Chapter 28: Blackmail and Extortion
The middle-aged woman spoke very impolitely, her expression and tone betraying a deep-seated contempt for Jiang Zhenzhen, or perhaps, for people like Jiang Zhenzhen—for their entire demographic.
Since the middle-aged woman was not Jiang Zhenzhen's aunt, what did Jiang Zhenzhen mean by addressing her as "Auntie"?
Anyone could tell it was merely a polite form of address, yet this middle-aged woman, prompted by Jiang Zhenzhen's polite greeting, responded with mockery and an utterly arrogant attitude.
Her single remark made Yang Haoran, who was sitting beside Jiang Zhenzhen, furrow his brow even deeper.
Facing the middle-aged woman's attitude, Jiang Zhenzhen gave an awkward smile, unsure of what to say.
“Little girl, I must say, you’re truly something else! You’ve only been living in my apartment for a few days and you’ve practically torn it apart! All my furniture was brand new when I bought it. Now, what’s broken is broken, what’s smashed is smashed, the walls are scarred in multiple places from a cleaver, and the worst of it is the front door—you actually cut it with an electric saw! Damn it all, there’s not a single good spot left in the entire apartment. How do you intend to compensate me? ! ” the middle-aged woman roared furiously at Jiang Zhenzhen.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran had already confirmed the middle-aged woman's identity. So she was Jiang Zhenzhen's landlady all along.
From the moment the middle-aged woman appeared, he had some suspicions about the identity of this plump woman, but he wasn't certain. Now, the middle-aged woman's words naturally confirmed her status as the landlady.
To be honest, Jiang Zhenzhen was currently unaware of the situation inside the rental apartment. Because when she was carried out of the apartment, she was still unconscious, she naturally didn't know what it looked like inside. Upon hearing that so many things had been damaged, she immediately became even more nervous.
But one thing he could be sure of was that it wasn't as exaggerated as the middle-aged woman claimed. Moreover, Yang Haoran had visited her rental apartment once before last night. That time, in order to play his part well, he had observed the entire apartment very carefully, not even missing a single corner. Based on his observations then, there wasn't much furniture in the apartment, and it was all old—completely different from what the middle-aged woman was saying now.
To prove her words were true, the middle-aged woman took out several photos from her bag and tossed them onto Jiang Zhenzhen's hospital bed. She continued, seething with anger: “I’ve photographed everything in the apartment! See for yourself! Take a good look at how insane you were last night! ”
Jiang Zhenzhen nervously reached out to pick up the photos on the bed, but Yang Haoran, who was beside her, reached out and stopped her.
At some point, Yang Haoran's tightly furrowed brows had smoothed out. He smiled at Jiang Zhenzhen, then spoke: “You should rest first. Let me take a look. ”
Perhaps because she was too nervous, perhaps because she was already at a loss, or perhaps out of trust in Yang Haoran, this 'Master', Jiang Zhenzhen's hand, reaching for the photos, paused. She then nodded gently at Yang Haoran and withdrew her hand.
After stopping Jiang Zhenzhen, Yang Haoran picked up the photos from the bed and examined them. The photos depicted a truly horrific scene. Whether it was the living room or the bedroom, everything that could be smashed had been smashed, and everything that could be toppled had been toppled.
When Yang Haoran was taken out of the rental apartment, even if he hadn't paid much attention to the situation inside, he still had a general impression of the apartment's state. At that time, the rental apartment was indeed messy, and many things had been broken, but he could be certain that it was nowhere near as severe as depicted in the photos.
Leaving other things aside, take the anti-theft door that the middle-aged man had cut open with an electric saw. At the time, only the lock area had been severed. However, from the photos, the entire anti-theft door had been cut into fragments, piece by piece, as if it had been dismembered.
Clearly, after Yang Haoran and the other two were taken away, the entire rental apartment had been subjected to a second wave of destruction. As for who was responsible for this secondary destruction, that was hard to say.
It could have been Jiang Zhenzhen's enemies, or perhaps the middle-aged landlady's enemies. It could even have been done by some bored troublemakers who did it just for fun.
Of course, it was also possible that the landlady herself had orchestrated it, carrying out the second destruction of the rental apartment to gain more profit. Her purpose was very simple: she wanted to demand more compensation from Jiang Zhenzhen.
Yang Haoran held the photos in his hand, studying them intently. The smile on his face grew wider and more pronounced, though it was unclear what he was thinking.
Seeing Yang Haoran's expression, the middle-aged woman immediately grumbled with annoyance: “Who are you? Are you trying to pay up for her? ”
Yang Haoran's reply was irrelevant to the question, but the middle-aged woman's expression changed upon hearing his words. She seemed to sense hidden meaning in Yang Haoran's words and stopped pressing him about who he was. With a cold face, she said: “What do you mean by that? You damaged my things—do you intend to renege on the payment? ! ”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenzhen's expression turned anxious. She wanted to explain, as she had no intention of reneging on the payment whatsoever. Since she had damaged someone else's property, compensation was naturally due. However, before she could speak, Yang Haoran interrupted her with a gesture.
