Chapter 175 Chapter 175 How Can Unwavering Liking Be Called Love?
Chapter 175 How Can Unwavering Liking Be Called Love?
Sister Long, it could be said, had everything under her thumb at the supermarket.
It wasn't just Su Tao; other employees also had their share of complaints. They were often made to work overtime and had their wages docked for any minor mistake. Her personality, much like her sharp face, was unbearably mean-spirited.
Privately, the employees often badmouthed her, yet no one truly dared to fall out with her.
Li Ran was considered the most good-tempered among them.
Even when she usually spoke ill of Sister Long, she was relatively discreet. So why did she directly say 'serves her right'?
Sister Long might have been a bit excessive normally, but surely not to this extent?
Su Tao quickly pressed for more.
Li Ran said with a displeased expression, "Like you, Taozi, I thought that person was, at most, just a bit mean. But then the police came to investigate, and guess what happened?"
Cheng Cheng, who was standing nearby, chimed in, blinking with curiosity, "What happened?"
Li Ran said, "That person usually docked our wages and made things difficult for us, which was bad enough, but she even sold our personal information!"
"Do you remember when we first came to the supermarket? We all signed contracts then. That Long Mian not only tampered with the contracts, but she also sold all the personal information we filled out online!"
"We were lucky. My dad is a director at a school, and this street falls under his purview. And Taozi, you have Dongfang Yang and Si Chen looking out for you, so Long Mian wouldn't dare to do anything to us."
"Who knows how Long Mian managed it, but she actually used Yunyun and the others' information to take out loans amounting to hundreds of thousands! It was only after the investigation that we found out the debt collectors had already found Yunyun and the others' hometowns and were threatening them!"
The thought sent shivers down Li Ran's spine. Her hand, gripping the suitcase handle, involuntarily tightened. "That scum deserved to be stabbed to death!"
After saying that, she covered her mouth and gave an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I spoke without thinking. If she died, Little Chengzi would be taken away."
Taken away...
But Little Cheng is already gone!
Su Tao pursed her lips. Her mood, which had been fairly good after chatting with Cheng Cheng, suddenly became heavy.
Yunyun, Su Tao knew her—a very timid girl who didn't even dare to make eye contact when speaking to others.
She was also the girl who called her last time, saying Little Cheng had caused trouble at the store.
So when Little Cheng went to find Sister Long, did she already know about this matter?
No, that was just her pathologically possessive side acting up. Perhaps she stumbled upon it by chance. Regardless, her professor was also harmed by her that very day!
Li Ran, noticing Su Tao's distressed expression, asked with concern, "Taozi, are you alright?"
"Ah?" Su Tao quickly snapped back, forcing a smile. "I zoned out, I'm fine. So, how are Yunyun and the others now? How will they pay back those loans?"
"Long Mian and her uncle were both brought to justice, and a large sum of ill-gotten gains was found, just enough to pay back Yunyun and the others. It's just the information leakage part that's a bit harder to deal with."
And it wasn't just Yunyun; her and Su Tao's personal information had long been leaked as well.
Although there are no secrets on the internet nowadays, and information leaks are commonplace, being sold like that still left a very bitter taste.
Li Ran grumbled a few more resentful words before finally changing the subject. "By the way, Taozi, what happened to Little Chengzi later? Although she did hurt someone, she also exposed that Long Mian's crimes. She should be alright, right?"
At the mention of Chi Xiao Cheng, Su Tao's body stiffened again.
No one noticed that Cheng Cheng, standing nearby, had subtly curved up the corners of her mouth, watching Su Tao's pained and heavy expression as if enjoying a spectacle.
She stepped forward and said with a conciliatory smile, "Alright, Little Cheng is fine, of course. Dongfang Yang is looking out for her."
Li Ran then asked, "Then where is she?"
This time, Cheng Cheng didn't answer for Su Tao. Instead, she gently nudged Su Tao's arm with her shoulder.
Su Tao forced a smile. "Little Cheng... she's sick, she's in the hospital."
"Oh, I see. As long as she's alright."
Li Ran noticed Su Tao's strained expression and, sensing the mood, didn't press further. She raised her hand to check her watch, and immediately her face contorted in alarm.
"Ahhh, we talked for too long! I'm going to miss my bus! I have to go now, Taozi, see you next semester, bye-bye!"
She immediately picked up her suitcase and took off running.
Even when Su Tao gently waved goodbye from behind her, she still didn't look back.
It was as if a good friend was slowly drifting away due to her mistakes.
Cheng Cheng clasped her hands behind her back and subtly leaned forward, turning her head to look at Su Tao's profile. She said regretfully, "I remember you told me that after your Little Cheng became pathologically possessive, she went to the store and caused trouble. But now it seems she hadn't really done anything bad, did she?"
"If this incident hadn't come to light, you and everyone else would have been kept in the dark and wouldn't even know how you were sold out in the end. If Sister Long had simply resigned and disappeared, you would have mysteriously found yourselves saddled with huge debts."
"If Dongfang Yang helped you pay the money back, you wouldn't have to worry. But what about the other part-time students?"
"You also complained, didn't you, that she interfered with your life and disrupted your peace. That's why you didn't like her pathologically possessive nature."
Cheng Cheng spoke sentence after sentence, leaving the girl unable to lift her head.
She pursed her lips, as if unconvinced, yet also as if trying to justify herself. "Little Cheng just... she just stumbled upon this matter by accident. She even hurt my professor, all because of a single phone call."
As she spoke, she suddenly looked up. "Cheng Cheng, you simply don't know what the situation was like then. Little Cheng locked me up and kept pressuring me. Then, just because my professor called me to ask if I had finished my thesis."
Cheng Cheng: "And then?"
"Then I just muttered a complaint about how annoying it was, and Little Cheng snuck out while I was tired and asleep!"
Su Tao spread her hands. "Even though my professor was rushing me and putting pressure on me, she was doing it for my own good. She was guiding me on various things, teaching me how to write papers to be published in academic journals. At the time, he had made it clear to me."
"He thought I had great potential, and so he would guide me diligently, but that the process would be a bit tiring."
"I agreed. I knew she was doing it for my benefit. And looking at it more directly, my professor was actually paving the way for me!"
She was getting anxious. It wasn't that she wanted to blame Chi Xiao Cheng.
She just wanted to alleviate the shame and burden she felt over Chi Xiao Cheng's death.
--Little Cheng's pathologically possessive nature would ruin her own life.
Wasn't it perfectly reasonable for her to be afraid before?
Anyone in her shoes would have been afraid, wouldn't they?
All that talk about pathologically possessive love being unique—it's just something people online say because they haven't experienced it!
They simply have no idea how terrifying that kind of pressure is.
She just... she just wanted to prove that she hadn't actually done anything wrong.
This was entirely a subconscious act of self-preservation after losing her composure.
Avoiding responsibility is also the norm for most people.
Cheng Cheng sighed nearby, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "But no matter the outcome, your Little Cheng did all of that for you, didn't she?"
"It's just her extreme ways that you couldn't accept."
"I..."
Su Tao hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, and ultimately didn't refute Cheng Cheng's words.
Cheng Cheng looked down at her phone. "Still some time left. Do you want to go see your professor?"
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