Chapter 44

Qing Shuang and Yan Qiu sent Guo Guo to school on time, and Yan Qiu insisted on waiting for Guo Guo to be dismissed. Qing Shuang, worried about the matters at the shop, returned alone. Xu Yun knew that Yan Qiu was concerned about the environment around the school, especially after Qin Wan'er brought back that half-true, half-false news yesterday. Even if it wasn't reliable, it was enough to make Yan Qiu cautious for a few days.

Qing Shuang walked into the herbal cuisine restaurant and immediately saw the people Xu Yun had beaten up, their faces bruised and swollen. She quickly called out to Qiangzi, "Xiao Qiang, what's going on with these people?"

"Brother Yun caught some hooligans," Qiangzi grinned, not bothering to explain further. "Brother Yun is upstairs, you can ask him."

Qing Shuang hurried upstairs. The group of bruised and swollen guys looked like typical thugs, and she was genuinely worried that Xu Yun might have offended someone. However, Xu Yun was leisurely brewing tea and reading the newspaper on the second floor.

Xu Yun had found the newspaper in Wei Weiming's Toyota Highlander. It was printed by some small printing house and contained all sorts of trivial gossip, like a man being scammed after a WeChat hookup.

"Xu Yun, what's going on with those people downstairs?" Qing Shuang didn't even have time to drink water, she asked anxiously.

Seeing Qing Shuang return, Xu Yun put down the newspaper. "Sister Shuang, these were the ones who beat up Brother Pang's workers yesterday. I just gave them a taste of their own medicine."

Qing Shuang was surprised. "They are the ones who beat people yesterday? Why didn't you call the police and let Wan'er arrest them?"

"Don't, Guo Guo finally went to school, don't trouble the police anymore," Xu Yun said quickly. "Even if Qin Wan'er brought people, it wouldn't change what happened yesterday. It's better if I handle it myself. At least I can keep these guys around to do some work."

"But..." Qing Shuang couldn't think like Xu Yun.

Xu Yun shook his finger and pointed to the three stacks of money on the table. "Don't think too much about it. Take the money on the table. It's the money I borrowed from you yesterday, here it is."

Qing Shuang looked at the 30,000 yuan on the table and asked with concern, "Is the injured worker okay? I don't need the money right now. If you need it, take it."

Xu Yun smiled. "The worker is fine. We have enough money now. You keep it. I'll ask you for it if I need it."

Anyway, the money was found in Wei Weiming's car, a total of 50,000 yuan, neatly wrapped in newspaper. After leaving 30,000 yuan for Qing Shuang, Xu Yun gave the remaining 20,000 yuan to Pang Gang.

Pang Gang initially refused to take the money, as the hospital fees were almost covered, but he couldn't resist Xu Yun's insistence and eventually took it. However, he didn't keep a single cent for himself. He added 1,000 yuan of his own and gave each of the seven workers 3,000 yuan for nutrition.

Pang Gang took the money to the hospital, while Qiangzi supervised the gang of thugs working downstairs. Xu Yun, enjoying his leisure time, drank tea and read the newspaper on the second floor. Since the herbal cuisine restaurant wasn't open, Qing Shuang had nothing to do and went to wash clothes.

...

Bilingual International School was undoubtedly an expensive school. Just look at the students in Su Xiaoran's class, wearing luxury brands like Burberry, Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs.

Guo Guo's puffy skirt was clearly not as expensive as those of her classmates, but her demeanor was surprisingly more refined than the other wealthy children. Within two breaks, she had become the leader of a group of kids.

Su Xiaoran experienced Guo Guo's influence on the first day. After chatting for a while, she genuinely felt that "cute" was no longer enough to describe this little girl. She was a demon...

"Teacher Su, can I call you sister?" Guo Guo ran to Su Xiaoran's desk after class, unafraid.

"If you call Qin Wan'er sister, then you can call me sister," Su Xiaoran, who liked the spirited Guo Guo, said. "But only outside of school."

Guo Guo looked surprised. "So Teacher Su knows Sister Wan'er?"

"Of course," Su Xiaoran smiled. "We were more than just friends in high school. We were best friends who shared a bowl of instant noodles."

Guo Guo's eyes sparkled with admiration. "You two have such a good relationship. Will you marry the same husband in the future?"

"Uh..." Su Xiaoran frowned. What kind of question was this?

Guo Guo, however, said seriously, "Teacher Su, I want Sister Wan'er to be my stepmom. She already lives with us."

Su Xiaoran was confused for a moment. "Guo Guo, you mean Qin Wan'er lives with you... and your parents?"

"Yes, with me, my mom, dad, and Sister Yan Qiu," Guo Guo said proudly. "My dad's herbal cuisine is very delicious. When will you come to try it, Teacher Su?"

Wait... Su Xiaoran felt everything was a mess. How could Qin Wan'er live with someone else's family? And be Guo Guo's stepmom... Su Xiaoran's head was spinning. The family relationships were too complicated.

Guo Guo touched her chin. "Since Teacher Su and Sister Wan'er are good friends, you can also be my stepmom."

