Chapter 5 — Ending the Parasitic Life

It did not take long for the police to track down the uncle. The circumstances of their discovery were, quite frankly, absurd. The couple had been caught because they were engaged in a violent brawl right in the middle of a hotpot restaurant. The uncle had been splashed with a boiling pot of soup, leaving his legs scalded, while the aunt had delivered a single, furious blow that shattered the restaurant’s heavy fish tank. As the two of them screamed in agony, dripping with blood while the fish flopped pathetically on the floor in a desperate struggle for air, bystanders could have easily mistaken the scene for a high-budget action film set. The luckless restaurant owner had promptly called the police.

At the station, the uncle’s leg was wrapped in bandages as thick as a pig’s trotter, while the aunt’s hand was swathed in gauze the size of a bear’s paw. Despite their bodies being covered in bruises and lacerations, they were still shouting at each other. The aunt pointed her bandaged hand at the uncle, screeching, "Didn't you say that linking our fortunes with your brother's family would bring us massive wealth? My shop has been closed for half a year, our savings are gone, and I’ve aged twenty years! Worst of all, our son, Tai, had diarrhea during his college entrance exam and only scored 240! Your debts, our son’s future—everything is ruined!"

The uncle slammed his table with a resounding thud. "Shut your mouth! Every cent you’ve spent on your lifestyle over the years came from me! That pathetic shop of yours barely covered the cost of your facials! We were living just fine for over a decade. Who could have known my brother was such a disappointment, racking up millions in debt in middle age? This is all his fault—he ruined my stocks and my money! When I get out of here, I’m settling the score with him!"

As he spewed these words, my family was standing right outside the mediation room. My mother stepped inside, launching an immediate counter-attack. "What do you mean it’s my husband’s fault?" The uncle and aunt, disheveled and battered, looked startled and embarrassed, quickly turning their heads away. My mother rolled up her sleeves. "Let’s get this straight today! You gambled on stocks and failed; how do you have the audacity to blame my husband?"

Humiliated, the uncle turned to my father, forcing a stiff, awkward grin. "Can’t you control your wife?" My father remained unmoved. "My wife says what she pleases. I’m quite curious myself—how exactly have I wronged you, brother?" The uncle dared not mention their scheme to exploit some so-called "doubling effect" of our fortunes. The aunt, however, pointed a finger at me, fueled by rage. "It’s all because of your daughter! She has a cursed aura that conflicts with Tai! She did well, so Tai had to suffer! My poor son, he could have gotten into the top universities in the country!"

My father stepped directly in front of her. "My daughter has been sickly since birth; how does she carry a curse? Does she curse your son to have broad shoulders and thick muscles? Or does she curse your business for doing so well?" My mother pressed the advantage. "I could just as easily say that your son has been suppressing La Qi’s luck for eighteen years! It was only through her hard work and the triumph of justice that she could turn the tide. If you want to settle scores, let’s talk about the eighteen years of luck my daughter lost because of your son. How are you going to compensate us for that?"

The aunt was rendered speechless by this twisted logic, managing only to sputter, "I gave birth to a son; he is supposed to be blessed by the heavens!" My mother gave a cold laugh. "If you truly believe you are inferior, why open a shop in the city? Why not go home and serve your 'golden boy' as a maid?" Surprisingly, the uncle even nodded in agreement. "Everyone says women shouldn't be out working anyway; I don’t need you to support me! If you had stayed home to watch over Tai, he wouldn't have failed his exams!" The aunt lunged at him, clawing at his face, and the chaos erupted all over again.

My mother shook her head. "Look at that—narrow-minded, yet unwilling to admit their own incompetence, still clinging to these pathetic, patriarchal delusions." My father pulled her away. "Let’s cut all ties with them from now on." My parents likely thought the uncle’s family was merely heartless and prone to projection, but I saw the truth: they had been plotting to "link" their fate to ours for over a decade. They were nothing but parasitic mites. When we thrived, they sat back and reaped the benefits; when we suffered, they were terrified the misfortune would double back onto them. As it turned out, the police soon announced that the couple were not only being charged with disturbing the peace, but were also under investigation for a fraudulent investment scheme involving over ten million. Even without the fight, it was only a matter of time before they ended up behind bars.

"La Qi!" As I stepped out of the police station, I saw my classmate, Lu Kuei, leaning out of a car window. "Are you back from your trip?" Lu Kuei hopped out, grabbing my hand affectionately. Her eyes were bright and shimmering, as if filled with a dozen twinkling stars. "La Qi, you’re the best! Thanks to all the study sessions and practice drills we did before the exam, I actually made the cutoff score!"

I had almost forgotten—Lu Kuei and I were in the same study group. Most of the other members were hopeless, their spirits shattered by the approaching exam dates. Only Lu Kuei and I had consistently drilled the material until the end. As it turned out, the very topics we reviewed appeared on the test. "Who said last-minute cramming is useless? Writing the exam and seeing every question you know the answer to—that feeling is pure bliss!"

My parents watched us chatting like a pair of sparrows and smiled. "If we hadn't been so busy, La Qi, you should have gone on a graduation trip. Now that the scores are out, you need to submit your applications. I never expected you to do so well." A man with slicked-back hair and a sharp black suit waved at us. It was Lu Kuei’s father, Lu Hao-ya. He had the same bushy eyebrows and sparkling eyes as his daughter. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. La! Where are you headed? Let me give you a lift!"

My father coughed awkwardly. "Ah... my name is Fei, Fei Zheng. This is my wife, La Shu-hua." Lu Hao-ya laughed brightly. "Oh! No matter. I hear La Qi and Lu Kuei are best friends; let me drive you." Our car was still in the shop after the accident in the neighboring city, and Lu Hao-ya was so insistent that we couldn't refuse.

As he drove, Lu Hao-ya chatted incessantly. "I’ve heard so much about how La Qi helped tutor my daughter. I’m not a very smart man myself, and Lu Kuei has never been a stellar student. I had already prepared to send her to an expensive private school and have her work at the company. I never expected her to make the cut—I’m absolutely thrilled!" My parents exchanged a knowing glance, their expressions suggesting they were thinking, "The blind leading the blind—one dared to teach, and the other dared to learn."

Lu Kuei chimed in, "It’s true! But during the final subject… that Tai guy… he pulled down his pants… he was so shameless! It was sickening, and that was the subject I was most confident in!" Lu Hao-ya’s sunny expression vanished. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. I won't let him get away with it. That boy is a disaster, and his father is mixed up in an illegal fundraising scheme. He’s already defrauded my associate out of a fortune. I’ll make sure that once he’s in prison, he never comes out."

The air in the car turned frigid. It turned out that the debt collector who had visited my uncle’s house was none other than Lu Hao-ya. Lu Kuei, sitting in the passenger seat, continued, "Dad, Tai is a total scumbag! He used to bully La Qi, too. Back in elementary school, he’d round up a gang of boys to block her during recess, mocking her for being a loser. He’s a beast! La Qi was always smart; she only struggled before because he was suppressing her. It serves him right that he only got 240 points! Wait—wait, La Qi, are you actually related to him?" In the backseat, my parents and I slumped down, searching desperately for a crack in the floor to vanish into.