A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 96

This was the first time Ting Chen had ever seen Changmei Gu truly enraged, and her body instinctively recoiled.

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!” she stammered. “I just felt that since Sisi is being immature, I, as the elder sister, have to be the sensible one, right?”

Changmei Gu let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Little Chen, I haven’t grown so old that I’ve become senile yet!”

“You were clearly the one spreading gossip and nearly harming someone else’s child. How have you twisted this around so that you are the one in the right?”

Ting Chen hadn’t expected Changmei Gu’s stance to be this firm. “Director Gu, how many people in this world don’t indulge in a little gossip? Besides, if that kid could be lured out the door so easily, don’t the parents bear some responsibility?”

Changmei Gu didn’t respond for a long moment. She had finally learned today what it meant to be “sophistical” and “silver-tongued.” She scrutinized Ting Chen with disbelief, as if seeing her for the first time.

Acting on her professional duty, Changmei set aside her personal feelings one last time to offer a final chance. “Little Chen, one must seek truth from facts. A mistake is a mistake. You’ve already taken a beating; why not just let this matter go? There’s no need to make someone kneel and apologize. Don’t you think that’s going too far?”

As Changmei said this, her expression was already noticeably dark.

Ting Chen, however, was completely oblivious and remained relentless. “Too far? What’s too far about it? People like Sisi Shen rot in rural vegetable patches! But I’m different. I’m the soprano of this Troupe. Even the Chief praised my rendition of Ode to the Red Plum. I am the face of this Troupe; surely you don’t want me burdened with a stained reputation!”

“Sisi Shen has no evidence for this. As long as I deny everything to the death and focus on the fact that she used violence, I can flip the script. If I can force her to kneel and admit fault in public, no one will believe whatever nonsense she tries to spread later!”

Ting Chen had mapped it all out. She was just waiting for her leader to back her up. Otherwise, she really was quite intimidated by Chengfeng Gu standing beside Sisi—the man looked as cold as frost, like a ravenous wolf ready to tear her apart in one bite. But if her leader stepped in, everything would be different.

“Good, good, good…” Changmei Gu said the word three times, then forcefully threw Ting Chen’s hand off her arm. “Ting Chen, oh Ting Chen. I never expected you to be this kind of person. When I recruited you all those years ago, I must have been blind!”

The moment she finished, Ting Chen froze, her face flushing a deep red. “What… what do you mean by that?”

Changmei Gu was disappointed beyond measure and had no intention of keeping up appearances. “The matter of slandering a soldier hasn’t even been settled yet, and now you’ve gone and spread more rumors that nearly harmed a child. On top of that, you wanted me to conspire with you to twist the facts and force someone to kneel. A person with no character and no ethics like you is not fit to stay in our Art Troupe.”

Ting Chen felt as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. It took her a long time to find her voice. “Director Gu, what are you saying? You’re… you’re kicking me out?”

Changmei Gu nodded solemnly. “Pack your things and leave!”

“No! On what grounds?” Ting Chen pointed at Sisi Shen and Chengfeng Gu. “Director Gu, why are you siding with outsiders? I’m your most prized soprano, the pillar of this Troupe! I was beaten today, and not only do you not blame them, you’re firing me…”

Changmei was also fuming, her aura becoming fierce. “Forget it! You should be grateful they used their hands inside the Troupe. You should be grateful that my status as Director restrains me and allows me to speak to you civilly. I’m telling you, if we were outside those gates, I would have beaten you harder than Sisi did!”

When these words came out, not only was Ting Chen scared witless, but the surrounding onlookers were also stunned. The usually gentle and elegant Director Gu had done a total reversal today, shouting about beatings like she was the fiercest woman in the market.

What did she say? She wanted to hit someone too?

Seeing everyone’s confusion, Changmei Gu slowly walked to the space between Chengfeng Gu and Sisi Shen, taking each of them by an arm. “Chengfeng Gu and I both have the surname Gu. Do you still not understand?”

