Chapter 042: Kidney x Delicate Wife x Love-Struck Brain (16) + (17)

Chapter 042: Kidney x Delicate Wife x Love-Struck Brain (16) + (17)

"Oh, thank you, Bai Li, for the four hundred points of defense-breaking value! That's really harsh!"

The system glanced at the backend and then at the live broadcast on the highway: "Bai Li is having quite a bit of fun. The scoundrel is already banging his head in frustration."

Keding was sound asleep, mumbling: "Four hundred points? Where did they come from?"

The system explained the situation, and Keding suddenly sat up in bed: "What the hell, Zhou Guanghe won't come home and start yelling at me, will he?"

"Hold on—several relatives from the Zhou family are on their way here, and the fastest one will be here in forty minutes!"

Keding: "They're ramping up the pressure on me all of a sudden!!"

On the way home, Zhou Guanghe felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, enduring both physical and mental torment.

After crying, Bai Li refused to speak to him or acknowledge him, displaying the typical temperament of a spoiled young master.

Zhou Guanghe tried to soothe him with a gentle voice, holding his hand and carefully calming him down. As soon as they opened the door, they heard a familiar voice inside.

"You finally came back!" his father shouted angrily: "Look at the mess you've made, alarming your uncles and aunts. Hurry up and apologize!"

If it were just a squabble among the younger generation, those elders wouldn't have batted an eye, let alone waste any time meddling.

But this was the young master of the Bai family.

They had tried multiple times to connect with the northern relations, but that wasn't something achieved by mere gifts and invitations.

Now, connecting with the Bai family was their only chance, and they couldn't afford to mess it up!

Before Zhou Guanghe could explain, the elders apologized profusely, saying they hadn't taken good care of him and hadn't shown proper hospitality. They promised to take Bai Li around Hangzhou to enjoy its sights and delicacies, urging him not to leave in a hurry.

"Guanghe has always been impolite! Don't take it personally!"

"You're already unwell; you shouldn't get too agitated. Aunt Zhang, what are you waiting for? Is the bird's nest soup ready yet?"

"Doctor, how is Mr. Bai doing? Should we take him to the hospital for another checkup?"

Zhou Guanghe was nearly driven to internal injury by this commotion. He hadn't slept for over twenty hours and the noise was giving him a headache. Every second felt like torture.

The system whispered: "Defense-breaking value increased by twenty, another twenty, another twenty... hehe."

"Where is Cunyu?" the man demanded sternly: "He's the one who caused all this trouble!"

"If he hadn't written that ridiculous diary, Bai Li wouldn't be so angry!"

"You're talking nonsense," Bai Li's tears welled up again: "If it weren't for Cunyu making me medicine and feeding me every day, I wouldn't be standing here being yelled at by you today!"

At that moment, Shi Cunyu emerged slowly, carrying a bowl of medicine, his lips devoid of color.

"Drink the medicine first; we can talk about the rest later."

The elders snorted coldly, looking at Zhou Guanghe as if with daggers in their eyes.

"He's in such a state, and you still dare to blame Cunyu!"

Zhou Guanghe looked over and noticed that Shi Cunyu still had an IV needle in his hand, with a nurse behind him holding the medicine bag.

"The lady has been suffering from anemia and has been resting these days," the maid whispered: "She needs several bags of medicine every day, and the doctor says she needs to recuperate before surgery."

Zhou Guanghe didn't know how he managed to smooth things over with the elders. It must have been all his life's skills in playing the part of a subservient grandson and sheer mental fortitude.

Bai Li was finally calmed down, took a bath, and went to bed. A doctor would come later to check on him.

The uncle left with repeated instructions on how to take care of the young master, feeling disappointed in his nephew.

If he had even a fraction of charm and knew how to please people, he would already be in the capital as a son-in-law, enjoying a life of luxury!

Instead, he dared to berate this little phoenix, leaving the old man to clean up the mess!

Stupid, truly stupid!

After closing the door, Zhou Guanghe was drenched in cold sweat, feeling as if he had been skinned alive.

Shi Cunyu had just finished receiving a bag of nutritional fluid, and the doctor was changing it to another one.

