Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 560: Li Shiqi's Family

After finishing breakfast, the group went to Li Shiqi's home to fetch her luggage.Li Shiqi's stepfather had a bad left leg and an unattractive appearance. Fortunately, his financial situation was decent. Having inherited several street-facing properties from his parents, he opened a mahjong parlor in the back and was considered to have a modest amount of wealth.

Li Shiqi's mother, on the other hand, was reasonably well-featured. However, times were different back then. Ten years ago, no matter how beautiful a woman was, having a child in tow made things difficult. Dating was fine, but very few men were willing to get married to someone with baggage.

Thus, she eventually settled for Lame Li. A woman in a second marriage bringing along a child naturally just wanted to find a provider. But Lame Li was no fool either; since they ate his food and lived under his roof, they were expected to work.

From the very beginning, Lame Li never missed an opportunity to make snide remarks and indirect jabs at Li Shiqi. His point was always that girls were inherently money-losing burdens; instead of studying without earning a dime, she would be better off finding someone to get married to early on.

Whenever this happened, Li Shiqi's mother would swallow her pride and quietly tell Li Shiqi to just endure it.

"Your father just has that kind of personality. Bear with it, and it will pass," she would say.

In reality, deep down, Li Shiqi never considered that man her father, nor had she ever addressed Lame Li as such.

From Lame Li's perspective, he wasn't entirely wrong either. He provided good food and shelter, yet never even heard her call him father. Since he wasn't exactly a broad-minded person, he naturally complained through veiled insults. Because of this, the relationship between the two sides grew increasingly distant.

With the New Year fast approaching, business at the mahjong parlor was incredibly popular.

Li Shiqi's mother was busy running around, tending to everything.

Meanwhile, Lame Li was keeping the customers company by playing mahjong. One of the patrons remarked, "Hey, Old Li, where is your daughter? The winter holiday started days ago, but we haven't seen her around."

"Who knows where she went!" Lame Li grumbled. "People say girls are just money pits, and it's absolutely true. Ever since she started university, I've barely seen a shadow of her. I fed her and clothed her all this time, and in the end, I get nothing out of it!"

Thinking about this made Lame Li flush with anger.

The others could not help but chuckle, pointing out that she was probably just busy studying.

"Everyone knows your daughter has excellent grades. She goes to Jinling University, after all!"

"Hmph!"

Lame Li snorted with disdain, slapping down a tile as he spoke. "What is the use of being good at studying?"

"It's not like I reap any benefits from it."

Just as they were talking, a black Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon quietly pulled up and parked right outside the storefront.

His mahjong parlor was located in a street-facing unit of an urban village, with the back converted into commercial space. As such, there was naturally no urban planning to speak of. The parlor attracted a mixed crowd, and outside, the street was cluttered with casually parked cars.

Therefore, when the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon pulled over, a few people took notice of the expensive car.

However, the majority of the crowd just kept their heads down, focused on their mahjong tiles, and didn't seem to care at all.

Zhou Yuwen asked Li Shiqi, "Do you want me to go down with you?"

"No need. Just wait for me in the car," she replied.

Zhou Yuwen had intended to have Liu Shuo and himself help Li Shiqi grab her things, but Li Shiqi insisted there was barely anything to take. She felt no sense of belonging to this family anyway. Naturally, she planned to abandon her old, tattered clothes whenever possible. She was only coming back to retrieve her diary and a few sentimental items left in the house. More importantly, she did not want Zhou Yuwen to see her broken and fractured family.

So, even though Zhou Yuwen offered several times, Li Shiqi firmly refused to let him step out.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuwen did not push the issue any further and simply agreed.

With that, the car door opened, and Li Shiqi stepped out.

The eye-catching Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon had already drawn the attention of quite a few people. Now, seeing an elegant woman wearing a base shirt and a trench coat step out, everyone was stunned for a moment.

Of the two men squatting in the corner smoking, one hurriedly nudged the other.

He motioned for him to look quickly.

They say a girl changes significantly as she grows up, and it was entirely true. In fact, Li Shiqi had only been away from her family for a year, yet her transformation was completely night and day.

Especially now, walking in a pair of black high heels, she looked like a strong woman returning from a big city. With her hands tucked inside her trench coat, she stood coldly at the entrance of the mahjong parlor for a brief moment.

Then, she walked inside.

With her outstanding presence, Li Shiqi quickly attracted the attention of many people, including Lame Li, who was playing mahjong nearby. However, at first glance, Lame Li did not recognize her.

