Chapter 226: Unrestrained

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Unrestrained

After leaving her husband’s family, she simply had nowhere else to go.

Her own family?

You basically couldn’t count on them.

Adding another pair of chopsticks means another mouth to feed. Who would be happy to support an extra person every day?

Wei Guilan muttered to herself.

For Song Yao’s mother to be able to go back to her family at her age, she must have been truly doted on growing up.

But Song Yao shook her head.

"There’s no one left in her family. Years ago, they owned a factory and ran a business."

"She only has one older sister left, but she married someone far away and can’t help at all."

Song Yao paused, then added.

"I heard she’s in Yunnan. Hasn’t been back in over a decade."

The moment Wei Guilan heard "owned a factory and ran a business," she immediately understood.

"Your mom must have been gorgeous when she was young!"

She blurted it out, her tone full of sincerity.

The words had barely left her mouth before she started laughing at herself.

Song Yao tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"Mm... she was quite pretty."

’No wonder!’ Wei Guilan thought.

’She was spoiled rotten growing up and never had to suffer. That’s why her personality is so unrestrained.’

She then recalled bumping into Yao Yuzhen at the market two days ago.

And that same Yao Yuzhen, who had been coddled for half her life, was now at her breaking point.

Perhaps she had already snapped.

Lately, it felt like work was cursed.

That supervisor was always finding fault with her.

Ever since the day Shen Zhenwu came to the restaurant to eat, when the supervisor took the opportunity to slap her butt when she wasn’t looking, it had only gotten worse.

Until today, when the man surnamed Wu barged straight into the locker room.

Seeing no one around, he pounced on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and trying to press his face against hers.

The latch on the door was broken; it swung open with a simple push.

Yao Yuzhen’s stomach churned on the spot, and goosebumps erupted all over her skin.

She struggled like a madwoman, her nails digging into his face, tearing several bloody scratches into his skin.

People outside heard the commotion and came swarming over.

But the man surnamed Wu turned the tables, pointing a finger at her nose and shouting.

"She’s just lazy! She was trying to slack off, so she deliberately tried to seduce me!"

"Did she think that by getting physical with me, I’d just let her come in late and leave early?"

He stood sideways to the door, straightening the hem of his shirt with a cold smirk.

Yao Yuzhen froze completely.

"Huh?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

The rims of her eyes turned red, and her chest heaved as she stared daggers at the man, who was a good ten years younger than her.

"I seduced you?"

Her voice trembled.

"You?"

The man slowly adjusted his collar, shot her a disdainful look from head to toe, and sneered.

"What else? You think someone like you is some kind of prize I’d be after?"

He suddenly reached out and flicked her name tag with his fingertips.

"Ay, Big Sister, at your age, you could be my own mother, you know?!"

He threw his head back and scoffed.

"It’s not like I’ve never seen a young woman. What could I possibly want from you?"

The surrounding coworkers immediately closed in, craning their necks to see. Their eyes darted about, and their mouths were already busy whispering.

Yao Yuzhen frantically scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face to speak up for her.

But not a single person made a sound.

’But... they were all so friendly when we ate lunch together and gossiped!’

Her heart hardened, and she looked straight toward the kitchen entrance.

Cao Yu was there, tying his apron and wiping his hands.

She took half a step forward. Her lips had just started to move, before she could even make a sound, when Cao Yu looked up.

But when Cao Yu opened his mouth, his spit nearly flew in her face.

"Shameless tramp! Acting so high and mighty? You act all standoffish every day, but behind everyone’s back, you’re seducing men?"

"Ptooey!"

Yao Yuzhen jerked her head to the side, barely avoiding the glob of spit.

’This man... Wasn’t he always finding excuses to praise her for being a quick worker and a down-to-earth person?’

’How could he turn around and sling mud at her like this in the blink of an eye?’

What was worse, seeing that she didn’t talk back, Cao Yu only got more fired up.

"Still putting on airs with me? You really think you’re some goddess descended from heaven? And what happens? Xiao Wu just crooks his finger, and you go running right to him!"

