Chapter 13
1944 Words
This was the last thing Xu Zhongya ever wanted to talk about.
No matter how shameless he was, deep down, he knew he bore responsibility for Xu Mei’s mother’s death.
But he would never admit it.
His face darkened. “Blame me? Then why didn’t the cops arrest me? Did I stab her? Did I force her to go to that café? If she’d stayed home, she wouldn’t have run into a psycho. Who’s really to blame?”
That kind of logic could make someone’s blood boil.
Xu Mei’s head throbbed with rage. Chu Yeran exploded, “Scum! How can you even say something like that?”
Fu Shuyang, as usual, was the calmest. “Fine, it’s not your fault. But your precious eldest daughter was saved by her again and again. That’s true, right? Shouldn’t your daughter repay that debt?”
“Enough!” Xu Lang, the original novel’s heroine, lived up to her title. The moment someone offended her, scumbag Xu Zhongya instantly became the ‘loving father,’ even angrier than when he was insulted himself. “Langlang is just a girl. What did she ever do wrong? How could you be so heartless to her?”
Chu Yeran snapped. “And what about Xu Mei? She’s your daughter too! Isn’t she also just a girl? How have you treated her?”
Xu Zhongya sneered. “Don’t act like you don’t know what she’s done. I don’t even want to list it out. If she were half as obedient as Langlang, would it have come to this? You’re all backing her now, but don’t come crying when it backfires.”
He'd already thrown all dignity out the window and decided to be blunt. “Let’s not waste time. Say that dowry was 300,000 yuan back then. I won’t haggle over child support, I’ll give you the Baihe Tower villa—it cost over 2 million. Plus, the 300,000 dowry. All of it for you. Just sign the agreement, okay?”
Xu Zhongya didn’t even realize that his original plan was just to give her a house to make her give up any claim to his assets, but now he was raising the stakes himself.
He was convinced Xu Mei was here to make trouble and steal from him, so he just wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible.
Xu Mei hadn’t expected him to offer the dowry money too—it was disgusting, but a bit surprising.
Still, she didn’t agree right away. She looked at Fu Shuyang.
Fu Shuyang didn’t even blink, clearly unimpressed. “Fine. But since your business is flourishing thanks to your management, let’s recalculate. One million yuan twenty years ago—what’s that worth now? Back then, pork was 5 yuan a kilo. Now it’s 30. That’s a sixfold increase. That means one million then is worth six million now. Your villa, though bought for over two million, is now worth less than one—it depreciated. So I’ll be generous and call it one million. That still leaves you owing Xu Mei five million. Any objections?”
Xu Zhongya hated to admit it, but Fu Shuyang intimidated him a little.
He’d planned to agree if the offer wasn’t too outrageous. He just wanted to cut his losses and get Xu Mei out of his life.
But he hadn’t expected the 300,000 to be twisted into five million.
Three hundred thousand was fine. Five million? That was no small sum.
His total assets were said to be in the tens of millions, but very little of that was liquid.
And he was gearing up to move into real estate, which required serious capital. He couldn’t afford to be bled dry.
“Don’t try to cheat me! Who calculates like that?” Xu Zhongya dropped all pretense and started arguing with Fu Shuyang. “First, the dowry was 300,000, but back then a house wasn’t even worth 200,000. Second, that villa cost over 2.8 million, not just two. Third, pork… is it really 30 yuan a kilo now? I remember—”
“Mr. Xu,” Fu Shuyang cut him off with a cold laugh, “the way you nitpick is really unflattering. If your competitors knew how stingy you were, would Tang still let you have the Qianwan land?”
That jab hit the mark.
Xu Zhongya swallowed back his fury. “How do you know these things?”
“You’re disgusting, but Xu Mei doesn’t want to stoop to your level,” Fu Shuyang replied smoothly. “Let’s make this simple. Real estate has more than tripled in the past twenty years. You know the current market value of that Baihe Tower house. Let’s say that cancels the original house. As for the rest—300,000 dowry, plus jewelry and other assets, just give her two million. We’ll call it even.”
“Her jewelry was only—”
“Don’t bother,” Fu Shuyang cut him off, face cold. “We haven’t even counted interest, emotional damages, or domestic a***e compensation. You should be grateful.”
Xu Zhongya panicked. “What emotional damage? When did I ever a***e her?”
“You sure?” Xu Mei said calmly. “Did you forget the day you threw me out? Want to see the injury report?”
Xu Zhongya glanced at the bruises on her arm. He couldn’t remember if they were from that day—he hadn’t cared enough to check. He remembered a bump on her head, though.
He didn’t even bother to ask how she got hurt. He was only worried she’d really gotten a report.
His hesitation said it all.
“Stop wasting time,” Chu Yeran shouted. “So what if it’s money? If he won’t pay, let’s leak the photos. Someone will definitely pay more than two million for them.”
Xu Mei nodded. “Even if no one buys them, I’ll be happy as long as he can’t make money.”
Xu Zhongya: “…”
Mutually assured destruction. That was his daughter’s style.