Let alone Lame Li, even Li Shiqi's mother, who was busy running around pouring tea and water for the customers, failed to notice her returning daughter. It was a patron who finally spoke up, saying, "Lady boss, you have a customer."

Mother Li was slow to react. Holding a large water kettle, she hurriedly walked over. "Hello, welcome! Table for how many?"

Years of manual labor had long since left Mother Li with a bloated figure. She looked like an ordinary small-town woman, sporting short hair and wearing an apron tied around her waist.

Compared to Li Shiqi in her high heels, Mother Li was a full head shorter. Initially, she was full of smiles, but when she truly got a clear look at the girl standing before her, Mother Li froze in shock.

Immediately, a look of pleasant surprise washed over her face. "Shiqi!"

"Husband! Husband, our daughter is back! Shiqi, you've become so beautiful now!"

Mother Li was genuinely thrilled. She remembered her daughter looking like a mere high school student when she left, yet after such a short time apart, she now looked like a star straight out of the television!

Over by the tables, Lame Li, who had been cracking sunflower seeds and chatting with his poker buddies about where this girl might be from, also froze upon hearing his wife's words.

"Oh! My daughter is back! Why come back just now? Your mom and I were even thinking of going to Jinling to pick you up!"

With so many relatives and friends watching, Li Shiqi's sudden return gave Lame Li a lot of face. Naturally delighted, Lame Li enthusiastically rushed over to greet her, his head held high. His demeanor practically screamed, 'Look at that! That is my daughter!'

'That is my daughter!'

Lame Li walked over with familiar ease, bearing a bright smile as he reached out to pull Li Shiqi inside. He added, "Hurry on in! Mom and Dad have been waiting for you to come back for the New Year!"

Watching Lame Li's outstretched hand.

Li Shiqi slightly dodged to the side. Lame Li's hand grabbed nothing but air, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

Then came Li Shiqi's cold voice. "No need."

"I just came to pack up my things. Once I am done packing up, I will leave."

After saying this, Li Shiqi bypassed her parents and walked straight into the inner rooms on her own.

At that moment, the room was full of neighbors playing cards. For Li Shiqi to say such a thing in front of everyone was equivalent to completely disregarding Lame Li's face. Lame Li's expression immediately darkened.

Staring at his stepdaughter who showed him absolutely no respect, Lame Li could not help but ask harshly, "Leave? Where are you going right before the New Year? Is there no room for you in this family anymore!? I spent so much money raising you, and this is how you repay me, you heartless wretch!"

Lame Li hurled a barrage of curses at Li Shiqi's back, but she acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, walking straight toward her room. In truth, it could barely be called her room. Lame Li's house had a second floor for living, while the first floor was used as the card and mahjong parlor. Li Shiqi's room was originally on the second floor, but after her younger brother was born, she was moved to a storage closet on the first floor. It was a tiny cramped space partitioned off right next to the mahjong room, and the soundproofing was terrible.

During high school, whenever Li Shiqi was studying inside, all she could hear was the endless clattering of mahjong tiles outside.

Growing up in such a family, Li Shiqi naturally harbored no good impressions. She had very few belongings, just enough to perfectly fit into her old high school backpack.

However, the more she ignored Lame Li, the more enraged he became. At this point, Lame Li was already red down to his neck. He angrily marched over and yelled at Li Shiqi, "Didn't you hear me talking to you?!"

"Who said you could leave? Where are you going right at the New Year!?" Seeing Li Shiqi continuing to completely ignore him, Lame Li finally lost his temper. He reached out and violently snatched the backpack she was packing up.

With a loud crash, everything inside the backpack spilled all over the floor.

"?" Li Shiqi looked at Lame Li with great confusion.

By now, all the customers in the mahjong parlor had stopped playing and were watching the drama unfold.

Seeing her daughter and husband getting into an argument, Li Shiqi's mother quickly rushed over to defuse the situation. "Oh my, alright, alright, it's the New Year. Let's keep things harmonious, why lose your temper?"

"You are making us a laughingstock. Alright, alright, say no more."

Li Shiqi's mother offered words of persuasion to her husband.

Who could have known, however, that Lame Li would violently shove her away? Despite having a lame leg, his arm strength was terrifyingly immense. Unable to control his force, he threw Mother Li straight onto the ground.

"Ah!"

"Mom," Li Shiqi saw her mother fall to the ground and rushed over to help her up.

Mother Li indicated she was fine and pleaded with Li Shiqi, "Shiqi, with the New Year here, where could you possibly go? Mom is begging you, don't make your dad angry anymore."

Li Shiqi did not listen to her mother. Instead, she glared furiously at Lame Li.

