Chapter 9: Departure

Yu Tingzhou.

This man was strange; he didn't just watch the dance, but seemed to be looking through her at someone else.

Xu Yu had once asked Shen Liangyan, with such a big client, could she really secure him with just a dance?

After all, this man had never laid a finger on her.

Even when she leaned closer to offer him a drink, Yu Tingzhou would admonish her.

"Young lady, you must learn to respect yourself."

But Shen Liangyan had told her not to worry.

And in the end, that was indeed how things turned out.

From then on, Xu Yu stopped using those ingratiating tricks she reserved for other guests on Yu Tingzhou, offering him only the most exquisite visual feast she could present.

After her second dance ended, Shen Liangyan gave her a look, then began discussing Yu Tingzhou's next project with him.

Xu Yu was relieved to be free, changed her clothes, and took her leave.

By the time she departed the bustling university district, circled half of Qingcheng, and finally returned to her old neighborhood, it was late.

Xu Yu stepped out of the taxi, cash in hand for the driver, but as she handed over the money, she felt a sudden dampness at her feet.

She hadn't noticed and had stepped right into a foul puddle.

The driver took the money without a word, and as the rear tire rolled through the water, he sped off, splashing her trousers with filthy water.

Xu Yu: "..."

When it rains, it pours.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile.

The old part of town was just like this—no use complaining.

Who told her to be poor?

She couldn't afford a big apartment in the city center.

Once again, she vowed to herself that in just one more month, she would save enough for a down payment on a three-bedroom apartment downtown.

Creak—

Even the opening and closing of the door was loud enough to disturb the neighbors. She grew irritable, wondering why the repairman she’d called last week still hadn’t come.

As if reading her mind, Xu Huaimin looked up from his game.

"The repairman didn’t come."

She changed her shoes and asked, "Why not?"

Xu Huaimin was unconcerned. "I spent the repair money on lottery tickets. The draw was today. Didn’t win."

So that was it.

In the cramped living room, there was a small folding table for drinking. It was tiny.

A few plates, a wineglass, and a bottle nearly filled it to capacity.

The table was so flimsy that it wobbled even if no one touched it.

Xu Yu smelled the cheap liquor and looked at the piles of snail shells and peanut husks on the table, silently beginning to clean up.

She ignored Xu Huaimin, who was still playing his game on the sofa.

Just as she was finishing up, she heard him ask,

"Didn’t I tell you to stay at the Wen family’s? Why are you back again?"

She paused, still bent over, and didn’t reply as she swept the peanut shells into the dustpan.

Hearing no answer, Xu Huaimin sneered and guessed anyway.

"Couldn’t hold your tongue? Or did Shen Xianglian get fed up with you?"

Whatever the reason, the words carried no trace of a father’s kindness—only sarcasm and mockery.

But Xu Yu had always been a good girl. Ever since she’d left the countryside for this house eight years ago, obedience had been her rule, never once broken.

She chuckled softly. "Dad, luck wasn’t with you today—you guessed wrong."

"Try again tomorrow. Maybe you’ll win."

With that, she went downstairs to take out the trash.

When she returned, Xu Huaimin was slumped on the sofa, already asleep.

Even in his dreams, he muttered curses about her.

"Thought bringing you here might change my fate."

Xu Yu paused.

She gave a bitter laugh.

She fetched a blanket to cover him, almost pulling it over his head.

Eight years ago, in the third month after she was brought here,

Xu Huaimin and Shen Xianglian divorced.

Shen Xianglian caught the eye of Wen Zhongnian, the real estate tycoon of Qingcheng, and became his new wife.

As for herself, Xu Jing, and Xu Huaimin, they were all abandoned by her.