It wasn't until I-Bo saw that Zhan had managed to eat a reasonable amount of the pepper soup that he finally stood up and moved back to sit beside A-Bo.
For a while, silence filled the room again.
Then A-Bo broke it.
"So… was it only his school fees he took responsibility for, Aunt Fin?"
Before Aunt Fin could respond, her phone began to ring. She glanced at the screen and immediately stood up.
"It's my elder sister," she said, then walked into her room to take the call.
Meanwhile, both A-Bo and I-Bo found themselves watching Zhan....just as they had been earlier...until he finished the soup.
Zhan placed the bowl down carefully and began trying to remove the drip needle from his hand, leaving only the cannula.
I-Bo noticed immediately and stood.
"What's wrong? Do you need to use the bathroom?"
Zhan shook his head weakly.
"I think… I'm going to throw up."
I-Bo quickly stepped forward and helped disconnect the drip properly.
Zhan rushed toward the bathroom, covering his mouth.
At that moment, Aunt Fin returned from her room. She looked toward where Zhan had been sitting, then at the bathroom door.
She sank slowly into a chair, her voice low.
"My sister just called… they've taken Zhan's father."
Both A-Bo and I-Bo turned to her sharply.
"What do you mean?" A-Bo asked.
She sighed.
"It was Yiming's father. He had him taken away."
Confusion and disbelief crossed both their faces.
Before they could ask further, Zhan came out of the bathroom, and Aunt Fin fell silent immediately.
Zhan returned to the couch and lay down again, exhausted.
Aunt Fin turned to him gently.
"Would you like to go into the room so the drip can be put back properly?"
He nodded.
"I'll call my neighbor to help," she said, then stepped out.
A few minutes later, she returned with a neighbor...a Malaysian woman.
Zhan slowly got up and followed them into the room, where the drip was reattached.
Back in the living room, Aunt Fin sat quietly, lost in deep thought even after her neighbor left.
Finally, she looked at A-Bo and I-Bo.
"That's what my sister told me."
A-Bo leaned forward slightly.
"So they want compensation for the school fees he paid?"
Aunt Fin shook her head.
"It's not just school fees, Yibo…"
A-Bo went quiet, watching her carefully.
I-Bo spoke next.
"Then there's more… something else tying them together financially?"
Aunt Fin nodded slowly.
"Yes… a lot more."
She took a breath and began.
A flash back a little...
"Years ago, Xiao Aiyin, Zhan's father, was a long-distance truck driver. He traveled all across China delivering goods....anywhere, anytime. He owned his truck outright, so people would hire him directly to transport their cargo.
During one of his trips to Mongolia, he met my elder sister, Lina...Zhan's mother. That's how they got married."
She paused briefly.
"He brought her back to Chongqing, where he already had two wives."
A-Bo and I-Bo exchanged a glance but said nothing.
"After a few months, I went to stay with my sister. She didn't know anyone there, and I was still very young...around ten at the time.
Life wasn't easy.
There was constant hostility… tension… from the other wives. My sister endured everything quietly. She never fought back, never complained. Even when I tried to speak up, she would stop me."
Aunt Fin's voice softened.
"She was… incredibly patient."
"She enrolled me in school, even though things weren't easy. Five years later, Zhan was born."
A faint smile flickered across her face.
"Zhan grew up different. Bright, gentle… and very striking. People noticed him everywhere we went."
Her expression darkened again.
"His father clearly favored him, and that only made things worse. The other wives and their children resented him deeply."
She continued.
"Even when things were stable, there was never peace in that house."
"Then everything changed."
"After about twelve years of marriage, when Zhan was around seven, people began pressuring Xiao Aiyin to enter politics. They told him he had influence, connections...that he could rise quickly."
"My sister tried to stop him. She begged him not to risk everything. But he didn't listen."
Aunt Fin shook her head.
