Chapter 14
After the initial shock, Li Yanzhen was enraged. She was actually afraid of Yun Chuman? Ridiculous!
She glared at her, raising her voice in fury, "What? You want to hit me like that little beast Yun Juan did? I'm your mom! If you dare hit me, you'll be punished by heaven!"
Hit her?
Yun Chuman sneered. Even if she were healthy, she couldn't beat the strong and powerful Li Yanzhen.
Besides, if she moved her hand, someone like Li Yanzhen who cared about nothing but profit would likely throw a tantrum downstairs, crying and claiming she was abused and beaten by her daughter. In that case, it would be her and her two children who would be ruined and gossiped about.
Yun Chuman had her back to Li Yanzhen. She patted Yun Juan and Yun Shu's heads and whispered, "You two be good and don't move no matter what I do."
Then she stood up. The instant she turned, her expression shifted to one of fervent desperation, like someone in dire straits suddenly grasping at a straw.
She threw herself at Li Yanzhen, grabbing her arm tightly with both hands, and cried out fervently, "Mom, you're finally here! With you here, I'm saved! Only you can save me now!"
Li Yanzhen was startled by her behaviour, thinking she must have been seeing things just now. Yun Chuman couldn't possibly resist her!
But at the same time, she had a bad feeling and instinctively tried to pull her arm back: "What saved now that I'm here? Yun Chuman, let me tell you, don't try anything funny with me!"
Yun Chuman gritted her teeth and put pressure in both used hands, preventing the other party from pulling her arm away even an inch. She spoke rapidly, "I have a friend, Xiao Hong, you know her! She told me a while ago that she had inside information about stocks that can consistently make money. I didn't have any money at the time, but the opportunity was too good to pass up, so I borrowed money from loan sharks."
Her face was pale, her hair disheveled, her eyes bloodshot, and her crazed appearance was chilling: "I originally thought that if little Juan succeeded in the audition, I could get a sum of money to pay off this loan shark, but he failed!"
Li Yanzhen's scalp tingled at the mention of loan sharks. She didn't know who Xiao Hong was, and she didn't care about Yun Chuman's private life at all. She only knew that loan sharks were a bottomless pit. Once one got involved, one was finished.
Her eyes widened in horror: "What do you want with me? There's still money for filming the variety show! Go ahead and use that to pay it back! I don't want it anymore! Let go!"
Yun Chuman's face paled even more upon hearing this, and she choked out, "This variety show initially only signed me and little Juan, but little Shu suddenly appeared during filming. I broke my agreement with the production team, and it's possible...it's possible that not only will I not get paid, but I'll also have to pay a huge penalty."
She took two steps forward, gripping her arm even tighter. Her expression was frantic, "Mom! Mom! Save me! I'm your only daughter. How about this? You and Dad sell the house. With the money Xinxin gave you, help me pay off the high-interest loan. I'll definitely take care of you in the future!"
"Get away from me!" Li Yanzhen panicked completely at the mention of the house. "Yun Chuman, do you have any conscience? That house is our lifeline! You actually want us to sell the house to help you pay off your debts? Don't even think about it!"
Seeing Li Yanzhen pull her arm back with all her might, Yun Chuman instantly released her grip. Propelled by inertia, Li Yanzhen leaned backward, her body and head slamming heavily against the wall. Instantly, there was a mask of pain.
A cold glint flashed in Yun Chuman's eyes. This was her "return gift" for hurting little Juan.
Li Yanzhen felt dizzy and her whole body ached, but she didn't care. She quickly got up from the ground, took a step back from Yun Chuman, and acted as if she couldn't wait to leave.
But seeing the bags of snacks piled high on the coffee table, she stopped in her tracks, suspiciously asking, "You have no money, yet you're buying snacks for these two little brats? Are you lying to me because you don't want to pay?"
"Lying to you?"
Yun Chuman feigned weakness, half-sitting on the floor, chuckling softly with her head down. Glancing at Yun Juan and Yun Shu, who were about to rush over, she quickly shook her head slightly.
