It’s not that it’s unreasonable, but in this world, only those who have capital can be reasonable.

Lu Aicao swore that this was definitely the most difficult summer she had ever experienced in her life.
The sultry weather of up to 38 degrees Celsius, a classroom with sixty people, the squeaking fan overhead that was noisy from being out of repair, and the stench emanating from the unclean boy in the seat in front of her, together made up her temporary memory of this summer.
She flipped open the thick English exercise book and picked out the exercises marked with red crosses. The English letters on it were crooked and tangled together, making her dizzy and a little nauseous.
She raised her head slightly and saw a few big blood-red words written on the small calendar on the corner of the table: 38 days left until the college entrance examination.
What a nasty number.
Lu Aicao let out a long sigh, threw away the pen with a mottled cover in his hand, turned his head to look out the window, and the setting sun was sinking little by little.
In fact, she is a real top student in the class and the teacher's key training target. But at this critical moment in her life, she seems to be very lazy and now she is unwilling to even pretend.
It doesn't matter, even if you don't study at all now, you can still get into university. Huaying University in this city is very good, close to home, and the tuition is not high.
As for Guangning University - come on, it's so far away, and the tuition is incredibly expensive. Even if it is a top-ranked university in the country, if you don't work hard, you will still be jobless after graduation, right?
Thinking of this, Lu Aicao actually chuckled to himself outside the window.
It was not until she found herself looking into the eyes of the boy in a white shirt outside the window that she suddenly woke up and turned her head away with a shy look. At this moment, the head teacher, Lao Chen, appeared at the door and called her name loudly.
Almost as if by reflex, Lu Ai stood up. The blush on her face had not yet disappeared. When the teacher called her like that, she couldn't help but feel her heart beating wildly: Did the teacher think that I had something to do with that person outside? Or was I just distracted and was discovered?
"Come out for a moment." Lao Chen's voice was emotionless. After saying that, she turned and left.
Lu Aicao couldn't guess her intention, so she could only pretend to be calm and follow her to the office.
Compared with the classroom, the office is much cooler, and the green succulents on the windowsill look particularly beautiful under the golden afterglow of the sunset.
Lu Aicao stood beside Lao Chen, her eyelids slightly drooping. Her thin eyelashes blocked her pupils, and the expression on her face could not be seen clearly in the backlight.
Old Chen sighed and threw a piece of paper on the table.
"Lv Aicao, this is your choice? Huaying University?" Her tone was full of anger. If the girl in front of her didn't look slender and fragile, she really wanted to hit her with a heavy hammer to wake her up. She was obviously a candidate for the best university, but how could she be so confused that she firmly filled in the same ordinary university on all the mock application forms? How many people wanted to seize this opportunity to change their destiny, but this girl who had always been placed high hopes on her silently retreated. How could she not be angry?
So this is what you were talking about?
Ai Cao breathed a sigh of relief. She had expected this moment to come. She raised her eyelids, and there was no wavering in her dark and clear eyes. She reached out and picked up the thin mock application form on the table. Her cold eyes lingered on the paper for a long time. There were only a few words on it. If you didn't know, you would think it was an important piece of paper.
"Aicao, this is your future, you have to think carefully. Huaying and Guangning are not even close, do you want to just ruin your life like this? Do you want to waste ten years of hard study like this?"
The words "ten years of hard study" were like a sharp needle that suddenly pierced her heart. She clenched her fist subconsciously, and the mock application form was wrinkled by her.
Who wants to ruin their life? She is only 18 years old and her life has not yet begun, but now she has to take a seemingly easy path that will take her life a big turn.
What can we do? What can we do?
Her mother's illness could no longer be delayed, and the doctor gave her an ultimatum that she had to be hospitalized immediately. At this time, how could she leave her mother to study in another place? Moreover, the cost of living in × City was so high, and the tuition fee of Guangning University was so expensive that she could not afford it at all.
She clenched the mock application form in her hand, and her eyes swept across the application guide on Lao Chen's desk. On the cover was a picture of the majestic Guangning University, a place that many college entrance examination candidates yearned for.
No one knew that Guangning University had always been her dream since she was a child. It was this dream that supported her to work and study at the same time.
After attending Guangning University, my future is bright.
When she was in elementary school, her teacher told her this. When she was in middle school, her mother told her this. With her grades, she could definitely get into high school. As long as she filled in one column on the application form, her dream would come true.
But she backed off.
She will never forget the evening when the crimson afterglow filled the entire classroom. All the classmates left, and she was the only one left in the classroom. She stared blankly at the mock application form for a long time, and the pencil in her hand was stained with her sweat. After an unknown amount of time, two lines of tears flowed from her eyes, which were more scorching than the summer heat.
She wiped her eyes and finally filled in the same school in all the application forms - Huaying University.