"It hurts a bit." The young man frowned and sighed softly: "Do I really need to have an IV?"

"This bag is for potassium supplementation," Dr. Jiang hung the glucose solution on the stand, expressionless: "Madam needs to endure this for a while, for your own health."

Zhou Guanghe, dragging his exhausted body, collapsed onto the sofa without any regard for his appearance, treating the doctor as if he were invisible.

"All this is foolishness."

"Shi Cunyu, do you realize you almost drove me mad?" He turned his head, looking at his wife angrily: "If anything happened to Bai Li, how would you compensate? Those old fogies from the Zhou family would take your life!"

Shi Cunyu held back her tears and finally spoke: "In the end, it's all my fault."

"If you don't love me, give my heart back."

"What do I have left after you traded love for youth?"

Zhou Guanghe's head throbbed painfully, clutching it and wanting to lash out: "This has nothing to do with love. Why don't you reflect on your own actions and words!"

Shi Cunyu said quietly: "In the end, it makes you suffer more."

"How else can loving you be expressed besides comforting you."

Zhou Guanghe: "…"

It must be that he's too tired; now everyone sounds like they're raving mad.

He no longer has the energy to say another word to anyone. That’s it for today.

Watching the scumbag stagger upstairs to sleep, Keding let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phoenix Legend’s songs really are catchy. I almost sang out loud just now."

System: "No one is challenging you on this!!"

Keding: "Sigh, I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to tell someone about Wumeng Mountain connecting to mountains beyond."

System: "You’ve had enough of this!!"

In a mid-range residential area in Yuhang District.

The Shi parents were frantically packing their son’s luggage, constantly reminding him of things he must remember to bring.

"Take a bottle of Lao Gan Ma; the food outside isn’t good!"

"Mom, it’s Singapore," Shi Cunjin, engrossed in playing Honor of Kings, said disdainfully, "who brings such old-fashioned stuff when traveling abroad… don’t embarrass me."

"And medicine, take some for fever and diarrhea."

"No, no, that can’t be brought! Wife, take it out quickly; be careful not to get charged with smuggling!"

Mother Shi, who knew nothing about traveling abroad, continued folding her son’s jackets and jeans while grumbling about her adopted son.

"That older brother of yours is truly useless; he doesn’t even look after his younger brother!"

"It’s rare for someone from our family to go abroad, yet he doesn’t help exchange foreign currency or give some red packets. He’s not afraid his younger brother won’t be able to buy anything and embarrass the family!"

Father Shi, searching for travel tips on his phone, couldn’t help kicking his son.

"Stop playing! You’re going abroad, yet you’re not being more alert. Be careful you don’t get sold off without even saying a word in English!"

"What are you doing?" Mother Shi intervened. "In Singapore, what do you need English for? How different is it from Hangzhou? They speak Chinese there!"

Two days later, the international flight took off on schedule.

Looking at the tourist visa, Shi Cunjin kissed it happily.

He was the first person in their family to go abroad.

Shi Cunyu didn’t count; he went on honeymoon relying on his husband, having no skills of his own.

Unlike him, he got a good job through his own abilities, beating those postgraduates even before graduating from a junior college! He was living much better than others!

The HR manager, dressed like a tour guide, stood up and greeted everyone.

"This flight has a layover in Kuala Lumpur, where we have an afternoon of free shopping time. We will arrange a shuttle bus to take us around. There are many thieves abroad, so don’t act alone. Even when shopping, check the group messages!"

"When we arrive in Singapore, pay attention to local rules. Spitting anywhere could get you whipped!"

Everyone laughed and agreed.

Five hours later, the plane finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur.

"Come on, everyone, follow me to the shuttle bus; we’re heading to the duty-free shops soon!"

Men and women followed the manager, snapping photos with their phones.

"The lipsticks, wines, and chocolates in Malaysia are high quality and cheap! Remember to buy some for your wives and mothers!"

As soon as they stepped onto the bus, the cold air made them shiver.

Shi Cunjin thought the weather wasn’t too hot, so why was the air conditioning set so high?

