(Extra Story) Liu Shishi 03

Wu Yu walked home with her head down. She had gone to ask the teacher several times today, but the teacher insisted that no money had been received.

What on earth was going on? That woman surnamed Liu had said she would send money every month.

She felt a pang of resentment. Wasn't this so-called benefactor just sponsoring her to boost her own reputation? And now she couldn't even send the money on time!

Wu Yu took a deep breath, looking at the low, crumbling eaves of her house. She had made up her mind—she had to get out of here. Once she saved up enough, she would follow the return address on Aunt Liu's letters, find her, and cry a little. Her heart would soften, and she would surely let Wu Yu stay in the big city.

Thinking of the bustling metropolis her classmates had described, Wu Yu felt a surge of longing.

Even now, she remembered the shock of first seeing Liu Shishi. How could there be someone so beautiful in this world? Decades old, yet so well-maintained, dressed in spotless white clothes, and driving a car Wu Yu had never even seen before.

That was when Wu Yu had resolved to become the focus of Liu Shishi's attention.

She had even resorted to some tricks—like luring Zhang Xiaolian, whose parents were dead, into an abandoned cellar and locking her up, and telling Liu Shitou's disabled father that Liu Shitou had cheated on an exam, leading his father to beat him so badly he couldn't come to school for days.

With her competitors out of the way, her pitiful act had successfully caught Liu Shishi's attention.

After donating money to renovate the school, Liu Shishi had begun observing the children and ultimately chose Wu Yu as one of her beneficiaries.

But what annoyed Wu Yu was that besides her, there were other children Liu Shishi had selected as well.

She had promised to support them all the way through university.

If only she hadn't touched Zhang Xiaolian and Liu Shitou in the first place.

Pushing open the door, Wu Yu sensed the heavy atmosphere at home.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back—"

Before she could finish, a thin bamboo stick lashed across her body. Wu Yu jumped back with a yelp.

"Fine, you little wretch, now you're learning to lie to your family?" her mother's furious voice rang out.

Wu Yu had no idea what was going on.

"Someone was giving you money, and you didn't tell us?"

Wu Yu was stunned. How did they know? She had begged Liu Shishi never to give the money to her family, because then she wouldn't see a cent of it.

"Are we abusing you? When did we ever abuse you? Aren't we still letting you go to school?" her father's roar followed.

Terrified, Wu Yu clutched her head, unable to figure out where it had all gone wrong.

She got a beating for her trouble, and her brother watched her beg for mercy with a cold sneer. In the end, the family announced that from now on, any money from the sponsor would be held by them.

Wu Yu couldn't say no, but resentment boiled inside her.

Only one person could have betrayed her—Liu Shishi. She must have said something to her family.

The next day, Wu Yu went to school bruised and wounded. Under the curious stares of her classmates, she bit her lip hard, holding back tears until class ended. Then she rushed into the teachers' office and borrowed the phone.

Liu Shishi looked at the ringing phone and smiled slightly.

"Hello."

Wu Yu opened her mouth to curse, but she stopped herself. She couldn't afford to offend Liu Shishi now.

"Aunt Liu, why did you call my family? They hit me and took all the money!" she said in a tearful voice, loud enough for the other teachers in the office to turn and look.

Liu Shishi sounded surprised: "Oh? They hit you? That's not okay. I'll have to talk to them again. If they keep beating you, I'll stop the money!"

Wu Yu panicked. If Liu Shishi called again, her parents would probably kill her!

"No, no! Aunt Liu, could you... please don't tell them anymore? Just send the money to my teacher from now on, or else I'll—"

Liu Shishi replied slowly and deliberately: "That won't do. You're still a child with little understanding of money. They are your biological parents, after all. No parents don't love their children. This decision was made after careful thought. I can't hide it from them forever."

She paused.

"They hit you? Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

And with that, she hung up, ignoring whatever Wu Yu was saying. At that moment, her assistant brought in a new set of papers.

"President Liu, as you requested, I've re-screened the records. There were several other children in that area with difficult family situations, but they weren't considered at the time."

Liu Shishi glanced at the names and thought for a moment.

"Get ready. I'll make another trip."

"Yes."

Little Hei, watching from the side, was puzzled: "What is she trying to do? She's picking more people to sponsor?"

Fang Zhiyi nodded: "She's not the kind of person to back down just because she hit a wall..."

"Aren't she afraid of raising more ungrateful wolves?"

Fang Zhiyi thought for a moment, then smiled: "Probably not. You want to know how to judge a person's future?"

"I don't know."

"There's a method with a fairly high success rate... Liu Shishi's first mistake was only learning about these children's family situations through the school. What she should have done was meet their parents directly. Some people may be poor, but their character and upbringing are still solid. Children from families like that don't turn out to be ungrateful wolves." He tilted his chin. "See? Liu Shishi figured it out too. She's probably going to correct her mistake."

Liu Shishi had already arrived at the local area and began visiting the families on the new list one by one.

She appeared warm and composed, her hair pinned up neatly, looking very professional.

At Liu Shitou's house, his father fumbled nervously—pulling out a stool, boiling water, terrified of offending the guest. When he heard that Liu Shishi had come to discuss sponsoring Liu Shitou's education, Liu Shitou's father shook his head repeatedly.

"Um, Miss Liu, ma'am... as you can see, our family is poor, but I'll sell everything I own—even the pot off the stove—to get Shitou through school. No need for sponsorship. If you lend us money, we can't ever repay it..."

Liu Shishi looked at Liu Shitou's father for a long moment and smiled.

"No need to repay. Just as long as he studies hard and can take care of you when he grows up."

Unlike Liu Shitou's house, Zhang Xiaolian's was in even worse shape. She lived alone with her elderly grandmother. When Liu Shishi offered her help, Zhang Xiaolian's grandmother expressed endless gratitude. But just as Liu Shishi was about to leave, the old woman grabbed her hand with trembling fingers.

"Girl, I'm old and can't read. Why don't you write out a piece of paper? Otherwise—"

Liu Shishi's eyes flickered: "A paper? You mean a guarantee of the sponsorship?"

But the old woman shook her head vigorously: "No, no, not that. Write an IOU instead. I'll press my fingerprint, and when my Xiaolian comes back, she can sign it. You're spending money to put her through school—that money shouldn't go unpaid! The Zhang family has never had a rule of borrowing without repaying!"

Liu Shishi stood there, staring at the old woman, and suddenly laughed.