Chapter 20: Supporting a Useless Brother? Not Happening!
Li Amei wasn’t paying any attention to Lin Zhifeng. When she heard that remark, she just shot her a glare—her mind was entirely occupied with the thought that Wang Tingmei had become the daughter of a wealthy family. What if she tried to take her grandson away?
The Xie family only had this one precious heir. Even if she died, she couldn’t let anyone else take him.
And as for Wang Tingmei—there was no way she’d let her run off and enjoy the high life as some rich family’s pampered young lady. If she went back to Zhao Jiaoyue, she’d surely become arrogant and impossible to control.
Just the thought of possibly losing her grandson—and no longer having a daughter-in-law to order around—made Li Amei’s chest tighten with frustration.
“You go tell that old witch Zhao that there’s no way you’re divorcing Yaozu. Tell her to hand over the money that’s rightfully yours, and to stop coming around here acting all high and mighty. The way she carries herself, like some shameless floozy—who knows, maybe one day she’ll run off with some random man. If she doesn’t give you the money, what, is she planning to give it to her lover?”
Whenever Li Amei talked about money, she couldn’t help but lick her lips. No matter how much she hated that old witch, she still wanted the cash. That money should belong to Wang Tingmei.
And Wang Tingmei’s money, in her eyes, was really just the Xie family’s money.
Wang Tingmei completely agreed and nodded solemnly.
“Of course I have to think about the family. We can’t keep living in a rented place forever. In a few years, Guibao will be going to college. Then he’ll need to buy a house and get married. If we could get a nice car too, that’d be even better.”
Li Amei craved the money, but deep down she couldn’t stand the idea of Wang Tingmei getting the upper hand. That internal conflict twisted her emotions, and her tone turned nasty again.
“Oh? Already acting like some rich young lady, huh? You haven’t even seen the money yet, and you’re planning out the house and car? If you don’t actually get your hands on all that, how are you going to face Yaozu?”
Hearing the clatter of a thermos lid from the kitchen, Li Amei let out a cold snort, turned on her heel, and walked off—carrying the food container to deliver breakfast to her son.
After being subjected to that sarcastic tirade, Wang Tingmei saw Lin Zhifeng loitering nearby and couldn’t help but vent her frustration at her. “What are you hanging around here for? Don’t you have work?”
“None of your damn business,” Lin Zhifeng said, stretching lazily and yawning as she strolled into the kitchen, not giving a single thought to whatever expression Wang Tingmei was making behind her.
She chatted for a bit with Xie Laidi in the kitchen, and after finishing breakfast, Lin Zhifeng headed out for work like usual. Just as she got downstairs, that silver sedan rolled up from down the street again.
“Director Zhao asked me to take Miss to work,” the scar-faced man said expressionlessly. He moved with mechanical precision—opening the door, closing it, starting the car—all in one smooth, silent sequence.
Lin Zhifeng was quite satisfied with this quiet man. There’s value in keeping one’s mouth shut. If he hadn’t, he’d either be dead by Ai Lin’s hand or by Zhao Jiaoyue’s. No way he’d have survived to make a comeback.
As they neared the diner, Lin Zhifeng asked him to stop, then walked the rest of the way herself. She didn’t like drawing attention, and for now, she didn’t want anyone to know about her deeper conversation with Zhao Jiaoyue.
Zhao Jiaoyue was fully aware of Lin Zhifeng’s attitude and wouldn’t tell Wang Tingmei about having met her. As long as Lin Zhifeng stayed low-profile, their encounter would remain a secret between the two of them.
After a full day of work, when Lin Zhifeng walked back to the same drop-off spot from that morning, she once again saw the silver sedan waiting. From that day on, she was driven to and from work daily by Scarface.
Ever since Zhao Jiaoyue had personally approached Wang Tingmei, the latter quit her job at the construction site and began asking for money—more boldly each time.
At first, she only dared to ask for 8,000 or 10,000 yuan. By the fifth time, she opened her mouth and demanded 800,000 to buy a house.
She and Li Amei often whispered at home, never bothering to hide from Xie Laidi, so Lin Zhifeng always got the freshest updates the moment she stepped through the door.
