Seeing them produce the IOUs, Song Yulian reflexively lunged forward, wanting to tear them up.
To her surprise, Qi Chengyan snatched the IOUs before she could.
Cheng You chuckled, "Aunt Lian, if you have nothing to hide, there's no need to be so eager to destroy evidence."
Song Yulian gritted her teeth, "That's fake!"
"Fake or real, won't it be clear once we take it to the police station?"
Cheng You's words made Cheng Tianhua's face change dramatically. He couldn't have his wife going to jail.
"Cheng You, don't talk nonsense. Give me the IOU!"
Cheng You smiled charmingly and opened the IOU.
"Dad, see if this is Aunt Lian's handwriting."
Cheng Tianhua and Song Yulian had known each other for twenty years. How could he not recognize her handwriting?
He could tell at a glance.
But now, no matter how angry he was, he couldn't admit it.
"Let me see." He snatched it without a word.
Cheng Tianhua glanced at the note briefly, then crumpled it up.
"I know you are Wen Yu's good brothers. I won't pursue this with you this time. Here's ten yuan. Take it and leave. Don't come back again."
The men exchanged glances, took the money, and left.
Why not take free money?
But Cheng Tianhua's actions chilled Cheng Wen Yu to the bone.
It was an obvious fact, yet he was willing to shield Song Yulian rather than clear his name.
If this got out, people who didn't know would think he had colluded with his friends from outside to frame Song Yulian.
Cheng Wen Yu looked at him blankly. This father seemed different from the one in his memory.
Gradually, Cheng Tianhua became a stranger in his heart.
He clenched his teeth fiercely, his hatred for them showing on his face.
"Give me the IOU! My sister is right. Whether it's her handwriting or not, it will be known at the police station."
Cheng Tianhua tried to use his authority as a father to suppress him, but he was startled by his fierce and ferocious expression.
"What attitude is that? I'm your father. Can I harm you?"
Cheng You sneered, "If you wouldn't harm us, why are you afraid to show the IOU? Are you guilty?"
"Cheng You! Don't forget I'm your father. If our family doesn't do well, what good will it do you?"
Cheng You shrugged, "No good. But if someone wants to harm my brother, you can't expect me to pretend I didn't see it, can you? Or do you want me to ask Sixth Grandma to come over?"
Cheng Tianhua clenched his fist holding the IOU, a hint of disgust for Song Yulian growing in his heart.
"Just say it directly. What do you want?"
Cheng You covered her mouth and chuckled, revealing a triumphant smile.
"Dad, the way you put it, it's not that I want anything, but aren't you the one who wants to compensate us?"
Cheng Tianhua sneered, "Yes, I want to compensate you. What do you want?"
Song Yulian's heart ached as if bleeding. This wasn't raising a daughter; she was a vampire.
Cheng You held out a hand, gauging the severity of the matter. It shouldn't be as bad as what Cheng Tao had done to her.
"Three hundred!"
She didn't know how much savings Cheng Tianhua had, so she had to pace herself. There would be many more opportunities later.
Cheng Tianhua laughed in anger. It was as if he was meeting this daughter for the first time.
From Cheng Tao's incident to now, her actions were always unexpected.
"Fine! Fine! I'll give you three hundred!"
Cheng Tianhua's pupils dilated with blood, as if they were about to bleed.
Cheng You didn't care what he was thinking. Money was the most tangible thing anyway.
With another three hundred in hand, her accumulated savings now totaled eight hundred.
With this money, when the opportunity arose, she would sever ties with Cheng Tianhua.
"Wen Yu, hurry up and thank Dad. Look how much Dad dotes on us!"
Cheng Wen Yu grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Thank you, Dad!"
Cheng Tianhua's chest felt like it was about to burst with suppressed rage.
These two children were simply here to collect debts!
Song Yulian followed him into the house, unwilling.
"Tianhua, we can't give this money! We didn't give Cheng Tao any money when she got married. Why should we give Cheng You so much?"
"Why? You want to know why!" Cheng Tianhua roared.
If it weren't for her and Cheng Tao, would he have had to give Cheng You so much money?
This eight hundred yuan was essentially to clean up after her and Cheng Tao!
Song Yulian trembled under his scolding, but couldn't help but speak up despite her pain, "But... but I did all this for you. I wanted a child, and you were unwilling. What else could I do?"
Cheng Tianhua sneered, "Because I was unwilling, you wanted to ruin my son?"
"How could that be? I didn't really want them to do anything to Wen Yu. Wen Yu used to hang out with those people like this, why didn't you say anything then?"
Cheng Tianhua snorted heavily and pushed her hand away.
"That's not the same! He's finally turned over a new leaf, and you deliberately had people entice him. How bad would it sound if this got out, do you know!"
What he cared about was still his reputation.
Song Yulian didn't dare to persuade him further and could only watch helplessly as he gave the money to Cheng You.
If this continued, the family would eventually be emptied by Cheng You.
Cheng You smiled and counted the money. Exactly three hundred. She put it in her pocket.
"I knew it, Dad loves us the most!"
Cheng Tianhua turned away, not wanting to see her triumphant expression at all.
It was too much of an eyesore!
Cheng You pocketed the money, remembering she still had to go to Uncle Li's house. She greeted Cheng Wen Yu.
"Come to Uncle Li's house for dinner later. There's cured meat!"
Song Yulian gnashed her teeth in anger. She had already said she was reluctant to give away the cured meat, and now Cheng Wen Yu was invited to eat out as well.
"Tianhua! Look at your daughter, she's gone too far!"
Cheng Tianhua couldn't be bothered with her. Didn't he know Cheng You was going too far?
"She won't even give you cured meat to eat, and you still expect this daughter to be filial to you? I have no children, and I won't have anyone to care for me in my old age!"
Cheng Tianhua snorted. He hadn't expected her to be filial anyway.
As long as she married someone rich who could benefit him, that would be enough.
Cheng You was prettier than Cheng Tao, and he intended to use that to his advantage.
The money he spent today, he would get back sooner or later.
"Alright! From now on, you and Cheng Tao, both of you, be quiet. You can't help with anything and only drag me down!"
"It's not my fault I can't help. You should blame Cheng You!"
Cheng Tianhua glanced at her, "Cheng You told you to do these things? Cheng You told Cheng Tao to get involved with Zhao Yunlin?"
Song Yulian was dumbfounded, unable to believe these words were coming from him.
"You! I can't stay in this house anymore!"
She covered her face and ran out.
But as soon as she stepped out of the door, she regretted it. Where else could she go besides this home?
She couldn't let outsiders see her in this pathetic state.
She had no choice but to go to the Zhao family's house to complain to her only daughter.
As she spoke, she couldn't help but add resentment, "If you hadn't told me to find those people, it wouldn't have ended up like this."
Cheng Tao's ears were filled with her words. "Don't come to me with this kind of thing in the future. Solve it yourself!"