Chapter 218: "I’m broke, but one person definitely has money.
Chapter 218: Chapter 218: "I’m broke, but one person definitely has money.
"Stop arguing in the office. If you want to fight, do it outside the hospital." The nurse’s tone was harsh as she ushered them out. She warned them that shouting wasn’t allowed in the hospital, or security would be called to remove them.
Startled by the nurse’s warning, Liu Qiang and Yang Jing both lowered their voices and promised not to argue anymore.
From the gurney, Liu Yaozu craned his neck to glare at Shen Lu, as if he could kill her with his eyes alone.
After the nurse left, Liu Qiang and Yang Jing breathed a sigh of relief. They both came over to Shen Lu’s side and whispered, "Little Deer, look what you did. The hospital almost kicked us out."
Shen Lu glanced at Liu Qiang and pointed at Liu Yaozu. "Wasn’t he the one being too loud?"
Liu Yaozu immediately tried to sit up on the gurney to strike her, but Yang Jing held him down, whispering urgently, "Yaozu, don’t move! Be careful of your hand!"
"I don’t care about my hand, I’m going to teach her a lesson! How dare she point at me? She has no respect for me at all!" Liu Yaozu struggled slightly, hissing the threats under his breath.
Looking at his pathetic display, the scorn in Shen Lu’s eyes was practically overflowing.
"Little Deer!" Liu Qiang objected. "How can you speak to your brother like that?"
"Exactly, Little Deer, hurry up and apologize to your brother," Yang Jing chimed in.
Shen Lu ignored them. "Are we getting the check-up or not? If not, we can leave."
"We are, of course we are!" Liu Qiang frowned. "We’re just waiting for you to get the money to pay for it."
"I only have 100 Star Coins on me. That’s it."
"How can you be so cold-blooded?" Yang Jing couldn’t stop the tears from falling again. "Your brother is this injured, and you’re not willing to spend any money? We’re not asking for a lot, just enough for his check-up and to treat his hand. What’s wrong with that?"
"I’d pay if I had the money, but I’m broke. What am I supposed to give you? The shop isn’t mine; I’m just an employee there. I actually owe my boss a lot of money. My salary is garnished before it even hits my account each month. I just spent some, so now all I have left is 100 Star Coins."
Shen Lu lied without blinking, portraying herself as a dirt-poor worker deeply in debt.
"Impossible. Stop lying to us. People told me that shop is yours, and you earn at least five figures a day." Liu Qiang clearly didn’t believe her cock-and-bull story.
"People? What people? Who knows my situation better, them or me?" Shen Lu’s expression changed, taking on a wronged look. "Did you really come looking for me sincerely? Or did you only come because you heard some rumor that I was rich? The paternity test results have been out for a while now. Aren’t you even a little curious about them?"
"You’re definitely our daughter; we don’t need to see the results to know that." Liu Qiang had complete faith in that "kind person." "But your brother’s injury can’t be delayed any longer. How about this: you said you’re an employee, so who’s your boss? Ask your boss for an advance on your salary and pay your brother’s medical bills."
"That’s right, Little Deer. Once your brother is better, our whole family can finally be together. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?" Yang Jing tried her best to sell Shen Lu an empty promise, but it was a promise that held zero appeal.
Shen Lu seemed to struggle with the decision for a long moment before nodding hesitantly. "I’ll go discuss it with my boss and see if he can be flexible."
Shen Lu walked to the emergency stairwell, closed the door, and after confirming the Liu Family hadn’t followed her, she called Fu Cheng.
Fu Cheng answered almost instantly.
"What’s the situation?" When the Liu Family was still at the shop, Fu Cheng had gotten the gist of things through his consciousness, but he didn’t know what had happened at the hospital.
"The results are in. They really are my parents." Shen Lu didn’t hide it. "But they don’t seem very easy to get along with."
Fu Cheng was silent for a moment. "How do you want to handle this?"
"I need your cooperation." Shen Lu laid out her plan. "You need to play the role of the big boss. And as for me, your employee who’s deeply in debt to you, don’t go easy on me at all."
Fu Cheng understood immediately. "Okay, I get it."
"Be meaner. The kind of ruthless, unyielding boss who’s impossible to reason with and only wants to exploit his employees. Can you do that?"
The conversation had been quite serious, but hearing this, Fu Cheng couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
"Alright. I’ll do my best."
"Great. It’ll be your turn to perform in a minute. They want me to be the sucker and pay the medical bills, but I told them I only have 100 Star Coins. They told me to ask you for an advance on next month’s salary. So, you’re going to reject my request, and then I’ll have them talk to you. You know what to do from there, right?"
"Got it."
Shen Lu stepped out of the stairwell and waved Liu Qiang and Yang Jing over.
Yang Jing nudged her husband, and Liu Qiang walked over.
"What is it?" Liu Qiang asked.
Shen Lu said in a low voice, "My boss won’t agree to the salary advance. Why don’t you talk to him?"
Liu Qiang frowned. "Why wouldn’t he agree? Did you not explain it clearly? Fine, I’ll talk to your boss."
Shen Lu adjusted the permissions, allowing Liu Qiang to speak with Fu Cheng.
"Hello? Hi, are you Little Deer’s boss? I’m Little Deer’s father. Boss, we have a very urgent situation at home and need some money. Could you advance us a part of her salary?"
"Follow the contract or go to jail." Fu Cheng’s voice was ice-cold. After saying this, he hung up without waiting for a response, playing the part of a ruthless and heartless boss to perfection.
Shen Lu silently gave Fu Cheng a thumbs-up in her mind. ’Who knew this guy was such a good actor?’ she thought. ’Maybe he should quit being a major villain and become a movie star instead. I’d even be willing to be his patron and make him famous.’
Liu Qiang was completely dumbfounded. He turned to look at Shen Lu. "Is your boss always this difficult?"
Shen Lu shrugged. "Yep. He’s impossible to talk to."
"Then what about your brother?" Liu Qiang was at a loss, running his hands through his hair. Suddenly, he saw the Light Brain on Shen Lu’s wrist, and his eyes lit up. "Why don’t you sell this? It should fetch at least 2,000 Star Coins!"
Shen Lu dodged his outstretched hand. "This Light Brain was given to me by my boss. It’s not mine. If I sell it, my boss won’t be able to contact me, and he’ll have me sent to jail."
"This won’t work, that won’t work... Are we supposed to just stand by and watch your brother get permanently injured?"
"Of course not." Shen Lu smiled faintly. "I don’t have money, but there’s someone who definitely does."
"Who?"
Shen Lu softly uttered two words, "Shen Lan."
Liu Qiang’s eyes lit up. Right, Liu—oh, no, Shen Lan. She was the real young miss of the Shen Family. Whatever slipped through her fingers would be more than enough to pay for his son’s medical bills.
"But we can’t contact Xiao Lan," Liu Qiang sighed. "We can’t afford the access pass, let alone find her."
"You can’t contact her, but I can." As she spoke, Shen Lu dialed Shen Lan’s number, specifically choosing to make it a video call.