Chapter 63: Why Should I Help Him?

Yang Meng rode his bike to a café.

The people who had called to invite him were two he never expected would reach out—Li Xiaoqing’s parents.

“Yang, thank you for coming. Please, sit down,” Li Xiaoqing’s mother greeted him with a bright smile as he arrived and ushered him to a seat, while Li Xiaoqing’s father sat with a stern face, as if Yang owed him money.

No, it was as if he owed Yang money—in these days, the debtor is the real master!

Yang Meng frowned at Li Xiaoqing’s father’s expression. What was this supposed to mean? Did they call him here just to show him their displeasure?

Seeing Yang Meng’s frown, Li Xiaoqing’s mother secretly pinched her husband. Only then did Li Xiaoqing’s father force a smile and make a gesture inviting Yang to sit: “Please, have a seat.”

No sooner had Yang Meng sat down than Li Xiaoqing’s mother hurriedly introduced herself. “Yang, let me introduce myself. I am Li Xiaoqing’s mother, Zou Yalan, and this is her father, Li Muzhi. Would you like something to drink?”

“I don’t like coffee, so there’s no need for the courtesy. May I ask what brings you both here to speak with me?” Yang Meng replied calmly.

Li Muzhi snorted coldly at Yang Meng’s words. “Are you not asking what you already know? Obviously, we’re here because of Li Xiaoqing! Why else would we seek you out?”

Yang Meng shrugged. “I only just learned Li Xiaoqing had been detained. I am neither a policeman nor a prosecutor. How could I possibly know why you called me? I don’t like beating around the bush. Let me make this clear: I’ve only known Li Xiaoqing for a few hours. I don’t see how I could have offended you. If you called me just to vent your anger, then I don’t have time to waste sitting here with you.”

Li Muzhi glared, about to argue, but Zou Yalan quickly pulled him back. “Enough! Just keep quiet! Yang, please don’t be upset. My husband’s temper is like this. I hope you can be understanding.”

Yang Meng laughed coldly. “I’m not sure what to call you. I’ve heard Li Xiaoqing call you ‘Teacher Zou,’ so I’ll do the same. Teacher Zou, let me ask you, what relationship do I have with this Uncle Li? Why should I tolerate his temper? Do I owe him anything?”

“You—!” Li Muzhi slammed the table in anger.

Yang Meng didn’t indulge him; he stood up and turned to leave.

Zou Yalan panicked, shoving Li Muzhi hard. “Are you satisfied now? Why is the child like this? It's your temper! You apologize to Yang right now, or we may as well end our marriage here and now! Yang, please don’t leave! I apologize on behalf of this old fool! Li Muzhi! Apologize to Yang immediately! He’s not wrong! What gives you the right to treat him like this? Just because you’re older?”

Li Muzhi was startled by Zou Yalan’s outburst and hurriedly said, “All my faults, Lanlan, please don’t be like this.”

Yang Meng nearly laughed aloud.

Lanlan? Like a character from a Japanese drama? That nickname was unexpected.

Li Muzhi’s next action drove Yang Meng nearly crazy; he straightened his collar and bowed deeply. “Mr. Yang, this is my fault. Misfortune has struck our family, and my daughter’s situation has overwhelmed me, causing my attitude to slip. Please forgive me.”

Yang Meng blinked. Uncle, are you from another era? Your language is so formal it sounds odd! Still, since he’d apologized, Yang Meng decided not to argue further and sat down again, though he had no interest in speaking with Li Muzhi, and instead addressed Zou Yalan. “May I ask what you both want from me?”

Zou Yalan glanced at Li Muzhi before speaking. “Mr. Yang, actually, Muzhi and I are married late in life.”

Yang Meng pulled the ashtray closer, lit a cigarette, and said, “I could tell. Though women these days are good at taking care of themselves, your age doesn’t match having a daughter as old as Li Xiaoqing.”

Li Muzhi coughed awkwardly, but Zou Yalan glared at him. “Quiet now! If you can’t stand the smoke, step outside!”

At her rebuke, Li Muzhi fell silent.

“Mr. Yang, forgive us for the scene,” Zou Yalan returned to smiling.

Yang Meng scratched his head. “It’s fine. Luckily we’re in a private room, otherwise it might have been embarrassing! Teacher Zou, you have a strict household!”

But Zou Yalan shook her head. “Actually, I’m never like this at home. And could you not call me ‘Teacher Zou’? Whenever I hear it, it feels like mockery.”

“Hmm?” Yang Meng was confused.