The two children hesitated, but despite their worry, they obediently remained still, huddled in the corner, clinging to each other.
"I wish this were all fake. The loan sharks have been harassing me for days, and I can't afford the breach of contract penalty from the production team. I really don't want to live anymore."
Yun Chuman squeezed out two tears. Her finger trembled as she pointed to the paint wrapped in newspaper in the corner. "I've already bought the medicine. I want to take the children with me, but before that, I want them to enjoy life. They've suffered so much with me!"
She cried even harder that she gasped for breath, "Mom, you won't abandon me, right? You'll help me pay off the debt, won't you?"
Li Yanzhen wasn't in the mood to see what was wrapped in the newspaper. She assumed it really was pesticide.
Seeing Yun Chuman about to pounce again, she took a step back in disgust, pulling out a wad of cash from her purse, about seven or eight hundred yuan: "This is all the money I have. You know, all the family money is with your father. He'll never help you."
Yun Chuman held the money, crying and laughing at the same time: "That's right, you've never liked me, nor little Juan and little Shu. How can you possibly spend all your wealth to help us pay off our debts?"
Li Yanzhen guiltily looked away: "Don't blame Mom for being heartless. It's just that you owe too much."
"It's all my fault. I don't blame you, but can I make one last request?"
Yun Chuman burst into tears, "After we die, Mom, can you help us collect our bodies?"
A sudden, intense hope flashed in her eyes, making her look even more frightening.
Li Yanzhen trembled, refusing without hesitation: "Collect the bodies? Are you kidding me! Wouldn't that mean I'd be cursed for three years?!"
"But you're my only family, and you're the only one who still has the key to our house!"
Yun Chuman said desperately, "You won't help me pay off my debts, and you won't even bother collecting the bodies!"
Looking at her crazed appearance, Li Yanzhen's legs went weak with fear. She frantically rummaged for the keys, threw them away, and said, "Your dad's still waiting for me at home. I... I'm leaving now. Just pretend I was never here and that I know nothing!"
"Mom, you've only just arrived, why the rush? Stay a few more days," Yun Chuman suddenly said softly with a smile.
Li Yanzhen's skin crawled. This was too eerie! Was she planning to drag her down with her?
Thinking of this possibility, she couldn't bear to stay a second longer and turned to leave.
Yun Chuman screamed hoarsely, "Mom, don't go! Please don't go!"
How could Li Yanzhen listen to her? Staying meant losing not only her money, but possibly her life. She hurriedly fled outside. Slamming the door shut, she muttered, "Bad luck!"
The room fell silent.
Yun Chuman sat on the floor, wiping away her still-dry tears and thinking to herself that her acting was actually quite good.
However, her convincing performance stemmed from witnessing too many similar scenes in hospitals: greedy relatives trying to claim a share of the inheritance, only to be scared away by exorbitant medical bills and debts.
Yun Chuman knew she had only temporarily frightened Li Yanzhen. Once the next episode of the variety show started filming, she would know she'd been tricked.
But getting the keys back and some money was already a good thing. After all, these were the things Li Yanzhen valued most.
Actually, she could change the locks, but she would always feel uneasy having a stranger with her key. Even if they couldn't open the door, the thought of someone poking at it from the outside was enough to frighten anyone.
The main problem was that as long as Li Yanzhen had the key, she would feel like she could just walk into the house at will, which was very troublesome.
Li Yanzhen had been acting like a tyrant for too long and couldn't be solved overnight.
Most importantly, Yun Chuman felt there was something wrong with Li Yanzhen. If she hadn't misheard, the other woman had come because Yun Xinxin had given her money, and it was due to recording a variety show—that was very suspicious.
Just as she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
Yun Chuman instinctively turned around. Yun Juan and Yun Shu suddenly threw themselves into her arms like two little human bullets.
Yun Shu bit her lip, his cheeks puffed out, and her big eyes brimming with tears, but not a single drop fell.
Yun Juan pursed his lips, his little brows furrowed, and his small hands gripped Yun Chuman's clothes tightly.
Yun Chuman patted their little heads and said softly, "Little Juan, little Shu, what's wrong? Did I scare you? I'm so sorry, Mommy..."
