Chapter 39: The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked

Douglas's gaze hardened, and he sternly said, "Making a mistake and apologizing for it is only natural, yet here you are, making excuses, no wonder you've raised such a child. If you don't discipline him now, society won't coddle him later." "Who do you think you are? How I discipline my child is none of your business. It's just a broken balloon. You're making a big deal out of nothing. Also, who saw my child take your daughter's balloon? It could very well be that you're framing my child." The woman yelled loudly, her face contorted in anger, the very picture of a shrew. Douglas knew there was no reasoning with such a person. Turning to the boy, he demanded, "Apologize to my daughter." The boy, scared, hid behind the woman. The woman, protecting the boy, yelled back at Douglas, "What, you want to hit someone? Try laying a hand on me or my child." Douglas's expression turned to disgust as he faced the woman's ugly demeanor. He didn't hit women, but to him, shrews hardly counted. He was about to teach her a lesson when a short, balding man with glasses ran over. "What's going on here?" "Darling, this man is bullying our child and wants to hit me," the woman complained. The man, with disdain in his eyes, looked at Douglas, "Try touching my wife or child. I guarantee you won't be able to live in Jadeborough City." Douglas's gaze turned icy. It's said, "Like attracts like," and indeed, this family was a perfect example of that adage. "Your child took and destroyed my daughter's balloon. I merely asked for an apology, yet your family has truly opened my eyes. You just mentioned making me unable to live in Jadeborough City; I'm curious, who exactly do you think you are?" The man, puffing up with pride, boasted, "Kid, ever heard of the Linola Group? I'm the HR manager there. Cross me, and I'll make sure you regret it." Douglas was momentarily taken aback. "What's wrong?" Angelia approached, having just come from the restroom. "Why is Lynette crying?" Seeing Lynette tearful, Angelia quickly took her into her arms, "Tell me, who bullied Lynette?" Between sobs, Lynette recounted, "The balloon sister bought me was taken by him, and then he broke it... Wuuu..." As Lynette cried again, Angelia comforted her. "Don't cry, Lynette. I'll make him apologize, and then I'll buy you another, okay?" Turning to the couple, Angelia said, "Control your child. Have him apologize." The woman rolled her eyes, "Apologize for what? It's just a balloon. You're making such a fuss over nothing. You have no class. Want an apology? Dream on." Then, to her son, "Sweetheart, stay away from such low-class people in the future. We don't play with their kind." The boy, emboldened by his parents' support, stuck his tongue out at Angelia, making faces again. Angelia's face darkened, and she coldly said, "Like parent, like child. No sense of right or wrong. Seeing you, I can already imagine what your child will grow up to be—a scourge on society." "Who are you calling a scourge? You're the scourge! How dare you curse my child like that? Believe it or not, I'll tear your mouth apart." Angelia's face turned pale with anger, having never encountered such shameless behavior before. Douglas shook his head, "It seems Linola Group's hiring standards are questionable, to hire such... characters." "You dare insult Linola Group? You're looking for trouble," the man barked back at Douglas with furrowed brows and anger in his eyes. Angelia, taken aback, looked at the man, "You work for Linola Group?" The man, puffing up with pride at Angelia's question, boasted, "Scared now? Let me tell you, I'm the HR manager of Linola Group. Better apologize to us now, or I'll make your lives miserable." Douglas smirked, pitying the man's delusion. Angelia, her face cold with anger, realized such a person was indeed the HR manager of her family's company. She dialed a number on her phone and casually asked the man, "What's your name?" The man sneered, "What? You're going to call someone on me? I'm Delfina Zak. Go ahead, see who dares to touch me." The call connected, and Angelia demanded, "Right now, immediately, fire the HR manager Delfina. And check if he's involved in any corruption or bribery." Delfina scoffed, mocking her attempt, "Yeah, right, as if you're the chairman." "Darling, why bother talking to them? They're just a waste of our time. They probably don't even know what Linola Group does." The woman dismissed contemptuously. Just then, Delfina's phone rang. Recognizing the caller, his demeanor instantly changed to obsequiousness, "Hello, Mr. Chen, what can I do for you?" "You're looking to die, aren't you? How did you manage to offend the young miss? You're fired. And she's ordered an investigation into you. You better hope you're clean, or you're going to jail," roared the voice on the phone before hanging up. Delfina was stunned, his gaze vacant. He turned stiffly towards Angelia, disbelief in his voice, "You... you're the young miss of Linola Group?" Angelia looked at him coldly. "Darling, what are you talking about? What young miss? She's nothing but a common girl," the woman blurted out without thinking. Delfina, pale with fear, turned and slapped the woman hard across the face. The slap was fierce, sending the woman stumbling back into her son, then both fell to the ground with her sitting on the boy. The woman, easily weighing over two hundred pounds, nearly crushed the boy. The boy began to cry out in pain. The woman, stunned or perhaps not expecting Delfina to hit her, looked dazed, her face swollen and red, forgetting to get up from her son. After a moment, as if snapping back to reality, the woman, covering her face, screeched at Delfina, "You dare hit me? You'll pay for this..." A crowd had gathered, and their disdainful looks and murmurs only added to the spectacle. Angelia, her face stern, warned, "Delfina, I hope for your sake you're clean and we won't find anything. Otherwise, be prepared to spend a long time in jail."