Reborn as a Weak Beauty Pampered by All

Chapter 1456: Chapter 1246:

Her heart clenched. She forced the smile on her face to look as natural as possible and greeted Kang Li, "Xiao Kang, are you here to see me about something?"

Sure enough, when Kang Li walked out of the yard gate, she headed straight toward where Loo Ping was standing. Her expression was as calm as ever, not showing the slightest abnormality.

"Nothing serious. I just wanted to have a casual chat with Teacher Loo."

There was no doubt that when Captain Kang came home, he told Kang Li what Su Man, Loo Ping, and the other two women had said. It wasn’t that a grown man like him wanted to stir up gossip in front of his precious daughter, it was that he really couldn’t swallow the fact that his son-in-law and grandchildren were being talked about.

If he weren’t a man, he absolutely would have gone up and argued with those women himself. But reality meant he couldn’t step in, so he could only bring his three little grandchildren home and repeat what he’d heard.

Originally, Cai Xiufen had also wanted to go out and argue, but Kang Li stopped her. She didn’t want to drag her own elderly mother into the mess of her small household, especially when there was a fair chance it might get physical later. If her mother were accidentally hurt, that would be far from ideal.

Who knew that as soon as she stepped out of the yard, Kang Li would only see Loo Ping standing alone outside the gate, apparently about to turn around and go home. She couldn’t help wondering: did they all get scared of her, know she’d be coming out, so they each slipped away one by one?

With that doubt in mind, Kang Li walked over and stopped two steps away from Loo Ping.

"You... you’re a well-known university professor. What could a primary school teacher like me possibly have to chat with you about?!" Loo Ping gave an awkward smile, not even quite able to meet Kang Li’s eyes.

Kang Li’s lips curved. She smiled. "I know that from yesterday to today, more than one person in our compound has been talking nonsense about my family. I imagine Teacher Loo has heard something as well, but that whole thing is completely fabricated,

it’s slander. Hanhan and Vivi’s father has gone to the school in person to deal with it, and the school gave a handling result as of yesterday at noon when classes let out,

and the students who started and spread the rumors have all apologized to my Hanhan and Vivi, and the parents who started and spread the rumors have apologized to my husband. Telling you all this, Teacher Loo, I don’t mean anything else,

I just want to ask that if anyone brings it up in front of you again, please tell them that spreading rumors and defamation carry legal responsibility. If they don’t know the truth, they’re welcome to go to the middle school where Hanhan and Vivi study and ask the school leaders directly."

With a faint smile at the corner of her mouth the whole time, Kang Li’s tone was neither humble nor arrogant. It sounded flat enough, but when it landed in Loo Ping’s heart, it felt like a drumstick pounding again and again.

"All right, I understand." Teacher Loo forced a smile. "Don’t worry, I’ll tell them exactly what you said."

Kang Li said, "Then I’ll trouble you, Teacher Loo!"

Her clear eyes seemed to be smiling, but the smile never reached their depths. Kang Li didn’t avoid looking at Loo Ping at all. Then she shifted her gaze and quietly stared at Wen’s family’s tightly closed double courtyard doors for a long moment, then said, sounding casual:

"Teacher Loo and Comrade Su seem to be quite close. If it’s convenient, I’d also like to ask you to pass my words on to Comrade Su sometime today.

It’s nothing but an ordinary sentence." Loo Ping’s heart thumped twice, and the next second, she quickly shook her head and said, "I can help, I can help. I happened to have something to talk to Xiao Su about anyway, I’ll pass it on for you while I’m at it."

Maybe if she lent a hand this time, her husband could get transferred by Director Luo into his project team!

As her thoughts turned, Loo Ping unconsciously relaxed. She said, "Xiao Kang, go do whatever you need to do. I’m heading over to Xiao Su’s place now to sit for a bit."

Kang Li nodded. "Thank you." With that, instead of walking back toward her own gate, she turned and headed for the Song Family’s.

