He Xiâs hands were not as long as hers. When a cold object pressed against her neck, she felt cold all over and so stiff that she couldnât move.
Some of the timid girls around them were already crying out in alarm. Even Song Fengwan, who was very close, gasped, thinking that she had taken out a knife.
âMiss...â Zou Li stood at the side, her face ashen.
âHe Xi, today is a charity event. I didnât bring a knife with me when I went out. If it was something else pressing against your throat today, do you really think youâll be safe and sound?â
When Tang Jingci finished speaking, everyone could clearly see that she had only taken out an eyebrow pencil.
But He Xi was already frightened out of her wits. Her limbs were stiff, and the bag in her hand fell to the floor. Tang Jingci retracted her hand.
âLittle Sister, I just want to tell you that you fought with me first today. Even if I hurt you, it was accidental self-defense.
âI have always believed that when dealing with rude and unreasonable people, we should use violence to counter violence.â
Tang Jingci rubbed the eyebrow pencil in her hand. âNo one should be bullied by you. If your family canât restrain you, I donât mind teaching you a lesson.
âAlso... exposing other peopleâs shortcomings in public doesnât make you look superior. It will only make people think that you have no quality and...
â... lack manners!â
Just now, He Xi had thought that the thing pressed against her neck was a knife. She was so frightened that her limbs went weak, and she still hadnât regained her senses.
âLittle Xi, how are you? Are you alright?â Old Madam He and He Shiqing rushed over.
âGrandma...â He Xiâs fingers trembled as she touched her neck. Her back was covered in cold sweat!
Earlier, Tang Jingciâs eyes had been too cold, and the force of her pencil had been very strong. It had directly poked her throat as if it was about to pierce through her skin. How could she not be afraid?
âMiss, this is enough. You should be lenient wherever possible,â Old Madam He said.
Tang Jingci was in the midst of arguing when she heard the baffling words âbe lenient wherever possibleâ. She was dumbfounded.
When the surrounding people saw Old Madam He, an elder, come forward, they thought this matter would probably be over just like that. But they didnât know Tang Jingci at all...
She had never grown up in China. She knew to respect the elderly and love the young. But in her understanding, there was no difference between men, women, and children when dealing with evil people.
âBe lenient with her? Was I the one bullying her?â Tang Jingci found it funny. âYouâre her grandmother, right? Why didnât you stop your granddaughter from bullying me just now?
âNow that sheâs at a disadvantage, you come out to ask me to let her off? She was so arrogant earlier. Where were you then? Now you want me to let her off?
âThe quality of your family isnât good!â
Everyone thought that Tang Jingci would just let it go, but they didnât expect her to drag the He family in and criticize them too!
This move...
How fierce!
Song Fengwan, standing at the side, almost applauded Tang Jingci.
âYoung lady, you...â Old Madam He knew that He Xi was unreasonable in this matter. She wanted to use her identity as an elder to smooth things over, but she didnât expect Tang Jingci not to buy this at all.
âI donât know what it means to be lenient and let people off. I only know that if you did something wrong, you should apologize, admit your mistake, and compensate for it.â Tang Jingci was very clear about this. âCompensate?â Old Madam He seemed to have caught onto something and sneered. âYou want money?â
Song Fengwan was speechless. Why is money involved?
She had seen this old ladyâs ability to distort the truth before. Now, she actually used it on Tang Jingci.
What she meant was that she wanted He Xi to pay the price she deserved, not money!
As soon as she said this, everyone suspected her motive for not letting this matter go.
âShe wants to extort money?â Everyone was already discussing.
âShe doesnât look like someone who lacks money.â
âWho doesnât love money in this world? Who doesnât want more money? Besides, He Xi is in the wrong in this matter. Itâs normal to ask for compensation.â
Tang Jingci didnât expect that this old lady would actually roast her over the fire the moment she came out.
I want money?
This old lady is really impressive.
âYoung lady, thatâs enough. What do you want? We can talk in private. Thereâs no need to be so aggressive on an occasion like today,â Old Madam He said to her in a negotiating tone.
Her tone was calm, and she looked kind and harmless.
âNo matter what Little Xi did wrong, we can discuss whatever compensation you want.
âCanât we both take a step back?â
Song Fengwan had to admit that Old Madam He was really a ruthless person.
This was what she had done at the charity auction. But Fu Chen had appeared at the time and directly shoved her back.
She grabbed her words and attacked her. She first labeled Tang Jingci as someone who was aggressive and worshiped money before showing her sincerity and standing on the moral high ground to judge her. How vicious.
This old ladyâs words about being lenient wherever possible were already very displeasing to Tang Jingci. She didnât expect herself to become an evil person for no reason.
She rarely stayed in China, so she had never known that word games could be played like this.
At this moment, Old Madam He was completely morally kidnapping her. If she agreed to take a step back, she wouldnât be able to take this lying down. If she didnât retreat, it would seem as though she was being unreasonable and deliberately asking for money. But before she could speak...
Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind her. âOld Madam He...â
âQiao Xiyan?â Old Madam He wasnât familiar with him, but his appearance really resembled Old Master Qiaoâs. In particular, the coldness in his eyes was the same as Old Master Qiaoâs, as well as the inherited phoenix eyes of the Qiao family. âYou just said that no matter what He Xi did wrong, she can get any compensation she wants?â
âI did!â
âIf she deliberately hurt someone and tried to harm someone elseâs life, may I ask how your He family will compensate her for this?â Qiao Xiyan narrowed his eyes, and his tone sounded fake and unreal.
âQiao Xiyan, let me remind you. You canât talk nonsense like this!â Old Madam He had no idea what He Xi had done in private, so she was naturally self-righteous.
It was illegal to hurt someoneâs life, and no one wanted to get involved in such trouble. Old Madam Heâs expression instantly turned cold.
âIf there wasnât any evidence, I wouldnât dare to step forward.â
âInitially, we could have talked about this in private. But since you said that we deliberately wanted to extort money, we might as well lay it out on the table and calculate it!
âHow much are two lives worth? How much money does your He family want to settle this matter with?!â
We? Song Fengwan was stunned. When did he and Big Sister Tang become we?