Chapter 15: Monthly Living Expenses of Fifty Thousand

Shu Lingchen didn't speak again.

Over the next day, Shu Shu couldn't get him to speak.

Shu Lingchen only promised he hadn't fought or bullied the weak, and no matter how they asked, he refused to say anything else.

This stubborn personality really is… a bit like that person.

When he's unwilling, not even the heavenly king could make him comply.

This kid must be hiding something bad from me.

…

It seemed he was trying to avoid Shu Shu; as soon as school let out, Shu Lingchen slipped away without a trace.

Shu Shu watched his hurriedly retreating back, lost in thought.

She didn't leave school right away; instead, she went straight to the woods behind the teaching building.

This is a place often frequented by delinquent students.

At that moment.

Several boys were secretly smoking there; hearing footsteps, they exchanged a glance and all stomped out their cigarettes.

Until they saw Shu Shu in her school uniform.

"Damn! It's not a surprise inspection by the discipline director, scared the hell out of me!"

One of the boys got a clear look at Shu Shu's face, his eyes lit up with astonishment, the annoyance from being forced to stop his cigarette halfway gone, and he said earnestly, "Who are you looking for, miss?"

Shu Shu: "Impolite. Call me aunt."

The boy stared at the pretty girl his own age in front of him, fuming: "……" Who's being rude here!

Shu Shu glanced around, didn't see Shu Lingchen, but spotted a familiar face.

A boy with a rooster‑style haircut.

One of Shu Lingchen's little lackeys.

Shu Shu called out to him: "Classmate Zhao Heping."

Bo Luo Zai blinked; everyone usually called him by his nickname Bo Luo Zai, so hardly anyone ever used his real name seriously, and he instinctively straightened up.

"Hey."

Shu Shu: "Do you know how Shu Lingchen got the injury on his arm?"

Since Shu Lingchen greeted everyone that day saying Shu Shu was good at fighting, Bo Luo Zai has been a bit wary of her.

But mostly he feels resentful.

How tough could she be? At most, she's just a girl.

"Why should I tell you? Who are you?"

Bo Luo Zai acted all stuck‑up again, like some big shot.

Shu Shu had been holding in anger over Shu Lingchen's little idiot, and now she had no patience.

She casually picked up a brick from the ground and snapped it with her bare hands.

Bare-handed.

She bent it, and it broke.

"Damn!!!"

Everyone was stunned, mouths agape.

Bo Luo Zai gulped down his saliva and instantly spilled the beans.

"Chen‑ge's arm injury happened when he was collecting debts!" he sobbed, "Sorry, Chen‑ge!"

"Collecting debts?" Shu Shu frowned: "Someone owes him money?"

"No, Chen‑ge needed money, took a part‑time job helping Qiang Ge collect debts, and could earn a commission."

Shu Shu caught the keyword "short of money" and exclaimed in surprise: "Shu Lingchen, short of money?"

How could that be.

When Shu Lingchen was born, she set up an insurance fund for him.

Just in case, even if she weren't around.

Shu Lingchen receives fifty thousand each month for living expenses.

Even if he didn't go to school or work, he could live carefree as a good‑for‑nothing.

Shu Shu pulled out her phone to check.

The fund is operating normally, and the monthly profit distribution has been normal for these thirteen years.

The apartment Shu Lingchen rents is quite ordinary; he basically eats and drinks only at school, and shows no signs of extravagant habits.

So where has all his money gone???

"Hey, quick look at the forum! Eldest Young Lady Chu is showing off her bag again!"

A boy lowered his head, eagerly scrolling on his phone.

"I heard that last Saturday Chu Lian brought people to her home at Yujingyuan to visit, but she was kicked out, with them saying the house wasn't hers and Chu Lian wasn't really the eldest young lady!"

"But wasn't it cleared up soon after? They said Chu Lian's father's CEO assistant made a mistake, mixing up a property deed from home and mistakenly selling it to someone else."

"Chu Lian is definitely the eldest young lady—look at this bag, it costs over ten thousand! And all the shoes, clothes, and jewelry she wears daily are luxury brands; if she weren't the eldest young lady, how could she afford them?"

