Wen Di had worked with parents for so many years as an English teacher, and she wasn't unfamiliar with difficult ones.
However, encountering someone like Wu Shangrong, whose thinking was so deeply rooted in the old society, was a first.
"Hmph."
The English teacher let out a breath of resignation. "Even if it were a child's parents, killing a child would still be punishable by death.
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"Besides, you are only the child's grandmother, Ms. Wu. This is no longer the past. Please put away those unrealistic thoughts."
Wu Shangrong didn't want to talk to her. She stared at Wen Tingxue and asked:
"Did you tell your parents about the money?"
"No."
Wen Tingxue replied with a blank expression.
Wu Shangrong hated this attitude of hers the most – completely unresponsive!
"You ungrateful brat! Do you have any conscience? Are you going to stand by and watch your uncle get beaten to death by them?!"
As she spoke, she moved to grab Wen Tingxue.
Wen Di, quick as a flash, blocked her. "What are you doing! We're talking, no need for physical contact!"
Wu Shangrong inherently deferred to men. When Wen Di spoke, she indeed reined herself in a lot.
"Wen Tingxue, put your hand on your heart. He's your uncle..."
"What uncle is he to me?"
Wen Tingxue interrupted, her eyes red, each word a challenge.
"From childhood to adulthood, has he ever shown me a shred of concern?!"
"When his son locked me in a classroom all night and told me ghost stories, did he ever reprimand him?"
"When his son almost drowned me at sea, did he ever offer an apology?"
"Uncle? Aside from that meager blood relation, he's worse than a stranger I'd meet on the street!"
Years of pent-up grievances erupted, and Wen Tingxue shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"He's not my uncle, and I've never had an uncle..."
When she needed an uncle to stand up for her, he wasn't there.
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So, in the future, she wouldn't need one...
Wu Shangrong had never seen her so hysterical, and for a moment, she was stunned by the outburst.
But after a few seconds, she snapped back, her expression turning ferocious:
"You cheap girl! What do you mean by that?! What do you mean you don't have an uncle?!
"As expected, an ungrateful white-eyed wolf! You've enjoyed a few days of comfort and now you don't want us poor relatives anymore, is that it?!
"See if I don't beat you to death! Teach you to be ungrateful! Uncouth... Ah!"
The hand she had raised with force was stopped dead before it could fall.
The strength behind it was such that even her, accustomed to manual labor, found it hard to bear.
Looking up, she met a pair of icy eyes.
Dark and deep, unfathomable, boundless.
They made one feel uneasy.
Wu Shangrong, accustomed to bullying the weak, couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. She struggled with a wavering voice.
"You... what are you doing! Let go! Let go! Otherwise, I'll call someone!"
"Go ahead and call."
Yu Wenli's face was grim as he tightened his grip, his tone utterly indifferent.
"Call all you want. I'd like to see what you can accomplish."
Wu Shangrong's hand hurt so much she was in tears, unable to even make a sound.
The English teacher, disapprovingly, patted him. "What are you doing? Do you want a disciplinary record?"
Yu Wenli gritted his teeth. "She's bullying Wen Tingxue."
"You still can't act recklessly," the English teacher commanded. "Let go and sort this out first!"
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"Damn it."
Yu Wenli, immensely displeased, released his grip.
Unprepared, Wu Shangrong stumbled back several steps. With no one to catch her, she fell directly to the ground.
Rather ignominiously.
Wen Tingxue felt tears being gently wiped from her cheeks. She looked up at him, a mixture of grievance and strength in her eyes.
"I just don't have an uncle. I really don't..."
She stubbornly repeated the words.
Tears streamed down her face.
Yu Wenli's heart ached. He said softly, in agreement, "Yes, no. You don't have one."
Wen Tingxue's lips quivered. Her face, streaked with tears, was filled with grievance as she looked at him, on the verge of crying.
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Yu Wenli remembered she was afraid of the dark, but he didn't know it was due to being tormented.
That family... truly deserves to die.
Wu Shangrong's backside hurt from the fall. She also saw everyone surrounding Wen Tingxue.
Wiping her tears, comforting her.
No one was on her side, caring about her, thinking of her!
Hmph!
As expected, a cheap girl, adept at seduction!
In just over two months, she'd learned to charm people!
Truly worthy of that bitch Yu Xiuxiu's offspring!
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She had charmed her son into not returning home, and now he didn't even want his mother anymore!
Her daughter here was playing the victim, acting pitiful, and even the teacher was on her side!
The more Wu Shangrong thought about it, the angrier she became, wishing she could expose her true colors right now!
"What are you crying for! You have the nerve to cry?! Look at what you've done to your uncle's family!"
Wu Shangrong jumped up and pointed at Wen Tingxue's nose, yelling:
"It's just a small amount of money, your parents could have easily spared a bit. You just wouldn't say it!
"You're determined to watch your uncle's family be ruined by you, aren't you?!"
Yu Wenli shot her a cold glance, and Wu Shangrong instinctively shut her mouth.
Just as she was about to speak again, Liu Yue arrived with textbooks, speaking fluently:
"I've seen unreasonable people, but never one as unreasonable as you.
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"Old woman, if you had any sense of reason, you'd know that the one truly harming your younger son is you!
"It's your unbridled indulgence of his gambling and your unprincipled exploitation of your eldest son and second daughter that has led to this situation!
"Your younger son is out of money and in debt. Even if you sold everything, it wouldn't be enough.
"But your eldest son and second daughter have had enough of your exploitation over the years and are no longer willing to clean up your younger son's messes.
"So, with no other options, you've come to bully your granddaughter who's still in high school.
"You know that the others are tough nuts to crack, but Wen Tingxue – she's timid and cowardly, always under your thumb since childhood.
"As long as you cause a scene, your son and daughter-in-law will give you the money to appease you.
"But we're not fools. Save your little schemes!"
Liu Yue walked up to Wu Shangrong with a gentle expression.
She smiled slightly. "Ms. Wu, forget fifty thousand. Even if it were just fifty yuan.
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"If Mr. Wen and Lawyer Yu don't want to give it, then they don't have to. That's your younger son.
"But it's not theirs, and even if it were, they have the right to refuse."
Liu Yue's sharp retort left Wu Shangrong speechless. Her face flushed with anger and shame, looking extremely unpleasant.
"You! You!"
She pointed a finger at Liu Yue, but after a long moment, she couldn't utter a single coherent word.
Liu Yue had long known the Wen family's situation. She had thoroughly investigated it when Wen Di was looking into matters.
She had no good feelings towards this kind of old woman.
On the other hand, she felt sorry for the young girl, being schemed against by her grandmother at such a young age.
Liu Yue reached out and patted Wen Tingxue's shoulder, reassuring her, "Don't be nervous. You're not wrong about this.
"No matter what she says, you can boldly express your thoughts. Even if she's your grandmother.
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"You have the right to refuse and to retort, understand?"
"Mhm." Wen Tingxue nodded.
Wu Shangrong immediately pulled out her trump card and shouted loudly, "I am her grandmother! I raised her!
"I took care of her for over a decade – her food, her drink, her every need. Now I just want some money for my younger son. What's wrong with that?! Is it too much?!"