Chapter 12

When Shu Mengfei heard the words “wolf-hearted and dog-liver,” she nearly fainted from anger.

To her classmates, she had always been seen as outstanding, diligent, beautiful, and kind, regarded as a pure and inspirational goddess. Everyone liked her, and no one had ever said such harsh words to her.

“You’re insulting me!” Shu Mengfei’s eyes turned red, her whole body trembling, as though she had suffered an immense injustice.

Lu Yan remained calm and continued, “If you think this is an insult, let me tell you, when you enjoy all the resources and benefits that Lu Zhen gives you as his girlfriend, please at least have some awareness of being a girlfriend and don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

“You…”

Shu Mengfei took a step forward.

Lu Zhen immediately pulled Lu Yan behind him, worried that Shu Mengfei, in her anger, might lash out.

His instinctive reaction, however, was something Shu Mengfei could not accept. The Lu Zhen who usually spoiled and doted on her was now protecting this girl who had insulted her.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?!” Shu Mengfei stared at Lu Zhen in disbelief. “You’re just letting her say all that about me?”

Lu Zhen, feeling awkward and unsure of what to say, found it hard to respond. Lu Yan often bickered and joked with him, but he hadn’t expected her to stand up for him at a time like this.

To be honest, he felt a little touched.

“Actually… she’s not wrong.”

Lu Zhen mumbled these words, the typical straight man’s line, and succeeded in making Shu Mengfei storm off.

After she left, Lu Zhen began sulking.

Lu Yan, seeing his dejected expression, knew that deep down, he actually cared about Shu Mengfei.

He had always been a man who valued relationships deeply. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained single for over 20 years after his mother passed away.

After all, as a handsome CEO in the prime of his life with a prominent position, women from all walks of life often tried to get close to him, some even vying to be Lu Yan’s stepmother.

But Lu Zhen never paid any attention to them.

That woman named Jian Yao, though she passed away early, might never have imagined that she had earned Lu Zhen’s lifelong loyalty.

Liang Ting walked over, and Lu Zhen shot him an annoyed glance. “Who told you to bring her here? All you do is cause trouble for me.”

Liang Ting laughed, carefree. “I think my goddaughter has a point. Shu Mengfei’s a bit… well, you know, ungrateful.”

“You’re still talking!”

Lu Zhen was furious, cursing Liang Ting, but not a single word of blame was directed at Lu Yan. Liang Ting, feeling quite wronged, protested, saying it was Lu Yan who had caused the trouble, so why was he being scolded?

Lu Zhen glanced at Lu Yan. The little girl was standing against the wall, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, innocently picking at the corner of her clothes. She no longer looked like the assertive and arrogant person she had been earlier.

He was about to say a few words in mock reproach, but before he could, the little girl suddenly jumped into his arms, hugged his waist, pouted, and mumbled, “Dad got dumped. How pitiful.”

Lu Zhen: …

The little girl comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s over, next time will be better.”

She was patting his back with all her strength, almost causing him internal injuries.

Lu Zhen coughed and pulled her hand away. “Stop it.”

Lu Yan pressed her fair, oval face against his chest, closed her eyes, her long, dark lashes trembling slightly. She hugged him tightly, giving him words of encouragement.

It didn’t feel like she was mocking him, but rather, it seemed like she truly cared for him.

“It’s okay, there’s still a long road ahead. As long as you pull yourself together and become a better version of yourself, a good girl will definitely like you,” she said.

Like her mother.

While patting his back, the little girl was speaking comforting words, which eased the pain of his recent heartbreak. Gradually, his heart warmed with another kind of emotional support.

No matter what difficulties or injustices one faces outside, family is always the final harbor.

Lu Zhen ruffled the bangs on Lu Yan’s forehead. “Alright, it’s not a big deal. Breaking up—what’s so terrible about that?”

“You’ll be fine,” she said.

Lu Zhen looked at Liang Ting and Qin Hao seriously and said, “With the fire in the basement, our group of brothers is in bad shape, and we still owe people a mountain of debt. We need to figure out how to make some money.”

“Didn’t Shen Kuo say he would help us catch the person who set the fire?”

“Trust him? You must be kidding. He’s probably the one crying thief!”

“That’s not the case.” Liang Ting rationally analyzed the situation. “I trust him. He wouldn’t easily promise something. If he said he would do it, he’ll definitely follow through.”

Lu Zhen was unconvinced. “Relying on anyone is worse than relying on ourselves. From now on, we need to figure out how to make money.”

Now that his father had cut off his financial support, although Meng Zhining had helped him pay off most of the landlord’s money lost in the fire, there was still some money he and Liang Ting had borrowed from friends and family, and that money also had to be repaid.

Lu Yan was curious and asked, “Dad, how many people do you owe money to?”

Lu Zhen counted on his fingers, but there were so many people, he couldn’t even finish with all ten fingers. Finally, he waved his hand. “Ah, it’s none of your business, little girl. Don’t worry about it.”

Lu Yan furrowed her brows and sighed, “Really… you brought this upon yourself.”

That afternoon, after work, Shen Kuo walked out of the school and saw a pink bicycle locked in front of a shop.

He looked toward the shop but didn’t see Lu Yan’s figure.

