NFBE Chapter 686 Reasons why you can’t lose
Chapter 686 Reasons why you can’t lose
Xue Sumei followed Lan Caiping into the office building and saw from a distance that Lan Caiping was negotiating with a receptionist in a business suit at the front desk. She didn't dare get too close, so she hid behind a pillar in the lobby lounge area and listened carefully to what was going on.
At first, Lan Caiping's voice was restrained. Although suppressed anger could be heard, she at least maintained a superficial politeness. "Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Zhuang Yan from your marketing department. I have a personal matter. Could you please inform him and tell him that a lady named Lan is looking for him?"
The receptionist wore a professional smile, but her tone held an unquestionable refusal: "Excuse me, ma'am, do you have an appointment? If not, we can't notify Mr. Zhuang for you. Alternatively, you can contact him in person and have him come down to pick you up."
Lan Caiping's brows knitted together, and her voice rose a little: "I have something urgent to talk to him about! Just give him a call and tell him that Lan Weiwei's mother is looking for him! He'll come down when he hears!"
"I'm really sorry, ma'am. It's company policy that we can't disturb senior executives at work at will. Please understand." The receptionist still shook her head, and there was even a hint of imperceptible contempt in her eyes, as if she was looking at a unreasonable person who didn't know the rules.
It was this slight of contempt that completely ignited the pent-up anger within Lan Caiping. The image of her daughter lying heartbroken in the hospital, the unresponsive receptionist's attitude, and the rage she felt towards that liar, Zhuang Yan, instantly combined to overwhelm her remaining rationality.
"Rules?! What bullshit rules!" Lan Caiping slammed the countertop, her voice suddenly becoming sharp and piercing, like an enraged lioness. "I must see him today! Call him immediately! Otherwise, I'll go find him myself! I wonder if any of you can stop me!"
As she spoke, she was about to bypass the front desk and rush to the elevator. The receptionist was startled and quickly came out from behind and opened her arms to stop her: "Ma'am! You can't do this! Please calm down! If you continue like this, I will call security!"
"Go ahead and yell! Yell if you can! Let everyone see what kind of bastard your company has! A scumbag who cheats people for money and sex! A scumbag!" Lan Caiping was completely desperate, pointing at the receptionist's nose and cursing loudly, causing the few people entering and leaving the hall to stop and look sideways.
In the midst of this chaotic and arguing situation, the elevator door dinged open. A dejected man, clutching a cardboard box, stepped out. It was none other than Zhuang Yan, who had just been fired for "serious violations of company regulations, suspected falsification of academic qualifications and experience, and inappropriate behavior."
He clutched a cardboard box containing his few personal belongings, his face drooping and his mood utterly awful. Having just been "interrogated" by the CEO's office and the HR department, and ultimately fired, he was fuming with rage. Then, upon exiting, he heard a commotion in the reception area and vaguely heard his own name and words like "liar" and "scumbag."
Looking closely, the woman who was throwing a tantrum at the front desk with a ferocious look on her face, who else could it be but Lan Weiwei's mother, Lan Caiping?!
Zhuang Yan's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding washed over him. He subconsciously wanted to duck his head and slip away, but it was too late.
Lan Caiping caught a glimpse of that familiar yet hateful figure from the corner of her eye. She turned her head sharply, and after confirming it was Zhuang Yan, all her anger instantly found an outlet! She ignored the receptionist and rushed towards Zhuang Yan like a cannonball!
"Zhuang Yan! You bastard! Stop right there!" Lan Caiping rushed to Zhuang Yan, pointed at his nose, her voice trembling with extreme anger: "You've hurt my Weiwei so badly! How dare you still have the nerve to work here?! You liar! You beast! You must explain yourself to me today!"
Zhuang Yan was already in a terrible mood, and Lan Caiping's interruption and scolding only escalated his fury. He clutched the cardboard box and retreated half a step in embarrassment, a look of impatience and disgust on his face. "You...what are you yelling about?! This is the company! If you have anything to say, go outside and say it!"
"Tell it outside? Why should I tell it outside? I'm going to tell it here! Let everyone see your true face!" Lan Caiping insisted, her voice getting louder and louder: "You deceived my daughter's feelings! You obviously have a wife, and you still lied to her! Are you still a human being?! Weiwei is lying in the hospital now, it's all your fault!"
