After Transmigrating into a Book, I Saved the Cheap Shou - Chapter 12

In the park, a little girl and a large white dog were playing with a frisbee. Laughter and cheerful voices drifted into his ears. Gu Jingning sat on the grass nearby. The hot sunlight poured over his skin. He squinted, unable to clearly see the figure in front of him.

The girl ran over to him on her short legs, her small, soft hand grabbing a palm that wasn’t much bigger than hers. She shouted, “Brother! Don’t sit there, come play with me!”

“No, I’m so tired.” He lazily dragged his body.

The girl put her hands on her hips. “We haven’t seen each other in so long. Don’t you miss me?”

“Not really.”

The girl stomped her feet in anger, huffed, and walked away while holding the dog’s leash. He laughed and coaxed her from behind. Just as his hand was about to touch the hair accessory on the girl’s head, it met empty air.

The scene before him suddenly changed.

It was drizzling. Beside him stood a man holding an umbrella and wearing casual clothes. Rain had soaked the cuffs of his pants. He stood on tiptoe, straining to open his eyes wide, but still couldn’t see the man’s face clearly.

He opened his mouth to call out, but no matter how hard he struggled, no sound came out. He desperately clutched his throat, trying to force out even a single syllable. At that moment, a black car slowly drove up. A man in a suit got out, holding an umbrella, and walked over to the two of them.

The moment the two adults met, they started arguing. Still very young, he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He could only helplessly tug at the man beside him and ask, “Mommy, where’s little sister?”

Hearing his words, the man in the suit ignored the other man’s unreasonable ranting. He squatted down, took his hand, and asked, “Ah Ning, do you want to go with Uncle?”

Uncle? Where did he get an uncle from?

But their hands were angrily yanked apart by the man beside him. The man roared hysterically, “Don’t even think about taking my son away!”

The young boy couldn’t stand the tense atmosphere. Tears poured uncontrollably down his face.

The man picked him up excitedly, as if terrified someone would steal him. He hurled vicious threats at the man in the suit. The suited man had no choice but to hand him a card and leave behind one sentence: “Don’t regret this,” before driving away.

The man’s hands trembled as he hugged him tighter and tighter. The thin arms squeezed him so hard he could barely breathe.

“Senior, wake up!”

He suddenly opened his eyes. Beneath him was a hard mattress, and something warm seemed to be pressing on his body, constantly squirming in his arms.

He stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling. His consciousness gradually returned from the dream, but he couldn’t remember what he had just dreamed about.

It felt important, he thought.

“Senior!” Su Chen called again.

Only then did Gu Jingning realize that Su Chen was lying completely on top of him. His arms were firmly wrapped around the Omega’s slender body. Su Chen’s face was only a few centimeters away from his. He blinked in a daze.

At the bedroom doorway, Su Ran held a toothbrush and mechanically moved his arm, his mouth full of foam. Suddenly he shouted loudly, “Mom! Big brothers are playing kissy-kissy!”

The shout startled Gu Jingning into releasing his hold. Su Chen hurriedly stood up, cleared his throat, and said, “Senior, it’s time to get up for school.”

Gu Jingning didn’t dare look at him. He gave a vague “Oh” and pretended to be calm, then left the room with messy bed hair and headed to the bathroom.

Su Chen’s entire face burned red. He went to the kitchen to help. Su Chen’s mother gave him a hesitant look, then finally spoke, “Young people should show some restraint in the early morning.”

“I didn’t!” Su Chen’s face turned even redder. He silently cursed his little brother!

—

After helping Su Ran wash up, Gu Jingning carried him to the dining table.

While eating breakfast, Su Chen glared at his brother who was happily devouring his food. Meanwhile, Gu Jingning was still lost in his thoughts.

After breakfast, Gu Jingning sat on the chair in Su Chen’s room, one hand propped on the desk, his back facing Su Chen who was packing his schoolbag. The atmosphere felt a little awkward.

Su Chen was the first to break the silence. “Senior, what are you thinking about?”

Gu Jingning took the easy way out and replied, “I had a dream.” He scratched his head, trying hard to recall it. “But I can’t remember what it was.”

Su Chen was about to say something else when a loud slam of the door came from the entrance. His expression darkened for a moment. He told Gu Jingning to wait in the room first while he went out to check.

Su Ran was also sent back to the room. Gu Jingning understood immediately — Su Chen’s scumbag father must have come home.

It was already very late. If they delayed any longer, they would definitely be late for school. He didn’t mind, but Su Chen might get caught by some teacher again. He decided to go out and see.

The moment he pushed open the door, a figure crashed into his arms. He quickly caught Su Chen before he could fall. Looking up, he saw a fat, ugly Alpha standing in the middle of the living room, almost filling the entire space. The man reeked of alcohol. Su Chen’s mother was kneeling on the ground, desperately hugging her husband’s leg.

The man kicked out and shouted, “Where’s the money?! Give me the money!”

“All the money was used to pay off debts. There’s no more money left, sob sob…”

“You damn bitch. Don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding private savings.” The man’s fleshy face twisted with rage. “No money? Fine! Then tell that brat Su Chen to come over!”

“Please don’t do this, husband…”

Su Chen’s mother blocked the man’s path. Enraged, the man grabbed an empty wine bottle from the floor and was about to smash it down on her. Su Chen shot forward like an arrow, shielding his mother with his own body.

At the critical moment, a slipper flew over and accurately hit the man’s wrist joint. The man cried out in pain. The wine bottle slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a loud crash.