Seeing that Wang Tingmei had no intention of divorcing, Zhao Jiaoyue naturally refused to pay for a house. That made Li Amei curse for three days straight.
She alternated between scolding Wang Tingmei for being useless and cursing Zhao Jiaoyue for being shameless, claiming she was saving her money to keep some pretty boy. She even egged Wang Tingmei on to pretend to agree to a divorce with Xie Yaozu, just to trick Zhao Jiaoyue into handing over the house.
Too bad both she and Wang Tingmei were idiots—Zhao Jiaoyue definitely wasn’t. As soon as she heard the request, she vanished without a trace, completely unreachable by phone.
…
That day, when Lin Zhifeng got home, she was greeted by the sound of Xie Yaozu furiously yelling. The man, whose leg had been broken, had finally recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
“You couldn’t even go find Zhao Xiao? Let the money slip right through your fingers—damn it, I’ve never seen anyone as useless as you!”
“Zhao Xiao isn’t even my real brother…”
Wang Tingmei’s feeble attempt to explain didn’t calm Xie Yaozu—in fact, it only made him lash out with even more sarcastic venom.
“You’re just h*rny and itching for it, aren’t you? Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself if you see that man? I should’ve known a sl*t like you couldn’t be trusted. Tell me—have you already planned to run off?”
Li Amei fanned the flames from the side, her voice dripping with contempt. “Like mother, like daughter. Both of you see a pretty boy and just can’t help throwing yourselves at him—how shameless!”
“How could I possibly do that? Yaozu, Mom, you have to believe me!”
Lin Zhifeng strolled calmly into the living room and casually tossed out, “What a lovely day it is today,” before turning and walking into her room, completely unfazed by the trio’s furious glares.
Xie Laidi had long since locked herself in her bedroom, ignoring the shouting outside. When she saw Lin Zhifeng come in, she lit up and gestured excitedly, “Sister, tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday!”
“That’s right. I’m taking the day off—you’re coming with me to get my ID and bank card,” Lin Zhifeng said, as if she’d been waiting a lifetime for this day.
Xie Laidi nodded earnestly, then signed nervously: “When I went downstairs to buy salt today, I felt like someone was watching me.”
“Did you get a good look at them?”
“Three yellow heads.”
Lin Zhifeng snorted with laughter and patted her head. “Don’t worry—they’re not after you.” With Xie Yaozu out of the hospital and the end of the month approaching, those yellow-haired punks were definitely tightening their watch.
She’d already warned Xie Laidi not to go out often, and if she had to, to stick to busy streets during the day. No matter how aggressive those thugs were, they wouldn’t dare drag a minor away in broad daylight.
Thankfully, Xie Laidi listened well. She stayed home every day getting ready for school—still under the protection of compulsory education, and for now, the Xie family hadn’t tried to force her to drop out.
The two sisters—one speaking, the other signing—were happily planning where to eat for tomorrow’s birthday celebration, when suddenly Xie Guibao’s whiny voice drifted in from outside.
“Dad, Mom, gimme some money, I wanna go hang out with my classmates!”
He had never failed at asking for money. Xie Yaozu pulled a wrinkled fifty out of his wallet, and the moment Wang Tingmei saw it, she followed suit and handed over another fifty.
“I’m off!” Xie Guibao beamed as he took the money, then dashed downstairs on his short legs, his stubby figure quickly disappearing around the corner.
The arguments in the living room died down with the setting sun. Exhausted, both Xie Yaozu and Li Amei retreated to their bedrooms and fell asleep under their covers, leaving Wang Tingmei alone in the dimly lit living room, waiting for her son to come home.
As the night deepened, the ticking of the clock echoed steadily. Half-asleep, Wang Tingmei suddenly jerked awake on the sofa. She glanced at the wall clock—it was well past midnight.
She looked toward the doorway—Xie Guibao’s slippers were still there. Quietly, she tiptoed to his bedroom and peeked in.
The bed was empty.
It was nearly one in the morning, and Xie Guibao still hadn’t returned. That realization sent a wave of panic crashing through her. She rushed to the master bedroom and shook the snoring Xie Yaozu awake. Just as his angry scolding was about to erupt, she blurted out in a panic, “Guibao is missing!”
