Chapter 368: Tailing
Chapter 368: Chapter 368: Tailing
Right in front of Su Qing and the others, the Song family put on a full-blown family melodrama.
At one point, Song Yutian tried to use his tall and broad build to his advantage, rushing forward to teach Su Qing a lesson. But with a single shoulder throw, Su Qing slammed him hard onto the ground.
"Oh, my son!" Mrs. Song doted on her young daughter, but she doted on her eldest son just as much. Seeing him thrown to the ground by Su Qing, her heart ached as she rushed forward to help Song Yutian up. "How are you? Are you hurt?"
Seeing her older brother get thrown to the ground by Su Qing, Song Yufang was secretly pleased. On the surface, however, she had to put on an act. "Su Qing, how could you just hurt someone for no reason?"
"Are you blind?" Su Qing said coldly. "Look again. Your brother charged at me first. What, are you saying I can’t fight back? That I should just stand here and let your brother hit me?"
"Exactly!" Li Huan and Ye Qingqing had been startled by Song Yutian’s sudden aggression. ’Thank god Su Qing is so capable, or she’d be the one getting hurt right now.’ "Song Yufang, your brother was the one who tried to start a fight and got taught a lesson instead. Are you blind or something?"
"You..."
Director He frowned and cleared his throat. He turned to Father Song. "Mr. Song, your son’s behavior is out of line. I’m standing right here, and he’s already trying to assault someone. That’s going too far. And you," he said, turning to Song Yufang, "Classmate Song, you came to this university to learn. We didn’t teach you how to twist the truth and ignore what’s right."
Director He’s words made Song Yufang’s face turn bright red, and she quickly hid behind Father Song.
"Director He, my son was just agitated. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone." Father Song knew they were in the wrong, so he wouldn’t dare challenge the director. ’My daughter still has to attend Beijing University. Besides, Director He is the head of the economics department. If we really get on his bad side, she’ll be the one to suffer for it.’
Song Yutian felt utterly humiliated. ’A grown man, thrown to the ground by a woman in front of all these people... I’ve lost not just face, but all my dignity.’ He irritably shoved Mrs. Song away. "So now you’re concerned about me? Who was it that started this mess and got me involved in the first place?"
Seeing this, Father Song exploded with rage. "Song Yutian, that’s your own mother! You dare push her again! Believe it or not, I will kick you and your brother out of this house with nothing! I’m telling you one more time: we haven’t split the family assets. I have the final say over our money. If you two dare to take that three thousand yuan behind my back, I’ll report you to the police. Just you try me!"
Song Yutian stared at his father, his eyes red with fury. But he knew he couldn’t win this fight. ’Besides money, the family has the shops. If Dad really gets vicious and kicks my brother and me out with nothing, does that mean all the money and the shops will end up going to Song Yufang?’
’That’s impossible.’
In the end, Song Yutian had no choice but to back down. Father and Mrs. Song asked Su Qing to give them one more week, saying they would personally return to their hometown to retrieve the money. Su Qing considered it for a moment, then agreed. ’If the Song family tries to pull any tricks a week from now, I have my own ways of dealing with them.’
As for how the Song parents would sort things out with their two sons, that was none of Su Qing’s concern.
The Song parents left with heavy sighs. Before they went, both Song Yufang and Song Yutian shot Su Qing a resentful glare. Unfazed by their anger, Su Qing simply returned a cold stare that sent a chill down their spines, and they didn’t dare to do anything else.
By the time they left Director He’s office, it was already lunchtime. So, the three of them headed straight for the cafeteria.
On a stone bench not far from the cafeteria sat two women. One of them was Xu Xianhui. Pointing at Su Qing as she headed toward the cafeteria, Xu Xianhui whispered to the woman beside her, "That girl in the blue trench coat, she’s the one I told you about. What do you think? She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?"
"Indeed. Not bad at all," the woman beside Xu Xianhui replied in a low voice. Though hushed, the voice was clearly a man’s. As it turned out, this "woman" was the loan shark in disguise.
Xu Xianhui glanced at the man in women’s clothing beside her and pursed her lips. ’If I didn’t know any better, I really wouldn’t be able to tell he was a man in disguise.’
"See? You don’t have to worry now, do you?" Xu Xianhui said. "Rest assured, once you grab her, she’s guaranteed to have money on her. She can’t keep three thousand yuan with her at all times. There are no banks nearby, so she’ll definitely be taking it home for the weekend."
"Where exactly does she live?"
"That... I don’t know." And Xu Xianhui genuinely didn’t. But she quickly added, "All that matters is that she leaves campus, right? The day after tomorrow is the weekend. You can wait for her outside the university gates. She’ll have to take a bus to get home."
"Mm. If this works out," the man said, "you can rest assured I’ll personally guarantee your debt is wiped clean." He took one last look at Su Qing as she was about to enter the cafeteria, searing her face into his memory. Then, with a final glance at Xu Xianhui, he stood up and walked off campus.
As the man left, Xu Xianhui breathed a sigh of relief. She felt the two-or-so yuan remaining in her pocket and began to scheme about how she could wheedle more living expenses out of her parents over the weekend.
The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye. Su Qing was up early to make some pastries, after which she and Li Huan planned to take the bus back to the residential compound. They hadn’t told their families they were coming home, hoping to give them a surprise.
"I haven’t seen my grandparents in a week. I really miss them," Li Huan said. The injuries on her face and neck had started to heal. Since it was now autumn, she was wearing long sleeves, which covered the marks on her neck and arms. As for her face, Su Qing had given her a mask to wear to keep people from staring and making her feel self-conscious.
"Me too." Su Qing was happy as well. Carrying a cloth bag of pastries in one hand and holding Li Huan’s hand with the other, she walked toward the bus stop. Neither of them noticed two men following them at a discreet distance, who then boarded the same bus they did.
There was no direct bus from Beijing University to the compound, so they had to make a transfer. It was while they were transferring that Su Qing sensed something was off. Two men had followed them from the first bus onto the second one. Moreover, she noticed one of them kept casting surreptitious glances in her and Li Huan’s direction.
Su Qing didn’t say anything to Li Huan, afraid her friend’s anxiety would give them away. Instead, she pretended she hadn’t noticed a thing. When the bus reached their stop, she pulled Li Huan off with her and headed into a nearby alley.
Li Huan was confused. "Qingqing, let’s take the main road."
"The main road is the long way around. The alley’s a shortcut. Come on," Su Qing said to Li Huan with a smile.
"Oh, right." Li Huan nodded. Taking the main road would have added another five minutes to their walk, so she didn’t think anything of it.
But when she realized two men were following them from behind, Li Huan grew nervous.