The Foolish Wife Turned Scheming After Her Recovery - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Damn it, Screw The So-called Phone Savior

Feeling suspicious, Yu Yao started probing into Lu Zhili’s background indirectly.

“You came here today to work out? That’s a pretty big gym bag you’ve got.”

Lu Zhili was always ravenous after training. She still had a chopstick full of udon halfway to her mouth, but upon hearing Yu Yao’s question, she politely put her chopsticks down and replied, “No, I didn’t come to work out. All those machines are too complicated. I’m here for my jiu-jitsu class.”

She’d been to her home gym before, which mainly existed so her bodyguards could train. She had tried it once but couldn’t figure out how to use any of the equipment, so she never went back.

Now that she was talking about something she was good at, her words came pouring out. She wanted to show her best self in front of her new friend. “Coach Zhao said I’ve trained for over ten years now, and I’m really good! I can protect you!”

“Coach Zhao said that? You don’t remember it yourself?” Yu Yao quickly caught the odd part of her statement.

Lu Zhili tilted her head, her gaze drifting like she was trying to recall something. After a few seconds, she shook her head. “I forgot, but Coach Zhao remembers.”

After all, she was only eight years old now, but it was totally possible for someone her age to have trained for over a decade.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Yu Yao said casually, lifting her lemon water and taking a sip before continuing, “So, how old are you? You look younger than me.”

Lu Zhili replied, “I’m twen—” She stopped mid-word, a flash of realization crossing her mind, and quickly changed course. “I’m twenty-six. I’m twenty-six years old.”

Her mom had told her that no matter who asked about her age, she must always answer “twenty-six.” After all, she was a very special child. At only eight years old, she had already grown to 172 cm tall, and looked just like a regular adult.

If anyone ever found out she was really only eight, she would be taken away by some research lab immediately!

Lu Zhili didn’t want to be separated from her new friend, so she told a tiny lie. Good kids weren’t supposed to lie, but her mom had said this was a “white lie,” and everyone would forgive her.

Yu Yao didn’t miss a single expression on Lu Zhili’s face — including that one little syllable she almost blurted out.

“Twen…ba…”

So — eight?

This absolutely stunning, goddess-like girl in front of her… was mentally only eight years old?!

Yu Yao was frozen by the realization. Then what was she doing now? Did this count as abducting a minor?

Before she could fully process it, a phone rang in the small private dining booth. Both of them looked toward the sound — it was coming from Lu Zhili’s bag.

Yu Yao snapped back to reality. “Sorry, that should be my phone. Could you pass it to me?”

Whoever it was, this call was perfectly timed. She needed a moment to mentally digest everything. Thank god for the phone savior.

She looked down at the screen.

Yu Zhujun.

Damn it. Screw the phone savior.

Yu Yao masked her expression, murmured something to Lu Zhili, and stepped out of the booth with her phone, heading toward the restroom corridor.

“Hello?”

“Yu Yao! You damn brat, why the hell aren’t you answering your dad’s calls?!” the voice on the other end barked aggressively.

Yu Yao leaned against the wall, her back pressed against the cool ceramic tiles. The chill helped calm the fire building in her chest. “What do you want? Spit it out.”

Yu Zhujun paused, then got to the point. “Send me twenty thousand yuan. Your sister got into a fight at school. We need to pay for the other kid’s medical bills.”

“Hah.” Yu Yao let out a cold laugh, a flash of mockery in her eyes. “Do you even know what grade Yu Ling’s in? Which class? What school? Do you even know her homeroom teacher’s name?”

“Don’t give me that crap! Don’t believe me? That damn girl even had the guts to try and stab her own dad with a knife. Beating up a classmate is nothing in comparison! I’m telling you, whether you believe me or not, you better send me that twenty grand. If you don’t, I’ll go find that slutty mom of yours!”

Yu Yao’s face darkened instantly, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

Her mother was still living in their hometown, taking care of Yu Ling, who was about to take the college entrance exam. Yu Yao couldn’t take a gamble on Yu Zhujun’s character — a man drowning in gambling debts was capable of anything.

“Fine, I’ll give you the money. But I don’t have it right now. After you made that scene at my studio last time, I got demoted. I need time to gather it.”

The moment Yu Zhujun heard her agree, his tone softened. “Alright, I’ll give you two days. Borrow some from your rich coworkers. I’ve got a hot investment opportunity this time, trust me — I’ll definitely pay you back.”

“No chance. One week.”

“This investment can’t wait! Three days!”

“Five days. Take it or leave it.”

“Alright, alright! Five days it is! That big boss is leaving the day after tomorrow. If it weren’t for my connections, you think you’d even get five days? You better wire me that money the second time’s up.”