This was the best choice for her who was in deep trouble. Whether it was the faculty or the school environment, Huaying University was already the best among similar schools. Moreover, Huaying University would provide a considerable scholarship for outstanding students, which was more than enough to cover the annual tuition and daily expenses. Moreover, the main campus of Huaying University was also very close to the affiliated hospital, so she could bring meals to her mother after class.
As for Quang Ninh University... forget it, that was not her life, even though she had been working hard for it.
As if giving up her last struggle, Lu Aicao let out a long sigh and gently put the application form back: "Teacher, thank you for your concern, but I will not change my application."
The cold but firm tone made Lao Chen's expectant eyes suddenly turn cold.
Lu Aicao didn't want to look her in the eyes, so she turned her head away calmly and said nothing.
I have thought about everything you have thought about, and I have said everything you have said to myself. Reality cannot defeat me, it is me who defeats myself.
Seeing that Lv Aicao was determined not to change, Lao Chen was furious: "Okay, you don't have to change, but I have the obligation to let your mother know, you..."
"No!" Lu Aicao almost shouted, and his originally cold expression immediately turned into panic.
Old Chen has taught Lv Aicao for three years, and this is the first time he has seen this girl, who always looks cold, panic.
"Your mother will be very sad if she knows about this."
"So you must not tell my mother." Lu Aicao's expression became anxious, and even her eyes began to redden. "Her liver cirrhosis worsened, and the doctor gave an ultimatum that she must be hospitalized. I had a hard time persuading her to agree to hospitalization. If you tell her, she will never go even if she dies."
As if shocked by her words, Lao Chen was stunned for a moment.
"But this is not the reason for you to give up Guangning University so easily! Your mother is in the hospital, and the nurses will take care of her. If it's a tuition issue, don't worry, I have a senior brother at Guangning University, and I can ask him to introduce a part-time job to you."
"Thank you, teacher...but I, I..." Lu Aicao bit her lip, afraid that she would cry, "I can't leave my mother. I am the person closest to her. I can't leave when she needs me the most."
"You——" Old Chen was speechless, not knowing how to refute. The whole office suddenly fell silent, so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard clearly.
After a long while, Lao Chen sighed and advised as if he was struggling to make a last effort: "How about this, you take this application form back, think about it carefully tonight, and give me an answer tomorrow."
The afternoon self-study was still going on and the whole school was quiet.
Lu Aicao held the application form that now seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and walked towards the teaching building with heavy steps. She tried to open her red eyes wide, fearing that tears would roll down in the next second.
"classmate."
A magnetic and gentle male voice was heard on the quiet path, followed by a burst of hurried footsteps.
"Classmate! Wait a minute!"
Suddenly, she felt a force on her shoulder. Lv Aicao stopped and realized that the person was calling her. Almost at the same time, she turned her head, and the boy behind her took another big step forward. Just like that, Lv Aicao bumped into the boy's chest.
Without a cry of "ouch" or "wow", Lu Aicao silently endured the pain and tightly covered her red nose. It was not so much his chest that hurt her nose, but rather the jade Buddha pendant on his chest that caused the pain.
Lu Aicao raised her head and glared at the other person fiercely, but what she saw was a familiar face - it was the boy who looked at her outside the window!
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you would turn around suddenly!" The boy was very panicked. He took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his exquisite suit pants and handed it to Lu Aicao.
Lu Aicao rolled her eyes subconsciously - it seemed that she must have a nosebleed. She took the handkerchief with a faint smell of cologne and covered her nose with it with some dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!" The boy felt more and more guilty, and approached Lu Aicao at a loss, with obvious apology on his delicate face. For a moment, he reached out his hand without hesitation to check her injuries, but she dodged him.
For some reason, Lu Aicao found it a little funny. The other party looked like a real nobleman in terms of his dress and appearance, but he didn't put on airs at all. He apologized to her anxiously and awkwardly.
She was not the kind of person who would not give in, and her nose was prone to bleeding, so after she wiped it, she returned the handkerchief.
The boy took the handkerchief and wanted to say something, but she turned and walked away without even looking at him.
"Classmate, are you really okay?" Relying on his height and long legs, he took a big step and stood in front of her.
Lu Aicao was a little annoyed, but she had to stop and look up at him. A pair of big and sincere eyes, a high nose bridge, and just the right proportions of facial features - at first glance, the boy is very good-looking. He has the healthy and sunny look of a high school boy, and the elegance and kindness of a mature man.
If such a good-looking boy was from the same school, she would have known about him long ago. So there was no doubt that he just appeared here by chance.
"I'm fine." Lu Aicao replied softly, "What's the matter with you?"
The boy seemed to have been touched by what he was thinking, and smiled awkwardly: "Excuse me, do you know Le You from Class 2 (3) of Senior High School?"
Happy?
This name is so familiar. Lv Aicao frowned slightly and searched for this name in her mind. Finally, the sporadic memories of it were awakened in her mind.
