Jiang Jun was about to have someone pull her down when Meng Yao suddenly rubbed the radio on the desk with her hand.
A sharp, piercing sound instantly echoed through the hall.
Everyone present was startled and hurriedly covered their ears. The noisy room immediately fell silent.
“This matter is actually not difficult to resolve. If the theft of the university admission qualification is true, report it directly to the Education Bureau. I guarantee they will uncover the truth as soon as they investigate.”
The national college entrance examination had only been restored a few years ago. If something like this happened, the authorities would certainly deal with it severely.
Meng Yao glared at Wu Mingli in displeasure.
“If the person who stole the qualification had the same name, surname, and gender, it might be difficult to verify. But in this case, even the names and genders are different. Wouldn’t confirming the truth take only minutes?”
For something this outrageous to happen, Wu Mingli must have spent a great deal of money arranging it.
It might even expose corruption behind the scenes.
Corruption was far more serious than stealing someone else’s student status.
If the matter truly became serious, those who had helped Wu Mingli behind the scenes would certainly distance themselves at once and place all the blame on him without hesitation.
His job and reputation were not the only things at stake.
Once the matter was investigated, it would be treated as an open challenge to fairness in education and to the limits of national law.
His son, Wu Jiang, might even lose the right to take the college entrance examination again.
How could Wu Mingli not understand the seriousness of the consequences?
Cold sweat streamed down his face as he nervously wiped his glasses with trembling hands.
His original plan had been to take advantage of Wu Zhifa’s ignorance of the law.
Even if the matter reached the public security bureau, he had assumed it would be treated as a civil dispute and settled through mediation.
Yet Meng Yao had immediately struck at his greatest weakness.
Wu Mingli became extremely uneasy.
He glared resentfully at Meng Yao, tugged at Wu Jiang’s clothes, and left with his family without saying another word.
Wu Zhifa and his relatives were stunned.
The matter had not yet been resolved. Why had they suddenly left?
Meng Yao quickly thought it through.
“First, report today’s incident to the police and officially close the matter here. It would be best to obtain a detailed written mediation agreement.”
Even if the other party was absent, the document could still be delivered to them for a signature.
It would serve as the best official proof of the dispute over the student status.
After that, they should bring several people and the document to the school and demand that the principal thoroughly investigate the college entrance examination results.
There would certainly be a difference between the two students’ scores, so uncovering the truth should not be difficult.
They needed to bring more people to prevent the school from protecting its reputation by minimizing the issue and handling it carelessly.
Finally, if Wu Mingli still refused to return the student status voluntarily, they could make a banner and display it outside his workplace, helping him publicize the matter properly.
Meng Yao did not know whether Wu Mingli could endure all those measures, but the officials who had accepted bribes would certainly feel as though they were sitting on needles.
Once the issue became serious, it would inevitably appear in the newspapers.
If government departments became involved, every institution connected to the matter would be investigated.
After hearing her explanation, everyone raised their thumbs in admiration.
Jiang Jun looked at her with surprise and appreciation.
Despite her young age, this girl was remarkably intelligent.
Now that the matter had been resolved, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Jiang Jun raised an eyebrow and glanced curiously at the tall man.
Was such a clever and beautiful young woman his friend?
The tall man shook his head.
“All right. I’ll leave these men to you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
Without waiting for Jiang Jun’s agreement, he turned and left.
Jiang Jun hurriedly called after him.
“Come to my house for dinner tonight. Your sister-in-law specially made your favorite braised pork.”
Braised pork?
Meng Yao’s attention was completely captured by those three words.
She swallowed hungrily, rubbed her nose, and followed the tall man out of the public security bureau.
Under the sunlight, a tall and broad figure stood by the entrance, looking particularly striking.
That height and posture made him appear exactly like an upright and disciplined—
Soldier?
“Thank you for what you did earlier. You acted courageously and helped recover the people’s property in time.”
Meng Yao spoke politely.
“There’s no need to thank me. It is what a soldier should do.”
So he truly was a soldier.
The coldness in the tall man’s eyes faded, and he spoke gently.