Zhuang Yan was scolded by Lan Caiping, and the curious and disdainful gazes from those around him pierced him like needles. Coupled with the frustration and anger of being fired, he completely lost his mind and suddenly raised his voice, shouting back with a ferocious look on his face:
"What are you yelling about?! Your daughter is such a slut that she has to come up to me and blame me?! Did I force her or tie her up? It takes two to tango! She's just stupid and can't see through men. She deserves to be cheated! It's none of my business! Neither you mother nor your daughter are good people. Both the old and the young are just as unreasonable!"
"You...you bastard!" Lan Caiping was so angry that her whole body was shaking, tears welled up in her eyes, and she raised her hand to hit Zhuang Yan.
Xue Sumei, who was hiding behind a pillar, was still hesitant at first whether to go out. Now she saw Lan Caiping quarreling with someone. Out of instinct as a long-time sister (and sworn enemy), she immediately rolled up her sleeves and rushed over. Before she even arrived, she was already scolding:
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Bullying a woman in public? Are you still a man?! Don't you have any manners? What are you arguing about? Can't you just say it nicely? You look like a decent person, but why are you spewing shit?"
Xue Sumei cursed as she aggressively pushed in front of Lan Caiping, shielding her behind her. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the man across from her. She immediately felt the face looked familiar. A closer look revealed the eyebrows and eyes. Although he had gained weight and aged a bit compared to a few years ago, it was clearly Li Wei, the man who had absconded with her daughter's savings and made her hate him so much!
Xue Sumei's head buzzed, like a barrel of explosives being ignited. All her rationality instantly flew out of the window! Her eyes instantly became bloodshot, her voice was so sharp that it almost pierced her eardrums, and her finger was about to poke Zhuang Yan (Li Wei)'s nose:
"Li Wei?! It's you, you bastard! You're a damn liar! You're a scumbag! It's not enough that you cheated on my daughter Taozi! Now you're cheating on Weiwei too?! Are you still a fucking human being?! Why don't you just die as a scum of society like you?"
New and old grudges surged into Xue Sumei's heart, and she completely exploded. She no longer cared about her image in any occasion, and screamed, "I'll beat you to death, you beast!", waving her nails and scratching at Zhuang Yan's face!
Zhuang Yan was caught off guard, his face instantly scratched with bloody marks, a searing pain. He retreated awkwardly, clutching the cardboard box, only to be surrounded by Xue Sumei and Lan Caiping. During the shoving and tug-of-war, the cardboard box fell to the ground with a thud, scattering the documents, cups, and other miscellaneous items inside.
"Get out of here! You two crazy bitches!" Zhuang Yan was shocked and furious. While blocking the way, she roared without thinking: "I just lost my job! Is it you! Did you go to my company to cause trouble? Report me? You want to cut off my source of income? You want me to die, right? Fine! Fine! Then everyone will have a hard time today!"
"Bullshit! Who reported you? Does a rubbish like you need to be reported? Even God can't stand it! You deserve to be fired! It's karma!" Xue Sumei cursed while continuing to try to scratch him.
Lan Caiping also joined the battle crying, throwing the bag in her hand at Zhuang Yan: "You have to compensate my daughter! You hurt her like this! You will die a horrible death!"
The three of them immediately engaged in a scuffle, the situation completely spiraling out of control. Zhuang Yan, enraged, also began shoving Xue Sumei and Lan Caiping. Xue Sumei stumbled, tripping over a fallen document and falling to the ground with a cry of "Ouch!" Her tailbone clashed against the cold marble floor, the pain so intense she blacked out and burst into tears: "They're hitting me! They're killing me! This is unjust!"
The office building's security had already heard the news and rushed over, but they were unable to intervene. The receptionist was so frightened that her face turned pale and she hurriedly called the police.
……
Elsewhere, Lin Bufan and Yang Tao had just finished breakfast at a fancy breakfast shop and were about to take her to the hotel to work. As the car approached the hotel entrance, Yang Tao's phone rang rapidly. She glanced at the caller ID, seeing an unfamiliar number, and picked up the phone, puzzled.
"Hello? Is this Ms. Yang Tao? This is the XX Road Police Station. Your mother, Ms. Xue Sumei, is currently at the police station because of a dispute with someone. We need your family to come over..."
Yang Tao's face turned pale in an instant, and her voice trembled: "Police...Police station? What happened to my mom? Is she okay?"
"...Ms. Xue fell during the conflict, and the other party also suffered some minor injuries. Please come over and discuss the details. Please come and deal with it as soon as possible."
"Okay, okay, I'll be there right away! Thank you!" Yang Tao hung up the phone in a panic, grabbed Lin Bufan's arm, and spoke incoherently: "Bufan! Oh no! My mom...my mom got into a fight and is in the police station! What should I do? Is she going to be okay?"
