GEGBWFS 23

A small incident made the first breakfast after switching off the warm family mode feel a bit awkward.

Huo Yu glanced at his dad, thinking, why did you go mute? Shouldn’t you at least try to explain yourself?

Forget it. What’s done is done, and explaining won’t change anything.

Wait a minute—his dad was still using his account. How was this any different from those men who keep a second WeChat account to stop their wives from checking their phones?

If today hadn’t happened, and something got exposed later, would it all be pinned on him? After all, “Huo Yu is a rebellious kid who spent over thirty million to buy an account.”

Hmph, he might be willing to spend money on God Abandon, but he would never watch a female streamer.

Huo Zhehan kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, quietly sliding a plate of untouched potato balls in front of himself.

Misunderstandings could be cleared up later. Once Lulu the streamer’s cover was blown, there would be no more way to observe in secret.

Huo Yu glanced at his stepmother again. His face was expressionless, but he must be feeling confused, resentful, disappointed, and aggrieved deep down—angry but unable to speak up…

Six hundred and seventy thousand wasn’t a big deal for a family like theirs and certainly not enough to justify a divorce. However, with a personality like his, always swallowing his pride for his dad’s sake, would he end up taking out all the frustration he couldn’t vent on Huo Zhehan and unload it onto his innocent stepson instead?

Zhong Lu lifted his eyelids slightly. “Done eating? Go do your homework.”

See. As expected, he’s angry.

Huo Yu grabbed two meat buns with thin skin and plenty of filling. Aunt Su had made them by hand and the filling was his favorite. It was shiitake, cabbage, and pork. When they were hot, he could eat seven in one go.

“I’ll eat while I write.”

Huo Yu slipped away quickly, eating with his left hand and copying homework with his right.

It was clearly Huo Zhehan who messed up, but the son had to take the fall too. Huo Yu felt guilty on behalf of his dad, and once he felt guilty, he didn’t dare to upset his stepmother.

If both the older and younger ones made him angry, who knew what terrifying thing he might do?

Huo Yu had sacrificed too much for this family.

After finishing his meal, Zhong Lu went to the study to supervise Huo Yu’s homework. Huo Zhehan was ignored the entire time.

Huo Zhehan found the plate of potato balls a bit dry, so he helped himself to the rest of the soup. It was a dish the educator was particularly fond of.

Zhong Lu looked at Huo Yu, who was obediently doing his homework, and said, “Don’t let your dad know. I’m heading out for a bit. This book better be fully copied by the time I’m back.”

Huo Yu: “Okay.”

Zhong Lu went to several banks, pulling transaction records for the past six months. On one account, he discovered a deposit of fifty million from a month ago. Back then, they hadn’t registered their marriage yet. After they got the certificate, the original owner split the money into two transfers, sending it to two Swiss bank accounts.

The account holders were listed as the original owner’s father, Zhong Yao, and mother, Yang Hui.

During his last thorough sweep, Zhong Lu had also found another card. It was likely the one the original owner had left for himself, with a hundred thousand set aside as living expenses.

After learning where the money had gone, Zhong Lu fell silent.

He couldn’t possibly go to Zhong Lu’s parents asking for money just to get a divorce, could he?

First of all, he wasn’t even sure whether the parents knew about the original owner’s marriage by agreement. And second—his body, hair, and skin all came from his parents. After drifting as a soul for a year, he was reborn into Zhong Lu’s body, who had died in a bathroom accident. He couldn’t just use someone else’s body and then go asking their parents for money.

Zhong Lu pulled a sim card from his pocket, hesitating a bit before heading to the service center. He had found it tucked inside a book in the original owner’s drawer. It probably hadn’t been used in a long time. After inserting it into his phone, there was nothing—an empty inbox.

Investigating the original owner’s past felt somewhat disrespectful to the dead. So when the clerk said the card wasn’t registered under Zhong Lu’s name and that the call records couldn’t be accessed, Zhong Lu, though puzzled as to why the card had been kept, didn’t press further and planned to return it to the book.

If the past didn’t affect the present, there was no need to pry into someone else’s privacy.

Zhong Lu had assumed that since the original owner sent his salary to his parents, they must have had a close relationship. However, after living here for a month, not a single family member had reached out. Maybe they had other ways of staying in touch.

He suspected the original owner had used this sim card to contact his parents and wanted to check how frequently they talked—maybe even consider making a call himself—but it turned out the card wasn’t under his name.

His own family ties were faint, but maybe some families just didn’t stay in touch unless something happened, then they faced it together.

