Li Kun had been a good-for-nothing since childhood—a textbook parasite. Back then, he borrowed from everyone he could just to scrape together enough money to get married.
Later, after Li Yun's husband passed away, Li Kun and his wife, Qian Jing, even took red envelopes behind her back for introducing men to her—without her consent.
To be fair, Li Yun was the kind of woman many older men dreamed of. And the fact that she had a daughter only made her more desirable.
A widow with a son was a burden, but a widow with a daughter? That was prime territory for old men with "fatherly" ambitions.
Back then, Li Kun and his wife collected over twenty thousand yuan in "matchmaking fees."When those men later crowded outside Li Yun's breakfast shop, harassing her, she had to pay them back herself just to make them leave.
Now, they were eyeing Zhao Yingying next. To Li Yun, even entrusting her daughter to Xu Mu—a married man—was a hundred times better than leaving her in the hands of that so-called uncle.
"Little brother, I believe you can cure my sister. Hurry and start—cancer only gets harder to treat if you delay," Li Kun urged eagerly.
Li Yun looked at her brother's ugly face, feeling only disgust. She could easily see through his petty scheming. He didn't believe in the treatment; he just wanted her dead sooner.
"Mu-ge… you can really cure it?" Zhao Yingying asked through tears, clutching Xu Mu's arm.
As a university student, she knew that cancer was one of the hardest diseases in the world to treat. If it were anyone else saying it could be cured with medicine alone, she wouldn't have believed them.
But this was Xu Mu—the man who had lent her over a hundred thousand yuan without hesitation. Why would he ever lie to her?
"There's a ninety-percent chance," Xu Mu said with a faint smile. "Even if it fails, the medicine won't harm the body."
He turned toward Li Yun, who was still sitting on the sofa. "Auntie, will you take my medicine?"
"This medicine must be expensive, right?" Li Yun asked. She'd heard about Xu Mu from her daughter—his family clearly wasn't poor.And since he'd already offered money without asking for repayment, she knew he meant well.
"The price depends on its value," Xu Mu said with a gentle smile. "If it cures you, it's priceless. If not, it's worthless."
"…All right, I'll try it. At this point, a dying horse deserves a last-ditch treatment."
Li Yun nodded softly.
"Auntie! No! I don't agree!" Fang Chu stepped forward. "All medicine has side effects—especially cancer drugs! What if it makes your condition worse?"
"You brat! Are you trying to kill my sister? You think I won't beat you up?" Li Kun growled, cracking his knuckles as he advanced.
"Xiao Fang, thank you," Li Yun said with a tired smile. "But I trust Xiao Xu. He wouldn't lie to me. And besides, I'd already decided to stop treatment—if I don't take the pill, I'll die anyway."
Fang Chu clenched his fists, speechless. He truly didn't want Li Yun to get hurt, but she'd made her choice.
Xu Mu took out the pill and handed it to Li Yun. Even though he'd licked it earlier, that certainly didn't affect its efficacy.
Li Yun accepted it and swallowed it in one go.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on her.
Xu Mu glanced around and said casually, "Why are you all so tense? You think this is an immortal pill? It takes time to—"
Before he could finish, Li Yun's face flushed bright red, like she'd just downed a bottle of strong liquor.
She suddenly clutched her stomach, tears welling up in her eyes."It hurts! My stomach—feels like it's burning!"
Li Kun and Qian Jing exchanged a quick glance, joy flickering in their eyes. If Li Yun died, not only would they get Zhao Yingying, but the apartment too—it would all fall neatly into their hands.
"Xu Mu! You bastard! What did you give Auntie to eat?!" Fang Chu roared, grabbing Xu Mu by the collar. "If anything happens to her, I'll never let you go!"
Zhao Yingying burst into sobs, gripping her mother's arm. "Mom! Are you okay?"
Meanwhile, Qian Jing feigned compassion, pointing accusingly at Xu Mu."What did you feed her? We trusted you, and you poisoned her?"
"I'm calling the police right now!" Li Kun barked, pulling out his phone to threaten him.
But Xu Mu remained calm, silently watching Li Yun.
Her flushed face began to return to normal.
"Yingying, I'm fine," Li Yun said, bewildered. She rubbed her stomach, astonished. "It doesn't hurt anymore—not at all."
"Your stomach doesn't hurt?" Zhao Yingying wiped her tears, noticing that her mother's once-pale complexion had become rosy.
"No, I feel… like I'm back to normal again."
Li Yun stood up from the sofa and even jumped lightly twice—and certain parts of her body bounced so dramatically that Xu Mu's eyes nearly popped out.
Everyone else stood frozen, wide-eyed. Just moments ago, she'd looked sickly and weak—and now she was glowing with vitality.
Was that really an immortal pill?
Even if it worked, how could it possibly work this fast?
Xu Mu himself was a bit stunned by how immediate the effect was. But thinking it through, Li Yun's was early-stage stomach cancer.
Since the pill entered her stomach directly, it treated the site instantly. If it had been another type of cancer, it would have taken longer for the body to absorb and deliver the medicine to the tumor.
"Auntie, are you sure you're fully recovered? Could the pill just have some hormones or painkillers that temporarily mask the symptoms?" Fang Chu asked skeptically.
Coming from a once-hidden-clan background, he'd heard of heavenly herbs and rare treasures before…But Xu Mu? Could he really have access to such things?
He decided he'd have to investigate this guy later.
"Auntie, cancer doesn't relapse overnight. Rest at home for a few days, then go for a check-up," Xu Mu said gently.
"Alright, Xiao Xu. Thank you so much—for coming so early and for giving me this medicine," Li Yun said gratefully.
[Favorability +30]
"Mu-ge, meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me," Zhao Yingying said softly.
[Favorability +30]
Fang Chu's face darkened further. Damn it! I was here first!
Now even Li Yun had been won over by Xu Mu. He couldn't swallow that humiliation!
[Fate Power -20]
"Li Kun, thank you for coming so early," Li Yun said coldly. "Now go home—and remember to pay back what you owe. I still owe over a 15 thousand for surgery and can barely afford food. If you don't return it soon, I'll have no choice but to sue."
"Sis, I… haven't found a job yet. I don't have the money right now, but I'll scrape it together soon," Li Kun stammered, then quickly grabbed Qian Jing's hand and fled.
He was full of regret—if he'd known this would happen, he never would've let that kid give Li Yun the pill.
"Xiao Fang, you should go too. Thank you for everything today," Li Yun said kindly.
[Fate Power -10]
Fang Chu clenched his jaw in frustration. She was sending him away while keeping Xu Mu? Was she planning to reward him or something?!