I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

She sighed again, shaking her head repeatedly. "The world is going to the dogs! People's hearts have lost their morals! These people are worse than animals, utterly disgusting!"

Zhou Weiguo feigned shock, his eyes widening in disbelief: "No, no way? Director Wang, you're not kidding me, are you? How could Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao dare to do such a thing?"

He sneered inwardly; this was the consequence of their scheming against others, a consequence entirely of their own making.

Director Wang shook his head with a bitter face: "I really wish this were a joke, but it's not. I saw it with my own eyes, it's absolutely true."

Zhou Weiguo suddenly slapped his forehead, his face showing anxiety: "Oh no! This matter must be dealt with immediately, otherwise, if word gets out, it will be a huge problem!"

He said in a serious tone, "Xu Damao and Yi Zhonghai are both employees of the steel rolling mill. If this gets out, not only will they be ruined, but the entire steel rolling mill will be implicated and become a laughing stock in Beijing! This is a huge problem. I must go to the factory and speak with the leaders as soon as possible to prepare a response!"

As he spoke, he made a move to walk out of the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Director Wang panicked and quickly grabbed Zhou Weiguo's arm, his face extremely grim.

She knew in her heart that if this matter got back to the steel mill and caused a big fuss, not only would the reputation of the compound be ruined, but her position as the director of the street office would also be in jeopardy!

"Chief Engineer Zhou, please wait a moment!"

Director Wang's tone was almost pleading, "This matter... could you please not report this to the factory yet? Otherwise, otherwise, as the director of the subdistrict office, I'm afraid..."

Zhou Weiguo feigned surprise, looking at him with a tone full of confusion: "Director Wang, what do you mean by that? You're not trying to cover this up, are you?"

He shook his head, his tone serious. "This is no small matter; it can't be covered up at all! Qin Huairu's affair was manageable; at most, it would damage her reputation. But Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao's affair is completely different in nature from Qin Huairu's. It's a serious matter of public moral depravity. Who can suppress public opinion?"

Upon hearing Zhou Weiguo's words, Director Wang's eyes lit up as if he had suddenly remembered something, and then he seemed to have grasped at a lifeline.

She composed herself, gritted her teeth, and said earnestly, "Chief Engineer Zhou, how about this? Please give me some time and I'll try to handle this matter first, minimizing the impact as much as possible. If I really can't handle it, we can report it to the factory together later, is that alright?"

Looking at Director Wang's eager and pleading expression, Zhou Weiguo felt secretly pleased, but his face showed a hesitant expression, as if he was seriously considering the matter.

The deaf old woman lay slumped on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes vacant like two dry wells, staring blankly at the ceiling, even her blinking seemed unusually slow.

The air in the room was stuffy, mixed with the strange smell left over from the chaos just now, making her feel a burning pain with every breath.

Yi Zhonghai, standing to the side, had already snapped out of his daze. His eyes were bloodshot, almost bleeding, and veins were bulging on his forehead. His cheeks were clenched tightly, and he exuded a violent aura, looking like a wild beast that had been provoked and was about to pounce and tear him apart.

"Xiao Yi... Xiao Yi?"

The deaf old woman's voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, carrying a hint of weakness and a barely perceptible urgency, drifting slowly through the quiet room.

Yi Zhonghai seemed not to hear, his whole body frozen in place, his eyes unfocused, his face full of collapse and despair, looking exactly like a lost and dazed person.

The scene kept replaying in his mind, those disgusting moments pricking his nerves like needles, making him wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or just die.

"Xiao Yi! Wake up!"

The deaf old woman's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, carrying a hint of sternness, "Now is not the time for you to collapse! You have to save yourself! I'm an old woman with half my body buried in the ground, so it doesn't really matter to me, but if you don't hurry up and think of a way, you're completely finished, and nine times out of ten you'll be eating peanuts!"

The words "eat peanuts" struck Yi Zhonghai like a thunderbolt.

He shuddered violently, his unfocused gaze instantly sharpening as he stared at the deaf old woman in disbelief, his lips trembling and his teeth chattering.

"Eat...eat peanuts?"

Yi Zhonghai's voice was shrill and hoarse, trembling with sobs, "Grandma, you...you're exaggerating! I...I don't remember the specifics, but I'm sure I was set up! I'm innocent!"

He became more and more anxious as he spoke, tears welling up in his eyes. He felt scared and wronged, but more than anything, he was terrified of death.

The deaf old woman glanced at him sideways, her eyes full of disdain and indifference: "Do you have any evidence? Without evidence, who will believe you? Nobody will believe you!"

She paused, then her tone became more forceful, like a heavy hammer blow to Yi Zhonghai's heart, "You're almost certainly going to eat these peanuts."

These words completely shattered Yi Zhonghai's psychological defenses.

He felt weak all over and almost collapsed to the ground, a wave of panic washing over him.

He knew how pathetic he had looked just now, and he knew how serious it would be if word got out, but he really didn't want to die! He had finally had a son, had hope, and had so many good days ahead of him—how could he just die like this? He absolutely couldn't die!

He stumbled to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed the deaf old woman's wrinkled, withered hand, his knuckles white from the force, and cried out in a pleading voice, "Grandma, please, please help me! I beg you! I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"

The deaf old woman felt a little pain from his grip, but she didn't break free. A blush inexplicably flashed across her face, only to be covered by a shadow again.

She narrowed her eyes, her tone softening slightly: "Xiao Yi, I'm asking you, where is Cuilan?"

The name "Cuilan" made Yi Zhonghai feel dizzy for a moment, but his thoughts about family and children brought him back to his senses.

He composed himself and stammered, "Cui... Cuilan took the child to the hospital... The child had some small rashes on his body. I didn't think it was necessary to go through all that trouble, but she insisted on going to see a doctor, so I... I let her go."

As he spoke, a sense of relief welled up inside him. Luckily, Cuilan wasn't there and didn't see him making such a fool of himself.

The deaf old woman nodded slowly, her tone eerily calm: "You're going to suffer this loss today. Since you've already jumped into this trap, there's no point in saying anything more. Our only goal now is to save your life."

Yi Zhonghai looked completely bewildered, his eyes filled with confusion and anxiety: "Grandma, how can I save my life? Director Wang and the others witnessed it with their own eyes, there's no way to deny it!"