Chapter 46 The fire burned so hard it felt like it was trying to meld her into its body.

The lights were off in the carriage. In the dim light, the man's chest heaved violently, and his heartbeat was particularly heavy.

He hugged her so tightly that Xinmian heard it.

From the moment he appeared outside the car, her fear gradually subsided, and by this point, she was no longer so uneasy.

But Chi Yu seemed even more frightened than she was, holding her so tightly it was as if he wanted to meld her into his body.

“Chi Yu…”

Her head was pressed against his shoulder, and she whispered, "I'm fine."

Chi Yu finally relaxed a little, but his sword-like eyebrows were still furrowed, and the old scar on his brow was particularly sharp.

He slightly increased the distance between them, his voice low, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone in the car."

Xin Mian didn't blame him. She could clearly see the expressions on his and Li Ke's faces when they got out of the car. They must have had their reasons for not letting her in.

However, by this point, she should know the reason.

She thought for a moment, then asked gently, "Who was that person just now?"

Chi Yu opened the bottle of mineral water in the car and handed it to her, but Xin Mian didn't take it. Instead, she held up a bottle of yogurt and gestured to him, "Aunt Lü gave it to me."

He didn't insist any further, tilted his head back and gulped down most of a bottle of mineral water, and when he spoke again, his voice was much clearer.

"His name is Li Ruifa, and he is the father of Li Ke and Xiaoliwo."

"...Then...what about Li Ke and Xiao Liwo's mother?"

“She’s gone,” he said, turning on the overhead light. The carriage was suddenly illuminated, the warm yellow light enough for him to see her clearly.

Chi Yu carefully examined the little girl from top to bottom, making sure she was alright, then tightly grasped her hand in his broad palm.

"After her daughter was born, she was in poor health. While she was in postpartum confinement, she learned that Li Ruifa had cheated on her multiple times during their marriage. Her health was so damaged that she couldn't hold on and passed away not long after."

“Li Ruifa indulged in all sorts of vices, including drinking, gambling, and prostitution. He neglected his children, and when he did, he would beat and scold them. Li Ke and Xiao Liwo had a very difficult time.”

"So, why was Li Ke playing games at the internet cafe...?"

"Game boosting service".

He squeezed her hand. "Have you heard of this profession?"

Xin Mian shook her head and then nodded, "I think I've seen it online."

But she doesn't play games and isn't very interested in these things, so she didn't look at them in detail.

"A profession specifically designed to help gamers level up their game characters."

"Li Ke is short of money."

Having a father like that, you should be grateful if you don't get beaten up. How can you expect Li Ruifa to take on the responsibilities of a normal father?

But Li Ke had to live, and Xiao Liwo had to live too.

With no other option, Li Ke had to ask Aunt Lü and the neighbors to help take care of Xiao Liwo, while he took odd jobs during his spare time.

The neighbors in the area knew about their family's situation. They felt sorry for the two children and everyone helped them in any way they could. The nearby grocery stores and small restaurants had offered Li Ke odd jobs.

However, Li Ruifa would cause trouble at other people's shops whenever he drank, and this happened repeatedly, affecting the shops' business.

Li Ke felt guilty and didn't want to cause trouble for others, so he took the initiative to leave.

But without making money, he couldn't support Xiaoliwo and himself. Later, Li Ke heard his classmates talk about playing games and game boosting, so he used the money he had saved to go to Chi Yu's internet cafe.

That was the first time Chi Yu saw him.

At the time, Li Ke was still in elementary school, a thin and small boy who couldn't even figure out how to use a computer properly. He almost unplugged the power cord of the computer in the same row as him.

Chi Yu looked at him coldly, returned the computer fee he had paid, and told him to go home.

Li Ke is also a stubborn person; he refused to reply no matter what she said.

While confronting the front desk staff, I saw the newly printed job posting and volunteered.

Wangshui Island, a seaside town, is neither too small nor too big.

Chi Yu casually inquired and learned about Li Ke's family.

Li Ke stayed on.

He could only work a full 8 hours during winter and summer vacations, but Chi Yu paid him the salary of a normal employee, for a full 12 months of the year.

