I became financially independent right after entering college.

Chapter 130 The World of Dog Shit

"Don't be afraid, I'll talk to her about it."

Bai Chou held Tan Xuan's small hand and gently comforted the panicked Tan Xuan.

"Don't do it."

Tan Xuan subconsciously tried to pull her hand away, but found that Bai Chou was holding it tightly and did not try to break free. She just weakly told the boy who had suddenly helped her out of the awkward situation.

At this moment, Bai Chou did not make Tan Xuan feel very mature, but she was surprisingly safe. His ample martial arts skills always made it easier to argue with the old woman.

Bai Chou then released Tan Xuan's hand, pondered for a moment, then hid in front of the middle-aged woman, looked her up and down, and asked, "Let's talk. Why are you harassing my girlfriend?"

girlfriend?
Tan Xuan was slightly taken aback before realizing that Bai Chou probably wanted to scare the crazy old woman. Between a chivalrous passerby and a boyfriend who could step in at any moment, the latter was clearly more intimidating.

"You little bastard..." The middle-aged woman, who had recovered somewhat, just kept cursing and spewing Jinling dialect.

"If you keep swearing like that, I'm going to hit you." Bai Chou raised her hand. I'm here to reason with you, not to join in your shrewish tirade.

The middle-aged woman obediently shut up. Bai Chou's kick had indeed taught her a lesson. After thinking about it for a long time in a daze, the middle-aged woman decided to argue with Bai Chou.

"That vixen, that filthy bitch, Huo Shini Ma seduced my husband..." The middle-aged madwoman turned her head and glared fiercely at Tan Xuan. While wielding her knife and slashing at the weaker woman, she still managed to say some of the key points.

Basically, her husband is a high-level executive in charge of human resources recruitment at a company, the kind who earns several million a year. He's successful in his career, and their family life is quite harmonious.

Some time ago, she suddenly discovered that her husband seemed to be having an affair. After becoming suspicious, she secretly went to her husband's company a few times to observe. She found that every time she went there, her husband was always hanging around Tan Xuan, the intern, acting like a good boss and a good senior.

Man, what can I say?

What's there to say? It must be that shameless little bitch who seduced my husband and made him a mistress!

Enraged, the old woman couldn't hold back and rushed forward, slapping Tan Xuan several times, calling her a mistress, a slut, and a whore...

What's even more infuriating is that her husband not only didn't reflect on his actions, but also protected Tan Xuan, that little vixen. Fortunately, she eventually managed to get rid of Tan Xuan from her husband's company.

She thought her husband would change his mind, but after a month or so of quiet, he started going to Jiangning University Town every few days again.

After searching extensively at several universities without finding anything, the old woman was about to hire a private investigator when she suddenly spotted Tan Xuan at the Southern University of Arts and Sciences.

Alright, so it turns out you, you little bitch, still have feelings for my husband. What else is there to say? Let's tear each other apart!
"No, I didn't! I didn't become a mistress! It's clearly your husband who's been harassing me at work, trying to sexually harass me. Many female interns in our company have been harassed and made suggestive remarks by him..."

Tan Xuan hurriedly explained, mainly to Bai Chou, because she was genuinely afraid that Bai Chou, who was still willing to help her, would believe the old woman's slander and think that she was a mistress who had interfered in other people's relationships.

"Whether you're a mistress or not, explain to me later. Let's deal with another problem first."

Bai Chou coldly interrupted Tan Xuan, and questioned the middle-aged woman in a deep voice: "Actually, you've always known that your husband isn't a good person, right? You probably also know that there's probably nothing between Tan Xuan and your husband."

At least, Tan Xuan is far less suspicious than the other glamorous and cheap women; she is simply beautiful and representative enough.

I don't care if you're trying to make an example of someone or just want to vent your anger, don't bother my girlfriend again.

When confiding in or explaining to others, people tend to tell the story in a way that favors themselves and vilifies others, portraying themselves as the more justified and weaker party.

Even so, the middle-aged woman's description lacked concrete evidence that Tan Xuan was the mistress; it mostly focused on her husband's ulterior motives towards Tan Xuan and his infidelity...

If this is the case even in a biased description, the real situation is probably even worse. Anyway, Bai Chou thinks that the middle-aged madwoman probably just wants to make an example of Tan Xuan to vent her anger.

Why Tan Xuan?

Because she's pretty, because she's easy to bully. People who are easy to bully are bullied for no reason, without any particular cause. That's reality.

