Song Shao, brimming with righteousness, was practically the nemesis of a pitiful girl like Shu Lu!
Before Shu Lu could come up with an excuse, a police car pulled up to the roadside, and two officers approached.
“Who called the police?”
“I did.”
Song Shao explained the situation in a few words, backed by the testimony of onlookers, quickly helping the police understand the matter.
“Why did you call the police?”
Song Shao pointed at the fruit shop. “I wanted to buy some fruit, but she’s causing a scene and stopping the shop from doing business. Besides, I was worried she might genuinely need help.”
When in trouble, call the police. Song Shao was confident in his reasoning.
The officers understood immediately.
Local police dealt with countless domestic disputes daily. As the saying goes, even an honest official struggles with family matters, and this was a classic case.
If it were anyone else disrupting business at the shop’s entrance, the fruit shop owner would have called the police long ago. The reason they hadn’t was because the troublemaker was a relative and a minor. If the owner had reported it, passersby might have judged them harshly.
Now, it wasn’t the owner who called the police, but a bystander who couldn’t stand it. The owner could finally step forward.
The officers questioned Shu Lu, but she only cried.
Zhu Meiqun emerged from the shop, wiping tears from her eyes.
Zhu Meiqun cried out of grievance.
She didn’t steal or rob, working hard from dawn to dusk to earn an honest living. Who was she hurting? Why did some people, too lazy to work, always try to take money from others’ pockets?
“I’m just her unrelated aunt. She has her own parents. Why should I be responsible for her?”
Zhu Meiqun sobbed out her grievances, and several regular customers comforted her.
Shu Lu, sniffling, looked up. “Auntie, I just wanted to borrow some money. I’m not asking you to raise me. I’ll pay it back…”
“Pah!”
Zhu Meiqun spat fiercely. “Once money goes into your family’s pockets, it never comes back. Don’t play the victim in front of me!”
Shu Lu cried again, her eyes red and pitiful, as if Zhu Meiqun had bullied her.
In front of the officers, Song Shao repeated his earlier words, saying that if Shu Lu had dropped out due to poverty, he could help find sponsors to fund her education.
“But first, you need to tell me your school and class.”
Shu Lu refused to say.
No matter, Zhu Meiqun knew.
She rattled off Shu Lu’s school, class, and her mother Wen Hongyan’s contact details to Song Shao.
Song Shao pulled out his phone to make a call. Wen Ying, watching from the crowd, widened her eyes: the class monitor had a phone!
Wen Dongrong watched with relish. “This Song Shao is impressive. He handled it well!”
Chen Ru scolded him. “You have the nerve to say that? Our family’s mess, and you let a high schooler deal with it. Have you no shame?”
Wen Dongrong, thick-skinned as a city wall, replied, “If he couldn’t handle it, I’d step in. The problem is, if we show up, it’s endless trouble. Let Song Shao help first, and we’ll thank him properly later!”
Not only did Wen Dongrong avoid stepping forward, he also stopped Wen Ying from intervening. Wen Ying was exasperated by her father’s shamelessness.
Song Shao made two calls and actually got Shu Lu’s homeroom teacher’s number. In front of the officers, he inquired about Shu Lu’s situation. The teacher hesitated at first, but Song Shao smiled.
“You can choose to lie, but I think only the truth can help Shu Lu correct her mistakes, don’t you?”
The teacher fell silent. A woman’s voice murmured something on the other end, and the teacher sighed, revealing the truth: the school hadn’t given up on Shu Lu; she herself didn’t value her education. With her current grades, she had no hope of getting into university.
In the end, the teacher earnestly urged Shu Lu to think carefully about what kind of life she wanted.
No one minds a low starting point if there’s ambition to improve after entering society. But vanity and laziness, as Song Shao said, meant no one could help Shu Lu if she didn’t change.
“I think it’s clear, Shu Lu. With your performance at school, I really can’t find anyone to sponsor you.”
