Pluck the flower stamen
Chu Sinian came to Beijing once again.
There are two things to deal with this time.
First, he needed to clean up Ning Zicheng's mess; second, Yi Rou's investigation had yielded results recently, and according to the details revealed to him by his assistant, the matter was quite serious.
Chu Sinian followed the crowd off the plane. The dry and cold wind whipped against the hem of his coat, making it rustle. He raised his hand to pull the collar tighter and walked out.
Since this was a visit to an elder, he didn't go empty-handed. He carried two boxes of things prepared by his assistant and headed straight to the hospital.
In the bright and warm VIP ward, a man with a strong build and rosy complexion, his legs wrapped in gauze, was eating fruit fed to him by a pretty woman next to him, while staring at the door.
Sitting to the side was Xiao Lin, the father who, despite his advanced age, did not appear old, while Qin Ran, the mother, idly examined the diamond ring on her hand.
Xiao Lin looked at the contract in his hand, then glanced at his son on the hospital bed and said, "The Chu family's kids are quick; they've already drafted the contract and brought it over."
Xiao Yu swallowed the lychee in his mouth. "Since they've given us the authority, let's keep it."
Xiao Lin continued to review the contract, "You've accepted it, so you're not going to take revenge?"
"Heh," Xiao Yu sneered, "How could that be? It was Ning Zicheng who offended me. I'm not going to seek death by going after Chu Sinian."
“These two juniors are in cahoots, and their relationship is so good that they went out of their way to apologize. How could we not care about his affairs?”
Xiao Yu said, "Dad, just you wait and see, I have plenty of ways to deal with him."
Xiao Lin became serious: "The Ning family is not to be trifled with. Don't act rashly."
Xiao Yu reassured his father with his eyes and said, "I've always known what I'm doing, you understand."
Before Xiao Lin could refute him, the door to the ward was opened by the bodyguards guarding outside, and a person wearing a white coat walked in, with a brown tight-fitting sweater tightly wrapped around his smooth upper body.
Looking up through the soft fabric that tightly wraps her, one sees a noble and languid face.
Xiao Lin and Qin Ran stood up, stepped forward and took the things from his hands, saying, "You even brought things with you when you came."
Chu Sinian nodded slightly, "You are, after all, an elder, and we must show you the proper etiquette."
Xiao Lin said, "You're too kind. Your father and I had dinner together a while ago, and he praised you for being so promising at such a young age, just like your mother."
Chu Sinian suddenly looked up at him, smiled, and then looked at the person on the hospital bed after a moment, "How is Xiao Yu's injury?"
From the moment he entered, Xiao Yu's eyes were glued to him and never left him.
He forced a smile. "What does Young Master Chu think should be done?"
Chu Sinian walked over, his gaze sweeping over her inch by inch, from her bandaged leg to her rosy face. "It seems you're recovering well; you don't need my concern."
Xiao Yu propped himself up and sat up, a flippant look in his eyes. "If you didn't need it, you wouldn't have come today."
Chu Sinian turned to Xiao Lin and said, "Sign the contract as soon as you receive it. It's such a good deal, we should grab it while we can, otherwise someone else might snatch it up, right?"
Xiao Lin's expression remained unchanged. "You child, there's no reason to rush someone to sign a contract."
Chu Sinian raised an eyebrow. “Time waits for no one. It seems Uncle Xiao has no intention of cooperating. I’ll think about it some more.”
Xiao Lin glanced at Xiao Yu and instructed his assistant to bring the contract. "Since the junior is so sincere, there's no reason not to sign it." He took out his pen and signed it in a few strokes.
Chu Sinian turned to look at Xiao Yu, "You've signed it, and your injury should be healed by now."
Xiao Yu gave a gentle smile. "Whether my injury is healed or not depends on how well I recover. Why don't you stay a few more days, Young Master Chu, and come to see me more often? With your care, my injury will naturally heal faster."
Chu Sinian's lips curled up slightly. "Young Master Xiao, there's a reason for your leg injury. Whether you blame fate or others, there should be a limit. Otherwise, what if you accidentally fall and break your leg again? Don't you think so?" He said with a light laugh, as if his advice was as sweet as rock candy stewed pear.
Xiao Yu gritted his teeth slightly, "Young Master Chu is really good with words. It's truly a great effort for him to take time out of his busy schedule to visit me. How could I not appreciate it?"
Chu Sinian glanced at him sideways, "You're injured, you should take good care of yourself." After saying that, he bid farewell to his elder, "I have to go now."
