Chapter 80: A Visit

"It's just a death..."
Li Yu muttered irritably, but halfway through her sentence, she instinctively glanced at the next room. She took a sip of water and swallowed the rest of her words.

"Is there really no room for negotiation? With his assets, surely he doesn't need to take back all twelve million?"
Li Yu drank another mouthful, then continued her questioning.

"It's not about the money. He simply has no interest in these outside investments anymore. Ever since his son got into trouble, he's been pulling out of many ventures—especially those in the Philippine Monkey region. He's already started liquidating there. I tried to contact him, but couldn't meet in person."

"Forget it, let's leave it for now. I'll reach out to the other side, see if I can gauge their intentions."
Li Yu was just about to hang up when she remembered something the other person had said. Hastily, she asked,

"Right, about that revenge you mentioned—what kind of revenge?"

"Ten million. He offered ten million, apparently aiming to destroy a certain conglomerate over there. If you can bring back the head of the family, there's a five-million reward, but for now it's only a rumor—he's still searching for someone suitable."

"Wasn't it a kidnapping? How did it get tangled up with a conglomerate?"
Li Yu gritted her teeth, suddenly realizing why the other party wanted to withdraw the investment. Twelve million was enough to cover the reward without hurting his original business. All that talk about going insane, about his only son—that was just an excuse.

But she wasn't very familiar with the situation in the Philippine Monkey region, so she pressed further.

"It's quite complicated. I don't know the details myself."

"Alright, I'll look into it personally."
Without giving the other person a chance to say more, Li Yu hung up.

Afterward, she flipped open her phone, intending to make a call, but changed her mind, put the phone away, changed clothes, grabbed her car keys, and drove out.

It only took a few minutes of driving before Li Yu arrived at a café—the same one where she'd met Du Ruo the other day.

---

Upon entering, she glanced around and noticed a surveillance camera that could have recorded the table where Du Ruo had sat that day.

"Hello, are you alone? Would you like to sit by the window?"
A server approached Li Yu and asked politely.

"I'm looking for your manager. Last time I was here, I lost a document and need to review your security footage."
Li Yu explained. About half an hour later, Li Yu left the café, the manager sending her off with a smile, humming as he returned inside after seeing the thousand yuan transfer on his phone.

Li Yu hadn't considered pushing Du Ruo into this so-called revenge mission; she merely wanted to use the video of Du Ruo filmed by the café's cameras, along with the broken cup he'd crushed, as her ticket in. Otherwise, she had no other means to meet Old Yang in person.

Of course, if there were profits to be made, she wouldn't mind acting as the intermediary. No matter what, she had to make up for the losses caused by withdrawing those funds over the next few years. That's why she'd proactively befriended Du Ruo and exchanged contact information—she never hesitated to connect with valuable people, for they would always be useful someday.

With the video and the cup in hand, Li Yu booked a flight, deciding to go personally to Guangdong.

Beyond her own expertise in finance, her appearance was her greatest asset. Many things required her personal presence to achieve the best results.

...

Du Ruo was oblivious to the events brewing outside. He sat in the living room, brows furrowed, doing his accounts.

When he returned, he had roughly 1.45 million. Taking over the guesthouse cost him 1.2 million. The next year's rent wasn't due until the end of the year, so he didn't need to worry about that yet. He spent 215,000 on medicinal wine, 30,000 on Panlong silk, then various smaller purchases for beef and training equipment, as well as rent for his current apartment. Now, Du Ruo had very little left.

Despite the guesthouse transferring all income to Du Ruo after setting aside a fixed reserve, he barely had enough to buy his daily beef.

"Why can't I save any money? I really need to stop spending so recklessly. It's so frustrating—why does the system only allow me to extract skills, not cash?"

Seeing the numbers laid out, Du Ruo finally understood where his money had gone. He couldn't help but complain, then swapped the custom solid bronze man in his shopping cart for a hollow cast bronze figure before placing the order. He wanted to practice the Bronze Man Technique, hoping it would surprise him after leveling up.

The summer heat hadn't dampened the enthusiasm of tourists flocking to climb the mountain.

After all, the temperature at the summit differed from the base by five to eight degrees. Tourists climbed up in the morning and descended by evening, making for a pleasant experience.

---

Perhaps it was the video taken by Xiang Yuanyuan that made Du Ruo's martial arts courtyard a minor attraction—visitors now stopped to take photos outside.

Since most of these tourists stayed at his guesthouse, Du Ruo was cordial, though he politely declined requests to perform for them.

But when he practiced, he ignored them, letting them take photos as they pleased.

In the evenings, he still visited Xiang Yuanyuan for a glass of medicinal wine—now the two drank together.

Yang Chenguang hadn't stayed in the village for two days now, but Du Ruo often saw his two sons playing around.

On Friday, Du Ruo, as usual, drove to town to pick up Yaya and Maomao, then brought them home. At the kindergarten, the principal and security reacted like they'd seen a ghost—Du Ruo swiped his card, and the teacher immediately delivered Yaya to him.

Back home, Yaya was like a wild horse, roaming the village fearlessly. In the morning, she'd poke around vegetable gardens with a stick; in the afternoon, she'd pester the elders under the plum trees to knock down fruit for her.

Du Village had few residents, most of them elderly, and they doted on Yaya. They never stopped her mischief; in fact, when she wanted plums, they'd gladly help knock some down.

According to the elders, ever since every child had their own phone, the village's fruit went uneaten. In Du Ruo's school days, the trees would have been plucked bare—kids would pick a few daily, even knowing they were bitter, just to bite into them and toss them away.

Du Ruo enjoyed two comfortable days at home, eating his mother's cooking without worrying about his next meal.

On the weekend morning, after finishing his boxing practice and considering whether to take Yaya to the guesthouse, Li Yu arrived at the village.

She drove a red Mercedes, and seemed to have already found out where Du Ruo lived, parking right by his courtyard.

At that moment, Du Ruo was in the living room with Maomao, enjoying the air conditioning; Yaya was out playing, and Maomao, who disliked the heat, stayed inside. Hearing the car, Du Ruo went outside and found Li Yu approaching with an armful of gift boxes.

"Good morning, Mr. Du. Sorry for dropping by unannounced—hope I'm not intruding."
Li Yu called out to him from afar with a bright smile.