Chapter 16: I Replace Him

Shu Shu discovered that after Shu Lingchen transferred that 400 to Chu Lian, only 0.28 yuan remained in the balance.

And Chu Lian, after receiving the money, still complained that the bed frame was moldy, she had broken out in a rash all over, wanted to change the bed, and couldn't stand it for a day.

Shu Lingchen replied that he would come up with a solution.

But he had no money left.

So, to make money, he chose to do debt collection.

Shu Lingchen's latest transaction was yesterday evening, when he transferred seven hundred to Chu Lian.

Note: buying a bed.

This was the commission he earned from doing debt collection; he didn't keep a single cent, transferring it all out.

Debt collection, put bluntly, is violent collection by a group of people who illegally lend money at high interest.

And among those who go to borrow high-interest loans, few are decent; most are desperate gamblers who won't repay meekly, and to avoid debt they will surely risk their lives resisting collectors.

Shu Lingchen's injury must have come from this; this time it's a bruise, next time it might be a knife wound.

Shu Shu recalled the dream she had before her "death".

In the dream, Shu Lingchen would go astray and eventually end up in prison.

Could this debt collection be the start of his going astray? And it's all because of Chu Lian?

Shu Shu kept taking deep breaths.

She silently chanted in her heart, "biological, biological."

She now truly suspected that Shu Lingchen had been fed stupidity-inducing drugs.

Otherwise, why would the Chu family mother and daughter be sucking his blood like leeches while he feels nothing?

Or maybe another day take him to the hospital for an IQ test?

Shu Shu thought with a blank expression, while Shu Lingchen beside her cautiously glanced at his mother's face; suddenly, Shu Shu raised her hand, and he flinched shut his eyes.

In her anticipation, the great blow of maternal love did not descend.

"Stretch out your hand."

Shu Lingchen opened his eyes.

Shu Shu held a bottle of red flower oil, staring at him coldly.

"Oh."

Shu Lingchen rolled up his own sleeves and obediently handed over his hand.

Shu Shu poured some red flower oil into her palm, warmed it slightly, then rubbed it onto the bruise on Shu Lingchen's arm.

Shu Lingchen was startled.

He looked at his mother, head lowered as she applied the red flower oil to him, recalling how as a child he had accidentally bumped and swollen his knee, and his mother had treated it the same way.

Shu Shu never hired a nanny or the like; for Shu Lingchen, she did everything herself, being a first-time mother and not knowing much, she preferred to slowly learn through experience rather than shirk the trouble and hand him off to someone else.

At this moment, Shu Lingchen felt as if he had returned to childhood, the tip of his nose about to feel a sour surge of emotion.

Shu Shu exerted force with her palm.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

Shu Lingchen sucked in a sharp breath.

"If it hurts, remember this: you are forbidden to do that debt collection again."

Shu Shu said: "The new place has been fixed up; cancel the rental and move back to live with me."

"Warning you: don't even think about letting the Chu mother and daughter move in with us, or I'll declare that you've lost me as your mother."

"Shu Lingchen, I mean what I say."

Shu Shu was truly angry.

Shu Lingchen hurriedly nodded.

The next day after school.

Shu Lingchen arrived at the rental unit and finished packing his belongings in less than ten minutes.

Shu Shu noticed that his luggage was pitifully little.

Just a backpack, a pair of worn-out sneakers with frayed uppers on his feet, two sets of uniforms, three black short-sleeve shirts and three pairs of ripped pants; besides that, he didn't even have a thick garment.

Shu Shu did not feel pity for Shu Lingchen.

This is what a little intellectual disabled person deserves.

Who let him give all his money to the Chu mother and daughter, leaving himself living like a little beggar?

Shu Lingchen checked out smoothly, returning the keys to the landlord that same day.

But when he tried to quit this part-time debt-collection job, it didn't go smoothly.

…

The neon lights of the street-side bar flickered with variegated colors.

Before pushing the door to enter, Shu Lingchen turned around, still disagreeing with Shu Shu accompanying him.

"Mom, why don't you go back first? I'll go find Strong Brother myself and talk to him."

