Why did you provoke me?

Qian Chuan glanced at Secretary Wu, who was sitting there drinking tea. A barely perceptible twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Hua Shulang has the financial resources; he can afford it," Qian Chuan said truthfully.

Xiao Wen nodded, "Compared to life, these things are nothing."

"So you agree." Secretary Wu put down his teacup. "Let me make this clear from the start: Hua Shulang can't decide whether he'll pay this reward, so the three of you are here to vouch for him. If he goes back on his word later, you'll have to pay for everything here. If there are no problems, put your fingerprints on this." He then thoughtfully handed over some ink.

None of the three refused; they all readily pressed their fingerprints.

"Wait here, I'll handle this personally." Secretary Wu went out for the second time.

The three people in the room each found a chair and sat down.

"Even knowing it's a trap, we still have to jump in!" Xiao Wen said helplessly, pressing his temples.

"I've said too much, and you guys don't argue with me, you even agree with what he's saying. If my uncle were here, he could at least get a tenth of the argument down." Yan Lei sat there sullenly.

"If we don't go along with him, what if he changes his mind and we don't save Hua Shulang?" Qian Chuan poured himself a cup of tea and slowly drank it.

In a secluded little house.

Jing Er and Jing San helped Secretary Wu hold down the deranged Hua Shulang. Niannian placed the little black cat on Hua Shulang's back, and the little black cat slowly walked to his head and stayed there for a while before getting down. Jing Er then picked a few dry branches and scattered them on Hua Shulang.

Before long, Hua Shulang's snoring began, and the group gestured and left.

Niannian walked up to Secretary Wu and said with a grin, "Uncle, if there's another good thing like this, come to me again. We'll split the profits." But she didn't say how she would split them.

Secretary Wu bent down to straighten Hua Shulang's clothes. "Take it easy, keep a low profile!"

"I knew Uncle was the best to me."

Niannian left satisfied.

Secretary Wu sighed. He didn't want to trick Hua Shulang, but if he didn't, he'd have to swallow his pride and ask others for help, and he had his pride too. This way was much better; the matter was handled well, and everyone was satisfied with the outcome. As for Hua Shulang, well, who told him to stay silent? They were all doing it for his own good.

Upon receiving the news, Xiao Wen, Yan Lei, and Qian Chuan did not return to their own residences. Instead, they brought chairs and tea to Hua Shulang's small house and chatted while waiting for Hua Shulang to wake up.

Hua Shulang felt like he had a very long dream, but the things in the dream were terrible. He cried and begged, but he couldn't change his fate of being abandoned.

He hated them, he hated everyone.

He strives to become stronger and climbs to the top by any means necessary. He can speak to people in a way that suits them, and he will do anything as long as it benefits him.

He felt he was in control, that he could make all the decisions himself, and that he even held the fate of certain people in his hands.

But everything changed after seeing a certain figure.

He gave that person everything—money, status, connections, even his life—all he asked for was for that person to look back at him once.

In the end, that person didn't even turn around when he mocked him for being a fool.

He knew he had been deceived.

He fell into the abyss!

He had lost all thought of revenge. He felt he should just rot in the mud, he should just crawl in the shadows.

He didn't want to climb up anymore!

He felt abandoned by the whole world, and his heart was filled with despair.

But he still wanted to give himself a chance, thinking that if someone was waiting for him, even if it meant waiting for him to go back and argue, he would still be willing to climb the ladder!

A soft meow caught his attention. He saw the cat's eyes, and in those eyes, he saw his own disheveled reflection!

He suddenly felt an urge to cry! The kitten gently curled its tail around his finger and tugged at him. He understood the kitten's meow: "Someone is waiting for you, aren't you going back?"

"Is someone really waiting for me?" he heard himself ask a cat.

Black Cat nodded solemnly. "They're waiting for you to come back and pay them back, otherwise they'll have to pay it for you."

Hua Shulang saw his reflection in the black cat's eyes and a smile crept onto his face. So someone was waiting for him; the reason was no longer important. He only heard that someone was waiting for him!

After a long day and night, Hua Shulang finally opened his eyes.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Yan Lei's voice reached Hua Shulang's ears.

Before he could even turn his head to look, another voice came, "You're really awake! Quickly bring the porridge over, the temperature is just right!"

"He's finally awake! Yan Lei, did you talk to him? Does he still recognize us?"

Hua Shulang's lips curled up slightly; someone really was waiting for him.

Xiao Wen walked over, carrying a bowl of porridge. "You know who I am, right?"

"Mosquitoes? They're always buzzing around." Hua Shulang's throat was a little sore, and her voice was a bit hoarse.

"It's alright, it's really better now." As she spoke, she brought the spoonful of porridge to Hua Shulang's lips.

Qian Chuan held a water glass. "I specifically asked Secretary Wu for some honey; it's good for your stomach."

Yan Lei sighed, "This kind of treatment is unmatched."

It took Hua Shulang a full twenty minutes to finish a bowl of porridge. Lying on the bed, she looked at this person and then that person. "What are you all doing here?"

Yan Lei hurriedly reached out to touch Hua Shulang's forehead, "Are you still not better? Why are you talking nonsense? You don't have a fever!"

Hua Shulang raised her hand and slapped Yan Lei's hand away. "Who's talking nonsense? Weren't you guys at the clubhouse? Why are you out here?"

Xiao Wen coughed. "Is it possible that you're in our clubhouse?"

"Huh? Didn't you say the club was closed?" He paused for a moment. "How did I get here? I don't seem to remember."

Xiao Wen bent down and hugged Hua Shulang. "Brother, you're really lucky to be alive this time. It's also fortunate that you have two good brothers who knew to bring you here, otherwise, we probably wouldn't be seeing you again."

Hua Shulang didn't interrupt Xiao Wen. He waited until Xiao Wen finished speaking before asking in surprise, "What exactly happened? I feel like I had a very long dream."

"You feel like you've had a long dream?" Yan Lei's voice was a little loud.

Xiao Wen and Qian Chuan exchanged a glance.

"Yes, the dream was terrible, I didn't even want to live anymore, but then a cat led me back home."

Xiao Wen patted him on the shoulder, "Once you can walk freely again, I'll take you to see what's wrong with you."

"I think I'm fine now." After saying that, she turned over and sat up.

Yan Lei pointed at him, "You, what you just did was all fake?"

"They insisted on feeding me, so I couldn't very well refuse them." Hua Shulang pursed her lips. "It's the first time I've been treated like this, so it's quite novel."

Qian Chuan paused for a moment, holding the water glass, then said casually, "That's good. Let's take him to see his glorious deeds." He emphasized the last four words.

Xiao Wen laughed and patted Hua Shulang, "I hope you can hold on for a while. If you want to do anything, you can lean on my shoulder."

Looking at their expressions, Hua Shulang had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.