Chapter 16: I’ll Take His Place

Shu Shu discovered that after Shu Lingchen transferred that 400 yuan to Chu Lian, leaving him a measly twenty-eight cents balance on his account.

And after taking the money, Chu Lian was still complaining that her bed frame was really moldy causing her to break out a rash, and that she wanted a new bed. She couldn’t stand it for even one more day.

Shu Lingchen had replied to her, telling her he’d find a way.

But he was completely broke, so he chose to work as a debt collector to make some quick cash.

Shu Lingchen’s most recent transaction was yesterday evening was a 700 yuan transfer to Chu Lian.

The memo read: For the bed.

This was the commission he’d earned from debt collecting. He hadn’t kept a single penny for himself; he’d sent it all to her.

To put it bluntly, debt collecting meant using violence to enforce payments for illegal loan sharks.

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Maybe she should take him to a hospital for an IQ test sometime.

Shu Lingchen stole a cautious glance at his mother’s expression as Shu Shu brooded blankly. Suddenly, Shu Shu raised her hand, and he instinctively closed his eyes in terror.

But the expected slap of motherly love never came.

“Give me your arm.”

Shu Lingchen opened his eyes and saw Shu Shu was holding a bottle of medicated oil, looking at him coldly.

“…Oh.”

Shu Lingchen rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm obediently.

Shu Shu poured some oil into her palm, rubbed her hands together to warm it up, and then began massaging it over the bruise on Shu Lingchen’s arm.

Shu Lingchen froze.

Looking as his mother focused on treating his injury, Shu Lingchen suddenly remembered how she would always apply medicine for him just like this when he was a kid and scraped his knee playing.

Shu Shu had never hired a nanny. She did everything herself when it came to raising Shu Lingchen, . As a first-time mother who didn’t know much, she preferred to stumble through and figure it out on her own rather than hand him off to someone else just because it was a hassle.

For a brief moment, Shu Lingchen felt like he was a little boy again. Just as his nose was about to twitch with emotion—

Shu Shu slammed her palm down with full force.

“Ow, ow, ow! Painful!”

Shu Lingchen gasped sharply, wincing.

“If it hurts, remember the lesson. You are never doing that debt-collecting job again.”

Shu Shu said, “The new apartment is ready. Break your current lease and move back in with me.”

“I’m warning you, don’t even think about letting the Chus move in with us. If you do, I will disown you on the spot.”

“Shu Lingchen, I mean what I say.”

Shu Shu was genuinely furious.

Shu Lingchen nodded frantically.

The next day after school, Shu Lingchen arrived at his rented room and packed up all his belongings in less than ten minutes.

Shu Shu noticed that his luggage was pitifully light.

Just a backpack, a pair of worn-out, frayed sneakers on his feet, two sets of school uniforms, three black t-shirts, and three pairs of ripped jeans. Aside from that, he didn’t even own a proper coat.

Shu Shu didn’t feel sorry for him.

This was exactly what the little idiot deserved.

Who told him to give all his money to the Chus, leaving himself living like a little beggar?

The move-out process went smoothly, and he handed the keys back to the landlord that very day.

However, trying to “quit” his part-time debt-collecting job proved to be far less simple.

…

The neon signs of a roadside bar flickered in a chaotic blur of colors.

Before pushing the door open, Shu Lingchen turned around, still protesting Shu Shu accompanying him.

“Mom, why don’t you head back first? I can go in and talk to Brother Qiang myself.”

Shu Shu retorted, “With your IQ, I’m afraid you’ll end up trapped inside.”

Shu Lingchen immediately argued, feeling slighted, “Do I really look that stupid?”

“Not stupid. Brain-dead.”

“…”

“Stop wasting time. Let’s go.”

Left with no choice, Shu Lingchen pushed the door open.

The deafening thud of the DJ’s bass hit them instantly, and the dance floor was packed with swaying bodies.

A guy with full-sleeve tattoos led the two of them to Brother Qiang.

Over at the VIP booth, chubby, bald man with a thick gold chain around his neck and a dragon head tattooed across his chest sat in the center of the sofa, holding a cigar.

