Chapter 4: A Defiant Demand

Since being brought back to the Chen family, Lu Shi had been cautious in his words and actions. Afraid of saying something wrong, he mostly remained silent.

Chen Qiming’s impression of his biological son was neither good nor bad, but he always felt that the boy was withdrawn and didn’t see the Chen family as his own.

But now, Lu Shi—who had never resisted their arrangements—suddenly uttered such a rebellious and defeatist statement. Chen Qiming stood there, trembling with anger, pointing a finger at him.

“You… you…”

As a son of the Chen family, you didn’t have to be outstanding, but you absolutely couldn’t be illiterate.

Chen Qiming had already looked into it. Lu Shi had dropped out of school before finishing his studies to work and support the family. His education level was only junior high school.

Although the Chens were merchants, they placed great importance on cultivation and eloquence.

The servants gathered around, gossiping in hushed tones.

“People from small towns are just rude. He actually said something like that without any shame.”

“He must think he’s reached the top and doesn’t need to work hard anymore. Just wants to coast through life.”

“Hah, I think he’s just getting too cocky. Compared to this biological son, the young master is practically a gift from heaven.”

Steward Liu shot them a glare, and they shrank back, falling silent.

Chen Qiming said, “If you go back to school, we can still talk. Otherwise, the compensation I promised you last night is off the table. And I won’t promise you anything in the future!”

“Compensation?” Lu Shi paused mid-step as he ascended the stairs. He turned back with a smile. “I thought you were just paying lip service.”

With that, he pretended to be curious and pressed on: “So if I do go back to school, will last night’s compensation still count?”

Chen Qiming thought to himself that kids who hadn’t tasted a life of luxury were easy to fool. His tone softened. “It counts. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

The mockery in Lu Shi’s eyes deepened. He raised his finger, pointing at Chen Youxuan, who was hiding behind Chen Qiming. “Then fine. I want him to leave the Chen family and go back to where he belongs.”

At these words, the entire villa fell into dead silence.

The servants exchanged glances, never expecting that the usually silent Lu Shi would be so direct and ruthless.

Chen Qiming was speechless.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected Lu Shi’s desired compensation to be this.

Behind him, Chen Youxuan’s eyes filled with tears. He sobbed softly, prompting Zhu Wanqing to frantically pull out tissues to wipe his tears.

Zhu Wanqing had raised Chen Youxuan since he was a child. He’d been pampered all his life, never knowing a single day of hardship. Even though he wasn’t her biological son, she couldn’t bear to send him off to some impoverished backwater where he’d suffer hunger and cold.

Moreover, she heard that Lu Jinguo was an idle gambler with a terrible reputation among the neighbors. They said he often resorted to domestic violence…

At that thought, Zhu Wanqing froze. A sudden unease gripped her heart, and her hand wiping Chen Youxuan’s tears slowed.

She looked up at Lu Shi standing on the stairs. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he coldly threw out a parting remark: “Since you can’t do that, then stop meddling in what I do.”

Lu Shi grabbed his medicine and headed upstairs without looking back.

His room was on the third floor—a bedroom with poor lighting.

When he first returned, Chen Qiming, feeling guilty, had tried to make amends by offering him Chen Youxuan’s spacious room with a terrace. But then Chen Youxuan moped around all day, trailing after Chen Qiming and Zhu Wanqing, asking if they were going to send him away now that Lu Shi was back. To appease Chen Youxuan, they returned the original room to him.

Chen Youxuan’s study, figure room, and computer room took up almost the entire second floor, so Lu Shi was moved to a small room on the third floor that didn’t face the sun. They claimed it was quieter and better for studying, since few people came up there.

But now, Lu Shi actually liked this room. At least it was far from the living room, so he didn’t have to hear Chen Youxuan’s nauseating voice.

After his shower, Lu Shi was too lazy to get a glass of water. He poured the pills into his palm and swallowed them dry.

In the final car accident of his life, besides himself, the driver, Uncle Ding, who was driving for him, should have died too.

Lu Shi had met Uncle Ding by chance. Uncle Ding used to drive a bus and had nearly twenty years of experience. Once, while shopping, he tried to stop a crime but ended up hitting the perpetrator too hard, sending him to the hospital. The man had some connections and used the incident to sue, costing Uncle Ding his job.

Lu Shi happened to see him squatting by a bus stop, wiping tears with a dejected expression. Taking pity on him, he hired Uncle Ding as his driver.

In the four years Uncle Ding drove for Lu Shi, he never once broke a traffic rule. He arrived on time every time, rain or shine, even managing to be punctual when traffic was heavy. Sometimes Lu Shi found it miraculous.

Uncle Ding was also one of the few people who genuinely cared about Lu Shi. Whenever Lu Shi had a social engagement, Uncle Ding would advise him, like an elder, to drink less. Occasionally, when Lu Shi couldn’t hold it and vomited in the car, Uncle Ding never complained. He would personally help Lu Shi upstairs and wash the car himself.