At the shop entrance, the owner and a mechanic were discussing what to do with the bike.

“This bike is almost new, the brand is good, young people like it, we can sell it at a high price with no problem.”

“That girl was in a hurry for money, and sold it for 200 yuan. We should sell it for at least 300 yuan.”

“300 yuan? Are you kidding? Less than 500 yuan, don’t even think about it.”

Shen Kuo furrowed his brows slightly, knowing that Lu Yan cherished that bicycle and cleaned it every day, which is why it always looked like new.

It was easy to guess why she sold the bike.

Shen Kuo touched his pants pocket, there was still some money.

However, the thought of buying the bike quickly passed.

Ridiculous.

What right did he have to play the romantic games of rich young masters? With his poverty, what qualification did he have?

—

Shen Kuo turned and left, taking a couple of steps before he heard someone ask, “This bicycle is nice, how much is it?”

“Five hundred.”

“Isn’t that too expensive? I’ll take it for four hundred, as a birthday gift for my daughter.”

Before the shop owner could speak, Shen Kuo turned back, pulled out five hundred yuan, slapped it into the owner’s hand, and coldly pushed the bicycle away.

In the sunset, he pushed the pink bicycle through the uneven alley.

His tall frame, pushing the small, delicate bicycle, with his shoulders slightly hunched, looked out of place.

A few mischievous children, standing on one foot, bumped their knees together, playing the “bullfight” game.

When they saw Shen Kuo coming, they stopped their game and looked at the bicycle in his hand, their eyes filled with longing and envy.

In those days, every child’s greatest dream was to have their own bicycle, but not every family could afford one.

Shen Kuo pushed the bicycle to the door of the first floor of the building and then took a clean cloth to wipe the bicycle, polishing every part from the frame to the tires until it gleamed.

His expression was serious, and his gaze was unusually gentle.

A cough came from inside the house.

“Xiao Kuo, you’re back?”

“Mm.”

Shen Kuo cleaned the cloth and hung it on the wire over the sink, then went into the house to get the medicine jar. He walked out into the yard and put the Chinese medicine that had been dried in the sun into the jar.

His father, Shen Jianxun, shakily walked out of the room.

His face was pale and thin, the whites of his eyes yellow and dry, speckled with spots, and his pupils were cloudy.

He hunched over and sat down on a chair, holding a worn-out fan in his hand, so frail that he seemed like he could be blown over by a gust of wind.

“The medicine is too bitter,” Shen Jianxun said in a dry voice, coughing as he spoke.

Shen Kuo poured the prepared Chinese medicine into a bowl and handed it to his father, while also taking out a pear from the house, carefully peeling it.

At home, he spoke little but did a lot.

With his father ill, he took care of nearly all the household chores.

Shen Jianxun sighed, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t need to take the medicine anymore. I’ve been a burden on you for so many years, and I can’t bear it.”

Shen Kuo handed the pear to Shen Jianxun, speaking softly, “Don’t say things like that. You’ll get better.”

“I asked the doctor. Pneumoconiosis can’t be cured.”

“It will get better,” Shen Kuo insisted. “It can’t be done now, but it will be in the future.”

Since he was young, Shen Kuo had always been this way—once he set his mind on something, he wouldn’t change. The difficult years of growing up had made him more stubborn and increasingly patient, like a tightly drawn string, not knowing when it would snap.

“By the way, Aunt Chen from next door came by today.”

Shen Kuo’s expression turned cold. “What does she want now?”

“She cleaned the house and bought some vegetables,” Shen Jianxun said cautiously. “She’s a good person.”

A good person?

Shen Kuo didn’t think so. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world—no one would be kind to you for no reason.

Recently, the widow Chen Yueqin from next door had been especially attentive, probably because she had noticed Shen Jianxun’s time was running out and had set her sights on the life-saving workers’ compensation money.

Shen Kuo locked the yard gate and said stiffly, “If she comes again, drive her away.”

“One should never hit a smiling face,” Shen Jianxun said softly. “How can I say that?”

“If you don’t drive her away, and I see her, I will throw her out myself.”

Shen Jianxun sighed heavily, then turned and saw the bicycle by the door. He asked, “Whose bike is that?”

“I bought it,” Shen Kuo explained absentmindedly.

“This… is a girl’s bike?”

“Mm.”

Shen Kuo didn’t explain further, and Shen Jianxun didn’t ask any more questions.

He knew his son very well. Shen Kuo rarely did anything on impulse, especially when it came to spending money, he was extremely cautious.

Shen Jianxun guessed that the beautiful bicycle might be a gift, after all, his son was at the perfect age.

“Is it the girl classmate who passed by the house last time?”

Shen Kuo didn’t answer, but it was clear he had tacitly agreed.

“Next time, invite her in to sit.”

Shen Kuo lowered his eyes, cleaned the small knife, dried it with a tissue, and put it away.

“She won’t be coming again.”

With nothing but bare walls at home, he wouldn’t let her inside. That was the dignity he maintained.

“I won’t interfere with your matters, so please don’t interfere with mine and Aunt Chen’s business, okay?” Shen Jianxun said in a negotiating tone.

Shen Kuo smiled faintly.

His matters…

There would never be anything between him and Lu Yan.