“Uncle Cai, I didn’t say anything, I never mentioned you or Mr. Zhao, you have to believe me!”
Seeing Cai Youren, Shu Lu felt like a drowning person grasping a lifeline, hurriedly defending herself.
She wasn’t lying this time—at the police station, she hadn’t mentioned Cai Youren or Zhao Dong’s names. Of course, she wouldn’t tell Cai Youren that, just today, for a fleeting moment, she considered betraying Zhao Dong to gain Wen Ying’s “forgiveness” and Xie Qian’s protection. If Wen Ying or Xie Qian had paid her any attention, she wouldn’t be standing before Cai Youren now—she’d have taken a different path… But facing Cai Youren, Shu Lu would never admit she’d wavered.
Gone was Cai Youren’s former kindness. He eyed Shu Lu from head to toe, sneering, “You’d better not have spoken out of turn, or you won’t bear the consequences. You took so many gifts but failed to handle Mr. Zhao’s tasks. I’m guessing you don’t want to experience Mr. Zhao’s methods of dealing with people!”
Shu Lu shivered, clinging to the car window, pleading pitifully, “Uncle Cai, the school’s making me transfer. Can you help me? I haven’t finished Mr. Zhao’s tasks. If I go to another school, how can I complete what he asked…”
Useless, yet so demanding.
Cai Youren had no time to waste on Shu Lu. Confirming she’d only shifted blame to Shu Guobing without implicating Xiao Cai, he said impatiently, “Then transfer. You and your father have caused Mr. Zhao so much trouble, he needs to think about his next steps. Just wait patiently for his instructions!”
The car started, and Shu Lu ran a few steps after it, panting heavily.
Wait for instructions?
How were she and her mom supposed to live in the meantime?
Shu Lu was on the verge of tears, clinging to a faint glimmer of hope that kept her from collapsing.
When Shu Lu got home, Wen Hongyan was already rummaging through things, cursing.
From Shu Lu’s room, Wen Hongyan pulled out several paper bags containing designer bags Shu Lu hadn’t even used yet.
“These things, all show and no substance, can they be sold for money?”
They probably could.
But Shu Lu didn’t know where to sell them.
These bags, beautiful clothes, and delicate leather shoes represented the life Shu Lu yearned for. If she sold the bags, everything she’d briefly possessed would vanish like a dream. She needed to keep something for herself. No matter how Wen Hongyan nagged, Shu Lu stayed silent.
Wen Hongyan asked if she still wanted to study, and Shu Lu nodded, “Mom, only if I study can our family turn things around. If I don’t, we’re done.”
Reading Wen Hongyan’s mind, Shu Lu added, “If Dad goes to prison and I don’t go to university, the gap between our family and Second Uncle’s will only grow. Second Aunt will mock you endlessly, and Wen Ying—”
Wen Hongyan couldn’t bear the thought.
For years, she’d been jealous of Chen Ru. She’d finally had a chance to lord it over her, but living forever in Chen Ru’s shadow would be too painful.
“No way, your dad can’t go to prison, and you have to keep studying!”
Wen Hongyan moved the paper bags to her room and dug out the gold jewellery she’d bought, saying she’d sell it all.
Today’s events had shocked Wen Hongyan. With Shu Guobing around, she was the boss’s wife; without him, the shop employees barely acknowledged her.
The prosperous life Shu Lu promised was years away. For now, the priority was holding onto Shu Guobing.
Shu Lu, guilty, mumbled that her dad might be hard to save, but Wen Hongyan wouldn’t listen, “Those officials are all greedy. As long as they take money, your dad’s case is a small matter!”
As if!
If it were that simple, Cai Youren wouldn’t have been so angry today.
Xiao Cai was just an errand runner, and Cai Youren couldn’t even bail him out. Did her mom think flashing some cash would get the police station to release someone?
Shu Lu doubted Wen Hongyan even knew where to send the money!
Wen Hongyan usually heeded Shu Lu’s advice, but this time she was stubborn. No matter what Shu Lu said, she was determined to save Shu Guobing.
Wen Hongyan was the type who heavily relied on men. Even when Shu Guobing was a drunken, boastful slacker, she saw him as her pillar. To her, even a useless man was necessary—without one, people would bully a widow and orphan.
Despite living in the city for years, Wen Hongyan’s mindset hadn’t evolved, still rooted in rural values.
Not to mention, Shu Guobing had had his moment of glory!
If one boss like Cai Youren had valued him, others would too. Even if he didn’t work for Cai Youren anymore, having been a manager, finding another high-paying job shouldn’t be hard!
Wen Hongyan laid out her logic to Shu Lu, leaving her dizzy.
Too much had happened today. Shu Lu, just a third-year junior high student, had plenty of petty cunning but lacked real wisdom. She couldn’t come up with better reasons to stop Wen Hongyan.
The next day, Shu Lu came to her senses.
Others might not know how her dad had been “promoted” by a benefactor, but she knew!
Being a manager wasn’t that easy!
