Chapter 74
Chapter 74
[September 1, 2022.
Little Bastard: Dad, give me some living expenses.
Lai Xinrong: Transfer-200 yuan.
Little Bastard: This isn’t enough. It’s barely enough for plain rice. I can’t even afford any dishes.
Lai Xinrong: You’re just as cheap as that mother of yours. All you do every day is whine about money, money, money! You want money? I don’t have any. As long as you don’t starve to death, that’s good enough. Let me tell you, the fact that I’m still supporting you is already more than enough kindness.
September 3, 2022.
Little Bastard: Dad, someone is bullying me.
September 6, 2022.
Little Bastard: Dad, No. 56 hit me.
September 15, 2022.
Little Bastard: Dad, are you really not going to care about me anymore? Do you hate me that much?
September 31, 2022.
Lai Xinrong: (Chat screenshot with the Dorm Superintendent) All you know how to do all day is cause me trouble. You can’t do a single thing right. How did I ever end up raising a murderer like you, Little Bastard?
Lai Xinrong: Little Bastard, stop playing dead! What are we going to do about this now? I’m not paying this money, no matter what. And don’t forget, there’s still a witness in the Psychological Clinic. What are you going to do about him?
Little Bastard: Don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself. I definitely won’t cause you any trouble!!!]
Qiao Yu arched a brow.
So it really was because No. 60 had killed someone.
Then the witness was…?
He remembered now. No. 59!
No. 59 was gay, and he had been receiving treatment from that homophobic psychologist the entire time.
So it had to be him!
Qiao Yu scrolled down, and that theory was quickly confirmed.
[September 21, 2022
Lai Xinrong: Change No. 59’s treatment to all day. Don’t let him leave the Psychological Clinic, and don’t let him come into contact with anyone else.
Psychologist: Understood.]
Qiao Yu closed the chat window and clicked into the next one.
They were all trivial bits and pieces, nothing useful to the Instance.
However, the second-to-last contact was the cafeteria lady’s WeChat.
[September 1, 2022.
Cafeteria Lady: Principal Lai, how should we prepare the fish you brought in this morning?
Lai Xinrong: Make soup.
September 2, 2022.
Cafeteria Lady: Principal Lai, soup again?
Lai Xinrong: Mm.]
The conversations after that repeated the same thing over and over, with the cafeteria lady asking the principal whether he wanted soup.
Finally, Qiao Yu closed the chat app and opened a spreadsheet on the desktop.
Yucai Academy 2022 Fee Standards (unit/yuan):
Classes A–F tuition: 45,000
Accommodation fee (utilities not included): 5,500
Book fee: 3,100
Materials fee: 1,200
Miscellaneous: 1,800 (uniforms, toiletries, bedding, etc.)
Total: 56,600
“Fuck, this university is practically robbing people blind! They even make you buy uniforms? I’ve never seen a university where you still have to wear a uniform. Ridiculous.”
At some point, Luo Yunmeng had walked over to Qiao Yu’s side. Staring at that exorbitant amount, her lips tremled with anger, and she even cursed out loud.
After reading the bill, Qiao Yu took a deep breath. “I want to start a university.”
Shang Yan: “…Why go through all the trouble of starting a university? There’s really no need to make it that complicated.”
Qiao Yu: ??
“Open up the criminal code. Every single article in there can make you rich overnight.”
Qiao Yu: “…Thank you. That method of yours is truly criminally practical and very arresting.”
There was nothing left in the computer worth verifying, so Luo Yunmeng suggested they leave.
But Qiao Yu remained where he was. He still felt like the storyline wasn’t complete.
For example, as a father, why would Lai Xinrong treat his own daughter this way?
Was she not his biological child?
That should be it. Otherwise, why would Lu Ruan have taken her mother’s surname?
But because he had never experienced the warmth of a family himself, even Qiao Yu wasn’t confident in his own guess…
He still needed proof.
He sat down in the boss’s chair, propped his chin on his hand, and looked around the room as his thoughts raced.
