Chapter 34
Chi Aibei stared at the three consecutive transfers, stunned. Was there a bug in the system? Why three transfers?
He texted Chi Wendong to ask what happened. Chi Wendong replied: 【Spend it.】
Seeing Chi Wendong’s generosity, Chi Aibei almost laughed. He told Lin Xiu, “Gege, I’ve transferred the money. Is it enough? I have more.”
He’d given Lin Weimin 200,000, borrowed 100,000 from Lin Xiu, and still had 200,000. The money had gone around and come back without loss. Was this a case of “what’s lost on the swings is gained on the roundabouts”?
Lin Xiu looked at the 100,000 Chi Aibei had transferred, feeling like he’d scammed the money from Chi Wendong. He glanced at Chi Aibei, happily tapping on his phone. “Didn’t you ask what I needed the money for?”
Chi Aibei quickly typed a string of flattering words on his phone, then asked, “What do you need the money for?”
Lin Xiu calmly said, “Didn’t Lin Weimin get arrested? I’m going to see if I can bail him out.”
Chi Aibei: !!!
Chi Aibei’s hand slipped, sending a half-finished message. He looked up at Lin Xiu, incredulous. “Bail… bail him out?”
Lin Xiu: “You do your homework. I’m going to the police station.”
Seeing Lin Xiu leave, Chi Aibei panicked. He quickly stood up and grabbed Lin Xiu. “No, you can’t go! Why would you bail him out? I just got him locked up, and you’re letting him out?!”
Lin Xiu raised an eyebrow.
Good. He finally got the little fool to talk. It was a bit difficult.
Lin Xiu turned to Chi Aibei. “You got him locked up?”
Chi Aibei opened his mouth, but Lin Xiu didn’t give him a chance to lie. “What do you mean ‘I just got him locked up’?”
Chi Aibei’s head buzzed. It’s over. If Lin Xiu knew he’d taught Lin Weimin to set up the gambling scheme and given him 200,000 to get caught, he’d think Chi Aibei was manipulative and insincere. Lin Xiu hated scheming people. Was he finished?
Chi Aibei found an excuse to escape. “Um… the water’s boiling in the kitchen.”
Lin Xiu hooked the chair leg with his foot, pulled the chair, and pushed Chi Aibei down. “I didn’t boil any water.”
Chi Aibei struggled to get up. “My brother just called and said I should go home.”
Lin Xiu released his grip on Chi Aibei’s shoulders, watching him grab his bag and run. “Stay there.”
Chi Aibei’s foot was almost out the door when Lin Xiu’s command stopped him. He didn’t know whether to put his foot inside or outside the door…
Two clicks behind him. An unfamiliar sound. Chi Aibei couldn’t help but turn around. Seeing the cigarette in Lin Xiu’s mouth, Chi Aibei froze.
Lin Xiu put down the lighter, squinting his eyes and exhaling smoke. “Come back. Sit.”
Chi Aibei looked at Lin Xiu incredulously. “Gege, what are you doing?”
Lin Xiu didn’t smoke often, only occasionally when he was stressed. This pack was from the day he returned, when he smoked a few to cope with his rebirth. He hadn’t touched it since.
Lin Xiu smoked in front of Chi Aibei because he was in a complex mood and couldn’t contain it.
Lin Xiu: “Tell me. What good deeds have you been doing behind my back?”
Chi Aibei was still surprised by Lin Xiu smoking. He looked at the cigarette between Lin Xiu’s fingers. “You’re underage. You can’t smoke.”
Lin Xiu looked at him. “You can lie, but I can’t smoke?”
Chi Aibei glanced at the pack, half-empty. He certainly wasn’t smoking for the first time. Chi Aibei frowned. “Smoking is bad for your health.”
Seeing Chi Aibei glaring at the cigarette, ready to make him put it out, Lin Xiu crushed it. “Sit. Let’s talk.”
This time, Chi Aibei didn’t run. He sat opposite Lin Xiu, staring at the cigarette pack.
Lin Xiu: “Nothing to say?”
Chi Aibei looked at him and mumbled, “I gave your uncle the money.”
Lin Xiu: “Anything else?”
Chi Aibei: “I reported him to the police.”
Just as Lin Xiu suspected, it was his setup. “Anything else?”
There was the matter of him teaching Lin Weimin to run the gambling operation. Chi Aibei hesitated.
Lin Xiu asked, “Why did you do this?”
Chi Aibei mumbled, “Eradicate evil.”
Lin Xiu was surprised. “What?”
Chi Aibei blurted out, “Last time you reported him, he was only locked up for three days. He came after you, so I wanted him to stay in jail for a few years, at least until you finish the Gaokao. I didn’t want him to bother you.”
Lin Xiu looked at Chi Aibei, his Adam’s apple bobbing…
To Lin Xiu, Chi Aibei was a transaction between him and Chi Wendong. He hadn’t treated the little fool sincerely, even finding him a nuisance. He wanted to get rid of him, ignore him.
This time he told himself there would be no one else, besides his grandmother, who sincerely cared for him and whom he could care for sincerely. Yet, it happened with a little fool.
He didn’t understand what Chi Aibei was always thinking, but he wasn’t insensitive. He felt Chi Aibei’s concern and favoritism. Whether it was Jiang Yu or Lin Weimin, the little fool’s actions gave the impression he knew everything.
But how was that possible?
Chi Aibei: “Gege, please don’t bail your uncle out. He’ll cause you trouble.”
Lin Xiu told himself it wasn’t possible, but he wanted to test him. “How do you know he’ll cause me trouble?”
Chi Aibei said, “He said so himself. He’s going to sell this house. If he does, where will you and Grandma live?”
Lin Xiu couldn’t find a flaw in Chi Aibei’s words. He even brought up Grandma, whom Lin Xiu cared about more than himself.
He reached for the cigarette pack but saw Chi Aibei’s gaze. Lin Xiu withdrew his hand. “200,000, your entire fortune. Should I call you a fool or generous?”
Chi Aibei looked at the half-empty pack. He’d throw it away when Lin Xiu wasn’t looking.
High schoolers shouldn’t smoke!
Lin Xiu transferred the 100,000 back to Chi Aibei.
Chi Aibei didn’t understand. “Gege, you’re not going to bail your uncle out?”
Lin Xiu said, “I never planned to. I just wanted to see how long you could keep it up.”
Chi Aibei was stunned. Seeing Lin Xiu go into the kitchen, he quickly grabbed the cigarette pack and put it in his school uniform pocket, complaining, “Gege, you tricked me!”
He ran to the kitchen door. “Did your uncle say it? Did he betray me?”
Lin Xiu took out the leftover meat from the fridge and some vegetables, preparing a simple dinner. “He didn’t betray you. He’s just not as tight-lipped as you. He spilled the beans after a couple of questions.”
Chi Aibei: “Then why did you say you were bailing him out? You lied to me!”
Lin Xiu looked at him. “What else could I do? You’re so secretive. I wouldn’t get a word out of you otherwise.”
Chi Aibei: … No.
He wasn’t planning to take credit, so why would he say anything?
Thinking about how easily he’d been tricked, Chi Aibei leaned against the glass door and pouted. “Gege, you’re so cunning.”
Lin Xiu: “My pleasure, Little Zhuge Liang.”
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