The memory was etched into Shu Lingchen’s mind—
Back when he was in kindergarten, there was a chubby kid who targeted him every day, leading the others in mocking him for being a “wild child without a father.” The kid’s parents did nothing to discipline him; instead, they joined in with their own snide, sarcastic remarks.
When Shu Shu found out, she didn’t say a word. She stormed straight to the kindergarten.
First, she slapped the father twenty times in a frenzy. Then, she ripped out half of the mother’s hair and scratched her face. Finally, she stripped the brat down to his underwear and made him stand at the school gate as a punishment.
Seven or eight teachers couldn’t even hold her back.
The scene had been magnificent.
In the end, a completely unscathed Shu Shu picked him up, dominantly tossed a bank card onto the ground as “medical expenses,” and sneered:
“If you won’t discipline your child, I’ll do it for you. If I ever hear about anyone bullying my son again, I’ll end them!”
The very next day, the chubby kid transferred schools.
*
Hearing Shu Lingchen’s words now, the underlings found it impossible to connect the phrase “incredibly good at fighting” with the transfer student’s beautiful, harmless face.
But Brother Chen never lied.
“Brother Chen, does that mean you left the party yesterday specifically to go fight the transfer student? And you… lost?”
Shu Lingchen: “…”
He wanted to say that if they had witnessed the Great Kindergarten War with their own eyes, they would never doubt him.
However, if he accidentally exposed the fact that Shu Shu was his biological mother…
Rebirth was already unbelievable; being reborn into the future was even more absurd. Shu Shu would probably be taken away as a test subject or treated like a ghost.
So, Shu Lingchen remained silent for a moment before biting the bullet and admitting: “…Yeah.”
The underlings were stunned.
Even Brother Chen lost and admitted defeat—just how badass was this transfer student?!
It looked like they’d have to take the long way around whenever they saw her in class from now on.
Just as they were thinking this, one of the underlings saw a notification on his phone. He opened it and looked up. “Brother Chen, the school belle Chu Lian is inviting classmates to her house in Yujing Garden again this weekend!”
Last night, after Chu Lian posted that selfie with the Moutai, the comment section exploded.
Students from all grades were flooding the thread, raving about how wealthy her family was and begging to see the entire “Moutai Wall” with their own eyes.
Chu Lian had agreed.
However, claiming she didn’t want to disturb the neighbors, she only invited seven or eight classmates to visit this weekend.
Pineapple Boy asked excitedly, “Brother Chen, are you going to try for a spot? I heard Yujing Garden is super luxurious.”
Shu Lingchen shook his head. “Not interested. I don’t want to go.”
It was his own house. He’d lived there for over a decade; he was sick of looking at it. What was there to see?
But Pineapple Boy gave him a “know-it-all” look and winked.
“Brother Chen, why put on an act in front of your brothers? It’s not that you don’t want to go, it’s that you can’t go, right?”
Shu Lingchen sneered. “I can’t be bothered to explain it to you.”
In the eyes of his underlings, this reaction was the textbook definition of being stubborn.
Ah, well.
They decided not to expose him. They had to save some face for Brother Chen.
*
In just one day, the news of Chu Lian inviting classmates over had spread throughout the school.
The bell rang for the end of the day.
The Class 12 classroom emptied out quickly.
Shu Shu sat in her seat, arms crossed, looking at her son with the aura of a queen. She began her interrogation: “How many times has Chu Lian brought people to that house?”
Shu Lingchen stammered, “Since the second year of middle school, on and off…”
Heh.
In other words, too many times to count.
“And all those times, she told everyone the house in Yujing Garden belonged to her family?”
Shu Lingchen said, “Because of the debt collectors, Auntie Chu and Chuchu couldn’t go back to their original home. Chuchu needed to make friends, so she had no choice but to use Yujing Garden…”
“Why aren’t you part of her ‘friend circle’ then?”
Shu Lingchen scratched the back of his head. “My reputation isn’t great. A girl as excellent as Chuchu shouldn’t have a friend like me.”
Question marks practically popped up over Shu Shu’s head. “Then why the hell did you try to confess to her at the school gate???”
“Chuchu shared a post on her moments saying she envied people who received roses during a confession. Since I was there, I didn’t want her to have to envy anyone else!”