Lin Bufan was stunned when he heard this. What was going on? He was taken to the police station? This wasn't in the plot, was it? Did they get into an argument with the basketball players while square dancing?
Lin Bufan, who really couldn't figure it out, decided to go and take a look first!
"Don't worry, Taozi, I'm here. Auntie is already at the police station, which means the scene is under control and safety is at least guaranteed. Let's go over and see what's going on."
Lin Bufan immediately turned the car around and headed towards the police station address Yang Tao mentioned. While driving, he spoke in a gentle and soothing voice, "It's okay. It's probably just a fight and they got angry. It's just a public security dispute at most. We can just mediate it. Don't scare yourself."
Yang Tao looked at Lin Bufan's calm profile and listened to his clear analysis. Her panicked heartbeat finally calmed down a little, but her hand holding the phone was still shaking slightly from nervousness. She nodded repeatedly: "Yeah... Yeah... Thank you."
……
After police mediation and counseling, the farce in the office building lobby ultimately ended with both parties shouldering the consequences and offering reluctant apologies. After all, both sides engaged in physical violence. Xue Sumei fell, suffering a dull pain in her tailbone, and Zhuang Yan suffered bruises on his face, so the situation was classified as a physical altercation. Considering the minor nature of the situation and the mutual willingness to mediate, the police, after a stern reprimand and counseling session, allowed both parties to leave.
The atmosphere at the police station entrance was awkward and solemn.
Lin Bufan and Yang Tao supported Xue Sumei, who still looked grim and grumbling, as she emerged. Almost simultaneously, Lan Weiwei and her father, their eyes reddening, also emerged, supporting Lan Caiping, whose hair was disheveled and expression was dejected and unwilling.
The two groups met unexpectedly on the steps in front of the police station.
Yang Tao and Lan Weiwei's eyes met briefly in mid-air, then quickly looked away. Lan Weiwei lowered her head in shame, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her clothes. Yang Tao's emotions were also very complicated. She felt sympathy for Lan Weiwei's plight, but also a sense of inexplicable distance. In the end, she simply pursed her lips and said nothing.
Unlike their daughters' reserved expressions, the look between Xue Sumei and Lan Caiping was as intense as a collision between Mars and the Earth, because they both had their own reasons for not wanting to lose!
Xue Sumei vowed to seek justice for her daughter!
Lan Caiping, on the other hand, no matter whether she was right or wrong, she must not show weakness at this moment, otherwise her daughter's reputation would be ruined!
After losing their common enemy, Zhuang Yan, Xue Sumei took the initiative to instigate a civil war: "Lan Caiping! How dare you glare at me? I haven't even settled accounts with you yet! Your Weiwei did such a bad thing! She knew that Li Wei... no, Zhuang Yan! She knew that Zhuang Yan was Taozi's ex-boyfriend, the bastard who cheated Taozi out of all her hard-earned money! And yet she kept it a secret and stayed with him for so many years! What does she think of us Taozi? Is she making a fool of our family?!"
Xue Sumei became increasingly agitated, her finger nearly poking Lan Caiping's face. "What about you? Your daughter did such a shameful thing as stealing her sister's boyfriend and hanging out with a liar, and you still have the nerve to brag in front of me every other day? You talk about how great and capable your future son-in-law is! Ugh! I feel ashamed just listening to you! You two conspired to keep us in the dark, just to make fun of us, right? Now that the truth has been revealed, what else do you have to say?!"
Lan Caiping's face turned pale from side to side from Xue Sumei's barrage of accusations, but she knew she couldn't give in at this critical juncture. She put on a posture of not backing down, her voice rising in an attempt to overwhelm her opponent:
"Xue Sumei! Stop your slander! What poaching? What playing tricks? Who can tell the truth about love?! That Li Wei... that bastard only got together with Weiwei after he broke up with Taozi! They're not married, so why is that wrong? Weiwei is a victim too! She was deceived by that damn liar! If she had known he was that kind of person, would she have stayed with him?!"
Lan Caiping deliberately avoided the key point of "concealment" and clung to the identity of "victim". Her voice was tearful but extremely tough: "What do you mean by saying this now? Are you trying to kick someone when they're down? Are you happy to see my daughter being deceived? You have to force our Weiwei to death before you're satisfied, right?! I'm telling you, Xue Sumei, even if Weiwei made a thousand mistakes today, it's not your turn to point fingers and make irresponsible remarks! Our Weiwei still has a life to live!"