Liang Rui stepped out of the house carrying his military-green backpack, then glanced back at the large stone lions flanking the entrance. He muttered to himself, “With one more person coming, will this still be my home?”
He was already sixteen by traditional reckoning—he didn’t need a mother.
Liang Rui couldn’t understand why his father wanted to find him a stepmother.
He was already an unwanted burden.
An outsider.
Even after changing his surname, he would never be Father’s biological son.
At this thought, Liang Rui felt a pang of sadness. Countless times he’d asked himself why he wasn’t Father’s real son.
But thinking this way also made him feel guilty toward his biological father.
If his birth father hadn’t sacrificed his life to save Liang Qiurun,
He wouldn’t have become Liang Qiurun’s son.
Just as Liang Rui was lost in these tangled thoughts, a teenager came riding toward him on a Fenghuang Brand Large Frame Bicycle, ringing the bell frantically as he charged forward.
“Liang Rui, move aside!”
The boy on the bicycle appeared about fifteen or sixteen, with a round-faced, bullish look and an arrogant expression. Seeing someone in his path, he showed no intention of stopping.
Instead, he pedaled even faster.
The road had a slight downward slope, causing the bicycle to shoot forward almost instantly.
Even its rider couldn’t control it anymore.
“Get lost, Liang Rui!”
At these words,
Liang Rui stopped moving altogether. He stood firmly in the doorway, extending his arms to block the bicycle’s path. With a defiant sneer, he retorted, “Liang Haibo, if you’ve got the guts, run me over!”
Seeing the bicycle about to hit him and the brakes being useless, Liang Haibo panicked. He cursed angrily, “You damn burden! If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll run you over!”
Hearing this, Liang Rui’s expression instantly darkened.
He stood his ground, planted firmly in the middle of the path, and grabbed the handlebars of Liang Haibo’s Large Frame Bicycle, forcing them down.
The front wheel locked in place.
The bicycle wobbled violently for a moment before
Liang Haibo crashed to the ground with a thud. Howling in pain, he screamed and cursed, “You damn burden! You eat our Liang family’s food, live in our Liang family’s house, and you dare bully me, the legitimate young master of the Liang family? Do you want to die?”
“Serves you right, you burden! Your dad’s getting a stepmother to abuse you!”
Liang Haibo was the son of Liang Qiurun’s elder brother.
Initially, Liang Rui remained impassive—after all, he’d grown accustomed to such insults over the years.
But when he heard Liang Haibo’s final sentence,
Liang Rui immediately raised his fist and smashed it into Liang Haibo’s face. “Say that again, and I’ll beat you to death. Believe me?”
The boy’s eyes burned with ferocity, his fists pounding relentlessly.
Soon, blood streaked Liang Haibo’s face, and he couldn’t even cry for mercy.
“Liang Rui!”
“Are you trying to die? If you kill our Haibo, can a worthless bastard like you pay for it?”
Liang Haibo’s mother had come out to take out the trash and never expected to see her son, who should have been at school, being pinned to the ground and beaten by that bastard Liang Rui.
She rushed forward to grab Liang Rui by the hair, but he kicked her away.
The kick sent Chen Hongjiao reeling, clutching her chest as she lay on the ground, wailing.
“Murder!”
“Murder!”
The commotion drew the neighbors out, including Liang Qiurun, who had been packing up at home to head to work.
Dressed in a Dacron shirt and carrying his briefcase, he was just about to leave.
Following the noise, he stepped outside and saw the chaotic scene at the doorstep.
Liang Qiurun frowned slightly and strode over to Liang Rui. Ignoring his nephew, his first concern was for Liang Rui himself.
“Are you hurt?”
Liang Rui shook his head, his expression disdainful. “With losers like these, I could take down three with one punch.”
The words were harsh.
Chen Hongjiao flared up. “Qiurun, did you hear what your Liang Rui just said? If my Haibo is a loser, what about him? Isn’t he one too? A good-for-nothing who only smokes, fights, and skips class! What right does he have to call my Haibo a loser?”
“Besides, your son is standing here perfectly fine. It’s me and my Haibo who got hurt.”
“Qiurun, how do you raise your child? He dares to assault people right at our doorstep in broad daylight. Who knows if he’ll turn to murder and arson once he leaves school?”
