In City B, Liang Zhou, having just finished a day of closed-set filming, took his phone from his manager. As soon as he turned it on, he received this text message. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over the word "gift" repeatedly, then decisively chose to delete the message.
After deleting it, he noticed there was another unread message. Opening it with slight annoyance, his irritation subsided somewhat upon seeing who the sender was. He paused, then brought the phone a little closer.
He quickly skimmed the preceding content, his gaze lingering on the final line, "Is there anything you like?" His mood improved in a strangely satisfying way. Exiting the messages, he found Ling Chun's number, dialed, and before the person on the other end could speak, coolly stated, "Who said I don't?" He then hung up, pulled up Yu Shulin's text message again, and fell into deep thought.
His manager, Mu Qiu, leaned over curiously and asked, "What's wrong?" Why was he just staring at his phone?
Liang Zhou frowned slightly, fiddled with the phone's buttons, turned his head to look at Mu Qiu, and asked seriously, "What do I like?"
Mu Qiu's expression turned peculiar, his feelings complex, unsure how to answer this question. If this were 2015, he would have sincerely grasped Liang Zhou's hands and asked with deep emotion, "Boss, why give up on treatment?"
In City W, Ling Chun held his phone, looked at the two-second call record, and raised an eyebrow. "What's his problem this time?"
Yu Shulin received Liang Zhou's reply two days later. It was just a short sentence: "I like everything."
He glanced at the exquisite box lying in his backpack, pondered for a long while, and replied, "I understand."
No matter how uncooperative Yu Xiu was, the matter of the guardianship was gradually being settled.
After that day, Yu Xiu couldn't reach Yu Shulin at all. Calls went unanswered, and no one was home. Not long after, news even spread that Yu Shulin was planning to sell the house. Yu Xiu finally panicked, but Ling Chun was too slippery; he couldn't find out Yu Shulin's whereabouts no matter how hard he tried.
Later, he attempted to contact Yu Shulin through his homeroom teacher, Hu Jun. But the moment he finished introducing himself over the phone, Hu Jun angrily hung up on him. It was utterly baffling.
The matter of helping Zhou Mei with her transfer had reached a critical juncture, a time when money was desperately needed. If this attempt failed, who knew if there would be another chance? Yu Bo was about to start middle school, and after the semester began, there would be another large wave of expenses. And for himself, he had finally managed to loosen up a few higher-ups with red envelopes not long ago. If he couldn't follow through now, wouldn't all that money have been wasted? Most importantly, that Lawyer Zhou, who had been bragging so boastfully before, suddenly switched sides and started helping that Lawyer Ling screw him over.
In short, nothing was going smoothly.
Yu Xiu was overwhelmed with anxiety and utterly infuriated with Yu Shulin for suddenly changing his mind and not choosing him as guardian. That kid had previously acted so obedient and dependent on him, only to suddenly back out right before signing. What deep scheming! He had played Yu Xiu for a fool! Just like his seductive mother, no good at all, damn it!
In his anxiety, he simply took a few days off work to focus on tailing Ling Chun. Heaven rewards the diligent, and on the morning of the third day, he finally managed to corner Yu Shulin at the hotel entrance.
Yu Shulin had been living quite leisurely these days. As a half-grown pseudo-child, Ling Chun hadn't let him get involved in the follow-up guardianship matters at all. Now that Lawyer Zhou had been persuaded, Yu Xiu's downfall was only a matter of time. The follow-up personnel sent by Liang Zhou had also arrived. Considering various factors, Ling Chun and He Long had set their departure time for tomorrow morning. Thinking he probably wouldn't be back for a long time, Yu Shulin decided to go out and buy some local specialties to take to City B for Liang Zhou to try. But just as he stepped out of the hotel, Yu Xiu blocked his way.
The good mood he had managed to cultivate over the past few days was utterly ruined. His face hardened as he stood his ground, not even looking at Yu Xiu, and said coldly, "What are you doing here? I have nothing to say to you."