Shu Shu: "Given your intelligence, I'm afraid you'll come to harm in there."

Shu Lingchen immediately protested, feeling wronged: "Do I really look that stupid?"

"Not stupid, just intellectually disabled."

"..."

"Cut the nonsense, let's go."

Thus.

Shu Lingchen had no choice but to push open the door.

The ear-splitting DJ sound blasted, and the dance floor was filled with twisting silhouettes.

A person with a flower-arm tattoo led the two to find Qiang Ge.

In the booth.

A bald, fat man with a thick gold chain around his neck, a dragon head tattoo on his chest, and a cigar in his hand sat in the center of the sofa.

Shu Lingchen stepped forward, expression somewhat unnatural.

"Qiang Ge, I'm here to quit."

The man called Qiang Ge took a puff of his cigar, then looked over, impatiently scoffing: "You fucking think this is a vegetable market, coming and going as you please? When you joined, I asked you—you said you were sure before I agreed to let you join. Now you're treating me like an idiot?"

Shu Lingchen pressed lips: "Sorry, Qiang Ge."

Qiang Ge gave Shu Lingchen a once-over, then said lightly: "You can leave, but you have to follow my rule: roll the dice. If you win, you go; if you lose, you leave one of your fingers behind."

Having said that, a lackey straight up handed over a fruit knife, the blade still stained with blood.

Shu Lingchen's face froze.

Shu Lingchen was still just a student who had never truly left campus, had never witnessed the nefarious deeds of these societal loafers, and had never even played dice.

"What? Chickened out? If you're scared, get lost—tomorrow keep collecting debts for me!"

"I..."

"I'll roll for him—" a clear, sweet female voice interjected.

Everyone looked up.

Shu Shu stood outside the booth and said: "I'll roll the dice for him."

Seeing it was a pretty young girl, everyone was taken aback.

Qiang Ge frowned: "Who are you? Do I look that easy to talk to? You say you'll substitute, then you substitute?"

Shu Shu curled her lip: "Who I am doesn't matter, right, Qiang Ge? How about we make a bet? I'll roll the dice for him—if I win, I take him away; if you win, his finger stays, and I'll also give you an extra 200,000."

As soon as she spoke, everyone gasped.

Snatch less?

200,000???

Qiang Ge eyed Shu Shu suspiciously; the girl looked like a student, her appearance and demeanor quite striking, but he didn't believe a student could produce 200,000: "You're messing with me?"

Shu Shu directly opened her phone, tapped into the balance of one of the n accounts.

Then she passed the screen over.

A lackey leaned over to look, murmuring the count: "ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands… Holy shit! Hundred thousands!"

There were actually over two million!

Whose student account could hold that much spare cash?!

"I can first pay you a 10,000 deposit to prove the money in this account is real."

"Ding."

One minute later, Qiang Ge looked at his phone showing a 10,000 receipt, smiled—money doesn't make you a fool—and agreed:

"Fine, you roll for him—but" Qiang Ge narrowed his eyes: "It's a dice roll against me."

As soon as the words fell, all the lackeys exchanged glances.

Qiang Ge was going to personally step in; it seemed neither the 200,000 nor this kid's finger would be leaving today.

Sensing the atmosphere was off.

Shu Lingchen gritted teeth, then whispered to Shu Shu: "Mom, let's run—I'll count one, two, three—"

But Shu Shu directly accepted Qiang Ge's words: "Deal."

The drinks and fruit platter on the coffee table were moved aside, and two sets of dice were placed there.

Qiang Ge and Shu Shu each got a set.

The rule is simple: there are six dice in the cup; compare points; best two out of three wins.

"Start."

"First round."

Qiang Ge rolled three sixes and three fives, for a total of thirty-three points.

"Qiang Ge is awesome!" the lackeys cheered.

Shu Shu lifted the lid: one four, three threes, two ones, for a total of fourteen points.

She lost.

"Pfft."

Seeing this, Qiang Ge laughed, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth; this girl's roll clearly showed she was a novice, while his dice-rolling had skill—no one around could match him.

"Young lady, this bet was your own idea—later you can't say I'm bullying you."

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow: "Nope, best two out of three—let's continue."