Why did you provoke me?

"I told you, but you can't go around telling everyone," Mr. Yu instructed. "Back then, Xiaohui's mother had been married for two years without having children, so she got anxious. One time when she went back to her parents' home, she brought Xiaohui back with her. All the old people in our village know about this. But for Xiaohui's sake, they haven't told anyone."

Yu Hai was completely stunned. "Xiao Hui isn't their child. No wonder everyone in their family objected when Xiao Hui mentioned wanting to learn to read and go to a martial arts school."

Mr. Yu looked at Yu Hai. "Hai Zi, is all of Xiao Hui's money with you?"

Yu Hai blinked his big eyes and looked at his father without saying a word.

"I didn't mean anything by it. If Xiaohui's mother comes asking for it, will you give it to her or not?" the father asked in a low voice.

"Ah, I hadn't thought about that," Yu Hai said, scratching his head.

"Do you want to talk to Xiaohui now?" Yu's father prompted Yu Hai.

Yu Hai turned to look at Yu Meng. Yu Meng smiled and nodded. Seeing this, Yu's father angrily smacked Yu Hai on the head. "You brat!"

Yu Hai dashed out in a flash. His father sighed and sat down in a chair. "Xiao Hui's parents don't need another son like him, but wouldn't it be better to give them another older brother? Why can't they think of that?"

Yu Meng's eyes were bright. No wonder her parents didn't object when they made Xiu Jie their older sister. This simple couple had great wisdom.

Sure enough, Xiao Hui's mother arrived at the Yu family's house in the evening. After chatting for a few minutes, she said she wanted to retrieve the money Xiao Hui had left there.

The Yu family members exchanged bewildered glances. The mother spoke first, asking, "Auntie, what kind of money are you talking about?"

Xiao Hui's mom said, "It's the money my son Xiao Hui left at your house."

"When did this happen? I don't know anything about it. The money isn't with me either," the mother said, puzzled.

"Auntie, you can't say things like that. When did your Xiaohui put money in my house? Is he stupid?" Sister Xiu's voice was a little loud.

"My Xiaohui is with your Haizi all the time. If he's not here with you, then he's with Haizi." Xiaohui's mother didn't back down.

"Yu Hai, come here!" Dad shouted angrily. "Your aunt said that Xiao Hui's money is all with you, is that true?"

"Dad, what money? Didn't I give all my money to Mom?" Yu Hai asked, scratching his head.

"Auntie, repeat what you just said." Mr. Yu's face was grim. "If you dare to wrong my Yu Hai, I'll make sure your family suffers the consequences."

"My son Xiaohui has been looking for things with you all this time, and he must have sold them for money. He didn't bring them home, so they're not with you. Where are they?" Xiaohui's mother's tone noticeably weakened.

"Don't you know that Xiao Hui is always hungry? Of course, the money from selling food goes towards buying food." Yu Hai looked at Xiao Hui's mother with suspicion.

"If it weren't for that, why would I have gone fishing with him on a rainy day? That time the river flooded, we almost ended up in there," Yu Hai muttered to himself.

"Yu Hai, what did you say? You went to the riverbank during that flood. I asked you, why were you all soaking wet, and you said it was from the rain?" His mother reached out to slap him. "You child, are you trying to worry me to death?"

"Mom, I promise I won't do it again. Xiao Hui was so hungry he was vomiting bile, and we didn't have any extra food, so we went to the river. Suddenly, the water rushed down, which terrified us both." Yu Hai saw his mother was angry and quickly went over. Maybe if his mother gave him a couple of slaps, she wouldn't be angry anymore.

Yu Meng understood what Yu Hai meant. This was a truly filial child.

Xiao Hui's mother blushed at Yu Hai's words. "But doesn't that mean we don't have any food at home?"

Yu Hai turned his head, about to say something, when his father interrupted him. "Auntie, you should go back first. I'll talk to Xiao Hui's dad about this. You've misunderstood; you're saying my Hai Zi took your Xiao Hui's money. Do you think our child doesn't care about his reputation?"

"Little brother, stay away from Xiaohui from now on. Even if that kid starves to death, it's his parents' problem. What does it have to do with you?" Sister Xiu added insult to injury.

Xiao Hui's mother turned around and glared at Xiu Jie. "What's it to you now?"

"It's none of my business. But I, an adopted child, can at least get enough to eat, while your biological child is still starving." Sister Xiu pouted. "You're not even as good as me, the adopted one."

Xiao Hui's mother stomped her feet in anger. She yelled at Yu Hai, "You're not allowed to go play with my Xiao Hui anymore!" Then she hurriedly left.

Yu Hai watched as Xiao Hui's mother finally left the hospital. He leaned against his mother, his little body swaying, "How can a mother be so fierce?"

"I haven't even settled accounts with you yet. You came back that day and said you got soaked in the rain, didn't you? Tell me what exactly happened!" Mom asked, pinching Yu Hai's ear.

"Mom, it hurts so much! Mom, let go! I was telling the truth the other day." Yu Hai hurriedly tried to protect his ear with his hands. "I said that on purpose."

"Really, you're not lying to me." Mom released Yu Hai's ear. Seeing that Yu Hai's ear was bright red, she rubbed it with her hand. "If you dare to do something so dangerous again, you can forget about this ear."

Yu Meng looked at Yu Hai and smiled. Her mother could be quite fierce at times.

Yu Hai nodded repeatedly. "I understand. Why would I lie to you?"

Sister Xiu pulled Yu Hai and Yu Meng into her room. "Little brother, tell me quickly, what did you and Xiao Hui talk about?"

Yu Hai's head drooped. "What else can I say? Xiao Hui wanted to give that money to his parents. But I didn't agree."

"Wow, impressive, little brother. You're even able to stand up for Xiaohui." Sister Xiu teased Yu Hai.

"I remember, my brother is older than Xiaohui. Dad sent him to a martial arts school. So it's not too late for Xiaohui to go to a martial arts school now. Being a martial arts apprentice is better than what he's doing now," Yu Hai said softly.

"What about Xiaohui? Will he go to the martial arts gym? If he gets beaten up and still doesn't achieve his goal, then he'll have suffered for nothing." Sister Xiu sighed from the side.

"He said he was going. He's just a little short on money right now, and he's planning to borrow it from me. I told my dad about it. He said I should wait a month before lending it to Xiaohui." Yu Hai's eyes narrowed into slits. He was clearly very happy with the outcome.

Yu Meng listened to their conversation without interrupting. This matter had nothing to do with her, and she didn't need to bother with it; she was just treating it as a bit of fun.

"Sister Xiu, I heard you're going out with the Cai Group in a couple of days. Have you prepared everything?" Yu Hai looked at Sister Xiu. She'd been good to him, so it was only right that he showed concern.

Sister Xiu asked with a grin, "Sister, there's one more thing I'm missing, and I'm a little short on money. Could you perhaps lend me some?"

"How much do you need? I don't have any more than that," Yu Hai asked seriously.