The Seductive Pretender: Sister-in-Law is Turning Gay - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: “Retreating to Advance” Is How She Will Claim Lin Yuqing.

The moment she saw Wang Dingchun raise that bamboo broom and swing it like a madman, her action was subconscious a split-second reflex. Lin Yuqing herself didn’t even know how she had rushed over so quickly to take the man down.

Even after pinning Wang Dingchun to the ground and confirming that Zhong Manjing was unharmed, Lin Yuqing’s face remained as pale as Zhong Manjing’s.

Meng Luo lowered her phone as the wail of sirens drew near. Wang Dingchun’s expression was hideous. Soon, Fang Ya entered, followed by two other officers.

Only then did Lin Yuqing pull Zhong Manjing to the side.

“Lin Yuqing, you’ve really got moves! If it weren’t for you, I thought that jerk was going to crack a stick right over their heads!” Meng Luo nervously checked Zhong Manjing for injuries. “Are you okay? What happened before we got here?”

Zhong Manjing gestured for her to wait a moment. Fang Ya had arrived quickly after the report; she was now preparing to take Su Yun, Su Xiaodong, and Wang Dingchun back to the station for statements. Zhong Manjing walked over to Fang Ya’s side. “Officer Fang, wait a second.”

She fished two pear-paste lollipops and a mini jelly squeeze-pouch from her dress pocket. “These are prizes for the brave ‘Sesame Cookie.'”

Su Xiaodong, who had been feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed, looked at her as if he’d found his anchor. He had been scared by the talk of “statements” and “police stations,” but now, holding the lollipop, he puffed out his chest with pride. “I’ll keep working hard to protect my mom.”

Zhong Manjing patted his head. “Good boy. Go with Officer Fang then. When you get back, I’ll bake some extra sesame cookies just for you.”

With those words, the fear in the child’s heart vanished. A smile reappeared on his face, and he didn’t give Wang Dingchun even half a glance.

Zhong Manjing then turned to Su Yun. “Don’t be afraid. We’ll talk about everything when you get back.” Only then did the shaken Su Yun feel settled enough to leave with Fang Ya.

As Zhong Manjing watched Wang Dingchun being led away, she flashed a very faint smile at him as he passed by.

When she turned back to Lin Yuqing, her eyes held genuine warmth. “Lin Yuqing, you were scared.”

From the moment the police arrived to subdue Wang Dingchun, Lin Yuqing hadn’t spoken a word, other than standing in front of her and pulling her aside.

Lin Yuqing took a deep breath. “It’s over now. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Zhong Manjing took one woman in each hand and led Meng Luo and Lin Yuqing up to the second floor. First, she gave the large cup of “dirty” milk tea from the fridge to Meng Luo. Then, she took two pear-paste lollipops from a box and placed them in Lin Yuqing’s hand. “This is a prize for the brave ‘big friend’.”

Meng Luo, chewing on the chewy brown sugar pearls, looked at Lin Yuqing and said, “She’s coaxing you.” It was exactly what she had said to Su Xiaodong earlier.

Just as Lin Yuqing took the candy, Zhong Manjing ran off again. She seemed completely unfazed by the earlier disturbance. She pulled pre-frozen flower tea blocks from the massive refrigerator and began packing them into a large silver foil bag.

Perhaps it was too cold; Zhong Manjing hissed an “Ouch!” several times as her fingers went numb, and a tea block slipped from her grasp.

“Can’t put it at the bottom; I need to line the bottom with an ice pack first,” Zhong Manjing muttered to herself. She bent down to pick it up, but her fingers were too cold to grip it, and the block slipped through her fingers again and again.

Lin Yuqing couldn’t watch any longer. She stepped over, took the ice pack from her, and settled it into place. “Let me do it. This is too cold.” She caught the flower tea blocks steadily; not a single one slipped.

Zhong Manjing curled her lips into a smile. “That Wang Dingchun went to Dong-zai’s school today to pick him up himself, just using the parent-teacher meeting as an excuse to go to Sister Su for money. I was still sleeping when he arrived; I only came down when Sister Su started arguing with him.”

After coming down, her first instinct was to protect the child and call the police. She knew Lin Yuqing was fast and skilled, so she knew she wouldn’t be in real danger.

In fact, she had already planned it out—there had to be a reason, after all. She couldn’t just beat Wang Dingchun half to death in the street for no reason.

However, before that “reason” could fully manifest, it had been smothered in the cradle by Lin Yuqing. Looking at the solemn gaze Lin Yuqing fixed on her, Zhong Manjing reasonably suspected that Lin Yuqing had guessed exactly what she was thinking.

Meng Luo said, “He just wants money, doesn’t he? Men like him are like leeches latched onto that mother and son. But they have to keep living their lives; you can’t exactly tell Sister Su to move away.”

Zhong Manjing: “There will always be a way to teach Wang Dingchun a lesson.” After she said this, Lin Yuqing immediately shot her a look. Zhong Manjing added with a smile, “I’m sure the officers will come up with a good way to educate Wang Dingchun properly.”

Lin Yuqing finished packing all the tea blocks, and Zhong Manjing added a few more water bags. Meng Luo went to the kitchen to grab the European bread, but then the rice cooker let out a “ping.” The aroma of glutinous rice and red dates wafted out. She turned and asked, “What are you cooking? It’s done.”

“Eight-treasure rice. It’s sweet.”

Meng Luo asked, “What about the side dishes?”

Zhong Manjing said, “No side dishes. I usually just eat something simple in the evening; I didn’t feel like cooking today.”

