Seeing Yu Xiu fall silent, the onlookers understood the situation somewhat and began pointing at him, whispering among themselves.
Yu Xiu glanced around at the people surrounding him, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Yu Shulin took a step forward, looking at him with eyes full of malice. "Let's do the math carefully," he said. "It hasn't even been a month since my mother passed away. Don't your hands burn when you spend that compensation money?"
Yu Xiu's hands trembled slightly, an inexplicable chill running down his spine.
"Ah, right," Yu Shulin continued, moving closer until he was right in front of Yu Xiu, his voice lowering, his eyes still filled with ill intent. "You said that side of my family fought for my guardianship just for the money, right? Let me kindly inform you, all that money is now in my own hands. After they got guardianship, they didn't take a single cent—unlike someone who used the excuse of handling my mother's funeral arrangements to pocket all the valuables from my home." He leaned in even closer. "Finally, pass a message to Auntie Zhou Mei for me: wearing my mother's stolen jewelry, isn't she afraid my mother will come to her in the middle of the night to ask for it back?"
When he had been packing up his mother's jewelry box, he couldn't find her favorite pair of diamond earrings anywhere. He didn't need to think hard about who must have taken them. A cold laugh echoed in his heart. In his past life, living under Yu Xiu's roof, he had seen Zhou Mei wearing those very earrings. He had hinted at it back then, but Zhou Mei had stubbornly denied it. He had been soft-hearted, unwilling to embarrass a relative, and never brought it up again.
His phone vibrated suddenly in his pocket. He paused, took a few steps back, not giving Yu Xiu a chance to defend himself, and said coldly, "Yu Xiu, just wait for the court summons." With that, he turned and left the hotel without a backward glance.
The whispers around them grew louder. Yu Xiu's face turned pale as he fled in disgrace.
Once away from the noisy hotel entrance, Yu Shulin hailed a taxi, got in, gave the address, took a moment to calm his breathing, then pulled out his phone to call Ling Chun back.
"Yu Xiu showed up just now."
"I know," Ling Chun's lazy voice came through, sounding in good spirits. "You go enjoy yourself. He Long and I will handle the rest."
He hung up, turned to look at the tall buildings flashing past the window, and a slight smile touched his lips—Yu Xiu, you brought this on yourself this time. Once the news about the "heartless uncle scheming to seize his orphaned nephew's property" hits the papers, I wonder what kind of spectacular expression Yu Xiu will have.
Ling Chun put away his phone, raised an eyebrow at He Long, and said, "He might look like a rabbit, but he's a black-hearted one that bites. Dangerous."
"He's not going to bite you," He Long retorted, standing up briskly. "I'm going to check out of the hotel. Let's move to a different one. You arrange the rest."
"So not cute," Ling Chun rolled his eyes.
The next day, the news article "Yu Harasses Orphaned Nephew, Aims to Seize Late Sister's Estate" was published. The report was earnest in tone and clear in its accompanying images. The journalist briefly outlined the cause of Mrs. Yu's death, heavily emphasized how "orphaned" the nephew truly was, then detailed how Yu had deceived his nephew and spent the accident compensation money meant for his sister. Several interviews with people "in the know" were included, painting a comprehensive and stark picture of Yu's despicable, inhuman behavior. Readers were outraged, slamming tables, cursing him as a "beast," and lamenting how "one can never judge a person by their appearance."
Once this report came out, anyone with even a little knowledge of the situation could guess who "Yu" referred to. Shortly after, Lawyer Zhou suddenly stepped forward and gave a media interview, meticulously describing how Yu Xiu had deceived Yu Shulin to get his hands on the compensation money. Public opinion was in an uproar.
At the same time, a court summons arrived at Yu Xiu's workplace.
Yu Xiu's life was thrown into complete chaos.
Meanwhile, Yu Shulin felt no sense of triumphant satisfaction after his revenge. He was slumped listlessly in his seat, suffering from intense airsickness. Forgive his provincial lack of experience—he'd never had the chance to fly before. Now, experiencing it for the first time, it was truly... an unforgettable, soul-stirring ordeal.
He Long frowned, looking genuinely worried. Ling Chun, however, "gently" patted his back and comforted him, "Airsickness is no big deal. Just fly more often in the future. You'll get used to it... by getting sick over and over."
"You should just close your eyes and try to sleep," He Long suggested, brushing away Ling Chun's devilish claws.
Yu Shulin nodded and closed his eyes.
Takeoff was the worst. Now that the flight had stabilized, he felt a bit better. If he just endured it, it wasn't completely unbearable. Thinking of the exquisite box in his backpack, his expression softened slightly.
I wonder if... um, Mr. Liang... will like the gift I picked out.
He drifted in and out of a groggy state all the way to B City, then muddled his way into a black car waiting at the airport exit. Two hours later, the group arrived at a tranquil villa district.
Ling Chun took his luggage and went home. It was only then that Yu Shulin learned Ling Chun and Liang Zhou were childhood friends who had grown up together, their families living very close by.
He followed behind He Long, keeping his eyes downcast as they walked along the quiet path, eventually stopping in front of a certain villa.
The villa was large, three stories, with a big garden filled with many flowers, clearly well-tended... Remembering the lies Yu Xiu had spread to smear Liang Zhou, he found it all laughable—was the property his mother left behind even enough to buy half of this villa?
The door was opened by an uncle around fifty or sixty years old, with ordinary features and a serious expression. Upon seeing Yu Shulin, he didn't say much, just gave a silent nod.
He Long called out "Dad." Yu Shulin was momentarily startled, then quickly greeted the old man politely, "Hello, Uncle He. I'm Yu Shulin."
Uncle He looked him up and down, then stepped aside. His tone was neither warm nor cold. "Come in, Young Master Yu. You must be tired from the journey."
Feeling somewhat apprehensive, Yu Shulin hurriedly followed He Long, who was carrying the luggage, inside.
"The boss isn't here; he won't be back until evening. Don't be nervous," He Long said quietly. After a moment's thought, he added, "My dad has a rather cool personality. He doesn't talk much. It's not that he's unwelcoming, so don't overthink it."
Yu Shulin glanced at Uncle He leading the way and nodded.
It was just lunchtime. Uncle He led them directly to the dining room. After introducing Aunt Liu, who was responsible for cooking, to Yu Shulin, he turned and left, presumably to attend to other matters.
"Young Master Yu, please sit, don't be too formal. Your Uncle He is just like that, a man of few words. Don't be afraid," said Aunt Liu. She was short and plump, with a very kind smile. "I didn't know what you like to eat, so I just made some of my specialties. Give them a try."
Yu Shulin gave her a polite smile. After He Long sat down, he followed suit, picked up his chopsticks, and tried a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. "It's delicious. Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Liu."
"I'm glad you like it. Eat slowly. I'll go attend to other things." Seeing that he was clean-cut, had a nice smile, and was so polite, Aunt Liu felt considerably more at ease. Beaming, she returned to the kitchen to continue simmering the soup.
"Aunt Liu likes you a lot," He Long said abruptly, holding his rice bowl.
