Chapter 34: Being Followed, Encountering Danger

Around four in the afternoon, Tang Lin walked into the residential compound with a dark expression. Having been toyed with at the subdistrict office, she was brimming with frustration and had nowhere to vent it.

As it turned out, she was blocked in her path by a group of neighborhood aunties.

These women had no jobs.

Or rather, they had jobs that paid no salary; their work was to take care of their families and raise their children.

Aunties like these were the most enthusiastic, and often excessively so.

They loved meddling in the trivialities of the compound. To say they were concerned would be an understatement; in reality, they were mostly just curious.

Curious about other people's private affairs.

"Tang Lin, how is your recovery after being discharged? I see you're out and about already, so your health must be mostly restored, right?"

Tang Lin had no patience to entangle herself with them. She asked, "Auntie Zhang, is something wrong? If not, I'm going home."

As she spoke, she tried to sidestep Auntie Zhang to continue her way home.

But since they had blocked her, the group of aunties had no intention of letting her leave without getting to the bottom of things.

Auntie Zhang leaned in close and asked in a low, mysterious voice, "I heard you've been looking to 'detach' from Old Man Leng lately? Is it true?"

"Detach" was the local dialect for divorce.

Tang Lin froze upon hearing this. How had this news leaked through the compound? Without even thinking, she knew it was either Sun Xiaojuan or Old Lady Leng spreading rumors.

Did they think that causing a scandal in the compound would make her behave?

How naive!

Tang Lin did not deny it. "Yes. Last time I had internal bleeding from my injury, the doctor said if I didn't have surgery, I'd be waiting for a corpse. But my mother-in-law and Leng Yongkang were too stingy to pay the fees. If my daughter hadn't forced my mother-in-law to pay, I might be hanging on a wall right now for you all to see."

Auntie Zhang slapped her thigh and raised her voice, "There's such a thing? We wouldn't have known if you hadn't said so. That Old Lady Leng is truly black-hearted! Your salary is the highest in their family, yet she wouldn't even part with the hospital fees. Truly unscrupulous!"

Tang Lin nodded sadly; indeed, she was.

The other aunties were afraid of adding fuel to the fire. If the couple actually divorced, they would be the ones creating bad karma.

One of the aunties hurriedly tugged at Auntie Zhang's hem and said to Tang Lin with a smile, "Daughter, think carefully. 'Detaching' is no joke. It's a major life event that concerns the rest of your life. Consider it cautiously."

Tang Lin countered, "Auntie Zhang, how do you all know I want to detach from Leng Yongkang? Who told you?"

Auntie Zhang stammered, refusing to name names.

The other aunties averted their eyes.

Tang Lin's face flushed red and then turned pale with anger. "I knew it! That Sun Xiaojuan can't stand to see me doing well. Her mouth is like a leaking sieve, spitting out every bit of family business. She screams in bed at night and shouts outside during the day. Just wait until I go back and tear that foul mouth of hers apart!"

Having said that, she abandoned all politeness, pushed past the aunties blocking her way, and stormed toward her house aggressively.

Auntie Zhang wanted to call her back, but remembering the impending battle within the Leng family, she merely rubbed her nose in fear and gave the others an awkward smile.

The joys and sorrows of different people are not interconnected.

While Auntie Zhang worried about being caught up in the Leng family war, the other aunties automatically extracted the key information from Tang Lin's words.

"Did you all hear what Tang Lin just said? She said Sun Xiaojuan screams in bed at night and shouts outside during the day. Does that mean Sun Xiaojuan is very wild in bed, and Leng Yongxing is quite skilled?"

"If it's true, then Sun Xiaojuan is a lucky woman. It's just hard on Tang Lin. Those wooden walls aren't soundproof; listening to that raucousness every night must make it impossible to sleep. What a torment."

***

As soon as she was out of the aunties' sight, Tang Lin slowed her pace, the fury on her face vanishing.

When she returned home, Leng Hui was sitting at the table repairing a radio. Uncharacteristically, Leng Mei was actually sitting beside her, accompanying her.

"You're back."

"Mm. How is the repair going? Are any components missing?"

Leng Hui didn't even look up. "I can scrape enough together for one."

"That's good." Tang Lin sat down and began helping to test which components were usable and which were scrapped.

The scrapped ones were tossed aside to be disposed of as trash later.

Seeing Tang Lin working with such familiarity, Leng Mei's eyes flickered. She smiled and said, "Auntie, the radio at Uncle Zhang's house in the fourth building broke a while ago, and no one has been found to fix it yet."

Tang Lin: "If it's broken, it's broken. Why are you worrying about other people's business?"

The smile on Leng Mei's face froze before it could fully bloom.

Leng Hui looked up at her, then lowered her head to tighten a screw, saying, "The reason Uncle Zhang's radio hasn't been fixed is that he's too stingy to pay to send it to a repair station.

Do you want me to fix it for free so he owes you a favor? Stop dreaming of such sweet deals. Can't you just stay home and recover from your injuries?"

She really had to try and play mind games in front of her.

Leng Mei looked aggrieved. "Sister, how can you think of me like that? I'm providing this information for your own good. If you fix it, you'll either earn some pocket money or he'll owe you a favor. It's a great thing, but the way you put it makes me sound like a wicked sister."

"I don't need it. Don't provoke me, or I'll be chanting Amitabha for peace," Leng Hui said, rolling her eyes at her.

Usually, those who stayed close to the female lead met bad ends.

She had no intention of being cannon fodder or a stepping stone in this life.

***

The next day, Leng Hui put the repaired radio into her space, instructed Tang Lin to rest well at home, and headed out.

She already knew about the situation Tang Lin had encountered at the subdistrict office yesterday afternoon.

Since Song Zhishan was intentionally avoiding Tang Lin, she might as well not let Tang Lin waste her energy dealing with him. Tang Lin was a patient now; Leng Hui would handle this herself.

The radio she brought to the black market today was exchanged for thirty yuan, just like last time.

As she left the black market, Leng Hui keenly sensed something unusual—a feeling like a pair of eyes was glued to her back.

She feigned nonchalance and looked back, catching sight of a figure quickly ducking into a corner. Leng Hui grinned; interesting!

Such silent stalking would be very difficult for a young girl of this era to detect.

But for someone who had returned from a crisis-ridden apocalypse, this level of tracking was child's play.

Leng Hui did not alert the stalker; she continued walking at an unhurried pace.

At the same time, she mentally reviewed the layout of the area.

The black market was naturally located in a place where all kinds of people mingled, with a complex web of interconnected streets and alleys.

It was easy to find a deserted lane.

Leng Hui wound her way through the labyrinthine, dilapidated alleys. After successfully making the stalker dizzy with her route, she turned into a narrow, deserted side street.

The stalker, a man under 1.7 meters tall with a shifty, rat-like appearance, turned into the alley, only to find himself staring into Leng Hui's cold eyes. His body stiffened slightly, but he quickly tried to act composed.

"Oh? Why did you stop? I stop and you stop. What's the meaning of this? Are we playing hide-and-seek?" Leng Hui's voice was laced with sarcasm.

Her voice echoed in the silent alley, carrying a hint of danger.

The stalker did not answer immediately. Instead, he waved his hand behind him. A moment later, two young thugs appeared at the entrance of the alley.