Chapter 508 - 174: The ’80s Drama Queen is Forced to Become a Top Student (9)
Chapter 508: Chapter 174: The ’80s Drama Queen is Forced to Become a Top Student (9)
Sheng Leyun said with a light laugh, "When I took the wrong bus and ended up riding all over town, I happened to run into an acquaintance. They told me that for someone in my situation, there’s supposed to be a pension, and that I could ask about it locally."
"So I went and asked. And tsk, tsk, they told me thirteen hundred had been disbursed. They even asked me how I couldn’t have known."
"I told them I’d come home and ask my mom!"
"If my mom didn’t know, then the matter would be serious. They said they’d have to intervene and investigate thoroughly, to make sure they got to the bottom of where that thirteen hundred yuan went."
"After all, the one who signed for it on the documents was you, Mr. Xiao."
Ren Xingchen wasn’t an idiot; she immediately understood what was happening.
She turned to Xiao Xuezhen in disbelief. "Brother Xiao, you..."
Xiao Xuezhen quickly grabbed her hand. He glanced at the two children in the room, who had just dodged the thermos and were now standing against the wall with their cheeks puffed out in anger, and whispered, "That’s not a small amount of money. Of course I couldn’t just wire it to you directly. What if a woman like you was targeted on the street while trying to withdraw it?"
"And with the way your family leeches off you, if they knew you’d suddenly come into so much money, would they have let you marry me and move far away so easily?"
"The bride price would’ve been much more than five hundred yuan, wouldn’t it?"
"Relax. I’ve married you. Never mind Sheng Ying’s pension—that’s yours. Even the salary I earn is all yours! Why would you have any reason not to trust me?"
"Sheng Leyun is just trying to drive a wedge between us!"
Ren Xingchen nodded along as she listened. ’That’s right. What do my daughter and I have that’s worth cheating us over?’
’If Xiao Xuezhen was determined to pocket the money, why would he have handled it personally, left his signature on the records, and then gone to all the trouble of marrying me?’
’Only a fool would do something like that, right?’
She glared at Sheng Leyun. "You child, you just can’t stand to see me happy, can you?"
"I’ve suffered so much for you and your father! One of you left me in the countryside for years and couldn’t help with anything besides sending money, and now he’s not coming back at all!"
"And you! I gave birth to you, I raised you! You’re the one who owes me, but you act as if I’m some great villain, unable to stand seeing me happy for a single moment!"
Sheng Leyun grabbed another thermos. "Since you all know how unhappy I am, why not just let me go my own way and we can cut ties? Wouldn’t that be a win-win for everyone?"
"I’m not asking for much, just the thirteen hundred my dad left behind. And don’t you think for a second that’s a lot of money. All those years, of all the money my dad mailed home, how much of it was ever spent on me?"
"Besides, I’ve been supporting myself ever since I was old enough to understand. If you two want a peaceful life, don’t even think about using your status as my guardians to control me and benefit your reputation."
"That won’t fly with me. Heh. Slandering me behind my back while I’m away... tsk, tsk. You really take me for a fool, don’t you?"
Her words hit right on the couple’s scheme, and they were stunned. They never expected a little girl who’d never seen the world, who’d never had anyone explain these things to her, could see things so clearly. So clearly, in fact, that a thin layer of cold sweat prickled their backs.
Just then, Sheng Leyun arched an eyebrow. Her beautiful, fox-like eyes swirled with an endless darkness, making her resemble an exquisite doll that one dared not meet the gaze of.
"Xiao Xuezhen, how exactly did my father die?" she asked, her voice a quiet sigh that was both flat and filled with a ghostly grievance.
Xiao Xuezhen couldn’t help but shudder. He pressed his hand down on the table, using it to keep himself from collapsing into his seat.
’It had happened three years ago. It was the first time he had plotted to kill someone. Even if he hadn’t done the deed himself, without his scheming, a man with Sheng Xibao’s skills would have absolutely survived.’
’People from their organization had questioned him time and time again, asking what had happened.’
’His mind had been a fog, and he’d acted dazed and numb, as if he’d suffered a great shock.’
’Because of that, no one attributed Sheng Xibao’s death to him. They just assumed he couldn’t handle the brutal reality and had become withdrawn.’
’After all, any normal person in that situation would be wracked with self-blame, wishing they were the one who had died, not their good partner of many years—especially since the story was that he died saving him.’
Xiao Xuezhen had perfectly escaped judgment, but now, meeting the little girl’s chillingly clear eyes, that old terror was slowly reawakening within him.
Sheng Leyun glanced at him and understood immediately. ’The death of this body’s original owner’s father wasn’t simple. It really was related to Xiao Xuezhen!’
She continued, a grin spreading across her lips. "My dad visited me in a dream last night," she said softly. "He told me he was grievously wronged..."
It was a passionate performance worthy of an award-winning actress with millennia of experience. Her voice, a melodious, sigh-like whisper, made one feel a bone-deep, inexplicable chill, even though the May heat had already necessitated a change into summer clothes.