Liu Yutong had no intention of going to school today. After a quick wash in the master bedroom on the second floor, she lay down on the bed and started scrolling through her phone.
In her past life, whenever she returned home, she would usually just flop onto the bed and mindlessly browse her phone until midnight, reluctantly putting it down only because she was afraid she wouldn’t wake up the next day. Otherwise, she could easily have stayed up all night.
The entertainment options on her current phone were quite limited—mostly just simple games like Tetris—so there wasn’t much fun to be had.
Fortunately, the phone she bought could still log into Big Goose (a messaging app), allowing her to check group chats and chat with friends.
In her university class group, most people were discussing buying tickets to go home for the holidays.
University breaks started relatively early, and with only a few days left before the official holiday, some students had already left campus ahead of time.
Perhaps noticing Liu Yutong coming online, Li Xiaohui immediately sent her a flood of crying emojis.
Even without any words, Liu Yutong instantly understood what she meant—this girl definitely didn’t want to go home.
Liu Yutong could easily imagine the atmosphere at Li Xiaohui’s house during the New Year.
From New Year’s Eve to the first few days of the year, the house would be filled with formal, bureaucratic talk, since most of the visiting relatives and friends were likely from government circles.
In such an environment, Li Xiaohui would have to suppress her true nature and act obediently. No wonder she dreaded going home.
"If you really don’t want to go home, you can come celebrate the New Year at my place," Liu Yutong casually sent the message.
"Yutong-jie, you mean it? It’s a deal!" Li Xiaohui replied instantly.
"I’ll call my dad right now to ask for permission."
Seeing Li Xiaohui’s response, Liu Yutong was momentarily stunned. She had only been joking, but this girl actually took it seriously.
Then again, that was just like her—always rushing into things without hesitation.
Not long after, Li Xiaohui sent another message.
"My dad agreed! I’m coming home with you for New Year!"
Liu Yutong replied with just three words: "I don’t believe you."
Sure enough, Li Xiaohui immediately deflated on the other end, though she kept bombarding Liu Yutong with messages.
"Yutong-jie, how are you so hard to fool? You never fall for anything."
"Do you have any way to convince my dad to let me go?"
"What if I sneak off with you without telling him?"
Liu Yutong was speechless. "Are you serious? If your dad reports you missing, I’ll end up looking like a kidnapper."
Not to mention, I really can’t afford to piss off your dad!
"Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll take you to my place for a few days, but when it’s almost New Year’s Eve, you’ll go back home and stay put. I’ll arrange for someone to take you back then."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Ahhh!!! I love you, Yutong-jie!!!"
After finishing her chat with Li Xiaohui, Liu Yutong skimmed through other group messages, especially those in the "Little Five" class group.
Although she had also joined her hometown’s alumni group, she rarely ever posted in it.
Many people in the group had already returned home and were busy organizing get-togethers. Some had even arrived in Bright Pearl City and were hanging out in internet cafés, reluctant to go back.
But Liu Yutong wasn’t particularly interested in these activities, including their planned reunion—a day and night of fun in Bright Pearl City on the 28th, followed by returning home on the 29th for New Year’s Eve.
She wasn’t fond of internet cafés or all-night karaoke sessions, so she mostly stayed silent when these topics came up in the group.
Just as she was about to turn off her phone, she received an unexpected message—from Gao Min.
"If you have time, let’s meet up somewhere to talk privately."
Honestly, this was the first time Gao Min had ever reached out to her.
After a brief moment of thought, Liu Yutong agreed.
They arranged to meet the next evening at a restaurant in a shopping mall.
Then, Liu Yutong’s mind drifted to the situation with Pan Xing.
That guy had ended up in the hospital—she wasn’t sure how badly he was injured or whether he’d pull through.
If he didn’t, the Righteous Society would probably become a lot more "interesting."
Of course, that had both pros and cons for her.
The upside? She’d have a better chance of taking control of the Righteous Society.
The downside? She’d be under heavier scrutiny from the police.
Even if no one reported it, this was still a criminal case. Just because no one called the cops didn’t mean they wouldn’t investigate—especially since law enforcement already kept a close eye on these gangs.
Once Pan Xing was in a condition to be questioned, the police would likely show up to get his side of the story.
But incidents like these just proved how pointless it was to get involved in gang life—getting stabbed and still too afraid to call the police. If it were her, she’d have reported it immediately.
Of course, in this case, she could easily become a suspect.
Putting down her phone, Liu Yutong stood up and stretched on the balcony.
The sky was already growing dark, and her grandparents still hadn’t returned.
Before she could call to check on them, her phone rang—it was her cousin, Liu Debao.
"Are you guys not back yet? How’s the shopping trip with Grandma and Grandpa—"
"Jie, something’s wrong. We’re stuck in the mall—they won’t let us leave!"
"What happened? Explain properly!" Liu Yutong’s voice turned icy, a mix of tension and anger rising in her chest.
"It’s hard to explain in a few words—that shrew is screaming all kinds of nonsense. The cops are on their way, but we’re at—Jie, just come quick!"
"Are Grandma and Grandpa hurt?"
"No, but they were shoved."
"Wait for me!"
Hanging up, Liu Yutong rushed downstairs while making another call.
"Yun Cheng, take a few guys and get to Yu Da Mall right now. My grandparents are being cornered there."
"Understood, Miss. I’ll head over immediately."
After ending the call, Liu Yutong slammed her foot on the accelerator. Her red sports car shot out of the garage like an arrow.
Less than ten minutes later, she arrived at Yu Da Mall.
From a distance, she could see a crowd gathered on the third floor, faint shouts carrying through the air. She sprinted up the escalator, taking two steps at a time.
"Move!" Pushing through the onlookers, Liu Yutong’s blood boiled at the scene before her.
A heavily made-up woman was pointing at her grandparents, screeching at the top of her lungs.
"That LCD TV was broken by them! It has nothing to do with my son! And what kind of store is this, letting just anyone in? Look at them—they’re clearly country bumpkins who’ve never even seen an LCD TV before!"
"We didn’t break the TV. My wife and I didn’t even touch it."
"That’s right, we were just walking by when it suddenly fell—"
"Shut your damn mouths, you old hicks!"
The woman yanked her son forward and pointed at him. "My boy is so small—how could he possibly push over a TV? It was you two old fools who knocked it over, and now you’re trying to weasel out of paying!"
The chubby boy hid behind his mother, sticking his tongue out at Liu Yutong’s grandparents before lying, "Mom, it was the old man! I saw him push it!"
The onlookers began whispering among themselves, some pointing fingers, yet not a single person spoke up for the elderly couple.
The grandfather was seething with anger but forced himself to stay calm. "Young lady, one must be reasonable. At our age, how could we possibly lie?"
"Who are you calling 'young lady'? Don't act so familiar!" The woman refused to back down. "There are plenty of shameless old folks these days. Didn’t the news just report how seniors like you fake falls to extort money? And now you’re targeting my son?"
"Manager, people like this should be made to pay compensation and kneel in apology—otherwise, they’ll never learn their lesson, always touching things they shouldn’t..."
Before she could finish—
Slap!
A sharp, crisp sound of a hand striking flesh echoed through the mall, plunging the entire space into silence.
Everyone froze, including the arrogant woman.
Clutching her stinging cheek, she stared in disbelief at the unfamiliar girl who had suddenly appeared before her. "You… you dare hit me? Do you have any idea who my husband is? I’ll make sure you regret this!"
"I don’t believe you!"
Liu Yutong retracted her hand, her gaze icy. "But I can make sure your entire family never sets foot in Bright Pearl City again. Do you believe that?"
..............