Meng Luo was disappointed. “I was hoping to stay for dinner.”

Zhong Manjing finally finished organizing the drinks. She stood before Lin Yuqing and said, “Here, take these. Your scooter is unlocked, right? Just hang them on the bike. I’ll come find you for a late-night snack tonight.”

Lin Yuqing said, “Come have dinner at my place instead. I’ll stir-fry two dishes for you both.”

Meng Luo assumed Zhong Manjing wouldn’t want to trouble anyone, but Zhong Manjing agreed instantly. “Sure! I’ll walk over then. If two people sit on the back of your scooter and get caught, you’ll have to stop for another ‘learning session’ with the police.”

Lin Yuqing: “You guys take the scooter. I’ll walk over; it’s not far.”

Zhong Manjing beamed. “That works too.”

Meng Luo: “Is that really okay?”

Zhong Manjing checked everything she was giving to Lin Yuqing to make sure nothing was missing. She then made Meng Luo carry her rice cooker and sped off with her on the scooter.

Lin Yuqing walked a bit slowly. Once she saw the scooter disappear from sight, she took a shortcut and stopped in front of a supermarket.

When she came back out, she held a shopping bag with contents that weren’t clearly visible. Passing the intersection on duty, Lin Yuqing happened to run into Zhang Guojie.

Before she could call out, Zhang Guojie hailed her: “Xiao Lin! Xiao Lin! I got the dried herbs you sent. That was so thoughtful of you. I’ve got them in my thermos today; they’re really helping my throat.”

Lin Yuqing smiled. Zhang Guojie looked behind her. “Xiao Zhong isn’t with you? I heard from Xiao Fang today that they caught Wang Dingchun.”

Lin Yuqing said, “I had Xiao Zhong go to my shop with a friend first. Sister Su isn’t home right now, and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her there alone.”

“True, true. We can’t let our guard down yet. With the scene Wang Dingchun caused today, he might be released tomorrow…” Zhang Guojie frowned. “It’s a misery for that mother and son to have a ‘father’ like that. If he goes crazy, who knows if he’ll take it out on Sister Zhong. It’s best she’s not alone.”

Lin Yuqing nodded. “You’re right, Officer Zhang. I’ll head back to the shop now. Come by for noodles when you have time.”

“Will do, will do. Get to your work.”

When Lin Yuqing arrived at the shop, Zhong Manjing had just finished putting away the frozen items. She looked up and said, “You can just take these out and heat them up in the morning.”

“I’ll go cook,” Lin Yuqing nodded and hurried into the kitchen. She soon emerged with cilantro beef and stir-fried bottle gourd, placing them on the table.

Zhong Manjing had even brought the rice cooker along; it was now plugged in to stay warm. Meng Luo, being observant, started serving the rice.

Lin Yuqing said, “Don’t worry about mine. I need to prepare things for the shop.”

She turned back to the kitchen to fry some crab roe sauce, leaving only Meng Luo and Zhong Manjing to eat at the table near the kitchen window.

Seeing Lin Yuqing busy inside, Meng Luo felt a bit embarrassed to be eating. But looking across the table, she saw Zhong Manjing eating with great appetite, not glancing toward the window even once.

Zhong Manjing was currently sending a WeChat message to Su Yun: Sister Su, when will you be finished over there?

Su Yun hadn’t replied yet, likely still giving her statement. Zhong Manjing then messaged Zhang Pingrui: Do you know how long a statement usually takes? Will Wang Dingchun come out tonight?

“Why are you asking if Wang Dingchun is coming out tonight?” Meng Luo looked at her in surprise. Noticing the light, cheerful curve of Zhong Manjing’s lips, she said with a complicated expression, “Babe, you really have a great mindset. I was scared half to death today, and here you are smiling while bringing a pot of rice over to eat. Isn’t it a hassle carrying this rice cooker back and forth?”

Zhong Manjing said with a smile, “I’m not going back.”

Meng Luo was stunned. “Huh? You’re not taking it back? Didn’t you just buy that high-end rice cooker recently?”

“I mean I am not going back. Luo-luo, have you heard my eight-word motto?” Zhong Manjing shook her head mysteriously. “Blessing in disguise; retreating to advance.”

Meng Luo: “You’re…”

Zhong Manjing stood up. Before entering the kitchen, she patted her skirt and leaned against the doorframe. “Lin Yuqing,” she called out.

Lin Yuqing turned around quickly.

“I don’t have much of an appetite, so I won’t stay here and disturb your business,” Zhong Manjing said softly. “Everything has been delivered. I’m heading back now.”

Meng Luo watched, feeling like she was in a hallucination. Was there something wrong with her memory? Wasn’t that the opposite of what Zhong Manjing just said? And who was the person who was just eating so heartily?

“Wait.” Lin Yuqing hurriedly wiped her hands and picked up a shopping bag hanging by the door. “These are new pajamas, slippers, and a toothbrush. I couldn’t find a blanket, so I just bought a throw.”

Zhong Manjing blinked. “What does this mean, Boss Lin?”

Lin Yuqing said, “Why don’t you stay here on the second floor for a few days? Wait until the surveillance is all fixed and you’re not scared anymore before you go back.”

Zhong Manjing slowly straightened up. She reached out to take the heavy shopping bag, her bright eyes curving like crescent moons. “Alright. You get back to work; I’ll go put these things upstairs.”

Blessing in disguise she had once suffered a fatal car accident, but she had gained a second life.

And retreating to advance she was going to claim Lin Yuqing for herself.

Zhong Manjing believed in these eight words as if they were her bible, practicing them to the letter.

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