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"So, are you trying to make it up to me, or are you trying to negotiate terms with me?"

Huo Jiu's thinking was far too clear, and his words were sharp enough to cut. Neither Su Shiyuan nor Lu Manzhen looked pleased.

Lu Manzhen said unwillingly, "But you can't make such an outrageous demand. Do you know what a hundred million in cash means?"

Huo Jiu replied leisurely, "In your hearts, it should be worth less than Su Zhuo's life."

Lu Manzhen bristled. "You're being ridiculous."

Seeing how furious Lu Manzhen was, Huo Jiu grew curious. "Did you know that during those seven days I wandered outside—the same seven days I had a high fever—Chairman Su kept sending people to watch me? They stopped me from taking odd jobs and forced me into having no food and nowhere to stay..."

Lu Manzhen's expression changed instantly. She reflexively turned toward Su Shiyuan, yet did not dare truly look at him. She could only stiffen her neck, not daring to meet Huo Jiu's eyes. "Why are you bringing this up?"

Huo Jiu sneered. "The two of you—one keeps talking about making up for abandoning me, while the other keeps talking about repaying a lifesaving debt. Of course I'm willing to believe in your sincerity. But words alone prove nothing. I only want to collect a little advance payment."

Lu Manzhen was rendered speechless. She glared at Huo Jiu in exasperation. Who would have thought that this child, who looked so clever, could be so shortsighted? What was a mere hundred million? As long as he placated Chairman Su, why worry about getting even more benefits? Why anger Chairman Su and make him dislike him over this little bit of money?

What an uncultured little brat. Wasn't he afraid that he would have the life to take the money, but not the life to spend it?

The more Lu Manzhen thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt that Huo Jiu was just like his drunken father—a useless idiot beyond all help.

Su Shiyuan remained silent, his worldly eyes carefully studying Huo Jiu, his expression thoughtful. He had assumed this child would keep making trouble for him, stubbornly refuse the bone marrow transplant, perhaps even run away from home again. Yet Huo Jiu had actually agreed. He merely asked for a hundred million.

Su Shiyuan did not care much about the hundred million. He simply thought Huo Jiu was not worth that much.

Then again, if a hundred million could buy out Huo Jiu's debt of gratitude to the Su family, that would be far more cost-effective than putting Huo Jiu's name in his will.

In a flash, Su Shiyuan frowned in confusion. Why had he thought that?

"There's nothing wrong with wanting a hundred million. My, Su Shiyuan's, son is priceless. Never mind a mere hundred million—even mountains of gold and silver could not be exchanged for my Xiao Zhuo. But a hundred million in cash is no small sum. Though the Su family has some wealth, we still need time to raise that much money. How about you undergo the transplant first—"

"Then give me a few tens of thousands for pocket money first." Huo Jiu had not expected Su Shiyuan to agree so readily. It seemed he had underestimated the currency values in an old-school Mary Sue novel.

Was inflation really this bad? He agreed to a hundred million without even blinking? Or did this old fox never intend to pay him and was merely trying to placate him with words?

In an instant, Huo Jiu considered many things. "I've been cooped up at home for over half a month. My bones are about to rust. I want to go shopping. I can't exactly go out with no money in my pockets."

Su Shiyuan neither agreed nor disagreed, merely telling Lu Manzhen, "Prepare several tens of thousands for his pocket money."

Then he said to Huo Jiu, "You can go out if you want. I'll send the driver, Old Zhang, and bodyguards with you, so you don't get lost because you don't know the roads."

Huo Jiu understood that Su Shiyuan could not possibly let him go out alone. He had been allowed to run away before only because Su Shiyuan wanted to teach him a lesson and make him understand how hard life was on his own outside. Even so, quite a few people had kept watch on Huo Jiu, and they had even pressured the owners of food stalls and small restaurants, determined not to let Huo Jiu's life on the streets become too comfortable.

Now that Su Zhuo's condition was worsening by the day, Su Shiyuan was also anxious to get Huo Jiu into surgery for the bone marrow transplant. Under such circumstances, he could not possibly give Huo Jiu a chance to escape his control.

So Huo Jiu raised no objections to Su Shiyuan's arrangements. In any case, if he wanted to run, a driver and two bodyguards would not be enough to stop him.

That afternoon, Huo Jiu took the cash Lu Manzhen had given him and wandered around outside until midnight before returning home.

Over the next few days, Huo Jiu did not idle around either. He visited every scenic attraction in the city, as well as its famous malls and food streets. Old Zhang and the two bodyguards watched him every step of the way. Seeing Huo Jiu spend money with reckless abandon like a nouveau riche, they could not help complaining inwardly.

They felt it was truly unfair that their young master had to rely on the bone marrow of someone so greedy, vulgar, and uncouth to cure his illness. It was an insult to their young master's dignity.

Huo Jiu could not even be bothered to let his emotions stir at the blatant complaints of these plot-device extras.

That was, until the fifth day. Huo Jiu was buying clothes at a mall, while the two bodyguards waited outside the fitting room as usual. More than ten minutes passed, yet no one came out. The two bodyguards sensed that something was wrong. They kicked open the fitting room door, only to find it empty.

The mall's ventilation grille had been removed and set aside. Huo Jiu had actually crawled into the ventilation duct and slipped away.

The two bodyguards immediately called Su Shiyuan.

Meanwhile, after successfully shaking off the bodyguards, Huo Jiu changed into a new outfit, put on a baseball cap, slung on a backpack, and hailed a taxi from a blind spot beneath the roadside cameras.

It was the weekend, and many college students used the time to travel to nearby cities.

Using the excuse that he was going to meet an online friend, Huo Jiu chatted animatedly with the driver throughout the journey. He looked vibrant and full of energy, without the slightest trace of someone burdened by the misery of running away from home.

But the instant the car reached the edge of the city and left the local area, Huo Jiu's vision went black. The next second, he was once again seated at the Su family's dining table. Chairman Su and Lu Manzhen looked at him pleadingly, hoping that he would agree to the bone marrow transplant.

Huo Jiu could not help cursing. With a livid face, he left the dining table and returned to his bedroom.

If he did not cooperate with the plot's development, he would be trapped at a story checkpoint and forced to repeatedly experience that segment of the plot. Huo Jiu already knew that. But he had not expected that even if he did not follow the plot, he would be unable to leave this city before the plot advanced to a new instance.