After finishing breakfast, the group went to Li Shiqi's ho to fetch her luggage.
Li Shiqi's stepfather had a bad left leg and an unattractive appearance. Fortunately, his financial situation was decent. Having inherited several street-facing properties from his parents, he opened a mahjong parlor in the back and was considered to have a modest amount of wealth.
Li Shiqi's mother, on the other hand, was reasonably well-featured. However, tis were different back then. Ten years ago, no matter how beautiful a woman was, having a child in tow made things difficult. Dating was fine, but very few n were willing to get married to soone with baggage.
Thus, she eventually settled for La Li. A woman in a second marriage bringing along a child naturally just wanted to find a provider. But La Li was no fool either; since they ate his food and lived under his roof, they were expected to work.
From the very beginning, La Li never missed an opportunity to make snide remarks and indirect jabs at Li Shiqi. His point was always that girls were inherently money-losing burdens; instead of studying without earning a di, she would be better off finding soone to get married to early on.
Whenever this happened, Li Shiqi's mother would swallow her pride and quietly tell Li Shiqi to just endure it.
"Your father just has that kind of personality. Bear with it, and it will pass," she would say.
In reality, deep down, Li Shiqi never considered that man her father, nor had she ever addressed La Li as such.
From La Li's perspective, he wasn't entirely wrong either. He provided good food and shelter, yet never even heard her call him father. Since he wasn't exactly a broad-minded person, he naturally complained through veiled insults. Because of this, the relationship between the two sides grew increasingly distant.
With the New Year fast approaching, business at the mahjong parlor was incredibly popular.
Li Shiqi's mother was busy running around, tending to everything.
anwhile, La Li was keeping the custors company by playing mahjong. One of the patrons remarked, "Hey, Old Li, where is your daughter? The winter holiday started days ago, but we haven't seen her around."
"Who knows where she went!" La Li grumbled. "People say girls are just money pits, and it's absolutely true. Ever since she started university, I've barely seen a shadow of her. I fed her and clothed her all this ti, and in the end, I get nothing out of it!"
Thinking about this made La Li flush with anger.
The others could not help but chuckle, pointing out that she was probably just busy studying.
"Everyone knows your daughter has excellent grades. She goes to Jinling University, after all!"
"Hmph!"
La Li snorted with disdain, slapping down a tile as he spoke. "What is the use of being good at studying?"
"It's not like I reap any benefits from it."
Just as they were talking, a black rcedes-Benz G-Wagon quietly pulled up and parked right outside the storefront.
His mahjong parlor was located in a street-facing unit of an urban village, with the back converted into comrcial space. As such, there was naturally no urban planning to speak of. The parlor attracted a mixed crowd, and outside, the street was cluttered with casually parked cars.
Therefore, when the rcedes-Benz G-Wagon pulled over, a few people took notice of the expensive car.
However, the majority of the crowd just kept their heads down, focused on their mahjong tiles, and didn't seem to care at all.
Zhou Yuwen asked Li Shiqi, "Do you want to go down with you?"
"No need. Just wait for in the car," she replied.
Zhou Yuwen had intended to have Liu Shuo and himself help Li Shiqi grab her things, but Li Shiqi insisted there was barely anything to take. She felt no sense of belonging to this family anyway. Naturally, she planned to abandon her old, tattered clothes whenever possible. She was only coming back to retrieve her diary and a few sentintal items left in the house. More importantly, she did not want Zhou Yuwen to see her broken and fractured family.
So, even though Zhou Yuwen offered several tis, Li Shiqi firmly refused to let him step out.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuwen did not push the issue any further and simply agreed.
With that, the car door opened, and Li Shiqi stepped out.
The eye-catching rcedes-Benz G-Wagon had already drawn the attention of quite a few people. Now, seeing an elegant woman wearing a base shirt and a trench coat step out, everyone was stunned for a mont.
Of the two n squatting in the corner smoking, one hurriedly nudged the other.
He motioned for him to look quickly.
They say a girl changes significantly as she grows up, and it was entirely true. In fact, Li Shiqi had only been away from her family for a year, yet her transformation was completely night and day.
Especially now, walking in a pair of black high heels, she looked like a strong woman returning from a big city. With her hands tucked inside her trench coat, she stood coldly at the entrance of the mahjong parlor for a brief mont.
Then, she walked inside.
With her outstanding presence, Li Shiqi quickly attracted the attention of many people, including La Li, who was playing mahjong nearby. However, at first glance, La Li did not recognize her.
