternoon paper.â
âAlright. Then be careful.â Lin Ruoxi gave the keys to her Bentley to Yang Chen. Although it felt unnecessary, she still couldnât help but say it. Sheâd also unconsciously gotten used to this nickname.
Yang Chen pinched Zhenxiuâs face. âI had to take an early flight this morning just to wish you good luck. Iâm not saying you must get great results, but I want you to take this seriously.â
Zhenxiu stuck out her tongue. âYouâre not very good with your pep talks, you know that?â
Yang Chen glared at the girl while Lin Ruoxi hurriedly pulled Zhenxiu away.
When the three men saw the ladies leave, leaving behind a plain man, they became angrier. They patted the red Bentley and said, âWhat, are you staying to pay for your girl? Just from looking at your car, Iâve got a price for you. Nothing less than twenty thousand!â
Yang Chen walked up to the man and smiled. âYou really want the money?â
âYou think Iâm joking? No shit!â
âI have no Chinese currency with me at the moment. Do you accept another currency?â asked Yang Chen, looking troubled.
The three men glanced at each other, âDonât pull any tricks with us. Weâre protected by our brothers in the streets. If you decide to trick us, weâll be back for you! We only take US dollars and Euros in exchange! We donât want twenty thousand Japanese yen!â
Yang Chen feigned surprised. âYou know about that? Sigh⊠But youâre lucky I didnât want to give you Japanese yen.â
âThen what?â
Yang Chenâs face darkened. âHell dollars.â
âHell dollars?â The fat boy was stunned.
His partner shouted, âHeh, fatty, this guy is referring to âdead manâs cashâ!â