Chapter 42

"Hey, I didn't say I was going to have a drink," Xu Wushuang explained to him helplessly, "Wang Bai, you're such a good kid, thank you for your concern. The teacher is going shopping. I need to buy a lot of things since I'm staying at the hotel. Skincare products, beauty products, cosmetics, and clothes. Do you want to supervise and guide me as well?"

Hearing that she was going to buy so many things, he immediately thought of the encounter at the shoe store and immediately became hesitant, shaking his head, "No, no, you go by yourself. I can't really help with that."

Then he asked, "Don't you have those things at home? Why not take them?"

"All of them were bought with his money; I don't care for them," Xu Wushuang said resentfully. "Leave them for that cheap woman to use. It's better if they're lost, then it's all over."

This made Wang Bai a bit awkward, not knowing how to respond. Xu Wushuang seemed to realize that it wasn't appropriate to talk about this with a student, so she cleared her throat and said, "You go back first. The teacher can shop alone."

"Be careful, don't go drinking alone," he warned, then quickened his pace and left. Xu Wushuang found this boy quite special, genuinely caring for her.

The next morning, when Wang Bai got up to wash up, he found that his mother had already returned and was packing things. He asked curiously, "Mom, didn't you stay up all night? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Wang's mother, with bloodshot eyes, said, "Something happened. Mom has to go out again soon."

"What happened? Is it serious? Do you need any help?"

Wang's mother sighed, "What help can you provide?" Then she explained in detail. It turned out that the matter was related to Cha Si, who had helped Wang Bai with a problem a while back.

According to Wang Bai, Cha Si was a relative of his mother, but he didn't know exactly how. It wasn't until today that he learned the details from his mother.

Cha Si's grandmother was Wang's mother's great-aunt, but this great-aunt and Wang Bai's maternal grandfather were half-siblings. She had come with her mother when she remarried and had no contact with the family except for returning to pay respects when her mother passed away.

The great-aunt had a hard life, losing her husband in middle age. She finally saw her son get married and start a family, but then she suffered the tragedy of losing a child. Cha Si's parents were killed in a motorcycle accident when he was thirteen, and the driver fled, leaving no compensation. Only the town provided some humanitarian assistance.

After that, the great-aunt raised Cha Si alone. Cha Si had a younger sister who was less than a year old at the time. The great-aunt couldn't manage, so she had the daughter-in-law's family take the little girl.

Wang's mother, as a child, only had a nodding acquaintance with this great-aunt. After getting married, seeing her hard life, she often helped her by selling vegetables at the market. She often sent food and clothes. When Cha Si was in junior high, he had eaten a few meals at Wang Bai's house and even held Wang Bai.

Because of this relationship, even though the two families hadn't been in touch for years, Cha Si still remembered the old friendship. When Wang's mother asked for help, he immediately agreed and resolved Wang Bai's problem.

This time, the one who got into trouble was Cha Si. For some reason, he had a conflict with a big thug in Guanglin, leading to a gang fight in the parking lot of a cinema. Over twenty people were injured, but fortunately, no one died. However, it happened during the Two Sessions, a period of strict law enforcement. Cha Si, as the ringleader, was arrested and was likely to be sentenced.

Yesterday, Wang's mother's great-aunt, now eighty-one years old, came to the textile factory with a cane, asking her to deliver some things to Cha Si in custody. She was too old to handle it.

Cha Si, after all, was Wang's mother's cousin, and he had helped her family. She couldn't refuse, so she agreed.

"I'm just about to bring some clothes and money to him," she said, sighing and wiping away tears. "Your great-aunt has suffered so much. At her age, she still has to run around for her grandson. It makes me sad just thinking about it."

"Mom, don't be too upset," Wang Bai comforted her. "Since it's already like this, we need to think of a solution. Once he's sentenced, it will be too late."

"What can we do? Your father is on a business trip and hasn't returned. We don't have many connections in the police department. What can we do?"

Wang Bai thought about it and realized she was right. He didn't know much about such matters, but he heard that no one died in the fight, so there might still be a chance for a lighter sentence.

"I'll ask around at school. Maybe my classmates can help."

"Okay, eat your breakfast and go to school. Be careful on the way." Wang's mother reminded him and continued packing.