The middle-aged woman's eyes suddenly became hesitant. What Bai Chou said was true. She really didn't have any solid evidence against Tan Xuan, and she also knew that Tan Xuan was most likely not a mistress.

At least, Tan Xuan was far less suspicious than the other sluts in her husband's company.

The company's previous attack on Tan Xuan was more about making an example of her. Today, it's more about taking out their anger on her.

Seeing the middle-aged woman's hesitation, Bai Chou added another chip, took out his car key, pressed a button, pointed to the GT3RS with its lights on not far away, and made a threat.

"Your husband seems to be some kind of high-level executive, earning several million a year? Coincidentally, I also have some spare money, and I have more time and more leisure than your husband."

You're unemployed, right? Does your family rely on your husband for daily expenses? Has your husband ever told you that your outburst at work made him feel very embarrassed and that he was criticized and warned by the higher-ups?

I don't even need to smear your husband. Guess what would happen if I just hired a lawyer to sue your husband for workplace sexual harassment based on this issue today?

Will he lose his job? If he loses his job, how will your family cover expenses? Even if he finds another job, will his income be as high as it is now?

"It's not easy to climb to this position when you're over thirty."

Without needing to think too much, Bai Chou only needed to consider the description from the old woman and she knew that this must be the situation at the old woman's house.

This is true for most families and most middle-aged men.

The middle-aged woman's eyes darted around, and they could tell that Bai Chou was dressed in designer brands, and that Porsche sports car must have cost at least a million.

Her family actually owns a Mercedes-Benz S-Class worth over a million yuan, but a sports car is a better way to prove one's financial strength; this kind of thing has no practical use.

In short, Bai Chou is not someone to be trifled with, and his family members are probably even more so.

Adding to this Bai Chou's earlier emotional and rational threats, knowing that Bai Chou was not a pushover, she suddenly changed her tune, seemingly offering heartfelt advice to Bai Chou.

"Young man, let me tell you, your girlfriend is no good. She's a notorious vixen at my husband's company..."

Blah blah blah, basically it's all about how I genuinely care about you, that this woman isn't good enough for you, and that I'm giving you my advice...

Tan Xuan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. What kind of logic was this? She tried to explain patiently without retaliating, but the old woman wouldn't let it go and kept chasing after her to hit her.

Bai Chou kicked her as soon as he came up and then threatened her. But the old woman became close to Bai Chou and her brother and they were like family.

Bai Chou remained expressionless. He had known this would happen. This shitty world was just like that—everyone bullied the weak and feared the strong. Bai Chou himself was no different; he didn't consider himself a good person either.

If being tough doesn't work, they'll try being soft, pretending it's for your own good. They'll just find all sorts of ways to bully you, all to save face for themselves.

"That's a private matter for me and my girlfriend to discuss later. Anyway, I don't want to see you now, and I don't want to see you in the future. If you don't leave, I'm really going to go after your husband."

Bai Choucai wasn't buying into that old hag's act and threatened her coldly.

Unable to be swayed by either soft or hard tactics, the middle-aged woman reluctantly got up, muttering curses, glared fiercely at Tan Xuan, and slunk away in a sorry state.

"She just left like that?" Tan Xuan was shocked and looked incredulous. Why was she so aggressive and relentless when she bullied her, but so easy to deal with when she met Bai Chou?

"They bully the weak and fear the strong." Bai Chou shrugged.

"This is...this is a real piece of shit world." Tan Xuan felt a mix of emotions.

"Who says it isn't?"

After a pause, Bai Chou looked at Tan Xuan, whose face was pale and clothes were disheveled: "This is not the place to talk. There are so many people upstairs watching. Your clothes are torn. How about I take you to buy a new set of clothes?"

"You really consider me my boyfriend?"

Tan Xuan gave Bai Chou a reproachful look, then said weakly in a low voice, "Take me back to my dorm, I need to change my clothes, it's not far..."

"also."

Bai Chou nodded slightly. Instead of driving, he walked briskly and slowly alongside Tan Xuan toward the faculty dormitory.

Tan Xuan tidied herself up a bit, crossed her arms to protect her torso, and walked beside Bai Chou, quietly telling her story and experiences.

Actually, I didn't have any special experiences. It was just that I ran into a lot of trouble when I was looking for a job after graduating from university, and I found that journalism was not what I had imagined at all.

Magazines, newspapers, radio and television stations... all those good jobs had already been reserved by people with connections, and besides, she did her undergraduate and graduate studies at Nanjing University of Communication, so she didn't have any advantage in terms of academic qualifications.

