The Community’s Judgment

He Manyu continued her tirade as she walked, and by the time she reached downstairs, a considerable number of residents from Ayahua Community had already gathered around.

“This place of yours… it’s truly detrimental to people… The little vixen who emerged from here has utterly ruined my daughter… She’s only in her twenties, a pivotal stage in her life… All of you, please judge this matter fairly…”

After shouting for a good while, He Manyu paused to catch her breath, and when she lifted her gaze, she saw not an enraged crowd of onlookers (TL Note: ‘Chiguazhong’ literally ‘melon-eating masses,’ referring to people who gather to watch drama unfold, often with a sense of detached entertainment), but rather a sea of bewildered faces.

“When you say your daughter lives here, are you referring to Xia Chu?”

“You’re Xia Chu’s mother?”

“Yes,” He Manyu rubbed her eyes with a theatrical flourish, “My daughter just entered society, and for a moment of carelessness, she encountered such a vixen…”

“No, wait a minute, are you really Xia Chu’s mother?” Aunt Zhang, who had just returned from grocery shopping, asked angrily. “What have you been doing all these years? You’ve never visited even once.”

He Manyu froze for a moment.

“Exactly, why have you never come before?”

“Are you really Xia Chu’s mother? That’s not right, isn’t Xia Chu’s mother Bai Jingjing?”

“Ahem, Grandpa Wang (TL Note: ‘Wang Daye’ refers to an elderly man, often a respected elder or a neighbor), your eyes must be failing you. While Bai Jingjing does resemble her more, Bai Jingjing is just a young girl in the bloom of youth; she’s not even as old as Xia Chu.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Listening to the buzzing discussions of the neighbors around her, He Manyu’s heart sank.

This situation felt terribly wrong, entirely different from what she had envisioned.

“Aren’t you going to focus on the actual problem?” she pressed, trying desperately to steer the public opinion. “My daughter, simply because she met a vixen, now refuses to acknowledge me as her mother, or her father, or her grandfather…”

“Impossible,” Aunt Zhang interrupted her directly. “Xia Chu isn’t that kind of person.”

He Manyu was stunned once more. “No, she…”

“And Bai Jingjing certainly isn’t either,” Aunt Zhang added.

Before He Manyu could even retort, the people around them began to chime in with agreement.

“Exactly, Bai Jingjing is a good girl.”

“Xia Chu is just a bit shy, but Bai Jingjing is a good child.”

“Don’t spout such nonsense here.”

Grandpa Wang even raised his walking stick. “What nonsense are you spouting, you woman full of wild talk, ruining a young girl’s reputation! Today, I… Ouch, ouch.”

Those nearby quickly steadied him, helping him lower his walking stick to prevent the old man from straining his back.

A cold sweat broke out on He Manyu’s back; she had almost believed she was about to be struck.

It was at this moment that Bai Jingjing appeared at the stairwell entrance, stating calmly, “Auntie, we’ve already explained that we have no intention of disrespecting our elders at home.”

As she spoke, she waved a hand, greeting the neighbors.

“Bai Jingjing, don’t mind her, don’t pay attention to this woman’s nonsense,” Aunt Zhang said, stepping forward immediately. “We all see what kind of girl you are.”

“It’s fine, thank you, Auntie, it’s just a small misunderstanding,” Bai Jingjing replied, then looked genuinely at He Manyu. “Auntie, my sister Xia Chu and I have discussed this. We understand you have difficulties, and we can certainly afford to provide living expenses. But if you’re asking for hundreds of millions (TL Note: ‘几亿’ refers to multiple hundreds of millions, implying a vast sum), even if my sister Xia Chu and I sold ourselves, we wouldn’t be able to produce that much.”

‘This is bad.’

Upon hearing Bai Jingjing’s final words, He Manyu immediately knew something was amiss, and just as expected, the people around her had already begun to point fingers.

“I knew it! She hasn’t been here for years, and the moment she shows up, it’s to ask for money—and a huge sum at that.”

“It’s already filial for others to offer you living expenses; you want a huge amount? Why don’t you ask for the moon in the sky while you’re at it?”

