Shu Shu discovered that after Shu Lingchen transferred the 400 to Chu Lian, there were only twenty-eight cents left in his balance.
And after Chu Lian received the money, she was still complaining that the bed board was moldy, saying she had broken out in rashes and wanted to change the bed. She said she couldn’t endure it for even a single day.
Shu Lingchen replied that he would think of a way.
But he had no money left.
So, in order to earn money, he chose to work collecting debts.
Shu Lingchen’s most recent transaction was yesterday evening, when he transferred seven hundred to Chu Lian.
Note: Buy a bed.
This was the commission he received after collecting debts. He kept not a single cent and transferred it all out.
Debt collection, to put it plainly, was a group of people illegally lending money at high interest and using violence to force repayment.
And among those who ran to borrow loan-shark money, how many were decent people? Most of them were gamblers who didn’t care about their lives. How could they obediently repay their debts? In order to avoid paying, they would certainly fight desperately against those collecting the money.
Shu Lingchen’s injuries were probably obtained that way. This time it was bruises; next time, it might very well be knife wounds.
Shu Shu remembered the dream she had before she “died.”
In the dream, Shu Lingchen would go down the wrong path and eventually end up in prison.
Could this debt collection job be the beginning of that wrong path? And it was actually because of Chu Lian?
Shu Shu kept taking deep breaths.
In her heart she repeated, He’s my biological son. My biological son.
She was now seriously suspecting that Shu Lingchen had once been fed some kind of intelligence-lowering drug.
Otherwise why would the Chu mother and daughter cling to him and drain him dry while he remained completely unaware?
Maybe she should take him to the hospital someday for an IQ test?
Shu Shu thought expressionlessly. Beside her, Shu Lingchen cautiously glanced at his mother’s expression. Suddenly, when Shu Shu raised her hand, he shut his eyes in fright.
The anticipated slap full of motherly love did not come.
“Stretch out your hand.”
Shu Lingchen opened his eyes.
Shu Shu was holding a bottle of medicinal oil, looking at him coldly.
“…Oh.”
Shu Lingchen rolled up his sleeve himself and obediently extended his hand.
Shu Shu poured some medicinal oil into her palm, warmed it slightly, and then rubbed it onto the bruised area of Shu Lingchen’s arm.
Shu Lingchen froze.
Looking at his mother lowering her eyes as she applied the oil for him, he remembered when he was little and accidentally bruised his knee while playing. His mother had applied medicine for him just like this.
Shu Shu had never hired nannies or caregivers. When it came to Shu Lingchen, she handled everything personally. Being a mother for the first time, there were many things she didn’t understand, but she would rather slowly learn and figure things out than hand Shu Lingchen over to someone else because it was troublesome.
At this moment, Shu Lingchen felt as if he had returned to childhood. Just as his nose was about to sting with emotion—
Shu Shu pressed her palm harder.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
Shu Lingchen gasped in pain.
“If it hurts, then remember this. You’re not allowed to do that debt-collecting job anymore.”
Shu Shu said, “The new house is ready. Cancel the rental house and move back to live with me.”
“I’m warning you, don’t even think about letting the Chu mother and daughter move in too. Otherwise I’ll declare that you’ve lost me as your mother.”
“Shu Lingchen, I mean what I say.”
Shu Shu was truly angry.
Shu Lingchen quickly nodded.
The next day after school.
When Shu Lingchen arrived at the rented room, it took him less than ten minutes to pack everything.
Shu Shu noticed that his luggage was pitifully little.
Just a backpack, a pair of worn sneakers with frayed surfaces on his feet, two school uniforms, three black T-shirts, and three ripped pants. Other than that, he didn’t even have a thick coat.
Shu Shu didn’t feel that Shu Lingchen was pitiful.
This was what a little idiot deserved.
Who told him to give all his money to the Chu mother and daughter and live like a little beggar himself?
Shu Lingchen returned the room smoothly and handed the key back to the landlord that very day.
But when he wanted to “resign” from the debt-collecting side job, things did not go smoothly.
…
The neon lights of the roadside bar flashed with colorful brilliance.
Before pushing the door open, Shu Lingchen turned around and still didn’t agree with Shu Shu accompanying him.
“Mom, how about you go back first? I’ll just go talk to Brother Qiang myself.”
