Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

Wu Cheng called in the morning, his voice low and urgent, as if he were hiding in the bathroom and covering the microphone.

When Su Xiao arrived at the agreed-upon corner milk tea shop, Wu Cheng was already sitting in the corner, drinking half a cup of lemonade. The straw in the cup was bitten flat by him.

"Brother Su," Wu Cheng stood up as soon as he saw him, his face looking like he had been constipated for three days, "My dad has been arrested."

Su Xiao raised an eyebrow, pulled out a chair and sat down, then leisurely asked the proprietress for an iced cola.

He leaned back in his chair, watching Wu Cheng's restless state, and couldn't help but laugh.

He told Wu Cheng, "Your dad has been arrested, you should go to the police or the court to file a lawsuit, why are you coming to me? I'm not going to storm the execution ground."

Wu Cheng shook his head vigorously, moving closer to Su Xiao and lowering his voice even further.

"My dad went to jail for gambling. I'm not well-educated and don't know much about the law, so I'd like to ask you, Brother Su, to help me see if there's any risk of my dad getting out."

Su Xiao almost spit out the cola she had just drunk from her nose.

Looking at Wu Cheng's earnest, inquisitive expression, he realized that the guy wasn't joking.

"Holy crap!"

Su Xiao slammed the Coke cup on the table. "You're such a filial son!"

Wu Cheng scratched the back of his head sheepishly and smiled a little awkwardly.

"My dad is a scumbag; he should have been in jail a long time ago."

After saying that, his expression became somewhat troubled. He rubbed his fingers together and asked cautiously, "Brother Su, let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, have you seen Mengmeng recently?"

Su Xiao's expression turned serious, and two words popped out.

"no."

"Brother Su, please stop lying to me."

Wu Cheng looked distressed and leaned forward another half inch, his voice pleading, "You must persuade my sister to go to Shanghai. If she doesn't leave, my mother won't leave either."

He remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was preparing something.

Then he raised his eyes, his gaze filled with an urgency that Su Xiao had never seen on his face before.

He leaned forward halfway, his voice low, but each word was spoken urgently and heavily.

"Brother Su, you know, this might be my only chance in this lifetime. My dad is a scoundrel, and my mom has been dragged down by him enough. Mengmeng refuses to leave either. But if she can go to Shanghai, my mom will leave, and I can leave too..."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "If I miss this opportunity, I'll never be able to turn my life around."

Wu Cheng became increasingly anxious as he spoke, and an unnatural red flush rose to his face.

He said he wasn't as smart as Su Xiao, and that he knew nothing but fighting, but even when he did fight, he couldn't beat her.

This might be his only chance in his life. If he misses it, he'll end up like his father, rotting away in Jingcheng.

His voice trembled slightly, and his eyes were red.

He suddenly looked up at Su Xiao, his eyes filled with an almost pleading expression.

"Brother Su, please help me out, okay? You don't like my sister, and you two can never be together, there's no chance for you. But I'm different, Brother Su, I can be your brother! If I become a rich kid, I'll listen to you in everything, and you'll always be my Brother Su! I... I really want to be a rich kid! I dream about it!"

Su Xiao looked at him.

The guy in front of me has dyed yellow hair and usually has a carefree, joking demeanor.

At this moment, her eyes were red and her voice was trembling as she took out her most humble wish from her life and placed it on the table.

He was silent for a moment, then finished the last sip of his cola, the ice cubes sloshing around at the bottom of the glass.

He put the cup down.

"Alright, alright, I'll try my best. I don't know how much she'll actually listen to."

Wu Cheng was extremely grateful and wished he could kowtow to him on the spot.

After Wu Cheng left, Su Xiao leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples.

Before I could even massage him a couple of times, the phone rang again; this time it was Luo Jiang.

Luo Jiang said on the phone, "The store has all the staff. Boss, when would be a convenient time for you to come and take a look? If everything is fine, we can prepare to open for business."

Su Xiao happened to have nothing to do, so she took a taxi to the Technology Street.

Luo Jiang was already waiting on the street corner. Today he was wearing a clean white shirt with the collar neatly pressed, and he looked much more energetic than during the last interview.

He reported to Su Xiao as he walked.

"The two repairmen have personally inspected and approved the equipment. They are very skilled. One of them used to work in Nokia's after-sales service, and the other spent three years in Huaqiangbei. They can easily disassemble the phone, replace the screen, and solder the motherboard."

He paused here, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips, and took half a step forward, his voice carrying a hint of self-satisfaction.

"And that new receptionist, she's incredibly sweet and beautiful. Boss, don't worry, I saw her during the interview, her appearance is definitely up to par. Once she stands at the door, that bald guy Zeng Ran will be furious."

Su Xiao had already told Luo Jiang that the Zheng Ge Secondhand Recycling shop across the street, which Zeng Ran owned, was hostile to his shop.

Luo Jiang, out of hatred for the house, also took it to heart.

Su Xiao nodded and followed him as he pushed open the shop door.

The shop has been cleaned up and looks brand new. Several rows of refurbished second-hand phones are neatly stacked on the shelves, and the glass counter is polished to a shine.

The sign on the wall that read, "We don't produce good phones, we're just good phone movers," was particularly eye-catching under the lights.

Two maintenance workers were adjusting the equipment behind the workbench when they saw Su Xiao and Luo Jiang enter. They stood up and nodded.

Luo Jiang pointed to them and introduced them one by one.

Old Liu, he used to work in Nokia's after-sales service.

Xiao Zhou, I came back from Huaqiangbei.

Su Xiaochong and the others nodded, their gazes sweeping across the entire store before finally settling on the receptionist standing behind the counter.

She wore pigtails, a pleated skirt, and a white shirt tucked into the waistband. She was looking down, pretending to organize the documents on the table.

Su Xiao said calmly, "Fire her and hire someone else."

Luo Jiang's smile froze instantly.

Before he could react, the receptionist, who had been keeping her head down, exploded.

Wu Mengmeng slammed the receipts onto the counter, her pigtails almost hitting her face.

"Su Xiao, what do you mean! This is the job I found, what right do you have to fire me!"

Su Xiao frowned as she looked at her.

"Wu Mengmeng, stop fooling around, okay?"

"What did I do wrong! I didn't steal or rob anyone; I applied for the job legitimately! Manager Luo interviewed me, and he even said I had a good image and excellent temperament!"

Wu Mengmeng angrily pointed at Luo Jiang, who shrank back with an innocent expression that said, "I didn't know you two knew each other."

Su Xiao's voice turned cold as she looked at her self-righteous demeanor.

"Because I'm the boss."