Liang Qiurun replied, “Sister-in-law, we haven’t even asked for the full story yet. Isn’t it unfair to blame someone like this?”
“Isn’t it clear enough?” Chen Hongjiao retorted. “My Haibo was beaten so badly he can’t move, while your Liang Rui stands here unharmed, making sarcastic remarks.”
Liang Qiurun paid no attention to what his sister-in-law Chen Hongjiao was saying. He turned to Liang Rui. “Tell me what happened.”
He only trusted Liang Rui’s account.
Liang Rui stayed silent, his lips sealed tight like a clam.
He didn’t want to tell Liang Qiurun that he had been called a burden.
He also didn’t want to explain that he had lost his temper and hit Liang Haibo because the latter claimed his stepmother would mistreat him.
Liang Rui had his pride.
His refusal to speak plunged the scene into silence.
“If he won’t say it, I will,” Chen Hongjiao said tersely. “I came out to take out the trash and saw that wolf cub Liang Rui pinning my Haibo to the ground and beating him. When I tried to intervene, he kicked me away too.”
After hearing this, Liang Qiurun didn’t take her word for it. Instead, he turned to Liang Rui again for confirmation. “Is that what happened?”
He only believed his son.
Liang Rui remained silent.
From the moment Liang Qiurun appeared, Liang Rui had shut down like a tightly closed clam.
He wasn’t cooperating at all.
His defiant attitude stirred a flicker of displeasure in Liang Qiurun. “Liang Rui.”
“Answer me. Is that what happened?”
Liang Rui stiffened his neck, his expression stubborn. “Does it even matter?”
“I’ve already done it. If you’re ashamed of me, just kick me out!”
This—
Seeing Liang Rui like this, Liang Qiurun felt more helpless than anything else.
He had faced gunfire on the battlefield without fear.
He had endured workplace sabotage and immense pressure without flinching.
What he feared was this—being unable to guide Liang Rui properly.
Watching him turn out like this.
He had never once considered throwing him out.
In that moment.
Liang Qiurun’s thoughts raced, finally settling on a look of disappointment.
He stopped looking at Liang Rui and stopped asking for his side of the story.
Because, at this stage, Liang Rui was rebellious.
The more he was pressed, the less he would say.
Suppressing a tumult of emotions, Liang Qiurun turned to his sister-in-law Chen Hongjiao and said, “Sister-in-law, regardless of the reason, it was wrong of Liang Rui to hit anyone. I apologize on his behalf.”
Chen Hongjiao was displeased. “My Haibo has suffered such severe injuries, and we don’t even know how much the medical expenses will be.”
Before she finished speaking, Liang Qiurun took five crisp new ten-yuan bills from his briefcase and handed them over. “This covers medical fees and compensation.”
At this, Chen Hongjiao’s eyes lit up. Without another word, she accepted the money and glanced at Liang Rui. “I’m only letting this go because we’re family. If there’s a next time, money won’t solve it.”
Their branch of the family wasn’t as wealthy as Liang Qiurun. This medical compensation alone equaled her husband’s monthly salary, so Chen Hongjiao saw no reason to decline.
But as soon as she spoke, Liang Rui sneered, “Just admit you’re greedy instead of dressing it up so nobly. What’s the difference between this and a prostitute putting up a chastity arch?”
His words tore away the facade Chen Hongjiao had been maintaining. Her face immediately darkened.
Before she could retort, Liang Qiurun interjected, “Sister-in-law, elder brother will be returning to work soon.”
At these words, Chen Hongjiao’s expression changed. She immediately supported her son Liang Haibo and left.
With their departure, only father and son remained.
Liang Qiurun looked exhaustedly at Liang Rui. “Liang Rui, could you please stop causing trouble?”
Liang Rui had initially felt some guilt, but upon hearing this, he let out a cold laugh.
Seeing his reaction, Liang Qiurun felt his educational efforts had failed even more profoundly. He gazed at his son with resigned eyes, his tone firm. “I will find you a stepmother.”
Their household probably needed a virtuous, gentle wife—and a maternal figure.
He thought the arrival of a kind, virtuous woman might ease the tension between him and Liang Rui.
Hearing this, Liang Rui pressed his lips tightly together, his expression growing increasingly defiant and foul. “Do what you want. I don’t care.”
After leaving home, Liang Rui didn’t go to school but skipped class instead.
