Chapter 11: The Unveiling of Secrets

The lady, knowing that Zhengtai’s brain was not functioning properly, had no choice but to agree. The call ended.

Mo Liping handed my phone back to me and noticed the wooden sticks I was holding high. "Stop making a scene, alright? I promised the lady I would take you back."

I gripped the two wooden sticks tightly, my mind racing with many thoughts. Just then, a text message alert chimed on the phone. Mo Liping glanced at the address on the screen and said casually, "Let’s go! We need to hurry!"

Instead of heading straight out, Mo Liping scurried back into the room where we had just been sleeping to change into a red miniskirt. She looked quite beautiful; her manners and gestures had nothing masculine about them—in fact, she seemed even more feminine than Zhengtai’s body.

I stared intently at this monster. The world is truly full of wonders. What was most depressing was the thought: why would an old man want someone like this? Could it be…

Once dressed, she stood before the vanity mirror to comb her hair. Zhengtai’s mother called again, her ringtone a pleasant song. After answering, I had to tell her we were on the way. I hung up, pocketed the phone, and turned my gaze back to Mo Liping. I noticed her face was lovely, more feminine than my own, and her curvaceous, devilish figure could easily mesmerize a crowd. Yet, she had chosen to marry an old man. I wondered how they managed as a couple.

Mo Liping dawdled for half an hour, then walked out without even washing her face. She pulled her phone from her small handbag and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

A loud voice came through, which I could hear clearly from where I stood: "Did you receive the money I transferred?"

"No! How much did you send me?" This was the question Mo Liping cared about most.

"Ten million! Is that not enough?" The old man’s voice was confident, reeking of arrogance and wealth; he spoke without hesitation.

"Ten million!" This astronomical figure shocked me. I had never seen so much money before and was utterly stunned.

However, Mo Liping shook her body vigorously and whined coquettishly, "That’s not enough! You only gave me such a pittance? I want one hundred million!"

"One hundred million?"

This statement nearly made my eyes pop out of their sockets. What was the concept of one hundred million? It was an amount an ordinary family could not earn in several generations of hard work, yet she demanded it as if it were nothing.

The old man’s voice sounded hesitant. "You’re just one person; what do you need so much money for? Ten million is enough to last several generations! As long as you don't gamble, that money will earn interest anywhere you put it. If you think it's too much, just transfer the funds back to me!"

Mo Liping grumbled and whined, "You're so stingy! For someone worth tens of billions, one hundred million is just a drop in the bucket! I don't care, I don't care! You have to send me more!"

The call cut off. Mo Liping tried calling back several times, but it wouldn't go through.

I couldn't help but ask, "He’s angry. What will you do?"

Mo Liping tucked her phone back into her handbag and said, "You don't understand men. He’ll be calling me back within a day."

I had been harboring doubts and took the opportunity to ask, "How do you two lead a married life?"

Mo Liping smiled, poked my forehead lightly with her finger, and said, "You’re so silly! That’s personal privacy, not to be spoken of. Stay with me a while longer, and you’ll naturally understand!"

***

Seeing the money, my hostility toward Mo Liping softened significantly. Perhaps she was right; why bother looking for a job? If I could just latch onto a wealthy person like she had, even a small handout would mean I’d never have to work a day in my life. Thinking of that ten million—if I just spent it on food, who could ever finish that much in a lifetime? Washing dishes at a restaurant, slaving away for a mere three thousand a month while enduring the abuse of customers and the boss—even if I worked until I died without eating or drinking, I’d never earn ten million. Thinking it over, I realized I could benefit from being with her. I tested the waters: "Can you be good to me? Can you share your money with me?"

Mo Liping laughed happily, stood on her tiptoes, held my face, and kissed me. "Don't worry! I will cherish you like a treasure. This home will be our world!"

I was still worried and held some reservations. "What if your husband comes and runs into us?"

Mo Liping tugged at my arm and said, "Don't be silly, men have big hearts... Besides, this house is mine! If I let you stay, then stay without worry!"

I was perplexed. She had no career and no fixed income, so where did she get the money to buy a house?

