Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Su Shengli and a few classmates had just stepped out of the school gate when Zhou Jiarou burst forth like a madwoman.

She threw herself at his legs, wailing uncontrollably in front of everyone, her distress appearing utterly profound.

"My child, my own son, how could you abandon your mother? I know you have deep affection for the Su family, but I love you too!"

"How could you forsake your true kin for the sake of the Su family?"

Zhou Jiarou clung to Su Shengli’s thigh, sobbing and wiping away tears, kneeling on the ground with a look of heart-wrenching anguish, her every cry filled with pain.

Su Shengli instinctively raised his foot to kick her away, but upon hearing her accusatory and mournful words, he belatedly realized who she was.

Zhou… Zhou Jiarou?

His nominal birth mother!

He couldn't very well kick her.

Su Shengli’s face suddenly turned ashen. A moment later, he remembered Zhou Jiarou’s likely purpose—she was probably here to cause trouble because he had refused to help her good-for-nothing husband earlier!

The crowd began to gather, and for the first time, Su Shengli felt that being the center of attention wasn't necessarily a good thing.

He forced a strained smile. "...Mom, what are you saying? Though I’m with the Su family, I’ve never forgotten you. Didn’t I just visit you recently?"

Su Shengli bent down, extending a hand as if to help Zhou Jiarou up, but in reality, he pinched her arm, his voice laced with menace.

"What exactly do you want? Do you truly believe you’re my birth mother? If you’re foolish enough to ruin my reputation, I guarantee you’ll have no peace after today!"

Zhou Jiarou looked up, still sobbing, tears streaming down her face, appearing disheveled and pathetic, yet her words carried a ruthless, desperate edge.

"Give me 500,000! Otherwise, I’ll make sure all your classmates know you’re a heartless ingrate! Someone who’d abandon their own parents just to curry favor with the Su family."

Another one demanding money.

Su Shengli couldn't help but show his irritation.

"That’s too much! You’re not worth that much! Besides, didn’t you sell your house? Wasn’t that enough to cover your husband’s gambling debts?!"

Su Shengli stared at her coldly, his gaze condescending and filled with undisguised contempt.

Zhou Jiarou seethed inwardly, but her face showed only pleading.

She clutched Su Shengli’s arm. "Just help me this once, only once. Give me the money, and I’ll never bother you again. I promise I’ll stay far away from you and never embarrass you again."

Zhou Jiarou spoke pitifully, yet her tone carried a clear threat.

It was as if she implied that if Su Shengli didn’t meet her demand this time, she would utterly humiliate him in front of all his classmates!

Su Shengli remained hesitant.

Zhou Jiarou’s eyes darkened, and she played her final card.

"You wouldn’t want the outside world to know that you’re actually a bastard of unknown origin, would you? Although the Su family now acknowledges you as their adopted son, if the media finds out that your presence in the Su family is connected to Madam Song, then... hehe..."

It had only belatedly dawned on Zhou Jiarou that she held an unparalleled trump card.

Didn’t the Su family care deeply about their reputation? That’s why they specifically found her, Su Shengli’s 'birth' mother.

But if the public learned that the so-called "true and false young master" incident was entirely orchestrated by their prominent family matriarch, then... who would still believe the Su family were good people?

That was a crime!

If the Su family’s matriarch broke the law, all the public goodwill the Su Group had gained by supporting and protecting the fake young master would completely vanish!

Not only would the goodwill disappear, but netizens would also unearth the true and false young master incident again, forever nailing the entire Su family and the fake young master to the pillar of shame.

Zhou Jiarou’s lips curled into a smug smile. "You wouldn’t want..."

"Fine, 500,000 it is!" Su Shengli gritted his teeth.

"Take the money, and never come looking for me again!"

Zhou Jiarou’s eyes flickered. "Naturally."

------

Gossip spreads incredibly fast, especially at the entrance of Mingcheng Film Academy, the most renowned university in the university town.

Even without a continuous stream of curious passersby, the paparazzi and students who constantly loitered around Mingcheng Film Academy were enough to provide ample fodder for the gossip mill.

Su Shengli was only grateful for his quick reaction; otherwise, that shrew Zhou Jiarou might have clung to his leg and wailed on the ground for who knows how long!

After they reached an agreement, Zhou Jiarou stood up from the ground.

From Su Shengli’s flushed, embarrassed face, she had already discerned the best way to manipulate him.

