Chapter 25

“I’ve known Xu Zhaomu for eight years. According to your reasoning, Xu Zhaomu has been led astray by me.” Li Beiting didn’t speak loudly, yet his voice seemed to possess an unquestionable sense of authority.

“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant at all.” It was the form teacher’s turn to be flabbergasted.

Xu Zhaomu and Mr. Li have been acquainted for eight years?

She was aware that she had made an error in judgment.

“Then we shall settle things this way. You don’t have to come to school tomorrow,” Li Beiting spoke firmly.

“Mr. Li, you can’t do this. I was really doing this for the sake of both children. They get distracted when they sit next to each other. You see, they’ll be sitting for their college exams next year…”

Li Beiting interrupted her, “I’m also asking you not to come tomorrow for their sakes.”

“Mr. Li, Mr. Li…” The form teacher was really fretting now.

Xu Zhaomu and Yu Weiwei found this especially liberating. They exchanged glances. It turned out that Li Beiting was occasionally extremely dependable.

“Oh, right, by the way, do you know who Xu Zhaomu’s older brother is?”

Before he took his leave, Li Beiting cast a last glance at the form teacher. He reached down and casually took the magazine from the table along with him.

The form teacher had already made a guess. There was an 80 percent chance that she had an impressive background.

She had actually believed Xu Zhaomu’s nonsense and assumed that her family was poor. Poor to the point that her brother couldn’t afford to marry.

The form teacher waited for Li Beiting to continue speaking. However, Li Beiting didn’t say anything else as he took large strides out of the conference room.

Xu Zhaomu and Yu Weiwei hastily followed behind him.

To be honest, Xu Zhaomu was quite puzzled. Judging from Li Beiting’s manner of speech, Shen Chi appeared to be quite an impressive person. Back at the Shen residence, she had once asked the servants who they were most afraid of. She had assumed that they would pick Shen Cexian or Liu Rumei. However, every single person unanimously told her: Fourth Young Master Shen.

After pondering over this 100 times, Xu Zhaomu still remained perplexed. Was Shen Chi really that scary?

“Mr. Li, Mr. Li!”

The form teacher wanted to chase after him. Li Beiting waved his hand, gesturing to the assistant standing at the door to hold her back.

Yu Weiwei tugged at Li Beiting’s arm. “Second Uncle, you are amazing!”

Li Beiting had not sold them out.

“Second Uncle, may we have a discussion?” Yu Weiwei was trying to fawn over him.

“I’m going to take this magazine away. In the future, pay more attention in class. You too, Xu Zhaomu. Otherwise, I will let Shen Chi know about his matter. You’ll have to face the consequences if that happens.”

Li Beiting waved the magazine in his hand ruthlessly.

“I’m not scared of him,” Xu Zhaomu muttered.

“You’re not scared of him only because he has never lost his temper with you,” Li Beiting said.

Xu Zhaomu tilted her head questioningly. He had never lost his temper with her? He always glared at her with an icy expression.

“Hey, hey, hey, Second Uncle, since you’re leaving, could you leave the magazine behind. You’re a grown man. Why would you read an entertainment magazine? Have you fallen for the maiden on the front cover?” Yu Weiwei chased after him.

Yu Weiwei had noticed that something had been different about his gaze. He must have taken a liking to the beauty. Men were all lustful creatures. He was definitely going to keep it and take his time to enjoy it when he got home.

Li Beiting unrolled the magazine once again, and his eyes fell on the woman on the front cover. There was a complicated expression in his eyes.

“Who would dare to fall for her?” Li Beiting mumbled to himself.

The only thing that Yu Weiwei understood was that the magazine had cost her , and she had yet to finish reading it.

She stretched out her hand. “If you don’t like her, then give it to me. I enjoy reading it. There are many handsome big brothers inside.”

“Then that’s all the more reason why I won’t give it to you.” Li Beiting rolled his eyes at her and took the staircase downstairs.

“Hey, hey, Li Beiting, you’re taking advantage of us!”

Even though Yu Weiwei was shouting at the top of her lungs, it was futile. Li Beiting had already driven off in his Maserati.

“Alas, Ouyang is gone. If Ouyang was still around, he might have been able to find more copies for us.”

