Blackmail

“Why bring that up all of a sudden?” Li Lan kissed Zhu Qing with obvious distress. “Has someone from the welfare home been contacting you again?”

Zhu Qing averted her gaze, panic flickering in her movements. She shook her head. “It’s nothing. It’s not about the welfare home.”

Li Lan and Zhu Qing spent their days and nights together; they were both extremely sensitive to each other’s moods. Zhu Qing looked exactly like she was trying to cover something up.

Li Lan’s brows drew together almost imperceptibly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

The welfare home.

“Xiao Qing, do you remember how you got in touch with the welfare home?” Li Lan asked softly.

Zhu Qing blanked for two seconds, then said in confusion, “I’m not sure. I just remember that when I was in college, I took part in a lot of volunteer activities. I’d been to a special school before, and I added a bunch of people on WeChat. Maybe I ran into them by chance after graduation.”

Li Lan thought for a moment. “You like doing charity work?”

Zhu Qing couldn’t quite say. “Maybe. I grew up in a daycare center. I don’t like taking care of little kids, but once I grew up and stepped out of the caregiver role, I got along with them pretty well.”

Thinking of Li Lan’s status as an orphan, Zhu Qing felt even more tenderness toward her. “Did anyone do charity work for you when you were little?”

Li Lan suspected the welfare home was affecting Zhu Qing. Now that Zhu Qing had brought up her own life there, she was almost certain that was the reason.

Her face was calm as still water when she spoke again, her tone slow and steady. “Xiao Qing, maybe I wasn’t clear before, and you misunderstood a little.”

Zhu Qing frowned in confusion. “About what?”

Li Lan took Zhu Qing’s hand and sat beside her, organizing her thoughts before saying, “I really, really, really hate welfare homes.”

“Not just hate; I’d say I loathe them,” Li Lan said, pressing on each word very slowly and very clearly. “The welfare home I grew up in was remote and desolate. Very few people in the county even knew the address. Let alone funding, even eating enough was a problem. The people inside… I don’t want to remember.”

Zhu Qing desperately wanted to comfort her, but Li Lan lifted a hand to stop her.

“Support work isn’t your responsibility. This is Haishi, a first-tier city in China. If a welfare home needs you to invest one million in aid, then there’s absolutely a problem with how it’s being run,” Li Lan said, looking into Zhu Qing’s eyes and squeezing her palm. “Don’t put any pressure on yourself. Don’t feel like anyone owes anyone anything; don’t feel like anything is ‘supposed’ to be done or ‘not supposed’ to be done.”

“If you don’t really want to go to the welfare home, then you don’t have to go anymore. I already talked to the director before, and I’ve donated money to them as well. I’m best at dealing with people like that; leave all of this to me. You’re not good at dealing with them, so you don’t need to see them at all.”

Only after hearing Li Lan’s long explanation did Zhu Qing understand what she had misunderstood.

The welfare home had indeed stirred something in her, but she had no memories of the past, no recollection of the winding path her feelings had taken, so there was naturally no real grief in it.

Li Lan had mistaken her momentary melancholy for nostalgia triggered by the welfare home; though she was wrong, her guess had still comforted Zhu Qing a great deal.

“Mm, I won’t be upset over these people or these things,” Zhu Qing said, her mood restored. She smiled sweetly at Li Lan. “Thank you, darling.”

Li Lan curved her lips, and her gaze darkened for an instant.

Zhu Qing caught that look, laughed, and leaned over to kiss her. In a low voice, she said, “Hurry up and go eat. You smell like milk.”

Li Lan wrapped an arm around Zhu Qing’s neck so she couldn’t pull away, then leaned in and kissed her several more times.

“Aah—”

Little Bao, rubbing her eyes as she came out, gave a startled cry.

Zhu Qing sprang back instantly. Li Lan didn’t budge at all; she merely turned her head slightly and said, “What are you shouting for?”

Little Bao stared in shock at the cake on the table. “Is that for Little Bao?”

She ran to Zhu Qing’s side, climbed onto a chair, and pointed at the cake that had already been eaten down by more than half.

Zhu Qing also let out an “ah,” then shot Li Lan an angry glare before turning back to coax Little Bao. “The animal cream on the cake won’t taste good if it sits too long. If Little Bao wants to eat it, how about we make one together later?”