Yu Xiu was met with a soft rebuff right from the start, his face darkening. Still, he tried to be patient. "Shulin, your uncle is worried you've been deceived by Ling Chun's smooth talk. Your father passed away long ago. How could a suddenly appearing brother treat you well? Be good, come back with your uncle. Your mother was my own sister; I will definitely take good care of you. I'll fight to get the guardianship back, don't worry."
"Take good care of me?" Yu Shulin couldn't be bothered to keep up the act any longer. He looked at Yu Xiu with full-blown mockery, stretched out his hand, and said, "Alright then. First, give me my mother's accident compensation money. Then we can discuss whether or not you'll take good care of me."
"This... that money, I put it in a fixed deposit for you. It can't be withdrawn for a while," Yu Xiu said evasively, his eyes darting. After mumbling this, he reached out to grab Yu Shulin, trying to pull him away. "Let's go home first. When we get home, I'll explain the details to you."
"Let go!" Yu Shulin shook off his hand. Past the point of disgust, only calm remained. "A fixed deposit? Then show me the passbook. Thirty-one thousand from the at-fault party and the beauty salon, plus two hundred thousand from the rescued person, a total of five hundred and ten thousand. I want to see the passbook."
Their argument at the hotel entrance, voices not low, gradually attracted the attention of passersby. Yu Xiu, who cared deeply about face, quickly tugged at Yu Shulin upon noticing and lowered his voice. "Shulin, keep your voice down. The passbook is at home. Come with me, and I'll show it to you."
Yu Shulin deliberately went against his wishes. Staring at his face, he felt only immense satisfaction, holding onto a surge of anger to vent all the grievances he had suffered in his past life, to let everyone know Yu Xiu's despicable true nature.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" He raised his voice, enunciating each word clearly. "When my mother was alive, you didn't visit for years. Every time you came to our door, it was because you needed something from her. Now that she's gone, you suddenly pop up, putting on the act of a caring uncle, scheming for the little she left me. Don't you have a conscience! Dare you say your car wasn't bought with my mother's compensation money? You're just a low-level clerk. You used to live frugally. Now, not long after my mother's death, you're wearing brand names and driving a car. Tell me, where did you get the money! Yu Xiu, you have the nerve to say you'll take good care of me. Hypocrite!"
The voice of a boy not yet past puberty was clear and penetrating. This speech allowed the onlookers to hear everything clearly. Hearing this, the crowd's eyes fell on Yu Xiu's attire. Looking closely, it was indeed all name-brand and appeared quite new.
Yu Xiu felt extremely uncomfortable under their scrutiny, genuinely regretting wearing these new clothes here, and furious at Yu Shulin's unreasonable behavior.
"Shulin, you've been deceived. How could your uncle be that kind of person?" Yu Xiu said with a frown, reaching out again to grab Yu Shulin. He turned to the onlookers with a smile and explained gently, "The child just suffered a shock and has been brainwashed by his father's relatives. He's just talking nonsense."
"Stay away from me." Yu Shulin was practically moved by his shamelessness. With a cold expression, he reached out toward him. "You say you're not that kind of person? Then where's the accident compensation money? Hand it over. If you don't have the bankbook on you, I can wait. Call your wife and have her bring it."
The money was already spent; how could anything be brought? Yu Xiu's expression was extremely ugly. The stares from the people around him made him deeply uncomfortable, and his patience was gradually wearing thin. "Shulin, stop this nonsense! You say I schemed for your things, but aside from the accident compensation you mentioned, what else have I schemed for? I told you that money was put into a fixed-term deposit, and it was. Come home with me, and I'll show you the bankbook."
"So you finally admit you used my mother's accident compensation?" Yu Shulin withdrew his hand and sneered, pulling out his phone and shaking it. "You said it's a fixed-term deposit, right? Fine. Which bank? I'll call them right now and ask."
Yu Xiu was speechless, his expression twisting slightly for a moment.