Zhong Lu also suspected another possibility: had Zhong Lu been planning to take the money and disappear after the marriage? Maybe that’s why he transferred the funds in batches to overseas accounts so he could vanish abroad, leaving Huo Zhehan with a runaway bride. The whole situation would be so ridiculous that Huo Zhehan would be forced to swallow the loss in silence. To pull it off, had Zhong Lu reduced contact with his parents, in case Huo Zhehan started digging and uncovered too much about their “money laundering” operations?

Zhong Lu had been out handling errands and didn’t get home until the afternoon. When he pulled out his phone, he saw a barrage of messages from Ye Leyun.

The wording clearly didn’t sound like Ye Leyun. It was his mother, using her son’s WeChat to contact him and question why he had suddenly backed out of selling the apartment.

Just as Zhong Lu was considering blocking her, a video call came through.

“Hello.”

“You’re Zhong Lu, right? You promised to sell the apartment to our A-Yun, why did you go back on your word? We already paid the deposit.” Mother Ye sounded rather aggressive.

Zhong Lu: “Huo Zhehan and I rekindled our relationship. We’ve decided to stay together, so the apartment’s off the market. Sorry, but we never signed a contract, and I didn’t take your deposit. There’s no point in pushing this.”

Mother Ye snapped, “It’s only been a day and you’ve already changed your mind? Were you just playing us from the start?”

Zhong Lu replied, “I can’t help it, he came to the train station last night to pick me up, apologized, softened up, and even gave me a huge diamond ring…”

As he spoke, Zhong Lu reached out and opened the fridge. His fair, clean ring finger wore no wedding band.

It was a marriage of convenience. Huo Zhehan couldn’t even be bothered to keep up appearances in certain ways.

Mother Ye said, “Then forget the deposit. Talk to A-Yun and have him give it back to me. His dad and I need it to keep house-hunting in the provincial capital. Properties are tight right now, everyone wants a deposit.”

Zhong Lu let out a cold laugh. So they couldn’t get the money back from Ye Xianyun and now wanted him to help persuade him?

“That’s a family matter. I’m staying out of it.”

“But you two are so close…”

“Outsiders shouldn’t meddle in family affairs.” Zhong Lu grabbed a bottle of soda and added sincerely, “President Huo gave me an inside tip on property prices. Want to hear it?”

Mother Ye eased up a little. “Go ahead.”

They had looked up Huo Zhehan’s name. He was a big boss, definitely someone with insider info.

Zhong Lu wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear, popped open the can, took a sip, and said lazily, “In the future, property won’t hold value anywhere except in first-tier cities. Auntie, maybe you should keep saving and help A-Yun buy a place in S City instead. He qualifies for a talent recruitment quota there, which includes housing eligibility. If he and his partner each pitch in 1.5 million, with current low mortgage rates, it’d be just enough for a down payment—”

One-point-five million, with the down payment under Ye Xianyun and his partner’s names—just hearing the suggestion was enough to send Mother Ye’s blood pressure through the roof. Before Zhong Lu even finished, she was already shouting, “We’re poor, don’t go filling my son’s head with nonsense!” and hung up the call.

“Tch.”

Zhong Lu deleted Ye Leyun’s contact. Just seeing it felt unlucky.

He called Ye Xianyun. “Didn’t I tell you not to say I’m not selling yet? Buying a house takes time. It doesn’t happen that fast. You can drag it out for a whole month.”

Let Mother Ye get anxious first, then tell her the deal’s off.

Ye Xianyun explained that Mother Ye was both anxious and cautious. She kept pestering him right after transferring the money, practically wanting to video call and watch him hand over the deposit in person. Worried she would go bother Zhong Lu, he decided to tell the truth early.

As expected, Mother Ye exploded, cursing Zhong Lu for going back on his word, then immediately demanded the 150,000 yuan back.

Ye Xianyun said, “Thanks, Mom, for keeping my salary safe. Since Zhong Lu said he’s not selling anymore, I went ahead and invested it. I can’t take it out now.”

Mother Ye was furious. She tore into him, calling him heartless, saying he didn’t care at all about his aging parents. “Your father’s so sick, and you took all the money meant for his medical bills!”

Ye Xianyun said, “I saw Dad’s scans—they’re not serious. He just needs to rest.”

Being called out like that by her usually obedient eldest son left Mother Ye embarrassed, and her tone started to show her true colors. She began saying things like raising this son was a waste, and her words got more and more outrageous.

Then his dad, his uncle, and other relatives took turns calling him, urging him not to upset his mom because raising two kids on her own hadn’t been easy.

In the past, whenever Ye Xianyun heard things like that, his heart would soften. He felt how hard it had been on his parents. But this whole matchmaking and house-buying ordeal made him realize that his parents had never once felt for him. He cared about his younger brother, but Ye Leyun didn’t care about him.

They were the real family.

Zhong Lu said, “If your mom comes asking for the money, just say you’re planning to buy in S City—the medical care’s better there, and you’ll bring them over for retirement later.”

