Chapter 29: Standing Up for Yu Zao?

"Her? Shi-Yong, who are you thinking of?"

Yu Yue's aggrieved voice rang out.

Fu Shi-Yong pulled himself back to reality with a start. He offered a bitter smile, refusing to let his gaze linger on the crystal ball any longer. Changing the subject, he said, "Weren't we going to buy a birthday present for your mother? Let's go. We still have to return to your house for the birthday banquet tonight; let's not be late."

"Shi-Yong, why the 'you' and 'I'? It sounds so distant." She paused, then added, "And about 'Mother'... we are getting married soon. Shouldn't you be calling her 'Mom'?"

As they stepped out of the store, Yu Yue continued her persistent coaxing. Little Yi-Yi was sleeping restlessly in her arms, and every so often, sharp stabs of pain would shoot through her arm as if something were pinching her viciously.

The man’s thin lips pressed into a line. His tone was gentle, but his words brooked no argument. "I will change how I address her after we are married. Now is not the time."

"Shi-Yong!"

Across the street, a bus drove past, blocking Yu Zao’s view. She did not see the "family of three" leaving the shop. She was crossing the road while talking on her phone, heading toward the same store.

"Hello, Mr. Yu."

It was a cold, distant greeting, even though the man coughing incessantly on the other end—the one who sounded so much older—was the biological father she hadn't seen in over a decade.

Mr. Yu was silent for a long moment before sighing. "Little Zao, it's been so many years. Are you still holding a grudge against your father?"

"Mr. Yu, I have no father and no mother."

She walked up to the crystal ball music box and stared at it intently. A price tag showed it was on sale for fifty percent off.

"Yu Zao! Your mother was the one who cheated first; our marriage was already dead in all but name." He roared, "Being with Yu Yue’s mother was a meeting of true hearts!"

Yu Zao grew impatient. "Mr. Yu, you finally made a call after more than a decade, having gone to such lengths to track down my number. Surely this isn't just to... talk nonsense?"

She glanced at the balance on her WeChat wallet. Even after setting aside her monthly living expenses, she couldn't afford the discounted crystal ball, even if she lived on instant noodles. The item cost over seven hundred.

"Forget it. You’ve always been too stubborn. I am your elder. It’s been over ten years—haven't you learned to soften your stance yet?"

He was still rambling. Yu Zao couldn't even be bothered to waste another word; she simply hung up.

She turned to the shopkeeper. "Can you hold this crystal ball for me for another month?"

"Miss, it's only seven hundred dollars. You come in every month begging me to keep it for you. Surely you can't be *that* poor," the middle-aged shopkeeper said, sounding exasperated. He scanned her with a lewd gaze, sweeping his eyes up and down her body. "You're so beautiful. Wouldn't it be easier to find a man to buy it for you?"

Buzz, buzz.

Her phone, its screen yellowed and webbed with spider-web cracks, vibrated.

—[Little Zao, come home at eight o'clock tonight.]
—[If you still want the only keepsake your mother left you.]

Attached was a photo of a chaotic basement. An oil painting covered in thick dust showed the hazy silhouette of a young girl, radiant and brilliant under a sun-drenched rainbow.

—[Fine, I will return.]

Yu Zao fired off a quick reply and turned to leave. The shopkeeper chuckled, reached out, and grabbed her chest. "Little beauty, how about this? Spend the night with me, and I'll give you the crystal ball for free. How about it?"

"Give it to me?"

The orange light of the small shop was soft and warm. A smile bloomed on her stunning, icy face—a smile that would chill anyone to the bone. She was breathtakingly beautiful, yet devoid of any vitality.

Just as the shopkeeper thought she had agreed, in the next second—

*Crash!*

The crystal ball was smashed directly onto the floor.

Yu Zao bent down, unhurried, and picked up a jagged shard of glass. She stepped closer, step by step.

The shopkeeper scrambled backward in terror, growling, "What... what are you doing? Murder is a crime! You... you..."