Song Shao didn’t blame Shu Lu, but the onlookers who had pitied her were now angry, feeling their sympathy had been wasted. They began berating her.
“Quick, contact her mum. Get her mum to take her daughter home. Such thick skin!”
“Exactly, crying at the shop’s entrance every day. How’s the shop supposed to do business? Crying, crying, crying, and she still has the cheek to cry. She’s scared off all the shop’s fortune!”
“Officers, you can’t ignore this. Society doesn’t work on who cries the loudest…”
Shu Lu was indeed a minor.
But she wasn’t a very young minor.
If she were a primary schooler with no one to care for her, seeking food at her aunt’s shop and being ignored, that would be heartless.
But a teenage girl demanding her aunt support her was a bit too much.
Children from poor families often mature early. It’s a pity if a good student drops out, but for someone with poor grades, entering society early is also a path.
Poor, vain, and lazy, Shu Lu’s pitiful appearance couldn’t win sympathy. The onlookers’ eyes were sharp!
Shu Lu, scolded to the point of hanging her head, tried to slip through the crowd. The officers quickly stopped her.
“It’s late. A young girl wandering around is too dangerous. Either your parents come get you, or we’ll drive you home.”
Shu Lu needed education, but her parents needed it more.
The officers were determined to meet Shu Lu’s parents today.
If this wasn’t resolved, Shu Lu would keep coming to cry at the shop’s entrance, disrupting business and creating a public safety issue with the crowds gathering to watch.
Having her “poor little girl” act exposed by Song Shao, Shu Lu couldn’t leave. She glared at him, clearly blaming him for meddling.
Song Shao remained unfazed. “Shu Lu, I hope you realise your mistakes soon. It’s never too late to change.”
These wise words clearly didn’t reach Shu Lu.
She was filled with resentment.
She didn’t resent her lazy parents or regret slacking in her studies.
She hated her teacher for telling the truth, Song Shao for meddling, Zhu Meiqun for not giving a penny, Wen Ying’s family for stopping their support, and Grandma Wen for helping only twice before giving up. Shu Lu despised everyone.
They could easily help her, so why wouldn’t they?
These people, living well themselves, watched her drop out, hoping she’d stay at the bottom forever!
Shu Lu swore she’d make something of herself.
“Auntie, you’ll regret this!”
Before being taken away by the police, Shu Lu threw out those words, infuriating Zhu Meiqun.
“Regret what? I earn my living honestly, not stealing, robbing, or begging. Don’t worry, even if you make it big, I’d never beg at your doorstep!”
What a shameless girl!
The Wen family’s third generation had no such child. Indeed, with Shu Guobing’s blood, she was just as shameless!
The police left, and the onlookers, after comforting Zhu Meiqun, dispersed, discussing the matter.
As Song Shao prepared to leave, Zhu Meiqun, deeply grateful, insisted on giving him two large bags of premium fruit.
Song Shao refused, but Wen Dongrong strode over. “Classmate Song Shao, thank you so much. You’ve done our family a huge favour!”
The cunning Wen Dongrong, seeing Song Shao take charge, avoided getting entangled with Shu Lu, waiting until the crowd dispersed to appear. He not only stayed out of sight but also kept Wen Ying from getting out of the car.
Wen Ying rushed forward, both grateful and embarrassed.
Their family’s mess had to be handled by Song Shao. Wen Dongrong was shameless, but Wen Ying blushed.
“Monitor, I sent you texts you didn’t see, and called, but you didn’t pick up. I was so worried.”
Song Shao nodded with a smile. “Didn’t see them at first, but I did later.”
Shu Lu found Song Shao familiar, but he had recognised her long ago.
Shu Lu had once hired Yue Shanni to trouble Wen Ying. Yue Shanni faced consequences, but Shu Lu escaped.
Song Shao had asked Wen Ying if she needed help, and she declined at the time. Yet, in a twist of fate, Song Shao delivered Shu Lu a decisive blow.
