In the car.
Liu Yutong noticed everyone was silent and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Already giving up?"
"If any of you want to leave, I won’t stop you. Take half the money from selling the fish and shrimp—consider it payment for your hard work."
"No, Boss’s daughter, it’s not that. We’re just… adjusting," Ma Da quickly interjected. "We swore an oath to follow the boss—and you—for life."
"Yeah, we’re not leaving you!" The others chimed in.
"I know what’s on your minds, but let me say this—there’s no future in gang life."
Liu Yutong asked, "What does ‘rule of law’ mean to you? Any ideas?"
Ma Da was the first to raise his hand. "Knowing what crime you’re committing and how long you’ll get locked up for it, so you can draw the death lot in advance."
"Death lot?" Liu Yutong looked puzzled.
"Yeah, like if you ever find someone annoying, just say the word. We’ll chop the bastard up first, then draw lots to see who takes the fall and goes to jail. Won’t ever trace back to you," Ma Da explained.
Liu Yutong: "..."
So this is how you understand the rule of law? Drawing lots to take the blame?
At that moment, Yun Cheng spoke up, his voice icy and menacing. "Boss’s daughter, we’ll take care of those classmates who bullied you at school. Don’t worry."
Earlier, Liu Yutong had handed him her phone to copy a video—he’d seen everything.
He never imagined the boss’s daughter would be treated like that in school.
It was a slap in their faces.
He and Ma Da had already agreed: at the first opportunity, they’d teach those stupid girls a lesson they’d never forget.
No one was allowed to bully the daughter of their Yi Lian Society!
Liu Yutong was touched, honestly. In all her life, aside from her grandparents, no one had ever stood up for her like this.
That’s why, even knowing they were gangsters, she hadn’t forced them away.
At least with them, she felt what it meant to be cared for.
But principles were principles.
"Yun Cheng, does my word still count here?" she asked.
"Boss’s daughter, of course we listen to you," Yun Cheng replied.
"Good. Then here’s my rule: from now on, you obey the law. No more illegal activities."
"But, Boss’s daughter, what if someone messes with us first?" Ma Da couldn’t help interrupting. "Are we supposed to just take it?"
"Ma Da, remember what I told you before?" Liu Yutong pressed.
This time, Ma Da caught on quickly. "Knowledge changes destiny?"
Liu Yutong nodded. "Read more. Think more. As long as you don’t cross the line, I won’t interfere with what you do."
"As for where that line is… figure it out yourselves."
If she had the time, she’d give these gang-brained guys a proper crash course in law.
Upon reaching the county town, they drove straight to the food stalls at Youth Plaza and found a seafood vendor.
"Boss, buying fish and lobster?"
"Not from others, but you brothers look like honest men—must be top-quality goods! I’ll take all you’ve got!"
Only then did Yun Cheng and the dozen others lower their rolled-up sleeves.
"Weigh it. Pay your usual wholesale rate. And hey—your scale accurate?"
"Absolutely, no problem at all!"
The vendor hurriedly brought out the scale and tapped in a code.
The scale, which normally measured seven taels as a pound, instantly recalibrated to twelve taels per pound.
In the end, several hundred pounds of fish and shrimp sold for 3,205 yuan.
Ma Da generously rounded it down, accepting just 3,200.
Under the vendor’s respectful gaze, they left with the cash.
Liu Yutong watched the entire transaction but found nothing amiss.
Fair prices, the boss handled the weighing himself—both sides were satisfied.
Yet something felt off.
After getting the money, Liu Yutong kept a little over a thousand and gave the rest to the men.
"I might not have time to leave campus for a while. Keep selling fish and lobster. If my grandpa’s pond runs low, buy from other villagers—but haggle the price down by half. No free labor."
"Got it, Boss’s daughter. Middleman profits, right?" Ma Da grinned.
"Something like that."
"I’m heading to the department store. You guys can wander around." With that, Liu Yutong turned toward the plaza’s shopping mall.
Inside, she bought daily necessities and, notably, a stack of practice banknotes.
Those dummy bills would serve a very specific purpose.
By the time Yun Cheng and the others drove her back to school, it was already evening.
After all, they’d spent half the day catching fish and then had dinner.
Before getting out of the car, Liu Yutong turned to Yun Cheng and the others and left them with a remark: "If you want to truly understand what the legal system is, the most direct way is to visit a courthouse. When you have time, you should go and observe more often."
Ma Da and the others nodded, though they only half-understood.
Back in the dormitory,
Liu Yutong quickly hid two hundred yuan from the thousand she had received inside her socks, while the rest was tightly bundled together with the practice banknotes.
At a glance, without unwrapping it, the stack of money looked like a fortune of ten thousand yuan.
Just as she finished,
Zhao Zhu barged in with her two lackeys in tow, her expression dark and threatening.
"Liu Yutong, did you fucking forget what I told you to do today?"
They had spent the entire day at the internet café without seeing Liu Yutong, and they were furious.
If Liu Yutong had returned to school first, their cover would have been blown.
Luckily, when they got back to campus, they found that Liu Yutong hadn’t returned yet, which eased their minds.
Still, they decided to teach Liu Yutong a lesson—to make sure she remembered her place.
Liu Yutong pretended to be frightened. "I... I didn’t mean to... I saw my grandpa..."
As if she had misspoken, she quickly covered her mouth, her face filled with panic.
Her act instantly piqued Zhao Zhu and the others' curiosity.
"What did your grandpa come here for?"
"N-nothing, he just wanted to see me," Liu Yutong stammered, deliberately clutching her jacket pocket as if by instinct.
The small gesture didn’t escape Zhao Zhu’s notice.
"What’s in your pocket? Hand it over!"
"Nothing, really, nothing!" Liu Yutong was on the verge of 'tears.'
The more she resisted, the more suspicious Zhao Zhu and her gang became.
Zhao Zhu waved a hand. "Search her. I want to see what she’s hiding!"
The two girls behind Zhao Zhu immediately stepped forward, gripping Liu Yutong’s arms tightly. No matter how much she struggled, it was useless.
Zhao Zhu then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a thick wad of cash.
At the sight of the hefty stack of money, Zhao Zhu and the others’ breathing grew heavy.
They had seen ten thousand yuan before, but only in the hands of their parents or elders.
Normally, their monthly allowance was just a few hundred yuan—even though they were locals from the county town, their spending money wasn’t much.
In fact, precisely because they were locals, their parents could easily check up on them, often restricting their allowances to keep them from going astray.
Even Zhao Zhu was no exception.
Though her family ran a successful restaurant and was well-off, her parents strictly limited her allowance until she graduated high school.
That was why she resorted to bullying classmates and extorting money as "protection fees."
Now, faced with such a sum, her eyes gleamed with greed.
With this money, she could buy plenty of stylish outfits for her favorite AU character.
And then, wouldn’t all the guys online be fawning over her, calling her their goddess?
