I Became the Mother of His Child

"You're talking nonsense." Pei Yu's face darkened as he raised his voice, "How could someone from a rundown village possibly get their hands on sales data? This must be fake evidence you've concocted." Pei Yu arrogantly countered Xu Xiuxiu, speaking in a tone devoid of any decency.

"Me, fabricating evidence?" Xu Xiuxiu laughed scornfully at Pei Yu, finding his retort amusing, "The authenticity of this data isn't afraid of scrutiny. Mr. Officer, you might want to investigate. I am Xu Xiuxiu, one of the managers of Tangshui City Resort in Z City of F Province. Parker Pen is a well-known brand both domestically and internationally, and it's available in the luxury goods mall at Tangshui City Resort. I personally obtained this data from the manager of Parker in Imperial City." Xu Xiuxiu was very composed.

As people from F Province who often read the newspapers, the two police officers were naturally aware of Tangshui City Resort Village. They hadn't expected Xu Xiuxiu to be one of the managers there. During the New Year's Day opening of the resort's hotel, many provincial and city leaders attended, and their photos were published in newspapers. Although the photos weren't clear, they seemed to include a beautiful lady.

Thinking this over, and upon observing Xu Xiuxiu, the officers were almost convinced of her identity. Furthermore, the data Xu Xiuxiu provided was very detailed and clear. Upon comparing it with the purchase data from Imperial Mall and the numbers on the bottom of the Parker 18K pen, they could almost confirm the owner of the pen.

"Liao Shixing, Mrs. Liao," the police officer began, "The evidence provided by the other party strongly supports her innocence. If you do not have any other evidence to accuse her of theft, then we will close this case and return the Parker Pen to Song Yuanming. If Mrs. Liao disputes this outcome, you may file a complaint at the police station, and we will proceed with the investigation through normal procedures." The truth of the matter had almost been ascertained by everyone present, including Director Xia Tao, though the officer spoke in a still somewhat diplomatic and polite manner.

But Pei Yu was not the type to restrain herself just because others were polite: "What utter nonsense! You two cops must have been bribed by this woman, or maybe it's just because she's pretty that you're siding with them! That pen clearly belongs to my darling—how could he afford it?" Pei Yu spoke frantically, her words harsh and disdainful toward the 'poor village' she mentioned.

"Heh." Xu Xiuxiu shook her head and chuckled lightly. "Mrs. Liao, there's no need to rush to your defense. The truth has been told by the officer. What use is there in twisting your words?" Xu Xiuxiu said, her face full of scorn, then turned assertively towards Director Xia Tao: "Director Xia, everything has been clarified and it proves that Song Yuanming was wronged from the start. Since the school took the measure of expelling him earlier, logically, I also demand that Liao Shixing be expelled. Furthermore, although I do not plan for Song Yuanming to continue studying at your school, I still want him to complete his education elsewhere. However, I do not wish for him to leave your school disgraced with a theft accusation, so I demand that the school disclose the true facts and publicly apologize to Song Yuanming. How does that sound?" Xu Xiuxiu felt her demands were not excessive.

"This..." Director Xia was clearly troubled. "Can't I just apologize on behalf of the school to Song Yuanming?" Xia Tao asked, tentatively.

Director Xia could indeed decide to expel Liao Shixing; given the situation, some form of punishment for him seemed appropriate. However, she was reluctant about the school issuing a public apology as it would admit her mishandling of the situation, potentially costing her the job of head of the academic affairs department—a role that the deputy head had been eyeing.

"No," Xu Xiuxiu refused bluntly, leaving no room for negotiation.

"But this matter is significant! We can process the expulsion of Liao Shixing normally, but if our school publicly apologizes to a student, the damage to our reputation would be minor..." Xia Tao tried to plead and negotiate with Xu Xiuxiu.

"Director Xia Tao, I don't want to hear your emotional appeals or logical explanations. In dealing with the theft incident involving Song Yuanming, you failed to uphold justice. I have the right to protect his interests. From start to finish, Song Yuanming has been a victim of misfortune. His assaulting Liao Shixing in a moment of desperation should be seen as excusable. We will not hesitate in matters of compensation. As for the apology, if the school finds it difficult, then I will have no choice but to take legal actions to protect myself, enough to taint the reputation of the school." Xu Xiuxiu's forcefulness was quite intimidating.

"..." Xia Tao was dumbfounded.

"You cheap woman, you actually plan to expel my darling? You think you can bully the Liao family, do you? I'll tell you, this is not the end. And you, you, both of you police officers who can't separate personal from public matters, siding with that little wretch—I'll make sure you suffer the consequences. Don't even think about wearing that police uniform again," Pei Yu blustered, clearly upset that Director Xia had mentioned expelling Liao Shixing. Grabbing her purse, she threatened everyone present, "Are you two dead? Go call Liao Tangquan right now; his wife and child are being wronged by everyone here." Pei Yu then turned and yelled at her two bodyguards, aware of the situation's disadvantage to her and her son and deciding to call Liao Shixing's father, Liao Tangquan, to turn the tables.

From the start, she never believed the so-called evidence provided by Xu Xiuxiu, nor the words of the two police officers, and was even more convinced that Director Xia had received some benefit from Xu Xiuxiu. Since she could not control the situation, she decided to call in a man, as Liao Tangquan had considerable influence in N City as a major taxpayer.

"Yes!" One bodyguard, upon receiving the order, turned and left the office, while the other continued to stand by awaiting further instructions.

Liao Tangquan!

Upon hearing Pei Yu's loud complaints, Xu Xiuxiu felt a pang of recognition at the mention of Liao Tangquan and raised an eyebrow to ask Pei Yu, "Are you the wife of Liao Tangquan, the owner of Jade Pavilion in N City?" Xu Xiuxiu found life incredibly ironic.

"Yes!" Pei Yu, hearing Xu Xiuxiu's inquiry, haughtily puffed up her chest, a look of 'now you know to be afraid' on her face: "My husband is the biggest jade dealer in N City. He knows many of the bigwigs there."

"Oh!" Xu Xiuxiu glanced at Pei Yu with a dumbfounded yet suddenly enlightened nod. However, she did not show a trace of fear.