Chapter 181: She’s Not Her Foster Mother
“Do you really want fifty thousand? What do you need that much money for?” Xu Youyou casually asked.
Li Cuiyun, seeing that she hadn’t outright rejected her demand, felt more confident and resolute, saying, “Why ask so much? I just want fifty thousand! No more talking!”
Xu Youyou wasn’t good at dealing with women like this, but Xu Fang was different. She immediately shot a glare and scolded, “Be polite when talking to our boss! Are you gambling? Do you owe money and need fifty thousand to pay off gambling debts?”
Li Cuiyun immediately felt insulted. “Who’s gambling! The money’s for my son’s wedding!”
Xu Youyou sympathetically glanced at the young girl beside her, Zhao Zhaodi.
Zhao Zhaodi seemed to be around the same age as Wen Shiyan, but her hair was dull and yellow, her expression withdrawn, clearly not treated well at home.
“How old is your son? Getting married so soon?” Xu Youyou asked.
Since the girl’s name was Zhao Zhaodi, it seemed her brother was the one, not her older brother.
Li Cuiyun proudly spoke of her son, “My son is only sixteen, but he’s already doing well! While other men are still single, he’s found a partner so young, and she’s pregnant too. But the bride’s family is asking for thirty… fifty thousand for the bride price!”
Xu Youyou watched as Li Cuiyun abruptly changed her wording and realized that there was more to this bride price than what was being said. She pretended not to notice and simply said, “Sixteen is too young to be in such a rush. He’s not even of legal marriage age yet.”
Li Cuiyun replied, “In the countryside, people marry early. They’ve already had the wedding banquet; they’ll register later when they’re old enough.”
“I can give you fifty thousand, but after that, she’ll have nothing to do with you anymore. She belongs to me,” Xu Youyou said.
Zhao Zhaodi looked at Xu Youyou after hearing this and, to Xu Youyou’s surprise, her face relaxed.
Li Cuiyun, despite getting the fifty thousand, wasn’t satisfied. She said, “This is not enough! I raised her with great effort. If she makes a lot of money in the entertainment industry, she should still support me! This fifty thousand is just for the TV series now, we’ll need to talk about future earnings separately!”
Zhao Zhaodi’s light dimmed in her eyes.
Xu Youyou sighed, recalling the earlier files she had gotten. The photos of the other contestants were taken with carefully chosen angles and had high resolution. But Zhao Zhaodi’s photo had low resolution, like something taken on an old phone from ten years ago. Even though the photo was blurry, you could still tell the girl had a sharp gaze and an attractive appearance, which was why she had passed the first screening.
Zhao Zhaodi wasn’t from LY city; she came from a remote village far away, and it seemed that a classmate’s older brother had brought her along for the auditions while visiting Luoyang for business.
Unlike Wen Shiyan, who was carefully protected by her parents, Zhao Zhaodi’s first-round photo had been submitted by her classmate, and she was treating this audition as her last hope. If she was chosen, she would be able to escape from her family with the help of the crew.
Unfortunately, her escape plan had been discovered by Li Cuiyun, who had tracked her down all the way here and came to Xu Youyou with her outrageous demands.
“Auntie, I’ll give you fifty thousand at once, and after that, your daughter’s earnings will have nothing to do with you. Or we can forget about this,” Xu Youyou said.
Li Cuiyun refused firmly, sure that Xu Youyou was after Zhao Zhaodi for something.
Even though the system’s mission was flashing, Xu Youyou didn’t entertain Li Cuiyun any longer and directly told Xu Fang, “See her out.”
Xu Fang lightly pulled Li Cuiyun toward the exit.
It was at that moment that Li Cuiyun realized Xu Youyou was serious. She had kept Zhao Zhaodi around to save money for her son’s bride price. Though her daughter was pretty, she was worth at most thirty thousand in the local area. The fifty thousand she demanded left room for negotiation, but she hadn’t expected Xu Youyou to agree immediately.
