Chapter 49: Innate Humble Body

"Xiao Kun, why did you stop talking?"

Seeing Cao Kun fall into complete silence after her revelation, Bai Jing assumed the news had hit him too hard and left him unable to process it. She waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Cao Kun snapped out of his daze, looked at Bai Jing, and gave a somewhat foolish smile.

Damn it!

His righteous desire for revenge had just suffered a completely broken flow!

Up until this moment, he had always treated Bai Jing as a wicked woman.

Ruining her family, sending her husband to prison, turning her daughter against her—he had committed all these acts without the slightest pang of conscience. After all, who told her to return kindness with ingratitude in his past life and frame him to rot in prison? This was the retribution she richly deserved!

Yet now, after he had already put Bai Jing through the wringer, someone casually informed him that she was actually a good person. What kind of sick joke was this?

Of course, this thought lingered in Cao Kun's mind for a mere 0.05 seconds before he tossed it to the wind.

Because, regardless of whether Bai Jing was a good person or not, Cao Kun was fully determined to exact vengeance upon Wang Yifu and Wang Shanshan.

Consequently, Wang Yifu's imprisonment, Wang Shanshan's destitution and homelessness, and the bitter estrangement between mother and daughter were all bound to happen.

In other words, the current state of affairs had very little to do with whether Bai Jing was good or bad.

The only thing it changed was that Cao Kun realized he had indeed been a bit too harsh earlier, treating her rather inhumanely.

Therefore, he resolved to be slightly gentler with her from now on.

After all, she was a good person!

Naturally, apart from that, it was certain he could no longer plot against her in the future.

Given Cao Kun's impeccably upright worldview, ignorance was bliss, but once he knew someone was genuinely a good person, continuing to target them would fill him with guilt.

Though perhaps only a tiny bit.

Flashing these thoughts through his mind, Cao Kun offered a smile and said, "Aunt Bai, thank you for telling me all this. You really are a good person."

A good person?

Hearing Cao Kun's evaluation of her, Bai Jing almost burst out laughing.

With the development of the internet, all kinds of trendy slang emerged in endless succession, and such a rustic compliment as "good person" was something she hadn't heard in ages.

In fact, on certain occasions, calling someone a good person felt almost like an insult.

"Just consider your Aunt Bai a good person, then," Bai Jing said with a beaming smile. "Anyway, as for that unfilial daughter of mine, you shouldn't waste any more effort on her. From start to finish, she never once intended to be with you."

"However, if you happen to have any special ideas, right now is actually a pretty good opportunity."

For a moment, Cao Kun didn't quite catch her meaning. Puzzled, he asked, "Aunt Bai, what do you mean? What kind of special ideas?"

Bai Jing gave Cao Kun a knowing look that implied they both understood without needing to spell it out. "Well? After pursuing that unfilial daughter of mine for three years, are you really content just being played with like a fool?"

"This..." Cao Kun murmured with a straight face.

"What are you putting on an act for?" Bai Jing laughed, giving Cao Kun a light shove. "When you pursued her, at least half of your reason was to get with her, wasn't it?"

Cao Kun suddenly broke into an embarrassed grin. "Aunt Bai, you're underestimating it. It was at least ninety percent!"

Bai Jing shot Cao Kun a sidelong glance before continuing, "That unfilial daughter of mine—I still know her pretty well."

"She's currently facing an imminent crisis: she has no money to go to college."

"As for me, she definitely can't count on me anymore, because our relationship is completely broken. Even if she comes crawling to me, I wouldn't give her a single penny."

"The only person around her right now who can possibly help her is you. So, she's definitely going to try and extract her college tuition from you."

"Therefore, you must keep your wits about you. Don't let her sweet-talk you or act spoiled, or you'll be handing over your money with a silly grin."

"You must always remember that she has always regarded you as a sucker and never had any intention of actually being with you."

"If you really want to help her, you must make her pay a price. As for what kind of price, that's up to you. Personally, I feel like you shouldn't spend three years as a simp for nothing. Right now is your chance to eat the meat. If you don't seize the opportunity now, you might never get another chance this good."

Listening to Bai Jing's completely biased advice, which was leaning entirely outward, Cao Kun felt momentarily dazed.

It felt as though he and Bai Jing were the actual family, while Wang Shanshan was nothing more than a complete outsider!

Cao Kun chuckled mischievously. "Aunt Bai, isn't this a bit inappropriate? How can you teach me to treat your own daughter like this?"

Bai Jing smiled faintly. "Just consider it my final favor to her."

"Because, playing with other people's feelings the way she does is bound to get her into serious trouble sooner or later. Making her take a hit from you isn't necessarily a bad thing. With you, the worst she'll suffer is getting taken advantage of, but with someone else, she might lose her life."

"That's why I desperately want her to take a massive tumble right here with you. Only then might she finally wake up to reality."

Oh!

So this was what Bai Jing was plotting all along!

Cao Kun nodded slowly, finally grasping her intent.

However, he wanted to tell Bai Jing that Wang Shanshan wasn't just going to suffer minor setbacks with him; there was a very real possibility she might lose her life all the same.

"But Aunt Bai," Cao Kun said, "what if Shanshan decides not to go to college and doesn't come to me to borrow money?"

"Impossible," Bai Jing asserted with certainty. "I know her too well. No matter how great the obstacle, she will definitely go to college. If you don't believe me, just wait. By tonight at the latest, she'll definitely contact you to cough up her tuition and living expenses."

Just as Bai Jing finished speaking, a ringtone suddenly cut through the air.

It was Cao Kun's phone!

Cao Kun pulled out his phone and saw that, sure enough, the caller ID displayed Wang Shanshan's name.

Bai Jing flashed a triumphant expression. "Look, what did I tell you? She's definitely coming to you for money. Answer it, let's hear what she has to say."

Cao Kun answered the call and casually switched it to speakerphone.

"Hello, Shanshan."

"Hey, Cao Kun, where are you?" Wang Shanshan's voice rang out, laced with a hint of spoiled cooing. "Why didn't you come back all night? I was home alone and so scared I didn't dare sleep."

Beside him, Bai Jing curled her lip in deep disgust and muttered under her breath, "Listen to her spouting absolute bullshit. Her gallbladder is bigger than mine; thunder cracking across the sky wouldn't stop her from sleeping."

With such a saboteur of a mother standing right next to him, it took a massive effort for Cao Kun not to laugh out loud.

Suppressing his amusement, he replied, "Oh, I was at the internet cafe yesterday, so I just pulled an all-nighter. What's up?"

"Um... nothing much, I just missed you," Wang Shanshan said. "I didn't see you all night, so I was a bit worried."

On the side, Bai Jing rolled her eyes dramatically and muttered once more, "Look at that, she's starting her routine. First she tries to blur the lines between you two, then she brings up money. Any guy with a shred of pride would find it hard to refuse."

"Good grief, where on earth did this unfilial wretch learn these manipulative bitch tactics? Is she born with a saint-like talent for being manipulative, picking it up without a teacher?"