Unable to find a particularly good job, and wanting to stay in Nanjing, I could only work in the marketing department of a fairly decent company in Nanjing as a publicity and planning employee.

Even so, even though she lowered her standards and expectations, she still found that the world of shit and the path of adulthood were more difficult than she had anticipated.

While the marketing department seniors were talking about "Girl helper," they were also scheming against each other and kicking each other when she was down. Several colleagues who were recruited with her were fighting tooth and nail to get permanent positions.

The HR manager who recruited her into the company, who was also the crazy woman's husband, was always around her, implying that if she slept with him, she could not only be promoted to a permanent position ahead of time, but also receive a monthly allowance of 20,000 yuan.

She naturally refused and told a senior colleague in the marketing department who was usually very kind to her about it. The senior colleague comforted her and the next day spread the word throughout the department, saying that she had seduced the head of the human resources department, was being kept by a sugar daddy, and would do anything to get a permanent position.

Tan Xuan was completely stunned. It took her a while to realize that the HR leader probably hadn't only targeted her; her trusted seniors might have gotten by in the same way.

Where is the "Girl Helper" I promised? Why aren't you joining me in fighting against workplace malpractices? Instead, you're aiding and abetting them.

Just when she was feeling really down, her boss's wife, that crazy woman, suddenly barged into the company and started tearing her apart, which completely disheartened Tan Xuan.

Afterwards, she obviously couldn't stay at the company any longer and chose to resign. The supervisor who had tried to harass her offered to personally give her tens of thousands of yuan as compensation, but Tan Xuan refused.

This money is not easy to get; who knows if it's a sugar-coated bullet?

Having witnessed the harsh realities of society, Tan Xuan no longer wanted to work for any company. Coincidentally, the Southern University of Media and Communications was recruiting counselors, so she sheepishly returned to the ivory tower to become a counselor.

This job is not easy either. I have to work from morning till night every day, manage several classes by myself, live at the school during the week, and also worry about the students on Saturdays and weekends.

The salary is low, and there's not much of a future, so it's impossible to save any money.

But this was the only decent job Tan Xuan could find that allowed her to stay in Jinling without having to deal with so much of the dark side of society.

Can I do this job for the rest of my life? What will I do in the future? What path should I take?
Tan Xuan wondered how many people in this society actually knew the answers to these questions. Or perhaps everyone knew the answers, but simply didn't know how to overturn this damned reality.

"Do you think I'm annoying and dramatic, talking to you about all this nonsense..." Tan Xuan crossed her arms and lowered her eyes.

"That's not true."

Bai Chou answered honestly, "Whether I find it annoying or not depends on how good-looking the person I'm confiding in is. If they're not pretty enough, it's just that ugly people are always causing trouble. But someone as pretty as you, Sister Xuan, is someone I feel pity for."

"How come you've become as flirtatious as Zhou Haoyu?"

Having been harassed more than once, Tan Xuan easily realized that Bai Chou's words were not proper; they didn't sound like something a student would say to their counselor.

Where do so many people with no sense of boundaries and who are vulgar and frivolous? Would a normal person flirt with an ugly person of the opposite sex they don't like?
Ultimately, it's about testing the other party's limits.

Tan Xuan is very sensitive to these things. Although she is grateful to Bai Chou for standing up for her, she would not say that she should be so moved by being helped once that she should repay him with her body.

He has a girlfriend, though.

"Don't learn those messy things from Zhou Haoyu, flirting with girls everywhere. You're roommates, right? His affairs have even reached our office..." Tan Xuan really didn't want Bai Chou to become like Zhou Haoyu.

Bai Chou was filled with mixed emotions. Brother Yu was really awesome, seamlessly switching from a sycophant to a wolf in sheep's clothing. But it seemed that he and Wang Dashao of Yida were the same.

This makes sense; there's a reason why men tend to go bad when they have money, as everyone desires to access more and better social resources.

Unless they meet someone they're head over heels in love with to the point of obsession, most people who have the means to be philanderers will indeed be quite promiscuous.

"I definitely won't learn any of that nonsense from him. I'm an upright person." Bai Chou said with a serious expression. He could tell that Tan Xuan was still very wary.

It's not that he necessarily wants to have anything happen with Tan Xuan, nor is it that he has absolutely no feelings for a beauty like Tan Xuan. Bai Chou knows exactly what kind of person he is.

Unless he encounters that senior from high school who makes him feel as insignificant as dust, he can hardly be considered deeply affectionate.

In short, let nature take its course.

(End of this chapter)