The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu was so busy all day that her feet barely touched the ground. At 8 p.m. sharp, she finished her final inspection of the entire store, arranged the tables and chairs, cleaned up, and locked the store door with two employee welfare drinks in hand.

As for Chen Xing? This woman ran away at 6:30.

The moment she saw her boyfriend's car appear at the door, she sprang up from her chair as if she had springs in her butt.

She picked up the large canvas bag, a look of great responsibility on her face, walked up to Ye Shu who was wiping cups, patted him firmly on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"Xiao Ye! As your boss, I have to focus on your long-term development! It's time to cultivate your ability to stand on your own and hold the fort. You understand my good intentions, right?"

She made a circle with her fingers:

"So, the rest of the time is up to you! Go for it, I believe in you, I have faith in you!"

After saying that, without giving Ye Shu any time to react, he burst out of the store with a loud, bell-like laugh and jumped into his car.

Ye Shu stood there with a rag in hand, watching the taillights of the departing car and could only smile helplessly.

However, Chen Xing was right. At this point, there were indeed not many customers left in the store, and the last hour and a half was basically spent cleaning.

After locking the shop door, Ye Shu carried the two drinks in the plastic bag and started her journey home.

The commercial street seemed even more bustling at night than during the day, with neon lights flashing and a cool evening breeze.

As he reached the street corner, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the bar where the drama of a wealthy family's feud had unfolded the previous night.

The bar is still the same bar, but the sign has changed.

The words "Mystery Realm" have disappeared, replaced by two large characters "Snow Ink".

Ye Shu stared at the new signboard for a few seconds, muttering it to himself a few times:

"Xue Mo... Xue Mo... Blood foam?"

He curled his lip slightly in disdain. What a terrible name... Bloodthorn, it sounds ominous.

What a nice bar, turned into a murder scene... He really couldn't associate those two words with "relaxation" and "a little drink." It seems the person who changed the sign for this bar needs to improve their naming skills.

Back home, Ye Shu opened the door, changed into slippers in the entryway, and habitually called out to the inside:

"I'm back."

He was stunned as soon as he entered the living room. He saw two people sitting on the sofa.

One was Zhi Qiu, dressed in an elegant home dress, her posture still dignified, with her usual gentle smile on her face.

Sitting next to her, almost right next to her, with one hand holding Zhi Qiu's hand on her knee and her fingers gently stroking it, was a middle-aged man wearing a knitted cardigan and with his hair neatly combed.

Ye Shu's gaze was fixed on that person: a large belly, squinting eyes, and a faint, ambiguous smile playing at the corners of his mouth...

Isn't this the same old scoundrel who tried to extort money from me at noon?!

Seeing the lewd and greasy smile on his face, and the way he kept touching Sister Zhi Qiu's hand, Ye Shu felt a surge of anger.

Well, it's like you're choosing the path to hell when there's a way to heaven!

Are scammers really this brazen now? They even dare to enter homes! And...and they dare to openly lay hands on Sister Zhi Qiu?! Is there no justice?! Is there no law?!

Upon hearing Ye Shu enter, Zhi Qiu and the middle-aged man turned their heads at the same time and looked towards the entrance.

Ye Shu's face was ashen, his eyes practically spitting fire. He threw the drink bag on the ground and rushed to Zhi Qiu's side.

"What are you doing?! Let go!"

He grabbed Zhi Qiu's wrist and forcefully pulled her hand out of the lecherous man's grasp. He then pulled her back, shielding the bewildered Zhi Qiu behind him and completely separating her from the middle-aged man with his body.

"Sister Zhi Qiu, don't be afraid! Stand behind me!"

Without turning his head, he said something to Zhi Qiu behind him, then turned back to face the man, his voice trembling with extreme anger:

"You...you old liar! You old scoundrel! I let you go during the day, and you still dare to sneak into my house...to do this?!"

He wanted to say "take advantage of someone," but considering that Zhi Qiu was right behind him, he forced himself to use a slightly more elegant word, though his anger was genuine.

Zhi Qiu, who was behind him, had just recovered from her shock and hurriedly reached out to gently tug at his sleeve:

"Xiao Shu, no, listen to me..."

"No need to say anything! Sister Zhi Qiu, I understand."

Ye Shu couldn't listen to any of it. His mind was filled with anger at Zhi Qiu for being groped by that old rogue. He gently pushed away Zhi Qiu's hand that was holding him.

"Girls absolutely cannot feel embarrassed and just put up with this! The more you tolerate it, the more these shameless scumbags will take advantage of you! Don't worry, I'm determined to handle this today!"

Ye Shu turned her head, pointed at the other person's nose, and cursed:

"You're really asking for trouble! You failed to extort money from me at noon, and now you dare to break into my house and commit violence?! Do you really think the law can't touch you?! I'm calling the police right now, and they'll arrest you and put you in jail for a few days to wake you up!"

As he spoke, he took out his phone and pressed two 1s, just as he was about to press 0.

"Oh dear, he's my dad!"

Zhi Qiu, who was being protected behind him, spoke up, her voice not loud, and even trembling slightly with anxiety.

"Even if he is your father...who are you calling a liar?!"

Ye Shu almost reflexively replied, only realizing his mistake halfway through his sentence. His neck stiffened as he turned his head toward Zhi Qiu behind him.

The anger on his face was still frozen, but the flames in his eyes were like a bucket of ice water being poured on them, and with a "poof," only blank white smoke remained.

He looked at Zhi Qiu, whose usual gentle calmness was gone, replaced by a bitter smile that mixed anxiety, helplessness, and a sense of "this is really bad." She nodded to him, confirming that he hadn't misheard her; it was indeed her father.

"Xiao Shu, you've misunderstood. He's my father."

dad?

He felt like an old radio with a poor signal, crackling and full of static, unable to understand what those two words, put together in this context, meant.

He subconsciously murmured along:

"dad……?"

Then, his gaze shifted from Zhi Qiu's helpless face to the face of the middle-aged man on the sofa.

The light from the living room ceiling light shone through the lampshade, illuminating half of the other person's face.

His large belly, squinty eyes, and the half-smile at the corner of his mouth... every detail perfectly matched the old rogue he had kicked away at the market at noon.

But now, the languor and snobbishness of midday were gone from that face. After a brief moment of surprise and a well-hidden embarrassment, what settled on it was a calm, deep, and oppressive scrutiny.

He sat there, enduring Ye Shu's fiery gaze and the insults accusing him of being scum, until the truth was revealed.

She didn't immediately fly into a rage; instead, she quietly looked at Ye Shu with her small eyes.

The air in the living room seemed to have been sucked out. All Ye Shu could hear was the frantic pounding of his heart in his chest, each beat like a blow to his eardrums, making him dizzy and disoriented.

His arm, holding the phone, stiffened completely, as if it didn't belong to him. His other hand, which had just "gently pushed away" Zhi Qiu, indicating "I'm going to take care of this," was now icy cold at the fingertips and trembling slightly.

Just then, the middle-aged man on the sofa, Zhi Qiu's father, the victim who had been kicked several times by Ye Shu at noon and had just been called a "scumbag" by Ye Shu, finally spoke slowly.

His voice wasn't loud, and there wasn't even much anger in it, but every word was like a small hammer, striking the already shattered fragments of Ye Shu's worldview:

"I am her father."