Shu Lingchen went silent again.
For the rest of the day, Shu Shu couldn’t pry a single word out of him. He only promised that he hadn’t been fighting or bullying the weak; beyond that, no matter how she asked, he refused to speak.
This stubborn streak was truly… a bit like that person. When he didn’t want to do something, even the King of Heaven couldn’t make him move.
The boy was definitely hiding something bad from her.
As if trying to dodge Shu Shu, Shu Lingchen vanished the moment school let out. Shu Shu watched his hurried silhouette disappear, lost in thought.
She didn’t leave the school immediately. Instead, she headed straight for the woods behind the teaching building—a frequent haunt for the “delinquent” students.
At that moment, a few boys were huddling there, secretly smoking. Hearing footsteps, they exchanged glances and hurriedly crushed their cigarettes under their feet.
When they realized it was just Shu Shu in her school uniform, one of them exhaled in relief. “Holy crap! I thought it was a surprise raid by the Dean. Scared the life out of me!”
As he got a clear look at Shu Shu’s face, his eyes lit up with admiration. His irritation at having to cut his smoke short vanished, and he asked eagerly, “Looking for someone, little sister?”
Shu Shu replied, “Rude. Call me Auntie.”
The boy, looking at the beautiful girl who was clearly his age, was speechless. Who’s the rude one here?!
Shu Shu scanned the group. She didn’t see Shu Lingchen, but she spotted a familiar face—the boy with the mohawk. One of Shu Lingchen’s “cronies.”
Shu Shu called out to him, “Student Zhao Heping.”
Pineapple Boy dazed for a moment. Everyone usually called him by his nickname; it was rare for anyone to address him so formally by his birth name. He instinctively stood up straighter. “Uh, yeah?”
Shu Shu asked, “Do you know how Shu Lingchen got the injury on his arm?”
Ever since the day Shu Lingchen told everyone that Shu Shu was a fierce fighter, Pineapple Boy had been wary of her. But mostly, he was unconvinced. How strong could she be? At the end of the day, she was just a girl.
“Why should I tell you? Who are you, anyway?” Pineapple Boy acted all high and mighty again.
Shu Shu was already fuming because of that little idiot Shu Lingchen, and her patience was wearing thin. She casually picked up a stray brick from the ground and snapped it in half with her bare hands.
With her bare hands. She snapped it. Clean.
“HOLY CRAP!!!” The boys watched, mouths agape.
Pineapple Boy swallowed hard and folded instantly. “B-Brother Chen’s injury happened while he was collecting debts!” Ugh, sorry Brother Chen.
“Debt collecting?” Shu Shu frowned. “Someone owes him money?”
“No, it’s because Brother Chen is short on cash. He found a part-time gig. He helps Brother Qiang collect debts for a commission.”
Shu Shu caught the keyword “short on cash.” She was stunned. “Shu Lingchen… is short on cash?”
How was that possible?
When Shu Lingchen was born, she had set up an insurance trust fund for him. Just in case she wasn’t around, Shu Lingchen was guaranteed a monthly allowance of 50,000 yuan. Even if he didn’t go to school or get a job, he could live as a carefree, pampered “slacker.”
Shu Shu pulled out her phone to check. The fund was operating normally, and the monthly earnings had been disbursed regularly for the past thirteen years. Shu Lingchen’s rental apartment was very modest, and his daily spending was mostly limited to school; he didn’t seem to have any extravagant habits.
Then where did all his money go???
“Hey, look at the school forum! The eldest Miss Chu is showing off a new bag again!” one of the boys shouted, scrolling excitedly through his phone.
“I heard that last Saturday, Chu Lian brought people to her place in Yujing Garden and got kicked out. People were saying the house wasn’t hers and she isn’t actually a rich miss!”
“Didn’t she clear that up quickly? She said it was a mistake by her CEO father’s assistant—they mixed up the deeds and accidentally sold one of the family’s properties to someone else.”
“Chu Lian is definitely a rich miss. Look at this bag, it’s over 10,000 yuan! And her clothes, shoes, jewelry… every piece is a luxury brand. If she weren’t a rich miss, how could she afford it?”