Conveniently, having lived at the bottom of society for years, she was the one with the least concern for appearances.

Zhou Jiarou feigned motherly affection and patted Su Shengli’s shoulder.

"Son, I was wrong to think you’d despise us and cut ties after your father went to prison. Now that I know you still acknowledge me as your mother, my heart is much more at ease."

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just perfectly audible to those in the front row of onlookers.

Su Shengli’s attempt to pull away from Zhou Jiarou’s hand faltered, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Despite all his efforts to quickly resolve the situation, he couldn't stop Zhou Jiarou from spouting nonsense.

Sure enough, the very next second, someone curiously inquired,

"Prison? Who went to prison? Su Shengli’s mother, does someone in your family go to jail?"

As camera flashes went off, the strange looks pierced Su Shengli’s thin skin like venomous thorns.

He immediately became enraged, and his already suppressed anger erupted, directed at the questioner.

"You shouldn’t spread rumors casually! My mother meant that my father misses me very much." His face was icy.

Fortunately, the next second, he realized everyone was watching him, so he lowered his eyes and put on a smile again.

"I apologize, I was a bit agitated just now. It’s just a small misunderstanding between me and my family, which caused a bit of a commotion."

"Now, please make way, I need to take my mother aside to talk privately."

Su Shengli extended his hand. The people around looked at Zhou Jiarou, and seeing that she didn’t object, seemingly confirming Su Shengli’s earlier statement about a misunderstanding between mother and son, they immediately cleared a path.

Su Shengli pulled Zhou Jiarou away, while Zhou Jiarou smiled weakly at the crowd, perfectly portraying a helpless, pitiful, yet loving mother.

Gu Yubai and Yu Li didn’t walk towards the entrance of Mingcheng Film Academy; they watched the commotion from across the street.

Zhou Jiarou went from kneeling on the ground, wailing and clinging to Su Shengli, to standing up and affectionately patting his shoulder—the two seemed to have reached some sort of agreement.

Gu Yubai wasn’t interested in the specifics.

He merely stood on tiptoes to glance casually into the crowd. Seeing a path open up, he immediately averted his gaze, grabbed Yu Li’s hand, and prepared to leave.

Yu Li squeezed his palm. "Even if Su Shengli sees us, I can protect you."

Gu Yubai: "I’m not afraid of him discovering we were also watching the spectacle; it’s just better to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Moreover, Gu Yubai had just remembered that Zhou Jiarou had contacted him a few days prior, pleading for his help in getting her husband out of prison.

Gu Yubai hadn’t bothered.

Zhou Jiarou’s husband was already a repeat offender. The last time, to retaliate against the Su family, Gu Yubai had contacted Zhou Jiarou before the recognition banquet, suggesting she latch onto the Su family; rescuing her husband, who had been arrested for gambling, was merely a side benefit.

But this time, without external interference, Zhou Jiarou’s husband went straight to jail, which showed just how severe his gambling problem was.

The man truly deserved it.

However, days had passed, and the matter was settled. Unless the Su family was willing to expend immense effort, it was unlikely Zhou Jiarou’s husband could be bailed out.

But would the Su family do it?

Gu Yubai knew without a second thought that the Su family wouldn’t step in for Zhou Jiarou’s husband.

So, Zhou Jiarou coming to Su Shengli now was probably just to make him miserable, right?

Gu Yubai intended to avoid Su Shengli, but unexpectedly, they were heading in the same direction. At the intersection, their eyes met.

Su Shengli’s steps halted abruptly.

He looked at Yu Li holding hands with Gu Yubai, then turned back to look at the seemingly kind but malicious Zhou Jiarou, whom he couldn’t shake off, and his eyes immediately filled with intense resentment.

Life was truly unfair!

Su Shengli was the fake young master who had comfortably remained in the wealthy family, enjoying luxury, yet he was plagued by so many troubles, while the true young master, whose identity had been usurped, lived a leisurely life.

And then there was Yu Li...

Previously, Su Shengli had dismissed this person because he wasn't the Yu family patriarch nor the next heir, and he had unhesitatingly withdrawn his affection and pursuit.

But honestly, even if Yu Li wasn’t the future head of the Yu family, his wealth was comparable to Su Linyuan, the Su family’s next successor.

Su Shengli’s eyes flickered. While he was resentful, he also felt that he had given up too early and too obviously, so Yu Li clearly understood his intentions and would never give him another chance to pursue him.