"He sold everything. His truck, his properties… even a new house he had just started building. He poured all his money into politics...campaigns, donations, influence."
"In the end… he lost."
Silence filled the room.
"All those people who encouraged him disappeared overnight."
"At least… he didn't take a bank loan. Someone had tried to convince him, but he refused. If he had, things would've been even worse."
"After that, everything collapsed."
"We lost the house we were renting. We moved into an old, abandoned family property. The children were pulled out of their expensive schools and left without education for a time."
"There were days we barely had food."
Her voice grew heavier.
"My sister sold her belongings and started a small business. I helped her. Somehow… she still managed to put Zhan back into school, even if it wasn't the same."
She looked toward the room where Zhan lay.
"He was always hardworking. Always determined."
"But things kept getting worse."
"My sister gave birth to twins during that difficult period. Her business collapsed. There was nothing left to sell. Sometimes neighbors had to bring food just so she could eat."
"Our family back in Mongolia wasn't wealthy either. There was no help coming."
"So I left… I came to Shanghai with a friend who sold Street food."
She exhaled slowly.
"I had already been married before that...but it didn't last even a year. I was married off to one of Xiao Aiyin's acquaintances. After his financial downfall, everything changed. I suffered there too… until I finally left."
"I started working here in Shanghai and sent whatever I could back to support my sister and her children."
She paused, then added quietly:
"I didn't want Zhan's education to stop. He had already built a strong foundation."
A-Bo and I-Bo listened in silence.
"Then one day," Aunt Fin continued, "my sister called me and said… Zhan's father had been given another truck job. A big one. He was finally going to transport goods again."
Aunt Fin took a deep breath and continued, her voice heavy with memory.
"For a while, things started getting better again. He was paid well for that delivery, and he even bought a lot of food and stocked the house. My sister told me to come back home...she had never been comfortable with me staying away in Shanghai, working on my own.
She pressured me until I finally returned.
At that time, Zhan was sixteen, about to finish High School. He had started school early, so he was ahead for his age.
I had only been back for a few days when, one evening, we were all sitting in the courtyard… and suddenly, Zhan's father was brought in.
He could barely move.
It was shocking because we all believed he was still on his way south, almost reaching his destination. There were no visible injuries on him, but the people who brought him said he had just been discharged from a hospital somewhere near the southern region.
They said he had spent three days there. Some people who recognized him as a driver helped pay his bills and arranged for him to be transported back home.
We were terrified.
It took two full days before Xiao Aiyin regained his strength enough to speak.
And when he did… he told us everything.
Robbers had attacked him. They used some kind of substance on him… and took the trailer along with all the goods inside."
She paused, her eyes filling again.
"The value of everything… was close to one hundred and eighty million¥."
I-Bo turned sharply to look at A-Bo, both of them visibly shaken.
Aunt Fin wiped her tears and continued.
"That same day, almost ten police officers arrived at our house. They put handcuffs on him… dragged him away like a criminal.
The children were screaming… the wives crying…
Zhan… he didn't move. He just sat there with a book in his hand, tears falling silently.
Our compound was filled with people...as if a real thief had been caught.
We were helpless.
All the people he had helped in the past… no one came forward.
Later, we found out he had been taken from Chongqing to Beijing.
After a long investigation, the trailer was found abandoned in another city… completely emptied.
And the owner of the goods…"
She hesitated.
"…Was Wu Yeol. Yiming's father."
Silence filled the room.
"They refused to believe Xiao Aiyin was innocent. They said there was no way the goods could disappear without his involvement.
People in the neighborhood started fueling the accusations. They said he must have planned it...that he had done something similar in the past and used the same excuse.
They claimed he targeted Wu Yeol because he was wealthy… that he lied about the robbery to escape responsibility since he had nothing left.
But that was all lies.
Xiao Aiyin would never take what wasn't his. He didn't even know the goods belonged to Wu Yeol until everything happened. He was simply given a delivery job and accepted...it was his livelihood.
