Chapter 513 - 451: An Excessive Demand
Chapter 513: Chapter 451: An Excessive Demand
Yang Liu’er paused and took a deep breath. Under the orange glow of the streetlight, her smile was lovely but bitter.
"Bai Junfan knows that I’ve been seeing you. He wants me to be like Wu Xiaowen, to fake an illness and get some of your medicine for him... He’s brought it up every time we’ve met these past few days. I’ve been putting him off or changing the subject, and I never once agreed. Yesterday, we finally had a fight about it. He got really angry, slammed the door, and left. He hasn’t called me all day. I went to our new home this morning and waited for a while, but he never showed up."
"He’s acting like this just because you won’t agree to get medicine from me for him?" Xiao Man asked.
"Not entirely because of that."
Yang Liu’er nodded, then shook her head. "He made an even more outrageous request. He actually wanted me... wanted me to swap out the medicine Brother Lu is taking and give it to him! It was only then that I remembered something: the Bai family has a particular trait. Their noses are extremely sensitive to the smell of herbs. They can tell what herbs are in a decoction and what special effects they have just by smelling it. Bai Junfan came to the Lu family’s home on the first day of the New Year. The medicine pot was on the small stove, and inside was the medicine you prescribed for Brother Lu. The aroma was already in the air. He could smell it, and that’s why he wants it! I asked him, you can buy herbs anywhere, so why does it have to be the medicine Manman prescribes?
He said: ’There are plenty of herbs, but it depends on where they grow and who processes them. Manman is the most outstanding Pharmacist. Herbs prepared by her have extraordinary effects. It’s what I need most right now. I’ll take as much as you can get, the more the better!’
Manman, how could I possibly give him the medicine you prescribed for Brother Lu? I’d have to be out of my mind to do something like that! So he flew into a rage, smashed things, and said all sorts of cruel, heart-stabbing things.
I’ve been living with the Lu family for so long, it’s like I’ve put down roots again. We’re like a real family to each other, and I really don’t want to leave. But I still have to move out. Bai Junfan... he’s changed. I never expected him to become like this! Before, when he married Tang Yaxuan, I told myself he was just doing it for the Bai family. But now, he’s showing the same greedy nature as Bai Qingyue. It scares me, and it breaks my heart! No matter what, he can pester me and torment me all he wants. I don’t care if it kills me. But I absolutely cannot drag the people around me into this! I have to move out of the Lu family’s house immediately, the sooner the better. The Lu family are just ordinary people. What will happen if the Bai family targets them? The Tang family and the Gu family are powerful and influential, so the Bai family can’t harm you directly, but you still need to be careful when you go out. It’s great when you have Gu Shaojun with you, but if he’s not home, you have to take bodyguards! You absolutely must! Before the New Year, I had someone send a New Year’s gift to Aunt Chunxiang—new clothes for her and her son, and some money—in the name of a relative from her maternal family, so that Bai Qingyue wouldn’t look down on her so much. The next day, Aunt Chunxiang took the opportunity while grocery shopping to run over and thank me with tears in her eyes. We talked for a bit, and she told me something. The Bai family has had relatives visiting frequently lately, but she said they don’t really seem like relatives. One time, she accidentally saw two of them in the backyard teaching the Bai family Martial Arts—Manman, have you ever seen someone fly? One of those ’relatives’ can! WHOOSH, just like that, he flew up into the tall old locust tree and then onto the roof... Those are extraordinary experts, martial arts masters! My dad used to tell us stories about them when I was little. Bai Junfan has known Martial Arts since he was a child and practices almost every day. Now he’s learning from people like that? How powerful will he become? The Bai family has ’relatives’ like this but doesn’t want anyone outside to know. Aunt Chunxiang said Bai Qingyue warned her not to even mention it to anyone! What do you think they’re up to? Manman, you have to be on your guard!"
"I know, don’t worry. I learned a bit of kung fu in the countryside too, enough to defend myself. Didn’t I teach you guys a few moves? You stopped practicing long ago, right? You’re all so lazy."
