The Merman I Picked Up Is Too Delicious - Chapter 27

That day, after breakfast, Luo Qingyan went grocery shopping with her grandmother. Unexpectedly, they encountered some gossipy individuals on the way.

Grandma had always been gentle and amiable. As long as it didn’t involve matters of principle, she could downplay any issue and didn’t mind taking a small loss. Naturally, the target of the sarcasm this time was Luo Qingyan.

Luo Qingyan had come to understand more and more that humans were a strange bunch, reason alone didn’t always prevail. So, she tried not to fuss over many things unless absolutely necessary, seeing no point in wasting her time. However, if those around her were affected, especially if someone made her grandmother angry like now, she had no qualms about stirring up a storm.

“Alright, you’re saying men frequently come and go in my courtyard, right? Then show me the evidence! Spreading false information and slandering others can constitute a crime.” Luo Qingyan started by calmly explaining, though she didn’t expect explanations alone to resolve the matter. Still, she had to follow the steps, one by one. As other passersby began to gather, seeing the timing was right, she raised her voice.

“Oh my, why make it sound so serious? How could it be a crime? We only heard it from others. As the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire. If anyone’s committing a crime, it’s those with loose morals!” The taller one loved to be aggressive. Hearing the change in Luo Qingyan’s tone, she immediately responded with sarcasm.

“Exactly! We didn’t see it, but someone else did! Do you expect people to take photos of such things? Young people sure know how to stubbornly deny the truth!” The shorter one, seeing the taller one wasn’t backing down, joined in with more mockery.

“It seems reasoning with you two is pointless, isn’t it?” Luo Qingyan continued speaking loudly, turning to the people around them. “Here are two people who love to spread baseless rumors. They can’t provide any evidence and just rely on stubborn denial. Everyone, be careful, tomorrow, it might be one of you being slandered!”

“Those who walk upright and behave properly have nothing to fear from rumors. Only those with guilty consciences would be afraid.” The taller one crossed her arms, completely unfazed.

“Right, right! Everyone here is decent. How could they let all sorts of strange people come in and out of their homes?” The shorter one made exaggerated facial expressions, acting particularly improper. “Young people sure know how to have a wild time!”

“Are you so certain the rumors you’re spreading are true?” Luo Qingyan spoke while holding back her angry grandmother. She had already told Grandma to let her handle these two, but the things they were saying were so offensive that her grandmother was struggling to keep her composure.

“Rumors? What rumors? Everyone knows it’s the truth. Someone saw it with their own eyes, how could it be?” The shorter one grew more and more smug, but Luo Qingyan cut her off loudly.

“I don’t care who ‘everyone’ is. Since you claim it’s the truth, I’m holding you accountable!” Luo Qingyan grabbed the shorter one’s wrist. “Let’s go! To the police station, to clarify this matter! I stand by my integrity and fear no shadows!”

“Wh-what police station? Why go to the police station?” The shorter one instantly panicked, flustered and struggling to break free.

“If what you’re saying is true, why are you afraid to go to the police station?” Luo Qingyan gripped the shorter man’s wrist tightly. “Let me tell you, even if the person who supposedly witnessed it showed up today, I’d still drag them to the police station! Spreading rumors has consequences, otherwise people like you will pollute society, and anyone could become the next victim! I’m taking you to the police station to clear this up!”

“Why are you causing such a scene? Ugh, you really are unreasonable shrews, no wonder you’d do something like that!” The taller man tried to slip away while speaking.

“You dare spread rumors about my granddaughter and then try to run? Hah! Not a chance! I won’t let a rumor-mongering scoundrel like you harm anyone else!” Grandma immediately grabbed the taller man’s hands with both of hers. “A clear conscience fears no accusation. I’m over seventy years old, if you’re guilty and try to push me down to escape, the police will catch you for sure! Then your charges won’t just be slander!”

“You don’t have any evidence either! Why bother the police without proof?” The taller man’s voice clearly wavered with panic as he struggled to free his hand but didn’t dare use too much force.

