Chapter 124: Changing the Trajectory of Fate

Time flew by and it was August. Because many people were excited, the game went online much earlier than Chen Lu expected.

By August 6th, the company’s revenue pool already had tens of thousands of profits.

Although this kind of small game on the platform doesn’t need a license, 70% of the profits go to the WeChat mini-game platform, and the game studio only gets 30%.

This was under the circumstance that the game had only been online for less than two weeks, and the promotion hadn’t even started. As a newly established studio, this result was more than just impressive.

Next, it was all about the growth rate, the difference between earning more or less.

“No dinner treat?” Lin Miaomiao led the commotion in the studio, “I’m still craving that lobster bigger than my head.”

Chen Lu was about to speak when he heard Jiang Chao suddenly shout, “Tomorrow, tomorrow we’ll go out to eat something good! Today, we’ll take a day off and rest, everyone has worked hard these past few days.”

After everyone happily dispersed, Jiang Chao slowly sat down in front of Chen Lu.

Seeing this, Chen Lu’s expression immediately became much more serious.

When this kind of silent atmosphere appeared between boys, it usually meant that things wouldn’t be small.

“Liu Yan asked me to tell you, she saw Liang Zhirou crying when she went to the hospital to accompany her friend,” Jiang Chao said directly.

Chen Lu’s pupils shrank upon hearing this, and he hurriedly asked, “When?”

“Yesterday.” Jiang Chao seemed a bit unsure how to say it, “Tell me the truth, is Liang Zhirou’s mother…disabled?”

“Yes.” Chen Lu didn’t feel the need to hide it, his attention was still on what Jiang Chao said.

There was only one possibility, Xiao Xunfang’s condition wasn’t optimistic. Otherwise, this simpleton wouldn’t have kept it from him.

He would punish her severely sooner or later, but not now.

Chen Lu abruptly stood up, his face expressionless as he said in a deep voice, “I understand, thanks.”

Then he turned and left without looking back.

Half an hour later.

He sat in the car, his gaze fixed on the balance in his bank card, the pale light from the screen reflecting into his unmoving eyes, making his expression even more serious.

Now, with these earnings added to the money he already had, he had over 100,000 yuan at his disposal.

It wouldn’t affect the company’s operations, so he might as well use it. The current small scale had its advantages, even if the company needed some money temporarily later, he could make up for it.

With a long sigh, the car door slowly opened.

There was no need to hesitate, his initial goal was this.

He walked slowly through the alleyway, his expression much calmer. Liang Zhirou was still working part-time, he only needed to persuade Xiao Xunfang alone.

Sure enough, when Xiao Xunfang saw him, her expression was first shocked, but a genuine smile immediately appeared on her wrinkled face.

“Little Lu, why are you here?” She was a bit curious, after all, her cabbage was still at work, could it be that he came to wait for her?

Chen Lu sat beside Xiao Xunfang and went straight to the point, “Auntie, did you go to the hospital for a checkup yesterday?”

Xiao Xunfang was stunned, “Zhirou told you?”

Chen Lu shook his head, casually picked up a stool and sat next to Xiao Xunfang, “I have a friend in the hospital, she said she saw Liang Zhirou.”

He deliberately spoke ambiguously, hoping that Xiao Xunfang would understand it as his friend being an intern or working at the hospital. This way, Xiao Xunfang might think he had a way to find out, increasing the chance of her telling the truth.

Before Xiao Xunfang could speak, he continued, “I heard it’s not very optimistic?”

“You can’t curse Auntie like that.” Xiao Xunfang forced a smile, her gaze kept glancing at the drawer next to her.

Chen Lu’s expression became very serious, and also a little incomprehensible, he said helplessly, “Auntie, what can’t you tell me?”

I’ve come here alone, haven’t I?

After a long time, Xiao Xunfang finally understood why Chen Lu came here alone. Seeing that she couldn’t hide it anymore, she could only sigh deeply.