Shu Shu said, “With your IQ, I’m afraid you’ll end up trapped in there.”
Shu Lingchen immediately protested aggrievedly, “Do I really look that stupid?”
“Not stupid. Mentally deficient.”
“…”
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go.”
So—
Shu Lingchen had no choice but to push the door open.
The deafening sound of the DJ blasted out. The dance floor was filled with swaying figures everywhere.
Someone with tattooed arms led the two of them to Brother Qiang.
Inside the booth.
A bald, fat man with a thick gold chain around his neck, a dragon tattoo on his chest, and a cigar in his hand sat in the center of the sofa.
Shu Lingchen stepped forward, his expression somewhat unnatural.
“Brother Qiang, I’m here to resign.”
The man called Brother Qiang took a puff of his cigar before glancing over, snorting impatiently. “What do you think this is, a marketplace? You come when you want and leave when you want? The day you joined, I asked you clearly. You said you were sure, so I agreed to let you join. Now you’re treating me like an idiot?”
Shu Lingchen pressed his lips together. “Sorry, Brother Qiang.”
Brother Qiang looked Shu Lingchen up and down and said casually, “You can leave, but you follow my rules. Roll the dice. If you win, you leave. If you lose, one of your fingers stays.”
As soon as he finished speaking, one of his men directly handed over a fruit knife. There was still blood on the blade.
Shu Lingchen’s face stiffened.
After all, he was still a student who had never truly left campus. He had never seen the vicious behavior of these idle thugs in society, and he had never even played dice before.
“What? Scared? If you’re scared, then get lost and continue collecting debts for me tomorrow!”
“I…”
“I’ll roll the dice for him—”
A clear, sweet female voice sounded.
Everyone looked up.
Shu Shu stood outside the booth and said, “I’ll roll the dice for him.”
Seeing that it was a beautiful young girl, everyone was stunned.
Brother Qiang frowned. “Who are you? Do I look that easy to talk to? You say you’ll replace him and that’s it?”
Shu Shu curled her lips slightly. “Who I am isn’t important. Brother Qiang, right? How about we make a bet? I’ll roll the dice for him. If I win, I take him away. If you win, his finger stays, and I’ll additionally give you two hundred thousand.”
As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked.
How much?
Two hundred thousand???
Brother Qiang stared suspiciously at Shu Shu. This girl looked like a student, and her appearance and temperament were quite striking, but he didn’t believe a student could take out two hundred thousand. “You messing with me?”
Shu Shu directly opened her phone and tapped on the balance of one of several accounts.
Then she held the screen out.
One of the men leaned over to look and counted the digits aloud. “Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million… Holy crap! Millions!”
There were more than two million in total!
What student had that much spare money sitting in their account?!
“I can first pay you ten thousand as a deposit to prove the money in this account is real.”
“Ding.”
One minute later, Brother Qiang looked at the notification on his phone showing a ten-thousand payment received and laughed. Only an idiot would refuse money. He agreed.
“Fine, you replace him. But—” Brother Qiang narrowed his eyes. “You’re rolling dice against me.”
As soon as the words fell, all the underlings exchanged glances.
Brother Qiang was going to personally step in. It seemed that today neither the two hundred thousand nor the boy’s finger would be leaving.
Sensing that the atmosphere was wrong.
Shu Lingchen gritted his teeth and whispered to Shu Shu, “Mom, let’s run. I’ll count to three—”
But Shu Shu directly agreed to Brother Qiang’s proposal. “Deal.”
The drinks and fruit plates on the coffee table were moved away, and two sets of dice were placed on it.
Brother Qiang and Shu Shu each had one set.
The rules were simple: there were six dice in the cup. Whoever had the larger total points would win. Best two out of three.
“Start.”
First round.
Brother Qiang rolled three sixes and three fives, a total of thirty-three points.
“Brother Qiang is awesome!” the underlings cheered.
Shu Shu lifted the lid. One four, three threes, and two ones—fourteen points.
She lost.
“Pfft.”
Seeing this, Brother Qiang grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. The girl’s roll clearly showed she was a rookie, while he had techniques for rolling dice. No one in this area was his opponent.
“Little girl, you made this bet yourself. You can’t say I bullied you later.”
Shu Shu raised an eyebrow. “I won’t. Best two out of three. Continue.”