Li Julin cast an annoyed glance at him, clearly dissatisfied with his interruption of Shen Mianmian.
Lifting the tea that Xiaocui had poured, he took a sip and said, "Mianmian, continue."
Xiu Min, fearing Li Julin’s demeanor might frighten Shen Mianmian, quickly added in a soft voice, "Mianmian, don’t be afraid, just tell us the facts. As long as you speak, both your Uncle Li and I will believe you—we believe you’re a good kid."
Li Julin feigned anger at his wife but didn’t actually blame her.
Wang Dongcheng got angry. Wasn’t Xiu Min’s comment a clear message to Shen Mianmian not to admit to stealing the money? Irritated but mindful not to speak out of turn, as Li Julin disliked interruptions and he had already committed a faux pas earlier.
Shen Mianmian was touched by Xiu Min’s words and knew that Li Julin didn’t really suspect her. But since they had asked, she had nothing to hide. Aware of Li Julin’s expectations for his students, she refused to let Li Julin be criticized because of her.
"Uncle Li, I did indeed bring a jar of money from home, but it wasn’t stolen—It was earned from my own business. I used to have a stall at the entrance of the market; I even went to your neighborhood. That’s when I met Sister Shiping. You should all be aware of this. Afterwards, I used that money to pay for my tuition fees and even opened a small grocery store."
She succinctly explained the origin and use of the money, leaving no room for doubt.
Wang Dongcheng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Shen Mianmian to resolve the issue with just a few words and he was not content. Doubting her story, he questioned, "How much can you make from a stall? Others said you took away thousands of yuan."
"Just because others say I took thousands, it’s true?" Shen Mianmian scoffed. "I could also say someone saw you committing murder. Why don’t you go to prison!"
Wang Dongcheng did not anticipate such a sharp retort from Shen Mianmian, leaving him speechless.
"Uncle Li, I’d like to say something." Xiaocui, who had been almost invisible until then, finally spoke shakily.
Li Julin looked at her, "Go ahead."
Swallowing hard, Xiaocui whispered, "I’m Mianmian’s neighbor. I can vouch for her words being truthful. I was often with her when she would sell vegetables on holidays. Every Saturday and Sunday, she and her classmate would take a cart of vegetables into the city to sell. The money she made was truly her own earnings."
"Hmm." After listening, Li Julin nodded, but his expression did not improve much.
Wang Dongcheng was persistent. "You’re Shen Mianmian’s employee, of course you’d side with her. I can call her cousin Zhou Siyu to testify."
"Wang Dongcheng, stop stirring up trouble," Li Yue glared angrily at Wang Dongcheng, planning to deal with him later.
Shen Mianmian also gave Wang Dongcheng a cold look before playing her trump card, "Uncle Li, Brother He knew about the money I took with me."
At this revelation, Xiu Min and Li Julin were taken aback, as they had not expected He Nan to be involved in this matter.
He Nan, who had been listening indifferently to the conversation, finally showed a hint of amusement in his eyes; the girl had finally remembered him.
"Uncle Li, there’s no need for any testimony. She has never stolen any money," he said. The source of this content ɪs 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝
His brief statement vindicated Shen Mianmian; everyone present knew no matter how much Wang Dongcheng argued, his words couldn’t outweigh He Nan’s.
Hearing He Nan say this, not only did Li Julin not cheer up, but his face grew even darker.