Chapter 180: Huang Cuihong

In a small park, a girl with dyed red hair, heavy makeup, and a heavily alternative, non-mainstream fashion was wandering around, drawing sidelong glances from the elderly residents who wondered whose daughter was acting so outrageously.

This person was none other than Xu An'an.

She had dashed over to a styling salon opposite the hospital and instructed the stylist to create a look that completely contrasted with her true self.

Thus, she had transformed into a non-mainstream rebel.

Had it not taken up so much time, Xu An'an would have genuinely wanted to tear down the salon's sign.

Who on earth would recognize her?

Even her mother standing right in front of her probably wouldn't have a clue.

The old folks muttered among themselves, their eyes darting persistently toward Xu An'an, staring hard enough to practically burn a hole through her, which almost caused Xu An'an to break her composure.

She simply sat there on the swing, ignoring everything.

Once the novelty wore off, the elderly residents stopped discussing Xu An'an and instead shifted their conversation to the incident a few days prior when someone had fainted.

With time on their hands, they loved to endlessly rehash recent events, hoping perhaps to puzzle out some new details.

Auntie Cen, who was a witness and had even been questioned by the police, looked immensely proud.

"At the time, I was hanging up quilts on my balcony and saw everything crystal clear. The woman who got yelled at until she fainted was pacing right around here, and heaven knows what she was looking for."

Xu An'an finally waited for what she wanted, instantly pricking up her ears to eavesdrop.

"I turned my head inside to grab a pillowcase, and when I came back out, I saw her arguing with someone. She must have come here to pick a fight with somebody."

Auntie Cen narrated the event with vivid, lifelike detail, sparking everyone's curiosity about what happened next.

Even Xu An'an turned her head to look.

Auntie Cen carried herself like a traditional story-teller, but instead of leaving the audience in suspense for the next installment, she declared, "There is nothing in this neighborhood that I, Auntie Cen, do not know."

"I threw my laundry to my daughter-in-law to hang and immediately dashed downstairs."

"That was when I saw a figure running away in a panic."

"Who was it!"

An elderly man stood up abruptly, completely captivated by the tale.

Xu An'an also clenched her fists.

Auntie Cen lowered her voice, assuming a mysterious tone: "Who else could it be? It was that woman with the biggest gossip-mongering mouth in our neighborhood!"

Before Xu An'an could retort inwardly, someone else blurted out the name.

"It must be that woman Huang Cuihong!"

"Ever since her family moved here, there hasn't been a single day of peace."

"Everybody loathes her!"

Xu An'an found the name Huang Cuihong very familiar. She remembered once, when she was summoned back by Shen Ying, she had seen Shen Ying and a few women sitting in the garden having afternoon tea.

It seemed one of those women was named Huang Cuihong.

If only she had a photo.

A thought suddenly struck Xu An'an, and she pulled out her phone. She had Xu Wanwan on her contact list, and Xu Wanwan loved posting updates—sharing the most trivial, mundane matters and posting dozens of times a day.

Back then, she had found it annoying and simply muted her.

Now, she might just be able to find some clues there.

After scrolling for nearly half an hour, Xu An'an actually found what she was looking for.

Xu Wanwan's post: [Went shopping with godmom today, came back with bags full, so happy!]

Huang Cuihong and Shen Ying had been best friends since childhood, cut from the exact same cloth—both adept at destroying other people's families, though Huang Cuihong had married a mediocre man.

Armed with the photo, Xu An'an sought out Auntie Cen to inquire and received a definitive confirmation.

Auntie Cen looked Xu An'an up and down.

"You aren't by any chance a relative of Huang Cuihong's, are you?"

Given Huang Cuihong's abysmal reputation around the neighborhood and her own rebellious attire, Xu An'an figured Auntie Cen's suspicion was somewhat well-founded.

With a polite smile and a word of thanks to Auntie Cen, she quickly made an excuse and slipped away.