He jabbed a thumb in the supervisor’s direction, his face filled with disgust.

"Xiao Wu is in his early thirties, and you’re pushing forty. You still fantasize about being his girlfriend? If he’s looking for someone, he’d find someone he can go clubbing with, right?"

"Tsk, I used to politely call you Sister Yao, but now the thought just makes me sick! At your age, dressed like that... if your face didn’t still have a little bit of freshness, I wouldn’t even bother giving you a second glance. In another two years, you’ll be completely over the hill!"

Yao Yuzhen’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. She lunged forward and clawed at his arm!

But how could she win a fight against a man?

He grabbed her wrist with his left hand and swung his right arm in a wide arc.

CRACK!

The slap made her ears ring.

The back of her head hit the seam between the floor tiles.

The crowd scattered in an instant, as if on springs.

Yao Yuzhen pressed one hand to her mouth and used the other to prop herself up, unable to get to her feet for a long time.

Her face didn’t hurt much, but her heart felt like it had been frozen solid.

’So this is how it is. When a man doesn’t have you in his heart, he can turn on you in an instant and stomp you into the mud.’

Yao Yuzhen didn’t cry. Her fingers clutched her purse strap tightly.

She strode into the police station.

She took out her phone, showed them the photos she had taken of the surveillance blind spots, and handed over screenshots of her ID number and the work schedule.

But when the police investigated...

Everyone at the restaurant sang the same tune, their stories as perfectly aligned as soldiers chanting in formation.

"Supervisor Wu is a great guy! He helps the new staff move stock every day and is never late or leaves early!"

"Yao Yuzhen, on the other hand... she’s been divorced for years, always trying to take petty advantages, and I heard she’s been involved with several male coworkers..."

Adding to that, there was indeed a full fifteen-year age difference between her and Supervisor Wu.

She was thirty-eight, he was twenty-three.

So, the officers from the brigade directly believed everyone else’s account.

They called Yao Yuzhen over and gave her a stern lecture.

"No... it really wasn’t like that! They’re lying!"

The officer chuckled.

"Oh? So everyone at the restaurant conspired together just to frame you?"

"Alright, alright, just go home. If you keep hanging around here, we’ll have to book you for disturbing the peace."

She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Is this how you investigate things? When an ordinary citizen comes to you for justice, this is your attitude?"

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you to tell us how to be police officers? Is it your place to give us pointers?"

"If it weren’t for the fact that you’re not young and you’re a woman, we’d have already invited you down to the station for a ’cup of tea’."

Yao Yuzhen’s heart sank.

’So there really was no one in this world who would back her up.’

’After leaving Shen Zhenwu, even taking a breath felt like she was doing something wrong.’

She knew very well.

She couldn’t stay at the National Guest House any longer. Her only choice was to go back and ask for her wages.

But this time, she couldn’t even get close to the main entrance.

"Stop! What are you doing?"

The two security guards at the door stuck out their arms, blocking her path.

Yao Yuzhen’s eyes went wide.

"You don’t know who I am?"

One of them whistled, lazily shaking his head.

"To enter the restaurant, you have to pay and order food. If you’re not eating, you’re not coming in."

"I’m not eating, I’m here to settle my account! For the wages I’m owed!"

The guard didn’t even lift his gaze.

"Not eating, not entering."

"Wu Qiang! Wu Qiang! Get out here!"

Yao Yuzhen’s throat tightened as she started shouting right there at the entrance.

It was a five-star establishment, after all, and they were afraid of losing face.

In the end, Supervisor Wu Qiang finally showed his face.

He had his hands in his pockets, eyeing her askance.

"Aiyo~ Sister Yao, what’s with the scene?"

"If you keep wailing like this, we’ll really have to call the public security brigade~"

The backs of Yao Yuzhen’s knees went weak, and her palms started to sweat.

Seeing this, Wu Qiang waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and leave. Don’t block the customers from coming in."