Hearing about the little fox's direct admission, Yuyu exclaimed in disbelief:
"....Is this reasonable, junior? Back then, my dad practically dragged me to the 'Thirteen Grand Protectors District' for six months of intense training just to get into Xinxing Agricultural Science College. I was so exhausted I nearly started peeing blood, and I only got four hours of sleep a day."
As for what made Xinxing Agricultural Science College so special, Yuyu actually didn't know. The only thing clear was that Dad promised a living allowance of two million plus a car worth less than a million if I got in.
"Ah Qing said it's normal..." Momo chuckled, memories gradually resurfacing in her mind.
For instance, the little fox could bring back deluxe seafood gift boxes from deep in the mountains, or sometimes he could get seasonal expensive mountain delicacies or even fly a private jet to school.
He even had connections straight to the principal's office. Momo witnessed with her own eyes the little fox calmly walk out of the principal's office with a gift fruit basket, two cartons of cigarettes, and a pack of tea, heading toward the cafeteria.
Momo had complained to Ah Qing about these incidents, but Ah Qing always managed to find valid reasons for the little fox.
After all... in Ah Qing's eyes, Xiaolan was raised by her personally, the little fox would report his outings and activities every time, and if he made new friends, he would introduce them to her afterwards.
The little fox didn't really have any secrets, just a slightly appealing appearance which all the aunts and uncles adored.
Strangely enough, what Ah Qing said made sense, leaving Momo at a loss for words.
Lin Ying was just too well-connected, with affiliations spanning across the country. Whatever the little fox brought back, Lin Ying and Lin Bingyun could cover it up, even if it was a private jet.
When Lin Ying was willing to even gift a private jet, arranging for a nanny to send some food or daily necessities to the little fox during the holidays shouldn't be surprising or questionable, right?
"The cafeteria? I've seen the little fox there too, often wandering in the cafeteria woods. Once, I saw him carrying a cable in his mouth and heading into the forest."
Yuyu thought for a moment and spoke about the peculiar scene he once witnessed.
"Can the little fox... really not be keeping a fox outside? But what's he doing with that cable? Stealing copper to sell as scrap metal?"
Momo gave Yuyu an odd look, their eyes meeting almost in a silent understanding.
Before, with Ah Qing persuading beside her, Momo had some interest in uncovering Huhu's secrets, but since it seemed too difficult and complex, she couldn't be bothered to dig deeper.
Yet now, with another idle companion,
Momo's suppressed curiosity was reignited by Yuyu's words.
The mystery behind the little fox never returning at night might just be hidden in the school cafeteria woods.
Is there a den of little foxes there?
Or is the little fox in cahoots with fellow students to scam food and drink?
"What are you guys talking about? Why do you look so weird?"
Upon leaving the men's restroom, Ansheng saw Momo and Yuyu in deep, gossip-like conversation, full of curiosity, he perked up, resting himself on the bench and letting out a mewing sound.
"We were talking about when you'll repay us." Yuyu lightly tapped the little fox's head, casually unlocking his phone to reveal an anime wallpaper.
The wallpaper featured a half-dressed handsome and robust male with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, sporting tiger ears and a tail lifting his white shirt to reveal chiseled abs.
"Next time you repay, model yourself after this handsome, beast-eared guy with abs — girls generally can't resist that."
Yuyu sincerely, grasped the little fox's paw, entrusting him to transform in this direction in the future.
"If you're that idle, I'll have the monkeys throw lice on you."
Ansheng rolled his eyes, leaping onto the bench, hanging onto Momo's shoulder.
"Huh?"
Listening to the little fox's retort, Momo was taken aback, a strange expression surfacing on her face.
In Huhu's grumbling, she vaguely sensed that the little fox was dismissing Yuyu's fanciful idea...
Since hitting her head in the dorm last time, Momo always felt something was off with her head.
"Huh? Why's Ah Qing's cousin here....."
Returning from the restroom, Ansheng saw Ah Qing turning off a livestream and sitting on a bench in front of the Snow King Milk Tea Shop with a gloomy-looking guy, seemingly in a conversation.
Ansheng vaguely remembered him from a couple of days ago at the buffet restaurant.
He was Ah Qing's cousin, Chen Tianyun, a soon-to-be groom getting married next month.
But seeing his bitter melon face, he looked less like someone preparing for marriage and more like someone about to have his kidney removed.
"Isn't this little Chen marrying a girl from Changping?"
"The marriage customs there are true percentage kill; the more capable the bride, the higher the bride price..."
Ansheng asked Ah Qing, who was scratching her head, with a quirky look on his face: "Ah Qing.... is your cousin broke and asking you for money to buy cigarettes?"
"Uh..."
Ah Qing looked at the little fox returning, her cheeks showing a troubled expression as she said: "I don't know how to put it....."
"My cousin's wife and mother-in-law both agreed, but now there's a slight hiccup..."
"Her father says he can't bear to marry his daughter off now and has offered eight million in cash, five hundred thousand in gold jewelry, a villa, and a car, asking cousin Tianyun to match one-tenth in cash to prove his capability."
"If he can do it in a month, he gets the bride price plus over ten million in dowry, if not, the bride price becomes the dowry, and he becomes a live-in son-in-law..."
"Wow——"
Before Ah Qing could finish explaining her cousin's predicament, Yuyu burst into tears, holding her eyes while running off.
Ansheng, Ah Qing, Momo: "......."
"Your friend... is she okay?" Chen Tianyun dumbfoundedly looked at Yuyu sobbing in the corner, puzzled, as he asked Ah Qing.
Why's she crying? I'm the one gearing up to be a live-in son-in-law, helping out with chores for my in-laws, and washing my wife's underwear, and I haven't broken down. Why's she already bawling?
"Yuyu's experiences are somewhat similar to cousin's...." Ah Qing subtly advised Chen Tianyun:
"Cousin, for goodness' sake, don't drown your sorrows in alcohol at a bar. You might encounter some pervert."
"I don't even have the mind for drinking now, the worry is killing me....."
"My father-in-law clearly knew I spent all my savings on a house, that's why he pulled this on me."
"If I can gather it, great; if not, obediently quit my job and go help my in-laws at home." Chen Tianyun said with a face full of dejection.
[Gather if possible, if not, never mind. At worst, I'll apologize to the ancestors, find a way to have a second child with my surname, and come back to inherit the family fortune... what fortune? I don't have a damn thing to inherit. — Chen Tianyun thought, since my girlfriend gave me a twelve-thousand-dollar ROG package for my birthday, I should have known my fate was to rely on her....]
[Wish Granted: A Washing Machine for Underwear]
In Master Fuli's mind, a flash of light appeared, and Chen Tianyun's whispered prayers to Mazu manifested as wishes on the wish list details.
"......."
Seeing Chen Tianyun's wish details, Ansheng wore an expression of disbelief.
Buddy, hasn't your good luck already bailed you out? Why so blindsided? Good fortune isn't a lack of strength.
Doesn't your girlfriend seem to genuinely like you?
"If others asked me to lend them money, I might introduce them to Chen Nian, but if you ask,"
"I'll have the Homeless House send Ah Qing money right now, to fulfill your ambitious dreams..."