Living Only For Myself: Make Those Who Hate Me Regret It-Chapter 231: Shen Chen Isn’t So Bad After All
"No, no, no, it’s our fault. Susu, please, ask that friend of yours to show some mercy and spare your brother-in-law."
Li Tingting’s voice was hoarse and desperate. "Your brother-in-law didn’t lay a hand on anyone that day. If your friend wants revenge, he can get it on the others. For the sake of my unborn child, please, can you ask him to let your brother-in-law go? He can’t lose his job!"
Xu Su frowned and quickly stood up. She headed out of the classroom while asking, "...What happened?"
On the phone, Li Tingting was so frantic that her story came out in a jumble. Xu Su listened patiently, gradually piecing together what had happened.
Shen Chen had moved quickly. Over the past few days, every one of Luo Shaofeng’s friends from that table had been hit with a different kind of bad luck. Losing a job was getting off easy; several of them had even landed in jail.
Luo Shaofeng himself was the last to be affected. When President Zhao had gotten into trouble a while back, he’d even gloated and kicked the man while he was down. He never imagined his turn would be next.
He was in a low-level position, so there was no embezzlement or bribery involved. He had just made a minor mistake at work and was about to be fired.
Ever since the wedding, every single person who had bothered Xu Su at the reception had met with misfortune. There was no concrete proof connecting it to her, but the couple wasn’t stupid. They thought it over and recalled how the man who started the fight wasn’t even detained; rumor had it he just paid some medical bills and vanished.
At that point, how could Li Tingting and her husband not realize? Their little sister’s/sister-in-law’s friend was someone important.
And that’s what led to this phone call.
Just then, Xu Su recalled what Shen Chen had said that day.
He had said, ’That brother-in-law of yours is no good. I’ll settle the score with him, too. You won’t protect him, will you?’
Listening to Li Tingting’s pleading on the other end of the line, she didn’t know what to say.
Li Tingting spoke for a long time, her words trailing off now and then. When Xu Su didn’t respond, she suddenly broke down crying. "Please, just consider it your sister begging you. I’m going to give birth in a few months. If your brother-in-law loses his job, my child and I will be left with nothing! It’s a government job, an iron rice bowl!"
A job at the telecom bureau was highly sought-after in a small county town. If he got fired, he’d likely have to leave and find work elsewhere. Life as a migrant worker far from home was nowhere near as good as having a local job.
What’s more, they didn’t even know if losing his job was just the beginning or the end of it.
What would they do if other forms of retaliation were still to come?
Li Tingting’s crying made Xu Su feel terrible. She thought of how good her Aunt Chen Shumei had been to her since she was a child. If Li Tingting’s life became difficult, her aunt would worry herself sick.
Xu Su didn’t want to cause her aunt any distress. She walked out of the academic building, found a bench in the shade of a tree, and sat down. She spoke softly into her phone to comfort her cousin, "Sister Tingting, you’re pregnant. Try not to panic. I’ll ask my friend if he’s behind this. If he is, I’ll tell him to stop."
Li Tingting agreed profusely and urged her to ask right away, afraid of any delay. Then she quickly hung up.
"..." Xu Su checked her watch. It wasn’t even one o’clock. Thinking it was lunch break, she found Shen Chen’s number and dialed.
Shen Chen was having a meal with a group of people. His phone was on the table, so when Xu Su’s call came in, he didn’t see it at first.
It wasn’t until a buddy he was close with glanced at the phone and called out, "Young Master Shen, phone’s ringing. Who’s this ’Xu’? What school is this pretty lady from? Quite a nickname you’ve got for her, eh?"
Shen Chen froze, thinking he had misheard. It wasn’t until he had the phone in his hand that it registered. He answered the call as he stood up and walked out.
On Xu Su’s end, the phone rang several times before it connected.
It was noisy on the other end. "Hello? Hello?" Xu Su said. "Shen Chen, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you." Shen Chen pulled a door open and stepped out. The surroundings instantly grew quiet. He leaned against the wall, his voice softening without him realizing it. "Xu Su, what’s wrong?"
’What’s wrong...’
Xu Su hesitated. For some reason, she found it hard to say. He had stood up for her, gotten injured in the process, and now here she was, calling to defend the very people he’d dealt with.
Remembering how miserably Li Tingting had been crying, Xu Su hesitated for a second before deciding to ask him nicely. "Shen Chen, could you do me a favor?"
"Mhm, go ahead."
"...That easy?"
Shen Chen chuckled. "When have I ever been difficult? Come on, Xu. Whatever you need, just tell me."
"..." ’His attitude feels a little strange,’ she thought, but she couldn’t put her finger on it and decided not to dwell on it. She asked tentatively, "Okay, but you have to promise me first. You can’t get mad, and you have to do what I ask."
Her words made Shen Chen frown. Before he could speak, the door of the private room next to him opened. Someone stepped out and was about to say something but froze at the sight of his stern expression.
Shen Chen shot the person a look, not even bothering with a hand gesture. He walked a few steps toward a window in the corridor, his voice deepening slightly. "Don’t tell me you still haven’t broken up with that boyfriend of yours, and now you want me to do a favor for both of you."
Xu Su was speechless. "...Where did you even get that idea?"
"Was I wrong? So you’ve broken up with him?" Shen Chen’s tone lifted in surprise. "But other than that, I can’t think of anything that would make me angry."
Seeing him getting completely sidetracked, Xu Su quickly brought the conversation back on topic. "...It’s about my brother-in-law. Shen Chen, could you just... lay off him? Please?"
Shen Chen fell silent for a moment. "So, no lesson at all? You know he’s largely responsible for you getting hurt, right?"
Xu Su was stunned. She hadn’t expected him to say that. It sounded like he was more incensed about it than she, the victim, was.
"...I know. But my cousin is pregnant. She just called me, and she was crying the whole time. It made me feel terrible, Shen Chen."
"...All right. If you want to be the good person here, I’ll let you."
Shen Chen didn’t hesitate for long. "I knew you’d be soft-hearted," he said. "I wasn’t doing much to that brother-in-law of yours anyway..."
Hearing him relent so easily, Xu Su felt a wave of relief. "Then, thank you. When I get to Beijing, I’ll treat you to a meal."
’I guess Shen Chen isn’t so bad after all.’
A laugh came from the other end of the line. "Sure. I’ll be waiting, then. When are you coming to Beijing? If Xu is treating, I’m free anytime."
"..." ’I was just being polite; I didn’t think he’d take me seriously.’ Xu Su thought for a moment, then replied noncommittally, "After my college entrance exams, I suppose."
They had been talking for a while, and Xu Su was ready to hang up, but Shen Chen seemed to be just warming up.
He immediately asked, "Are you planning to go to university in Beijing? Which one are you aiming for?"
Xu Su’s hand, which was about to end the call, paused. "My first choice is University B."
"And your second?"
"There is no second. I’m getting into University B!"
Shen Chen chuckled softly. "Good. I’ll be waiting for you to become my junior."
"...!" Xu Su was in disbelief. "You graduated from University B?"
"Looking down on me? When you come to Beijing, I’ll show you my diploma. I was a top student back in my day, you know?"
"...Oh."
