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

Suddenly, all the suspicious eyes were on Sha Zhu, making him both anxious and angry, his face turning red.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo's lips curled into a cold smile, and his sharp gaze swept over Yi Zhonghai: "Old Yi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Bang Geng said Yu Li pushed him? So Yu Li really did push him? Is Bang Geng your father? You believe everything he says?"

Zhou Weiguo's words were both harsh and vicious, directly turning Yi Zhonghai's face ashen, his chest heaving violently, and his feigned composure completely vanished.

He never expected Zhou Weiguo to be so ruthless, scolding him in front of so many neighbors and making him lose face.

Yi Zhonghai took several deep breaths to suppress his surging anger, then turned to Director Wang with a grim expression, his tone tinged with grievance and accusation: "Director Wang, look at this! What kind of attitude is Zhou Weiguo! He's clearly bullying us just because he's the chief engineer! Now that Yu Li is hiding and refusing to come out, he's still here making trouble. Isn't that obviously a sign of his guilty conscience? You have to stand up for us ordinary residents!"

As he spoke, he secretly observed the reactions of his neighbors, trying to win over public opinion by playing the victim.

Director Wang was getting a headache from Yi Zhonghai's persistent pestering, and the neighbors were also whispering, mostly questioning Yu Li's absence. She frowned helplessly and turned to Sha Zhu: "Sha Zhu, you should ask Yu Li to come out first. Regardless of whether this is true or not, let her come out and explain herself."

Sha Zhu was so anxious that he stamped his feet. Just as he was about to speak up, Zhou Weiguo stepped forward and blocked him, saying slowly to Director Wang, "Director Wang, there's no need."

He calmly swept his gaze across the crowd and explained, "Yu Li couldn't possibly have come back through this alley. Her belly is too big, and she has difficulty moving around. I was worried that something might happen to her on the way, so I specially arranged for a car to pick her up from the factory. She's probably still on her way back right now, taking the main road. She would never have gone around to this alley."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Yi Zhonghai immediately jumped out to refute, his face still grim and his eyes full of disbelief, "You're just trying to stall for time! Who knows if you're lying? Maybe you arranged for Yu Li to hide so you can get her out of trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weiguo shrugged dismissively, his tone indifferent and utterly unfazed: "Believe it or not. If you're really worried, you can go to the factory's security office and ask. I had the driver handle the dispatch paperwork this afternoon; you can verify it and then you'll know if it's true or not."

After listening to the two conflicting accounts, Director Wang made her decision. She cleared her throat and said, "Alright, I'll go back and verify this to see if what Chief Engineer Zhou said is true."

Since it involves the factory, she could have someone go to the security department to find out the truth, which was better than the stalemate here.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a piercing scream rang out again, even louder than before.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qin Huairu hurriedly trying to get closer to check Bang Geng's injury. She didn't pay attention to her footing and accidentally stepped on Bang Geng's injured leg.

Bang Geng was already trembling with pain, and this blow made him even more so. His vision went black, his body went limp, and he fainted without even being able to cry out.

"My goodness! My son!"

Qin Huairu was terrified. She hurriedly withdrew her foot, hugged the body of the stick, and cried out, her face as pale as paper.

Yi Zhonghai panicked. Forgetting about arguing with Zhou Weiguo, he turned and rushed to Zhou Weiguo, his demeanor self-righteous and his tone full of moral blackmail: "Zhou Weiguo! Look at the mess this has made! Bang Geng has fainted! No matter what, saving him is the priority! You have a car, quickly help take Bang Geng to the hospital!"

Zhou Weiguo looked at Yi Zhonghai's face with eyes as cold as ice.

"Are you fucking crazy? Bang Geng schemed to harm Yu Li, and now he's reaping what he sowed. You still have the nerve to ask me to save him? Sorry, I'm not that selfless!"

His tone was cold and harsh, showing no mercy to Yi Zhonghai: "Even if my car were at home, let alone if it were already picking up Yu Li, I wouldn't move it! Let me tell you, my car is 'broken,' and it can't save this kind of ungrateful wretch!"

As soon as Zhou Weiguo finished speaking, the surrounding neighbors erupted in a commotion, whispering among themselves: "Chief Engineer Zhou is right. This whole thing was wrong of him to deliberately scatter steel balls to harm a pregnant woman. It's utterly vicious."

"That's right, Uncle Yi is being incredibly unreasonable. Why should Chief Engineer Zhou be allowed to save the person who harmed his relative?"

"I think Yi Zhonghai is just trying to use moral blackmail; that's really unethical."

"I wouldn't have saved her either. If this child had really pushed the pregnant woman down, the consequences would have been unimaginable. This is all their own doing."

"Chief Engineer Zhou arranged a car to pick up the pregnant woman. How thoughtful! Unlike the Jia family, who only do despicable things."

The neighbors' whispers pierced Yi Zhonghai's heart like needles. His face turned extremely pale, and his chest heaved violently. He was clearly furious at Zhou Weiguo's toughness and the gossip of the crowd.

Knowing he couldn't pressure Zhou Weiguo any further, he quickly turned his attention to Sha Zhu, his tone dripping with moral blackmail: "Zhu Zi! Look at you! It's one thing for Zhou Weiguo to be unreasonable, but how could you be so muddle-headed too? Bang Geng is still a child, and he's passed out now. It's a matter of life and death! Are you just going to stand by and watch? No matter what grudges you had before, saving his life is the priority!"

Sha Zhu was already furious because Bang Geng had framed Yu Li, and when he heard Yi Zhonghai's indiscriminate words, his face instantly darkened. Without thinking, he firmly refused, "Uncle Yi, don't try to morally blackmail me! What does how Bang Geng was injured have to do with me! Even if he's dead, he deserves it. He schemed to harm my wife, and now he's reaping what he sowed. I'm already being lenient by not kicking him a couple of times; you expect me to save him? Impossible!"

"you!"

Yi Zhonghai was momentarily speechless at Sha Zhu's rejection, then flew into a rage, pointing his finger at Sha Zhu's nose and yelling, "Sha Zhu! How did you become like this? You have no humanity at all! Isn't it only natural for neighbors to help each other? Weren't you the most loyal and kind-hearted person before? How come you've forgotten your roots after getting married?"

Sha Zhu was already bad at talking, and he was stunned by Yi Zhonghai's series of righteous accusations, his mind instantly turning into a mess.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute but not knowing where to begin. His previous anger was mostly suppressed by this sudden question, and his eyes were somewhat unfocused. He was actually intimidated by Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai saw through Sha Zhu's predicament at a glance, his eyes lit up, and he was secretly delighted. This silly boy was indeed so easy to handle!

He immediately pressed his advantage, softening his tone and speaking with a hint of earnest persuasion: "Zhuzi, I know you're protective of your wife, but saving a life is a matter of utmost importance; you can't act impulsively. Think about it, if we delay Banggeng's treatment, it won't look good on your reputations. We're neighbors, we see each other all the time, why make things so tense? Take my advice, get Banggeng to the hospital first, we can talk about it later. Besides, think about it carefully, putting aside the facts, is Yu Li really completely without fault?"

P.S.: Please urge me to update more and give me good reviews. Thank you!