Everyone in the school knew about Le You from Class 2 (3) of Senior High School. She relied on her family's wealth to skip classes and fight as she pleased. She was a naughty student in the school. Even if many people had never seen her, they had already heard of her name. And Lv Aicao was one of them.
Thinking of this, Lu Aicao seemed to be choked and was unable to speak.
"I... don't know her..." Lu Aicao spoke hesitantly. She really didn't want to have anything to do with that girl.
"Okay, thank you." The boy smiled heartily as if he had expected it. After all, he was not the first person to answer in this way with such an expression.
"Oh, by the way." The boy suddenly took out a piece of paper with a phone number on it and handed it to Lu Aicao, "I'm really sorry for today. If your nose still feels uncomfortable later, call me and I'll take you to see a doctor."
His eyes were so sincere that Lu Aicao was a little at a loss. Out of politeness, she nodded.
The boy smiled brightly, turned around and walked away. Lu Aicao gently threw the note into the trash can next to him.
When school was about to end, Lv Aicao accidentally saw the application form returned by Lao Chen. It was wrinkled and lying on the desk. She sighed, rolled it up as if possessed by a ghost, and took it in her hand.
The school after 4:30 is the most beautiful in the day. The girls' uniform skirts swing back and forth in beautiful curves, and the small accessories on their backpacks collide and make jingling sounds. The boys gather together, laughing and shouting in the crowd. The crimson sky is dotted with white clouds, and the orange sun gradually disappears towards the horizon. The lilac flowers on the roadside bloom wantonly, and the fragrance fills the nose when the breeze blows.
Walking in the crowd, Lu Aicao looked a little lonely in this scene, but she didn't seem to care. She just walked her own way with a heavy heart.
Although she is at the prime age of youth, Lu Aicao lives like an old man walking alone.
“Lv Ai Cao!”
A familiar soft voice woke her from her thoughts. When she looked up, she saw a girl in a goose yellow jacket standing by the school gate, looking at her with a smile.
Make a wish?
Why is she here?
Lu Aicao was a little dazed, but he couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Xu Yuan is her sister. Although they are not biological sisters, they have lived together for many years and have a better relationship than biological sisters. Xu Yuan is one year younger than her and is a sophomore in the high school next door. Although the school is very close , Xu Yuan finishes school late and rarely goes home with her.
"Ah, I finally see you." As soon as she walked over, Xu Yuan took her arm affectionately, just like when they were children, and his fingers lingeringly grasped her cuffs.
"Why did you come to see me today?" Lv Aicao was a little panicked and tried to secretly put the application form in her pocket. Xu Yuan was very careful and could not let her find out.
But it was still a step too late.
"The last class today is physical education, so I'll leave first. Hey, what are you holding in your hand?" He stretched out his wishing hand and snatched the application form.
Lu Aicao's heart sank and he suddenly had a headache.
When Xuyuan saw the content, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "You——"
Lu Aicao snatched the application form back, folded it neatly, and stuffed it into her pocket. She said calmly, "Well, I want to study Huaying."
"Your grades are good enough to get you into Guangning! Are you crazy?" Xu Yuan couldn't control his emotions and tried hard to lower his voice, fearing that he would shout out loud.
"So what? You know my mother's current situation. How can I leave her?" Lu Aicao kicked the stones weakly, but her eyes avoided Xu Yuan's gaze.
"I'll always be here for you when you go to college!" Xu Yuan patted his chest.
"But you're going to take the college entrance exam next year, so you're going to leave too!"
"I--" Xu Yuan was choked and scratched his hair in annoyance.
"Don't worry, with my ability, I will have a good future even at Huaying University." Lu Aicao said with a forced smile, not knowing whether he was comforting her or himself.
"Aicao, am I... am I a burden to you..." Xu Yuan stopped walking, "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be so tired, and Auntie wouldn't be so hard to raise two children..."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Lu Aicao interrupted her.
Xu Yuan is a sensitive and fragile girl. She has a congenital heart disease and has been in poor health since childhood. After her grandmother passed away, she lived with them. She is very sensible and obedient, and tries her best to show her brightest side to them.
"This is my own choice. I would have done the same thing even without you. Also, you didn't drag us down. I want to thank you for always staying with mom instead of me. Also, don't you remember when I was a kid and I was bullied when I first moved here? It was you who rushed out to save me? How could I think you were a burden to me?" Lu Aicao gently put his arm around her shoulders and said softly, "Don't you still believe in my strength?"
Xu Yuan couldn't help but nod. In her heart, Lu Aicao has always been smart and capable. Moreover, this is indeed the best choice. After all, her body is not good enough to take good care of her aunt.
Thinking of this, Xuyuan's eyes couldn't help but dim, then she smiled and shook her head to clear these emotions from her heart.
"Okay, let's go home quickly, mom must be waiting anxiously."
"Yeah! She said today she would cook your favorite dish."
