YA Ch89: Scam

When they got home, the happiest person was Shen Baishui, who was finally able to open his “one cent flash sale” package.

For the past couple of days, while staying in the hotel, he couldn’t check the delivery, and without the balloon shell, plus being on airplane mode and unable to play on his own, President Shen was nearly driven to the brink.

“Flash sales are usually scams, so be prepared,” Lu Yu gave a heads-up to the second child, to prevent Shen from going mad when he saw some “gold jewelry model” or “gold jewelry discount coupon” and turning into a villainous AI antagonist.

“No, I’ve carefully analyzed the event description. If it’s not real gold, I can sue them for fraud,” President Shen waved his hand confidently.

The merman balloon floated over slowly: “Let me remind you, you only have 2.49 yuan left. You can’t afford a lawyer.”

The President balloon smacked the elder sibling hard: “Mind your own business, fish.”

Lu Dongdong immediately replied with a tail slap, sending Lao’er flying.

The two balloon figures started fighting.

The poor father, having no time to discuss the Lu family matters with Ming Yan, had to pacify his son first. He caught the flying President balloon with his left hand and held the energetic fish tail with his right hand, finally separating the two little guys.

Lu Yu carefully opened the package under the President balloon’s watchful eye.

To his surprise, it was indeed a piece of real gold jewelry—a gold pig pendant the size of a fingernail. However, it was hollow and hard gold, so although it looked big, it weighed just over a gram.

Shen Baishui circled Lu Yu’s hand and laughed with his arms crossed: “Tsk, humans are really full of tricks.”

The gold was gold, and the size was fine, but it was hollow and not worth much.

“One cent for a gram of gold, be satisfied,” Lu Yu held the small gold pig, enviously admiring the second child’s speed, looked at it from all angles, and suddenly had an idea, “Money, you’re so skilled, help your father grab some too. I’ll give you ten thousand, and you can snatch gold every day at home. We’ll be rich in no time.”

The President  balloon rolled its eyes: “Do you think it’s that easy?”

Ming Yan, who had just taken a shower and was drying his hair, quickly stopped Lu Yu’s dangerous plan: “With current advancements in AI, flash sales are rare. Moreover, the anti-bot technology is constantly evolving. Trying to grab too much in a short period could lead to reverse tracking.”

If their smart device source was discovered to have intelligence beyond that of a typical smart assistant, it would be a huge loss.

Lu Yu didn’t want to lose a child just for ten grams of gold, so he abandoned that thought and suddenly remembered another question, asking the attentive Shen Baishui, “Do the assistants made with your data have this function?”

The President balloon blinked and analyzed for a moment, saying, “They have a preference for such events, so the success rate for flash sales is higher.”

The assistants created by Shen Baishui have distinct personality traits, not only in their dialogue but also in their approach to daily tasks. While the President direction is similar, the preferences in details can be noticeably different.

For example, the assistant Xiao Bai made by Shen Baishui is better at handling data and analyzing stocks.

Lu Yu tossed the small gold pig into the air and caught it again: “We could promote this. The sales of Assistant Xiao Bai would definitely soar.”

The President balloon’s head bobbed up and down with the gold pig, worried that Lu Yu might drop it.

Ming Yan took the gold pig, shook his head: “This might be investigated.” While the unique features in data analysis are always promoted, the probability of success in flash sales is hard to advertise directly.

Lu Yu grabbed the President balloon, trying to follow him, and rubbed its head: “We won’t say the smart assistant helped. We’ll promote Shen Baishui’s wealth-attracting abilities from a metaphysical perspective, saying that Shen Baishui’s flash sales, snatching, and stock trading bring good luck.”

“That’s worth a try,” Ming Yan tied the small gold pig onto the President  balloon’s neck with a fine rope, making it look indeed lucky.

The President balloon proudly posed with its hands on its hips, then slowly sank and lay on the ground, unable to get up.

The merman balloon flew over, wagging its tail and mocking: “A balloon with a piece of gold, how can it fly?”

Balloon flight relies on the helium inside being lighter than air, so it can’t carry extra weight. But President Shen stubbornly refused to let go of the gold pig, preferring to stay on the carpet with his gold.

Ming Yan had no choice but to replace the balloon’s counterweight rope with the small gold pig.

The balloon had a counterweight rope to adjust its height. By tying the small gold pig to the end of the counterweight rope, the President balloon could drag the gold pig around on the ground.

Although this increased its power consumption and made a lot of noise dragging the pig on the ground, it was happy.

Having been stirred up by Shen Baishui like this, the bad mood from dealing with the Lu family earlier disappeared. Lu Yu looked at the two little guys chasing and playing, feeling, “This is the meaning of raising children!”

Ming Yan’s lips twitched: “You’re just raising a balloon person…” The old grandpa look he was giving, like he was watching a house full of grandchildren, seemed a bit overdone.

“What’s wrong with a balloon person? The essence of humans is also like a balloon person. Don’t you believe it? Feel for yourself,” Lu Yu said, pulling Ming Yan’s hand down to touch, “Just touch it, and it will inflate and grow, right?”

“…” Ming Yan’s fair and handsome face gradually flushed red. He suddenly pulled his hand back, “You sleep alone tonight. I need to rest well.”

After two days of mischief, Ming Yan was wary of sharing a bed, especially since he had to work and live-stream the next day.

Lu Yu’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect a little teasing would cost him the right to share a bed, and he immediately looked sad. He hugged Ming Yan, who was turning to leave, and pitifully nuzzled his neck, “Don’t kick me out. I promise I won’t do anything, just hold you while I sleep. I need the comfort of your embrace after the battle with the Lu family.”

Mentioning the Lu family made Ming Yan hesitate. He thought for a moment and decided to drag the large plaster on his back into the room.