Shu Shu’s brow furrowed. She opened the school forum and found a trending post with a screenshot of a Chanel bag order shared by Chu Lian. The caption read: “A peace offering from my father. I’ll have to suffer through staying in a five-star hotel suite for a while~”
The Chu mother and daughter couldn’t even afford a 48,000 yuan management fee; there was no way they had spare cash for luxury goods.
Shu Shu let out a cold huff. She thought she knew where that little idiot’s money had gone. It made sense—he gave them the house, so why wouldn’t he give them the cash too?
Shu Shu looked at Pineapple Boy and asked, “Where is Shu Lingchen collecting debts right now?”
Pineapple Boy stammered, “Why do you want to know…?”
Shu Shu narrowed her eyes. “I’m going there.”
In a small alleyway, sounds of pain rang out.
“No, I really don’t have the money…” A man, bruised and swollen, was cornered by several thugs. He pressed his hands together, begging incessantly. “Can you give me one more week? Just one week. I’ll definitely pay it back next week!”
Shu Lingchen, wearing a black baseball cap that cast a shadow over his sharp, rebellious features, reached out and grabbed the man’s hair, forcing his face up. “No money? You seemed to have plenty of cash to sing with girls at the KTV just now.”
“I…”
“Brother Qiang said if you don’t pay up, this hand—”
“Shu Lingchen.”
Before he could finish, he heard someone call his name. His back stiffened, and he turned around slowly. At the mouth of the alley, Shu Shu stood there, expressionless.
Three words flashed through Shu Lingchen’s mind: I. Am. Dead.
Half an hour later. Yujing Garden F1600.
Shu Lingchen stood like a shivering quail in the middle of the living room, where the atmospheric pressure was dangerously low.
On the opposite sofa, Shu Shu sat with her arms crossed, looking at him coldly. “How long have you been doing debt collection?”
Shu Lingchen whispered, “…Since yesterday.”
“Give me your phone.”
Shu Lingchen didn’t dare disobey. He obediently handed over his phone. Shu Shu took it and checked his transaction history immediately.
It was exactly as she expected. Most of Shu Lingchen’s 50,000 monthly allowance had been transferred to the same person—Chu Lian.
“Achen, look at this crystal hairpin, isn’t it pretty?”
Shu Lingchen transferred: 666.
“Achen, these shoes are so cute, I love them~”
Shu Lingchen transferred: 1,688.
“Achen, this white dress is so beautiful. I saw it in a window on my way home, but it’s too expensive, I can’t afford it.”
Shu Lingchen transferred: 6,666.
Every month, the moment the 50,000 hit his account, Chu Lian would use various excuses to “ask” for money. From small accessories to clothes, and finally to expensive bags, her “appetite” had grown bigger and bigger.
Shu Shu scoffed. This little idiot gave away his house and his money. She lived like a princess, and he lived like a beggar.
Shu Shu glanced at his most recent transactions. After leaving Yujing Garden on Saturday, he had sent Chu Lian 400 yuan. The memo read: Daily necessities.
“Why are you paying for her daily necessities?”
Shu Lingchen muttered, “Auntie Chu and Chuchu moved out that day, right? Their old bedsheets and stuff were too old to use. Auntie Chu is in poor health and can’t work, so they have no income…”
Poor health? Shu Shu recalled the Chu Mother she saw arguing with Liu Tong—she sounded like she had enough energy to fight for three hundred rounds. How was that “poor health”?
“She has no income? Then how did Chu Lian pay for school?”
Shu Lingchen was silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve been paying for Chuchu’s tuition all along.”
Shu Shu was so angry she actually laughed. It turned out her insurance fund hadn’t just been raising Shu Lingchen all these years; it had been supporting the entire Chu family!
Sansukini: What gets me confused is that, Chu Lian knows that Shu Lingchen is rich and generous, plus really gullible and loyal. Why is she even targeting other rich dudes? Her rich daughter persona’s purpose is to find a rich husband.