Chapter 107: You Are Unworthy ⑤
Arriving at the residential area’s bus stop, Nie Qiu alighted with her vegetables. The familiar road, familiar trees, familiar green belt… everything was so familiar. She had once thought she would never return to this place.
After walking for a while, Nie Qiu spotted the supermarket. She smiled and walked towards the back of the residential area, intending to sell her vegetables to the management personnel inside the supermarket.
In reality, the supermarket had its own procurement officers, with a fixed daily quota for produce. However, similar to the vegetable market, the customer traffic was concentrated around the time people got off work. If the vegetables brought in that morning were sold out, procurement officers would go out to buy more. It was likely for this reason that vegetable vendors sold their produce behind the supermarket.
Nie Qiu felt a bit pleased. There weren’t many people at the back entrance, suggesting the other vegetable vendors hadn’t arrived yet. With this thought, she carried her load and walked in.
“Mr. Yang, since you did not murder Professor Nie Qiu, why did you turn yourself in? What is your relationship with Professor Nie? How did you meet? Why did you claim to have killed Professor Nie?”
“Mr. Yang, is your divorce from your wife because of Professor Nie? Or because of the eldest daughter of the Chen family?”
“Mr. Yang, rumors say you are dating the eldest daughter of the Chen family. Is this rumor true?”
“Mr. Yang, it is rumored that the eldest daughter of the Chen family took care of you throughout your hospitalization. Does this indicate that your Yang family has acknowledged Miss Chen as your future bride?”
“Mr. Yang…”
Yang Zihao frowned slightly. He had expected to encounter many reporters after being discharged from the hospital, but he hadn’t anticipated so many waiting downstairs in his residential area. These intrusive ‘reporters’ and ‘paparazzi’ had been a constant annoyance lately.
Seeing Yang Zihao frown, some reporters began to wonder if this hot-tempered, only son of the Yang family, Young Master Yang, was about to curse. The thought alone seemed to invigorate the reporters, their eyes shining with endless desire as they looked at Yang Zihao. “Curse, curse! As long as the eldest son of the Yang family says something vulgar, we’ll have content for tomorrow’s report.”
Yang Chun, standing beside Yang Zihao, touched his nose and put on his socialite demeanor. “Dear reporter friends, rumors are called rumors precisely because they are not true. If Mr. Yang were to get married, he would definitely inform everyone to attend and celebrate with him at the earliest opportunity. Now, please make way. Mr. Yang has just been discharged and needs rest. Please be considerate today.”
Watching his good friend handle the reporters and answer their barrage of questions, Yang Zihao stood quietly with his hands behind his back. His face showed neither impatience nor anger, his calmness making some reporters feel a bit uneasy.
Yang Zihao was idly looking around when he suddenly spotted a petite figure carrying a vegetable basket. He paused for a moment, then stepped forward to chase after her. “Hey! I said, stop right there.”
The crowd gathered for the interview obstructed Yang Zihao’s path. By the time he pushed through the throng, the figure had disappeared around a corner of the residential area. Yang Zihao ignored those chasing him and followed the back view to the rear entrance of the residential area.
As Nie Qiu entered the back of the residential area, near the supermarket’s rear entrance, she heard someone run out from inside, “Quick, quick, the urban management is here!”
Two people carrying vegetables ran past Nie Qiu. Several others, carrying nothing, also fled in panic past her. Nie Qiu looked up and saw several men in uniform stopping two vegetable vendors, lecturing them. The vegetable vendors willingly produced fines and, after being lectured, left.
Seeing this, Nie Qiu turned to leave but was spotted by the urban management officers. “Hey, you girl, stop!”
With that, they walked towards where Nie Qiu was standing. Nie Qiu froze for a moment, then bolted. Seeing this, the urban management officers quickly gave chase.
“Ah!” As she reached a corner, Nie Qiu was knocked to the ground by a dark figure. The vegetables from the basket on her shoulder scattered everywhere. Nie Qiu didn’t care, only wanting to escape.
Yang Zihao grabbed Nie Qiu’s arm. “I said, why are you running?” Such a small, small girl. This girl looked like she was only fourteen or fifteen. He had only felt a slight sense of familiarity and had chased after her without thinking, but this girl wasn’t her. Although… she had a temperament very similar to hers.
The familiar voice entered her ears, her heart pounding ‘thump-thump-thump-thump,’ loud enough to vibrate the nerves of her heart. Nie Qiu’s voice was hoarse, “Yang… Zihao?”
“Hey, you know me?” Yang Zihao was a bit surprised and released Nie Qiu’s hand.
“No, I don’t know you.” Nie Qiu quickly denied it, took a step back, and turned to run.
“Stop!” The urban management officers caught up and grabbed Nie Qiu’s arm. “I say, little girl, how old are you to be selling vegetables here? This residential area is being developed into a civilized city. You should sell vegetables at the vegetable market, understand?”
Nie Qiu lowered her head and nodded in agreement.
“This area is full of high-end residential areas. Setting up stalls is not allowed! Understand?” the urban management officer continued to lecture. “Look, there are green belts, fountains, and tiles everywhere. Selling vegetables in such a beautiful place, wouldn’t it affect the city’s appearance?”
As soon as the urban management officer finished speaking, the reporters chasing Yang Chun also entered the back of the residential area. They aimed their cameras and took photos, incessantly asking Yang Zihao what had happened.
Seeing this scene, the urban management officer realized that this person might be some celebrity. He quickly smiled officially, “Sir, thank you for helping us catch this vegetable vendor.”
Nie Qiu lowered her head, trying her best to avoid the camera flashes. She knew that even if Nie Aifang didn’t watch television, there were over fifty classmates in her class, over two thousand teachers and students in the entire school. City A wasn’t that big, and exposure would be embarrassing.
Nie Qiu wanted to escape in the chaos, but the urban management officers held her wrist tightly. Yang Zihao frowned. Yang Chun knew that Yang Zihao was truly getting angry this time. He spread his hands. “Mr. Yang has arrived home. Dear reporters, please respect citizens’ privacy. Thank you.”
The reporters knew not to push too far. After taking a few more photos, they reluctantly left.
The urban management officers openly stated they would issue a fine. As soon as the reporters left, they demanded a hundred yuan fine. Nie Qiu bit her lower lip and took out a large handful of change from her purse. After counting for a long time, she couldn’t gather a hundred yuan.
“That’s enough!” Yang Zihao shouted. “What fine? This young lady is here to deliver goods to our market. What do you mean by stopping people behind our market warehouse?”
The urban management officer was stunned and was about to speak when Yang Chun smiled and put a hand on the officer’s shoulder. He said with a smile, “Brother, this Mr. Yang is the General Manager of the Yang Group. If you have time, you can have tea with your bureau chief at Xiangke Ju. Or perhaps… shall we have a drink tonight?”
The urban management officer finally understood something. He quickly signaled his colleagues to get into the enforcement vehicle and left.