At 8:30 in the morning, Wang's mother arrived at the Guanglin Detention Center. After registering, she went in to wait for the visit. A while later, she saw Cha Si, who had been shaved bald. Cha Si's real name was Lu Wei, but he was known as Cha Si in the underworld. He was one of the "White River Four Dragons" and had given himself the nickname Cha Si.

Lu Wei was grateful to see Wang's mother. After a few comforting words, he said that he was likely to spend a few years in prison this time. Then he mentioned two things that worried him: one was his grandmother, and Wang's mother promised to take care of her.

"The other thing is my younger sister. She has been fostered by my uncle's family, and we haven't had much contact. She might not even recognize me, but I'm always worried about her, afraid she might be bullied. I can secretly protect her from the outside, but once I'm in, I'm afraid... Aunt, you might not know, but the girl your cousin saved near your house was my younger sister, Lu Lu. She and your cousin are classmates. I want to ask you to tell him to take care of her for me. When I get out, I won't forget his kindness."

Wang's mother was pleased to hear this: "So that girl is your sister. Don't worry; even though she has been fostered by your uncle's family, I still consider her my niece. I'll remind Wang Bai. Since they are cousins and classmates, it's only natural for him to take care of her."

After settling this matter, Wang's mother left the detention center, went home, and took a nap. It was already 4:00 PM when she woke up and had to go to work again. She didn't wait for her son to return, so she quickly cooked some food, left a note, and left.

Wang Bai returned home at 5:30 PM. He had an appointment to rehearse for the cultural festival performance at Liu Yan's neighborhood club that evening, so he hurried to eat.

During the day, he had to do a lot of talking to get Yu Jia to vouch for him, fill out the registration form, and get the signatures of his teammates. In this process, he owed a small favor to Lu Lu, as it was her word that finally made Yu Jia agree.

"Just help him this one last time, and we'll have nothing to do with him anymore."

Regardless of whether she meant anything else by this, she had helped him at the time. Wang Bai didn't want to have much to do with them; being ordinary classmates was fine.

While eating, he saw the note his mother had left under the bowl: "Son, Mom is working overtime tonight. Heat up the food yourself. Lu Lu is your sister; be nice to her."

"Ah!" Wang Bai spat out a mouthful of food. What? Lu Lu is my sister? What's going on? He couldn't even bother to clean the table and quickly called his mother.

But his mother's phone was off, probably because she was busy. This made Wang Bai anxious. He started to think wildly: Lu Lu is my sister? Mom wouldn't lie, so there must be a reason. Does she mean she had a child outside the marriage? Abroad? No! It can't be! No wonder she's so fair; maybe she's mixed-race?

Wang Bai's imagination ran wild. But then he thought, no, when Mom was abroad for three years, I was already old enough to remember. If Lu Lu was born then, she would be a few years younger than me, which is impossible for us to be classmates.

So, is she Dad's illegitimate child? Did Mom find out? Hmm, now that I think about it, Lu Lu's eyes do look a bit like Dad's, long and narrow. The more I think about it, the more similar they look. They say girls resemble their fathers, and sons resemble their mothers. It must be true! Mom is really magnanimous, not making a fuss and even telling me to be nice to her.

Wang Bai's imagination was growing exponentially. He held the note, thinking he should destroy it so that Dad wouldn't be shocked when he returned. Dad was supposed to be back in four or five days, and Wang Bai had just won the lottery. He wanted to surprise his parents and start a happy life, but he didn't want this to cause trouble for the family.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but criticize his father: "Sigh, men need to control themselves. If you can't, it can affect your whole life!"

This situation was really a mess. A classmate suddenly became his sister. Should he go and recognize her? No, she doesn't like me. I shouldn't scare her; she might think I have some ulterior motive.

Wang Bai quickly cleaned the table and continued eating. He then texted his mother: "Received the message, call me back quickly, urgent!"

He needed to confirm the situation with his mother. All this wild thinking had exhausted his brain cells.

After eating, he hurried out to get the concert tickets from his cousin's house. It was several stops away, and running there would be good exercise. Today, Lu Guanghe told him that the school football team's training was actually a public class every Wednesday, and the rest of the time, the team members practiced on their own. They had important matches, so they relied on the eleven games each semester to improve.

He had just run past a large supermarket when he ran into Yu Jia and Lu Lu, who were about to go shopping. Seeing the note earlier, his expression was anything but good when he suddenly saw Lu Lu. The two girls saw Wang Bai grimace and greet them, staring at Lu Lu's eyes, looking extremely creepy.