Chapter 180: The Other Extreme
"What do you want to know?"
Satisfied, Xiao Ye pushed the money over. "As long as you don't hide anything, I'll have someone send another million tomorrow."
"It's all cash. As long as you aren't extravagant, no one will find out."
"Now, tell me about Liu Loulan."
Liu Rusheng didn't want to say the name. He said through gritted teeth, "She's an animal!"
"The signs were there even when she was very young."
"I remember it clearly. When she was five, just to get something she wanted, she pushed her own younger sister into the artificial lake. Her sister almost drowned."
"When she was eight, she drugged her older sister, also to get something! She's the kind of person who will stop at nothing to get what she wants!"
Liu Rusheng took a frustrated sip of tea before continuing, "She was never like a child, much less a member of the Liu Family."
The Liu Family were all rather simple and honest.
But Liu Loulan… she was the complete opposite!
Selfish, self-serving, and utterly vicious!
Xiao Ye nodded. "So you treated her poorly?"
Liu Rusheng nodded, then shook his head. "I wouldn't say poorly. We never deprived her of anything. We were just a bit stricter with her to try and straighten out her disposition, that's all."
'That may be what he said, but to Liu Loulan, that "strictness" probably meant something else. Like favoritism.'
"Did Liu Loulan ever accuse the Liu Family of being biased against her?"
"Of course she did." But Liu Rusheng didn't see it that way. "We were only doing it for her own good, but we never expected…"
"That she would take revenge on her own family, just because we were especially strict with her!"
"From the moment she married into the Xiao Family and gained power, she began to suppress the Liu Family!"
"She succeeded. We're destitute and can't do anything!"
As he finished, Liu Rusheng slammed his fist on the wooden coffee table, wishing he could skin Liu Loulan alive.
Xiao Ye just watched him quietly. "Logically speaking, even if the Liu Family was a first-rate family back then, you wouldn't have been qualified to marry into the Xiao Family."
"What's the story there? How did Liu Loulan manage to marry into the Xiao Family, and the Patriarch no less?"
"We don't know. She arranged it herself. We only found out when she announced the wedding."
Xiao Ye nodded, took a sip of his tea, and said, "Alright. So, do you have any leverage on Liu Loulan?"
Liu Rusheng's body stiffened.
There was leverage, of course.
Someone with a nature like Liu Loulan's hadn't known how to hide it in her youth, so naturally, many people knew about her ways.
As she grew older, although she developed her methods, she was still just a woman with no real power.
The Liu Family could uncover her misdeeds with a simple investigation.
But since it was a family affair, they kept it under wraps and didn't let outsiders find out.
"I don't care if you want to go after Liu Loulan, but I can't help you."
"It's hard enough for us to survive as it is. If Liu Loulan found out I was behind this, the rest of us… would be as good as dead!"
But Xiao Ye wasn't worried. "What if I could guarantee your safety?"
"With one phone call, your mother will be sent to a military hospital. Not even the Xiao Family can harm anyone there."
"I can also find the best doctors to take care of her."
"You, your sister, and the rest of the Liu Family can all stay at a convalescent home near the hospital."
"I will cover all expenses during this time."
Xiao Ye leaned back in his chair, certain that Liu Rusheng would agree. "The only reason Liu Loulan has kept you alive is that she enjoys watching you suffer."
"Tell me… what would she do if your mother's illness was cured?"
"What would she do if your lives started getting better and back on track?"
After all, Liu Rusheng and his sister had grown up in the Liu Family. From their studies to everything else, they had received the best education.
They shouldn't have been reduced to one working in a coffee shop and the other doing manual labor.
The only possibility was that Liu Loulan was suppressing them.
If they were to cross a certain line, Liu Loulan would intervene!
Liu Rusheng clenched his jaw. He knew this, of course!
"Can you really protect us?"
Xiao Ye nodded. "Of course. Right now, you have no choice but to trust me."
"Instead of living in constant fear and misery, why not risk it all?"
"What if you succeed?"
Xiao Ye's voice had a compelling quality, causing Liu Rusheng to involuntarily recall his old life and contrast it with his current struggles.
"It can't get any worse than this, anyway. Fine, I'll do it!"
"I'll give you everything I have on Liu Loulan! Now, arrange for us to go to the hospital and the convalescent home immediately!"
Xiao Ye made one phone call.
Shortly after, Brother Feng drove over to pick them up. They packed up the few valuables from among their shabby belongings.
Everything worthless was thrown out. Xiao Ye would buy them new things later.
「That night.」
Liu Rusheng's mother was admitted to the hospital.
He and his sister also entered the convalescent home, becoming staff interns.
The residents there were all powerful and influential people, and the outside was guarded by soldiers.
Even a reclusive family like the Xiao Family wouldn't dare make a move in a place like this. To do so would be a slap in the face to the nation!
Everything was confirmed to be in order.
Xiao Ye then had Liu Rusheng contact Liu Loulan using his own method.
Years ago, Liu Loulan had left him a phone number, telling him he could call for help if he couldn't take it anymore.
But that also meant every member of the Liu Family would have to kneel and beg for mercy!
To bow their heads to an enemy!
After nearly twenty years, Liu Rusheng finally dialed the number.
He had assumed the number would be disconnected, but to his surprise, someone actually answered—and it was Liu Loulan herself!
"It's me." Liu Rusheng clenched his fists, forcing himself to speak calmly.
Liu Loulan chuckled, her voice filled with pleasure. "So, it's you. What's wrong? Your mother's sick and you can't take it anymore?"
"She's your mother too!" Liu Rusheng roared. "She's already in this state, why won't you just leave us alone!"
"I told you, if you had just been willing to kneel, kowtow, and admit you were wrong, I would have made things easier for you."
"Who knew you valued that useless pride so much? But you still had to come to me in the end, didn't you? What was the point of holding out for the last dozen years?"
Liu Rusheng took a deep breath to keep himself from exploding. "Liu Loulan, let's meet. At the old Liu Family spot. You know where."
"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I won't wait."
"I'll be waiting. If you don't want your dirty secrets from back then exposed, you'd better show up!"
With that, he hung up without waiting for her to respond.
"Sorry. I was afraid if I kept talking, I might… lose it!"