Everyone likes to take the moral high ground.

Ye Xianyun replied, “Okay.”

Zhong Lu finished his soda, the summer heat easing off. He crushed the can and was just about to toss it into the trash when another hand took it from him.

Huo Zhehan threw the can away for him, then asked casually, “So I’m supposed to pick you up at the train station, bow my head, admit I was wrong, and even buy you a diamond ring?”

Even though he had nearly done the first two, Zhong Lu hadn’t actually said any of that.

When Zhong Lu ran into trouble, he liked to keep a stern face. “Didn’t you hear me lying to Ye Xianyun’s mom?”

Huo Zhehan reached out and pinched his cheek. “Didn’t sound like a lie to me. Seemed like you actually wanted me to do all that.”

Zhong Lu braced himself like facing an enemy, digging up old grudges from that morning to defend his ground. “No, you’re overthinking it. Save the diamond ring for your streamer girl.”

Huo Zhehan winced. “What if I actually bought one for her?”

Zhong Lu replied, “You have my respect and blessings.”

Huo Zhehan reminded him, “We’re at home. We need to maintain the appearance of a loving and harmonious relationship.”

“Stop bringing up the streamer girl every day.”

“Or face the consequences.”

He didn’t necessarily plan to expose anything—if, after observing for a while, nothing came of it, he might just delete the account and let everything return to dust.

However, if the educator kept provoking him, it’d be hard not to stir up some ugly instincts.

Zhong Lu pressed his lips together. What, was he going to cut his pay?

So he can do whatever he wants, but no one’s allowed to talk about it?

He went to check on Huo Yu’s homework, and the moment he opened the door and saw him playing on his phone, his fists clenched on instinct.

Huo Yu sensed danger and immediately said, “You said to copy one book before you got back—I did it.”

Zhong Lu replied, “I said finish six today, and you picked the one with the fewest words, math? Get back and copy the rest.”

Dragging his feet, Huo Yu picked up the Chinese workbook, and his vision went dark. Why were there essays not just in the extra assignment, but in the workbook too?

So many words.

Zhong Lu said, “If an answer is more than two lines, just copy the first line. Got it?”

Huo Yu: “Got it.”

That day, the educator kept Huo Yu copying until midnight. It was already time to sleep, but he had only finished four books.

Four more to go.

Zhong Lu’s mood dropped dangerously low. He took a deep breath and said, “Go write your essays, two tonight before you sleep.”

Six Chinese essays, 600 words each. Fourteen English essays, 150 words each.

“Give me the workbooks.”

Yes—after holding back all day, Zhong Lu finally decided to do the copying himself.

Top students each had their own unique handwriting style, but for underachievers, the writing was so messy you couldn’t even tell “father” from “son.”

If both he and Huo Yu scribbled, the style would be practically identical.

Zhong Lu carried Huo Yu’s four books upstairs and ran right into Huo Zhehan doing a bedtime room check.

“What’s that in your hands?”

“Grading Huo Yu’s summer homework.”

“He probably scribbled nonsense. It’s a waste of effort to grade it—go to bed early.”

Zhong Lu gave him a cold stare. If that’s how he felt, then why cut ten million right off the bat?

Huo Zhehan paused, then changed his tone. “But with you tutoring him this year, the quality should be top-notch.”

Zhong Lu tossed the ethernet cable at him. “Not seeing you out.”

Then he turned away and silently sat down to copy his stepson’s homework.

Seriously, money really could make the devil work, and it could definitely make an esports god tutor a kid.

Zhong Lu wrote for an hour and started to feel drowsy, the blocks of text making him dizzy.

He will finish the rest tomorrow.

He yawned as he stood by the toilet, unzipping his pants—then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He grabbed the history workbook and chucked it into the toilet.

If anyone asked, the story was, he had finished it, but it accidentally fell in and got soaked.

The educator swore on his character.

The next day, Zhong Lu fought through another full day and finally finished all the homework.

When he finished the last page,  God Abandon hurled his pen hard at the wall.

Copying homework was harder on the hands than playing esports!

The first time he gave himself a break, and it was to catch up on homework!

When Huo Yu got the three workbooks that had been copied for him, he opened them and nearly thought he had written them in a dream.

“Even the educator’s handwriting is this ugly?”

Zhong Lu smacked him on the head. “I was imitating you on purpose.”

Huo Yu was still scribbling away at the last essay. “Careful with all that head-smacking—one day you’ll smack my dad by mistake!”

Zhong Lu sat off to the side scrolling on his phone. He was exhausted, so he just started watching videos.

Huo Yu leaned over. “What are you watching?”

Zhong Lu, expressionless: “Looking at the university’s admission exemptions.”