However, Li Ke did not accept it.

The kid had some backbone; he only took what he was entitled to.

But he had to support two people on his own, and at that time, his little one was still an infant crying for milk. There were just too many places to spend money.

He also wanted to save more money so that his daughter, Xiaoliwo, could go to school in the future, and he didn't want her to have to suffer like he did.

So he came up with the idea of ​​game boosting services again.

When he wasn't too busy working at the internet cafe front desk, he would secretly learn how to play games.

He is intelligent and persevering, and quickly got the hang of it.

Chi Yu knew but didn't say anything.

Game boosting services are indeed a quick way to make money, and he knew he was short of cash.

This is the result of his own hard work.

During winter and summer vacations, Li Ke worked part-time at an internet cafe while also leveling up his character. When school started, he had to attend classes during the day, so he could only make the most of his time after school.

This is why Xinmian always sees Li Ke playing games whenever she goes to an internet cafe.

He wants to earn more money and save more money.

His family of origin was a swamp for him, but he did not let the swamp destroy him and his daughter, but instead worked hard to prepare for the future.

Li Ke kept his earnings from the internet cafe a secret from Li Ruifa, but he went to the internet cafe every day without fail, and over time Li Ruifa found out.

Li Ruifa had previously used the same trick to cause trouble, claiming that Chi Yu employed child labor and that he would sue him in court.

It even escalated to the point of involving the police station.

But given Chi Yu's temperament, it was impossible for him to let Li Rui get away with anything from him.

Li Ruifa knew he couldn't afford to offend Chi Yu, so no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to back down.

However, he indulged in drinking, gambling, and prostitution. Knowing that Chi Yu was protecting Li Ke and Xiao Liwo, he sometimes incurred gambling debts and was chased by creditors. He would use the two children as shields, hoping that Chi Yu would also help him solve his troubles.

He even had the audacious idea of ​​using Li Ke and Xiao Liwo to force Chi Yu to pay off his gambling debts, but after Chi Yu dislocated one of his arms, he became more obedient.

Blood ties and legal kinship are the hardest to sever. Li Ruifa is the legal guardian of Li Ke and Xiao Liwo. At least until Li Ke comes of age, it will be too difficult for them to get rid of this scumbag father.

"So when Li Ke asked Aunt Lü 'Is he home?' he was referring to Li Ruifa?"

“Yes,” Chi Yu nodded.

He assumed Li Ruifa was at home, which is why he didn't let Xin Mian come in.

But she almost got into trouble outside.

The thought of Li Ruifa peering out the car window still sent shivers down Chi Yu's spine, his handsome face turning frighteningly grim.

He reached out and hugged the person again, apologizing once more.

"sorry."

Xin Mian was pressed onto his shoulder, and when she turned her head, she could see his sharp jawline. Suddenly, she remembered something.

"So your two previous injuries were also because of Li Ruifa?"

"I guess so."

Chi Yu said, "Those two times were actually accidents."

He gave a slight, almost mocking smile, but his tone softened considerably. "I'm not a violent maniac, and I don't like fighting."

Li Ke and Xiao Liwo are rarely home during the day, but they still have to go back at night.

Li Ruifa was in debt and was chased by creditors. On both occasions, he happened to run into Li Ke and Xiao Liwo at home.

Little Dimple was so frightened that she cried loudly. Li Ke couldn't drive away the debt collectors by himself, so he had no choice but to call Chi Yu.

When Chi Yu arrived, beer bottles were shattered all over the living room floor, and chairs and tables were scattered and crooked. Li Ke held Xiao Liwo tightly in his arms, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at Li Ruifa through the group of people demanding repayment.

Li Ruifa was completely drunk and remained unmoved by any threats or intimidation from the debt collectors.

Chi Yu told Li Ke to take Xiao Liwo to Aunt Lü's shop to hide, while he stayed behind.

The debt collectors are from Ancheng, and they have a legitimate company behind them.

Coincidentally, Chi Yu had previously done business with their boss in other areas, and in the end, he gave him face.

As those people were leaving, Chi Yu warned them, "It's only right to pay back debts. Li Rui owes you money, so you can keep pressing him for repayment however you want, but keep your distance from the children."

