Chapter 656: Chapter 654: Kind Father 33
"I heard that Ma Zihou and his group are going to be sentenced for quite a few years. Just his various cases alone add up to over a decade."
"It’s really unexpected how the Ma Family just collapsed like that. It was pretty lively a while ago, and now they’re just gone without much notice."
"It seems like Ma Zihou finally got his comeuppance. He was so arrogant before, and everyone who saw him had to bow and call him Young Master Ma."
"I heard his old man has blood on his hands, and combined with other crimes, he might end up eating a bullet."
"Ma Zihou’s mother has lost her mind and is now in a mental institution too."
"He has offended quite a few people, so maybe it’s more relaxed inside. Once he’s out, life might be even tougher."
"For them to fall so swiftly, they must’ve hit a solid wall."
"Mostly likely, yes."
In the rare leisure time, Du Tianyu was drinking and eating barbecue with friends at the night market. Somehow, the group started talking about the Ma Family. Maybe it was because they often met Ma Zihou’s arrogance at the bar, and thus felt a bit emotional about it.
Du Tianyu didn’t say a word, but when Ma Zihou was mentioned, he couldn’t help but think of Ran Chen.
Even though Ran Chen doesn’t seem affected right now, he had inquired about Ran Chen’s recent tests and found the grades stable, yet he couldn’t erase the scenes from the past.
"Tianyu, what’s wrong?"
Du Tianyu shook his head, indicating that nothing was wrong.
He was always the quiet type, and seeing that he was fine, his friends didn’t ask more.
Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up to see that it was a call from Wei Yue. He was momentarily taken aback, as he hadn’t seen or contacted Wei Yue since the online storm.
He was several years older than Wei Yue, with average grades, so he left the orphanage relatively early. Occasionally, he would buy study supplies or food for the kids there. Wei Yue had only been in the orphanage for a few years in her teens, but they had a decent relationship.
After starting work, he didn’t deliberately seek out Wei Yue, but since she lived in the orphanage, he would definitely meet her whenever he visited.
Wei Yue was pretty and sensible; who wouldn’t like interacting with her? He was no exception.
If it hadn’t been for the online storm, he would never have known about the things hidden beneath, and like the other children at the orphanage, he did find Aunt Zhuo and her daughter very detestable.
But Wei Yue was a beneficiary and had a lot of interactions with them. Was she entirely unaware? He didn’t know about the rest, but just the birthday gift Aunt Zhuo gave Ran Chen was very telling.
So he didn’t believe that Wei Yue was ignorant of some of her and Uncle Ran’s actions, which had caused significant harm to Aunt Zhuo and Ran Chen.
But why did Wei Yue always appear so pitiful yet understanding when they met?
Du Tianyu didn’t want to think too deeply about it, but he couldn’t interact with Wei Yue the same way as before, pretending nothing happened, especially since he had also made a huge mistake.
"Tianyu, why aren’t you answering the phone?" his friend asked, puzzled.
Du Tianyu snapped back to reality and answered the call.
"Brother Tianyu." Wei Yue’s voice came through the phone, soft and easily evoking pity and sympathy.
After surgery, Wei Yue still needed monitoring and was staying in the hospital.
With so much happening recently, she had forgotten about Du Tianyu for a while. Now that everything had settled down, she suddenly realized she hadn’t seen him in a while and wondered if he was avoiding her because of the online storm.
Thinking of this, Wei Yue felt very sad. How did things end up this way?
She had regrets in her heart. Had she known it would be like this, she should have firmly refused Uncle Ran and used her father’s compensation money for treatment instead. Maybe then these irreparable events wouldn’t have happened.
As the call connected, she breathed a sigh of relief, anxiously waiting for Du Tianyu’s response.
Du Tianyu did respond, but coldly: "Hmm."
Wei Yue’s heart sank, with a bitter smile on her face. So Brother Tianyu’s attitude towards her had changed too because of that online scandal?
Nothing had changed now; it was only Duan Mu who still supported her. Even Uncle Ran’s visits to the hospital were different. He still cared about her but there was a difference that she could feel.
"Brother Tianyu, we haven’t met in a long time. Do you hate me now, is that why you don’t want to see me?" Wei Yue asked mournfully, "You didn’t even come when I had my surgery."
Du Tianyu looked at the bustling night market, walked into a dark corner with his phone, and replied in a chilling tone: "Didn’t you just remember me too? Otherwise, you would have contacted me before the surgery, not wait until now to call."
After saying this, Du Tianyu suddenly laughed, but the laugh wasn’t cheerful. Only now did he piece together his past interactions with Wei Yue and see her more clearly.
She was very adept at garnering sympathy, very clever.
But some things aren’t achieved just through cleverness and calculations to get what she wanted.
Actually, if Aunt Zhuo hadn’t reacted quickly, how would this have turned out? Du Tianyu suddenly thought and then felt completely shocked, cold sweat covering his back, his face turning pale.
If she hadn’t reacted in time, this would have had only two victims, Aunt Zhuo and Ran Chen, while everyone else involved would benefit.
The orphanage would attract a lot of attention, and many donors would follow. Uncle Ran’s good name would rise further, and the more praise he got, the more blame Aunt Zhuo and Ran Chen would bear.
Wei Yue would also receive much sympathy; her tragic backstory, good looks, and excellent grades were practically sympathy magnets.
Du Tianyu was drenched in cold sweat, suddenly feeling it all so terrifying.
For some reason, he felt like such a thing had happened before. Quickly shaking his head, it was just an illusion.
"Brother Tianyu, why do you say that?" After a while, Wei Yue responded.
Du Tianyu chuckled lightly and said, "Isn’t it true? Let’s just contact less in the future."
They were nothing more than acquaintances, without any ties. Not wanting to contact Wei Yue anymore made it easy not to.
Unlike with Uncle Ran, who had always been kind to him.
He hung up the phone and blocked Wei Yue’s number.
When Wei Yue tried calling again, it was always busy, so she didn’t try again.
She put down her phone, lay down covering her head with a blanket, and cried silently. She just wanted to hold on to the only warmth. Uncle Ran was like a father; she didn’t want to let go.
Although Brother Tianyu wasn’t talkative, he was a gentle brother. Would he ignore her just because of those things?
Wei Yue’s call left Du Tianyu feeling restless, driven to pay attention to Ran Chen.
In the following days, after finishing his work during the day, he would observe outside the school.
Ah Chen noticed Du Tianyu, apparently watching her, but since they weren’t acquainted and he wasn’t causing trouble, she pretended not to notice.
While she didn’t react, Li Feiwei did notice.
"Senior, do you know that person?" After school on Friday, Li Feiwei noticed Du Tianyu leaning against the wall, seemingly fiddling with his phone but actually keeping an eye on his senior.
Recently, this guy had been watching his senior the whole week, making it hard not to get noticed.