After a short drive, a strange fragrance wafted over, making him drowsy.

Soon, everyone on the bus lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

The driver, wearing a mask, stopped the car and signaled his accomplices to bind everyone immediately.

A deep, sweet sleep, but one from which they couldn’t wake up, felt uncomfortable.

When Shi Cunjin opened his eyes again, he found it dark, and his hands and feet were bound.

"Mmm!" He tried to shout, only then realizing his mouth was tightly gagged, and he couldn’t move any part of his body, not even his fingers.

A blindfold covered his eyes, obscuring everything outside. He could only vaguely hear similar muffled sounds or sobs.

The trafficker kicked someone nearby, cursing with a cigarette in his mouth.

"What are you crying for? No crying!"

"Do you really think there’s a trap that falls from the sky, offering you eight thousand a month for doing nothing and allowing you to travel abroad?!"

"Fool, you’ve been tricked!"

Shi Cunjin was so scared he nearly wet himself, wishing he could spit out the cloth and shout.

Let me go back; my brother is rich, and his husband is rich too. Go find him, go find him!!

They were directly sold layer by layer to Wa State in northern Myanmar, escorted by local mercenaries into a telecom fraud base. Women became dealers, men became pushers; none could escape.

The leader held an MP7 submachine gun and dumped bags of cellphones onto the ground like tiles.

"Five minutes, call your family and send WeChat messages to report that you're safe. If anyone tries any tricks or sends secret signals, I'll chop off your limbs and feed them to the dogs!"

"Tell them all that you're having a great time in Singapore and have found good job opportunities, with the possibility of settling down!"

"You there, the one with glasses, if you cry again, I'll break your legs first!"

Shi Cunjin had already sunk into the depths of despair, wishing he could strangle the brother who introduced him to this job.

Good job, you've done it! You're going to get me killed with your own hands!

I don't want to stay here; I want to go home, I want to go home!!!

-2-

"Ke Bao, the approval from the AI brain has come through."

"Hmm? What does it say?"

"The AI said that the board members have agreed after their meeting and have arranged for additional ports to collect the breakdown values of other characters." The system continued, "The installation will be completed within the next couple of days, and they will collect 100% without deducting too much in commission and handling fees."

Keding exclaimed, "So we're starting a new token system? Or is there a new points mall?"

System: "Emmmmm..."

"Don't stall, I'm scared," Keding had an ominous feeling: "What exactly is the arrangement? Are there no rewards, just deductions?"

"That's not the case," the system said: "The breakdown values of the supporting characters will be settled uniformly, without special notifications, but can be checked at any time."

"The company says that once you reach a thousand points, you can exchange them for a chance to spin the gacha wheel. The rewards include physical cash, figurines, and more—all unexpected surprises."

Keding let out a prairie dog-like scream: "Aaahhhh—"

"It's all a scheme! How can the company be so full of schemes! Are you even a legitimate company?"

"No blind boxes or gacha machines, please! Those things are guaranteed to get people hooked!"

The system said, "Ten spins get you one free, and the gifts can be exchanged in the real world."

Keding: "Do I have any choice? No, I don't! I'm going crazy! I'm going to spin until the prize pool is empty!"

The system: "Then the future mental state of the Shi family... hmm... I'm very worried about them."

When the live-stream incident was exposed, Zhou Guanghe's cursing segment was even turned into an electronic ghost remix video, instantly enhancing its comedic effect.

Most of the people involved were secretly arranged by Bai Li, including the security guards who seemed to be helping but were actually delaying time, making everything highly efficient.

Massive amounts of videos and photos were uploaded online, while Bai Li only showed a blurry side profile, hidden under his assistant's coat, revealing nothing.

But Zhou Guanghe's face was fully captured from various angles, with marketing accounts lazily putting a blur on his forehead, which did little to obscure him.

Netizens' tongues were always sharp.

"These days, anyone wearing gold-rimmed glasses can cosplay as a refined scoundrel, huh? It's blindingly ugly!"

"How can people still praise him for being handsome! Look at that pointy chin and narrow face, sisters, this is the face of a man who brings misfortune and financial ruin, everyone should learn from this!"