Before she could finish, both children burst into tears.
Yun Shu clung to her arm, large tears streaming down her face, and crying so terribly. She asked fearfully, "Mommy, are you going to die?"
Yun Juan lowered his head, silently wiping his tears as he said, "Don't die! I can act to help Mommy pay off the debt. We won't buy so many snacks anymore."
Yun Chuman was both amused and exasperated. It seemed she would have to avoid children when encountering situations like this in the future.
She quickly comforted them, "I won't die and I don't owe anyone money. Little Juan and little Shu have saved all their earnings. What I said just now was just to scare Grandma."
"Scare Grandma?" Yun Shu's puppy eyes were red and swollen from crying, looking pitiful.
“Of course! Grandma just ran away in fear. And she gave us back the keys. Now she can't just come into our house whenever she wants and can't bully little Juan and little Shu anymore.”
But only for a short while. While gently comforting the two children, Yun Chuman secretly added a thought to herself.
“Oh~ I know why Mommy lied! The crew members weren't angry at all. They even let us continue recording.”
Yun Juan quickly realized what was going on, looking enlightened. “Mom, your acting has improved!”
Knowing that what she had just said was a lie, Yun Shu was in a great mood. She nuzzled Yun Chuman's neck like a kitten: “Mom, your acting is always good!”
Yun Chuman happily hugged them. It felt so good to be praised by her two children!
But she still insisted, "I said 'possibly,' and not only does this 'possibly' include breaching the contract but also continuing recording."
"However, lying is ultimately wrong. Little Juan and little Shu should still be honest children, but also need to learn to be flexible. If a lie can comfort others or protect themselves, they should use this skill appropriately."
The two children nestled in her arms, nodding obediently.
Yun Chuman paused and then asked, "So, honest little Juan and little Shu, what exactly happened before I came back?"
Yun Shu glanced at Yun Juan, deciding to listen to mommy and be an honest child!
So she stood up from Yun Chuman's arms and said, "Grandma pushed elder brother down and he slid quite a distance."
As she spoke, she forcefully spread her arms to the sides.
"Only slid a little bit."
Yun Juan stretched out his chubby little hand, measuring from his fingertips to his wrist, and earnestly corrected her.
Yun Chuman was shocked. How strong was Li Yanzhen? How could a child withstand her shoving!
She stood up and said seriously, "No, you two are coming with me to the hospital for a checkup."
Yun Juan's eyelashes fluttered. Hearing the word "hospital," he said fearfully, "Mom, is that necessary? My... my bottom just hurts a little."
Yun Shu's eyes widened and she said very sincerely, "Do I have to go too? Mom, I don't need to, right? Elder Brother can go by himself. I'm not hurt."
Yun Juan instantly looked at her. His face had ‘You betrayed me!’ written all over.
Yun Shu guiltily looked away. Please, that was a hospital! A super scary hospital!
The two instantly became "fake siblings."
Yun Chuman found it amusing, but still insisted, "Sometimes injuries may look fine, but if you don't get them checked in time, they can easily develop into chronic conditions or even affect your health and life. Maintaining good health is the foundation for everything you do. You must learn to take care of yourselves."
She smiled and patted the two children's heads: "Don't worry, it's just a checkup. It won't hurt."
Yun Juan blinked. Although he still thought his mommy was exaggerating a bit, her concern for his health must be because she loves him!
He felt a little happy and mustered his courage to nod, "Okay! I'll listen to Mommy and go to the hospital!"
Relieved to have escaped a potential injury, Yun Shu covered her mouth and giggled.
Yun Chuman looked over and gently tapped her forehead: "You need to get checked too."
Yun Shu's eyebrows and lips immediately drooped in disappointment.
Yun Juan walked to her side with a smile, deliberately saying, "Don't be afraid, little sister, big brother will be with you."
His voice trailed off.
Yun Shu sniffled and looked aggrieved, "It was clearly me accompanying you."
Author's Note:
Yun Juan and Yun Shu: Today we're "fake siblings"!
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