...

Wen’s family.

Su Man was standing in the yard. To be precise, after closing the courtyard gate, she’d wanted to see whether Kang Li would come out to confront her, so she simply stood behind the door, listening to the sounds outside.

Because of that, she’d heard most of Kang Li’s conversation with Loo Ping, as well as what Loo Ping and the other two women said after Su Man left. Maybe not every single word, but enough to get the gist.

Right now her complexion didn’t look good. Hearing footsteps outside, followed by knocks on the door, she couldn’t help feeling annoyed at Loo Ping, thinking she had no eye for people. After all that, she still overlooked their previous issues and tried to make up, only to be treated like a clown by the other woman.

"Xiao Su! Xiao Su, open the door, I need to talk to you about something!"

When Su Man didn’t open the door for a while, Loo Ping couldn’t help knocking while calling out, "Can you hurry up? I really do have something to tell you."

With a clang, the courtyard door swung inward. Su Man had already adjusted her expression. "What does Teacher Loo need to talk to me about?"

Hearing the off note in Su Man’s tone, Loo Ping wasn’t stupid. A little thought and she knew why. But her own manner stayed natural. "Let’s talk in your living room."

Once inside the yard, Loo Ping walked straight toward the living room.

Seeing this, Su Man closed the courtyard gate, her face dark, and followed.

"You heard everything."

After entering the living room and sitting on the sofa, Loo Ping opened her mouth with that.

Her tone was pure factual statement.

Su Man said nothing and casually sat down on the sofa opposite her.

"You all had your ears pricked up, and now you’re turning it around and saying I’m the one stirring up trouble. Teacher Loo, do people like you even exist?"

"Xiao Su... it really isn’t good to talk about people behind their backs, especially when that whole matter you just mentioned already has an outcome. Yet you insisted on dragging it out again, purely because of that little grudge with Xiao Kang.

But Xiao Su, have you ever thought about it—every time, that so-called grudge in your heart started with you picking a fight, you being the one who wouldn’t let Xiao Kang be?"

Hearing this, Su Man let out a cold laugh. "Is Teacher Loo treating me like one of your students and lecturing me?"

"There’s no need for you to react like this. You were once a university student, and I’m just someone who graduated from a technical secondary school. How would I have the right to lecture you? I just can’t bear to watch you keep making the same mistakes, so I came to persuade you a bit.

You need to know that slander and defamation carry legal responsibility. You can’t just throw yourself into a cell over that bit of resentment in your heart, can you?"

When she heard the words "you were once a university student," a storm surged into Su Man’s eyes. Now she gritted her teeth and said, "You’re mocking me, aren’t you?"

"What?"

Loo Ping had no idea that Su Man hadn’t actually graduated from university.

"You’re playing dumb?"

Staring hard at Loo Ping, Su Man felt like she could eat her alive.

"What am I pretending to be dumb about?" Loo Ping’s face was full of bafflement. She stood up. "You should’ve heard what Xiao Kang said to me yourself. I’m just playing the good guy and passing it all on to you. Whether you listen or not is entirely up to you."

Noticing Su Man’s mood was off, and to avoid any accidents, Loo Ping left those words and quickly walked out of the living room.

As the footsteps in the yard gradually faded away, Su Man grabbed the enamel mug on the coffee table and smashed it to the floor.

After panting heavily for quite a while, she went back to the bedroom. Some twenty to thirty minutes later, not only had she changed clothes, she’d also put on makeup. Su Man came out carrying her handbag.

She needed to vent, needed someone to listen to her talk. So she picked up the landline receiver and dialed a number. When the other end picked up and she heard the voice she’d been waiting for, Su Man’s expression visibly brightened. "I miss you... Okay, I’ll wait for you at the shop, you mustn’t stand me up... Remember to find a good excuse, otherwise if we get found out, it’ll end badly for both of us... I’m hanging up then, mm, goodbye."