"Is their family really wealthy? How can someone from a wealthy family look so drained and exhausted, like they've been on drugs? I suggest the authorities investigate thoroughly."

The hot topics on Xiaohongshu were not enough; the joyous atmosphere spread from Weibo to Bilibili's ghost remix section and then to Douyin, attracting more and more people seeking entertainment.

"Is this a professor? Is this how a professor behaves in public?"

"Wow, he loves that mistress so much that he'd rather expose his entire face to protect her. When will the 'adoring wife' fans wake up?"

"Hello? 110? Someone is making his adoring wife donate her kidney to please the mistress. Will you do something about it?"

The university involved immediately issued a statement suspending him indefinitely until the matter was investigated.

Relevant departments also stepped in, stating that the professor's wife was only mildly anemic and had not been hospitalized for any surgery, and that everything was fabricated.

Zhou Guanghe lost his job overnight and sat dazed at home, feeling lost.

Just the day before, he was a respected professor at a prestigious university, but now he was unemployed and felt like everyone recognized his face, looking at him with mocking expressions.

How could he live? How could he live? What would he tell his family?

Before Zhou Guanghe could express his anger, Bai Li had already stepped in front of Shi Cunyu, saying, "Thanks to Cunyu, I've improved a lot with the Chinese medicine. There's no rush for the surgery now."

"Brother Guanghe, I know about your suspension, but there's no need to be angry," the young master said lightly: "It's not as important as a government position anyway. Being a professor is tiring and stressful. You might as well focus on the family business and make more money."

Zhou Guanghe's face looked worse than pickled vegetables as he stared at the two of them without speaking.

Keding, not as skilled as Bai Li, used some small points to buy eye drops and shed tears beside them, his face full of self-reproach.

Losing a job can break down eight hundred points! This is too satisfying!!!

Zhou scumbag, when I grow to be eight feet tall, I'll definitely thank you for your contribution!!!

Bai Li gently nudged Shi Cunyu and said, "Go check on my medicine pot. I have something private to discuss with Guanghe."

Shi Cunyu lowered his head, his fingers intertwined, his voice trembling: "I'm so useless, I might as well take the bus and jump into West Lake."

Bai Li leaned down to kiss his forehead, tenderly saying, "Stop talking nonsense, go ahead."

Zhou Guanghe, already severely broken down, felt worthless after losing his job.

Now, he watched helplessly as his lover openly humiliated him, feeling humiliated, oppressed, and numb.

He had lost his fame, title, and job.

He was so angry that his eyes seemed ready to spew fire.

Those people on the internet!! They're all mobs!! All lowlifes!!

After Shi Cunyu sobbed and left, Bai Li curled into Zhou Guanghe's arms and teasingly asked for a kiss.

"Who among the truly powerful and influential has the time to watch those TikTok videos?"

"Guanghe, you can't really care what those poor bastards say about you, can you?"

Zhou Guanghe remained expressionless and replied indifferently, "No."

In front of Bai Li, even if he had a thousand grievances, he had to swallow them whole.

I do care, I care so much!

Every time I go out now, there's a crowd staring at me, even when I'm waiting at traffic lights, people point and whisper!

Do you know what kind of life I'm living? Do you know how it feels to be called a scumbag wherever I go?

You don't know, you know nothing!

Even as Zhou Guanghe put up a brave face, he felt like laughing, feeling both sorrowful and wanting to scream, with little rationality left.

Bai Li looked up at his expression, hesitated for a few seconds, and then nuzzled against his chin again.

"The other day, I wanted to tell you something, but you went to Macau and didn't answer my calls."

"I was on a business trip and couldn't manage it," Zhou Guanghe said patiently. "What is it?"

"The Feng family is coming to Shanghai." Bai Li lowered his voice almost to a whisper: "As you know, they have many ships in the southeastern region."

"This time, they've arranged a ship that will carry many people out to international waters for a party, where they'll set up gambling tables and play to their heart's content."

"Baccarat, Texas Hold'em, Blackjack... all the popular games."

