“It really is you!”

All the blood drained from Ma Dali’s dark face in an instant, leaving him looking unusually pale and vulnerable.

His body swayed, and he leaned back against the wall.

“Dali, I—” Mrs. Dong began, but Ma Dali interrupted her with a shout.

“Shut up! You’re a liar! You’re…”

He turned to Shaogang. “And you—you’re a liar too!”

Oddly enough, Shaogang seemed relieved now that the truth was out.

Lowering his head, he said, “It’s my fault. I’m sorry. My mom didn’t want to do this—I forced her to. If you want to report us to the police, arrest me.”

“No, it wasn’t my son’s fault. I was the one who got greedy for money and ignored my conscience to scam you,” Mrs. Dong said, tears welling up in her eyes. “My son can’t go to prison. Let me go instead!”

“Xiao Bai, why are you crying? I get it now—you’re upset because this guy is bullying you, right?”

The old man looked at his daughter with distress. Grabbing his cane, he raised it as if to hit someone.

Mrs. Dong hugged him tightly. “Dad, stop it!”

The old man froze and looked at his daughter’s tear-streaked face. His rough hands reached out to touch her cheek. “What’s wrong, Xiao Bai? Who hurt you?”

“No one hurt me. I did something wrong. I scammed someone out of their money,” Mrs. Dong said, lowering her head as if trying to bury it in her chest.

“Why? Didn’t I always teach you to be honest and upright? Never take money that doesn’t belong to you!”

The old man stomped his foot in frustration, looking at her with disappointment. “How could you turn out like this?!”

Mrs. Dong said nothing, her tears falling one by one onto the floor.

The shop fell into a deathly silence.

“It’s because my grandfather was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.”

After a long pause, Shaogang wiped his face and spoke. “Our family is poor. To put me through school, my mom was already saving every penny. The cancer was caught early and could be treated, but we couldn’t afford the surgery. I came up with the idea to scam you. If you want to call the police, arrest me. But we can’t pay back the money now. I’m willing to write you an IOU and repay you little by little in the future.”

“Mr. Ma, this was all our fault. We sincerely apologize and are willing to repay you double,” Mrs. Dong said, wiping her tears. “If you want to report us, let me go to jail. My son is still young—he’s more capable of earning money than I am.”

Ma Qi felt deeply conflicted.

On one hand, they had caught a scammer and should feel happy. On the other, seeing the tragic state of this family left her feeling heavy-hearted.

She tugged on Ma Dali’s sleeve. “Brother, if they’re willing to repay the money, maybe we should let this go…”

Both Shaogang and Mrs. Dong looked at Ma Dali with eyes full of hope and pleading.

Ma Dali opened his mouth but said nothing. Instead, he strode out of the shop.

“Brother!” Ma Qi called out, but he didn’t stop.

All hope drained from the faces of Mrs. Dong and her son.

Moments later, Ma Dali stormed back in, carrying a large bag of tea leaves.

“Here’s your tea. Take it back!” he said, throwing the bag at Shaogang.

Shaogang clumsily caught it, looking at Ma Dali in astonishment. “Dali, you…”

“Consider this a good deed on my part. Write an IOU, and no matter what, even if you have to collect garbage, you’ll pay me back!” Ma Dali said loudly, sniffing and forcing his voice to remain strong.

“Alright, thank you, thank you, Dali. And I’m sorry,” Shaogang said with deep guilt.

He quickly wrote an IOU, leaving his name and fingerprint on it before handing it to Ma Dali.

Ma Dali took the IOU, his fingers trembling slightly.

He stuffed the paper into his pocket, turned around, and said, “Let’s go! If we don’t leave now, we’ll get stuck in traffic!”

With that, he strode out, his steps hurried and determined.

“Dali!”

Mrs. Dong suddenly called out to him.

At the door, Ma Dali paused, his hand lifting the curtain mid-action.

“Mom, you…” Shaogang started, but before he could finish, Mrs. Dong rushed to the counter, pulled out a woven scarf from beneath it, and ran over to hand it to Ma Dali. “This scarf… I promised to knit it for you…”

Ma Dali stiffened, his neck tight. “I don’t need this cheap stuff! Ma Qi, let’s go! What are you standing there for?”

He practically bolted to the car, as if fleeing, with Ma Qi and the others hurrying after him.

The car roared to life and sped off, leaving the street behind in seconds.

Inside the car, the atmosphere was tense. None of the four spoke.

Gu Xicao and Wang Laoshi felt it wasn’t their place to say anything, and Ma Qi didn’t dare break the silence.

Ma Dali didn’t utter a single word during the drive. When they finally reached their destination, Gu Xicao and Wang Laoshi wisely got out of the car without hesitation.