Yang Liu’er scoffed, "Stop joking. Isn’t that what you taught the old men for exercise? It’s so slow you couldn’t even shoo away a chicken... Anyway, no matter how much kung fu or strength a girl has, she’s no match for a man. For your safety, you’d better take five or six bodyguards with you whenever you go out from now on!"
Xiao Man was speechless. ’You just want to see a scene out of a Hong Kong gangster movie, don’t you, sis? The boss makes his entrance, surrounded by a whole entourage of bodyguards.’
The wind was howling, and it was quite cold standing outside. They could talk more on the phone. Xiao Man wanted Yang Liu’er to hurry back inside and replied casually, "Alright, alright. I’ll find a few bodyguards to follow me around when I have time."
Still, Yang Liu’er walked Xiao Man to the car and closed the door for her after she got in.
Xiao Man rolled down the window and asked, "It’s a little dark in the alley. Why don’t you let Gu Shaojun walk you home?"
Hearing this, Gu Shaojun tucked the piece of Chicken Blood Jade he had been admiring into his pocket and pushed open the car door. "I’ll walk you back."
Yang Liu’er quickly waved her hands, smiling. "No, no, that’s not necessary. This area is full of old neighbors. I know my way around, and it’s very safe. Besides, it’s only eight o’clock. I’ve come home as late as eleven or twelve before. It’s fine. Get back in the car. It looks like the snow is getting heavier. You two should get going!"
She firmly refused, so Gu Shaojun got back into the car. Xiao Man said goodbye and closed the window. The car pulled away slowly from Yang Liu’er, merged into traffic, and gradually accelerated, disappearing down the straight street.
Yang Liu’er stood on the curb, watching the direction they had gone. She thought about the piece of crimson Chicken Blood Jade that Gu Shaojun had been playing with. It was the same size as the one Brother Lu had given to Xiao Man. Originally, Brother Lu had wanted to give Xiao Man a pair, but he was afraid she wouldn’t accept them, so he only gave her one. Now, he had given the other one to Gu Shaojun. To give such a valuable gift upon their first meeting meant that Brother Lu really approved of Xiao Man’s fiancé. Gu Shaojun had made a good impression on him. How rare.
Yang Liu’er sighed, her feelings a bit complicated. She turned and had only taken a few steps when Lu Jianling, wrapped in a heavy coat, came up to meet her. Yang Liu’er took Lu Jianling’s arm and asked, "It’s freezing out here. I told you all to stay inside and not come out. Why did you?"
"You think I wanted to come?" Lu Jianling tugged at her scarf irritably. "Your godson was making a fuss, and my brother was nagging. They were afraid some roadside bandit would snatch you away. I couldn’t get a moment’s peace, so I figured I might as well come out and freeze with you!"
Yang Liu’er giggled. The Lu family had accepted her without reservation, caring for her like one of their own. She was deeply grateful and did her best to repay them. As for the adorable and sweet Little Weiwei, she truly loved him and couldn’t bear to let him go. She had risked her life to save and protect him in the beginning because his features and expressions resembled her son from a past life. Now, the two were like a real mother and son, their hearts connected, always thinking of each other, completely inseparable.
’I can never cut ties with the Lu family, but I have to get my own independent home. It’s a must. At the very least, I need to appear less close to them on the surface, so Bai Junfan won’t get the wrong idea!’
The moment Yang Liu’er thought about what Bai Junfan had asked her to do, her head ached and a wave of weakness washed over her. She hadn’t dared to tell Xiao Man the whole story, afraid of dirtying her ears with it.
When Bai Junfan had visited the Lu family that day, they had welcomed him with the same sincerity as they had welcomed Gu Shaojun today, with the whole family present. But Yang Liu’er had clearly sensed a hidden anger in Bai Junfan’s eyes when he faced Brother Lu. She had been incredibly nervous at the time. Fortunately, Bai Junfan had always been good at controlling his emotions. He behaved appropriately from start to finish, his smile becoming more and more natural. Yang Liu’er had breathed a sigh of relief, but she never would have guessed that Bai Junfan’s restraint and suppression were because he had changed his mind at the last minute and come up with that other idea!