Zou Yalan then explained the whole situation to Yang Meng.

After hearing her story, Yang Meng looked Li Muzhi up and down. He sincerely wanted to ask Zou Yalan, “Are you blind?”

Li Xiaoqing called Zou Yalan ‘Teacher Zou’ because Zou Yalan had once been her teacher—her dance instructor, to be precise, and only a substitute who taught her four classes.

Yet in those four brief sessions, Zou Yalan met Li Muzhi and fell in love at first sight. She began pursuing him relentlessly.

Yes, it was Zou Yalan who pursued Li Muzhi, who was over twenty years her senior!

This unusual romance was tied to Zou Yalan’s upbringing.

Her father died early, and her mother remarried a man named Tan, so Zou Yalan took the name Tan Yalan. At first, her stepfather treated her well, but after her younger sister was born, her life changed drastically—she went from princess to Cinderella, suffering all kinds of mistreatment. Whenever she was bullied, she would imagine a comforting father. Over time, she developed a severe psychological disorder, commonly known as a ‘father complex.’

When she grew up and finally left that household, she reclaimed the name ‘Zou Yalan’ and worked as a dance teacher at a children’s art school. Once, while substituting in another class, she met Li Muzhi, who was in his forties.

Li Muzhi matched her ideal of the perfect man: learned, authoritative, and secure. From then on, she pursued him fervently.

Li Muzhi was, in fact, a secondary school history teacher. Although his profession was to teach and nurture, somewhat awkwardly, in this country, teachers rank among the top three professions for extramarital affairs—regardless of gender, and female teachers even exceed male teachers in this regard.

So began their secret affair, with Zou Yalan as Li Muzhi’s mistress.

It wasn’t surprising that Li Muzhi succumbed to Zou Yalan’s charms—she was young and beautiful. But Yang Meng thought their relationship was about more than just physical attraction. For someone as rigid as Li Muzhi, being with a youthful woman was likely a way to stave off his own aging.

Many middle-aged men’s extramarital partners are young, pretty girls.

At midlife, dissatisfaction with achievements and life brings great pressure, so they seek validation elsewhere. Being with a young, attractive woman makes them feel they haven’t aged, feeds their vanity, and gives them a sense of accomplishment.

Moreover, at this stage, men focus on careers, women on children. Men think, “I’ll care about marital feelings when I’m wealthy”; women think, “I’ll focus on the marriage when the kids are grown.” The result is that this period is when marriages are most prone to trouble. It was at this time that Zou Yalan entered Li Muzhi’s life.

Li Muzhi wanted the self-fulfillment from Zou Yalan’s love; Zou Yalan sought security and companionship. They fit together perfectly, and this twisted affair lasted ten years.

When Li Muzhi finally confessed to his first wife, he and Zou Yalan already had a two-year-old son.

His ex-wife, a university English teacher, didn’t argue or fight; she calmly divorced him, resigned from her job, and went abroad, where she formed a new family.

Her new partner wasn’t a stranger, but one of her former foreign students.

Both husband and wife were remarkable people!

Li Xiaoqing had once been a model student. With both parents as teachers, could she have been otherwise? But after such upheaval, it would be strange if she remained unaffected. The once promising child became a rebellious girl, using self-destructive behavior to punish her parents.

Hearing all this, Yang Meng was deeply moved. Though he’d struggled for years at the bottom of city life, his values remained intact largely because, despite poverty, his family was harmonious and free of such troubles. If similar misfortune had befallen him, he couldn’t imagine what kind of person he would have become.

He genuinely felt a bit of sympathy for Li Xiaoqing.

“Xiaoqing is a good child. Because of me, she became what she is now. She should have a bright future, not languish in prison. That’s why we’re seeking your help,” Zou Yalan said.

Yang Meng frowned. “Sister Zou, I think you’re mistaken. This case has nothing to do with me. What use is there in approaching me?”

Zou Yalan quickly replied, “We visited Xiaoqing, and she said that if anyone could help her, it would be you—not her father, who’s only tough at home!”

Yang Meng smiled wryly. “She thinks highly of me. I’m just a food delivery man, a laid-off worker at that. How could I help her out of this?”

Zou Yalan pressed urgently, “Mr. Yang, I’ve already looked into it. If you approach the nightclub owner, you could negotiate a solution. We’re willing to pay whatever it takes to free Li Xiaoqing!”

Yang Meng considered. “If that’s all, I can give it a try.”

Hearing this, Zou Yalan’s face brightened, but Yang Meng pointed at Li Muzhi. “But tell me, why should I help him?”