Lu Shi felt the pill he’d just swallowed turn bitter in his mouth.

He never expected that in the end, he would be the one to drag Uncle Ding down.

Lu Shi leaned back in his chair in a semi-reclining position. He hadn’t eaten since last night, and his stomach was empty, now churning with acid.

But he had no time to dwell on that. His mind was on other things.

Uncle Ding hadn’t lost his job yet. Lu Shi remembered Uncle Ding mentioning that he had a son, Ding Wei, who was two or three years older than Lu Shi. Ding Wei hadn’t done well in school and didn’t get into college; he was working now.

Ding Wei…

Lu Shi mulled over the name.

Hmm… ‘Wei’ was a good character, with a good meaning. But paired with the surname ‘Ding,’ it sounded a bit odd. Uncle Ding sure knew how to pick names.

In his previous life, Lu Shi was entirely focused on work, busy all day with hardly any social life. In this life, he didn’t intend to earn a single penny or contribute any effort to the Chen family. Suddenly, he felt like getting to know this Ding Wei.

He wanted to befriend Ding Wei. Maybe through Ding Wei, he could advise Uncle Ding to curb his temper, go easier on people next time, and not lose his job again. After all, in this life, Lu Shi didn’t plan to hire him.

When Lu Shi found Ding Wei, he was working at a restaurant.

He was a sturdy young man, with a square face like his father’s. He had a good personality, always smiling even when serving tea and water.

Lu Shi casually found a seat and sat down, expecting to strike up a conversation when Ding Wei came over with the menu.

But then, a girl at the next table suddenly screamed. She grabbed a glass of water from the table and splashed it at a sleazy man passing by. “Pervert! What are you doing touching my leg!”

The sleazy man grabbed the girl by her hair. “I touched you, so what? How dare you splash me! Looking for a beating?”

Everything happened quickly. Before the other customers in the restaurant could figure out what was going on, Ding Wei was already rushing over with a menu in hand.

“There are cameras all over the restaurant! Let her go!”

“Damn it, I won’t let go. You want to meddle, huh?”

Seeing that the sleaze wouldn’t release the girl and was even shoving her around aggressively, Ding Wei directly slammed the thick menu book onto his head.

Before Lu Shi could even take a sip of water, the two were already brawling, scaring the surrounding customers into scattering.

Indeed, like father, like son. Ding Wei had completely inherited Uncle Ding’s personality—always ready to help.

At first, the sleaze was shorter than Ding Wei and flabby, so he couldn’t win. But unexpectedly, the sleaze had backup.

Two men who had been eating with him and were about to leave heard the commotion and came back. Ding Wei’s fists were no match for four hands, and soon he was pinned down on a table by the head.

“Pfft!” The sleaze spat at Ding Wei. “Do you know who the hell I am?”

Ding Wei gritted his teeth and struggled, but the other two held his shoulders firmly.

The sleaze picked up a greasy plate, ready to teach this reckless kid a lesson.

Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder twice.

The sleaze squinted and turned around.

Lu Shi grabbed his collar and, without a word, punched him.

The sleaze let out a pained cry, clutching his nose as blood spurted out. With one fewer person restraining him, Ding Wei broke free.

Panting, Ding Wei hadn’t even managed to say “thank you” when he saw the boy who had been sitting nearby, looking pale and weak, deliver a kick.

Then, with precision, Lu Shi locked another man’s throat and kicked his knee.

The burly man’s knee hit the ground with a dull thud.

The entire sequence was fluid. Not only did it leave Ding Wei—who had been about to help—dumbfounded, but it also stunned a group of people who had just pushed open the door.

“Holy shit, what happened? Who’s that badass?”

“Hey, that waiter looks like Ding Wei from the class next door.”

“Yeah, it is. But who’s the one throwing punches? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“You don’t know? Haven’t you been keeping up with the gossip? That’s the Chen family’s newly recognized true son, Lu Shi.”

“What?!”

“Really, I just saw him at the Chen family’s birthday banquet. If you don’t believe me, ask this guy.” Huo Qian, Shen Zheming’s childhood friend, draped an arm over Shen Zheming’s shoulder. “Right, Old Shen? You should have seen him too, right?”

Shen Zheming, who had been looking down at his phone, raised his eyes expressionlessly.

Today was a high school reunion. Huo Qian had pestered him relentlessly until he agreed to come along—and to foot the bill.

Shen Zheming’s gaze landed on Lu Shi. When he saw Lu Shi’s newly dyed hair color, his eyes paused.

At that moment, Lu Shi was pulling the sleaze’s collar from behind.

He placed his foot on the sleaze’s butt and commanded impatiently, “Bark three times like a dog and promise that if you ever pull that pervy shit again, you’ll cut off your own filthy hands. Hurry up.”

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