Chapter 22 She's still in command! She's still furious!

The series of questions left the older woman who had spoken up earlier momentarily speechless.

An uncle nearby clenched his fist. "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. If my daughter encountered something like this, I'd do more than just show up at their door."

"Exactly!"

"This Mao family is bullying people too much!"

"The young girl was forced into a corner with no other choice."

"Some people~ they act sophisticated their whole lives, but in reality, they're just vulgar and rotten."

Public opinion shifted completely.

The crowd was in an uproar.

Property management finally rushed over after hearing the news.

"What is going on here?"

The property manager and two security guards pushed through the crowd and reached the center.

First, he saw the Mao mother and son. "Auntie Zhang, why do you look so pale?"

"Oh my, Wenjie, why is your face covered in blood?"

After saying that, he quickly helped Mao Wenjie out of the crowd and sat him down on the edge of a flower bed.

He then turned back to help Mao's Mother.

He saw Mao's Mother glaring fiercely in one direction.

The property manager followed her gaze and saw a strange girl.

The residential area where Mao's Mother lived was an old one. The property manager had worked here for many years and was familiar with how many people were in each household and what they looked like.

At a glance, he knew Ling Yue was an outsider and asked in an inquiring tone, "Little girl, are you here to visit relatives?"

Ling Yue pointed to the various bags of gifts placed on the stone table in the garden pavilion. "Something like that."

The property manager frowned. Whose relative was 'something like that'?

Seeing the property manager arrive, Big Sister Wang, who was an adversary of Mao's Mother, also reacted. "Xiao Jiang, you've come at the right time. We were just saying that Zhang Lichun's family should buy some disinfectant to sanitize the entire residential area."

The property manager was completely bewildered.

Before Mao's Mother could stop them, the meddling aunties pulled the property manager aside. Everyone chimed in, summarizing today's events in just a few sentences.

The smile on the property manager's face stiffened, and he couldn't help but discreetly wipe his hands on the back of his clothes.

He had no choice but to step forward. "Regarding the disinfection, we, the property management, will follow up on it."

"We all live in the same area and see each other often. There's no need to make things so tense, right?"

The onlookers looked at each other.

They thought, 'I'm not the only one making a scene; a whole group of us is.'

Wait, protecting one's own rights—how could that be considered 'making a scene'?

"It would be one thing if we didn't know, but now that we do, who wouldn't feel disgusted?"

"When will the disinfection happen? Give us a definite time. I have a one-year-old child at home."

"Have Mao Wenjie go for a check-up. If he's fine, we can skip the disinfection."

"If you care so much about your reputation, then don't do such shameful things!"

The voices grew louder, almost sounding like a denunciation.

The property manager cleared his throat and looked at Mao's Mother with a troubled expression.

Mao's Mother's face was extremely unsightly.

If she didn't comply, things would probably blow up today.

If she did comply, wouldn't that be the same as personally admitting her son was caught for solicitation?

How could her family ever show their faces in this residential area again?!

The property manager knew Mao's Mother; she cared about her reputation more than anything in public.

He only wanted everyone to be happy so he could resolve this quickly and go back to his air-conditioned room to play on his phone. He didn't want any trouble.

After thinking it over, he came up with a solution that satisfied both sides. "Spring is coming, and our property management was already planning to do pest control for snakes, insects, rats, and ants."

"I'll send out the notice immediately to move this work up to tomorrow. While we're at it, we'll perform a comprehensive disinfection of the entire area. What do you all think?"

The homeowners didn't necessarily want to hound Mao's Mother to death.

Aside from being a bit annoying, Mao's Mother hadn't done anything truly heinous.

Ultimately, as long as the entire area was disinfected, it didn't matter if Mao's Mother did it or the property management did.

As soon as the property manager said this, the voices of denunciation indeed vanished.

Finally, the commotion stopped. The property manager tactfully reminded them, "Alright, alright, it's getting late. Everyone should go home."