*Arghhh!*

The sharp edge of the glass sliced through the man's filthy, wandering hand. Blood splattered everywhere.

"A crime? Will I die for it?" She tilted her head, then used the shopkeeper's high-end silk shirt to wipe the blood from her hand. "If you can, please call the police as soon as possible. Thank you."

Living was quite meaningless anyway.

With that, she walked to the roadside and boarded a bus.

In the Rolls-Royce parked nearby, Yu Yue clutched Fu Shi-Yong’s slightly stiff arm, sighing dramatically. "Was that my sister just now? Fighting with an old shopkeeper over a crystal ball... how did she become like this?"

"Self-degrading, filthy, and base." The man enunciated each word, every syllable cold and sharp.

The driver pulled away. But that very night, a massive fire suddenly broke out at that shop. The shopkeeper was burned into a cripple. Even his wife and children fled Jingbei overnight, not daring to pursue any claims for the accident.

Eight o'clock. The Yu family villa.

Yu Yue wore a phoenix-embroidered cheongsam, handmade by the Xue family. Since 1900, the Xue family had been a prestigious lineage that rose to prominence in Shanghai, once even crafting cheongsams for the imperial concubines.

To convince them to come out of retirement today required not only mountains of wealth but also sufficient face and social standing.

"Old Yu, look at our precious daughter. Did Shi-Yong give you this cheongsam? That brat certainly knows how to spoil you." Yu Yue's mother, Zhao Yueyao, walked down the stairs hand-in-hand with Mr. Yu, looking affectionate.

They were an old married couple, exceptionally devoted. Only Yu Zao knew how the same man had once knelt before her own mother for three days and three nights, begging to marry a noble lady.

"Mom, isn't Shi-Yong always like this?" Yu Yue said, then intentionally left the rest of her sentence hanging. "He used to be like this to my sister, too..."

In the crowd, Yu Zao, wearing the cheapest clothes from a street stall, was pushed and shoved by the haughty guests. Even a random servant of the Yu family felt emboldened to order around the legitimate eldest daughter with disdain.

"Where did this beggar come from? Oh, right, are you here to collect scrap? To be doing this at your age, you really live worse than a pig or dog."

As the servant spoke, she yanked hard on Yu Zao’s slender wrist, dragging her toward the backyard. Unable to keep up, Yu Zao stumbled, her weak body slamming into the wall with a series of dull thuds.

Agonizing pain surged through her.

At that same moment, under the gaze of all, Fu Shi-Yong pulled the serene and elegant Yu Yue—who possessed the grace of a true socialite—into his arms.

He looked at her with deep affection and laughed, "How could a woman who belongs to everyone be compared to my fiancée? Don't mention her, lest you dirty your lips; it breaks my heart."

Even little Yi-Yi, held in the arms of his grandmother Zhao Yueyao, waved his tiny fists and chimed in with a milky voice. "That's right! Yi-Yi and Daddy hate prostitutes. Yi-Yi and Daddy love Mommy the most, hee hee hee!"

"And do you love Grandma?"

"Yes!"

*Muah!* The little one planted a big kiss on the cheek of the woman who had caused his real grandmother to be stripped of her assets and cast out.

Three generations of the family were all smiles.

As for Yu Zao, the only outsider, she was dragged along like a piece of dirty rag by the servant, covered in bruises.

In her ears, the whispers of the Yu family’s distinguished guests grew louder.

"Look, Chairman Fu truly dotes on the eldest Miss Yu as if she were the apple of his eye."

"Indeed. I heard that when she casually glanced at a piece of lingerie in a luxury boutique, Chairman Fu bought the entire brand just to provide for his future wife."

"Heh, I’d actually love to see the ex-wife who abandoned her husband and child. When she realizes she missed out on a golden brick, won't she be driven mad with regret?"

*Clang!*

Whether by coincidence or intent, the servant dragging Yu Zao’s arm glanced toward Yu Yue and suddenly let go. Because Yu Zao had been struggling, the momentum sent her tumbling into a heap, right into the center of the crowd...