Real Estate

"What are you yelling for?!" He instinctively reached out to cover Ding Yuqing's mouth, but ended up grabbing her by the throat.

The onlookers nearby realized almost simultaneously how serious things had become. People rose quickly from where they stood and rushed toward Ding Jiali. One seized his hand, another locked his shoulders from behind, and a third rushed between him and Ding Yuqing, forcing apart his muscular, bulging arms.

Finally free, Ding Yuqing coughed without stopping. As she tried to steady her breathing, she saw a voice recorder fall from Ding Jiali's pocket as he was pinned to the ground.

She stepped forward and picked it up. The recording was still running. She pressed stop, then played it from the beginning.

"You got called out and got guilty, huh? What, your whole family drove Dad to his death, and now no one's allowed to mention it? Dad's been dead for months, and I haven't seen you shed a single tear—"

"Let go... let go! If there's something wrong with your head, go find a hospital and a doctor. Going crazy at me won't help. When I cried for Dad, I didn't need you there to witness it!"

"What is this..."

"Don't touch my things!" Ding Jiali struggled to raise his head, straining so hard that several deep lines appeared across his forehead.

"You were recording..." Ding Yuqing did not finish the sentence before realizing the answer. She glared at Ding Jiali. "No wonder... no wonder you said all those weird things earlier... about girls from District 12, about women riding roughshod over men—you were deliberately trying to provoke me, weren't you? Then you brought up Dad. You wanted me to say bad things about him, so you could record it, right?!"

Ding Jiali no longer looked at her. He