Little Bao scraped at the cream left on the plate, muttering as she ate, “Why is there only this little left? You ate without calling Little Bao.”

Li Lan had said nothing at first, but when she heard her keep talking, she reminded her, “You wouldn’t wake up.”

“Then can Mama just eat all of Little Bao’s cake?” Little Bao shot back.

Li Lan coughed lightly. “Anything on the table can be eaten. What’s with ‘yours’ and ‘mine’?”

Little Bao puffed up with anger. “Mama is making excuses.”

Then she stood up, leaned in close to Zhu Qing’s face, and gave her a loud kiss. “Zhu Zhu, I’ll kiss you too. Can you only make cake for me?”

Zhu Qing’s cheeks instantly went bright red.

What do you mean, kiss you too!?

Little Bao said, “Mama kisses Zhu Zhu, and Zhu Zhu gives Mama little cakes. I can kiss you too; I can kiss you a hundred times a day!”

“Get down!” Li Lan rushed over and scooped Little Bao up around the waist. Little Bao flailed her legs in midair, shouting for her to put her down. Li Lan placed her on the child’s chair beside her and buckled the safety belt. “You still want to kiss my wife? The more you kiss, the less I’ll make you little cakes.”

Little Bao looked so wronged she was almost crying.

Zhu Qing’s eyes were full of embarrassment and exasperation as she said softly, “Stop bullying Little Bao. Isn’t this all your fault anyway…”

Li Lan blinked and pretended nothing had happened.

The three of them finished the meal in harmony. Afterward, Li Lan put on her coat. “I’m going out to meet a partner. I’ll be back tonight; text me what you want to eat.”

Zhu Qing and Little Bao were standing at the table, each tugging on a little round bun of hair, wearing pink aprons as they kneaded dough together; the big and small pair looked very harmonious from behind.

Without turning around, Zhu Qing and Little Bao answered, “Okay.”

Li Lan left with a smile, then drove straight to the back entrance of the welfare home to meet the director.

The two of them talked for about half an hour. During that time, Li Lan warned the director, both overtly and subtly, not to pull any little tricks: “In legal terms, a spouse has a great deal of authority. Anything you’ve done to Zhu Qing, I can get involved in. For example, fraud involving one million.”

The director wiped sweat from his brow and smiled, not daring to say a word.

A million couldn’t exactly be called a fortune, but it still wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. And Li Lan was a public figure; it would be easy for it to stir up public opinion, which would then draw the attention of the authorities above.

If someone came down to investigate, wouldn’t that be trouble for her?

“Don’t worry, Teacher Zhu can come whenever she wants; we’re always welcome. As for the other donations, we’ll definitely review them carefully. No need to mention them to Teacher Zhu anymore, no need at all, haha.”

Li Lan left satisfied.

Her errand had taken little time, and she wanted to stop by the studio for a quick look. She was halfway there when Qian Chu suddenly called.

“Where are you right now?”

Li Lan said she was on her way to the studio. Qian Chu immediately said, “Don’t come. A middle-aged couple found their way here; they said they’re Zhu Qing’s parents and want to see you. I thought something was off, so I told them you weren’t reachable for the moment.”

Li Lan’s pupils contracted slightly.

Zhu Qing’s parents?

At once, Zhu Qing’s odd reaction from earlier surfaced in her mind.

Li Lan tapped a finger lightly on the steering wheel and said meaningfully, “Keep them there. I’ll be right over.”

Qian Chu coaxed the two of them into the top-floor office and kept everyone else from going up, then poured them both a glass of water.

Zhu Father looked over the neat, upscale office, then at Qian Chu, and said in a picky tone, “You’re my daughter’s wife’s assistant?”

Qian Chu smiled. “I’m the person in charge of the studio.”

“Isn’t the studio just Li Lan’s?” Zhu Father said carelessly. “And this is the tea you use to receive guests? The fragrance is so faint; it tastes like last year’s old tea.”

Qian Chu smiled back. “Maybe.”

Zhu Mother asked, “Does Zhu Qing come here often? You guys must make quite a bit of money each month, right?”

Qian Chu kept smiling. “She’s never been here.”

Under the two of them taking turns to ask rude questions, Qian Chu’s smile stayed perfectly in place from beginning to end, like a polished stone that was hard to get a grip on.

Half an hour later, Li Lan finally arrived.