The car engine roared again, and Ma Dali drove off without so much as a backward glance.

Watching the departing car, Wang Laoshi couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. He turned to Gu Xicao and asked, “Boss, do you think Mrs. Dong has feelings for Dali?”

“So what if she does? Mrs. Dong is old enough to be Dali’s mother,” Gu Xicao replied.

Wang Laoshi sighed. “It’s like one of those tragic poems: ‘Had we met before we wed, I’d shed tears for the pearls I gave away.’ What a pity—another heartbroken man in this world.”

Far away from the fortune-telling shop, Ma Dali finally broke down. While driving, he began sobbing uncontrollably. “Waaaa! I hate them! They’re liars—big fat liars!”

Ma Qi, though sympathetic, found the situation somewhat amusing.

But she didn’t dare laugh aloud—not when he was driving and crying simultaneously. She feared they’d end up making headlines as the victims of a car crash. “Big Brother Dali, stop crying. You’re a grown man! Real men don’t cry easily.”

“Bullshit! Just because I’m a man doesn’t mean I’m not human! Boohoohoo… my first love is over, just like that! Waaaa! I’ll never date another woman again in my life!”

His head dropped onto the steering wheel, the horn blaring incessantly.

A driver behind them couldn’t hold back and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? Can you even drive?!”

“What does it matter to you if I can’t drive? I just got dumped today! Piss me off, and I’ll take you down with me!”

Ma Dali yelled back furiously.

Alarmed, Ma Qi made frantic throat-slitting gestures to the other driver, who, frightened by what he assumed were maniacs, drove off in a hurry.

“You’re back, Ah Xiang!”

As Liu Suxiang stepped into her home and changed into her slippers, carrying a box of barbecued pork, her mother’s cheerful voice rang out.

“Yes, Mom, I—”

Before she could finish, she saw unexpected visitors sitting in the living room. The smile on her face instantly disappeared. “What are you doing here?!”

“Ah Xiang, no matter what, we’re still your elders. Is this how you show respect? Not even a greeting for your second uncle and aunt?” Jin Liu shot her a disapproving look before turning to mother Liu. “Sister-in-law, I’m not saying this to criticize you, but I know it hasn’t been easy raising a child alone since my brother passed. Still, you can’t let her grow up without manners.”

“Exactly! Look at Ah Xiang—does she look like a proper lady of the Liu family?” Liu Weiwen sneered, his expression full of disdain. “And I heard Ah Xiang is working at an amusement park? How can that be acceptable? It’s humiliating for the Liu family!”

Liu Suxiang let out a bitter laugh, placing the barbecued pork on the table. “Are you leaving or not? What ‘Liu family’? What ‘lady’? Are you still dreaming? This isn’t the Republic of China. The Liu family went bankrupt long ago and is now worse off than ordinary people. What are you pretending for?!”

“Ah Xiang!”

Her mother, visibly flustered, grabbed her hand. “Don’t speak so recklessly. Second Uncle and Aunt, please don’t take it to heart. Ah Xiang has been spoiled by me and speaks without thinking!”

“Mom!” Liu Suxiang stomped her foot in frustration, glaring at her mother incredulously.

“Sister-in-law, of course, we won’t hold it against her,” Jin Liu said as she stood, holding a small bag in her hand. “That’s enough for today. Don’t forget what we discussed earlier.”

“Of course not. Thank you for your help. With elders like you, my late husband can rest easy,” Liu’s mother replied with a fawning smile as she escorted the couple to the door.

Liu Suxiang was livid. She sat on the couch with her arms crossed, glaring at her mother as she returned, looking pleased.

“Mom, what’s wrong with you today? You always say you dislike those two—why are you siding with them now?”

“My dear, times have changed. You don’t understand. They came today to buy this apartment,” Liu’s mother said, her face beaming with joy.

“They want to buy our home?” Liu Suxiang was stunned. “Why would they want to buy our place? And even if they did, why do you need to flatter them? Did you forget how they kicked us out of the house after Dad died?”

“Of course not. I’ll remember until the day I die how they took the Liu family fortune for themselves,” her mother said, patting her daughter’s arm to calm her down. “But you can’t let personal grudges get in the way of money. This apartment is too small and far from the city. I want to buy a bigger place where you and your future husband can live comfortably. They’re offering 50% above market price to buy this place. Do you think I’d be stupid enough to refuse?”

“What?!” Liu Suxiang pushed her mother’s hand away and stared her in the face. “They’re paying 50% above market price for this apartment?!”

“Yes! They even promised to transfer the money directly from the bank. Once the money is in, we’ll move out. Don’t worry—once we have money, we can live wherever we want,” her mother said confidently.