Qingling Campus.

A mother and son were asking passersby if they knew someone named Song Zhenyu. However, after asking five or six people, they all received the same answer: “I don’t know.”

“I’m so annoyed, I’m tired, I’m not walking anymore,” the son complained, sitting down on a bench by the campus path.

The mother, equally impatient, gritted her teeth and said, “Annoyed or not, we have to keep looking. Your sister, that selfish girl, actually quit her job that paid over eight thousand to come here for graduate school. Clearly, she wants to cut off the family’s financial support.”

“We need to find her quickly and make her go back to work!”

The son grumbled, “I must have the worst luck to have such a sister. She only thinks about herself, going off to take some graduate exam that costs time and money. If it were someone else’s sister, she’d be trying every way to earn money for her brother’s wedding gift.”

These two were Song Zhenyu’s mother and brother. The mother was named Tan Zhen, and the brother was Song Feiyu.

Hearing her son’s words, Tan Zhen comforted him, “Don’t say that. We’ve already spent twenty to thirty thousand on hotel stays and meals these past few days, and the hotel is already urging us to pay. We don’t have the money to settle the bill.”

“We need to find your sister quickly, or the hotel might call someone to catch us.”

“Right, right,” Song Feiyu suddenly realized, then complained, “Mom, when you find my sister, you must teach her a lesson. We’ve come all this way to find her and have suffered a lot.”

“Don’t worry, once I find her, I’ll give that ungrateful girl two big slaps,” Tan Zhen said with a mean expression. “How can there be such a shameless woman in this world, unwilling to pay for her brother’s wedding gift, even canceling her number so we can’t contact her? It’s simply outrageous.”

Song Feiyu said, “Mom, I think asking for fifty thousand for the wedding gift is too little. I think eighty thousand is more appropriate. After all, the house is too small and uncomfortable to live in. Eighty thousand would be just right to buy a bigger house!”

Tan Zhen nodded, “You’re right. She’s your sister, and it’s her duty to pay for the wedding gift. Let’s make it eighty thousand then.”

After chatting for a while on the bench, the mother and son continued to ask around for information about Song Zhenyu.

At this moment, Xu Muyan happened to pass by.

Tan Zhen asked, “Excuse me, miss, do you know someone named Song Zhenyu?”

Xu Muyan stopped, glanced at the mother and son, and instead of answering immediately, she asked, “Who are you?”

She wasn’t a naive woman; naturally, she wouldn’t reveal Teacher Song’s information without knowing who they were.

“I’m Song Zhenyu’s mother, and this is her brother,” Tan Zhen explained.

“Do you have any proof?” Xu Muyan asked.

“Yes, yes,” Tan Zhen nodded, taking out a family photo and pointing to a slightly younger girl in the picture.

Xu Muyan looked closely and recognized the younger version of Song Zhenyu. Only then did she believe their identity.

However, she still had doubts, so she asked, “Since you’re Song Zhenyu’s family, you should have her contact information, right? Why are you asking around?”

Tan Zhen didn’t reveal the truth and said, “It’s like this, my daughter’s previous number became inactive, and we can’t reach her temporarily, so we came to find her.”

As the saying goes, family scandals shouldn’t be publicized. Her daughter, in order not to pay for her brother’s wedding gift, actually canceled her number so the family couldn’t contact her. Of course, Tan Zhen wouldn’t tell others about such a disgraceful thing.

“Wait a moment,” Xu Muyan said, walking aside to dial Song Zhenyu’s phone number.

During the last gathering, Song Zhenyu exchanged numbers with Wang Haoran and others, so Xu Muyan had Song Zhenyu’s number.

“Teacher Song, I ran into two people at school asking about you. They claim to be your mother and brother,” Xu Muyan said when the call connected.

“They found their way here?” Song Zhenyu’s voice carried more tension than surprise.

Xu Muyan, being perceptive, sensed some of Song Zhenyu’s emotions and asked, “Do you want to see them, Teacher Song? If not, I won’t tell them your whereabouts.”

Song Zhenyu was silent for a few seconds before replying, “Muyan, could you let them listen to the phone? I want to talk to them.”

“Alright,” Xu Muyan nodded, then walked over to Tan Zhen and handed her the phone.

Tan Zhen was momentarily stunned but took the phone.

“Mom,” Song Zhenyu called out with a complex tone.

Hearing the voice on the phone, Tan Zhen naturally knew it was her daughter and coldly snorted, “Do you still have the nerve to call me mom?”

Song Zhenyu said, “Mom, I was just angry before, so I canceled my number. Please don’t be mad.”

Tan Zhen replied sarcastically, “You’ve made a name for yourself in the big city, you’re successful, and you’ve grown wings. How could I dare to be mad at you?”

Song Zhenyu said, “Mom, it’s almost dinner time. You and my brother can wait for me at the seafood restaurant near Qingling Campus. I’ll come to find you once I’m done here.”

Tan Zhen said, “I passed by that seafood restaurant earlier. It’s mediocre. Let’s go to the Saint Court Hotel instead. You know where that is, right?”

Song Zhenyu replied, “I know the Saint Court Hotel. It’s a five-star hotel, but your daughter isn’t rich enough to afford it. Let’s go to the seafood restaurant. The seafood there is quite good, and it’s not cheap either.”

Tan Zhen insisted, “I don’t care, we’re going to the Saint Court Hotel.”

She and Song Feiyu owed two to three thousand at the Saint Court Hotel, so they naturally wanted to drag Song Zhenyu there to settle the bill. Otherwise, who would pay it?

Song Feiyu suddenly leaned in and added, “Sister, mom and I came all the way to find you. Isn’t it reasonable for you to host us at a hotel?”

“Alright, alright, we’ll go to the Saint Court Hotel,” Song Zhenyu reluctantly agreed. She didn’t have much money, but she had a credit card. She could only use it for now and pay it off slowly later.

“It’s settled then,” Tan Zhen said, quickly hanging up the call to prevent Song Zhenyu from changing her mind. She returned the phone to Xu Muyan.

Xu Muyan took back her phone, frowning as she reassessed Tan Zhen and Song Feiyu.

She had overheard the conversation just now.

This mother and son were indeed Teacher Song’s relatives, but their words were truly infuriating.

However, Xu Muyan was ultimately an outsider and couldn’t criticize them. She left without saying a word.

But after leaving Tan Zhen and Song Feiyu’s sight, Xu Muyan felt indignant for Song Zhenyu and called Wang Haoran to tell him about what she had encountered.