"By the way, you have to promise me not to tell her about this! At least wait until I pay the hospital bills!"
"Well... okay, I promise you!"
6:30pm, No. 31, Dangwei Alley, Xuncai Bar.
Deafening music, colorful and bizarre lights, young people dancing wildly and living a life of luxury, this scene makes up the most ordinary day in this Japanese bar.
After changing her clothes, Lv Aicao came out of the bathroom and ran into a few drunk girls. They were wearing revealing clothes, heavy makeup, and swearing from time to time.
She met such girls every day and was used to it. When she first came to work in the bar, she despised these people, but later she felt that her harsh and noble character was nothing to be proud of. Compared with their bright lights, wine and women, and carefree life, her own tight and hard life looked even more pitiful.
She walked to the sink, washed her hands, and looked up. At this moment, the girl in the mirror, who was bare-faced and had a bleak face, raised a subtle arc at the corner of her mouth and smiled bitterly at her. Even though she hated this environment, she had to stick to it. After all, the money she earned from working here was enough to supplement the family income, and her mother's hospital bill for the next quarter should also be paid.
She gently brushed away her bangs and patted her cheeks to make herself more energetic. She had to stay up until twelve o'clock tonight before she could get off work.
Lu Aicao looked at her cheeks which were reddened by the cold water, picked up her changed clothes and walked out, but was grabbed by someone behind her.
"Hey! Can't you see I'm washing my hands here? Why did you turn off my faucet!"
A shrill and noisy female voice, a spoiled and arrogant tone, and a face that was heavily made up but couldn't hide the youthful aura... Lu Aicao's heart sank, knowing that she had run into trouble again. Glancing at the two faucets that had just been turned off, Lu Aicao was so annoyed that she wanted to swear.
The little girl was talking on the phone, but she kept running the tap. Lv Aicao, who had always been committed to water conservation, could not stand it and turned it off. However, she did not expect that this could be a reason for her to be criticized.
After lifting it up in one breath, Lu Aicao wanted to teach her a lesson, but was pushed away by two girls who suddenly rushed up. The two girls carried the little girl out, looking very anxious and excited.
Lu Aicao stood there and took a deep breath. Well, if you can avoid trouble, then don't cause it.
It wasn't until she returned to the bar that Lv Aicao came back to her senses. After handing over to the bartender from the previous shift, she began to work formally.
This job was introduced by her good friend Liang Bo who she had grown up with. Although Liang Bo was a small gangster, he also knew some small bosses. At that time, the bar was short of people, and Liang Bo used two packs of cigarettes to get her, who had just turned 18, in.
Actually, she was lucky. At first, the boss wanted her to be a waitress, but later, seeing that she was smart, he asked her to learn bartending. In this kind of place, bartenders are much better than waitresses. Not only do they not have to deal with too many people, but their salary is also much higher.
"Wormwood, give me two Bloody Marys."
Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Liang Bo, who has been entrenched here for many years, saw Lu Aicao on duty and came over to order two glasses of wine.
A brand new hundred-dollar bill was placed on the bar, and Lu Aicao picked it up without even looking at it.
Liang Bo sat down facing her, took out a cigarette and pretended to light it, but she snatched it away in a flash.
"Hey? You're pretty quick!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Didn't you tell me to smoke less? You reek of smoke now." Lu Aicao threw the cigarette and lighter into the trash can.
Liang Bo watched eagerly, but didn't dare to talk back.
"You come here to fool around just because you have money. When will you be able to improve yourself?" Lu Aicao's tone was full of reprimand as she pushed two glasses of Bloody Mary to him.
"Don't read it anymore. You're so young but you're already getting wrinkles." Liang Bo pouted. "Didn't I come here to take care of you?"
"Who asked you to take care of me!" Ai Cao's face looked even worse.
Liang Bo was not angry. After all, they had known each other for so many years, and he could tell at a glance that she must have been unhappy these days. He knew best that an angry woman should not be provoked, so he laughed and left with the wine.
Lv Aicao looked at Liang Bo's back as he disappeared into the crowd, and suddenly felt that she had gone too far. In fact, Liang Bo was right. He always came to the bar because he was worried about her being here. From childhood to adulthood, Liang Bo had always taken care of her like a brother, but she would lose her temper with him at every turn.
People should learn to be grateful, but am I being a little too unreasonable?
Forget it. Lu Aicao gritted her teeth and decided to call him later. He was a man who could be happy if she treated him a little bit nicely. But there were a lot of customers at the moment , and when she remembered to call Liang Bo, she found that Liang Bo didn't answer the phone after calling him several times.
Ai Cao quietly left the bar under the pretext of going to the toilet.
At this moment, the sound of a huge wine bottle breaking was heard, followed by a shrill scream that pierced through the deafening music, which was thrilling.
Ai Cao stopped suddenly, her intuition told her that a fight was happening.
