I Became the Mother of His Child-Chapter 430

"Heh heh." Xu Xiuxiu had not encountered these kinds of overbearing jerks for a long time; the last time was because of Song Yuanming. She thought she wouldn’t have to deal with such people again, but unexpectedly, here they were today, making things rather amusing.

"Otherwise, what? You think you can scare me? A bunch of thugs thinking they have power and influence? And demanding 500 yuan as compensation? You’re really dreaming big!" Xu Xiuxiu said sarcastically, her laughter fading as she straightened her face.

She knew full well that Chen Biao was telling the truth—these people really were vicious friends who didn’t value their own lives. In other places, Xu Xiuxiu might have avoided them, since even a formidable dragon won’t suppress a local snake and offending such riffraff could easily disgust her. But this being in City Z, if she encountered trouble and still felt the need to cower and endure in silence, that would really be a laughing matter.

As Xu Xiuxiu finished speaking, Song Yuanming walked into the room holding a small suitcase: "Sister-in-law, I’ve taken everything out of the room!"

Song Yuanming, now a college student soon to graduate, had spent his occasional summer and winter breaks helping at Xu Xiuxiu’s Sichuan Pavilion or Soup City. He had become accustomed to revering Xu Xiuxiu’s words, especially in times of trouble, treating her commands with respect like an employee.

Of course, outside of formal occasions, Song Yuanming still maintained a good relationship with Xu Xiuxiu. In fact, among all the Song family members, Song Yuanming’s greatest respect had shifted from his second elder brother, Song Yuanhuan, to his second sister-in-law, Xu Xiuxiu.

"Is there anything else left behind?" Xu Xiuxiu asked, turning to look at an obviously panicked and stupefied Song Tianxin behind her.

"The room deposit hasn’t been refunded yet..." Song Tianxin spoke in a meek and fearful tone, quite the contrast to her usual arrogant and domineering self.

"How much?" Xu Xiuxiu arched an eyebrow and turned to look at the inn’s matron, her eyes once again gleaming with amusement.

"100." Song Tianxin sounded conflicted.

"You’re talking nonsense! When did I take a deposit from you? I took pity on you and have been feeding you for days. You don’t appreciate that and now you want to turn the tables, huh? You ungrateful girl, did a dog eat your conscience?" However, the matron from Anxin Inn was not pleased and raised her voice a notch. She had been providing free meals to Song Tianxin since yesterday in hopes of making some extra money from this gullible, rich fool—it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Furthermore, just a while ago, her darling son had his face scratched; under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have rest until she created a huge drama. Now, the idea that this woman wanted her money back was ludicrous.

"You’re lying; you clearly took a 100 yuan deposit from me. I stayed three days, each day at fifty yuan, adding up to 250 yuan in total. Are you trying to deny it now?" Song Tianxin had always had things go her way. Even though Wang Qinghua was an oddball from time to time, those odd times only lasted a couple of years. Moreover, after Song Yuantao divorced Wang Qinghua, Mrs. Song doted quite a bit on Song Tianxin. After all, a child without a mother deserves pity, and adults naturally tended to be more forgiving towards her, leading Song Tianxin to feel like the world should revolve around her, somewhat naive and foolishly sweet.

When he checked in, he foolishly believed whatever was said and didn’t even take a deposit receipt. Now, the landlady of Anxin Inn is deliberately denying everything. What can he do?

"Haha, fifty yuan a day? You’ve got some nerve saying that out loud. Why don’t you go outside and ask around about the prices at nearby inns? Who in their right mind would pay such an exorbitant rate of fifty yuan? And you, a young girl—do you even have that kind of money?" The landlady of Anxin Inn immediately mocked her.

She was well aware that Song Tianxin didn’t have a penny on her, and even the few hundred yuan on her were stealthily taken by someone else. Besides, that money had already ended up in her pocket—how could she possibly give it up? Without a deposit receipt, she could simply deny everything, and what could they do about it?

"I did give you 250 yuan earlier," Song Tianxin said anxiously.

"Enough!" Xu Xiuxiu interrupted Song Tianxin’s hurried explanation, "Madam, doing business in a friendly manner brings wealth. Making a big deal out of this benefits no one. We are not asking for much—just return the deposit that should be returned, and we won’t be unreasonably persistent about it." Xu Xiuxiu couldn’t care less about the 100 yuan, but since Song Tianxin mentioned it, she didn’t mind helping to get it back. After all, 100 yuan could buy quite a few things these days!

Moreover, according to Song Tianxin, paying fifty yuan for a night’s stay was already sky-high for the standard of this inn. The landlady had already taken advantage of Song Tianxin once. Xu Xiuxiu might not fuss about the rent, but if the landlady thought she could swallow the 100 yuan deposit without spitting it back out, she was being too greedy. Xu Xiuxiu wasn’t used to indulging those who had threatened her.

"Why should I? I never took her money..." the landlady of the inn still refused to acknowledge it.

"You know very well whether you took it or not," Xu Xiuxiu grew somewhat angry. Although Song Tianxin was highly unreliable, she wouldn’t likely lie under such circumstances. Thus, the problem surely lay with the inn’s landlady. Xu Xiuxiu had dealt with many like her and knew precisely how to get a firm grip on their vulnerability: "I’m only going to ask you once—are you going to return the deposit or not?"

"..." The inn’s landlady hesitated for a moment.

Facing just Song Tianxin, that little girl, she wasn’t afraid, but this assertive woman was clearly not an ordinary person. Some people naturally exude an aura that cannot be offended, and she, a mere small-time innkeeper, couldn’t afford to offend such individuals. Her son might mingle with some societal folk, but those fair-weather friends wouldn’t be of any use when real trouble arose. Was it worth it to make such a loss over 100 yuan?

"It seems that the landlady doesn’t plan to return the deposit," Xu Xiuxiu observed the landlady’s indecision and casually spoke as if confirming her intentions: "Yuanying, go downstairs and call Director Qian and Director Liao. Tell them I’ve run into a bit of trouble and would like to ask for a small favor."

Xu Xiuxiu always disliked bullying others, especially over a mere 100 yuan—it was unnecessary to make a big deal out of it. However, she needed to let Chen Biao understand where the boundaries were; otherwise, he would surely think she was easy to provoke. Seeing his current expression, as if he was waiting to settle scores with her later, Xu Xiuxiu felt it was better to let the other party experience the disparity in their statuses first. After all, it might be easy to meet King Yan, but petty spirits are troublesome to deal with, and she did not like lingering effects after an issue was resolved.