He walked away with light, steady steps, under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Xiao Lin casually tossed the contract onto the stage, saying, "He's very protective of him; you'll regret it if you mess with him."
Xiao Yu sneered, "So what if you protect him tightly? I'd be wasting my life if I didn't make him bleed a little."
—
Chu Sinian strode out of the hospital, and his assistant, who was waiting beside him, quickly followed, holding several stacks of documents with their edges fluttering in the wind. "Sir, the time you asked me to have someone investigate that girl, we have some preliminary results."
He opened the car door for Chu Sinian and got into the passenger seat himself. The Bentley’s elegant silver body sped along. The assistant raised his voice a little, “Yi Rou is a child from a poor rural area. She has been receiving financial assistance from the Xiao family since junior high school. But Xiao Yu met her once in high school and fell in love with her at first sight. After her senior year of high school, he cut off all her access to education and forcibly took her to his home to be his kept woman.”
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "She was still a minor that year..."
Chu Sinian frowned, and the sunlight shone on his deep blue pupils the moment he opened his eyes. "I'll explain the reasons later. First, take her away from Xiao Yu."
"Didn't you say we shouldn't alert the enemy?"
Chu Sinian tilted his head to let the light fall on his cheek. "Execute it immediately."
Chu Sinian's men were not to be trifled with. Upon receiving the order, the mercenaries who had been staking out Xiao Yu's house for a long time stepped into the villa garden without stopping for a second. While the bodyguards were stunned by the attack, they fought back against the punches and kicks, and took Yi Rou away from the villa, who was screaming in alarm.
Meanwhile, in a remote and impoverished village in Guangxi, a family, led by elite individuals, boarded an off-road vehicle and, effectively, bumped and wobbled their way out of the rugged mountain road. The rear tires kicked up dust high into the sky, and with a gust of cold winter wind, they drifted towards Beijing.
In a house somewhere in Wanliu Academy, Beijing, Chu Sinian put down the agave in his hand and gazed at the darkening sky. The sunset was beginning to appear. Before he could take a closer look, there was a knock on the door.
His assistant opened the door for him, and the beautiful Yi Rou, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, walked in bewildered. Chu Sinian turned around and sat down amidst her somewhat surprised expression.
"Please sit down."
Yi Rou looked around and slowly moved to sit on the sofa. Before coming, her assistant had explained the situation to her so that she wouldn't be too flustered when she arrived.
"Hello," Yi Rou said.
"Is a prospective 211 university student this timid?" Chu Sinian looked at her and handed her a glass of water that his assistant had poured for her.
Yi Rou shuddered suddenly. "I..." She hesitated as she recalled the past, unconsciously hugging her arms and curling up slightly, looking around the room with some fear.
Holding the water glass in her hand, she hesitated to move. Staring at the four burly men standing in the doorway, she bit her lip, "You...you're going to take me away from Xiao...Xiao Yu?"
"Okay." Chu Sinian gestured for her to drink some water. "I won't drug you."
Yi Rou still didn't say anything.
Chu Sinian placed a stack of documents in front of her. "I told you I could guarantee all your and your family's rights to a normal life. I gave you time to ask for help at any time, but unfortunately you don't trust me."
“That’s normal. If you could easily trust a man again, I think you would be disappointed.” He looked at Yi Rou’s shoulders, which were gradually relaxing, and said, “The two elders are old and frail. It’s too far from Guangxi to Beijing, so the schedule isn’t tight. They can be delivered to you in three days at the latest.”
Yi Rou's eyes immediately reddened. "You really, really came to save me?"
"Yes, I have no interest in your body or anything about you."
Yi Rou choked up a little, "I haven't seen them for three years, thank you."
She realized that she had no use for anything except for this body. She spoke haltingly, "Xiao Yu has been controlling me and preventing me from leaving Beijing. I don't have any devices to communicate with the outside world. I'm very worried about them."
"Don't worry, there is a medical team with them. The two elders are not seriously ill and their condition is under control."
Yi Rou burst into tears, her fingers unconsciously gripping the cup. "Thank you... thank you. I don't know how to thank you. If you need anything, I will do my best. Thank you for letting me..."
Chu Sinian was used to Yu Shi crying from a young age and knew that any attempt to comfort her was futile. She looked at the girl who was crying and talking incessantly and said, "Come on, finish crying and eat. It's almost lunchtime."
Yi Rou looked at him earnestly, "Sir! Could you please help me save one more person?"
Chu Sinian glanced at his assistant, who immediately moved closer to Yi Rou, holding his phone's memo app, ready to speak.
Chu Sinian went to the kitchen to see how the food was going.