“Don’t worry. Let’s go, I’ll take you to get some books after school. You can read to your heart’s content,” Xu Zhaomu suggested generously.

…

After school, Xu Zhaomu and Yu Weiwei decided to sneak out to buy some books. They detoured from the school compound through an alley. The alley was long and far from the city center.

The endless alleyway seemed to have a vintage air. As it was early spring, countless green shoots were creeping everywhere along the alley. Snails could be seen crawling on the eaves of the roofs. It was a rather quiet place.

Now and then, people would walk through the alley near them. Elderly folks rested on stools at the entrances of their shops. It was vastly different from the bustling city center. Here, time trickled by slowly.

“What is this place?” Yu Weiwei asked.

“The night market. It may be quiet now, but it becomes lively once 6:00 o’clock rolls around.”

Usually, Shen Chi or Old Chen would pick Xu Zhaomu up punctually once school ended. Xu Zhaomu normally had no chance of slipping out.

However, Xu Zhaomu felt that she was old enough now. What gave Shen Chi the right to control her all the time?

“Where is the bookshop?” Yu Weiwei asked.

“Stupid question. When the time comes, someone will set up a stall for books. Let me tell you, you’ll be able to find whatever books you want. Your imagination is the limit.”

“When did you find this amazing place?” Yu Weiwei responded as though she had just discovered a new continent.

“In the past, Ouyang had mentioned it to me. I never took it to heart, but now that he’s gone, we have to develop our independence,” Xu Zhaomu said thoughtfully.

As the saying goes, you’ll be well-fed and well-clothed if you take action yourself.

Before they could find another brother, they would have to depend on themselves.

Yu Weiwei glanced at her watch. It was almost 6:00 o’clock.

They toured the alleyway. The vibe in this place was vastly different from the bustling district.

And, exactly like Xu Zhaomu had predicted, when the clock struck 6:00, a few peddlers started to set up business.

The sky was gradually getting dark and streetlamps lit up the entire area. The crowd became bigger and bigger, and the peddlers started to hawk their wares in melodious voices.

Xu Zhaomu recalled the life she’d lived before turning ten. Back then, the place where she’d lived had resembled this particular alleyway. The architecture was simple and unadorned, and it emanated a serene air.

Back then, she and her mother had depended on one another for survival. Although they had had to live thriftily, her mother had cherished and loved her a lot.

“Zhaomu, there is a book stall over there. There are lots of books!” Yu Weiwei tugged at Xu Zhaomu’s sleeve, as though she had just discovered a trove of treasure.

The shopkeeper of the book stall was a lady around their same age. She had tied her hair up into a high ponytail, and her pastel yellow jacket was paired with light blue jeans. A faint smile was arranged on her face.

She had to squat down to arrange her wares carefully.

Xu Zhaomu ran over. Just as she’d said, there were a lot of books.

Unfortunately, she was completely uninterested in books like “A Mirror for the Wise Ruler”, “Night Chats at the Hearth”‘, and “Caigentan”. [1] On the contrary, she was interested in books like “Qin Shihuang’s Secret History”, “Night Chats at the Boudoir”, and “The Chief’s Fiancee”.

She held up a book and stared at it with gleaming eyes. She had uncovered a treasure. They even sold classified books!

Yu Weiwei drew closer. “F*ck, Xu Zhaomu, where are your morals? Why are you reading such things? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Hush, lower your volume. Don’t tell me that you’ve never read this before.”

“I, Yu Weiwei, am an honorable person. I am straightforward and upright, magnanimous and benevolent. I have always…”

“Mmm? You have always what?” Xu Zhaomu narrowed her eyes.

“Always…always read it openly!”

After she said this, Yu Weiwei picked up a manual on men’s health. She read it with keen interest.

The corner of Xu Zhaomu’s lips twitched. Men’s…health…! Yu Weiwei was the one who had no morals.

However, much later, reality did prove that Yu Weiwei was truly a straightforward and upright, magnanimous and benevolent person. She looked at whatever she wanted to openly.

For example, she wanted to admire men. Hence, she subsequently started a research facility focused on the male gender.

Treatment for infertility, impotence… The results were purported to be instant, quick, and safe.******[1] Famous Chinese text written by Hong Zicheng circa 1590.