Her answer was simple: "You have to use your brain. I take the money my husband gives me, save it up, and buy things myself. A house like this has nothing to do with him!"

I felt like I had learned a lot from her. It turned out Mo Liping was the one with the real brains. Being with her wouldn't be a loss.

My phone rang. I took it out of my pocket, glanced at it, and answered. "Hello?"

Zhengtai’s father’s gruff voice came through immediately: "Are you here yet? We’re very worried!"

Mo Liping snatched the phone from my hand and said, "We’re almost there. There are traffic lights the whole way, just wait a bit longer! Don't worry, nothing will happen while she's with me!"

The voice on the phone was impatient. "Hurry up, we're waiting at home."

Mo Liping hung up, handed the phone back to me, linked her arm tightly with mine like a woman, checked the clothes I was wearing, straightened them out, and walked out the door.

*Clang.* The door slammed shut.

As we went down the stairs, Mo Liping greeted acquaintances we encountered. Someone asked, "Is this your girlfriend? I don't think I've seen her before."

Mo Liping smiled nonchalantly and said, "She’s my sister; she’ll be living with me often from now on!"

I felt repulsed and pulled on her arm, not wanting her to leak information.

Mo Liping soon found a BMW worth a million in the garage. Now, a million didn't seem like much in her hands. I knew the old man had put ten million in her bank card, not to mention what she already had. Who knew how much that totaled?

She pulled the car out and drove through the security gate. The car sped off until we reached a traffic light, then pulled up in front of a residential compound. I had never been here before; it wasn't much newer than my own neighborhood. I couldn't strike up a conversation with anyone.

Mo Liping asked for my phone and called the lady. Ten minutes later, Zhengtai’s parents came down, but no one else was with them.

I found it strange: "Does the lady only have one daughter, Zhengtai?"

***

When the lady saw us, she started arguing with the security guard. The lady shouted, "I am a resident of this compound! You won't even let me park? Get your boss out here!"

The security guard glared and grunted, "If you’re so capable, go find him yourself! There are no parking spaces inside; there’s nowhere to go even if you enter!"

Mo Liping couldn't stand it anymore. She got out of the car and joined the argument: "The lack of parking is your problem! Are you trying to drive away the daughter of a resident?"

The security guard yelled, "Who are you? I’ve never seen you! You're not allowed in!"

Mo Liping was red in the face, cursing and swearing.

Many residents gathered to watch, blocking the entrance and exit. The cars behind couldn't move and kept honking their horns.

The security guard waved his arms, shouting, "No parking spaces!"

A moment later, four strange men of varying heights climbed out of a car. They glared at the security guard, and after a few heated words, they began throwing punches and kicks, knocking the guard to the ground and stomping on him frantically before turning around, backing up their car, and speeding away.

The security guard remained rolling on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

The lady cursed angrily, "Serves him right! Should've beaten him to death!"

The onlookers discussed it among themselves. Some said, "The current property management is truly something else, bullying the residents! Can't we just get rid of them?"

"I don't know who arranged for these people; they're nothing but bloodsuckers! They don't care about the residents at all. What is their purpose here?"

"Sigh, stop talking! We can't really do without property management, can we? What if thieves get in? Who will watch our homes?"

"..."

The lady whispered something to Mo Liping, then they both got into the car, leaving Zhengtai’s father at the gate.

I was holding the wooden sticks in both hands, which was quite inconvenient. I was afraid of losing them if I left them on the seat. After some thought, I realized the sticks were less than thirty centimeters long, with a circular diameter of four centimeters in the middle and a blunt, conical tip. They were naturally crafted, and sure enough, they were specialty items; tucking them into my waistband felt just right. It was easy to draw them, and I didn't know what kind of wood they were made of, but they felt heavy in my hand. Most importantly, I could use them to deal with Mo Liping; even if I forgot, the scars on my body wouldn't let me.

Mo Liping finally managed to back the car out and sped off. We waited at a red light for a minute and then arrived at the school gate. I saw a large number of students coming out, surrounded by parents.

I checked the time on my phone: it was 12:10 PM. I wondered why the lady had brought me to the school.

She got out of the back seat alone and waited by the school gate.