This rainstorm in the Imperial City lasted all day and night, and the air was especially fresh afterward.
As usual, Chi Youyou first took Chi Zaozao to kindergarten and even made sure he took a pile of delicious snacks, which made the little guy throw a tantrum all morning.
She managed to withstand the pressure and didn’t back down.
"Youyou..."
"What’s the matter?"
By the time she reached the classroom, Shen Xiaomi and the others had already secured their seats, right in the front row!
The theory was that the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Yet the three of them didn’t seem to have much energy, and her intuition told her it wasn’t something good.
"Just see for yourself, sigh."
Shen Xiaomi handed her the phone.
[News for Today]
A murder occurred in an alley in the Imperial City Suburb, where a stepdaughter stabbed her stepfather 12 times until he died.
The sentence that caught her eye made Chi Youyou’s pupils contract—what on earth could cause such hatred, stabbing 12 times to death.
But the more she read, the more furrowed her brows became.
"This is..."
"Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking."
Zhao Qingran nodded, then whispered, "Senior Liu Yan, I never thought her backstory was so tragic."
Although the report wasn’t very detailed, one could infer from a few words here and there.
What they never expected was how unluckily Liu Yan’s life unfolded.
Shortly after she was born, her father got involved with a wealthy woman and abandoned the two of them. Her mother remarried, thinking her new husband was an honest man, but shortly after the marriage, his true nature emerged—alcoholic, domestically violent, lazy, living off her mother’s hard work to support the family, until her mother eventually fell seriously ill.
Perhaps she’d truly had enough, and in a moment of domestic violence fueled by the stepfather’s drinking, she killed him in self-defense.
"No wonder..."
She needed money so desperately that she would do anything for it.
Chi Youyou sighed slightly in her heart, but she didn’t say the final sentence.
Liu Yan gave her the impression of someone extremely patient, decisive in her actions, as long as the money was right.
Before, she couldn’t understand why Liu Yan behaved this way—was money that important?
Now she understood that money really was crucial for her.
Chi Youyou couldn’t help but feel a bit stifled, knowing that life is inherently unfair: some are born with a silver spoon, while others must struggle all their lives to glimpse a hopeful future; some even spend their entire lives going in circles.
Liu Yan would do anything for money, without any moral limits, which was undoubtedly wrong, but faced with her own seeming abyss, she had no other choice—one wrong step led to another.
"Youyou, you are..."
Suddenly, Shen Xiaomi’s phone beeped with a notification from Weibo, [Youzi] V.
#Youzi Charity Fund, Let’s Supervise Together#
For every transaction completed, 1 yuan will be donated. Let’s all monitor this together, to help more people in need.
"I just suddenly wanted to do something."
Chi Youyou thought about how in her 18 years, she never lacked food or clothing. Besides not having much money, her family had everything else, living a self-sufficient and happy life.
Now that she had the ability to earn, she wanted to do what little she could.
She also hoped to remind herself not to be blinded by money and forget her original intentions.
Of course, earning money the right way is still necessary—just as long as you have a clear conscience!
Imperial City Prison.
"Yanyan, you must take good care of yourself, don’t worry about mom. With the hospital’s help, a charity donation has been organized, and they’ve already raised some money; the surgery can happen next week."
Behind the glass, Liu Yan looked incredulously at her emaciated mother—had they really raised the money?
"Don’t worry, mom will make sure the judges to be lenient."
After hearing about the money being raised, Liu Yan was in a daze and didn’t hear anything else.
She thought God had abandoned them, but...
Suddenly, she realized she might have been wrong from the start, thinking money could change everything. She began earning money to help her mother, hoping her stepfather would treat them better; initially, it worked, with fewer beatings from her wealthier stepfather.
But gradually, the stepfather spent money faster and demanded more, like a pit that could never be filled...
"Yanyan, what’s wrong?"
"Yanyan, don’t cry, mom will find a way..."
She had been wrong...
With this thought, she burst into tears, holding her head.
She was really wrong...