As soon as the screams started, everyone fell silent, even the music stopped, and the bar was suddenly silent. Then, everyone gathered in one place, and Lu Aicao also rushed over.
"Don't you think it's awesome to hit someone on the head with a bottle? Today I'll show you what it's like to be really awesome!"
A familiar male voice came from the crowd. In an instant, Lv Aicao's heart jumped to her throat. She didn't care about anything else and pushed through the crowd to squeeze in.
At this time, Liang Bo was holding a broken wine bottle and glaring fiercely at the girl in front of him who was crying in fear. Fresh red blood was flowing down his forehead.
What exactly is going on?
Lu Aicao didn't understand what was going on and was stunned.
However, when her eyes moved to the face of the girl who was crying with fear, she realized that this was the girl who had caused trouble for her in the bathroom.
"What are you doing? What are you doing here?"
A tall, fierce-looking fat man came over with a group of people. They were the security guards of the bar, but in fact they were thugs hired by the boss to keep the place quiet.
As soon as they arrived, Lu Aicao naturally felt relieved. With Liang Bo's relationship with these people, he would be fine.
"Brother, brother! He is bullying me! He wanted to hit me with a bottle, luckily I dodged it!" The girl, who was about to collapse with fear a second ago, immediately came up to the man and complained pitifully.
"How dare you turn the tables?" Liang Bo was even more furious. He pointed at his bleeding forehead and said through gritted teeth, "Who hit my head like this?"
"You deserve it! Who told you to molest me?" The girl refused to give in. Her arrogant and domineering appearance was annoying.
"Who wants to molest you! I already told you that I bumped into you by accident! Look at yourself in a mirror. With the way you look, I would never molest you even if I was in need of a woman!"
These harsh words were like a sharp knife, cutting the girl's self-esteem into pieces. When the people watching the fun knew what was going on, they laughed and sighed.
As if she had been greatly insulted, the girl's face was filled with shame. She picked up her bag and was about to throw it at Liang Bo in anger.
"How dare you call me ugly!"
Liang Bo had seen many girls like this, who were lawless because of their good looks. He didn't take them seriously at all. He raised his hand and grabbed her bag: "Are you going to give me money to see a doctor?"
"you--"
"Alright, stop making trouble!" The fat man standing in the middle shouted, pulled the bag strap and threw it into Liang Bo's arms, "This bar is open for business, not a place for you to make trouble! If you want to make trouble, follow me to the police station now!"
The girl had never seen such a scene before, and she was so scared that she stood there stupidly. And the girls who were originally accompanying her disappeared without a trace.
Liang Bo seemed not to be affected by the wound at all and opened the girl's bag provocatively.
"Now I give you two choices. One, leave now; two, follow me to the police station." The fat man did not show any concern for her just because she was a girl.
"Why are you only talking to me? What about him?" The girl seemed to have suffered great injustice and pointed at Liang Bo and shouted loudly.
"Please, I'm in this state now, it's lucky I didn't drag you to the police station!" Liang Bo showed his gangster look without reservation. He took out her wallet, took out three hundred yuan in cash, shook it, and put it in his pocket.
"Heh..." To everyone's surprise, the girl suddenly laughed. She looked at Liang Bo sarcastically and said, "So you two are in the same group and want to cheat me out of my money! Okay, it's just money, just consider it as a donation I made to beggars!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
The fat man and Liang Bo said in unison, obviously irritated by her.
Lv Aicao, who was watching the fight, rolled her eyes in her heart unconsciously. This girl's IQ is really low. Liang Bo just took out only 300 yuan and put it in his pocket. This little money is not enough for three days of intravenous drip.
"I gave you two choices and you didn't choose either one. Well, come on, let's go to the police station and explain everything!" The fat man grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her away.
The girl was really frightened this time. Her face turned pale and she struggled like a crab about to be put into a pot: "Let me go! Do you know who I am? Let me go!"
The whole bar was filled with the girls' screams like pigs being slaughtered, but no one came forward to say a word.
Lu Aicao looked at Liang Bo's head, and was only thinking about going out to buy medicine and bandage him. She turned around to get her wallet, and a boy rushed in at this moment.
"Let her go!" His voice was sonorous and powerful, with no fear on his face. He pulled the girl's hand away and protected her behind him.
"Le Chengyu!" The girl came back to her senses after being frightened. After seeing the boy's face clearly, she didn't seem surprised, but rather a little timid. But this emotion soon disappeared. She hugged the boy's waist tightly, as if she had grabbed a life-saving driftwood, hiding behind him and crying and complaining. The boy's delicate shirt was soon soaked by tears, revealing circles of dirty marks.
Lv Aicao was attracted by this familiar voice and stopped. Looking back, she saw that the tall boy had already pulled the girl behind him into his arms. Under the dim light of the bar, his handsome features were full of charm, and his tall and straight figure attracted the attention of almost all the women present. He looked cold and fearlessly at the fat man.