“Wait!” he called after Fu Shuyang. “One point five million, okay?”
Fu Shuyang didn’t answer right away. He looked at Xu Mei.
She whispered something to him. He looked surprised but nodded.
“I’ll pay right away,” Xu Zhongya urged. “Is that okay?”
Xu Mei looked up. “Sure. But don’t give the money to me. Donate it in my mom’s name to orphans who lost their parents.”
Xu Zhongya: “Xu Mei, are you f***ing crazy?!”
All that bargaining… just to donate it?
Xu Mei ignored him.
Fu Shuyang added, “We’ve agreed on the money. Now we need to revise the agreement.”
“You still want more?” Xu Zhongya exploded.
“Relax,” Fu Shuyang sneered. “You’ll like this part: in addition to renouncing inheritance rights, we’ll also formally sever the father-daughter relationship.”
Xu Zhongya was stunned. That was exactly what he wanted, but he couldn’t believe Xu Mei would agree so easily. “You sure? If anything happens to you, I won’t be responsible.”
“Absolutely sure,” Xu Mei said firmly. “If you were involved, I’d die even faster. I don’t need you.”
Chu Yeran added, “And if you go bankrupt or die, don’t come crawling back to her.”
Xu Zhongya’s nostrils flared. “You think I would?! Fine. Deal!”
“Great,” Fu Shuyang waved his phone. “This whole conversation is recorded. Let’s go find a lawyer.”
“You—” Xu Zhongya lunged to grab the phone.
Fu Shuyang sidestepped him.
Chu Yeran pointed at him. “We’re just learning from the best. Why are you mad? When you tried to trap me, why didn’t you think it might backfire?”
Xu Zhongya never thought he’d be outplayed by a bunch of kids. He looked murderous.
Xu Mei waved her phone. “I’m still on call with the police officer from last night. Want to say hi?”
“Xu Mei, f*** you!” he roared.
“Isn’t Xu Mei’s uncle your brother?” Chu Yeran blinked. “So… i****t?”
Xu Zhongya almost burst a blood vessel.
Fu Shuyang gently pulled Chu Yeran aside. “Let’s finish this before he explodes.”
Xu Zhongya barely held himself together and went to instruct Lawyer Liu to revise the agreement.
Liu had been ignored all day and was in a bad mood. He tried to assert himself. “Mr. Xu, I really don’t think this agreement is advisable…”
“Didn’t you hear me?!” Xu Zhongya shouted. “Do as I say!”
He just wanted Xu Mei gone. No advice would change his mind.
Liu, embarrassed, stopped arguing and got to work with Fu Shuyang.
Severing legal family ties was rare and complicated. It required notarization, police station filings, and a mountain of paperwork.
They spent the entire day handling it.
Xu Mei looked at her updated household registry, unable to hide her excitement.
She’d been on edge for days, afraid Xu Zhongya would backtrack. But now it was over. She was free.
No more ties to the Xu family. No more fighting Xu Lang over inheritance.
She might actually survive now.
They passed a plaza where people were dancing.
Seeing Xu Mei skipping, Chu Yeran teased, “Aren’t you a dancer? Why not join them?”
“They’re doing street dance. I do classical,” she replied, but her feet moved instinctively, executing a few graceful moves—smooth and light.
She was clearly integrating better with this new body.
“You’ve got serious talent,” Chu Yeran smiled.
His family ran a dance studio—he knew talent when he saw it.
“So, I look terrible and waste my talent?” she teased, then grinned. “Tonight, I’m treating everyone. Don’t stop me.”
“No one’s stopping you. I want good food,” Chu Yeran said.
“And I’m inviting Teacher Yao,” she added.
“…Never mind.”
The four of them went out for dinner.
Yao Jing kept a straight face. “Eat more. You’ll need the energy for tomorrow’s makeup class.”
Chu Yeran grinned like a fool.
Xu Mei picked up a beer. “To Teacher Yao.”
Yao Jing snorted. “You think getting me drunk will let you off the hook?”
“I’ll make up every missed class,” Xu Mei declared. “I’m just really happy tonight—and I wanted to thank all of you. Really.”
She drank more than usual. She forgot that her original host’s body couldn’t handle alcohol.
Two beers in, and her vision was already blurry.
By the time it was time to pay, she’d passed out on the table.
Everyone: “…”
Chu Yeran paid the bill and gave Yao Jing a look. Then he said to Fu Shuyang, “Shuyang, you take Xu Mei home.”
Yao Jing played along and leaned against Chu Yeran.
He instantly panicked, blushing furiously.
Fu Shuyang, amused, turned to Xu Mei.
The girl was flushed pink, her breathing soft—adorably defenseless.
“Xu Mei?” he tried to wake her.
She groaned and turned away, continuing to sleep.
Sighing, he bent down and scooped her up.
The movement roused her.
Opening her eyes, she saw the tattoo on his chest—a wing peeking out from under his shirt.
“Fu Shuyang…” she murmured.
He paused.
She reached out with one finger, gently poked the tattoo, and whispered, “You have to stay safe, okay?”
- Writer
