Chapter 127 - Second Meeting (2)

“My son asked the neighbor to help out before he left,” said the old lady as she walked outside. She gave Shu Yan a very judgmental look and asked, “How many of you will be living here?”

“Just me and my two kids.” Shu Yan noticed that the old lady was really not that nice. Or that she especially looked down on anyone who was an outsider.

When Lin Hui introduced her to the old lady earlier, her first questions were where was she from and what did she do for a living.

“And two kids? How old are they?” asked the old lady with a frown.

“The old one is 7 and the younger one is 3. But my two kids are very mature for their age and won’t be a hassle.” Shu Yan understood that many people didn’t like renting to someone with children, especially those with young children. Kids could be naughty and might draw on the walls or break the doors, windows, or furniture.

“Third Aunty, her daughter is a classmate of Tongtong. Her daughter is a very well-behaved kid. I have met her son too. He, too, is very mature. Both of them are nice kids and won’t cause troubles at home.” Lin Hui tried to speak up for Shu Yan.

“No way. No way.” Third Aunty kept on shaking her head. “All furniture inside my son’s house is expensive and made out of real redwood. Very valuable. Kids don’t know any better. I don’t want them dinging or scratching them. No way. No way.”

Shu Yan liked this place a lot, but there was nothing she could do if they were not willing to rent the place to her.

They heard a door open next to them on their way out. Shu Yan looked over and met the man’s eyes. Shu Yan paused. It was the hero whom she had split the ride with last time. She didn’t know that he lived here too.

The man nodded at Shu Yan when he saw her before he turned and left.

“You know him?” asked Lin Hui.

“No, I don’t know him. I split the ride with him when I went merchandising last time. I don’t even know his name. But the driver said he’s a hero.” Shu Yan took another look at the man who had already walked away and asked, “Is this his house?”

“What hero? He’s a murderer,” said the old woman as she locked the door and spit on the ground in the direction of the man. “The house next door belonged to a sister of mine. She is getting old and confused. That was the only reason she’d rent to her place to someone like that.”

“Murderer?” Shu Yan paused and looked at the old lady in disbelief. Did the driver lie to her?

“Third Aunty, it was an accident. Besides, that only happened because he was trying to save someone else. It’s not the same.” Lin Hui gave Shu Yan a look and said to her softly, “Yes, you can call him a hero.”

“What happened?” Shu Yan was very curious about it.

Lin Hui told Shu Yan everything that she knew as they walked away.

“His name is Fang Zeyu. His father was an educated youth who had been sent to City Nan during the Down to the Countryside Movement. His parents separated very early on so I don’t know much about his mother’s side. His father was a worker at our factory. As the saying goes, ‘it there’s a stepmother, there’s a stepdad’. All in all, his family treated him poorly, so he joined the military after he graduated junior high school.

He spent five years in the military. After his return, he was assigned a job as a chauffeur. One day, when he took the leader to dinner, he saw a group of people trying to drag a female student into a car. He went to try and stop them, and they ended up in a fight. It was late at night, and nobody knew what happened, but one of the boys was pushed into the road, got hit by a car, and died. That person has some background, so all the blame was placed on Fang Zeyu.”

Having said that, Lin Hui sighed. “Any other family would have pleaded for him. But Feng Zeyu’s father didn’t want to risk offending anyone, so he never said a word. Even the girl that he saved turned around and said she was friends with the others and they were just messing around when Feng Zeyu suddenly started the fight.”

“That’s so awful.” All he tried to do was the save someone, and even that person ended up turning on him. Shu Yan couldn’t even begin to fathom what she’d do if that had happened to her. She’d probably be so disappointed that she’d never do another nice act for the rest of her life.