Luo Qingyan had originally thought it would be enough to hold onto one person, but seeing Grandma step in made her a little worried. Fortunately, Grandma’s words had intimidated the man, so she didn’t stop her and quickly raised her voice again: “Let’s go to the police station and sort this out. With the police as witnesses, if I’ve wronged you, I’ll kneel and apologize at your doorstep every morning for a year straight. But if you’ve slandered me, you’ll have to do the same!”

“Are you insane?” The shorter man had no choice but to keep struggling.

“You have no evidence, going to the police is useless!” Seeing more people gathering around, the taller man just wanted to leave. “You’re restricting my personal freedom, that’s illegal!”

“Weren’t you aware it’s illegal when you were spreading rumors?” Luo Qingyan shot back instantly. “Let me tell you, we have evidence! I’ve only been back in G City for a little over ten days, and the street surveillance footage is stored for a long time. We’ll go to the police station, pull up the recordings, and take our time reviewing them to see who’s right!”

“Th-that matter was s-seen by someone else! Go find them!” The shorter man stammered nervously.

“Yeah, go find the person who saw it, why pick on us?” The taller man lowered his head, not daring to look around.

“You’re the ones spreading rumors, so I’m holding you accountable! As for the other rumor-mongers, I’ll deal with them one by one, slowly!” Noticing the crowd growing larger, Luo Qingyan raised her voice and addressed everyone around them. “See, everyone? The rumor-spreaders are afraid to go to the police station. The moment they hear there’s evidence, they try to run!”

Just then, someone who knew them stepped forward. Once one person started to speak up, others naturally followed suit.

“Ah! Grandma Chen is such a good person, all the neighbors know that. Her granddaughter is outstanding too. How dare you spread lies about them? How vile!”

“I think it’s just jealousy. Some people can’t stand others doing well, especially when they’ve raised such a beautiful and accomplished granddaughter, so they spread malicious rumors out of spite!”

“Weren’t you so confident earlier, swearing you were telling the truth? Why are you suddenly afraid to go to the police station? It’s clear who has a guilty conscience! Call the police, rumor-mongers belong in a jail cell!”

“Spreading rumors is as easy as opening your mouth, but refuting them takes endless effort. You people who spread lies should try to accumulate some virtue!”

“Oh my, if they’re bold enough to spread rumors without a shred of guilt, do you think they care about virtue? They’ve probably already squandered all the virtue their entire family ever had.”

“Don’t even think about running away or getting off easy! People like you, who do such wicked things, should be dragged to the police station and locked up for ten days to half a month!”

Seeing the crowd’s rising anger, the shorter man began to show signs of backing down: “I… I also heard it from someone else! It’s not my fault! I didn’t say it, really!”

“Spreading slander, you’ve heard from others still makes you responsible!” Luo Qingyan stood her ground, her tone unwavering. “Hurtful words chill like the winter cold, you should know that, right?”

“I understand, I… I won’t say such things again.” The shorter man hung his head as low as it could go.

“What do you all even want?” The taller man tried to act tough, skirting the main issue. “We were deceived too. We didn’t harm any of you, and here you are dragging us…”

“Then let’s go to the police station! Let’s see who’s in the right?” Luo Qingyan knew she couldn’t let them keep making excuses and cut him off. Seeing him fall silent, she immediately added, “Otherwise, apologize! Admit that what you said was a rumor and promise never to spread lies again! If not, we’re going straight to the police station!”

“Apology, apology, I’ll apologize!” the shorter man hastily spoke up. “I heard the rumor from someone else, and I apologize!”

Luo Qingyan then turned her gaze to the taller man.

“Fine, we’ll apologize! It’s not like we weren’t tricked by others too!” The taller man, unable to save face, still sounded defiant. “Seriously, what luck? Anyway, we’re apologizing!”

“Alright, we’re not the type to press our advantage unfairly. After all, everyone here has seen and heard what happened. But if there are any more rumors, it won’t end so simply!” Luo Qingyan understood that these two were just being sarcastic and manipulative. Using them as an example to warn others and clear up the rumors was enough, it was time to quit while ahead.

