Chapter 2682: The Relative Came Over Again
Chapter 2682: The Relative Came Over Again
"Chen Song, what do you think you are doing, calling my daughter and screaming at her so early in the morning? Do you not have anything better to do with your precious time?" Chen Guoliang snapped back angrily, puffing out his chest in a desperate attempt to reclaim some shred of authority in front of his family.
"If your daughter wants to destroy herself, I do not even care anymore! She can go to hell for all I care! But how dare she drag every other member of this family, including me, down into the dirt with her?" Chen Song shot back.
His rage sounded less like a controlled anger now and more like the frantic, high-pitched screech of utter desperation.
"What are you talking about? Speak clearly!" Chen Guoliang demanded, his voice cracking as a growing sense of icy dread began to settle in his stomach.
"Why do you not ask your precious, lying ’victim’ daughter? I truly regret ever sticking my neck out to help her get that job at the greenhouse. If it were not for her petty, childish jealousy and her uncontrollable big mouth, none of this would have happened! Look at the news, Guoliang! Look at what QinYue just released to the public!" Chen Song screamed one last time before abruptly ending the call, leaving only the ominous, hollow hum of the disconnected line echoing in the room.
"What happened? Why is he so incredibly angry at our daughter?" Xue Jinghua asked anxiously, her hands beginning to tremble uncontrollably after the call ended.
Chen Guoliang did not answer his wife’s frantic question immediately. Instead, he slowly, almost mechanically, turned his head toward Chen Meili. His expression had become dark and terrifyingly stern.
"Meili, tell me right now... What exactly have you done to us?" Chen Guoliang asked in a low, dangerous tone that made the air in the room feel heavy.
Chen Meili deliberately avoided her father’s piercing gaze, staring down at her half-eaten toast as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. She was clearly unwilling to meet his eyes now that the tides of public opinion seemed to be turning violently against her.
"I... I did not do anything wrong. I just told the world the truth." Chen Meili shook her head weakly, her voice thin and unconvincing.
At that exact moment, Chen Guoliang’s own phone began to ring with a jarring intensity. He glanced at the glowing screen and saw the name of another relative, a cousin who had also been part of the mass firing the previous day. He answered the call with a heavy, sickening feeling spreading in his chest.
"Hello..." Chen Guoliang had barely managed to utter a single word before he was bombarded with a wall of furious, distorted shouting from the other end.
"Guoliang, is your daughter completely out of her mind? How dare she post such a blatant lie on the internet without thinking of the consequences? Everything happening to us now is because of her! Tell her to delete it immediately before we all end up in a prison cell!" The caller shouted hysterically before hanging up just as abruptly as Chen Song had.
Then, the floodgates truly opened. More calls began pouring in, one after another, like an unstoppable, violent storm, all delivering the same frantic, accusatory message. Not only was Chen Guoliang’s phone ringing nonstop, but even Xue Jinghua’s phone began vibrating and chiming repeatedly, bombarded with calls from distant relatives and former coworkers. Every single one of them was screaming, demanding that Chen Meili delete the post immediately and stop making the already catastrophic situation even more fatal than it already was.
The "victory" they had celebrated with such smugness only minutes earlier had completely vanished, replaced by a cold, terrifying reality that was sinking its teeth into them.
After barely dealing with the endless barrage of phone calls, there was suddenly a series of loud, thunderous knocks on the front door. Xue Jinghua, pale-faced, quickly went to see who the visitor was. The moment she opened the door slightly, she was shocked to find a large, angry group of relatives gathered outside their house like a lynch mob.
"Hey! Open the door properly and face us!" A man outside shouted, his voice dripping with impatience.
Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Guoliang immediately strode over, pushed his wife aside, and yanked the door wide open.
"What are all of you doing here so early in the morning? Have you lost your minds?" Chen Guoliang shouted, trying to sound bolder than he felt.
"Finally, you came out to see us. We thought you were planning to pretend nobody was home until the police arrived." One of the relatives sneered mockingly, stepping onto the threshold.
"What do you want from us?" Chen Guoliang asked, his expression turning ugly.
"We want compensation. Cold, hard cash." One of the relatives demanded bluntly, crossing his arms.
The others behind him immediately began nodding in aggressive agreement.
"Huh? What compensation are you talking about? Are you all crazy?" Chen Guoliang asked, unable to follow their twisted logic.
"We already heard the truth from Chen Song. If it were not for your daughter’s big, reckless mouth, none of this would have happened. Our sons and daughters would never have lost their livelihoods or had their reputations ruined. Therefore, it is only fair that your family compensates us for our mounting losses." One of the relatives stated with a sense of righteous indignation.
"That’s right. We need time to find new jobs now, and with our names tarnished, that might take months. In the meantime, your family should cover every single one of our living expenses." Another relative added shamelessly, stepping forward to pressure him.
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