The Thirty-Sixth Chapter

Dong Qi's runaway route was quite inspired. The credit card records show that on the night he left home, he went to a five-star hotel a ten-minute walk away and spent five thousand yuan on a room for the night.

The next morning, he went to a nearby mall and bought four pairs of shoes for ten thousand yuan. He also bought a new game console for three thousand yuan.

Dong Zhenghao, who had initially felt some guilt about pushing his son to run away, now had only one thought: the brat just needed a beating. He deserved to be spanked a couple of times when he was brought back.

Looking at the spending records, Jiang Li also found it difficult to say that her son had suffered.

Especially when she returned home and discovered that her son had also taken his game console with him. It was the latest model released this year, and it wasn't even time for an upgrade.

So, the new game console he bought was actually for his friend Zhang Yang, who had run away with him.

"Tell me, how on earth did you raise this child? You raised him to this age just to anger me. I might as well have raised a char siu!" Dong Zhenghao yelled at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li was also unhappy. "Qiqi was raised by his grandma since he was little. How could I have interfered!"

Even if she wanted to raise him, she wouldn't have had the chance.

"If you're going to argue, then argue. What's wrong with char siu?" Liu Mumu walked between them, carrying a bag of pan-fried buns.

Dong Yue, following behind, had half a pan-fried bun stuffed in her mouth. Jiang Li glanced at her daughter and said nothing.

If she had seen her daughter behaving so disrespectfully before, she would have scolded her immediately. Now, she was used to it.

So, habit is a terrible thing. Liu Mumu had only been in the house for less than half a year, yet how had she managed to turn the whole family into this?

Even Old Dong had started hitting his son with a rolling pin. In the past dozen years, he had always been like his mother, believing that his son could do no wrong.

Dong Yue handed her paper bag of pan-fried buns to Jiang Li. She hadn't eaten all morning, having gone to check surveillance footage and stop the "domestic violence" next door. Now, she was being blamed by her husband for not knowing how to raise a child, and she was quite hungry. She scrutinized the bag of pan-fried buns for a long time, as if examining a bomb, before finally picking one up with a look of disdain and starting to eat.

To be honest, it tasted quite good.

Dong Zhenghao, who was about to start arguing, immediately became unhappy. Seeing his daughter and wife sharing a bag, he could only sidle up to his eldest daughter, trying to exchange father-daughter affection for two pan-fried buns.

The runaway Dong Qi was temporarily forgotten by the whole family, who were busy eating buns.

"Dong Qi, where are we going next? Are we still staying in a hotel?" Zhang Yang asked curiously, holding the game console Dong Qi had given him, wearing the new shoes he had bought for himself, and sitting in a taxi.

Zhang Yang's upbringing was very similar to Dong Qi's. Both were raised by their elderly relatives and were spoiled.

The difference was that Dong Zhenghao's wife was Dong Qi's biological mother. However, Zhang Yang's father's wife was not Zhang Yang's biological mother.

His biological mother had an accident while pregnant with their second child a few years ago. She fell at home and died after being taken to the hospital.

Less than two months later, his father brought his stepmother home. Therefore, Zhang Yang's personality was a bit different from Dong Qi's, and he had very little pocket money.

Dong Qi and Zhang Yang didn't have much of a relationship before. This time, their friendship was purely forged by running away together.

"We're not staying in a hotel anymore. We'll go to my maternal grandmother's house for lunch. My dad will have to pick me up this afternoon anyway."

He thought that in less than two hours, his parents would definitely come to his maternal grandmother's house to pick him up. His mother would surely apologize to him while crying. He didn't need his father to apologize, as long as he bought him the sports car.

He had already told his classmates at school that his dad would definitely buy him a sports car this year. How could he go back on his word!

Zhang Yang looked at him with some envy. "That's great. My dad is still on a business trip. My grandma definitely won't let him come back."

"What about your stepmother?" Dong Qi asked curiously.

Zhang Yang's face immediately showed disgust. "Don't mention her. She's just a mistress. I don't need her to interfere in my business."

He had told his dad long ago that he didn't want to live with that woman, but his dad wouldn't listen. This time, even if his dad disagreed, his paternal grandparents would kick her out.

After speaking, he asked Dong Qi again, "Aren't your parents good to you? Why did you leave?"

Dong Qi thought of Liu Mumu and had the same expression as Zhang Yang, but he hesitated and didn't say anything, vaguely replying, "My exam scores weren't good, and I argued with my family."

Zhang Yang, who was in the same school but a different class, knew Dong Qi's academic level and looked at him with sympathy.

When they arrived at Jiang Li's parents' house, the elderly couple had just finished getting dressed and seemed to be planning to go out.

Seeing Dong Qi bring a little friend, Jiang's mother quickly welcomed them in, repeatedly asking, "Qiqi, why are you here? Where's your mom?"

Dong Qi threw himself into his maternal grandmother's arms and said with great grievance, "My dad hit me because my grades were bad. I don't want to live at home anymore. Now the whole family listens to that Liu Mumu, and my dad sides with her too."

Hearing her grandson's words, Jiang's mother's expression turned grim. "I knew that Xiao Dong's previous child wasn't a good person. She even sowed discord between Jiang Li and our Jiajia before."

"You're right," Jiang's father casually replied. He glanced at his watch and urged, "There are twenty minutes left. We have to hurry, or we'll be late."

Jiang's mother seemed to be reminded and pushed her grandson away. She said to Dong Qi, "You and your little friend stay here for now. Your maternal grandfather and grandmother have to go out for a bit. We'll be back at noon."

Dong Qi quickly asked, "Where are you going?"

What if they left? If his dad came looking for him now, wouldn't he have no one to back him up?

"To buy some things," Jiang's father replied vaguely.