But even without the rumors… Wu Yeol was not the kind of man who would let something like that go."
Her voice lowered.
"For three months… we didn't see him.
When he was finally brought back to Chongqing, he was unrecognizable....thin, darkened, completely broken.
Even then, we were only allowed to see him briefly in detention.
That night… none of us slept.
My sister was already selling off what little we had left just to survive. My own savings were gone too.
Before he was even brought back, we went three times to Wu Yeol's house, begging him to reconsider… to show mercy.
Each time… we were chased away like animals.
The first time, it was the guards.
The second time, his wife humiliated us in front of guests and had us thrown out.
The third time…"
She clenched her fingers slightly.
"…it was Yiming himself. He was their only male son.
After that, the case went to court.
We couldn't even afford a lawyer.
On the first day of the hearing, I went with Zhan and one of my sister's co-wives. And that was when we saw Yiming again…
He was there as one of his father's lawyers."
A-Bo's expression hardened slightly, while I-Bo's gaze flickered toward Zhan's room.
"I recognized him immediately," Aunt Fin continued. "He had already warned us before not to return to their house again.
That day in court… there was no hope. No sign that we could win.
Xiao Aiyin had no one. No support.
Nothing.
The case was postponed, and he was taken back to cell without even being granted bail.
Zhan cried so much that day… right there outside the courtroom, watching them take his father away again.
I held him, crying too.
And that was when Yiming noticed him.
Not just him… everyone was looking.
Wu Yeol was a powerful man, so there were even reporters around.
One of them approached us, asking what we had to say about the case.
Zhan, through tears, said only one thing…"
She paused briefly.
"…that his father had been wronged."
A quiet silence followed.
Aunt Fin exhaled slowly.
"I think that was the moment Yiming realized who Zhan was.
Zhan was only sixteen… but anyone who saw him would look twice. He was so handsome... No very beautiful teenager.
That day, he wasn't even covering his face like he usually did. It was rare for him to be seen like that.
That's… how Yiming first noticed him."
She looked down at her hands.
"After that, Yiming just got into his car and left.
But then… a private lawyer approached us. He pulled us aside and tried to calm Zhan down. He asked what happened, why we were there…
I explained everything to him, even while crying.
He asked when the next hearing would be, and I told him.
He said he would try to see what he could do… and asked for a way to contact us.
I didn't even have a phone at the time… so I gave him our home address.
We went back home that day… completely broken.
Two days later, in the evening, we were all in the courtyard again....each person struggling to find something to eat.
Life had become survival.
The other wives had even sent their young sons out to fend for themselves. The women were doing small trades by the roadside.
My sister and I continued our small business at home… but even then, we couldn't gather enough money for Zhan's exam fees, and the exams were only days away.
And then…"
She looked up slightly.
"…as if he had fallen from the sky, Xiao Aiyin walked into the house.
Zhan saw him first… and ran straight into his arms.
We all stood there in shock.
My sister was the first to move. She rushed to him, asking where he had come from… afraid he had escaped from cell.
But he said they had granted him bail earlier that day… and then suddenly brought him home.
We couldn't even process it.
She held his hand tightly and led him into his room. He looked completely shaken… like a man who had gone through something unbearable.
Only then did the children begin to scream in joy… celebrating their father's return.
The other wives followed them into the room…
And for the first time in a long while…
there was life in that house again."
Aunt Fin let out a slow breath before continuing, her voice heavy with everything she had carried for years.
"Because Yiming was his father's only son, his father placed all his hopes and affection on him. He listened to no one but Yiming. Whatever Yiming wanted....that was what his father wanted too.
After seeing Zhan in court, Yiming didn't hesitate. He went straight to his father and told him he liked him… that he wanted to marry him. That alone was enough. Without wasting time, they withdrew the case and let go of the hundred million claim....on one condition: that Xiao Aiyin would give his son, Zhan, in marriage to Yiming.