He gathered his followers Yang Xiangdong and Hou Xiaonan, and the three of them headed to the Qudeng Hutong Compound.
Truth be told, none of them had ever been to such a crowded place.
The compound’s pathways were either occupied by earthquake shelters or piled high with honeycomb briquettes, leaving barely any space to walk.
“Brother Rui, your potential stepmother lives in such poor conditions?”
Both Yang Xiangdong and Hou Xiaonan came from families where their parents were key cadres—essentially leadership—at the Meatpacking Factory.
Since they could remember, they had lived in apartment buildings. Though crowded, it was nothing like this chaotic communal courtyard.
Liang Rui was the same. His family circumstances were even better. He had followed Liang Qiurun since age three—first living in army barracks, then moving to a siheyuan upon returning to the capital.
Their nearly 800-square-meter courtyard house accommodated only him and his father.
Therefore, this was Liang Rui’s first exposure to such impoverished conditions. Frowning, he remarked, “The messiness is good. It means they’re poor here—she might actually agree.”
Liang Rui handed fifty yuan to Yang Xiangdong. “Do as I taught you.”
Yang Xiangdong hesitated slightly. “Brother Rui, what if she refuses?”
Liang Rui replied, “Then offer more money. My limit is one hundred yuan.” He still had some private savings.
“But what if she still refuses even at one hundred?”
Before Yang Xiangdong could finish asking, Liang Rui kicked him. “Stop boosting others’ morale while dampening our own! You haven’t even asked yet—how do you know she’ll refuse?”
Yang Xiangdong muttered something under his breath but ultimately went to the front.
Liang Rui didn’t enter, instead hiding behind the vermilion gate. This was a good spot—though he couldn’t see the people outside, he could clearly hear their conversation.
After Yang Xiangdong entered the Dazayuan, he went door to door asking, “Excuse me, where does the Jiang family live?”
“I’m looking for Jiang Meilan.”
Once he got the information,
Yang Xiangdong waited outside.
Inside the Jiang residence,
Jiang Meishu and Jiang Meilan exchanged glances. “Should you go out, or should I?”
Their identities had been swapped, which was actually quite obvious to discern.
Jiang Meilan thought for a moment. “You go. From now on, you’ll be Jiang Meilan. Go find out what this is about first.”
Jiang Meishu nodded and soon emerged.
Upon seeing Yang Xiangdong, she slightly furrowed her brows, as if trying to recall whether she knew this person.
However, Jiang Meishu had no impression of him at all. Adopting a “wait-and-see” attitude—if the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move—she observed Yang Xiangdong.
Yang Xiangdong was also uneasy. Remembering that Rui Ge was waiting outside for him, he steeled himself and asked, “So you’re the one who’s going to meet my Rui Ge’s dad for a blind date?”
The relationship was a bit convoluted.
It took Jiang Meishu a while to figure it out. “Speak plainly.”
Yang Xiangdong, flustered by her retort, hurriedly pulled five ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them over. “My Rui Ge said that as long as you don’t go on the blind date with Factory Director Liang, these fifty yuan are yours.”
Jiang Meishu’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the fifty yuan.
“What else did your Rui Ge say?”
Yang Xiangdong grew nervous under her stare. “If you don’t agree, he’ll offer more money.”
“How much more?”
“Up to a hundred yuan.”
Jiang Meishu reluctantly tore her gaze away from the five bills. In all her time here, she had never seen such large denominations before.
Previously, her family only had small change.
“Go ask him: is his dad only worth a hundred yuan?”
Yang Xiangdong was taken aback. “So… does that mean you agree? Or not?”
Only then did Jiang Meishu realize she had encountered someone even more slow-witted than herself.
“Go tell him what I said, and he’ll understand.”
However, she was more curious about why the so-called stepson didn’t show up in such a situation,
instead sending someone else to ask.
Yang Xiangdong grunted in acknowledgment and ran outside the gate to consult Liang Rui.
Liang Rui stood still and sneered coldly. “Quite greedy.”
“So, Rui Ge, what should we do now?”
Liang Rui said, “Let’s go. This person is too greedy—it can’t be settled with just one or two hundred yuan.”
“Then are we just going to let her meet Uncle Liang for the blind date?”
Liang Rui sneered again. “She’ll have to be able to meet my dad first.”