Every gaze instantly whipped toward them. To be fair, Chengfeng Gu did bear a resemblance to Changmei Gu—the same sharp features and handsome brow. They had heard rumors that Director Gu had a nephew serving as a soldier in Jiangcheng but had never met him. No one expected it to be him!

The realization dawned on everyone. Ting Chen stood rooted to the spot, the shock in her heart no less than a massive explosion.

“You… you…”

Changmei Gu straightened her back and introduced them proudly. “My nephew, Chengfeng Gu, Vice Commander of the First Regiment, First District of the Southwest Field Army. And the one beside him is my newly-wed niece-in-law!”

She protectively shielded Sisi Shen behind her, her grip tight. “Ting Chen, do you dare to repeat the words you just whispered to me, word for word, in front of everyone?”

Ting Chen’s face turned a chaotic mix of green and red, looking like she was wearing stage paint. Sisi Shen had seen them whispering earlier but hadn’t known what was being said. Clearly, it wasn’t anything good, given Ting Chen’s current humiliated expression.

Ting Chen staggered back a few steps, nearly falling to the ground. “Director… Director… I’m sorry. I… I really didn’t know they were your relatives. Isn’t this just ‘the flood washing away the Temple of the Dragon King’—family not recognizing family?”

All of Changmei Gu’s repressed anger finally erupted. She shouted, “To hell with that! Who’s family with someone whose ‘brain is connected to their rectum’ like you?”

Brain connected to the rectum? Sisi Shen heard this phrase for the first time and found it incredibly apt. Ting Chen truly had no brains! She was stupid, wicked, and pathetic.

Ting Chen never expected such a massive blunder. Thinking back to the poison she had just poured into Changmei Gu’s ear, she wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Now that all her schemes were in Changmei’s hands, she grew truly desperate, her voice trembling. “Director Gu, I’m sorry. I… I was wrong! Please give me one more chance!”

Changmei Gu didn’t even want to look at her. “I gave you a chance just now to let it go. You were the one who wouldn’t let it rest. You even wanted me to cooperate with you to frame Comrade Sisi Shen and force her to kneel. Fine then—I’ll give you what you wanted. This matter won’t just be ‘talked about’; it will be made into a public spectacle so everyone can see what a rotten heart you have.”

Changmei’s logic was clear, exposing the truth in just a few sentences. Sisi Shen’s blood boiled—Ting Chen really was unrepentant. She had actually tried to use a leader to frame her and bite back. If the Director hadn’t been her aunt, Sisi might have actually ended up in a mess today.

She had been impulsive today, rushing over to strike without a plan. But she didn’t regret it for a second! When it came to Niuniu, she would never be soft-hearted.

“Ting Chen, I’m saving you one last shred of dignity. Go and submit your resignation yourself. Otherwise, once the organization meets and issues a formal dismissal, it will be written into your permanent record. You’ll never have a chance at a decent job again,” Changmei Gu threatened.

Severe as she was, she still left a small opening, not wanting to drive someone to total ruin.

Hearing this, Ting Chen’s eyes turned a deep, bloodshot red, and tears poured down her face. She couldn’t resign! She couldn’t lose this job! Lately, her boyfriend Huaidong had been looking at her with distaste. Combined with the fact that her father had gambled away her dowry, the Yang family was already full of complaints. If she lost her job, Huaidong would definitely dump her!

Ting Chen bit her lip and fell to her knees with a thud. “Director, please don’t make me leave! I was wrong, I was really wrong! I can’t live without this job…”

She kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead beginning to bleed against the ground, but Changmei Gu remained unmoved.

At this moment, some in the crowd began to whisper, saying Changmei Gu was being too harsh and cold-blooded—that she was simply using her public office to settle a private family grudge.

Hearing this, Sisi Shen immediately stepped forward. She pulled Xiaojuan Huang to her side. “Little girl, why don’t you tell everyone how Ting Chen usually treats you?”