But so what?

Why should Gu Yubai get what Su Shengli couldn’t have!

Su Shengli turned to Zhou Jiarou and said, "Wait here for me. Don’t ruin this for me."

Then, he put on an innocent smile again and walked towards Yu Li.

"Brother Yu..."

Yu Li casually glanced at him, ignored Su Shengli’s words, squeezed Gu Yubai’s hand, and walked away directly.

The message of unwelcome was clear and direct.

Su Shengli: "..."

Although he had hired assassins multiple times, Su Shengli was still quite sensitive to shame.

He couldn’t even tolerate Zhou Jiarou crying and wailing at the school gate, embarrassing him, let alone shamelessly approaching and chasing after a man.

Moreover, in Su Shengli’s mind, Yu Li was neither the current head of the Su family nor the future heir. Even if he was wealthy, he wasn’t worth Su Shengli lowering himself for.

Gu Yubai, being pulled away by Yu Li, smiled as he looked back at Su Shengli, receiving a look of jealous resentment in return.

Gu Yubai: "..."

He silently turned his head, feeling truly unlucky, as if misfortune had struck him out of nowhere.

"He doesn’t actually think I deliberately brought you here to watch him make a fool of himself, does he?"

Yu Li squeezed Gu Yubai’s palm and said righteously,

"I can testify for you; you’re not that kind of person!"

----

With the internet so developed, before Gu Yubai and Yu Li even reached the large apartment he had just bought, videos of Su Shengli being embraced by his birth mother, who was crying and wailing at the entrance of Mingcheng University, had already spread everywhere.

Netizens had become exceptionally sensitive to the name Su Shengli lately, feeling as though he lived on the trending topics, making headlines constantly.

Su Linyuan frowned as he watched the video of Zhou Jiarou’s unruly behavior.

This couldn’t continue.

Zhou Jiarou was clearly not a loving mother; she only thought of Su Shengli, her son, when she encountered trouble or needed money.

Su Shengli had complained to him a few days ago that Zhou Jiarou had demanded money from him multiple times, leaving him with almost no liquid assets.

If he were to give Zhou Jiarou more money, he would likely have to sell some of his properties or cars.

But Zhou Jiarou was Su Shengli’s birth mother, and she was cold and greedy. If her wishes weren’t met, she might drag the entire Su family down.

The Su Group’s stock, which had finally stabilized, could not afford another fluctuation.

However, Su Shengli’s entanglement with Zhou Jiarou also couldn’t be left unaddressed.

Su Linyuan remembered his assistant mentioning half an hour ago that his mother, Song Manman, had gone to his father’s office. He frowned and headed to Su Wanlin’s office with his phone.

It wasn't yet the official afternoon working hours for the group’s employees, so the office area was almost empty, and even the secretary’s desk outside Su Wanlin’s office was unmanned.

Before he even reached the door, Su Linyuan heard Song Manman arguing with Su Wanlin. Without needing to think much, it was certainly because Su Shengli had suffered grievances outside.

Su Linyuan sighed. He was about to push the door open when he heard Song Manman’s sharp voice.

"Grandfather is one thing; he’s part of your Su family, and it doesn’t matter if Shengli humbles himself before him. But what is that Zhou Jiarou?!"

"She’s not even Shengli’s real mother! Yet because of her, how much humiliation has Shengli endured, how many times has he been blackmailed!"

"He tolerates so much, isn’t it all for you and the Su Group? But instead of being considerate, you even make him continue to endure for the sake of a respectable background!"

It was clear that Song Manman was extremely agitated.

Su Linyuan empathized, also feeling that Su Shengli had suffered many grievances for this family.

But the next second, Su Linyuan’s body stiffened. He withdrew the hand that was about to push open the office door, his face filled with disbelief.

Song Manman screamed hysterically,

"But don’t you forget, Su Shengli is actually your illegitimate child! Back then, if it weren’t for Wei’er, who died in childbirth, I wouldn’t have swapped out my own biological son just to bring your illegitimate child home!"

"I’ve treated him as my own, not caring that he’s the product of your betrayal with Wei’er, and yet you dare not cherish him!"

Even without seeing Song Manman’s expression firsthand,

Su Linyuan knew she must be in a state of frenzy.

Su Linyuan’s mind exploded.

Su Shengli...

An illegitimate child?