He hadn't stayed in Beijing for long and was unfamiliar with everything here. The chef he found was someone his assistant had temporarily pulled from someone else's kitchen. For this, he almost got scolded by other diners at the restaurant, who accused him of being incredibly powerful.
Little did they know that this was a terrible idea from the assistant alone.
Chu Sinian smelled the aroma of the food and, with a hint of resentment in the chef's eyes as he succumbed to the lure of high pay, raised an eyebrow and left the kitchen.
Meanwhile, the person in the living room was still crying, drinking and sobbing, while her assistant took notes and poured her water from time to time, practically creating a perpetual motion machine of tears.
The thugs he hired were also unruly, casually leaning against the wall chatting. Chu Sinian thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Did you tell the chef how many people are eating?"
The assistant said, "Yes, I said there were three people eating."
Chu Sinian pointed to the wall by the door, "Aren't they human?"
The thug immediately glared at him menacingly.
The assistant hurriedly ran to tell the chef to make six servings, then returned to pour water for Yi Rou despite the chef's murderous glare.
Dinner was ready after a while. Everyone except Chu Sinian ate quickly, and soon he was the only one left at the table.
Yi Rou had stopped crying and was silently watching him eat. She seemed to have something to say, but she kept opening her mouth and closing it several times.
"Aren't you tired of standing? Why don't you sit down and talk?" Chu Sinian said calmly.
Yi Rou slowly moved to her seat, rubbed her swollen eyes, and said cautiously, "Sir, can I really continue my university studies?"
Chu Sinian said, "No, you have to repeat a year and take the college entrance exam first."
Yi Rou couldn't help but smile, taking several deep breaths to control her joy. "That's great. I don't know if I can pass the exam, but I'm already very content to be able to go to school."
“You can do it.” Chu Sinian put down his cutlery, looked at her and said, “You were able to get into a 211 university despite Xiao Yu’s interference. University is just a stepping stone for you to take off.”
As he spoke, his tone grew increasingly firm.
"From a poor mountain village to being chosen and sponsored by the Xiao family, and then being admitted to the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, your talent has never been buried or forgotten. Along the way, you have relied on yourself, your hard work, your perseverance, your intelligence and your down-to-earth approach."
"Yirou, all the obstacles of the past will be cleared away. What you need now is to firmly believe in your unique future, move forward, and never look back."
Yi Rou was stunned, her mouth agape for a few moments before she was speechless. She wiped her dry, stinging eyes and said, "Thank you. If only you had been the one who sponsored me back then."
Chu Sinian looked at her seriously and said, "It's not too late now."
—
After everyone had left and Yi Rou had fallen asleep, the assistant sorted through the facts he had learned from Yi Rou and the fragmented clues he had uncovered some time ago, piecing together a horrifying truth.
He thought slowly, squatted down and described in detail to Chu Sinian the whole story of Yi Rou's funding back then.
Six years ago, the Xiao family launched the "Waiting for the Flower Bud to Bloom" charity fund project, which sparked widespread social discussion. To help poor children in rural areas go to school, many companies have joined in, hoping to gain a good reputation by spending a little money.
Not only did the Xiao family line their own pockets after the project started, but their only son also secretly selected his favorite woman to keep by his side as amusement.
Xiao Yu was not the first to engage in such absurd behavior. Upon hearing his story, some of the sons of businessmen involved in the project also wanted a piece of the pie, and they gave the selection plan a catchy name.
They picked the flower stamens and planted them by the bedside.
At this point, the assistant paused, "Sir..."
"Keep reading."
They picked the flower buds and planted them by their bedside; they were constantly and diligently implementing their plan.
The princes of the powerful and wealthy laughed and toyed with innocent girls who thought their future was bright. Among them were children who committed suicide out of despair, some drowning themselves in lakes and others hanging themselves.
Some died in the beds of the powerful and wealthy.
After attracting a police investigation, the princes conspired to set up a deceptive trap, sending several involved individuals to take the blame. Despite the constant interference, they finally achieved a result that satisfied them.
Having tasted the sweetness of unbridled behavior, the Crown Prince intensified his abuse of those he sponsored, to the point that even Xiao Yu had no choice but to keep his distance. To prevent the situation from escalating, Xiao Yu shut down the charity project.
Those girls who were corrupted in broad daylight are buried underground forever, their souls tormented and unable to find peace.
Chu Sinian gripped the documents tightly and threw them forcefully to the floor. The papers fluttered and were swept up by the winter wind, carrying tiny scraps of paper towards an unknown village in a remote and impoverished area.
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