Chapter 39

“Hey there, who are you looking for?”

After knocking gently on the door for a while, Chen Shuifen hesitantly opened it just a crack. Upon seeing Xu Tianyou, she looked visibly uneasy and asked in a friendly but somewhat nervous tone. The term “handsome young man” she used wasn’t just polite; Xu Tianyou truly looked the part.

“You must be Xiao Hai’s mother? Auntie, I’m Xiao Xu, Xu Zhigang. I was Xiao Hai’s classmate and bunkmate. I had the lower bunk, and Xiao Hai had the upper one!”

“Oh, so you’re Xiao Hai’s classmate…” Chen Shuifen sighed in relief, and the tension in her posture eased.

Although she opened the door wider, she didn’t seem inclined to invite him in.

“Xiao Xu, I’m sorry. There’s been a lot going on at home lately, so I won’t ask you to come in and sit. Thank you for remembering Xiao Hai and even coming to visit, but you’d better leave soon. Those people will be back any minute, and I’m worried you’ll get dragged into it. Please, go quickly.”

Chen Shuifen said this with urgency.

In recent days, a group of hooligans had been coming around, claiming that Xiao Hai had injured one of their brothers in prison, leaving him with a back injury and bedridden. They were demanding 200,000 yuan in compensation and threatening to keep coming back if they didn’t get it. Every day they’d cause a commotion, even smashing a lot of things in the house.

Chen Shuifen was terrified, but she focused on protecting the two elderly family members in the home. She couldn’t believe Xiao Hai would harm someone without cause. If Xiao Hai truly did injure someone, she was willing to pay any amount—even if she couldn’t afford it. The family was already deep in debt from Xiao Hai’s legal case and had no idea how to pay it off.

If it weren’t for a young man named Tian who had sent over more than 2,000 yuan recently, saying it was money Xiao Hai had earned in prison, they might not even have had enough to eat.

Chen Shuifen didn’t know one could earn money in prison, but since it was from Xiao Hai, she accepted it gratefully. Poor Xiao Hai.

“Auntie, please let me come in. I didn’t come all this way for nothing. I even brought all these gifts—it’s tiring to carry them, you know. Let me at least catch my breath.”

As he spoke, Xu Tianyou tried to push his way inside. Reluctantly, Chen Shuifen moved aside to let him in.

“Why bring gifts, silly? Students don’t need to go to such trouble.”

“No worries, Auntie. I couldn’t come to Xiao Hai’s house empty-handed. Everyone knows about Xiao Hai’s situation, and we’re all upset for him. Besides, my family is wealthy, so these are just small tokens—please don’t worry about it.”

With a smile, Xu Tianyou placed the gifts on the table and, without hesitation, found a chair and sat down, his eyes wandering around the room, curiously inspecting everything.

“Xiao Xu, you’ve brought gifts and shared your thoughts. Since Xiao Hai isn’t home, you should really go now. I’d hate to see you get caught up in this mess,” Chen Shuifen insisted, trying once again to persuade him.

“Don’t worry about it, Auntie! Troubles are the least of my worries!” Xu Tianyou shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes still roaming around the room.

Chen Shuifen was about to insist further when they heard a loud commotion outside. She knew immediately that the gang of hooligans was back again.

“Kid, you really need to go now! Those guys are here again. Go quickly before they cause trouble for you!” Chen Shuifen said urgently, attempting to push Xu Tianyou toward the door.

But Xu Tianyou casually took her arm, gently pulling her down to sit beside him.

“Relax, Auntie. I told you, I’m not afraid of trouble. Those people won’t get inside; my driver is handling it. See? It’s already quiet out there.”

“Your driver?” Chen Shuifen was startled, suddenly realizing she hadn’t noticed him arrive in a car.

In those days, having a car was a sign of wealth, not to mention a personal driver.

Could it be that Xiao Hai’s classmate came from a very influential family?

Chen Shuifen felt a bit more at ease, especially since the commotion outside seemed to have quickly died down. It looked like Xiao Xu’s driver was quite capable.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll stay for a chat and make sure that trouble is fully taken care of.”

“Can you really take care of it? They’re demanding 200,000 yuan.”

“Auntie, they’re just trying to scare you! This is all part of the game—ask for a lot, then negotiate down.”

“Really?” Chen Shuifen looked unsure.

“Of course! Don’t think about it anymore. Tell me more about Xiao Hai, especially the funny stuff from when he was young. I tried asking him, but he’d never tell me. I’m really curious, haha.”

“My Xiao Hai… he was such a good boy…”

Once she started talking about Xiao Hai, Chen Shuifen quickly forgot about everything else. The two of them talked for hours without interruption from the gang outside.

When lunchtime arrived, Chen Shuifen warmly invited Xu Tianyou to stay for a meal, but he politely declined, saying he had an important lunch appointment.

She walked him to the village entrance.

Xu Tianyou’s car waited a short distance away, with his respectful driver standing by the door, while the gang of hooligans was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Shuifen finally let out a sigh of relief. She genuinely liked this polite young man and was glad he hadn’t gotten caught up in her family’s troubles.

“Goodbye, Auntie. Take care of yourself. Xiao Hai will be home soon enough; we all understand it was an accident. When he gets out, make sure he comes to Haixi to visit me!”

“I will! Thank you, Xiao Xu. And thank you for the gifts.”

“No need to mention it. Like I said, Xiao Hai and I were like brothers. His troubles are my troubles. Don’t forget to have him visit me in Haixi!”

Xu Tianyou got in the car, and Chen Shuifen watched until it was out of sight before heading back.

Meanwhile, in the car…

“Kid, where are you taking us to get this money? Don’t think we’re scared of you just because you’re in a fancy car! This isn’t something that can be resolved easily!” Liu Jun’s older brother sneered.

The Liu brothers had already whispered between themselves, figuring that if this rich guy was willing to pay up, they’d demand double the 200,000—and keep coming back for more later.

“Don’t worry, gentlemen. We’re almost there. I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”

Xu Tianyou replied coolly, turning around to give them a big smile.