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Chapter 30

On the sixth day of the lunar new year, many shops on the street were still closed. The uncles pedaling the human-powered tricycles and earning hard-earned money. Yu Shu noticed that the arc of the uncles\' calves bulging under their pant legs was extremely high. The well-developed calf muscles contrasted sharply with the uncles\' thin bodies.

"We\'re here, twelve yuan," the uncle wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Yu Shu.

Twelve yuan to pedal across half of the county seat. This price was still under the premise of raising prices for the Spring Festival.

Yu Shu got off the tricycle and scanned to pay one hundred and twenty yuan.

"Young lady, come back! You paid too much!" The uncle called out to her.

Yu Shu waved back at him, "No, I didn\'t overpay. Happy New Year, uncle!"

Yu Shu entered the hotel and found a table in a corner of the bustling lobby, not noticeable, with a pillar blocking the table, but able to take in the entire lobby.

Today was Zhou Yan’s father’s birthday banquet. The hotel had private rooms available but they insisted on having the birthday banquet in the lobby. Two servers walked past Yu Shu.

"Haha, I heard that family tell the guests that there were no private rooms left at the hotel and they regretted booking so late."

"Bullshit. When they came to book the banquet, they turned black at the private room fee."

"The dishes they ordered were all cheap decoy dishes, wanting face but unwilling to spend money..."

...

Yu Shu ordered two home cooked dishes. Right after she finished ordering, she got a call from Ye Ping. Without thinking, she raised her hand to decline the call, and sent Ye Ping a WeChat message saying she wasn\'t coming home for lunch, then blocked Ye Ping\'s messages.

The birthday banquet began. On stage, Zhou Yan and his father put on an act of fatherly love and filial piety. Even as he cried to the point of fainting, his hand holding the microphone didn\'t shake at all.

This family, they were all performative personalities.

As the emotional drama approached the end, Zhou Yan spoke in a lonely tone: "Today, I had invited a girl, but she..."

Zhou Yan\'s eyes reddened, and his hand holding the microphone shook slightly. Zhou Yan\'s father wiped away imaginary tears and pulled him off stage.

Everyone present who "knew the inside story" sighed with regret.

Pretending.

Yu Shu put down her chopsticks and sent a text message to the two ladies at the door: you can come in now.

As the Zhou family went table to table to toast and greet the guests, just as they got to the second table, a vulgarly dressed and scantily clad woman rushed in. Without saying a word, she threw herself into Zhou Yan\'s arms and started crying:

"Dad\'s birthday, why didn\'t you tell me? You don\'t recognize me or the child in my belly?"

"Who are you? I don\'t know you at all!" Zhou Yan pushed away the woman clinging to him, "You\'ve got the wrong person! Take a good look!"

"Zhou Yan! What did you say to me in bed? Now you\'re showing your true colors and refusing to admit it!"

"You slut, get your hands off my son! Where did you come from..." Ah! You dare hit me!"

"Ah! Zhou Yan, say something! The child in my belly is your seed, you coward, useless jerk!"

"I don\'t fucking know you at all! You psycho!"

...

Yu Shu watched from afar as the commotion grew louder over there, and occasional screams and shouts of pain could be heard.

Just as it was getting chaotic, the second female lead made a dramatic entrance, dressed identically to the first woman, but instead of going the pitiful innocent flower route, she went the shouting and screaming acting skills route.

"Zhou Yan! Who is this woman! Who is she!!! Didn\'t you say you were going to marry that Yu woman? Get a divorce and marry me after getting the money! What\'s with this woman!"

"Oh really! Stealing my business was one thing, but stealing my man too!"

"Ah--"

The fighting over that side grew even more intense. Yu Shu\'s mood greatly improved, and she added another bowl of rice.

"This... these two ladies seem to be from Hair Salon Street..." Someone recognized the two women and whispered. Under the inquisitive gazes of others, they quickly clarified, "No no, listen to me! I just happened to pass by them and glanced at them a few times."

"Yeah, I\'ve seen them too. They\'re quite famous over by the north gate. Walking around in super short skirts all day..."

...

People talked amongst themselves. Yu Shu multitasked, watching the show, relishing the drama, and eating without any compromises.

A shrill scream rang out - "The child! The child! My child ah!!!"

"So much blood!"

"Call an ambulance!"

"Who got violent?"

"It looks like... Zhou Yan..."

"Yes... I saw it too, it was him..."

Zhou Yan could no longer maintain his facade. Eyes bloodshot, he kicked the woman on the ground over and over, spewing filthy curses, every sentence involving genitalia.

Yu Shu noticed many people had taken out their phones and started recording, eventually not even trying to hide it, holding their phones up high to film. When Zhou Yan\'s parents saw people recording, they caused another ruckus.

Yu Shu didn\'t want to keep watching. She quietly slipped out after paying her bill, passing the paramedics in white coats coming in.

Yu Shu watched from afar as Xiang Mei was carried into the ambulance on a stretcher, covered in blood. She frowned, then turned to leave.

Arriving at the agreed meeting location, Yu Shu waited over an hour before the second woman finally strolled over late.

She was all smiles: "So sorry for the delay. Xiang Mei had to get surgery."

Yu Shu handed her the paper bag: "Is she pregnant?"

"This much? This, this..." The woman\'s face was shocked, then she smiled gleefully as she started counting the money. "This is too much, three times what we agreed!"

They had agreed on 100,000 yuan for the two women. There was easily 300,000 here.

"Is she pregnant?" Yu Shu asked again.

"Who knows which customer\'s child," the woman kept counting, smiling happily. "She was planning to abort it anyway. Taking your job was killing two birds with one stone."

"What\'s with your expression, feeling bad for us two?" The woman waved the money in her hand. "Don\'t feel guilty, you gave plenty. We were destined to have shitty fates, escaping from the countryside. Either sold off by family or selling ourselves."

Yu Shu spoke plainly: "Take the money and go. Don\'t come back."

"I know, I know. From now on we\'ll go far away, absolutely won\'t let you get involved in any of this mess."