To this day, we don't even know if there was any formal agreement in court or not. All we knew was that the case was dropped… and we were relieved. That was all we wanted...just for Xiao Aiyin to come back to us. Even if he had nothing left to give, his presence alone meant everything. He had done his best for his family. What happened to him was just misfortune.
But Zhan… he suffered the most.
He was deeply troubled at the time. He kept saying he didn't want Yiming...that he didn't even know him, had never seen him, and could never marry him. But we… we were desperate. We kept persuading him, telling him to endure it. We asked him if he wanted his father sent back to prison. For his father's sake, we begged him to accept Yiming so the case would truly be over.
At that time, Xiao Aiyin had fallen ill, and we didn't even have money to take him to the hospital. That made it even harder. So we kept encouraging Zhan… until he slowly gave in."
She paused, her eyes clouded with pain.
"That was when jealousy started in the house. His mother's co-wives became openly bitter. They had daughters older than Zhan, yet Yiming chose him. They couldn't hide their resentment anymore.
The first time Yiming came to the neighborhood, he refused to drive inside. He made Zhan walk all the way to the roadside to meet him. It wasn't a short distance. Still, his mother persuaded him to go. He dressed properly, covered himself, and his younger siblings escorted him there.
That day, Yiming gave him an expensive phone… and money. Zhan didn't even want to take it. He showed no interest, so Yiming handed it to his younger siblings before leaving. That money was later used to pay for Zhan's exam fees...we had no other way.
Honestly… I have never seen anyone pursue someone with such arrogance and control like Yiming did.
For almost two months, every time he came, Zhan had to go out to meet him. He refused to enter the street with his car. Then one day, Zhan fell ill. When Yiming came to check on him, he finally entered the street for the first time.
After that, he started coming into the house.
But things didn't get better.
He was always arguing… always angry. He had no patience, no understanding. He was controlling...whatever he said had to be obeyed. And Zhan… endured everything. All for his father.
There wasn't a single day he didn't cry.
His mother and I kept comforting him, believing that maybe one day, things would change. That since Yiming claimed to love him and wanted to marry him, perhaps Zhan would eventually soften his heart.
But the day I truly lost hope… was the day Yiming hit him."
Her voice shook slightly.
"He slapped him so hard… the mark of his fingers stayed on Zhan's face. Even then, Zhan never told us what led to it. It happened inside the car.
After that, even his mother began to worry. She told Xiao Aiyin, but he refused to listen. He dismissed everything and warned us never to bring it up again.
Life went on like that…
Yiming paid for Zhan's Gaokao exams and personally took him to sit for them. His results were excellent. Then one day, without warning, his father called Xiao Aiyin and said Yiming had made another decision...
He wanted to send Zhan to America to study."
Aunt Fin shook her head slowly.
"This time, his mother refused. Completely. Even his grandmother stood against it. How could they send such a young boy so far away? If that was the case, then why not just proceed with the marriage first?
But Xiao Aiyin… he was afraid.
Afraid of losing everything again. Afraid of being sent back to prison.
Since he returned, he was no longer the same. Some days he was calm, other days he was unstable. It was like something inside him had broken. He became unpredictable… desperate.
He started shouting...saying it was normal for children to study abroad, that Zhan wasn't a child anymore. But he was only seventeen.
His mother couldn't bear it anymore. She left the house and went to stay with her own mother. But even that changed nothing.
In the end…"
She paused, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Xiao Aiyin handed Zhan over to Yiming… without his mother's consent.
And that was how Zhan was sent to America."
Aunt Fin fell silent, her gaze resting on A-Bo and I-Bo as they listened intently.
Then she spoke again, her voice low and tired.
"From that point on, he became the one responsible for everything Zhan needed in America...his food, his clothes, his school fees… everything. He only allowed him to come back to China when he felt like it. Most of the time, we only saw him when he returned or spoke to him through calls.