Yu Yao didn’t say another word. She just hung up.

A wave of violence and frustration welled up inside her, making her want to smash something or scream. But she couldn’t.

When she was young, Yu Zhujun would drink and gamble. After losing, he’d come home furious — and Yu Yao and her mother were his punching bags.

She hated that violent temper. And yet, she had inherited it.

She didn’t want to become a scumbag like him.

By the time she calmed herself and returned to the booth, Lu Zhili had already cleaned her bowl of udon noodles. Two plates of mango sticky rice had been served, and she was eating one of them.

Putting down her spoon, she wiped her mouth. “Yu Yao, you’re back. I ordered two mango sticky rices — one for each of us. I usually don’t like sweet and sour stuff, but this one’s actually really good.”

Looking at Lu Zhili’s ethereal face, most of the violent emotions inside Yu Yao dissipated, though her expression remained cold.

She glanced at the pineapple chunks in the mango sticky rice, then shook her head wearily. “I’m allergic to pineapple. You eat mine too.”

Lu Zhili’s ears drooped like a rain-soaked puppy. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were allergic…”

Yu Yao didn’t want to say anything more. She didn’t have the energy to comfort a mentally eight-year-old child.

But surprisingly, Lu Zhili didn’t need comforting.

She took out her phone, opened her Notes app, and quietly jotted down: “Yu Yao — allergic to pineapple.”

Then she asked casually if Yu Yao had any other allergies, favorite flavors, or preferred foods.

Yu Yao froze as she watched her typing so seriously. When she heard the question, she responded instinctively.

“You…” she started, confused. “What are you doing?”

Still typing, Lu Zhili replied without looking up, “I’m recording your preferences. That way, I can take you to eat food you like next time.” Then she looked up and smiled sweetly.

Yu Yao didn’t respond. She just quietly lowered her head and drank her Tom Yum soup.

From that point on, Lu Zhili did most of the talking. Yu Yao mostly just listened, occasionally answering questions.

Lu Zhili noticed something was off, but she simply assumed Yu Yao didn’t like the restaurant. In her mind, she quietly blacklisted the place.

So annoying… My first meal with the princess, and I took her somewhere she didn’t even like… QAQ

Trying to make up for it and cheer Yu Yao up, Lu Zhili secretly pulled the server aside while paying the bill.

“Excuse me, are there any cake shops on the fifth floor?”

“There aren’t any cake shops here,” the server replied, “but there’s a really good ice cream place.”

After getting directions, Lu Zhili returned to the booth, looking mysterious.

“Yu Yao, I’m going to buy something real quick. Wait for me here, okay?”

Yu Yao still had half a bowl of soup left, but she set her spoon down, ready to leave with her — she hadn’t forgotten that the girl in front of her had the mind of an eight-year-old.

But Lu Zhili reached out and pressed down on Yu Yao’s shoulder, instinctively acting coy. “No no, just wait for me here, okay?” Then, without waiting for an answer, she turned and ran off.

Yu Yao thought about chasing her, but her mind was already overloaded. In just one meal, she’d been hit with more information than she could process.

Considering the bodyguards who always seemed to be nearby, and Lu Zhili’s decade-long jiu-jitsu training, she decided not to follow.

After thinking for a moment, she pulled out her phone and opened her browser.

[Search: Shengtian Group, Lu Zhili]

Dozens of news articles about Shengtian Group popped up — acquisitions, mergers, innovations. But there was nothing about Lu Zhili.

No surprise there. If the daughter of Shengtian Group’s chairman had the mind of an eight-year-old, it would be a major scandal. Of course it was kept under wraps.

She kept scrolling, and finally spotted something near the bottom — a post that mentioned “Shengtian Group’s young miss.”

She paused, then tapped in.

It was a Weibo post from two years ago, on an old account that hadn’t updated in ages.

“Holy crap, the car in front of us just crashed. Someone said Shengtian Group’s young miss was inside. If she’s gone, that’s such a shame.”

The post included a location — Beijing Capital Airport.

Yu Yao backed out and tried another search.

“Beijing Capital Airport, car accident”

This time fewer results came up. She filtered for posts from two years ago, narrowing it further.

Still nothing about the crash — it was like the whole incident had been erased.

Yu Yao wasn’t overly nosy. If someone had gone to such lengths to bury a story, she had no reason to dig deeper.

She stood, ready to go find Lu Zhili. But just as she reached the restaurant entrance, a commotion broke out outside.

Her heart tightened, and she rushed toward the noise.

Before she even got there, she heard a young boy scream—

“Ahhh! You’re just a big dummy! A big idiot! Stupid, stupid, stupid!”