At that time, Shu Lingchen was in the fourth grade of elementary school.
There were several bad students at school who bullied him, mocking him for not only having no father but also causing his mother’s death. They said he was born an ominous star and that anyone who got close to him would become unlucky.
They threw his schoolbag into a ditch and tore all his textbooks apart.
Shu Lingchen was beaten until he curled up on the ground, tightly covering his ears, trying to block out those needle-like words.
In a daze, he remembered that when he was in kindergarten, people had bullied him like this too, and his mother had fiercely driven them away.
But now, no one would protect him like that anymore…
Just then,
a childish girl’s voice descended from above.
It was Chu Lian.
Chu Lian was a model student in the teacher’s eyes, a favorite. Those bad students were afraid she would tell the teacher, so once she warned them, they all ran away in panic.
“A-Chen, are you okay?”
She gently helped Shu Lingchen up from the ground.
Shu Lingchen opened his eyes in a daze, and the first thing he saw was the girl’s delicate and fair little face.
She looked at him with worry and concern.
Sunlight shone directly from behind her, covering her with a warm golden glow. At that moment, it shone brightly into Shu Lingchen’s dark world.
Chu Lian used wet tissues to carefully wipe the dirty water off his schoolbag, then helped him tape the torn textbooks page by page with transparent tape.
“It’s a little ugly, A-Chen. I really tried my best.”
She stuck out her tongue and apologized.
Shu Lingchen shook his head, holding the textbooks with both hands as if they were precious treasures.
“No, they’re fixed very well. Even better than new books. Chu Chu, thank you.”
Then she smiled at him.
“Silly A-Chen, in the future you also have to learn to become strong. What if one day someone bullies me?”
Shu Lingchen promised firmly, “Chu Chu, don’t worry. I will definitely become strong. From now on, I’ll be the one protecting Chu Chu!”
“Okay.”
…
“Aunt Chu and Chu Chu kept accompanying me and taking care of me. Once I had a high fever in the middle of the night, and Aunt Chu carried me to the hospital. It rained very heavily that day.”
“After my fever got better, Aunt Chu developed a chronic illness because of that rainstorm. Her body became weak, and whenever she did heavy work it would relapse. She needs a special medicine to maintain enough strength for daily life.”
Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu and tightened his grip on the spoon.
“…Mom, Aunt Chu and the others have really been very good to me.”
Shu Shu did not speak for a moment.
How should she put it?
At first glance, it sounded like a very touching redemption story.
Shu Shu finally understood why Shu Lingchen viewed the Chu mother and daughter through such a thick filter of kindness.
But the Chu mother and daughter described by Shu Lingchen were completely different from the ones she had personally seen.
If they were really that good,
why would they let Shu Lingchen rent a place outside while they themselves lived in a luxury house?
Why would they try every possible way to squeeze every bit of Shu Lingchen’s monthly living expenses, watching him live in such “poverty”?
These were definitely not things kind people would do.
Something wasn’t right. There had to be something wrong.
“Mom?”
Seeing Shu Shu lost in thought, Shu Lingchen asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Shu Shu rested her chin on her hand.
“I’m thinking, since Chu Lian treats you so well, why do you two seem unfamiliar at school? Hardly anyone even knows you know each other privately. And when others call you a toad wanting to eat swan meat, she doesn’t defend you.”
“I was the one who asked Chu Chu to pretend not to know me.” Shu Lingchen gave a self-mocking smile. “My grades are bad, and I’m a delinquent. Walking with Chu Chu would ruin her reputation as a model student. Liking Chu Chu and treating her well is something I do on my own.”
“So that means she doesn’t like you?”
“Chu Chu is an excellent girl. She said she only wants to focus on studying right now and will only consider relationships after graduation.”
Shu Shu chuckled.
“If she only wants to study, why is she spending your money?”
She neither clearly says she likes him nor clearly rejects him. She avoids the topic while calmly spending Shu Lingchen’s money and living in his luxury house.
But Shu Lingchen argued, “I’m the one who wants to spend money on Chu Chu. Chu Chu has never asked me for money. She’s not a materialistic girl!”
Shu Shu: “…”
Chu Lian practically has her hand inside your pocket already.
Shu Lingchen said firmly, “I’ll wait. When Chu Chu graduates, I’ll officially confess to her!”
“Wow.” Shu Shu raised a thumbs-up expressionlessly. “Saying such impressive love words at such a young age. My son is quite the romantic.”
A complete idiot.
An idiot brainwashed into being an idiot.
Looking at her son’s innocent and hopeful face, Shu Shu felt as if she were looking at a piglet. She vaguely felt that Shu Lingchen might have been slaughtered by a thirteen-year scam run by the Chu mother and daughter.
“It’s getting late. Go to sleep early. You still have school tomorrow.”
Shu Shu stood up, put the two empty bowls into the dishwasher, and returned to her room.
She didn’t lie down immediately. Instead, she opened her phone and began fiddling with it.
Less than thirty seconds later, a new message arrived.
“Dear Black Gold user, are you sure you want to adjust the trend of this insurance fund to a 99.99% loss rate?”
Shu Shu did not hesitate.
“Confirm.”
The other side quickly replied.
“Understood. The operation has been completed. The expected profit of this insurance fund next month: 200 yuan.”
Shu Shu twirled the phone between her fingers and leaned against the soft pillow.
It was time for her, as the mother, to personally teach her little foolish son a lesson.
The name of this lesson was:
Without material support, love is nothing but loose sand.
Shu Shu glanced at the calendar.
Today happened to be the last day of the month.
She curled her lips slightly, put down her phone, adjusted the lights to sleep mode, wrapped herself in the blanket, and closed her eyes to sleep.
The next day.
For the entire morning,
Shu Lingchen held his phone during every break—clicking, refreshing, reopening—with a look of disbelief.
Shu Shu pretended not to notice.
Until noon, when the bell rang and everyone went to the cafeteria.
Shu Lingchen still sat in his seat without moving.
Boluozai called him to eat together, but he waved his hand and said he wasn’t hungry, so Boluozai had no choice but to leave with the other followers.
Shu Shu stood nearby and watched.
“You only ate a sandwich this morning. How could you not be hungry now?”
Hearing this, Shu Lingchen looked up and first glanced around the classroom. After confirming no one was there, he spoke with a miserable face.
“Mom, I’m bankrupt. The insurance fund lost everything. I only have 200 yuan for next month’s living expenses!”
Shu Lingchen had only 0.28 yuan left in his balance. Originally he planned to last until tomorrow when the new month’s fifty-thousand-yuan allowance would arrive, but early in the morning he received the loss notification.
He was completely stunned.
“Is it the fund I bought for you a long time ago?” Shu Shu walked over to look at his phone and pretended to be surprised. “Oh my, it really is. It’s greener than the Hulk.”
Shu Lingchen wanted to cry but had no tears.
“Mom… I’m going to have to live on nothing but the wind.”