169: Barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes.

After Xie Li finished her tirade, she hung up the phone immediately.

On the other end of the line, Zhao Qingyang heard the dial tone and slammed his phone onto the floor in a fit of rage.

"Just you wait. It seems I've been too kind to you all in the past."

Zhao Qingyang cursed under his breath, his eyes flashing with malice.

He was especially incensed after hearing that Qin Yueke was having dinner with Chen Su that night.

His mind raced with all sorts of imaginings... Xie Li, however, was not one to indulge someone like Zhao Qingyang, who acted like an arrogant idiot just because his family had some influence.

She had long been annoyed by this pretentious jerk.

Out of consideration for Qin Yueke's feelings, she had endured him time and again.

Now that the two had broken up, she didn't give a damn about saving face anymore; she let out all the insults she had suppressed for years in one go.

She was from Xiulin Village, after all.

When it came to being sharp-tongued, she was every bit as good as Chen Su, if not better.

In some ways, she was even a cut above him.

Furthermore, she was the type who responded to kindness but never to threats, so she wasn't about to be intimidated by Zhao Qingyang.

Even if Zhao Qingyang really had the power to make her and Dai Jinhua lose their jobs, she would still scold him without hesitation.

If she lost her job, it wasn't like she didn't have the ability to find another one.

This was the confidence of a top student... Qin Yueke, however, knew Zhao Qingyang's family background.

His father was the head of a certain bureau, and he had an uncle who was a high-ranking official in the city.

If he really used his family's connections to stir up trouble, it would cause no small amount of grief for Xie Li and the others.

She said with some concern,

"You were too impulsive. Zhao Qingyang is very petty; he might actually try to sabotage you behind your back."

Xie Li was completely fearless.

"Would I be afraid of him? At worst, I'll just quit this job. I know his family has high-ranking officials, but if he dares to mess with me, I'll report it straight to the central government. Why should a barefoot person like me fear someone wearing shoes?"

"The political climate is so strict these days; I don't believe his relatives don't have a few rivals. Besides, don't underestimate Chen Su. Based on what I know of him, if Zhao Qingyang dares to mess with him, Chen Su will uproot his entire family."

Even though she didn't know exactly what Chen Su was doing, she had an inexplicable confidence in him.

This confidence had been buried deep in her heart since they were children, ever since Chen Su had dared to argue with the members of the village's 'intelligence station' and actually won... After saying this, her anger flared up again.

"It's just that you're too soft-hearted. I know why you chose Zhao Qingyang, but none of us are lacking. If we want a better life, we can work for it with our own hands. Setting Chen Su aside, just look at Jinhua and me—our income is enough to get by comfortably."

"I respected your choice before and didn't say anything, but anyone who ends up with someone like Zhao Qingyang is in for bad luck. If he keeps acting this arrogant, something is bound to happen to him within a few years."

Qin Yueke just listened silently to Xie Li's scolding.

Xie Li was right. During the years she was with Zhao Qingyang, even though it didn't show on the surface,

he looked down on her for being from the countryside and looked down on her parents from the bottom of his heart.

Everything was predestined.

If she had stayed with Chen Su back then, she certainly wouldn't be doing any worse than Xie Li and Dai Jinhua are now.

She only had herself to blame for being blinded by greed back then.

The boomerang she had thrown with her own hands years ago

had made a wide arc and, at this moment, struck her squarely between the eyes... Meanwhile, in Zhang City.

After smashing his phone, Zhao Qingyang still didn't feel satisfied.

He swept the teacups off the table in front of him, shattering them into pieces.

After a while, he pulled another phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Qingyang, what's up? It's been a while since you called your big brother."

"Brother, I need a favor."

...Ten minutes later.

Zhao Qingyang hung up the phone, a vicious look in his eyes.

"Having dinner together? Calling me a pretentious jerk?"

"Fine, let's wait and see. I'll make you cry."

...Elsewhere.

In an office of the Fengcheng City Emergency Management Bureau.

A middle-aged man hung up the phone, his gaze turning cold as the screen gradually dimmed.

This man was Zhao Qingyang's cousin, Zhao Qinghong, the biological son of his high-ranking uncle.

He was currently the Director of the Fire Department at the Fengcheng Emergency Management Bureau.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he was just a section director.

Fengcheng's administrative rank was one level higher than Zhang City's.

In a sense, his position as a section director carried more weight than that of Zhao Qingyang's father, who was the head of a bureau in Zhang City.

He knew that his younger cousin had previously found a girlfriend with no background.

The entire family, including himself, had been opposed to it.

Because of this, Zhao Qingyang hadn't called him for a long time.

Two days ago, his father had called to tell him that Zhao Qingyang's wedding to that country girl had been canceled.

He had felt a sense of relief from the bottom of his heart.

Zhao Qingyang was the youngest among the third generation of the Zhao family, so he received the most affection.

Not only were the elders very concerned about him,

but even his older brothers and sisters doted on him.

This had fostered his headstrong personality.

On the phone, Zhao Qingyang had told him the reason for the broken engagement.

He didn't say that he had been unfaithful; instead, he twisted the facts.

He made it sound like Qin Yueke and Chen Su had rekindled their old flame.

He claimed that with her best friend's help, she had successfully dumped him and run off to Fengcheng for a secret rendezvous with her old lover... Zhao Qinghong had originally been quite happy.

But hearing his brother's account and knowing how he had been dumped,

his anger began to rise.

The Zhao family might not be a prestigious clan, but they were people of standing.

When had they ever been played like this?

He had to settle this score.

Rekindling an old flame, huh?

He snorted coldly... By the time Chen Su drove home, it was already eight o'clock.

The moment he stepped through the door, a wave of cool air hit him.

He felt instantly refreshed.

When he went out in the afternoon, he thought he was just picking up an earring and would be back soon.

So he hadn't turned off the air conditioning.

He hadn't expected to run into Xie Li and Qin Yueke while he was out.

Left with no choice, he had been forced to have dinner with them.

Deep down, he hadn't wanted to eat with Qin Yueke.

Only out of respect for Xie Li did he join them.

He was quite surprised to learn that Qin Yueke and Zhao Qingyang had broken up.

But surprise was all it was.

He didn't really care.

It was true that Qin Yueke had been the 'white moonlight' of his youth.

But now, a much brighter moon had appeared in his world... Chen Su placed the jewelry box he had brought back from Big Brother Zhou on the table.

He then opened the box, took a photo, and sent it to Li Chuxia.

Li Chuxia replied instantly.

"Wow, it's so beautiful! I can't wait to fly back and wear it."

"How many more days until you're back?"

"I'll be back as soon as I finish up here. A day or two at the earliest, three or four at the latest."

...