Shang Yan stood beside the desk. He lifted his gaze and glanced at the display shelf on the opposite wall, his fingers hanging over the tabletop curling slightly as he began to tap the surface, lightly and slowly.
Lai Xinrong…
Qiao Yu looked around at the mirrors covering the office walls. His thin lips parted as he silently rolled the name around in his mouth.
All at once, he realized this man shared one of his hobbies.
A love of money.
These mirrors were meant to gather wealth, while the exorbitant tuition fees were meant to rake it in.
What did people like them want money for?
Of course, it wasn’t just to spend it… It was because they liked the satisfaction money brought them.
When other people got money, the first thing they did was put it in the bank. But people like them didn’t.
For example, he… would build a special place just to store his money, then go over and look at it whenever he had nothing to do.
And that place had to be somewhere within his most frequented area.
A hidden room!
There had to be a hidden room in this office.
Qiao Yu shot to his feet and headed straight for the display shelf with clear purpose.
“What are you doing?” Luo Yunmeng and No. 16 looked curiously at Qiao Yu’s sudden, dramatic movements, then followed him over.
Qiao Yu stood in front of the display shelf and rubbed his chin in thought.
Then, testing a hunch, he reached toward the eighth compartment on the eighth level.
No one knew where he touched, but the base suddenly loosened for an instant. When he lifted it, there was actually an electronic lock underneath.
Qiao Yu: “……”
Sure enough. A place for storing money would be protected by layers of mechanisms. This person was cautious too.
Just as he was about to force the lock open, the electronic lock suddenly started beeping.
With a click, the antique shelf actually slid open to both sides on its own, revealing a hidden space inside.
For some reason, Qiao Yu glanced at the faint glow spilling out from his pocket. That wisp of light quickly dimmed.
As if nothing had happened, he withdrew his gaze and looked toward the keyhole of the hidden room. There were still clumps there that looked as if they had been burned by extreme heat and then cooled again.
The hidden room used voice-activated lights. The moment the lights came on, Qiao Yu’s footsteps strangely paused for an instant. Unable to help himself, he reached out and touched the mountain of money in front of him.
Stacks of bright red bills were arranged neatly, enough to make up a whole cubic meter.
What was strange was that the stack on top even had a bite mark in it.
No. 16 rubbed his chin. “This principal has pretty good teeth.”
Luo Yunmeng clicked her tongue. “How much does he love money? He won’t feel at ease unless he swallows it into his stomach?”
Qiao Yu said, “8.38 million!”
Shang Yan: “……”
This was the first time this guy had ever done math so quickly.
Qiao Yu stared for a long while before he finally managed to tear his gaze away. His hand drifted unconsciously to his own chest.
Ever since he had woken up, this was the first time his heart had beaten so fast.
It might sound a little hurtful, but even when he reunited with Shang Yan, his heart hadn’t beaten this fast.
Unwilling to be ignored, Shang Yan waved a hand in front of his eyes. “I have ten times this much money in my card.”
Qiao Yu still clutched his chest, his voice low. “That’s your card, not mine.”
“It can be your card too.”
“Really?” Qiao Yu didn’t believe him.
Shang Yan nodded. “My dad gives all his money to my mom to manage, so I’ll let you manage mine too.”
Qiao Yu instantly snapped back to his senses. “……You’re right. I can’t take money from unknown sources.”
Shang Yan: ??
After those few exchanges, Qiao Yu’s desire for the money had been discounted by a good margin. He turned his attention to the structure of the hidden room instead.
The walls of the room seemed to be coated in something unknown, with a crystalline texture.
“That’s tungsten carbide. It’s fireproof.”
Shang Yan was practically a walking encyclopedia.
Sometimes, Qiao Yu was very curious about how his brain was structured. Whenever Shang Yan displayed his talent, Qiao Yu grew nervous. That nervousness… was mixed with a restless agitation, as if every pore on his body had opened.
It was an unconscious temptation he couldn’t tear his eyes away from…