And still… he refused to get marry. He said it would only happen after Zhan finished his studies. That alone kept us in constant fear. No parent rests easy knowing their child is far away like that. His mother cried almost every day because of it. Eventually, her health began to suffer. She had no control over her own child....everything was decided by Yiming and his father. And Xiao Aiyin… he was too afraid to stand against them. They controlled him completely."
She paused, then continued.
"Not long after, my sister called me to say they had brought the groom price for Zhan. We were all so happy. We thought maybe this would finally bring peace, they had a traditional marriage...that once the marriage was done, everything would settle.
But then… just last Friday, she called again. She said the marriage had already been registered."
A-Bo's gaze dropped slightly, his voice calm.
"You didn't tell her Zhan is here, did you?"
Aunt Fin shook her head quickly.
"I didn't. You told me not to let anyone know, and I haven't. She still doesn't know where Zhan is. Even now."
A-Bo exhaled slowly.
"Good. Keep it that way. Don't let anyone know he's here. We'll figure something out. Even if we have to repay everything Yiming and his father spent....school, everything...that's not a problem."
Aunt Fin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's a lot of money… over a hundred million, not counting whatever else he might claim."
A-Bo replied calmly, almost dismissively.
"He can't claim more than that for Zhan's school. And even if he does...two hundred million isn't impossible. Just don't tell anyone Zhan is here."
Aunt Fin could only stare at him, stunned into silence.
I-Bo, who had been quiet all along, glanced around the room...the sacks of rice, the large container of oil, the cartons of noodles. It was clear Aunt Fin ran a small food business.
A-Bo stood up, signaling it was time to leave.
I-Bo followed, then paused.
"Is he sleeping?"
Aunt Fin nodded.
"Yes."
"And the drip?"
"It's still going."
He nodded.
"Alright. We'll come back tomorrow."
After reminding her to monitor the drip, they left.
⏭ ⏭ ⏭
Later that evening, inside their residence in Banana Island, the tension hadn't eased.
I-Bo leaned back, watching A-Bo carefully.
"So what's your plan now? That guy… he doesn't have good intentions. He rushed the marriage for a reason. This feels like revenge."
A-Bo's expression hardened.
"It was never about love. There's something else behind it. And he thinks he can insult me and walk away? No."
I-Bo sighed.
"That's not the point. What do we do?"
A-Bo answered without hesitation.
"We take it to court. He states everything he spent....we repay it....and he lets Zhan go. Because if Zhan stays with him… he won't survive it."
I-Bo frowned slightly.
"But what if there's a written agreement? And he's a lawyer....don't you think he would have secured something legally?"
A-Bo shook his head.
"They underestimated Zhan's family. They never expected anyone to challenge them. That's where they made a mistake."
I-Bo was quiet for a moment, then asked lightly,
"How much do you even have right now?"
A-Bo let out a short laugh.
"Why are you asking?"
"Just answer."
"Enough. And if it's not enough, I'll get more. We might need up to six hundred million for this."
I-Bo didn't respond, his thoughts drifting back to Zhan… to the fragile state he was in.
—
Meanwhile, in a restaurant across the city, Yiming sat with his friends, a cold smile on his face.
"I'm still gathering information about that guy," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Wherever Zhan is now, he didn't get there alone. Someone helped him."
His expression darkened.
"He suddenly changed… started defying me. I thought it was that friend of his influencing him. But no… it's worse."
He leaned forward slightly.
"He's seeing someone...cheating on me."
His voice dropped.
"And that man… I'll remove him completely."
One of his friends frowned.
"But you don't even know who he is."
Yiming smiled slowly.
"I don't need to."
He tapped his phone.
"I registered Zhan's SIM myself. I already got access to his call records. I now have every number he's been contacting frequently."
He stood up, his smile widening.
"I'll find him."
And then, more quietly..dangerously...
"And when I do… he won't walk away."
💚💙❤🖤