“The doctor said the surgery must be scheduled by the end of the month at the latest. If we don’t treat it, and the nerves completely die, there’s no hope of recovery. It’s been too long…”

As she spoke, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened, revealing a relieved smile. She chuckled softly, “But it should be fine. Don’t look at me like I’m not doing well. I’m actually quite resilient. Others in my condition would have already had their nerves completely die.”

“So, Auntie, you should be able to hold on for a long time.”

Chen Lu didn’t respond. Instead, he got up and started searching for things around him. He didn’t know if it was intuition or nervousness, but he was just constantly searching.

Xiao Xunfang’s gaze kept darting towards the drawer, making him feel very strange.

Finally, he found a bottle containing an amber-colored liquid in the drawer where Liang Zhirou’s childhood photos were kept.

It had a more familiar name—Paraquat.

The room fell silent for a long time, eerily quiet.

Chen Lu put the thing aside, pretending nothing had happened, and said with a smile, “Auntie, the doctor wants surgery, so let’s get it done. If we have the money to treat it, why delay?”

He didn’t want to think about how the person who sold this to a wheelchair-bound woman could have the audacity to do so, so he simply chose not to think about it.

Xiao Xunfang’s mouth opened and closed, and the instinctive response of saying she didn’t have the money was swallowed back down. Finally, she said in a deep voice, “I’m not worth it.”

She had never seen so much money in her life. In her mind, this money was enough for her daughter and Chen Lu to live well, eat delicious food, buy beautiful clothes.

They could also travel to many places and live a better life.

There was no need to spend it on a useless person like herself.

“Of course, you’re worth it.” Chen Lu said, placing his bank card on the table. “You know I started a company before. I have money, and I’ll make even more in the future.”

Then he pointed to the pesticide next to him, “If you’re gone, no matter how much money I make in the future, I won’t be able to earn another mother for Liang Zhirou.”

“Why? Xiao Lu.” Xiao Xunfang didn’t pay attention to Chen Lu’s slightly unpleasant tone. She just found it strange. She couldn’t understand why Chen Lu would spend so much money to help her. Her life or death wouldn’t affect him being with Liang Zhirou.

Most importantly, although she liked this child very much, and Chen Lu was very polite to her, a very filial child, it was not to the point where he would spend tens of thousands of yuan for her.

Chen Lu didn’t say anything like, “After I marry Liang Zhirou, you’ll be my mother too,” which was insincere. Instead, he spoke from the heart, “Because I want Liang Zhirou to be happy.”

It was that simple.

But this one reason was enough.

It might sound harsh to say this, but Liang Zhirou had indeed been imprisoned by this “shackle” for far too long.

“She’s already fragile enough.” Chen Lu’s voice softened, and his tone became increasingly gentle. “You can’t continue to use your self-righteous ‘for her good’ to make her suffer more.”

“You being healthy and by her side is what’s good for her.”

Seeing that Xiao Xunfang hadn’t spoken for a long time, he sighed deeply again, “Auntie, I’ll just say it straight. I originally planned to just get a job after graduation and live a carefree life. I started a business to be able to afford your treatment and to make Liang Zhirou happy, to give her a better life.”

“My parents are wealthy and kind, but I can’t spend tens of thousands of yuan of theirs for my girlfriend’s happiness. Now it’s different, I’ve earned it myself.”

The room fell silent again for an unknown amount of time. Finally, Xiao Xunfang nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly, “Auntie understands… I’ll listen to you.”

Chen Lu finally felt relieved, a smile playing on his lips. He said softly, “But just doing this isn’t enough.”

Xiao Xunfang was stunned. Why wouldn’t it be enough if she agreed? Why wouldn’t it be enough if she agreed?

“You have to cooperate with me. I don’t want her to know.”

“Why?” Xiao Xunfang found it even more strange.

“You know what Zhirou’s personality is like.”

Chen Lu lowered his head and paused for a moment, then looked at Xiao Xunfang with a serious expression.

“She already listens to me about everything. If she knows I’ve helped her with such a big favor…”

“She won’t be able to live for herself for a single second for the rest of her life.”