"Ha... This, this is... I'll just be your sister, okay?" Su Xiaoran realized she was dealing with a little demon.

But Guo Guo didn't think so. If Su Xiaoran could be her stepmom, she could rule the class without any resistance. Those kids in luxury brands wouldn't dare to show off in front of her and would all submit to her.

"But I still think it's better if you're my stepmom," Guo Guo insisted. "My dad is actually a very good person."

A soothing melody played, and Su Xiaoran was relieved. Fortunately, the class bell rang, and she didn't have to worry about this issue anymore. "Guo Guo, go to class. Just one more period, and then you're dismissed."

Watching Guo Guo skip away, Su Xiaoran sighed in relief. She needed to call Qin Wan'er and find out what was going on. How could such a cute little girl have such a chaotic family?

Since Qin Wan'er was promoted to the position of guidance officer at the police station, her life had indeed become much easier. She no longer had to worry about trivial matters and rarely had to go on police calls.

Her main responsibility was to allocate and summarize tasks assigned by the bureau, then report daily work to the bureau. The only headache was the frequent meetings, but otherwise, everything was fine.

Su Xiaoran's call made Qin Wan'er very happy. "Teacher Su, why did you suddenly think of me?"

"If I don't think of you, you don't want me to think of you?" Su Xiaoran huffed. "Comrade Qin Wan'er, I have something serious to warn you about. You need to be careful about your lifestyle. You seem to be disrupting someone's family. I have to tell you, stop it!"

Qin Wan'er really wanted to punch Su Xiaoran. "What are you talking about? My lifestyle is problematic? Did you get hit by a door?"

"Hey, I wouldn't say it if I didn't have evidence," Su Xiaoran said sternly. "Guo Guo said you live with her parents. Are you denying it?"

"Damn!" Qin Wan'er, though not a gentle and quiet type, was not easily angered. "Do you believe everything a child says? Are you an idiot, Su Xiaoran?"

Su Xiaoran huffed. "You're the idiot. Children don't lie."

"Guo Guo is a child Sister Qing Shuang adopted. You didn't know that? How can you be a teacher like that?" Qin Wan'er couldn't hold back and revealed Guo Guo's background.

She then detailed the current situation of Qing Shuang and Guo Guo to Su Xiaoran, including the troubles at the herbal cuisine restaurant, without hiding anything.

But Qin Wan'er didn't mention that she moved into the herbal cuisine restaurant because she was interested in the mysterious Xu Yun. She just said she wanted to protect Qing Shuang and Guo Guo.

Su Xiaoran listened with tears in her eyes. While feeling sympathy for Guo Guo and admiration for Qing Shuang, she also became very curious about Xu Yun. In her eyes, Xu Yun was just a careless father driving a used Fukan, but she never imagined he was a selfless helper willing to help Qing Shuang and Guo Guo.

Sigh, those who don't know Xu Yun will never understand. Selfless? Impossible. Guo Guo had promised to help him win over her mom!

...

The renovation of the herbal cuisine restaurant was in full swing. While Qing Shuang was washing clothes upstairs, Xu Yun came downstairs.

He kicked Wei Weiming, who was lying in a heap like mud, with his toe. "Haven't you called for backup yet? Damn, I'm getting impatient!"

Wei Weiming wanted to bite the arrogant bastard in front of him. "My phone was taken by your people!"

"Brother Yun, do you really want him to call for backup?" Qiangzi, holding Wei Weiming's phone, walked up to Xu Yun. "Fan Nanjie is not like Wang Shunxi. He's young but ruthless. If he really calls for backup and brings a few hundred people, it will be trouble..."

After the initial satisfaction of beating people, Qiangzi finally realized the terrifying consequences of offending Fan Nanjie.

"What do you suggest?" Xu Yun narrowed his eyes, already having a plan.

Qiangzi couldn't come up with a solution. He didn't know how to resolve this. Should they really wait for Fan Nanjie to seek revenge? According to Fan Nanjie's ruthless nature, he wouldn't just smash the shop like the Four Wolves Gang; he would target people!

Seeing the struggle on Qiangzi's face, Wei Weiming sneered. "Now you're afraid... my cousin..."

Bang!

Xu Yun didn't want to listen to his boasting. He grabbed Wei Weiming's face and slammed the back of his head against the wall. Wei Weiming went unconscious.

"Since that's the case, I'll have to take the initiative," Xu Yun rubbed his chin. Since Yan Qiu was trying to control the local thugs, he would do her a favor and take down the Axe Gang.

At least if these people were controlled, Guo Guo and Yan Qiu would be safer, and Qing Shuang and the herbal cuisine restaurant would have fewer troubles. Why not?

"Brother Yun, what do you mean?" Qiangzi swallowed hard.

"Tonight, I'll treat you to a bath. You come with me," Xu Yun grinned. "Let's go to the Tropical Rainforest Bathhouse."

Going to a bathhouse in summer?

Crazy!

But why do so many bathhouses stay open in summer? The answer is simple: they hang a sheep's head but sell dog meat.