Chapter 30: Old Grudges and New Wrongs—Dealing with Sun Erlang

Shen Yi slapped his chopsticks onto the table and was about to rise and teach the foul-mouthed man behind him a lesson.

“Oh, you dare hit me? You little wolf cub, my uncle is Deputy Director Ji in your village now. Go on, try me!”

Staggering slightly, Sun Erlang limped over to Ji Ling’s table, his face full of smugness and mockery.

He leaned closer to Ji Ling again. It had been some time since he had seen that face, but it was still as captivating as ever.

With old grudges and new grievances piling up, Ji Ling pressed Shen Yi down. It would be far more satisfying to vent this anger personally. With that thought, Ji Ling swung a claw at him, and several bloody marks appeared across Sun Erlang’s face. Ji Ling’s fingernails had grown rather long. He had been too busy lately and had intended to trim them when he got home today. Who would have thought they would come in handy now?

Ji Ling pinched his own thigh hard enough to bring tears to his eyes, then let out a loud howl and lunged forward again. First, he kicked Sun Erlang squarely in the groin. Then, while Sun Erlang was clutching himself below, Ji Ling seized the opportunity to rake his nails across his face, scratching it into a colorful mess. All the while, Ji Ling sobbed and cried, “How could you bully me like this? You failed to force me into marrying you, and now you want to ruin my reputation too. How could you be such a person? I’ll fight you to the end!”

Dodging desperately, Sun Erlang glanced at the young woman who had entered behind him and hurriedly protested, “Who tried to force you into marriage? It was clearly—ah!”

When Sun Erlang covered his lower half, he could not protect his face; when he covered his face, he could not protect his lower half. Suffering on both fronts, he had no chance to speak. In the end, he could not hold back any longer and began howling, “Ji Ling, let go! How dare you hit me? My uncle will never let you off!”

Seeing that he was still acting high and mighty at a time like this, Ji Ling increased the strength in both hands and feet. Sun Erlang tried to fight back, but Shen Yi restrained him once more.

Only after Ji Ling had finally vented all his anger did he stop. By then, Sun Erlang’s face was beyond recognition. Ji Ling slowly turned toward the young woman, who had been standing nearby watching the spectacle from the beginning.

“You must be Sun Erlang’s blind date, right? A long time ago, he was already shouting all over the village that you had taken a fancy to his connections and were shamelessly begging to marry him.”

“Of course, he does have some good qualities. Aside from bullying men and women, throwing his weight around, being rotten to the core, looking a little ugly, and having rather twisted ideas, he is actually not so bad. You should give marriage to him a try.”

The young woman looked at Ji Ling, then at Sun Erlang, and frowned.

“To begin with, I did not want to come on this blind date. Your uncle pestered and pleaded with my father until I finally came. What sort of person you are has nothing to do with me, but I am not someone without standards either. So from now on, you and your uncle are both forbidden from setting foot inside my home.”

After saying this, the young woman did not spare him another glance and walked away. Sun Erlang hurried after her, trying to explain, but she only quickened her pace. With his lame leg, he could not catch up and had no choice but to return and cause trouble for Ji Ling again.

This time, however, he did not dare come too close. Standing in the doorway, he glared venomously.

“Ji Ling, you will not be smug for long. Someone will deal with you soon enough. In their eyes, you are nothing but an elephant beside an ant. Bah!”

Ji Ling made as though to strike him again, and Sun Erlang scurried away at once.

After that commotion in the dining hall of the state-run restaurant, it was no longer suitable to continue the earlier conversation.

Shen Silan tugged at Ji Ling’s hand. “Sister, do not be sad. Come home with me. I will ask my father whether he can make that wool blanket for you.”

Lv Suzhen rolled her eyes. Ji Ling had just demonstrated perfectly well that he was no one to be pitied. Besides, producing a single wool blanket especially for Ji Ling would require setting up and adjusting the machinery, which meant additional costs and would delay the factory’s proper work. No matter how much Shen Silan’s father doted on her, he could never agree to it.

Then again, Lv Suzhen reconsidered. The few designs Ji Ling had drawn were quite good. Her father’s ceramics factory could make use of them as well. With that thought, Lv Suzhen no longer tried to stop Shen Silan.