After he said this, everyone looked at Ling Yue in unison.

The main party involved hadn't left yet, which meant the show wasn't over.

Even if Ling Yue left, they planned to gather and discuss it some more.

The property manager was very helpless and could only direct his attention to Ling Yue. "Little girl, since you're not from our residential area, please leave quickly."

"If you linger any longer, I'll call the police."

At the mention of the police, Mao's Mother and Mao Wenjie were even more nervous than Ling Yue.

Ling Yue turned and took Auntie Liu's arm. "Auntie Liu, I felt an immediate connection with you!"

"It just so happens I bought some gifts. Those two bottles of wine are for you. It's almost noon, and I'd like to shamelessly stay for a meal."

Auntie Liu's eyes lit up. She had just gone to the supermarket with Ling Yue. When paying, she had caught a glimpse of the receipt—those two bottles of wine alone were worth over two thousand yuan!

Two thousand yuan in exchange for a meal.

Oh my god, what a deal!

Besides, looking at the girl's expression, it probably wasn't just for a meal. Maybe she wanted to say something more.

Auntie Liu warmly grasped Ling Yue's hand and gently patted the back of it. "Good child, I'll stew some ribs for lunch! You stay, don't you dare leave!"

The property manager was speechless.

"Auntie Liu, since you're keeping her here, you have to look after her. You absolutely cannot let her cause any more trouble. Otherwise, if something happens, I'm coming for you."

Ling Yue was the first to speak up. "Brother, don't worry. I'm a person who clearly distinguishes between love and hate."

"I've already made things clear with the Mao family. The anger in my heart has subsided."

"I know your job isn't easy, and I won't make things difficult for you."

"If you're not at ease, you can leave a security guard here to watch me."

Seeing that Ling Yue wasn't unreasonable, the property manager left a guard behind and turned to lead Mao's Mother away.

"Auntie Mao, just now I said in front of everyone that the property management would handle the disinfection, but this matter was originally caused by your family. So, you might have to cover the cost of the disinfectant and the labor fees when the time comes."

Not only did he have to help clean up the mess made by this homeowner, but he also had to be humble and apologetic. What a disaster.

Once she was away from that helpless environment and was being catered to, Mao's Mother perked up again.

She said sternly, "Just give me a list of the specific costs, and I'll transfer the money to you then. But the property management must absolutely not reveal that I provided the money!"

"Also, I hope you can control the rumors and educate those who spread them. Don't let this matter escalate further."

"I pay my property management fees. If you don't provide good service, I'll complain until you're replaced!"

The property manager almost failed to keep his expression in check.

Suppressing his annoyance, he said, "We will issue a notice asking everyone to stop discussing this. However, people's words are uncontrollable. It's really hard to manage what everyone chooses to say."

"No, you can't issue a notice! Wouldn't that just let the whole residential area know? Curiosity killed the cat, and anyone with a mouth will start asking questions."

Mao's Mother thought the property manager was stupid and waved her hand helplessly. "Forget it, just hurry up and kick that wretched woman out of the area!"

"It would be best if you could apply to your superiors to arrange a lecture to educate the people in the area about the importance of not spreading rumors!"

"A person can be rude, but they cannot be ignorant!"

"You property management people are also a bunch of useless fools. If you hadn't arrived so late this time, would my son have been injured?"

She was even giving orders! She was even getting angry!

Spreading rumors?

She was the one who had actually done it!

There were hundreds of mouths in the entire residential area; how could he possibly manage them all?

If she had known this would happen, she should have just kept her son in line.

He should have arrived even later, appearing only after her son's 'little brother' had been crippled.

That old hag—if she's so high and mighty, she shouldn't live in their residential area. She pays 50 yuan a month in management fees and thinks she's the Queen Mother of the West?

The property manager was rolling his eyes to the heavens in his mind, but he could only force a smile at Mao's Mother.