As coincidence would have it, just as Xu An'an left, Huang Cuihong returned. Looking around furtively, she was intercepted by Auntie Cen.

Huang Cuihong jumped in fright: "What are you doing!"

Auntie Cen had originally intended to give Huang Cuihong a heads-up that someone had been looking for her, but Huang Cuihong's attitude thoroughly rubbed her wrong. Regardless, she was the head of the neighborhood women's association.

"Getting startled this easily? Must have a guilty conscience, don't you?"

"What guilty conscience? Who has a guilty conscience? Let me warn you, stop flapping your gums!"

"Heh, I saw you arguing with a woman and getting her so mad she fainted! Just wait, the police will be coming for you soon!"

"You..."

Watching Huang Cuihong turn pale, Auntie Cen walked away with a smug expression of triumph.

Panicking and utterly at a loss, Huang Cuihong could only turn to Shen Ying, but since Shen Ying had told her not to come over to the Xu residence recently, she decided to call her instead.

She wasn't entirely sure whether Auntie Cen's words were true or false, but she had indeed caused Chen芳蓉 to faint from anger, which meant she would inevitably have to take responsibility.

Beep, beep, beep...

The phone rang for a long time without an answer.

Fuming, Huang Cuihong stamped her feet and cursed angrily, "Damn Shen Guifang, does she really think marrying into wealth and changing her name makes her a city lady? Damn it, if she really pushes me too far, we'll just go down together! Nobody gets to live in peace!"

Driven by fear, Huang Cuihong went wild, calling Shen Ying repeatedly until the call finally went through.

Learning that Shen Ying was ill somewhat tempered Huang Cuihong's fury.

"You're sick? Then I'll come over to check on you."

In truth, Huang Cuihong simply couldn't believe things could be such a coincidence.

Coughing a few times, Shen Ying was indeed quite unwell. She had just finished drinking some traditional Chinese medicine and fallen asleep not long ago when she was jolted awake by Huang Cuihong's call.

"What are you afraid of?"

"If Chen Fangrong had actually called the police, the officers would have visited you long ago. Do you really need to be told this by me?"

Before Huang Cuihong could remain calm for even two seconds, she blurted out anxiously, "Then why didn't she call the police? Doesn't make sense, does it? I said a lot of terrible things that day and literally made her faint from anger. She's never going to let me off."

Shen Ying hadn't figured this part out yet either.

After being chased by the security guards all the way, she had felt utterly wretched ever since returning home.

"Let's put that aside for now. I'm very tired right now; I'll call you back after I've slept."

"But... Hello? Hello? Damn it, bitch Shen Guifang!"

A figure was hiding in the shadows.

It was Xu An'an. She had never planned on leaving just yet, but upon discovering there were unexpected developments, she had stayed behind to listen and watch.

Xu An'an had intended to wait until Huang Cuihong left before departing, but she never expected yet another surprise harvest.

Hearing Huang Cuihong put on a delicate, affected voice, Xu An'an immediately understood what was going on.

Such an affected, hypocritical tone made one want to vomit.

Xu An'an was certain that the person on the other end of the line was definitely not Huang Cuihong's husband. She had heard Shen Ying mention before that Huang Cuihong constantly fought with her husband day in and day out.

Therefore, Huang Cuihong must have been seeking help from her lover.

However, who could Huang Cuihong's lover be?

"I'm really scared right now, I don't even dare go home. Will you accompany me tonight, please? Don't go back—surely I'm better than that old hag you have at home, aren't I?"

"It's a deal then. I'll wait for you at our usual spot."

Curious as she was, Xu An'an generally didn't pry excessively into matters unrelated to her—until Huang Cuihong cried out, "Brother Fengnian, I... I have something very important to tell you later."

"I'm telling you in advance, Shen Ying is the one who didn't want me to say anything."

As it turned out, Huang Cuihong's old flame was actually Xu Fengnian!?

Xu An'an felt as though her worldview was shattering into pieces.