By the time Shu Lu tried to intervene, Wen Hongyan had already left with the items. Shu Lu called, but Wen Hongyan didn’t answer. That evening, Wen Hongyan returned empty-handed, saying the money had been sent.
“Mom, who did you give the money to?”
“Shh, keep your voice down. It’s someone from our complex, a relative of a police bureau leader.”
The bureau oversaw the police station. If a leader spoke, would the station dare not release someone?
Shu Lu was skeptical, but Wen Hongyan was confident, saying the person took her to the bureau through a back entrance to an office building, where they spoke with someone who looked like a leader. Fearing a scam, Wen Hongyan had questioned the bureau official about their identity.
“A big leader in the bureau!”
Wen Hongyan gave a thumbs-up, hinting at the leader’s status.
Shu Lu hadn’t expected her mom to stumble upon such a solid connection, and a spark of hope ignited—maybe her dad could actually be released without charges!
If she’d known their complex had such a capable neighbour, she wouldn’t have so quickly pinned everything on her dad at the police station—
Shu Lu couldn’t help sending another message to Zhao Dong: Mr. Zhao, if my dad is released without charges, can I avoid transferring schools?
…
Zhao Dong glanced at his phone, exasperated.
At this point, Shu Lu was still daydreaming.
Cai Youren had tried everything and couldn’t bail out Xiao Cai, which told Zhao Dong something was off. Combined with earlier news that Xie Jinghu had transferred some Jinhu Group shares to Xie Qian, the situation looked grim.
Luckily, he hadn’t acted against Xie Qian yet.
Zhao Dong had no interest in getting caught up in the Xie family’s internal struggles. He wanted connections and investments, not to be a pawn for one side, charging into a mess and trapping himself!
“Don’t get involved anymore. Your assistant Xiao Cai, he won’t talk, right?”
Cai Youren was confident Xiao Cai wouldn’t spill, vouching for him to Zhao Dong.
“Is the situation looking bad…?”
Cai Youren sensed something was wrong.
But Zhao Dong knew things he hadn’t shared, leaving Cai Youren unable to fully assess the situation.
Zhao Dong mused, “Don’t worry about it. Few know we’re connected, so this won’t trace back to you. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll have finance wire 200,000 to you. Give it to Xiao Cai’s family to buy his silence.”
Shu Guobing was the main culprit, Xiao Cai an accomplice. Even if convicted, Xiao Cai’s sentence would be short. The 200,000 was hush money to keep him quiet with the police.
Cai Youren wouldn’t let Zhao Dong pay, insisting he’d handle Xiao Cai’s family without Zhao Dong’s involvement.
Zhao Dong waved it off, “Fine, I’m not stingy. There’s a share for Xiao Cai, and you won’t be left out. That business we discussed last time—you’re in for a cut!”
If you only make people work without rewards, you won’t last long anywhere.
Zhao Dong had learned this the hard way abroad. He’d rather pay generously than mess up on something like this again.
The 200,000 was Xiao Cai’s hush money, and letting Cai Youren in on the deal was his.
Cai Youren’s unease turned to satisfaction.
With benefits secured, he no longer felt Zhao Dong was screwing him over. If things went south, the big shots would take the fall. Zhao Dong hadn’t shared more details, so Cai Youren was just an errand runner—no one could pin anything on him.
Fortune favours the bold—how could you make money without some risk?
As Cai Youren was about to speak, his phone buzzed.
It was Shu Lu calling.
In front of Zhao Dong, Cai Youren hung up, “This girl’s a hassle. Should I warn her again?”
Zhao Dong didn’t respond, implicitly agreeing.
Cai Youren thought, this clueless girl staying in Rongcheng could be trouble, maybe even showing up to pester them someday.
She should go back where she came from.
Some worlds weren’t meant for Shu Lu. She’d stumbled into one by chance and actually thought she was a high-society princess.
To be a princess, you either needed luck like Zhao Dong’s sister, born into wealth and pampered from birth.
Or, at the very least, you had to be smart enough to seize life-changing opportunities.
Someone like Shu Lu? Cai Youren genuinely looked down on her.
Huh, come to think of it, Zhao Dong picking Shu Lu showed his taste wasn’t that great either.
Cai Youren had always seen Zhao Dong as high-class, an elite returned from abroad. In that moment, Zhao Dong’s halo dimmed significantly!
Of course, Cai Youren’s attitude remained respectful, showing no sign of his thoughts—he still needed Zhao Dong to make money, after all.
…
Neither Zhao Dong nor Cai Youren paid Shu Lu any mind.
Three days after Wen Hongyan sent the money, Shu Guobing still wasn’t released and had been transferred to a detention centre.
Wen Hongyan went to confront the neighbour who took her money, only to find they’d moved out overnight. Like the Shu family, they were renters in the complex, just there a bit longer.
Wen Hongyan sensed trouble and went to the police bureau, demanding answers from the leader—how could they take a bribe and not deliver?
The leader was baffled. A relative taking bribes on their behalf, and they knew nothing about it?
The leader naturally denied it. Later, they pulled up the surveillance footage, and upon seeing it, the leader recalled, “What relative? That was just a citizen asking about something!”
