Chapter 28: The Prodigal Son

“After my mother fell ill, I had to quit school!”

Inside the little shop, Bai Yu spoke with a gloomy expression.

As she ate, she recounted everything her family had been through over the past year or so.

“What illness does your mother have, Xiao Bai?” Chen Dabao asked, taking a bite of his meal. He felt deeply sympathetic toward Bai Yu’s situation. She had been accepted into a decent university, yet her studies had been interrupted just like that.

“She’s partially paralyzed. She suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and a stroke before. Fortunately, it wasn’t too severe, and she can now barely walk on her own,” Bai Yu replied.

Her father was selling noodles in town, while she worked in the city and shared a rented room with her colleagues in an urban village. Her younger sister was still in high school and would be taking the college entrance examination next year.

Bai Yu had dropped out, but she could not bear to watch her younger sister do the same.

“A stroke isn’t necessarily incurable. Next time, I’ll go with you to take a look. If there’s a way to treat her, I’ll help your mother,” Chen Dabao said.

The Heavenly Secrets Taoist was a master of medicine, martial arts, and cultivation. Now that Chen Dabao had begun cultivating the Heavenly Secrets Divine Art, his medical skills were gradually returning. A stroke was hardly an incurable disease.

There was still hope for recovery.

“Brother Dabao, you know how to treat illnesses?” Bai Yu asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

“I know a little. If you trust me, I’ll examine your mother,” Chen Dabao said with a smile.

“Brother Dabao, I trust you!” Bai Yu hurriedly replied.

Just then, a deliveryman suddenly walked in carrying a huge bouquet of roses. There appeared to be ninety-nine roses in it.

“Miss, may I confirm that you’re Bai Yu? These roses are for you.” The deliveryman held the bouquet out to her.

Bai Yu’s delicate face suddenly flushed red, and she looked completely at a loss.

She glanced at Chen Dabao in alarm. When their eyes met, she hurriedly looked away again, like a startled fawn.

Chen Dabao was stunned. He immediately realized what Bai Yu was thinking. She must have assumed that he had sent the flowers. But the truth was, he had absolutely nothing to do with them.

“Xiao Bai, uh… these flowers aren’t from me. Don’t misunderstand!”

Chen Dabao scratched his head awkwardly.

“Brother Dabao, if they aren’t from you, then who sent them?” Bai Yu recovered from her embarrassment and quickly asked the deliveryman.

“They were sent by Young Master Huo outside!”

The deliveryman pointed outside. On the pedestrian street, a sky-blue BMW coupe had stopped at some point. Beside the sports car stood a flashy man dressed in a designer suit.

The man wore sunglasses. When he saw Bai Yu looking over, he immediately raised his head, shook his hair, and swaggered toward them.

Three thugs followed behind him, wearing smug expressions.

“Oh no, it’s Huo Jian. Brother Dabao, we have to leave!” Bai Yu’s pretty face changed the moment she saw the man. She stood up nervously and hurriedly tugged at Chen Dabao, trying to leave.

“Huo Jian? What does he do?” Chen Dabao stood up as well.

“Huo Jian is President Huo’s younger brother. He used to come to the main store occasionally to look for her. He’s not a good person. President Huo told us to stay away from him and not have anything to do with him!” Bai Yu said anxiously.

But it was already too late to leave.

Huo Jian was Huo Anni’s younger brother. He was useless and good for nothing, having indulged in drinking, gambling, womanizing, and all manner of vice since childhood. Over the past few years, he had gotten no fewer than eight or ten girls pregnant.

At least half of the money Huo Anni earned every year was squandered by Huo Jian or used to clean up the messes he caused. Yet while Huo Anni’s parents were extremely harsh with her, they doted on Huo Jian beyond measure.

In their eyes, Huo Jian was merely young and reckless. It was nothing worth making a fuss over.

On the other hand, whenever Huo Jian asked for money and Huo Anni refused, their parents would berate and curse her.

All Huo Jian had to do was say something bad about Huo Anni, and their parents would immediately criticize and scold her. Huo Anni wanted to control her brother, but she was powerless to do so.

Huo Jian swaggered over in his sunglasses. The moment he saw Bai Yu, his eyes lit up.

This young beauty was extraordinarily attractive. Not only was her face exquisitely delicate and pure as water, but her skin was also exceptionally fair and tender, so white it seemed to glow.

At around five feet seven, she was tall and slender. Her long, beautiful legs were straight and shapely. Though she wore a work uniform, it could not conceal the fullness of her figure.

Her ample curves almost seemed ready to burst through her clothing.

She had a wonderful figure, a lovely face, and, most importantly, an innocent air. She was truly a rare beauty.

“Beautiful lady, let’s get acquainted. My name is Huo Jian. I’m the younger brother of your boss, Huo Anni. May I ask your name?”

Huo Jian shamelessly moved closer. From up close, Bai Yu’s pretty face was utterly flawless, entirely unlike those gaudy women whose beauty depended on makeup. Without wearing any cosmetics, Bai Yu was even more beautiful than the so-called campus belle he had recently been dating after she had put on makeup.

“I—I—I don’t know you!”

Bai Yu panicked and hurriedly pulled Chen Dabao, wanting to leave.

Chen Dabao frowned and cast Huo Jian a sharp look. However, Huo Jian was Huo Anni’s younger brother, and out of consideration for Huo Anni, Chen Dabao did not bother with him.

He simply prepared to leave with Bai Yu.

“Where the hell did you come from, kid?”

Seeing Bai Yu holding Chen Dabao’s hand, Huo Jian immediately became displeased. He looked down at Chen Dabao arrogantly and asked in irritation.

“I advise you to watch your mouth,” Chen Dabao said coolly.

“Ha! Trying to lecture me? Do you think you’re qualified? You ought to take a good look at yourself, you penniless loser!” Huo Jian glanced at Chen Dabao with disdain, then shamelessly blocked Bai Yu’s path.

“Beautiful, forget buying a house or a car—this kind of pauper couldn’t even afford a slightly expensive piece of makeup or a single Louis Vuitton bag. What future could you possibly have with him?”

“Be my girlfriend. I’ll take you shopping and buy you cosmetics and handbags.”

“I have more than enough money!”

As he spoke, Huo Jian deliberately pressed his car key.

The headlights of the BMW coupe flashed on.

“Take a look at my car. It’s a BMW M8, worth more than two million once all expenses are included. If you stay with this guy, you’ll never sit in a car this good for the rest of your life. All you have to do is nod and become my girlfriend. Whatever you want, I’ll buy for you!” Huo Jian boasted arrogantly.

The three thugs behind him looked envious. Who could blame them? Huo Jian had such a capable sister.

They had heard that the Huo family had once been quite poor and had lived in an urban village for years. Later, the demolition of their old home brought them a large sum of money. Then they met Huo Anni, a woman with an exceptional business mind. One Fairy Fruit Products store after another opened, and the family grew rich almost overnight.

The three thugs did not have a sister as good as that.

To their surprise, Bai Yu merely lowered her head, completely unmoved. She tugged at Chen Dabao, wanting only to leave as quickly as possible.

Huo Jian was indeed wealthy, and very few people could resist such an aggressive display of money. But Bai Yu had long since heard Huo Anni describe what kind of person Huo Jian was.

She would never fall for his tricks.