Shu Shu furrowed her brow.

She also opened the Third Middle forum, and sure enough, in the latest hot post she saw a screenshot of Chu Lian's order for a fragrant-home bag.

Caption: "A compensation gift from my father; lately I've had to make do with a five‑star presidential suite~"

The Chu family mother and daughter can't even afford the 48,000 property fee, so how could they have spare cash for luxury goods?

Shu Shu let out a scoff.

She seemed to know where all the money of this little idiot went.

That's right, the house is being lived in by someone.

Shu Shu looked at Bo Luo Zai and asked, "Where is the place where Shu Lingchen collects debts?"

Bo Luo Zai: "Why are you asking about that……?"

Shu Shu narrowed her eyes: "I want to go."

A cry of pain came from the alley.

"No, I don't have any money……"

A man with a bruised and swollen face was forced into a corner by several thugs, his hands clasped together, constantly begging for mercy.

"Could you please extend the deadline by just one week? Next week I'll definitely be able to pay it back!"

Shu Lingchen wore a black baseball cap, his features sharp and arrogant under the brim, he reached out and grabbed the man's hair, forcing his face up: "No money? Weren't you just having a great time hugging beautiful women and singing at the KTV?"

"I……"

"Brother Qiang said, if you don't repay the money, this hand——"

"Shu Lingchen."

Shu Lingchen hadn't finished speaking when he heard someone call his name.

His back stiffened, and he turned his head in a dazed manner.

At the alley entrance.

Shu Shu stood there expressionlessly.

Three large characters suddenly struck Shu Lingchen's forehead.

Finished, egg, done.

Half an hour later.

Yujingyuan F1600.

Shu Lingchen stood punished like a quail in the living room with extremely low air pressure.

On the opposite sofa.

Shu Shu crossed her arms, looked down from above, and spoke coldly: "How long have you been doing debt collection?"

Shu Lingchen weakly said: "……The next day."

In other words, it started yesterday.

"Give me the phone."

Shu Lingchen didn't dare to defy the order, and obediently handed over his phone.

After taking the phone, Shu Shu directly checked Shu Lingchen's transaction history.

Indeed, it was exactly as she had expected.

Most of Shu Lingchen's monthly living expenses of fifty thousand were transferred to the same person.

——Chu Lian.

"Ah Chen, do you think this crystal hairpin looks good?"

"Shu Lingchen transferred 666."

"Ah Chen, these hook shoes are so girly, I love them~."

"Shu Lingchen transferred 1688."

"Ah Chen, this white dress is so beautiful; I saw it in a roadside shop window after school today, but unfortunately it's too expensive for me to afford."

"Shu Lingchen transferred 6666."

……

Basically, at the beginning of each month when Shu Lingchen's fifty-thousand living expenses come in, Chu Lian will use various excuses to 'ask' for money.

From small accessories at first, to clothing, and later to handbags.

Chu Lian's 'appetite' kept growing.

Shu Shu let out a scoff.

This little idiot lets people live in his house, spends all his money on others, while they live like young ladies and princesses, and he ends up a poor wretch.

Shu Shu glanced again at Shu Lingchen's nearby bill; on that Saturday after he left Yujingyuan, he transferred 400 to Chu Lian.

The note read: 'Daily necessities.'

"Why should you pay for her daily necessities?"

Shu Lingchen said: "Wasn't Chu Auntie and the others moved out of Yujingyuan that day? The bedsheets and such at home are old and unusable, Chu Auntie is in poor health, can't work, has no source of income, so……"

Poor health?

Shu Shu saw that Chu Mother, who had been tugging with Liu Tong that day, spoke with full vigor, seeming capable of fighting three hundred rounds—she certainly didn't look unhealthy!

"She has no source of income, so how does Chu Lian afford school?"

Shu Lingchen fell silent, then said: "Chu Chu's tuition has always been paid by me."

Shu Shu directly laughed in anger.

Turns out this insurance fund of hers has been supporting not only Shu Lingchen these past years, but also the Chu family mother and daughter!