Let alone La Li, even Li Shiqi's mother, who was busy running around pouring tea and water for the custors, failed to notice her returning daughter. It was a patron who finally spoke up, saying, "Lady boss, you have a custor."
Mother Li was slow to react. Holding a large water kettle, she hurriedly walked over. "Hello, welco! Table for how many?"
Years of manual labor had long since left Mother Li with a bloated figure. She looked like an ordinary small-town woman, sporting short hair and wearing an apron tied around her waist.
Compared to Li Shiqi in her high heels, Mother Li was a full head shorter. Initially, she was full of smiles, but when she truly got a clear look at the girl standing before her, Mother Li froze in shock.
Imdiately, a look of pleasant surprise washed over her face. "Shiqi!"
"Husband! Husband, our daughter is back! Shiqi, you've beco so beautiful now!"
Mother Li was genuinely thrilled. She rembered her daughter looking like a re high school student when she left, yet after such a short ti apart, she now looked like a star straight out of the television!
Over by the tables, La Li, who had been cracking sunflower seeds and chatting with his poker buddies about where this girl might be from, also froze upon hearing his wife's words.
"Oh! My daughter is back! Why co back just now? Your mom and I were even thinking of going to Jinling to pick you up!"
With so many relatives and friends watching, Li Shiqi's sudden return gave La Li a lot of face. Naturally delighted, La Li enthusiastically rushed over to greet her, his head held high. His deanor practically scread, 'Look at that! That is my daughter!'
'That is my daughter!'
La Li walked over with familiar ease, bearing a bright smile as he reached out to pull Li Shiqi inside. He added, "Hurry on in! Mom and Dad have been waiting for you to co back for the New Year!"
Watching La Li's outstretched hand.
Li Shiqi slightly dodged to the side. La Li's hand grabbed nothing but air, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
Then ca Li Shiqi's cold voice. "No need."
"I just ca to pack up my things. Once I am done packing up, I will leave."
After saying this, Li Shiqi bypassed her parents and walked straight into the inner rooms on her own.
At that mont, the room was full of neighbors playing cards. For Li Shiqi to say such a thing in front of everyone was equivalent to completely disregarding La Li's face. La Li's expression imdiately darkened.
Staring at his stepdaughter who showed him absolutely no respect, La Li could not help but ask harshly, "Leave? Where are you going right before the New Year? Is there no room for you in this family anymore!? I spent so much money raising you, and this is how you repay , you heartless wretch!"
La Li hurled a barrage of curses at Li Shiqi's back, but she acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, walking straight toward her room. In truth, it could barely be called her room. La Li's house had a second floor for living, while the first floor was used as the card and mahjong parlor. Li Shiqi's room was originally on the second floor, but after her younger brother was born, she was moved to a storage closet on the first floor. It was a tiny cramped space partitioned off right next to the mahjong room, and the soundproofing was terrible.
During high school, whenever Li Shiqi was studying inside, all she could hear was the endless clattering of mahjong tiles outside.
Growing up in such a family, Li Shiqi naturally harbored no good impressions. She had very few belongings, just enough to perfectly fit into her old high school backpack.
However, the more she ignored La Li, the more enraged he beca. At this point, La Li was already red down to his neck. He angrily marched over and yelled at Li Shiqi, "Didn't you hear talking to you?!"
"Who said you could leave? Where are you going right at the New Year!?" Seeing Li Shiqi continuing to completely ignore him, La Li finally lost his temper. He reached out and violently snatched the backpack she was packing up.
With a loud crash, everything inside the backpack spilled all over the floor.
"?" Li Shiqi looked at La Li with great confusion.
By now, all the custors in the mahjong parlor had stopped playing and were watching the drama unfold.
Seeing her daughter and husband getting into an argunt, Li Shiqi's mother quickly rushed over to defuse the situation. "Oh my, alright, alright, it's the New Year. Let's keep things harmonious, why lose your temper?"
"You are making us a laughingstock. Alright, alright, say no more."
Li Shiqi's mother offered words of persuasion to her husband.
Who could have known, however, that La Li would violently shove her away? Despite having a la leg, his arm strength was terrifyingly imnse. Unable to control his force, he threw Mother Li straight onto the ground.
"Ah!"
"Mom," Li Shiqi saw her mother fall to the ground and rushed over to help her up.
Mother Li indicated she was fine and pleaded with Li Shiqi, "Shiqi, with the New Year here, where could you possibly go? Mom is begging you, don't make your dad angry anymore."
Li Shiqi did not listen to her mother. Instead, she glared furiously at La Li.
