CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 37: TROUBLE WITHIN THE FAMILY

Then another month passed, during which some minor incidents occurred. After Yan Wuxu left the country, he did not return immediately. Su Ziceng lied to Mrs. Yan, saying that Wuxu had found a part-time job and was too busy to come home recently.

The wine shop’s business greatly improved after that auction, with the "Lafite" trend in government circles extending to the business world and major hotels. Everyone inquired about the sources of the Lafite Wine, but Zhou Dagen cleverly replaced them with domestically produced red wines that had the same taste but were more reasonably priced. In the ten years that followed, China’s red wine industry flourished, and at that time, Su Ziceng did not know that her wine shop had become a major force driving domestic red wine consumption.

The courses at Kelly Women’s College proceeded in an orderly fashion, and the relationship between Su Ziceng and Pello was also bouncing along like a delicate stream, heading in a quirky direction.

Besides holding hands that one night, Pello did not make any further inappropriate moves after. Their relationship was hastily established and carried out somewhat insipidly, lacking the movie dates and sweet nothings exchanged during park strolls that young couples often share. All of this was in line with Su Ziceng’s desire to keep a low profile. She had anticipated obstacles from Wen Maixue, who hadn’t emerged, but being low-key did not mean going unnoticed, and a minor incident still occurred.

On Wednesday afternoon, while the entire school’s teachers were in a routine weekly meeting and with no lessons scheduled, Su Ziceng, carrying a handbag, prepared to visit the wine shop. She heard from Zhou Dagen that they had recently received a batch of good quality domestic wines.

Just as she reached the bottom of the dormitory building, she heard someone calling her. After Yan Wuxu left, Su Ziceng mostly maintained a "lone wolf" status. For a thirty-six-year-old woman, bridging countless generational gaps and getting along with a group of young girls was a massive challenge.

Therefore, upon hearing the eager voice of Yu Feng, a classmate who had never greeted her before, Su Ziceng’s instinct was to pretend she hadn’t heard.

"Wait a moment," the usually quiet women’s dormitory suddenly became lively. Seven or eight female students surrounded her with such swiftness and synchronization that Su Ziceng thought she had stumbled upon a Republican female soldier drill.

"Are you Su Ziceng?" The leading female student asked disdainfully, sizing her up with a pair of fish eyes, slanted and with little white showing.

Yu Feng eagerly nodded her head as if she was Su Ziceng.

"Not much to look at, flat butt, flat chest, and hardly any flesh on the face," the group of girls critically appraised her, looking to belittle every part of her before they were satisfied.

Such comments irked Su Ziceng; in her previous life, because of plastic surgery, she feared "personal attacks" the most. Now, with not a single part of her body altered by surgery, she was still subjected to sarcasm, raising her handbag slightly higher.

She looked around and saw no one else except for these few female students; it was so empty not even a leaf was in sight.

"Stay away from Teacher Pei Luo, got it?" Several hands reached out simultaneously, forcefully pushing her. Before Su Ziceng could steady herself, another elbow from behind aimed at her waist. Her body rocked back and forth like a wave being tossed about.

"Did you hear me? If we see you get close to Teacher Pei Luo again, then..." Fish eyes made a slapping gesture. Before the hand could reach her, a cold snort wafted through the air.

The female student’s hair was suddenly grabbed fiercely, and before she could cry out, a cold, hard metal crashed into her forehead, the scent of blood permeating the air, warm to the touch.

"Then what?" Su Ziceng looked at the blood on the metal buckle of her handbag with unsated curiosity, with strands of pulled hair still in her hand, half-faded in color, yellow with black, signs of malnourished hair.

The girls from Kelly Women’s College were all startled. These carefully selected and meticulously groomed "ladies" had never seen such a bold move. They only intended to scare Su Ziceng and slap her a few times as a warning; they had no idea.

The more timid students started crying in fear, while the braver ones could only stand pale-faced, helping up the injured student, whose fish eyes were now completely shocked.

"Dare to show off in front of me? If last time I hadn’t forgotten to bring my bag, would I have allowed a scoundrel to bully me?" Su Ziceng pulled out a tissue from her bag and carefully wiped it, reminiscent of the alleyway ambush. Su Ziceng was not skilled in self-defense or anti-wolf techniques, but she had one special move, the "Handbag Fighting Skill."