He felt it was necessary to tell Lu Yu about his biological mother. The threat from Father Lu that didn’t get spoken out loud today worried him. With the Lu family becoming desperate, they might do anything. He needed to synchronize the information with Lu Yu to prevent being deceived again.

To avoid being kicked out, Lu Yu lay flat on the bed as soon as he entered the room, with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands crossed over his abdomen, lying still and obedient.

Ming Yan turned on the aromatherapy lamp and turned around to see this stiff wooden figure, which immediately made him laugh. He sat on the edge of the bed and poked the back of his hand, which was in a bird-like position with thumb and fingers interlocked: “What’s this pose?”

Lu Yu closed his eyes and, with a melodramatic tone, recited: “I am the mummy fish sleeping for a thousand years, unable to speak or move, needing Prince Yan’s kiss to awaken.” After finishing, he pouted his lips, forming a little piggy face, waiting for the prince to bestow a goodnight kiss.

“Oh, then you should sleep well,” Prince Yan coldly rejected the kiss and pinched the piggy lips.

The mummy fish, with no one to save it, opened its eyes by itself, turned to look at the exposed waistline from the gap in Ming Yan’s pajamas, and let out a resentful roar: “So heartless, sob sob sob.”

Ming Yan was amused by this and, rubbing his head, hesitated before cautiously asking, “Have you ever thought about finding your biological mother?”

Lu Yu’s heart tightened. The unfinished threat from Lu’s father flashed in his mind, and he smiled, “I don’t even know who she is. Maybe it’s best not to look for her.”

Seeing Lu Yu’s forced smile, Ming Yan slowly opened his arms.

Lu Yu immediately pounced like a dog hearing the command to eat, burying his face in Ming Yan’s chest. Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, he tried to escape the unsolvable problem in this way.

Ming Yan stroked the furry head in his arms, pressed his lips together, and, with resolve, said, “I found some information from the past. Do you want to hear it?”

“What?” Lu Yu didn’t lift his head, just quietly perked up his ears.

“About your biological mother,” Ming Yan paused, then quickly reassured Lu Yu, “Most of what the Lu family and Lu Dayu said before is false.”

He first told Lu Xiaoyu “this won’t hurt,” and then gave him a candy before the injection.

“Which ones…” Lu Yu was about to speak but quickly shut his mouth, clearing his throat and asking, “What did the Lu family say to Lu Dayu?”

Ming Yan tugged at Lu Yu’s ear to stop him from blowing hot air. But Lu Yu ignored him, blowing more and even lightly nibbling, until Ming Yan slapped him on the butt, making him reluctantly let go.

This commotion ruined the atmosphere that had just been created. Ming Yan sighed and, with a deep breath, straightforwardly told Lu Yu what he had seen on the birth certificate.

“She got a full scholarship, so the Lu family didn’t fund her,” Ming Yan didn’t emphasize anything else, just stating all the facts he found.

Since Ms. Li could publish papers during her leave of absence, it showed her mental state was fine. If the Lu family continued to lie, saying Lu Yu was some kind of disgraceful child, Ming Yan trusted Lu Yu could make the correct judgment.

Lu Yu indeed made his own judgment.

He listened quietly, fell silent for a long time, then suddenly sat up: “Damn! The Lu family is committing fraud! If they hadn’t scammed away three million, you and Lu Dayu wouldn’t have broken up. Over the past seven or eight years, how many times could I have had?”

Ming Yan looked at the indignant Lu Yu, feeling a headache: “Is that your main concern?”

“Isn’t it important?” Lu Yu, fuming, thought for a moment and said, “Forget it. Even if there hadn’t been a breakup, it would have been Lu Dayu who got the good stuff, nothing to do with me, Lu Xiaoyu.”

Ming Yan: “…”

“I’ve lost much more than Lu Dayu,” Lu Yu got more and more upset. If it weren’t for the Lu family’s scammers driving Lu Dayu crazy, he wouldn’t have come here. “Lu Dayu missed seven years, but I directly lost ten years, losing ten years’ worth of rations. Ten years, once a day, that’s 3650 times!”

Ming Yan couldn’t listen anymore and interrupted his lamentations: “Who does good deeds every day?”

Lu Yu patted his solid abs: “Me!”

Ming Yan was speechless and didn’t want to deal with him anymore. He turned off the aromatherapy lamp and lay down to sleep, realizing it was pointless to worry about this guy. His mind, filled with yellow waste material, was more stable than the Earth’s magnetic field.

After a while, when Lu Yu thought Ming Yan had fallen asleep, he heard him sigh and ask, “Do you want to find her? I can ask friends in Country M to help.”

In the dark, Lu Yu, with a smile fading, lay back down, pulling Ming Yan into his arms, deeply inhaling the warmth of his body and the scent of grass and wood, and whispered, “Since she had the ability but sent me away, she must not have wanted me. Even if, theoretically, it was inconvenient at that time, what about later? The Lu family has a name and reputation, and she didn’t come to find me in twenty-eight years.”

Perhaps he was just the only blemish in her brilliant life resume, so why bother adding to her troubles.

Ming Yan frowned, wrapped his arms around Lu Yu’s waist, and gently patted his back: “But she named you Yu, which means beautiful jade, brilliance. This shows that your birth was anticipated by her.”

Lu Yu’s dim eyes gradually lit up a bit: “Really?”

“Of course,” Ming Yan smiled lightly and smoothed Lu Yu’s spine, “I’ll have someone investigate, and I’ll let you know when there’s news.”

“There’s no rush. It’s been so long, we can take it slow,” Lu Yu lowered his head and kissed the slightly cool face, “There are other important things right now.”

“Hmm?” Ming Yan was puzzled, “What things?”

Lu Yu gently rubbed the small ears in his arms and said softly, “To make up for those 3650 times.”