“Hundreds of millions? Are you robbing a bank?”

He Manyu had absolutely not anticipated that this seemingly inevitable course of action today would escalate to such a degree.

Not only would she not get the money, but she was also being publicly shamed.

‘Shouldn’t they be treating that little vixen this way instead!’

Driven by her mounting frustration, He Manyu spoke without thinking, blurting out, “What ‘hundreds of millions’? Don’t listen to this vixen’s nonsense; it’s at most tens of millions (TL Note: ‘几千万’ means tens of millions, a significant but lesser amount than ‘hundreds of millions’).”

‘Ninety million is also tens of millions, so there’s nothing wrong with that.’

The surroundings fell silent for a few seconds, and this time, everyone was genuinely dumbfounded.

When Bai Jingjing initially mentioned “hundreds of millions,” the neighbors had assumed it was an exaggeration and hadn’t taken it entirely to heart, merely thinking it was unprincipled for He Manyu to neglect her daughter for years only to appear when asking for money.

Unbeknownst to them… she was genuinely asking for an enormous sum.

Even Bai Jingjing was taken aback; she had originally thought it was only a few million.

Just as the atmosphere grew silent and awkward, Grandpa Fan walked over from the guardhouse.

“What’s all this shouting about? What’s all this shouting about? Why are you all gathering together? How many times have I said it? No close contact!”

Aunt Zhang rushed over, covering the distance in a few swift steps. “Old Fan, here’s what happened: Xia Chu’s mother has come, and she’s here to ask her daughter for money…”

Grandpa Fan’s temper flared upon hearing this, and he strode directly to He Manyu. “You are Xia Chu’s biological mother?”

He Manyu, a little nervous, took a step back. “Yes, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You dare ask me what’s wrong?”

Grandpa Fan had stayed up late last night watching the Champions League match, and as a Chelsea fan, he was already seething with frustration. Now, witnessing such a deplorable situation, he could no longer restrain himself and pointed at He Manyu, saying:

“You speak of Xia Chu—how long has Xia Chu lived in Ayahua Community, year after year? Have you ever visited? You gave birth but didn’t raise her! Xia Chu has every right to say, ‘Who is my partner? My partner is Bai Jingjing.’ What kind of mother are you? With just a few people, you ‘Eel-yu’ (TL Note: ‘鳗鱼’ (mányú) means ‘eel.’ Grandpa Fan misremembers or mispronounces He Manyu’s name, playfully or dismissively referring to her as ‘Eel-yu’.) or whatever are trying to be a mother? Can you even *be* a mother?!”

While registering visitors on the entry and exit list, Grandpa Fan had seen He Manyu’s name but couldn’t recall it clearly, only remembering something like “Eel-yu.”

‘Who names their child after an ingredient, anyway?’

At this moment, Grandpa Fan, ever the blunt and straightforward man, stood amidst the neighbors and delivered a scathing moral indictment upon He Manyu, leaving her utterly unable to lift her head.

“You can’t be! You don’t have the capacity, understand?!”

Remarkably, several neighbors around him nodded earnestly, seeing no fault in his words.

‘Correct, pertinent, profound yet simple, to the point, metaphysical.’

Grandpa Fan grew more animated with each word, eventually performing a ‘bear shrug’ (TL Note: ‘小熊摊手’ is a Chinese internet slang referring to the gesture of shrugging one’s shoulders in a cute or exaggerated way, often implying helplessness or ‘what can you do?’). “You caused a ruckus upstairs, got kicked out for demanding money—how do you explain that? Next, you’ll be kicked out of the community and won’t be allowed back in, then you’ll have nowhere to go. Your face, you’ll have no face left!”

He Manyu was utterly shocked, having clearly grasped the threatening implication in his words. “You’re going to kick me out? And not allow me to come back in later? On what grounds can you stop me from entering? This place…”

“This is a residential area! The moment you arrived, you started shouting and making a racket, attracting so many people to gather, causing close contact and severely violating community epidemic prevention regulations,” Grandpa Fan declared, waving his hand forcefully. “Now, get out immediately, or I’ll call security!”