Shu Lingchen stepped forward, his posture tense and unnatural.

“Brother Qiang, I’m here to quit.”

The man called Brother Qiang took a drag of his cigar before finally looking at him with an annoyed, scoffing laugh. “Do you think my place is a fucking wet market? You think you can just come and go as you please? On the day you joined, I asked you clearly, and you only got in because you said you were sure. Are you taking me for a joke now?”

Shu Lingchen bit his lip. “I’m sorry, Brother Qiang.”

Brother Qiang sized Shu Lingchen up and down, saying casually, “If you want to leave, fine. But you play by my rules. We roll the dice. If you win, you walk. If you lose, you leave a finger behind.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a lackey stepped up and held out a paring knife—there was still dried blood on the blade.

Shu Lingchen’s face went pale.

At the end of the day, he was still a student who hadn’t truly entered the real world. He had never witnessed the sheer brutality of these thugs, and moreover, he had absolutely no idea how to play dice.

“What? Chickening out? If you’re a coward, get the hell out of here and get back to collecting debts for me tomorrow!”

“I…”

“I’ll roll for him—” a crisp, sweet female voice cut through.

Everyone looked up.

Shu Shu stood just outside the booth and said, “I’ll roll the dice in his place.”

Seeing a pretty young girl, the gang was taken aback.

Brother Qiang frowned. “Who the hell are you? Do I look like an easygoing guy to you? You think you can just take his place because you say so?”

The corner of Shu Shu’s mouth curved up. “It doesn’t matter who I am. You’re Brother Qiang, right? How about we make a bet? I’ll roll for him. If I win, I take him with me. If you win, his finger stays, and I’ll give you an extra 200,000 yuan.”

The moment the words left her mouth, everyone gasped.

How much?

200,000???

Brother Qiang stared at Shu Shu suspiciously. The girl looked like a student, and her appearance and aura were exceptionally striking, but he didn’t believe a student could just whip out 200,000 yuan. “Are you messing with me?”

Shu Shu didn’t say a word. She unlocked her phone and pulled up the balance of one of her many bank accounts.

Then, she turned the screen toward him.

A lackey leaned over to take a look, counting the digits under his breath: “Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions… Holy shit! Millions!”

There was a whopping two million plus in there!

What kind of family leaves that much pocket money in a student’s account?!

“I can transfer a 10,000 yuan deposit right now to prove the money in this account is real.”

Ding.

A minute later, Brother Qiang looked at the 10,000 yuan payment notification on his phone and grinned. Only an idiot would turn down free money. He agreed:

“Fine, you can take his place. But—” Brother Qiang narrowed his eyes, “—you’ll be rolling against me personally.”

The moment he said that, his lackeys exchanged knowing glances.

With Brother Qiang stepping up himself, it looked like neither the 200,000 yuan nor the kid’s finger would be leaving this room today.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere.

Shu Lingchen gritted his teeth and whispered to Shu Shu, “Mom, let’s run. On my count, one, two, three—”

But Shu Shu directly accepted Brother Qiang’s terms. “Deal.”

The drinks and fruit platters on the coffee table were cleared away, replaced by two sets of dice cups.

One for Brother Qiang, and one for Shu Shu.

The rules were simple: six dice in each cup, highest total wins, best two out of three rounds.

“Begin.”

Round One.

Brother Qiang rolled three sixes and three fives, totaling thirty-three points.

“Brother Qiang is a beast!” the lackeys cheered wildly.

Shu Shu lifted her cup to reveal a four, three threes, and two ones, totaling fourteen points.

She lost.

“Pfft.”

Seeing this, Brother Qiang grinned, exposing a mouthful of yellow teeth. This girl’s score proved she was an absolute amateur, whereas he was a seasoned pro with his own tricks. Nobody in this district could beat him at dice.

“Little girl, you set the terms of this bet yourself. You can’t claim I’m bullying you later.”

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow. “I won’t. Best two out of three. Let’s keep going.”

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Sansukini: Mom is the gangster. Lol