Although he didn't make any unnecessary movements, he exuded an overbearing aura just by standing there, which made the fat man undecided for a moment.
It's like a soap opera, isn't it? When the heroine is in trouble, there is always a hero to save her. But Lu Aicao never thought that she had seen this hero today.
It was the boy who bumped into her and asked her about Le You.
However, although she felt that life is full of opportunities, Lu Aichao instinctively looked at him with tinted glasses. It was because he protected that extremely spoiled girl without asking why. Being obsessed with such a girl, he couldn't be much better.
"Brother, let's talk about it. There's no need to hit a girl." The boy smiled before he spoke. His humble look calmed the fat man who was about to get angry.
"Your girl beat up my brother, and I'm taking her to the police station!"
While the fat man was speaking, Liang Bo stood up from behind and stared fiercely at the girl who was now as weak as a rabbit.
Le Chengyu remained calm, and used his deep black eyes to gently glance back and forth between Liang Bo and the girl. The girl in his arms couldn't resist the guilt in her heart, and lowered her head in silence.
With just one glance, Le Chengyu knew that what the fat man said was true.
After thinking for a few seconds, he spoke again very sincerely: "She is young and ignorant. I apologize on her behalf." Then, he took out his wallet, took out a large amount of bills from it, stepped forward and handed it to Liang Bo.
"I was in a hurry to go out today, so I didn't bring that much cash. Please take this money first. If it's not enough, you can call me or I can go to the hospital with you. She is only eighteen years old, and her life has just begun. She can't go to the police station..."
"Snapped."
Before Le Chengyu finished speaking, Liang Bo mercilessly knocked the money out of his hand with his bloody hand. The red banknotes were scattered all over the floor.
Lu Aicao knew that it was Liang Bo's self-esteem and no one could trample on it at will.
"Who wants your filthy money!" Liang Bo stepped forward and glared at Le Chengyu. "People like you, do you think money can settle anything? Do you think you can trample on other people's self-esteem at will just because you have money? Although you are more polite than her, you are essentially the same! Stop pretending! I don't want you! I'm going to take her to the police station today and let the police discipline her!"
In an instant, the air seemed to freeze, and everyone was stunned. No one thought that the little gangster who was always smiling would say such a thing.
Lu Aicao looked at Liang Bo silently, not surprised at all.
Although they all live in the slums of this city, they also have many things that money cannot buy, such as feelings and self-esteem.
Liang Bo didn't know that at this moment, he seemed to be emitting a kind of light, making him look as tall as a mountain.
Le Chengyu was the opposite of Lv Aicao. Although his face was calm, his inner surprise was stronger than anyone else present. Since childhood, his father, who was a soldier, had strict requirements on him. He had always lived in a world of pure command and obedience. When he grew up, he went to military school according to his father's wishes. So compared with other people of the same age, he didn't understand too much about the ways of the world. He accepted punishment when he was wrong and praise when he was right. This was his principle.
However, this principle of his could never be applied to the girl next to him, so even though he knew she was extremely wrong, he had to rescue her first.
Paying money to settle the problem was the only solution he could think of. His wealthy family had always made him feel that although money could not solve all problems, most of them could be solved. If they could not be solved, he could just add some more and he would always get a satisfactory result in the end.
But the gangster in front of him, whose forehead was still bleeding, made him begin to question this theory.
"I'm sorry." Without time to think, Le Chengyu bent his body to 90 degrees and bowed deeply to Liang Bo in front of everyone.
"I'm sorry, I failed to discipline my sister. You can vent your dissatisfaction to me. Please give her a chance since she is still young and this is her first time making a mistake. She will be taking the college entrance exam soon. If she has a tainted record, her future will be ruined."
Liang Bo's back, which had just been straightened, froze. He had never expected that this rich kid would be so humble.
Lu Aicao was also shocked.
It turns out to be... my brother?
No wonder he protected that girl like a calf. The contempt in his heart changed unconsciously. After all, there was nothing anyone could do about a sister like this.
For some reason, Lu Aicao thought of her only sister, Xu Yuan. If she got into trouble outside, she would protect her first regardless of whether she was right or wrong.
So, let's help him. A voice in her heart said softly. She looked at Liang Bo, whose expression had somewhat relaxed, and finally decided to end the confrontation.
"Liang Bo, that's enough!"
The clear but cold voice of a young girl came from behind the crowd. Lu Aicao walked through the crowd and came to Liang Bo's side. She handed him some paper and asked him to deal with the blood on his head.
The moment he saw the girl's face, Le Chengyu was uncontrollably delighted.
If someone else said this to him, Liang Bo would definitely be furious, but when this sentence came out of Lu Aicao's mouth, it was completely different.
"Aicao..." Liang Bo was too ashamed to look up. He slightly blocked Aicao's sight when wiping with the paper.
