Chapter 22: They accused her of being overbearing, so Lexi decided to show them what true overbearing meant.

The scene appeared quite tragic at first glance, but unfortunately, the acting was far too clumsy. Le Xi thought to herself that they truly were useless—spending every day at home watching TV and scrolling through jokes, yet not learning a single thing. While Le Xi could immediately see through the pretense, everyone else seemed convinced.

The square was filled with people cursing her name, and some online users had even uploaded text-accompanied videos explaining the situation. The general consensus was that Le Xi abused her parents, that she made mistakes herself but used her ex-husband’s money to tarnish his reputation.

Le Xi understood now—it must be that Song Qi had already met with her parents.

“Tell me, do you have any sense of shame? If you still consider yourself human, go home and apologize to your parents. Support them properly. Apologize to your ex-husband and return the money he gave you,” someone shouted.

“We’re talking to you. Why are you playing with your phone? Stop playing with your phone.”

With a loud “thud,” a man knocked Le Xi’s phone from her hand. Wang Sisi tried to pick it up, but the onlookers pushed her aside, and the man stomped the phone into pieces—just like Song Qi. He said, “I want you to understand that when someone speaks to you, you can’t just play with your phone.”

The production staff, hoping for more dramatic content, hadn’t intervened before the crowd surged forward. Now that the phone was smashed and the man looked ready to get violent, they realized that if they didn’t step in, the internet would soon turn on them. But the crowd was so thick, they couldn’t get through. All they could do was shout through a loudspeaker, “Please disperse. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll call the police.”

But the noise at the scene drowned out the loudspeaker, and the crowd believed themselves to be on the side of justice, so they weren’t the least bit afraid. They continued to hurl insults at Le Xi.

[Le Xi, you’re scared now, aren’t you? Serves you right for not behaving like a decent person.]
[Wang Sisi, protect yourself. Don’t stand up for someone like her. Learn from Huo Hongming and Wang Zhuorui—just enjoy the show from the sidelines.]
[Hahaha, Huo Hongming and Wang Zhuorui say, “Thanks for the compliment.”]

Another “thud.”

Just as everyone thought Le Xi would be frightened to tears, she picked up the man’s phone—the one who had smashed hers—threw it to the ground, and stomped it to pieces as well. In the same tone, she declared, “I want you to know that if you break someone else’s phone, yours can be broken too.”

“Damn—” the man realized what was happening and immediately tried to slap her. But thinking was one thing—doing it was another. Le Xi gripped his hand tightly, and, unable to keep his balance, he ended up kneeling before her.

“If you know you’re wrong, apologize to me. Fine—I’m generous. I forgive you.” Le Xi released his wrist.

“How is it that a man’s strength is less than a woman’s?”
“All that muscle for nothing, so weak…”

Just moments ago, all the voices had been cursing at Le Xi, but her actions now prompted people to ridicule the man’s incompetence.

Humiliated, the man tried to strike Le Xi again as soon as she let go of his hand. Le Xi warned him, “If I catch your hand again, I won’t let go so easily.”

Voices in the crowd chanted, “Hit her, hit her.”
“How can a man let a woman push him around?”

The man reconsidered after recalling Le Xi’s strength—he hesitated. But the crowd’s encouragement emboldened him once again.

Le Xi said, “That’s right. A man shouldn’t be bullied by a woman. But a fool can be manipulated. Shouting for someone else to do your dirty work—how enjoyable.”

The man faltered and called out to the crowd, “Why don’t you do it? You all dislike her too! Let’s do it together!”

Le Xi shrugged. “Who wants to? I won’t start anything, but I’ll defend myself.”

Those who had shouted the loudest did nothing, never moving a muscle. The man, furious, tried to leave, but the crowd was too dense. Remembering his phone, he reached toward Le Xi. “You owe me a phone. Your worthless one is barely worth a few hundred. My phone cost over ten thousand. You owe me the difference.”

Le Xi replied, “I won’t pay. If you hadn’t smashed my phone, I wouldn’t have smashed yours. Adults must take responsibility for their own actions.”

[Still, you should pay him back.]
[The phone the production gave Le Xi is the kind you get free with a top-up—it’s only worth a couple hundred. The man’s phone is the latest model, even the smallest capacity version is twelve thousand eight hundred. Le Xi, you really should pay up.]

“You’re bullying me. You’re a celebrity bullying us ordinary folks,” the man accused.

Earlier, when the man urged the so-called justice warriors to act, no one budged. But now, with this declaration, he sounded like a cult leader, and the crowd immediately became his fervent supporters, chanting, “Le Xi, give him back his phone! Le Xi, you’ve gone too far!”

Le Xi had a stubborn streak. Accuse her of bullying, and she’d show them what real bullying looked like. She marched forward, grabbed a particularly scrawny but unpleasant-looking man, and said, “I am bullying you. Smashing one phone isn’t enough. Where’s your phone? Give it to me.”

Then she reached for another, “Where’s your phone? Time for an upgrade.”

“And you? Let me help you ‘decorate’ it a little…”

[Has Le Xi lost her mind? Completely lost it.]
[Le Xi is so wild—it’s making me like her a little, I can’t explain it.]

One after another, her targets slipped away, and in the end, the production team compensated the man for his phone, bringing the farce to an end.

Because the backup phone assigned to Le Xi was now destroyed—and there were no extras, with each cast member allotted one—the production team had no choice but to return her original phone.

In the bathroom, Le Xi called her mother, but she didn’t answer. She tried her father next—still no answer. So Le Xi called the housekeeper and asked her to put the phone on speaker.

Her father, mother, and uncle were sitting together, happily waiting for Song Qi to send them money.

“It has to be me, right? Without me, you two would be exhausted,” her father boasted, fishing for praise. As a hotel cleaner, he was scolded by the chef, the waitstaff, the management, and even the guests. In just a few days, he’d been berated more times than in his entire fifty-plus years of life. He was desperate for a compliment.

“Amazing, you’re truly amazing,” her mother chimed in.

Her uncle added, “Impressive, yes, but isn’t the amount a bit too little? Our son-in-law is so wealthy—asking for such a small sum is an insult to him.”

Her father began to regret it too. “Maybe I should call and ask for more.”

Just as he reached for his phone, the housekeeper snatched it away. He pointed at her menacingly, “You, the housekeeper—once I get the money, you’re out. Give it back.”

She ignored him and pressed her own phone’s speaker button. Le Xi’s voice came through loud and clear: “Seems like you’re all too well fed, since you have so much energy for these antics. Your acting isn’t bad. Should I recommend you for real acting gigs?”

Le Xi’s mother snapped back, “Le Xi, don’t get sarcastic with me. Listen to what the netizens are saying—every one of them calls you unfilial.”