"Isn't that the female factory director of our food factory? Why is she hugging a man? This is too scandalous."
"Who is this man, daring to hug Director Fang Yan? She's a legendary woman in our South City, the woman every man in South City wants to marry."
"A reckless fellow, taking advantage of Fang Yan right in front of us. Aren't you going to take your hands off her?"
"Yeah, take your hands off, don't tarnish Director Fang's reputation."
"..."
As the crowd spoke, they began to condemn Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian, overhearing snippets, felt more wronged than Dou E. He hadn't touched Fang Yan at all. She had stumbled onto him.
Fang Yan realized the situation was escalating. She quickly got up, looked at Zhang Liunian awkwardly, and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then she explained to everyone, "I just slipped earlier. You all misunderstood."
However, many men present, who lusted after her status and abilities, didn't believe her. They chattered about Zhang Liunian, speaking ill of him.
Li Haoran, standing nearby, joined in, adding fuel to the fire.
"Zhang Liunian, you truly live up to your name as a gigolo. You rely on your wife for support at home, and when you go out, you hook up with others to support you. And this person is Director Fang Yan.
Have you looked at yourself? Someone like you deserves to be with Director Fang Yan? Aren't you afraid all the unmarried men in South City will beat you to death?
I advise you to mend your ways and stop relying on women for a living.
You have hands and feet; you can support your family through your own efforts. Why do you have to find women everywhere and go out of your way to live off them?"
Li Haoran's words caused an uproar.
"Director Fang Yan was actually seduced by a scoundrel who relies on his wife?"
"Damn it, why did he seduce Director Fang Yan? Is it because he's older, has a wife, and can't chew well, so he relies on women for food?"
"Impossible. How could Director Fang Yan fancy such a married gigolo? This is absolutely impossible."
"..."
The topic was instantly hijacked by Li Haoran.
Li Haoran was extremely smug. He had been embarrassed by Zhang Liunian earlier, and now he wanted to get back at him.
If he relies on women for support, he wouldn't let Zhang Liunian have his way.
A woman like Fang Yan, Zhang Liunian was not worthy of her.
"For the sake of our classmate relationship, I still want to advise you a few words. If you're going to live off women, do it at home. Don't go out and harm others..."
"Bang!" Before Li Haoran could finish speaking, Zhang Liunian suddenly acted, throwing a large bowl at his mouth. It accurately smashed into his mouth, instantly knocking out one of his front teeth and sending it flying far away.
"Are you envious that I have a wife to support me? You're envious, but you don't have my good fortune," Zhang Liunian retracted his hand and stared coldly at Li Haoran.
"Who would envy a coward like you, a gigolo, a bastard." Damaging his front tooth, Li Haoran swore an oath of eternal enmity against him. Thinking this, he covered his bleeding mouth and glared at Zhang Liunian, wanting to retaliate.
However, before he could make a move, Fang Yan stood up to help Zhang Liunian out of the situation. "Comrade, please don't speak carelessly. His elder sister-in-law is my younger sister. Comrade Zhang Liunian and I are relatives, not in a romantic relationship as you described.
There's no such thing as living off women, and he doesn't need to.
The braised meat you ordered on your table, along with the three kinds of pickles, were all sold by him to restaurants. You don't understand him at all, so you can't comment.
Therefore, I ask you to apologize to us immediately, or I will find your home and visit you personally."
Fang Yan's food factory was one of the largest in South City. If she wanted to find someone's home in South City, it was relatively easy.
Upon hearing this, Li Haoran naturally panicked because his parents also worked at the South City Food Factory, under Fang Yan, to be precise.
He was also planning to join the food factory.
If he offended Fang Yan now and she personally came to his home to settle the matter, causing his parents to lose their jobs, his entire family would suffer.
"Director Fang, please don't be angry. I'll apologize, alright?"
Li Haoran was capable of both bending and stretching. After speaking, he turned and apologized separately to Zhang Liunian and Fang Yan.
"I'm sorry, Liunian, I'm sorry, Director Fang. I was careless with my words earlier. Please don't be angry. You can treat me like a fart; once I'm released, I'm gone."
"Pfft!"
Fang Yan was amused by his words and didn't make things difficult for him. She glanced at the crowd, her gaze finally falling on Zhang Liunian, "Shall we continue eating?"
The dishes had just been served, and their meal was interrupted before they could even eat.
"Mm," Zhang Liunian responded softly, picked up a clean pair of chopsticks and bowl, and started eating.
After the incident with Li Haoran, the people present suddenly realized that Zhang Liunian was a married man and a relative of Fang Yan. Since they were relatives, no one spoke ill of them anymore.
Uninterrupted, the meal was quite enjoyable.
At the same time, Zhang Liuxing, who had just finished work, was discussing his promotion with colleagues.
"Liuxing, the promotion opportunity this time is definitely yours. Although you haven't been working for long, you are the most promising in our office. The higher-ups have the best impression of you.
If you get promoted to deputy director, don't forget us."
Zhang Liuxing was overjoyed by his colleagues' praise, but he didn't show it. "What are you saying? There are many people more capable than me. They have much better opportunities than I do. However, I believe that whoever gets promoted will not forget the camaraderie of our office."
"That's right."
"..."
They left the office building and went their separate ways. Zhang Liuxing returned home in high spirits.
However, a storm was brewing at his home, waiting for him.
"He... is Liuxing's son?"
Just now, Fang Ru had welcomed a mother and son into her home. The woman claimed to be Zhang Liuxing's ex-girlfriend and had come to entrust her son to him.
Fang Ru never expected Zhang Liuxing to have a son out of the blue, catching her completely off guard.
They had been together for seven years, but Fang Ru had not had a child with Zhang Liuxing, which was a sore spot for her.
Now, someone claiming Zhang Liuxing had a son, who was six or seven years old, made Fang Ru feel like the sky had fallen. She couldn't accept it for a moment.
"I'm getting married and am unable to raise Xiao Xing. I came here this time to hand Xiao Xing over to his father.
You happen to have fertility issues and want to be parents. Now that I've brought Xiao Xing here, it fulfills your wish of becoming parents."
Three days ago, Jiang Shu received a letter stating clearly that Zhang Liuxing had been married for many years without any children, and the couple desperately wanted a child. It also mentioned that Zhang Liuxing's current conditions were very good, but he lacked a child.
Coincidentally, when she received the letter, Jiang Shu had met a suitable man through her family's introduction and was planning to get married and have children.
To get married, Jiang Shu had originally planned to leave her son with her parents, but her parents had their own difficulties. Just when she didn't know what to do, she received the letter and decided to bring her son to find his biological father, wanting Zhang Liuxing to take responsibility.
"Who has fertility issues? Don't think I can't tell you're mocking me for not being able to have a son? Don't be hypocritical. Take him away. We'll have our own children; we don't need to raise someone else's son." Fang Ru was furious at Jiang Shu's words. What did she mean by fulfilling their wish to be parents? Did they need to raise someone else's son to become parents?