Qian Chu went out to meet her and said in a low voice, “Petty little hicks. They’re here for money. They should’ve met Zhu Qing before, but she turned them down.”

Li Lan gave a slight nod to show she had heard.

After she entered, Zhu Father and Zhu Mother stood up and looked at her.

Li Lan was wearing a long trench coat, and with only a little makeup, her face was even more exquisite than on television; her presence carried a natural authority.

She nodded to them without changing expression and said coolly, “You were looking for me?”

Zhu Father came forward with a few polite words. “You’re Li Lan, right? We’re Zhu Qing’s parents. Has she ever mentioned us to you?”

Li Lan sat down on the single sofa, with Zhu Father and Zhu Mother beside her. She picked up the teacup in front of her and lowered her eyes, thinking for a long time.

“Never,” she said truthfully.

Zhu Mother looked displeased. “How can this child not say anything? We’re her parents, after all. How can a daughter not think of her parents?”

Li Lan took a sip of tea, her attitude unchanged, as if she were simply making conversation. “Then what are you here for today, uncle and aunt?”

“We’re not here for anything. We’re older now, and we’ve always missed our daughter. Before, we were hiding from debt, and we accidentally lost contact with Qingqing. If we hadn’t seen her on TV, we wouldn’t even know where she is now.”

Li Lan thought to herself that she had been careless.

She nodded politely. “That was indeed unfortunate. But it’s fine. Even if contact was broken when she was young, Zhu Qing managed to raise herself. She doesn’t need you to make up for anything.”

Zhu Father frowned. “What kind of way is that to talk? What do you mean she doesn’t need it? There’s no daughter who doesn’t need her parents’ guidance and care! I don’t care; now that I’ve finally found her, I’m her father, and she has to come receive me!”

Li Lan’s expression darkened.

She was almost certain now that these two had definitely found Zhu Qing before, which was why Zhu Qing had shown that look of confusion and hurt.

Li Lan set down her teacup; the bottom knocked against the tabletop with a crisp click.

“Say it plainly. What do you want?”

Seeing Li Lan ask directly, Zhu Father no longer bothered beating around the bush. “It’s like this: after we lost contact with Qingqing, we had another son. After we had a son, our business improved and we made a lot of money. But last year we made a bad investment, and right now we’re a little tight on cash. She’s the older sister, so she ought to help support her younger brother, right? She hasn’t done anything for this family all these years. Now that we’re in trouble, she has to show some sincerity.”

Li Lan listened to Zhu Father’s words without changing expression; the word shameless nearly rose to the tip of her tongue and got stuck there.

Have a son; don’t want a daughter.

After abandoning the daughter, they want the daughter to support the son.

The abacus beads in their heads were rattling so loudly it made her physically uncomfortable.

Forget it; the collective subconscious of men would never realize how vile their preference for sons over daughters was. Li Lan turned to Zhu Mother and held onto the last shred of hope in her heart.

“And you? Auntie, do you think the same?”

Zhu Mother hesitated for two seconds. “Qingqing’s life is pretty good now. Actually, we didn’t want to disturb her, but Xiaoshu, that is, Qingqing’s younger brother, goes to an international school. If the tuition isn’t paid, he won’t even be able to get his diploma. He never attended compulsory education, so without a diploma he can’t take the college entrance exam, and he won’t even have a bachelor’s degree… We really had no choice, so we came to you. For the sake of us and Qingqing being family, if you can help a little, then help a little…”

Li Lan mulled over Zhu Mother’s words. If Zhu Mother and Zhu Father were cooperating, one playing the white face and one the black, it might even sound somewhat reasonable.

After all, they really were facing difficulties.

But these difficulties weren’t caused by Zhu Qing. Why should she be responsible?

Zhu Qing had never even met this so-called younger brother. What right did she have to be made responsible for supporting him?

“Don’t bother telling her all that!” Zhu Father raised his voice, his face flashing with triumphant smugness as he threatened, “Since I can find your studio, I can also go find the media. If you won’t take responsibility for us, I’ll go livestream online! I’ll tell everyone that Zhu Qing is an unfilial daughter who doesn’t care whether her parents live or die! None of you are fit to be celebrities!”

All expression vanished from Li Lan’s face, and she only stared coldly at Zhu Father.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense beyond measure.

————————!!————————

Li Lan: You’re finished.