“Next time something is stolen, let it go. A young woman shouldn’t chase a thief alone. If you encounter danger, the loss will outweigh the gain.”
Meng Yao quickly waved her hands.
“You misunderstood. That bag wasn’t mine.”
Before leaving the public security bureau, she had already handed the bag over.
Only then did the tall man notice that she was indeed empty-handed.
So she had also acted heroically to help someone.
A little more admiration appeared in his deep, clear eyes, along with a trace of concern.
“No matter what, call the police if you encounter something like this again. Don’t take such risks.”
After speaking, the man quickly left.
Even the way he warned someone was so handsome.
As expected, all the good-looking men had been given to the country.
Meng Yao stared absentmindedly at his retreating back.
Only after recovering did she realize that she had forgotten to ask the hero’s name.
Feeling annoyed, she rubbed her hungry stomach and carefully took a bankbook from the inner pocket of her clothes.
Meng Liangcai had given it to her as a birthday present when she turned eighteen.
It contained 831 yuan.
The money consisted of the New Year’s gift money she had received since childhood. The couple had always saved it for her and had never used it.
They had said they would give it to her when she became an adult.
Meng Yao was extremely fortunate that Meng Ying had returned after her birthday.
Otherwise, she would never have received the bankbook.
Now that her relationship with the Meng family had fallen apart, they would certainly try every possible method to take the money back.
Therefore, she needed to withdraw all of it immediately.
Meng Yao carefully calculated.
Eight hundred and thirty-one yuan, combined with the 250 yuan in startup funds provided by the system, should give her a total of 1,081 yuan.
She thought that the money should be enough to buy a cheap secondhand house and cover her basic food and clothing expenses for the time being.
Had the Meng family’s factory not encountered problems, she could have continued studying like Meng Yu.
She would not have gone from being admitted to a prestigious university to possessing only a high school diploma and no job.
This money could therefore be considered compensation.
Before leaving home, Meng Yao had secretly taken the household registration booklet from beneath Li Yuqin’s pillow.
Since the bankbook was under her own name, the bank employees did not make things difficult for her, and the withdrawal was completed smoothly.
Before leaving, she cautiously applied for a replacement bankbook so the system could continue depositing money into it in the future.
Meng Yao stared at the 3,081 yuan in her hands in confusion.
Why was it not 1,081 yuan?
Could it be because of the heroic act she had just performed?
Did that mean she would receive a reward of 1,000 yuan every time she did a good deed?
Excitedly, she weighed the thick stack of banknotes in her hand, smiling so broadly that the corners of her mouth nearly reached her ears.
However, carrying so much cash was unsafe.
Meng Yao found an empty place, touched the jade gourd hanging from her neck by a red cord, and silently thought,
“Enter.”
She first went to the lake and drank several large mouthfuls of water.
The bruises and pain on her body gradually disappeared.
She kept some of the cash with her for emergencies and placed the rest inside the wooden cottage in the magical space.
When she looked up at the System Marketplace on the wall, she unexpectedly discovered that two categories had been unlocked.
Housing and food.
She carefully browsed the available houses and their prices, becoming even happier.
With the money she currently had, she could easily purchase a decent two-story Western-style house.
Realizing that she would not end up sleeping on the streets, she quickly asked,
“Can I buy one directly now?”
“Yes.”
The wall displayed a dazzling selection of residential properties.
There were single-story houses with or without courtyards, small split-level two-bedroom apartments in tall buildings, detached two-story Western-style houses, and spacious apartments in the city center.
The prices ranged from a little over one hundred yuan to several thousand, with some even exceeding ten thousand.
The cheapest properties were probably old and run-down secondhand homes, while the most expensive ones were currently beyond her means.
The prices of the Western-style houses she liked varied greatly depending on their location.
After carefully comparing her options, Meng Yao finally chose a secondhand two-story Western-style house located behind a commercial street.
It was slightly remote, fully renovated, and had the lowest price among the houses she preferred.
It cost 2,133 yuan.
After deducting the price of the house, she would still have enough money left for her immediate needs.
With that thought, Meng Yao pressed the purchase button without hesitation.
“Purchase successful!”