Shu Shu: “…”
She now reasonably suspected that post was visible only to Shu Lingchen.
The confession ended with Chu Lian being “rescued” by Shi Jin, gaining everyone’s sympathy, while Shu Lingchen was flamed into a pile of trash. Meanwhile, she maintained her “good girl” persona.
Shu Lingchen was clearly being used as a pawn, yet he was still standing there smiling like an idiot.
Shu Shu was silent for a while before suddenly asking, “What’s the standard procedure for abandoning a seventeen-year-old mentally disabled child? How many years do you get for that?”
Shu Lingchen: “What?”
Shu Shu closed her eyes. She couldn’t look at this little dummy anymore. One more second and she’d really be tempted to dump him.
She decisively grabbed her bag and walked out.
“Mom, where are you going?”
Shu Lingchen chased after her. “You haven’t told me where you stayed yesterday. You’re out here alone in an unfamiliar place with no money. It’s dangerous.”
As he spoke, he pulled an envelope out of his bag.
“There’s some money in here. Take it. If it’s not enough, ask me.”
Shu Shu took the envelope and peeked inside. She estimated there was about a thousand yuan.
Shu Lingchen continued, “If you don’t want to stay in my small rental, just go back to the house in Yujing Garden. I’ll just let Auntie Chu know—”
Shu Shu snorted. “So, I have to ‘let them know’ before I can return to my own house?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I can go back, but only if you kick the Chu mother and daughter out first. Clear the house, and then I’ll return.”
“…” Shu Lingchen’s expression turned troubled. Clearly, he couldn’t do it.
Shu Shu asked again, “Then how much longer is this ‘temporary’ stay supposed to last?”
“…” Shu Lingchen remained silent. Clearly, he didn’t know that either.
Shu Shu wasn’t surprised at all. She simply stated, “I’m not going back there to live. I don’t want the house anymore. I’m a germaphobe.”
Two people like that living in her house for several years? She found the idea revolting.
Even if the Chus moved out right now, she wouldn’t spend a single night there.
Shu Lingchen was shocked. “What? You don’t want it? Then where are you going to live? Renting a place yourself?”
Shu Shu looked at her son and suddenly let out a heavy, sorrowful sigh:
“Don’t worry about me, son. Just focus on your Auntie Chu and Chuchu.”
“As for me… the streets are wide. There will always be a spot for me. The sky will be my blanket, and the earth will be my bed.”
With that, Shu Shu admired her son’s guilt-ridden expression for a moment, took the envelope, and left.
*
Twenty minutes later.
Shu Shu was curled up on a sofa in a presidential suite, feet kicked up, using a fork to eat chilled fruit while browsing her phone for information.
She really didn’t want that house anymore.
However, “not wanting it” didn’t mean she was just going to let the Chu family have it for free.
That Chu Lian clearly didn’t like Shu Lingchen; she was just stringing him along because of the house.
In that case, Shu Shu would just take the house back.
A new message window popped up on her phone—
“Distinguished Black Gold User, here is the list of property management fees for Unit 1701, Yujing Garden, under the specified sub-account for the past four years.”
Shu Shu put down her fork and tapped on the long image.
Ever since she “passed away,” the property fees for Yujing Garden had been automatically deducted from the balance of one of her cards.
Because she found paying bills tedious back then, she had set up a dedicated card with a balance to automatically handle property fees, water, electricity, and heating every month.
In other words, that mother and daughter had been enjoying her house for free all this time.
“Distinguished Black Gold User, a friendly reminder: the balance in this card is no longer sufficient to pay the property fees for 1701. To avoid unnecessary trouble, the balance must be topped up before the final deadline—this weekend.”
A note was highlighted at the bottom of the list.
This weekend?
Wasn’t that exactly when Chu Lian was planning to bring her classmates over?
Shu Shu looked at the notification and raised an eyebrow.
Oh? Then I won’t be topping it up.
Then, Shu Shu exited the image and continued reviewing the renovation plans her designer had sent for her new house.
Yes.
A new house.
Yujing Garden, Unit F1600.
Right downstairs from the house occupied by the Chu family.
Sansukini: Time to kick the squatters out.
Btw, Pinapple Boy’s nickname is 波羅仔 (Bōluó Zǎi) because of his mohawk hair.