Looking down at the mother and daughter on the floor, La Li barked, "What are you looking at for!?"
He then turned to Mother Li and imdiately launched into a tirade. "What a fine daughter you've raised! Co on, co on, tell everyone exactly how you raised such a fine daughter!"
"Back then, when you mother and daughter were holess, I was the one who took you in. What did you promise ? You said she would be just like my own daughter, that she would provide for in my old age and take care of my every need. And now? Her wings have grown hard, and she's refusing to acknowledge her debts? She wants to leave right before the New Year? I provided food and clothing for you two for so many years, and this is how you repay ? Co on, tell the folks here all about it!"
La Li had no sense of sha whatsoever, nor did he realize that everyone else was just watching the spectacle for their own amusent. He simply dragged Mother Li in front of the crowd and demanded she speak for herself.
Mother Li felt utterly humiliated, pleading with La Li to stop talking.
But La Li actively wanted to humiliate them. He dragged out everything from the past, calling them ungrateful wretches and money-losing goods with every breath. He listed out the expenses from over the years—buying clothes, paying tuition fees, and what else, supplentary classes? Book fees?
"Isn't all of that money? I won't even ntion that you never treated like your real father, but what do you an by leaving without a trace now? Are you really trying to bully because I'm a cripple? Co on, everyone, judge for yourselves!"
As La Li ranted, the onlookers naturally just watched the drama unfold, finding the whole thing entertaining.
Mother Li, however, felt extrely disgraced.
Li Shiqi could not endure such imnse humiliation. She stated directly, "I will just pay the money back to you!"
"Pay back!? What are you going to use to pay it back? What, you've grown up? Found yourself a sugar daddy out there? And now you think you can just leave? Over a decade of rearing and care, how exactly are you going to pay that back!"
La Li was being completely unreasonable and bossy. He even firmly insisted that if it hadn't been for him, the mother and daughter would have starved to death on the streets long ago!
The others listening nearby nodded repeatedly, though in reality, they were just enjoying the show.
Li Shiqi wanted to say sothing, but just as she opened her mouth, her mother stopped her. Mother Li said, "Shiqi, your dad is right. We cannot be this ungrateful. Listen to Mom, it is the New Year, let's not make a fuss, okay?"
Seeing that everyone seed to be on his side, La Li finally recovered a shred of dignity and snorted coldly.
Right at that mont, Zhou Yuwen, who had unknowingly slipped into the crowd, suddenly spoke up. "Just say how much money you want. What's the point of bringing up all this irrelevant nonsense?"
"?"
The crowd focused their eyes and only then realized that, at so point, a tall young man had appeared right next to them.
The people who ca to play cards were all neighbors. One look and they knew Zhou Yuwen was an outsider.
Who was this?
"Haven't seen him before?"
"He's probably La Li's daughter's boyfriend?"
"He's quite handso."
"Huh, but I feel like he looks really familiar!"
La Li did not know Zhou Yuwen, but he was very displeased by his tone. He demanded, "And who are you?"
Zhou Yuwen stepped out from the crowd at this mont, with Liu Shuo following right behind him. Zhou Yuwen declared, "I am Shiqi's boyfriend. Just tell how much money you want."
Hearing this, La Li scoffed!
"I was wondering where this wretched lass got such a big temper from. Turns out she's being kept by a sugar daddy! No wonder, no wonder!"
"Fuck you, what the hell are you saying? Keep your mouth clean!"
Liu Shuo was already feeling quite irritated. To think this stinking cripple was actually spreading dirty rumors about his boss's woman right in front of him! His eyes widened in fury, ready to teach the man a lesson.
In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed up to La Li, raising his hand to deliver a slap.
La Li was a middle-aged man who had put on a bit of weight, but in front of Liu Shuo, he was nothing more than a slightly chubby little chicken. Liu Shuo walked with an imposing gust of wind, and his glaring expression was downright terrifying.
Watching Liu Shuo arrive right in his face, La Li finally felt fear. His body trembled, and unable to hold himself up, he collapsed onto the floor.
Even with him on the ground, Liu Shuo had no intention of letting him go. He grabbed La Li by the collar, ready to dish out so punishnt.
"Liu Shuo," Zhou Yuwen stopped him at that mont, saying, "Forget it. Don't stoop to his level. Let him stand up."
Liu Shuo was about to strike, but upon hearing Zhou Yuwen's words, he stopped himself. With a cold snort and a forceful yank, he hoisted the man right in front of Zhou Yuwen.
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