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to rush. Fifty thousand to buy her out, I agree,” Li Cuiyun said, forcing a smile.
Xu Youyou had her staff quickly draw up a very strict contract. Li Cuiyun glanced briefly at the fifty thousand and hurriedly signed it, not even paying attention to the other terms listed.
When the money was transferred, Li Cuiyun was overjoyed and began to speak more kindly, “Congratulations! You’re following a rich boss now, but don’t forget, I raised you!”
Xu Youyou frowned slightly and said to Li Cuiyun, “Auntie, take the money and speak politely. Try to accumulate some good karma for yourself.”
Li Cuiyun’s face stiffened as she suddenly seemed to realize something.
Xu Fang stepped forward and, with an expression of disgust, pulled her toward the door, intentionally grabbing a handful of Li Cuiyun’s hair while pulling her clothes.
Li Cuiyun cried out in pain.
Xu Fang held the hair she had pulled out in her hand and nonchalantly said, “Sorry, my hand slipped.”
Li Cuiyun shot Xu Fang a glare before leaving the hotel, her bank card clutched tightly in her hand.
Zhao Zhaodi, who had remained silent, suddenly walked over to Xu Youyou and said, “You can not pay me a salary, but please don’t hit me or send me back. Can you do that?”
Xu Youyou was taken aback by this.
Zhao Zhaodi looked timid, her voice trembling, and she appeared to be in great distress.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hit you or send you back,” Xu Youyou said seriously.
Zhao Zhaodi sighed with relief.
“Did they hit you?” Xu Youyou asked.
Zhao Zhaodi forced a smile, one that looked worse than crying.
Xu Youyou sighed and asked, “How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“Are you in your senior year?”
Zhao Zhaodi’s eyes flashed with a hint of inferiority as she shook her head. “I don’t study anymore.”
Xu Youyou’s heart ached more. “Do you want to go back to school?”
Zhao Zhaodi nodded vigorously. “Yes! I was really good at studying, I was first in my class.”
Xu Youyou’s gaze softened even further. “Then I’ll help you continue your education and get into university, how about that?”
Zhao Zhaodi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really?”
Xu Youyou nodded gently.
“As long as you let me study, I’ll do anything,” Zhao Zhaodi said.
At that moment, Xu Youyou saw Xu Fang returning and said to Zhao Zhaodi, “Perfect, I need you to do something. Pull one of your hairs.”
Although Zhao Zhaodi didn’t understand, she did as told.
Just as Xu Youyou was about to press the system for her task reward, there was no response.
While the system rewards could sometimes be delayed, it never failed to respond, and it seemed the “lucky pick” task wasn’t complete yet.
Because Xu Youyou had expedited the process, the results from the Luoyang audition came out before it had even finished.
Previously, Xu Youyou had felt that the mother and daughter didn’t look alike, and it turned out they weren’t even biologically related.
“She’s not my mother?” Zhao Zhaodi stared at the paternity test results, her eyes wide. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. “No wonder… I always thought my mom was so gentle, she shouldn’t be this harsh.”
Xu Youyou immediately asked, “Do you remember what she looks like?”
Zhao Zhaodi shook her head and said, “I can’t remember. I just remember her voice was really nice, like singing, so gentle, unlike anyone else around me.”
She tried hard to recall, but the more she thought, the more confused she became, and her expression grew more pained.
Xu Youyou quickly told her not to think about it anymore. “It’s okay if you don’t remember. Let’s call the police first, and we’ll take care of Li Cuiyun.”
Zhao Zhaodi looked confused and said, “Maybe my mom found me somewhere…”
Xu Youyou shook her head. “A small child, even if lost, couldn’t end up in a place with a different accent. Li Cuiyun’s actions and mannerisms don’t seem like those of an ordinary person. Remember, she’s not your foster mother. She’s either a human trafficker or a buyer.”