Lu Aicao stared at him coldly, with an interrogative expression as if to say "We agreed not to cause trouble", which made him break out in a cold sweat.
Lv Aicao glanced around indifferently, and finally his eyes fell on Le Chengyu. Le Chengyu opened his mouth to say something, and Lv Aicao squatted down the next second, and in full view of everyone, he picked up the scattered money on the ground one by one.
"Aicao, what are you doing!" Liang Bo was so angry that he stepped forward to stop her, but Lu Aicao opened his hand fiercely. She counted out eight bills and handed the remaining money to Le Chengyu.
"This eight hundred yuan can be considered as medical expenses, and you can take the rest back. Let's just leave it at that for now. As for whether the bar owner wants compensation, I don't care." Lu Aicao said this crisply and clearly. He looked like someone who had dealt with many such things before and was not nervous at all.
Le Chengyu silently took the money and glanced at the girl in front of him with an indifferent expression. Suddenly, he became a little curious about her. It seemed that she was different every time he saw her.
"Also, I advise you to discipline your sister. If she does this again next time, it won't be solved with a few hundred dollars." After saying that, Lu Aicao glanced at the girl who was hiding in the boy's arms with only half of her face exposed. The girl glared at her unconvinced.
"Thank you, I will." Le Chengyu thanked him sincerely. He wanted to say something else, but the person in front of him turned around and grabbed Liang Bo's ear, dragging him out of the crowd without saying a word. Liang Bo screamed in pain, but did not dare to resist.
When the people around saw that the problem was solved, they stopped watching.
Le Chengyu stayed where he was, watching the two people being intimate, and his heart was slightly moved. These two people were both quite interesting.
"Ahhh, be gentle!"
"Do you feel the pain now? You were so arrogant in the bar!"
In the small room, the dim desk lamp cast a small patch of orange light, and the quartz clock on the wall ticked. The girl, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, frowned slightly as she tied a knot on the gauze on the boy's head, and the wound was finally bandaged.
At this moment, the bedroom door was pushed open, and a girl who looked somewhat fragile came in quietly.
"Hey, what are you doing? You hide in the house as soon as you come back, and you dare not even make a sound! Auntie has prepared dinner and asked me to call you to eat!" Xu Yuan shouted in a dissatisfied voice.
"Someone's head is broken." Lu Aicao packed up the medicine box and stuffed it back under the bed in annoyance.
"Oh my god, it looks serious!" Xu Yuan raised his hand to touch it, but Liang Bo dodged it. Liang Bo picked up his baseball cap and put it on his head, just covering the wound.
"We agreed not to tell Auntie!"
"Who told the secret?" Xu Yuan had an unhappy face. It was obviously a well-intentioned concern, but he didn't appreciate it.
"If you don't want to tell on us, just promise us that you won't cause trouble outside in the future!" Lu Aicao crossed her arms and looked at Liang Bo in a commanding manner.
"Hey, can you be fair? I wasn't the one causing the trouble. It was that woman who started it first." Liang Bo looked aggrieved. "Xuyuan, can you please judge for yourself? That woman smashed a beer bottle on my head, and now your sister is blaming me! Is that unreasonable?"
Xuyuan was stuck in the middle, looking left and right, totally unsure of how to answer.
"Then tell me, why did you embarrass her brother in front of so many people? She has already humbly given you money to apologize, but you still won't give in. Why are you pretending to be so stubborn? If this matter gets out of hand, won't you be the one who suffers in the end? If that rich girl really gets into trouble and has a tainted record, which delays her future career, do you think her parents will forgive a little gangster like you?" Ai Cao became more and more angry as she spoke. If it weren't for the fact that he was injured in the head, she would have wanted to poke him with her fingers again. "Breaking your head now is a small matter, but if I break your legs later, who will you cry to?"
"Then she has to be reasonable, right? Since she's in a bar, she has to be reasonable about it."
"Reason? It's not that I don't reason, but in this world, only people with capital can reason!"
It seemed that he had never heard Lu Aicao scold so angrily, nor had he ever heard such cruel words come out of her mouth. Liang Bo, who was originally unwilling to accept the result, suddenly froze, lowered his head and faced the floor in silence.
The small room was filled with an awkward atmosphere, and it became so quiet that even breathing could be heard.
Although Xu Yuan was a little confused, she still understood what the two said. She agreed with her sister because she knew that for people living at the bottom of society, unnecessary backbone is sometimes the biggest burden. Because in this world where the strong prey on the weak, only by protecting yourself can you protect the people around you.
Doesn't it sound a bit cruel? But what can we do about it?
"I say, you little guys, what are you yelling about in the room? Come out and eat!" The bedroom door was pushed open again, and Lu Ruoping, wearing an apron, called them out to eat.
The awkward atmosphere was broken, and the three of them immediately pretended nothing had happened and walked out quickly.
