Ms. Chen was like a crowing rooster whose neck had been suddenly grasped, her face swollen red with inability to make a sound.
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She realized she had just let something slip.
Although she had finally agreed on a rent of 15,000 with Director Zhang, increasing by 10% each year, she had just told Zhen Ye before entering the room that the contract she was given was for 5,000 a month.
At this point, she couldn't claim a higher amount without seeming ridiculous, making Ma Lu's 10,000 seem quite reasonable.
Ms. Chen snorted coldly, no longer intending to reason with Ma Lu, as she had seen the contract on the table and dashed over, intending to tear it up.
There were two copies of the lease contract, and Ma Lu had already put his own copy in his backpack.
The remaining one belonged to Zhen Ye, and it wouldn't have mattered much if it had been torn, as they could have just signed a new one.
However, Ma Lu was standing right there and snatched the contract away first.
This move not only grabbed the contract but also snatched away all of Ms. Chen's wrath.
Ma Lu raised the contract above his head, and after Ms. Chen jumped twice and failed to reach it, she turned to launch a personal attack on Ma Lu.
She grabbed the collar of his shirt with one hand and was about to scratch him with the other.
Ma Lu was not polite either; if she dared to scratch, he was ready to pretend to collapse, and then he would claim discomfort everywhere and go for a full medical checkup at the hospital, demanding both a sperm health check and a test for Helicobacter pylori.
But just at the critical moment, a commanding shout suddenly came from outside the door!
"Hey, you're getting physical, huh? One swipe of your claw, and you'll get at least five days of administrative detention, and if it gets serious, intentional harm will send you straight to prison, and your kid can forget about taking the civil service exam!"
Ms. Chen hesitated at his shout, turned her head, and saw a young man in a suit and leather shoes, with an air of integrity, walking in from outside.
"What are you looking at? Let go of my client!"
Ms. Chen reluctantly released her grip.
"You see, this is why I don't like talking law with a legal illiterate like you," Zhuang Bufan spread his hands.
"Who are you calling an old lady?!" Ms. Chen was furious.
"Since that's the case, I can only educate you a bit more on the law."
Zhuang Bufan cleared his throat, "As a guardian, your responsibility for Miss Zhen's upbringing and the infringement on Miss Zhen's property are two separate matters.
"In court, the judge would tell you the same thing, you need to first return the undue benefits you received, and then if you have any disagreements about the maintenance fee, you can sue my client and submit relevant evidence.
"But to my knowledge, you and your husband have almost ignored my client over these five years, and I highly doubt you have any such evidence. Moreover..."
Zhuang Bufan paused then continued, "After Miss Zhen's parents passed away, they left more than just this little building as an inheritance. Their other assets, savings, and the settlement from the car accident... should also have been managed by you.
"Given your dirty tricks with the rent, tsk tsk, it's really hard to believe that you haven't tampered with that part of the accounts."
Ms. Chen's face finally changed color, and she pulled out a property deed and a floor plan from her file bag, tossing them onto the sofa.
"Hmph, you're ruthless!"
However, as she turned to leave, she found the door still blocked by Zhuang Bufan.
"Did you forget something?"
"What else?"
"The rent difference for the past five years, and the embezzled inheritance."
"The inheritance... let's just... forget it," Ms. Chen hesitantly said.
Zhen Ye suddenly spoke up.
Zhuang Bufan frowned, but he followed along with what Zhen Ye said, "Fine, we'll concede on the inheritance, but the rent must be returned. I've calculated it already—it totals to four hundred and eighty thousand yuan, and that's without interest.
"You'd better transfer it to my client's account within ten days, or we'll see you in court. By then, it won't be just this amount of rent anymore, but also the inheritance money, not a penny less."