Looking down at the mother and daughter on the floor, Lame Li barked, "What are you looking at me for!?"

He then turned to Mother Li and immediately launched into a tirade. "What a fine daughter you've raised! Come on, come on, tell everyone exactly how you raised such a fine daughter!"

"Back then, when you mother and daughter were homeless, I was the one who took you in. What did you promise me? You said she would be just like my own daughter, that she would provide for me in my old age and take care of my every need. And now? Her wings have grown hard, and she's refusing to acknowledge her debts? She wants to leave right before the New Year? I provided food and clothing for you two for so many years, and this is how you repay me? Come on, tell the folks here all about it!"

Lame Li had no sense of shame whatsoever, nor did he realize that everyone else was just watching the spectacle for their own amusement. He simply dragged Mother Li in front of the crowd and demanded she speak for herself.

Mother Li felt utterly humiliated, pleading with Lame Li to stop talking.

But Lame Li actively wanted to humiliate them. He dragged out everything from the past, calling them ungrateful wretches and money-losing goods with every breath. He listed out the expenses from over the years—buying clothes, paying tuition fees, and what else, supplementary classes? Book fees?

"Isn't all of that money? I won't even mention that you never treated me like your real father, but what do you mean by leaving without a trace now? Are you really trying to bully me because I'm a cripple? Come on, everyone, judge for yourselves!"

As Lame Li ranted, the onlookers naturally just watched the drama unfold, finding the whole thing entertaining.

Mother Li, however, felt extremely disgraced.

Li Shiqi could not endure such immense humiliation. She stated directly, "I will just pay the money back to you!"

"Pay back!? What are you going to use to pay it back? What, you've grown up? Found yourself a sugar daddy out there? And now you think you can just leave? Over a decade of rearing and care, how exactly are you going to pay that back!"

Lame Li was being completely unreasonable and bossy. He even firmly insisted that if it hadn't been for him, the mother and daughter would have starved to death on the streets long ago!

The others listening nearby nodded repeatedly, though in reality, they were just enjoying the show.

Li Shiqi wanted to say something, but just as she opened her mouth, her mother stopped her. Mother Li said, "Shiqi, your dad is right. We cannot be this ungrateful. Listen to Mom, it is the New Year, let's not make a fuss, okay?"

Seeing that everyone seemed to be on his side, Lame Li finally recovered a shred of dignity and snorted coldly.

Right at that moment, Zhou Yuwen, who had unknowingly slipped into the crowd, suddenly spoke up. "Just say how much money you want. What's the point of bringing up all this irrelevant nonsense?"

"?"

The crowd focused their eyes and only then realized that, at some point, a tall young man had appeared right next to them.

The people who came to play cards were all neighbors. One look and they knew Zhou Yuwen was an outsider.

Who was this?

"Haven't seen him before?"

"He's probably Lame Li's daughter's boyfriend?"

"He's quite handsome."

"Huh, but I feel like he looks really familiar!"

Lame Li did not know Zhou Yuwen, but he was very displeased by his tone. He demanded, "And who are you?"

Zhou Yuwen stepped out from the crowd at this moment, with Liu Shuo following right behind him. Zhou Yuwen declared, "I am Shiqi's boyfriend. Just tell me how much money you want."

Hearing this, Lame Li scoffed!

"I was wondering where this wretched lass got such a big temper from. Turns out she's being kept by a sugar daddy! No wonder, no wonder!"

"Fuck you, what the hell are you saying? Keep your mouth clean!"

Liu Shuo was already feeling quite irritated. To think this stinking cripple was actually spreading dirty rumors about his boss's woman right in front of him! His eyes widened in fury, ready to teach the man a lesson.

In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed up to Lame Li, raising his hand to deliver a slap.

Lame Li was a middle-aged man who had put on a bit of weight, but in front of Liu Shuo, he was nothing more than a slightly chubby little chicken. Liu Shuo walked with an imposing gust of wind, and his glaring expression was downright terrifying.

Watching Liu Shuo arrive right in his face, Lame Li finally felt fear. His body trembled, and unable to hold himself up, he collapsed onto the floor.

Even with him on the ground, Liu Shuo had no intention of letting him go. He grabbed Lame Li by the collar, ready to dish out some punishment.

"Liu Shuo," Zhou Yuwen stopped him at that moment, saying, "Forget it. Don't stoop to his level. Let him stand up."

Liu Shuo was about to strike, but upon hearing Zhou Yuwen's words, he stopped himself. With a cold snort and a forceful yank, he hoisted the man right in front of Zhou Yuwen.