Because of Liang Bo's arrival, Lv Ruoping specially cooked a few more dishes. In fact, Liang Bo often came to their house for meals before, but after Lv Aicao went to work at the bar, he rarely came. But he didn't know that this was the last time Lv Ruoping cooked for them before she was hospitalized.
Lv Aicao had forced her to be hospitalized, and the doctor said that if she didn't stay in the hospital, her condition would get worse, so even though she was worried, Lv Ruoping agreed after seeing Aicao's red eyes. But everyone tacitly didn't tell Liang Bo.
Lu Ruoping didn't want him to worry about her, and Ai Cao didn't want Liang Bo to worry about his mother's hospital expenses. This adolescent boy, with his blood rushing up, really didn't know what kind of irrelevant things he could do for money.
In this way, several people, each with their own thoughts, finished the meal seemingly happily amid the deliberate interruptions of Lu Aicao and Xu Yuan.
When Liang Bo was leaving, he pretended to be reluctant, but was met with a cold stare from Lu Aicao.
After Liang Bo left, this small house of less than 40 square meters suddenly became much emptier. Lu Aicao hurried Xu Yuan to do his homework, and then rolled up his sleeves to help his mother clean up the dishes.
"Mom, I have some money here. You can use it to supplement the household expenses." Taking advantage of the break, Lu Aicao took out five hundred yuan and handed it over.
Lu Ruoping stopped washing the dishes, and her tired face was stunned for a moment. Lu Aicao had already received money to supplement the family expenses a while ago, so how come he had money again so soon?
"Has your part-time job salary increased recently? How come you always have money?"
When asked by her mother, Lv Aicao felt a little uneasy. Her mother had never known that she was working at a bar and thought that she was still working as a part-time tutor.
"Yes, I have a few more students recently." Lu Aicao said casually .
"Oh." Lu Ruoping smiled and nodded, but gently pushed the money back, "Mom still has money here, and I made some money from handicrafts recently..."
"Don't do it anymore. Look at your health now!" Lu Aicao said like a little adult, frowning, "I'll take care of the family. Just go to the hospital and take care of yourself! Only when you're well can you take care of us!"
The corners of Lu Ruoping's eyes suddenly felt a little sore . She turned her head away and sighed.
Seeing the calmness in her daughter's eyes that was not her age, the self-blame in her heart rose up again. I was young and ignorant, but I stubbornly gave birth to my daughter, but she didn't live a good life. Now I am sick, and I have to rely on my daughter who is in high school to support me.
"I don't care anyway. Take the money and buy whatever you want." Lu Aicao stubbornly stuffed the money into her mother's pocket.
Because the night was too tiring, Lu Aicao went to bed early.
Xu Yuan, who was still reading by lamplight at night, tucked the corner of the quilt for her gently, then ran to Lu Ruoping's room.
"Auntie, you are still doing handicrafts so late!" Xu Yuan gently sat down beside her, looking at her slightly red fingertips, feeling a little distressed.
"Oh, you're free anyway, so just do it for a while." Lu Ruoping smiled at her gently.
In Xuyuan's memory, when his grandmother was alive, she often smiled at him like this.
"Auntie, I..." Xu Yuan said, taking out three hundred yuan from his pocket and gently placing it next to Lu Ruoping, "This is the pocket money that Ai Cao gave me several times. I didn't spend it, but secretly saved it. You can take it, I won't need it if I keep it."
"How can this be possible? This is your money."
Lu Ruoping wanted to refuse, but Xu Yuan forced the money into her pocket: "You are sick and need to eat more good food. This money was originally given to me by Ai Cao. It is very good that you can take me in. How can I waste your money? Auntie, nothing is more important than your health now. There is nothing I can do for you. If you don't want this money, I really don't know what else I can do."
"Xuyuan, how can you be so sensible..." Looking at the pale face of the girl in front of her, and thinking of her daughter's calm and almost indifferent face, Lu Ruoping couldn't help but touch her hair, "It's all because of my inability and illness. You are so young, and you have to worry about me."
"Auntie, you should just focus on your recovery now. In a year, when I go to college, Ai Cao won't be able to control my part-time job. This way, both of us can take care of you." Xu Yuan smiled, which made Lu Ruoping feel warm.
Many times, making a wish is really like what Ai Cao said, she is a ray of sunshine that can always illuminate the gloomy life and make it shine.
The joy in Lu Ruoping's heart at this moment was like a slowly flowing stream, which was obviously a trickle, but it was refreshing.
Yes, if the illness is cured, everything will be fine.
She pulled Xuyuan into her arms and nodded happily: "Okay, I'll listen to you!"
The happiness at that time was like a glimmer of light in the darkness. I always thought that I could touch the happiness ahead by taking a few more steps.
But no one knows that the moment fate reaches out its hand, the twisted time leaves only a distorted smiling face, and the fate of everyone is broken.