"Believe it or not, I'll call my brother-in-law right now, and he'll definitely scold you to death!" Jiang Xinran's voice grew louder as she spoke, drawing the attention of surrounding customers who turned their heads to watch the drama.
Shu Qingqing looked up and glanced around, noticing that the security camera in the corner was pointing directly at their table.
She raised her eyes to Jiang Xinran. "Didn't you say you were going to call Lu Bochuan? Go ahead and call him."
Jiang Xinran froze for a moment. "My brother-in-law... he should be busy right now. I... I'll call him later."
"Alright," Shu Qingqing nodded. "If you're not going to call, then I will."
Shu Qingqing dug out another phone from her bag and dialed three digits. "Hello, is this the police station? I want to report a crime. Someone intentionally damaged my property, valued at eighteen thousand yuan. The address is the coffee shop on 6th Street, Huayuan Road."
"Shu Qingqing, are you crazy!" Seeing that she was actually calling the police, Jiang Xinran immediately panicked, grabbed her bag, and tried to leave.
Shu Qingqing instantly pinned her down on the sofa. "Don't run around. I've studied Sanda. If I accidentally hurt you, I'd be very sorry. Besides, if you actually leave, it will be considered fleeing the scene. Legally speaking, that adds to your crime."
Jiang Xinran struggled to run a few times but was held down by Shu Qingqing every time.
Fortunately, the police station was nearby. The officers arrived shortly and took both of them to the station.
The phone was a new one Shu Qingqing had bought for her live-streaming work. She directly pulled up the purchase record. Combined with the cafe's surveillance footage, Jiang Xinran had no way to argue and was directly charged with the crime of intentional damage to property.
Shu Qingqing refused compensation and was unwilling to mediate, so the police had no choice but to detain her according to the law.
However, since only the screen of Shu Qingqing's phone was cracked, Jiang Xinran ended up being detained for just one day.
She originally thought Jiang Xinran would learn her lesson after this incident.
Who knew that the next evening, just as Shu Qingqing was getting ready to start her live stream, Jiang Xinran would come barging in.
"Xiao Yu, this stepmother of yours is so cruel." As soon as Jiang Xinran came in, she ran straight to Lu Yu's side and began to cry and complain. "I just accidentally dropped and broke her phone, and she actually called the police to arrest me. Xiao Yu, you don't know, she deliberately refused my compensation just to have me detained for a day. I stayed in there for a whole day and night, with nothing to eat or drink. I didn't even dare tell your grandmother for fear of worrying her. She just doesn't want us to be close to you. Shu Qingqing, you really have the heart of a snake and a scorpion."
Lu Yu's face instantly darkened.
Shu Qingqing didn't want to listen to her twisting the truth. Just as she was about to pull Lu Yu aside to talk, Jiang Xinran suddenly gave her a hard push.
Shu Qingqing's arm was instantly scratched with several bloody marks by her long manicured nails.
Jiang Xinran secretly rejoiced, feeling she had gotten a bit of revenge. She was about to continue her tearful complaints when Lu Yu yanked her away. "Enough."
Jiang Xinran was stunned. "Xiao Yu, are you talking to me?"
Lu Yu took a deep breath. "Please leave."
Jiang Xinran panicked. "Xiao Yu, how can you talk like that? I'm your aunt, and she is just a stepmother. Besides, you don't know, she's been trying to sow discord between us and even asked me for money. Xiao Yu, you absolutely must not be deceived by her sweet talk."
Lu Yu's expression was cold and stern, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "Get out. Don't make me repeat it a third time."
Jiang Xinran violently shivered.
The Lu Yu in front of her looked even more terrifying than the day he told her to leave the Lu family home.
She didn't dare say anything more and hurried away.
Lu Yu grabbed Shu Qingqing and pulled her toward the door.
"What are you doing?" Shu Qingqing asked.
Lu Yu didn't stop walking. "Going to the hospital."
"That's unnecessary." Shu Qingqing patted his wrist. "Xiao Min knows where the first-aid kit is. Go ask her for it."
Seeing that she really didn't intend to go to the hospital, Lu Yu had no choice but to lower his head and check the wound. Seeing that it wasn't too bad, he didn't insist.
Shu Qingqing returned to the office.
After tending to the wound, she recounted the entire incident from that day.
After finishing, Shu Qingqing twitched the corners of her mouth. "This is just how I am. I can't stand suffering the slightest grievance. If you're really angry, there's nothing I can do about it."
"I'm not angry." Lu Yu shook his head. "You did the right thing."
Shu Qingqing looked up in surprise. "You're really not angry? That's your... aunt." Even though Jiang Xinran was terrible, she was indeed Lu Yu's family.
"I'm really not angry. I didn't handle it well. Don't worry, I won't let her come looking for you again." Lu Yu's tone was very flat, but Shu Qingqing sensed something was off. "Lu Yu, does this aunt of yours actually treat you well?" She had vaguely noticed it on Lu Yu's birthday. When Lu Yu stopped them from entering, part of the reason was probably because he knew Shu Qingqing didn't get along with those two, but another reason might have been that Lu Yu wasn't very close to Jiang Xinran and Sun Xiangmei.
Otherwise, Lu Yu wouldn't have been so silent at the dinner table.
Lu Yu lowered his eyelashes.
Did they treat him well?
No, they didn't.
From the time he could understand things, the expressions his grandmother and aunt showed him most were of disgust. They disliked him for eating too much, for not knowing how to do chores, and for being ignorant and not yielding to his younger cousin.
At the dining table, his younger cousin had milk and eggs for breakfast, while he only had steamed buns and porridge. Only when his grandfather wasn't working and ate at home could he eat the same things as his cousin.
They often called him a burden in private, and once even joked about giving him away to the childless widower next door.
It wasn't until he was seven that a man suddenly came to the house and claimed to be his father.
From then on, his grandmother and aunt's attitude toward him suddenly changed. They would affectionately call him Xiao Yu, give him the same breakfast as his cousin, and buy him nice clothes.
Later he found out that their attitude changed only because he had a rich father.
He couldn't forget how poorly they treated him when he was young, but they were also the relatives who raised him, especially his grandfather, who gave him endless love.
So even if they had many demands today, he would try his best to satisfy them.
But this time, the one they bullied was Shu Qingqing.
He thought he couldn't let them continue like this. His aunt had to apologize.
In the end, Lu Yu didn't say whether they treated him well or not; he only repeated that he would handle the matter.
Shu Qingqing couldn't shake the feeling that Lu Yu's attitude was off.
Even after returning home, she kept thinking about it.
Lu Bochuan, seeing her distracted, called her name softly, "Qingqing?"
Shu Qingqing looked up. "What?"
Seeing her blank expression, Lu Bochuan couldn't help but pinch her cheek. "You just said you had something to discuss with me. Why did you stop talking after sitting down?"
Only then did Shu Qingqing remember that she originally wanted to ask Lu Bochuan about some financial matters, but now she suddenly changed her mind—
"Lu Bochuan, how did you meet Lu Yu's mother?"