Yang Haoran ignored Jiang Zhenzhen and continued to challenge the middle-aged woman with a smile: “Oh, sister, what are you saying? Of course, what needs to be compensated will be compensated. I just want to ask you, sister, are you absolutely sure the situation in the rental apartment wasn't caused by someone else's deliberate destruction? ”
The middle-aged woman's expression froze, then she erupted in fury, roaring: “Caused by someone else deliberately? ! Who the hell is so bored they'd do something like that? ! Can you definitively say the apartment's condition was absolutely caused by others? ! ”
“Of course I can be sure,” Yang Haoran replied with a beaming smile. “Because I was there at the time. I was the only one of the three who was conscious when carried out of the apartment. So, can I be sure, you ask? ”
The middle-aged woman clearly hadn't expected Yang Haoran to be one of the parties involved, but she didn't back down because of it. She continued to bellow: “I don't care about any of that! She rented the apartment from me. If anything happens to the apartment or anything originally inside it, I'm going to demand compensation from her! That's how it is by heaven's law and earth's reason! Even the King of Heaven himself couldn't make me back down a single step! ”
“Sister, don't get agitated yet. Let me tell you what actually happened last night. You can get angry then, it won't be too late, you see. Last night—”
“Last night, my ass! You little punk, stop your incessant chattering here! This matter will either be settled privately with money, or we’ll meet in court! ” It seemed as though Yang Haoran’s words had hit a nerve, and the middle-aged woman’s emotions became very agitated.
The smile on Yang Haoran's face didn't falter, but it now carried a hint of coldness. He wasn't intimidated by the middle-aged woman's words. It wasn't that he'd seen too much of this kind of thing, but he had certainly encountered many people like this middle-aged woman over the years. Thus, he remained very calm.
“Old hag, I called you 'sister' and you didn't appreciate it. Fine, since you put it that way, then take these photos and sue. Just don't chicken out, or I'll look down on you. Oh, and getting back to what I was saying, last night. . . last night, your rental apartment was haunted. Heh heh, wasn't that exciting? ”
Seeing Yang Haoran's completely harmless smile, and then hearing his words, the middle-aged woman's expression froze. A flicker of terror flashed in her eyes. Though it was just a fleeting moment, Yang Haoran still caught it.
Yang Haoran sneered. He didn't speak again, but waited for the middle-aged woman to compose herself.
When the middle-aged woman finally came to her senses, his light, airy voice once again drifted into her ears.
“This ghost is an old woman. Her entire body is rotten. And she said that house is hers. ”
“You're talking nonsense! ” The middle-aged woman seemed greatly provoked, her expression a mixture of anger and panic.
The patients and their family members present, when they heard Yang Haoran mention a haunting, still seemed a bit bewildered, some even showing curiosity. But with the middle-aged woman's roar, not only did they snap back to reality, but they were also finally thoroughly enraged.
“What are you yelling about? ! You’ve been making noise ever since you came in! If you have some personal grievances, take it outside! My old man needs his rest! ” one of the young men present roared loudly at the middle-aged woman.
With him leading the way, several more people immediately stepped forward. They fiercely rebuked the middle-aged woman. The middle-aged woman had originally intended to retort, but alas, two fists are no match for four hands. No matter how shrewish she was, at this moment, she was still red-faced from the torrent of curses being heaped upon her.
Suddenly, the ward became a chaotic mess. While attracting onlookers from other wards, it also drew in several nurses.
The middle-aged woman saw that she had incited public outrage, and combined with Yang Haoran's words, which seemed to deeply unsettle her, she decided to leave first. However, just as she turned to depart, Yang Haoran's hateful voice sounded from behind her once more.
“You should recognize that old woman, shouldn't you? ”
Yang Haoran's voice wasn't loud, but because they weren't far apart, his words fell into the middle-aged woman's ears, not a single one missed.
The middle-aged woman's body trembled. With a terrible expression, she quickly walked towards the ward door. After only a couple of steps, she turned back, and retrieved the photos from Jiang Zhenzhen's hospital bed.
“We'll see about this. ”
Leaving behind a harsh remark, the middle-aged woman then scurried out of the ward under numerous murderous gazes. If she hadn't left, some of the more irritable family members might have actually beaten her.
After the middle-aged woman left, Jiang Zhenzhen's face showed a worried expression. Yang Haoran saw the worry in her heart and said: “Don't worry, that old hag is just a paper tiger. You don't need to be afraid of her. If anything truly happens, give me a call, and I'll handle it for you. ”
With Yang Haoran's words, Jiang Zhenzhen seemed to finally feel a little reassured. She nodded heavily at Yang Haoran.
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