Chapter 257: Shrew

Seeing Tang Shiyun accompanied by Su Lin, Ling Chen approached Zhu Yansong and asked, "Mr. Zhu, do you know who might be wishing harm upon Shiyun?"

Zhu Yansong gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and said, "How would I know? Miss Tang has just entered this circle. She has a good personality and is likable; she has never made enemies with anyone. If there has been any conflict, it might only be with..."

He paused, his words trailing off as he gave Ling Chen a meaningful look.

Being a clever man, Ling Chen quickly caught on and blurted out, "Are you referring to Zhang Zekai from Beijing?"

"Yes. But, based on my knowledge of the Zhang Family, even if they are bold, they wouldn’t dare to do such a thing. Murder is no trifle matter, and getting caught could ruin a lifetime. Although President Zhang and Miss Tang had some disputes, it hasn’t reached that extent. Sigh, I noticed earlier there were many people outside, so I asked the staff to leave in the car first to divert the reporters’ attention, but I didn’t expect... it really was a narrow escape this time."

Zhu Yansong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, internally feeling relieved.

"Mr. Zhu, besides you and Shiyun, is there anyone else?"

"Yes, Miss Yao is also here; she just went to the restroom."

"Miss Yao?" Ling Chen was momentarily taken aback, then quickly realized. The Miss Yao mentioned by Zhu Yansong was Tang Shiyun’s mother, Yao Li.

This was bad! Yao Li had always been prejudiced against him, and last time she even moved away from the LC district specifically to sever his relationship with Tang Shiyun. If she saw him here, who knows what trouble it might cause.

With this in mind, he excused himself to Zhu Yansong and turned to leave the office. It was better to avoid meeting Tang Shiyun’s mother at this time.

However, sometimes things happen exactly as feared, and there’s no escaping it.

As Ling Chen reached the door, before he could even open it, the door was pushed open from the outside. Yao Li, in a fur coat which made her look even bulkier, her hair done in wave curls, wearing a gold necklace and earrings, suddenly appeared in front of him, a strong perfume smell wafting into his face.

Seeing Yao Li before him, Ling Chen inwardly gave a bitter smile, realizing he was a step too slow to avoid her.

At that moment, Yao Li’s face fell upon recognizing Ling Chen, resembling the unpredictable weather of September, instantly overcast with clouds, and a cold wind swept through, looking extremely unpleasant.

Ling Chen managed to muster a strained smile, greeting, "Mrs. Yao, hello."

"What are you doing here? Who let you in?" Yao Li’s tone was sharp, as if facing an enemy, showing no mercy.

"I heard Shiyun was in danger. I happened to be passing by, so..."

Before Ling Chen could finish, Yao Li rudely interrupted, coldly saying, "My daughter’s affairs are none of your concern. Get out quickly and stop being an eyesore here."

"Mom!"

Hearing Yao Li’s harsh tone, Tang Shiyun immediately became anxious, hurriedly running over to grab Ling Chen, frowning displeasedly. "Ling is kindly here to see me. Why are you being so rude to him?"

"Watch him? Could he possibly be that kind-hearted?" Yao Li’s voice immediately rose to a high pitch as she stood with one hand on her hip, pointing at Ling Chen’s nose like a furious street hawker. She yelled, "Daughter, don’t you know what kind of person he is? A small-time hoodlum who is lazy and lacks ambition. Now that he sees you’re famous and wealthy, he just wants to take advantage. Mr. Ling, I’m telling you, I know your kind of worthless trash very well, so stay away from my daughter. If I see you again, I’ll call the cops and have you arrested for life."

Tang Shiyun defended, "Mom, Ling is not that kind of person. Don’t talk about him like that."

"Good daughter, I’ve lived long enough to know people. You have to believe me; I wouldn’t misjudge someone." After saying this, Yao Li, still not satisfied, continued to curse at Ling Chen, "With your useless garbage self, you think you can take advantage of my daughter? Dream on like a toad aiming for swan meat. Bah! What a joke. Get out of here. Don’t hang around in front of me; you’re annoying to look at."

"Hey, how can you talk like that? You have no manners at all."

Seeing her constantly insulting Ling Chen, Su Lin couldn’t listen anymore and indignantly spoke up.

Yao Li glanced at Su Lin and cursed mercilessly, "And who are you? Mind your own business."

"You..." Su Lin, furious, replied heatedly, "You just rely on your daughter being a star. What’s so great about that? Let me tell you, don’t be so arrogant; there are plenty of rich people out there. You don’t appreciate Ling Chen because you’re short-sighted. Not to insult you, but you’re really not in his league now."

"Me? Not in his league?" Yao Li scoffed as if hearing a ridiculous joke, sarcastically said, "Yes, I’m not in his league. Only shameless women like you would fall for that kind of thug."

Su Lin trembled with anger, indignant at being called shameless.

"Mom, stop talking," Tang Shiyun, her face pale and almost on the verge of tears, said, "Su, my mom just has this temper, please don’t take it to heart. I apologize on her behalf."

"Daughter, no need to apologize to such people; they can’t appreciate it," sneered Yao Li.

"Enough!" Ling Chen, frowning slightly, sternly said, "Mrs. Yao, I only regard Shiyun as a friend. I have no ulterior motives; don’t think the worst of everyone. You can scold me, but don’t insult my friend. For Shiyun’s sake, I won’t argue with you today to avoid making it difficult for her, but I advise you, your attitude will hurt Shiyun sooner or later."

"Bah!" Yao Li spat on the ground. "Just stop bothering my daughter. She’ll be fine without you."

"Ling, you... you should go back first," Tang Shiyun said with tearful eyes, looking at him pitifully. Caught between Ling Chen and her own mother, she did not want to hurt either of them.

Ling Chen sighed softly, nodded, and said, "Take care of yourself out there. Mr. Zhu, I’ll count on you to take good care of Shiyun."

"Rest assured, I guarantee she won’t be hurt," Zhu Yansong promised. He had witnessed the scene and had wanted several times to speak up for Ling Chen but held back as it was personal family matters and not appropriate for an outsider to intervene.

"Lady Su, let’s go."

Seeing Ling Chen walk away, Su Lin unwillingly glared at Yao Li and quickly followed him.

"Ling Chen, after she treated you like that, can you really endure it?" Su Lin asked, her face full of indignation; she had never seen someone so lacking in class.

Ling Chen shook his head helplessly. "She’s Shiyun’s mom. What do you expect me to do? Punish her? Argue back? If I did that, Shiyun would be the one most distressed. Let it go; don’t get angry. It’s not worth arguing with such a person."