Only now did Zhou Guanghe show some interest, listening to him describe the list of distinguished guests on board.

The clearer the guest list became, the more he understood why the ship would sail out to international waters.

Bai Li nestled in his arms like a cat, playing idly with his buttons, and sighed again.

"The entry barrier is too high this time. To get on the ship, you need to exchange twenty million RMB for chips, and then exchange them back for dollars when you disembark."

"Twenty million?" Zhou Guanghe found it amusing. "Why doesn't he just rob people outright and still give them a ticket?"

"There will probably be plenty of good wine and models, but honestly, it's the same every year." Bai Li paused for a moment and added, "I don't need chips; they'd be thrilled if I went."

"I guess... never mind." Zhou Guanghe said, "Gambling ships are risky places; I don't need to court trouble."

"It's better that you don't go." Bai Li smiled faintly. "I'd be afraid some seductress might lure you away, making me cry again."

At the beauty salon, Mother Shi lay on the leather sofa chair, enjoying the flattery of the beauticians with her eyes closed.

"Sister, you look so young, no one could tell you've had a child!"

"Yes, your skin is naturally flawless, without a single blemish. You just need a bit of detoxification."

Ever since her husband became a legal representative, he spent most of his days indulging outside, rarely returning home even once a week.

Her son had gone abroad for a trip, claiming he was scouting for better job opportunities in Singapore, leaving her with no immediate concerns.

Mother Shi decided to visit a high-end beauty salon she had always been hesitant to try, instructing the staff to bring her their best packages.

She was going to take good care of herself, enjoy life, and live the good life she deserved!

"Sister, your pores are clogged; we need to soften your skin and give you a whitening skincare package."

Mother Shi glanced at the gilded price list and said, "Wait, let me call my eldest son."

Soon, Shi Cunyu answered the phone: "Mom, what's up?"

"I'm at the beauty salon," Mother Shi said arrogantly. "Get me a membership card."

"Mom," Shi Cunyu said softly, "it's great that you want to get a beauty treatment. Don't you want me to help you choose a reputable salon?"

Mother Shi turned her head to look at the luxurious interior and sneered, "Oh, do you think I don't know what's good? Only you know the best places? Are you trying to avoid paying?"

"Give the salon an account number, and I'll get you a ten-thousand-yuan card."

Satisfied, Mother Shi handed her phone to the beautician.

Within minutes, the balance arrived in her account, and all the beauticians gathered around her, praising her beauty and fortune.

"My real son is lucky enough to go abroad to find work." Mother Shi motioned for the girl to massage her shoulders, closing her eyes in enjoyment. "This eldest son is adopted; he's always been timid and doesn't know how to behave."

"You've seen that popular scumbag on TikTok, right? The one surnamed Zhou?"

"Seen him! Seen him!"

"Auntie, you're so trendy, watching TikTok!"

Mother Shi opened her eyes, examining her newly done nails, her tone mocking.

"He's the wife of that man surnamed Zhou, who can't even keep her own man in check, causing such a public scandal."

The beauticians exchanged glances, forcing a smile, "Yes, indeed..."

"Can't even keep her husband close; her life is doomed."

The little girl beside her was about to vomit from disgust. Seeing the shop owner giving her a signal, she quickly smiled and changed the topic.

"Big Sister, by the way, our shop has a new platinum chemical peel package. Would you like to learn more about it?"

"Yes, yes, let me tell you, celebrities are all doing chemical peels now to improve their skin, and it can even slim your face!"

Mother Shi felt like an empress being fawned over and said contentedly, "Give me the best. Money is no object, understand?"

"Understood! You can rest assured!"

"Big Sister, your taste is excellent. Choosing our shop is definitely the right decision!"

In the live broadcast, Keding silently looked at the rows of microbusiness products on the shelves in the beauty salon and turned to ask the system, "Is there such a thing as easy money?"

"I haven't even set a trap for her yet, and she's rushing to offer herself up?"

"Be precise," the system said, "she's rushing to offer her face."

It's hard to imagine what Auntie will look like in a few days with those potent hormones and additives in those bottles.

When you look in the mirror later, don't scream, okay?