Chapter 20: Born a Jinx

At that time, Shu Lingchen was in fourth grade of elementary school.

There were several bad students at school who bullied him, mocking him for not only having no father, but also having killed his own mother, saying he was born a jinx, and that anyone who got close to him would become unfortunate.

They threw his schoolbag into the gutter and tore his textbooks to shreds.

Shu Lingchen was beaten until he curled up on the ground, tightly covering his ears, trying to shut out those needle‑like words.

In a daze he recalled being bullied this way in kindergarten, when his mother had fiercely driven those people away.

But nowadays, no one will protect him like that anymore……

Just then.

A childish female voice came down from the sky.

It was Chu Lian.

Chu Lian was a model student in the teachers' eyes, a sweet treat; those bad students feared she would tell the teacher, and at the warning they all fled in panic.

"A-Chen, are you okay?"

She gently helped Shu Lingchen up from the ground.

In a daze, Shu Lingchen opened his eyes to see a girl's delicate, fair little face.

She looked at him with worry and concern.

Sunlight streamed from behind, gilding her with a warm golden edge; at that moment, a blinding impression etched itself into Shu Lingchen's dim world.

Chu Lian gently wiped the sewage off his schoolbag with a wet tissue, then page by page taped his torn textbooks together with clear tape.

"It's a bit ugly, A-Chen, I really did my best."

She stuck out her tongue and apologetically said to him.

Shu Lingchen shook his head, holding the textbooks like precious treasures: "No, it's taped well—better than new books, Chu Chu, thank you."

Then she smiled at him.

"You idiot A-Chen, from now on you also need to learn to become strong—what would we do if someone bullied me one day?"

Shu Lingchen swore solemnly: "Chu Chu, don't worry, I will definitely become strong; from now on I will protect you!"

"Good."

…

"Chu Aunt and Chu Chu have always accompanied and cared for me; once I had a high fever in the middle of the night, Chu Aunt carried me to the hospital, and that day it poured rain."

"After my fever broke, Chu Aunt contracted a lasting ailment from that heavy rain; her body grew weak, any strenuous work would trigger a relapse, and she needs a special medicine just to maintain daily strength."

Shu Lingchen looked at Shu Shu, squeezing the spoon handle: "... Mom, Chu Aunt and her family have really been good to me."

Shu Shu was silent for a moment.

How to put it.

Upon hearing it suddenly, it's a rather moving redemption story.

Shu Shu finally understood why Shu Lingchen viewed the Chu mother‑daughter pair through such a thick benevolent filter.

But the Chu mother‑daughter as described by Shu Lingchen and the Chu mother‑daughter she herself witnessed are completely opposite kinds of people.

If they were really that good,

why would they have Shu Lingchen move out to rent a place while they themselves live in a mansion?

why would they scheme to drain his monthly living expenses, watching him endure such "impoverished" circumstances?

These are absolutely not things that decent people would do.

Something's off; there must be something wrong.

"Mom?"

Seeing Shu Shu lost in thought, Shu Lingchen asked: "What are you thinking about?"

Shu Shu rested her chin on her hand: "I'm thinking, since Chu Lian is so good to you, why at school does your relationship seem not so close, with hardly anyone knowing you know each other privately, and moreover, when she sees people calling you a toad craving swan meat, she doesn't speak up for you?"

"It's me who asked Chu Chu to pretend not to know me." Shu Lingchen gave a self‑deprecating tug at his lips: "I'm a poor student and a delinquent; being seen with Chu Chu would drag down her model‑student reputation, so liking her and being good to her is just my one‑sided thing."

"In other words, she doesn't like you, right?"

"Chu Chu is an outstanding girl; she says she just wants to focus on her studies now and will only consider romance after graduation."

Shu Shu chuckled.

"If she just wants to study hard, why is she spending your money?"

Not clearly saying she likes you, nor clearly rejecting you, she sidesteps with excuses while happily spending your money and living in your mansion?

But Shu Lingchen retorted: "I'm the one who voluntarily spends money on Chu Chu; she's never asked me for money—she's not a materialistic girl!"

Shu Shu: "……"

Chu Lian is practically reaching into your pocket to grab money!

Shu Lingchen's eyes firm: "I'll wait; I'll wait until Chu Chu graduates, then formally confess to her!"

"Wow." Shu Shu gave a dead‑pan thumbs‑up: "At such a young age you're spouting amazing love words—my son's still a big romantic~"

A big idiot.

A big idiot made into a big idiot by PUA.

Shu Shu looked at her son's face full of pure yearning, like looking at a piglet, and she faintly felt that Shu Lingchen might have been slaughtered by a thirteen‑year‑long pig‑butchering scam run by the Chu mother‑daughter.

"It's getting late; go to sleep early, you still have school tomorrow."

Shu Shu rose, put the two empty bowls into the dishwasher, then returned to her own room.

She didn't lie down right away; instead she opened her phone and started fiddling.

In less than thirty seconds, a new message came in:

"Dear Black Gold user, are you sure you want to set the performance of this insurance fund to a 99.99% loss rate?"

Shu Shu hesitated not: "Certain."

The other side quickly replied: "Okay, already processed for you, estimated profit of that insurance fund next month is: 200 yuan."

Shu Shu twirled the phone with her fingertips, leaning against the soft pillow.

She, as his birth mother, had to personally give her mentally disabled son a lesson.

The name of this lesson is:

Without material substance, family/love is just a plate of loose sand.

Shu Shu glanced at the calendar.

Today, it just happens to be the last day of the month.

Shu Shu curled her lips, put down the phone, set the lamp to sleep mode, wrapped herself in the blanket, lay down, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

The next day.

The whole morning.

Shu Lingchen, during every break, held his phone, clicked, refreshed, re-entered, and then wore an expression of disbelief.

Shu Shu pretended not to have seen.

Until noon, when the class bell rang, everyone went to the cafeteria.

Shu Lingchen remained seated in his seat, unmoving.

Bo Luo Zai called him to eat together, but he waved his hand saying he wasn't hungry, so Bo Luo Zai had to go with the other lackeys first.

Shu Shu stood to the side, watching, and said: "You just gnawed a sandwich this morning—how can you not be hungry now?"

Hearing that, Shu Lingchen lifted his head, scanned the classroom, saw no one else, then wore a mournful face: "Mom, I've gone bankrupt—the insurance fund lost everything, my living expenses for next month are only two hundred yuan!"

Shu Lingchen's balance had only twenty-eight fen left; he had originally thought he could hold out until tomorrow when the new month's fifty-thousand-yuan living allowance would arrive, but instead he received a loss notice early that morning.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Is that the fund I bought for you long ago?" Shu Shu walked over to look at Shu Lingchen's phone, feigning surprise: "Oh, it really is—it's greener than the Hulk!"

Shu Lingchen wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Mom, I'm going to have to drink the northwest wind."