Previously, the injury Xin Mian sustained on Chi Yu's face was from a shard of glass from a beer bottle that had fallen to the ground when she visited Li Ke's house.

The wound on his arm was from when Li Ke was using a fruit knife to drive away the debt collectors. He didn't notice Chi Yu's appearance and accidentally slashed him in the chaos.

Both times were actually accidents.

The time Chi Yu injured his arm was the last time the debt collectors came to Li Ke's house to collect debts from Li Ruifa. After being warned by Chi Yu, they now only chase Li Ruifa outside.

"Then...didn't you call the police before?" Xin Mian asked. "I'm talking about Li Ruifa's matter."

“I’ve called the police,” Chi Yu said with a cold laugh, as if he had just remembered something. “More than once.”

"That's how I met Officer Wang."

The unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar address made Xin Mian think for a while before she remembered that Officer Wang was the police officer who patrolled along the coastal road on the day she met Qin Shengtian.

As her memories returned, her attention refocused on Li Ruifa's situation. "Even calling the police won't help?"

"It's not that it's useless, it's that we can't control it."

Li Ruifa usually doesn't care about Li Ke and Xiao Liwo's lives or deaths. When he's drunk, he often beats and scolds them. But when he sobers up and finds himself arrested at the police station, he puts on a sycophantic and obsequious face, bowing and scraping in front of the police officers.

But when he got home, he continued to do things his own way.

The police station had advised him, warned him, and even detained him for these things, but he always acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

By now, Li Ke has given up on the idea of ​​making him better.

After listening to what Chi Yu said, Xin Mian leaned back in the passenger seat as if she had lost all her strength, and all she could think of was Xiao Liwo's cute and sensible smile in kindergarten.

Li Ke has done his best to take good care of Xiao Liwo, but the two siblings are really having a hard time these days.

She pursed her lips and remained silent, her eyelashes lowered, yet she could not hide the heartache and heaviness in her eyes.

Chi Yu knew what she was thinking at a glance.

He squeezed her hand and whispered reassuringly, "Don't worry, Li Ke has already made plans."

“When he finishes high school for three years, he will be 18 years old. We will then choose a university in a city that is far away, and transfer to a new school with his little dimples, so that he can start his life anew in a new place.”

Adulthood means he can work openly and honestly, and it means he can better protect Xiaoliwo.

Now, all they can do is endure and quietly save more money to prepare for the future.

However, Chi Yu's words failed to have a comforting effect.

Xinmian felt a pang of sadness, and a small string of glistening tears welled up in her eyes and started to fall.

It hit him directly on the back of his hand where the veins were bulging.

Chi Yu's heart softened completely. He looked down at her and used his fingertips to wipe away her tears.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to them."

Xinmian nodded, sobbing, but once her tear ducts opened, she couldn't stop the tears.

In such a family, the current situation of the brother and sister is already a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

They can still take care of each other and depend on each other for survival. Li Ke has the ability to make money, and they haven't gone astray.

Can...

They should be carefree, but now they can't even get the normal care from their father.

Xinmian felt even more upset at the thought of this. She pursed her lips and didn't cry out, but the tears fell even more heavily.

Helpless, Chi Yu pulled the person into his arms and coaxed him gently.

Xin Mian's head was pressed against his chest, her tears soaking his clothes. "...I...I'm fine..."

"...Cry for a while, and you'll be fine..."

Having exhausted all other options, Chi Yu could only pull out his phone and try the same trick he'd used before, "Want to play a game?"

Tears still clung to Xin Mian's eyelashes. She blinked rapidly, noticing the game in his mini-program was different from the previous one, and choked out, "...Why...why isn't it the same one..."

Chi Yu helped her access the game page, saying, "Li Ke made a new one, and this one is much more fun than the previous one."

"Li Ke?" Xin Mian looked up at him with her eyes red from crying. "...He can make games?"

"I taught him."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xin Mian seemed to remember something and stared at him intently, "Chi Yu, what exactly do you do for a living?"

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Author's Note: Poor little thing [Please][Please][Please]