Huo Yu looked up, blindly confident. “You really believe I can get into college?”

Could it be that, just from this one day of make-up homework, he had already revealed the inherited academic genius of the Huo family?

Both Huo Duanhan and Huo Zhehan were top-tier, double-degree scholars.

Huo Yu held himself in very high regard, he was just unmotivated. When he finally made his move, he would soar.

Zhong Lu said, “You have to get in.”

Otherwise, I’ll send you to the Agricultural University to dig fields. With that build of yours, not digging would be an insult to all the homework I copied for you.

Encouraged, Huo Yu wrote with newfound inspiration, tossing aside the essay guide entirely.

The essay topic was “My — Family.”

Every year when school registration rolled around, Huo Zhehan would take time off to go with him.

From preschool all the way to ninth grade, this was the first time Huo Yu showed up with all his homework completed.

For once, President Huo wouldn’t have to face the teachers’ hesitant, judging stares—thanks to the educator’s great achievement.

Zhong Lu insisted on coming along too, worried the teacher might spot something off during inspection. The two of them sat in the back row, and when Huo Zhehan saw Zhong Lu rubbing his fingers, he asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Sore fingers from grading homework?”

Zhong Lu: “Yeah.”

The truth was, a night’s rest would be enough, but he liked to take good care of his wrists. Since there was no training today, he took the downtime to massage his fingers.

“Counts as a work injury.” Huo Zhehan grabbed his wrist and placed it on his own knee. “Let me rub it for you.”

Zhong Lu jolted in surprise. His palm landed on smooth suit fabric, radiating the faint warmth of a human body. He tried to yank his hand back, but his wrist was firmly held.

“Don’t move.” Huo Zhehan said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Just go along with it, our son’s watching.”

His breath brushed against Zhong Lu’s ear, and Zhong Lu instantly relaxed, the right side of his ear tingling. With his right hand pinned, he couldn’t help but tilt his head and rub against Huo Zhehan’s suited shoulder.

Did Huo Zhehan actually know what he was doing? The massage felt nothing like his trainer’s. It’s not professional at all.

Zhong Lu was so thoroughly massaged he felt weak all over, a tingling numbness crawling through his fingertips like ants. He was genuinely afraid his wrist might be useless by morning.

God Abandon typed with his left hand, warning Huo Zhehan. “The agreement didn’t specify how much cooperation is required. Is that enough?!”

Huo Zhehan obediently let go. “Enough.”

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Huo Yu was deep in thought. If Huo Zhehan found out Zhong Lu’s sore hands were from copying homework for him, who would he punch first?

At school, Huo Zhehan efficiently located the homeroom teacher’s office and handled Huo Yu’s registration.

Huo Yu pulled out his summer homework.

A flicker of surprise flashed in the homeroom teacher’s eyes. With other students, she usually didn’t check too closely because too many parents were waiting in line. But because it was Huo Yu, she gave the stack a quick flip-through.

“The answer pages seem to be…”

Zhong Lu: “I burned them.”

Homeroom teacher: “Ah, I see. Uh… looks like one book is missing?”

Zhong Lu: “He finished it, but it fell into the water while I was checking it.”

The homeroom teacher cast a suspicious glance at this overly young-looking guardian. His explanation didn’t sound all that convincing but Huo Zhehan stood silently and imposingly to the side, wearing an expression of trust and quiet support. He had always held strict standards for Huo Yu’s character. With Huo Zhehan vouching for it, the teacher’s doubts faded.

She praised, “Huo Yu made great progress over the summer. If you work hard in your third year, it’s not too late for anything.”

Huo Yu: “Thank you, teacher.”

He made it through registration today without Huo Zhehan dragging him to the dorms for a lecture—nice.

The two guardians dropped Huo Yu and his luggage off at his dorm bed. It wasn’t his first time starting school, so there wasn’t much to say. Even though he boarded, Huo Yu could always call the driver to pick him up anytime he wanted to go home.

Zhong Lu and Huo Zhehan parted ways at the school gate—one went home to sleep, the other headed back to the office.

The secretary entered the CEO’s office three times and each time saw President Huo sitting upright, brows furrowed, staring at the same document. He didn’t seem to have used hair gel that morning and there was a tuft of hair sticking up at the back.

What kind of file could he be looking at for so long? Surely it wasn’t a financial report showing a major loss from an affiliated company?

The secretary asked curiously, “President Huo, what are you reading?”

Huo Zhehan replied, “Looking for loopholes in a contract.”

The secretary offered, “Should I call Lawyer Zhang up?”

Lawyer Zhang specialized in contract disputes. Who had signed a contract with President Huo and ended up unlucky enough to have him personally dissecting it?

Huo Zhehan said, “No need. It’s a private agreement.”