"Then we'll go too," Dong Qi said quickly.

Although Zhang Yang didn't want to go, this was Dong Qi's maternal grandmother's house, so he couldn't say much.

Thus, Jiang's father and mother led the two teenagers to the place where they were going to buy things.

It was a very old residential building. As soon as they walked up to the second floor, they could see a piece of paper pasted on the mottled wall, with crooked writing that read "Shuanglin Health Products Company."

His maternal grandfather and grandmother were here for a class.

There were already over thirty people in the "classroom," all elderly people of similar age. They sat quietly on wooden stools, eagerly awaiting the "Professor" to start the lecture.

Dong Qi's maternal grandfather and grandmother had clearly been attending classes for some time, as their seats were already arranged.

The first thing the two did upon entering the classroom was take out their phones, turn them off, and place them on the desk, as if waiting for inspection.

However, since they brought two children today, they dragged two more stools from the back. After they sat down, Jiang's mother whispered, "When the professor starts lecturing later, you absolutely cannot make a sound, understand?"

Dong Qi was already starting to think about calling the police. Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his charger when he left home. His phone battery was at 3%, and before he could even dial 110, it automatically shut down.

As for Zhang Yang, he was even worse off; he didn't even bring his phone.

He had even gone out wearing only slippers. Dong Qi didn't even want to look down on him; their IQs were simply not on the same level.

Without a phone, Dong Qi could only sit obediently and wait for the so-called professor to begin.

Before long, a man in his thirties, wearing a suit that didn't quite fit, with a middle part, and a reasonably presentable appearance, walked onto the stage.

He seemed a little nervous at first, his lecture stuttering. He kept talking about their product and finally took out a black pill.

Even though Dong Qi hadn't gone to university, he knew that a legitimate professor would absolutely not act like this. This professor was likely self-proclaimed.

Moreover, the man was full of hot air. He actually claimed that this pill could cure cancer, rheumatism, heart disease, pneumonia—any illness, really.

Zhang Yang listened hazily, on the verge of falling asleep, but Dong Qi had already rolled his eyes to the heavens. Come on, he thought, if you're going to lie, at least put some effort into it!

He wondered, his maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother were quite shrewd, how did they get scammed?

No one knew what Dong Qi was thinking, but the students sitting in front were clearly already anticipating this part.

The professor first took out three boxes of medicine, stating that only three boxes would be sold today.

Then, Dong Qi witnessed a crazy auction.

Each box contained ten pills, with the minimum price per pill being one thousand.

What made him even more despair was that his maternal grandfather actually spent a hefty twenty thousand to bid for one box. He happily took the medicine back, and the other students looked at him with a mixture of jealousy and envy.

The other two boxes were also sold at similar prices. The other students immediately became unhappy, so the professor reluctantly took out three more boxes.

In short, an hour later, during the break, everyone had pretty much obtained the "miracle medicine" they desired.

Dong Qi was numb. He felt that his horizons were too narrow.

During the break, students could wander around the second-floor corridor. Dong Qi felt an urgent need to urinate. He told his maternal grandfather and left to find a restroom.

He searched the second floor but couldn't find a bathroom, so he ended up going to the third floor.

An iron pull door was installed at the entrance of the third floor, and it was currently open. This floor seemed to belong to the health supplement company as well, likely offices or something similar. He saw a sign for a bathroom at the far end of the corridor. Just as he was about to walk in, he heard people talking from an office with a slightly ajar door.

It was the voices of two men, one of whom was the lecturing professor.

The professor said, "Brother, we've struck it rich! Over four hundred thousand in one day. Why are we still refining Gu? We'll just leave the Gu inside them. As long as they see the effect of the pills, they'll keep sending us money!"

The other unfamiliar man said, "You don't know shit. As long as we successfully refine the Longevity Gu, we'll have as much money as we want. Why would we bother with this petty cash?"

The professor seemed to disagree and retorted, "How many years has that thing been in our hands, and it's still not successful? You keep saying our family has hitched itself to a big clan, but we haven't seen any benefits yet. Aren't you still just running errands everywhere?"

A "slap" sound came from inside, presumably the professor being hit. The stranger's voice turned cold, "Don't you forget who brought you back, who fed you, clothed you, and taught you skills. Otherwise, you'd just be a con artist rotting in jail!"

Dong Qi couldn't listen anymore. He covered his mouth and quietly retreated to the second floor.

He didn't notice that as he left, his clothes brushed against the iron pull door, picking up a layer of red rust. After the red rust got onto his clothes, it gradually seeped in and quickly disappeared without a trace.

As he went downstairs, his heart pounded rapidly. He wanted to tell his maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother what he had heard, but their entire attention was focused on the pills, and they refused to listen to him.

Five minutes later, a man came down. He looked somewhat like the professor but was a bit older. He regretfully informed everyone that because the professor had to attend a meeting, the class had to be temporarily suspended. They would be notified in the group chat when the next class would be held.

Everyone looked disappointed but still left in twos and threes.

Finally free from that hellhole, after getting into the car, Dong Qi grabbed his maternal grandmother's hand and bombarded them with everything the professor and the other man had said.

Then, as expected, he received three looks like he was an idiot from his maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, and Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang even mocked him, "Haha, Dong Qi, did you fall asleep and get confused? Or did you read too many novels last night? What Gu?"

Not only did Zhang Yang not believe him, but his maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother also didn't believe him. Dong Qi was furious.

His family's Liu Mumu was always acting mysteriously, telling fortunes. His dad practically wanted to enshrine her and burn incense for her. Why couldn't there be Gu?

However, no one listened. In any case, Jiang's father and Jiang's mother, Ning Yuan, were more willing to believe in miracle medicine than to listen to him.