The drunk man looked toward the Beta standing at the bedroom doorway and burped. “Fuck, where did this little bastard come from?”

He glanced at the bedroom door behind Gu Jingning, then at Su Chen on the ground who was glaring at him with hatred. His brain turned, and before Gu Jingning could stop him, the man slapped Su Chen’s mother. Su Chen blocked in front of her, so the slap landed on his own face. His delicate cheek swelled up instantly, burning with pain.

“Damn it! You’re selling him off already?! How am I supposed to explain this to Brother Li!” The man swung another slap in fury. “How much did you sell him for?! Tell me!!! You cheap whore, did you get a good price?!”

This filthy man!

Gu Jingning stepped forward to stop him, grabbing his arm and shouting, “Stop! Are you even an Alpha anymore?!”

“Shut up! This is my family matter. It’s none of your business.” The man shoved Gu Jingning hard. However, when he saw the watch on Gu Jingning’s wrist and the logo on his jacket, the previously arrogant man suddenly changed his attitude. He calmly sat down on the sofa.

The sudden shift in attitude was shocking.

“So eager… Looks like my son has been serving you well?” He opened a new bottle of wine and took a big gulp. The cheap, strong smell of alcohol hit them. Gu Jingning couldn’t help covering his nose.

“Fine. You don’t look like you’re short on money anyway…” His murky eyes sized Gu Jingning up. He pointed at Su Chen with one hand. “He’s my son. No matter how much you gave that woman, give me sixty million and my son is yours!”

Su Chen’s mother trembled with rage and roared at the man, “What nonsense are you spouting!!! Ah Chen is still so young. You’re his father, yet you want to sell him!”

“He’s an Omega. Sooner or later he’ll have to lie under an Alpha anyway. I’m his father! I’ll take whatever I can get. He’s going to get fucked eventually. What do you know?” He grinned coldly, looking provocatively at Gu Jingning. His tone was arrogant. “Are you buying or not? If you don’t, someone else will snatch him up.”

“Enough!!!” Su Chen roared.

He thought he had long grown used to the man’s greed, but he never expected him to be even more shameless than he imagined. Especially with Gu Jingning present today — the side of himself he least wanted anyone to see was now fully exposed in front of his senior. He felt utterly humiliated.

His voice was hoarse as he said, “I’ll give you the money.” He felt both relieved and unwilling. Fortunately, he had just received his salary a few days ago. Otherwise, he didn’t know how long he would have to feel embarrassed in front of his senior.

He turned to go back to his room to get the money, but his hand was grabbed.

Gu Jingning took a card out of his wallet and handed it to the man. He said coldly, “I don’t have sixty million right now, but there’s fifty thousand on this card.”

Su Chen stepped forward to stop him, but Gu Jingning shook his head and signaled for him to stay calm.

The man reached out to take it. The moment his fingertips touched the card, Gu Jingning suddenly pulled it back. The man’s face darkened, ready to explode, but the young man spoke calmly, “I can give you the money, but on one condition — don’t show up in front of them for a month.”

The man’s build was more than twice that of the teenager. He glanced at his own sandbag-sized fist and licked his lips.

A ready-made ATM.

He smiled greedily. “Deal.”

Once he got the money, the man didn’t linger. He turned and left. The iron door slammed shut mercilessly. Su Chen grabbed Gu Jingning’s shoulders with both hands and asked in confusion, “Senior! You didn’t have to do that!”

Su Chen’s mother, ignoring her own pain, staggered forward and grabbed Gu Jingning’s hand. “Ah Ning, how can we let you spend money like this? Auntie can’t take your money. Give Auntie some time — no matter what, I will pay you back.”

“It’s fine, Auntie. You should go to the hospital to check your injuries first.” He comforted Su Chen’s mother.

Su Chen’s mother looked helpless like a child who had done something wrong and kept apologizing. The bedroom door opened, and Su Ran ran toward the three of them, crying loudly for his mother. The previously lively child was now badly frightened. Su Chen’s mother quickly picked him up to prevent him from stepping on the broken glass on the floor.

Everything was in chaos. Su Chen and his mother couldn’t think of a solution for the moment. Gu Jingning took Su Chen’s hand and said to his mother, “Auntie, we’ll head to school first.”

—

On the way to school, they passed countless people rushing to work or class. The two walked one after the other, their hands still tightly clasped. Suddenly, Su Chen stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Jingning asked.

Su Chen let go of his hand. He knew Gu Jingning was good to him, but that didn’t mean he could let the senior spend such a large sum of money for him.

“Senior, you didn’t have to do that.”

Gu Jingning’s gaze fell on Su Chen’s swollen cheek. He took a mask from his bag and gently put it on for him. They stood very close. Su Chen kept his eyes lowered, his distinct eyelashes clearly visible.

In the past, whenever he faced Su Chen’s overwhelming beauty, Gu Jingning would cheer for him in his heart. But at this moment, he had no such mood. He stepped back a little, patted Su Chen’s fluffy head, and said, “Let’s talk about it after we get to school.”

There were only ten minutes left before the bell. They were running out of time. Gu Jingning took Su Chen’s hand again and ran toward the school.

Just before entering the school gate, both of them were already panting. This time, Gu Jingning stopped and let Su Chen go in first.

Su Chen looked confused. Gu Jingning smiled bitterly and pointed at his own casual clothes, indicating that he needed to go back to the dormitory first.

After watching Su Chen enter the school without being stopped by the uniform inspector, Gu Jingning turned and left the school gate. However, he did not go back to the dormitory as he had claimed.