Chapter 75

The discussion sounds from the ladies' chat group gradually diminished as Sheng Mumu calmly responded.

In many cases, people's attitude towards gossip is just like this - the more candidly the person involved faces it, the less interest onlookers have in discussing it.

Sheng Mumu didn't bother anymore about who exactly that '[l]' was in the group.

Perhaps the person really just happened to pass by and overhear it.

One week later, over 100,000 yuan was suddenly transferred to Sheng Mumu's bank account.

Soon after, the lawyer called to explain the situation to her:

"Ms. Sheng, this is the defendant's repayment of previous arrears, and compensation for the flower shop attack. We expect a conclusion within a week."

Sheng Mumu was puzzled: "He still has money to compensate?"

The lawyer spoke proudly:

"I found that the defendant still owns a property in his hometown. If he refuses to pay compensation, the court has the right to forcibly auction the property for compensation."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Mumu suddenly remembered that Sheng Lei had indeed said in person at the time that he had no choice but to return to his hometown.

It seems that after he gets out of jail, he won't even be able to return home.

Sheng Mumu had considered whether doing this was too harsh on Sheng Lei.

But that thought flashed by very quickly.

If it wasn't for him constantly causing trouble and pressing her step by step, things wouldn't have reached this point.

For people like him, simple verbal warnings without him paying anything substantial, he would never understand the golden rule of 'do not impose on others what you do not want for yourself'.

If he really could realize his mistake, the money left from selling the property after he gets out, would be enough for him to start over.

Thinking of this, Sheng Mumu strangled the last shred of sympathy in her heart.

She completely stood for herself, and also for the original owner, drawing a clear line between them and her vampire-like brother.

After hanging up the phone, Sheng Mumu simply ate lunch then went out.

She and Qin Jiamu had agreed to go look at houses together with a real estate agent.

They planned to rent a reasonably priced office in the CBD area for their future office location.

The journey towards turning the Yuyi brand into a proper business was officially underway.

When going out, she happened to run into Zhang Ma, the housekeeper who had the day off today. Zhang Ma had made plans with a few of her old lady friends to go shopping.

Sheng Mumu chatted with Zhang Ma for a bit, and found out that their destinations happened to be along the same route, so she offered to give Zhang Ma a ride. "Madam, this...this is too irregular." Zhang Ma declined again and again.

Sheng Mumu pressed the car key fob, and her white Lamborghini let out two "beep beep" sounds. She smiled and asked, "Zhang Ma, are there any Qi family rules against catching a ride when it's convenient?"

Zhang Ma was taken aback.

Uh...there were none.

Although there were no rules against it, it still didn't seem right. Zhang Ma declined again:

"Madam, I'm just a servant in the household, while you are the mistress of the house..."

"It's 2023, Zhang Ma. No more of this master and servant separation. Besides, today is your day off," Sheng Mumu smiled and interrupted Zhang Ma, pushing her shoulder towards the passenger seat. "Let's go, Zhang Ma. You sit in the front."

Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Zhang Ma carefully and cautiously sat down in the luxury car's leather seat.

Only when the vehicle drove out of the villa's front gate, and soothing music came on in the cabin, did Zhang Ma finally completely relax.

The car took a turn around the man-made lake in the villa district, driving down a straight road.

Suddenly, a long-haired woman rushed out from a villa by the roadside.

She was dressed all in black, with her hair covering most of her face, carrying a bag of items, running towards the other side.

She completely ignored whether there were any cars on the road.

Sheng Mumu immediately slammed the brakes while honking the horn at the same time.

Hearing the car horn and screeching brakes, the woman was utterly unconcerned. She coldly glanced at the car, then quickly looked away and continued on, disappearing into a path next to the green belt.

When that woman had looked over, Sheng Mumu vaguely glimpsed her appearance.

Sallow complexion, emaciated, with not a hint of liveliness in her eyes.

If they had encountered her at night, it would definitely have scared them witless.

Sheng Mumu was still shaken up.

Heart racing, she clutched at her chest.

"What a nutcase. Doesn't even look at the road, we almost crashed into her."

Zhang Ma seemed to know this woman. Looking in the direction she had vanished, Zhang Ma said:

"Madam, this woman is well known as the freak of our villa district."

Sheng Mumu turned her head: "Freak?"

Zhang Ma had worked at the Qi residence many years ago, and was even more knowledgeable than Manager Zhang regarding the gossip about each family in the villa district.

"Yes Madam. She's always alone, and it seems only she lives in that villa. Let me think...I think her name has the character 'Lan' in it. I heard the other servants mention it when chatting." Zhang Ma racked her brains trying to remember, then suddenly clapped her hands. "That's right, the name has 'Lan' in it. I heard them mention it."

Sheng Mumu started the car again, frowning and muttering:

"What a weird person."

This little episode didn't affect her mood.

In the afternoon, the professional real estate agent brought her and Qin Jiamu to look at several office buildings that were for lease.

She brought a small notebook and wrote down the pros and cons of each location in detail. Everything from area, direction, how many elevators each floor had installed, and more.

Renting an office wasn't something that could be rushed. The two of them were prepared to come out frequently in the near future to look at places.

After coming out of the last office building, on the way to the parking lot, Qin Jiamu made a phone call to her daughter, planning to have dinner together with her.

"Dear, where are you? Mum wants to come get you so we can have dinner together?" Hearing the response on the other end, Qin Jiamu's rising smile gradually faded away, and she said listlessly: "Alright then, I'll just have to go find your dad to eat with."

After hanging up, Qin Jiamu shot Sheng Mumu a helpless look, sighing:

"Oh, kids grow up so fast. She said she already ate at a cafe with her classmates, and here I was looking forward to spending a mother-daughter weekend with her. Yet she didn't think of me at all."

Sheng Mumu smiled and joked while taking out her car keys:

"Maybe she was hoping you could spend a husband-wife weekend?"

Qin Jiamu's face lit up with a smile. She glared at Sheng Mumu, then walked off with an unrestrained wave goodbye: "Off I go. See you tomorrow."

The two got into their respective cars and drove out of the parking lot.

Back home, Sheng Mumu was tidying up the information she had recorded today in her room.

After just a few minutes, there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door, Qi Shaobai was standing outside holding a takeout bag.

"Brought this for you." Qi Shaobai held out the bag towards her.

The bag had the Wenhua Ice Cream Parlour logo printed on it.

Sheng Mumu accepted the bag: "What is this?"

"Iced lemon tea and curry puffs," Qi Shaobai replied, hands tucked into his pockets. "I was eating out just now and happened to buy these for you on the way back."

Sheng Mumu revealed a delighted smile. "Little Qi, you're awesome! How did you know I like to eat curry puffs?"

"Mm," Qi Shaobai scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and lazily mumbled a response before heading downstairs. "I'm going to do homework now."

Seeing Qi Shaobai's immature yet aloof manner, Sheng Mumu strangely felt like a proud mother seeing her child grow up.

An I'm-so-proud.jpg expression on her face.

Qi Shaobai's peripheral vision caught her exaggerated expression, and he couldn't help shuddering as he quickened his pace down the stairs.

Just then, there were sounds coming from the front door downstairs.

An unfamiliar middle-aged woman's voice floated upstairs.

"Ah, I'm exhausted. Went all over the world, but still feel Jing City is the best."

Downstairs, the servants chorused loudly: "Welcome home, Madam— Welcome back, Miss Qiao—"

Sheng Mumu: "??"

Madam?

Could it be that her mother-in-law, whom she had never met, had arrived?

And who was Miss Qiao?