Soon after, the two rumor-mongers, who had initially been so arrogant, scurried away like rats crossing the street.

As the victorious party, Luo Qingyan and her grandmother didn’t leave immediately.

Her grandmother joined acquaintances in criticizing the rumor-spreaders, with many in the crowd chiming in, one after another, creating a lively discussion.

Luo Qingyan wasn’t in a hurry. She listened to everyone, occasionally adding a word of agreement or thanks, fostering a harmonious atmosphere.

The “victory settlement” finally concluded with a phone call from her aunt.

“Qingyan, I heard you and Grandma got into an argument with someone on the street?” Her aunt’s anxious voice came through the phone. “Are you both okay? Don’t worry, your uncle and I are on our way!”

“Aunt, don’t panic. It’s fine now; the situation’s been resolved,” Luo Qingyan quickly explained. “When I mentioned going to the police station, those two troublemakers immediately wilted, apologized, and ran off like street rats.”

“How could you let people like that off so easily?” Her aunt was still fuming. “No one in our family is easy to bully!”

“Of course, no one gets to bully our family. When we’re in the right, we stand tall with confidence!” Luo Qingyan echoed her aunt’s sentiment. “There were plenty of people around who supported us, so those two didn’t gain any advantage.”

“That’s good to hear. Since you said so, I’m sure it’s all handled.” Auntie felt much more at ease. “I’ll still come over later. We can have lunch together, then go to Cuiyun Park in the afternoon. There’s a gathering there that Grandma will enjoy, we can go have some fun.”

Luo Qingyan replied, “Alright, I’ll let Grandma know. She and I will go buy groceries first.”

Auntie said, “Mm, I should get there around ten.”

After hanging up, Luo Qingyan relayed her aunt’s words to Grandma. The two then said goodbye to the others and continued with their grocery shopping.

Everything went smoothly after that.

They bought groceries, returned home, cooked, had lunch, and joined Auntie in criticizing the rumormongers.

By the time they were preparing to go out in the afternoon, everyone’s mood had fully returned to being cheerful.

Since Cuiyun Park allowed pets, they brought Chestnut along this time.

Luo Qingyan had said that once they reached the park and the market, Grandma and Auntie could wander as they pleased, she would take full responsibility for Chestnut.

And she indeed kept her word. Grandma and Auntie enjoyed their stroll immensely, while Luo Qingyan, accompanying and following them, took excellent care of Chestnut.

However, the market was exceptionally crowded, which wasn’t ideal for a small dog. Much of the time, Luo Qingyan didn’t let Chestnut walk on the path but carried her in her arms instead. Eventually, she told Grandma and Auntie that she wanted to take Chestnut to a less crowded area to play and would meet up with them later.

Grandma and Auntie agreed, thinking it was better for Chestnut to have some time in a quieter spot.

Luo Qingyan thought that after they’d had enough fun, she might even take Chestnut to Hefeng Pavilion to visit Little Merman. She hadn’t gone to see him, yesterday, she ought to today.

Unexpectedly, before she could take Chestnut to a quieter area, they ran into Pudding and his owner. Since Grandma and Auntie knew them, they naturally struck up a conversation.

“Absolutely, it’s too crowded here. Pudding almost got stepped on!” Pudding’s owner was also holding her dog. “It scared Pudding so much, I felt terrible.”

“We initially thought Chestnut would be too lonely at home alone, and since Cuiyun allows pets, we definitely had to bring her along,” Auntie chatted enthusiastically. “We didn’t expect so many people, and the paths are so narrow. Our Qingyan plans to take Chestnut to a less crowded area to play.”

“I don’t think this place suits Pudding either. My son mentioned that Cuiyun recently opened a new pet park. He’s on his way to take Pudding there, why don’t you join them?” Just as Pudding’s owner finished speaking, a familiar figure appeared.

It was Situ Lu.