After My Cheap Husband Faked His Death, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with His Younger Brother - Chapter 12

From their time in the orphanage until adulthood, Luo Huai and Ji Chuli had never been separated.

As they grew older and left the orphanage, they moved to a small city in a neighboring province to work. Luo Huai attended middle and high school there. Ji Chuli would say she did not want to study, asking what use a bookworm could possibly be, yet every cent she earned from working went toward paying Luo Huai’s tuition.

Luo Huai was supported by Ji Chuli throughout high school.

Back then, influenced by his sister, he had become an optimistic, tactful, and cheerful person, learning never to show timidity in front of anyone.

Ji Chuli used to say, “That is the right way to be. Life is meant to be lived with a smile. Crying takes a day, and smiling takes a day, so why not smile?”

Luo Huai believed her, feeling that life would always get better.

A few days before the college entrance examination, Ji Chuli’s biological father suddenly contacted her, saying that her grandmother was critically ill and urging her to return home immediately.

Ji Chuli had severed ties with her father years ago and had decided never to see him again, but for the sake of her grandmother, she could not look past it and went.

Upon returning to that home, which was even more dilapidated than in her memories, she discovered that her grandmother had already passed away due to illness long ago. Her father had tricked her into returning because he had been destitute for too long and sought a way to get money by selling her to a middle-aged bachelor who could not find a wife.

That bachelor did not actually want to possess her; he used that status to traffic girls. After being sold, those girls would ultimately be sent to the office of a local steel mill tycoon.

The truth was, when that greasy boss tried to force himself upon her on his office desk, Ji Chuli, fighting for self-preservation, grabbed a utility knife from the desk and stabbed it deep into his neck.

On that blood-stained afternoon, Luo Huai was taking the final exam of the college entrance examination, full of hope.

When he finished and walked out, he opened his phone to see a message from Ji Chuli: “Xiao Huai, sister is in trouble.”

He did not want to recall what happened after that.

Ji Chuli was sent to a local private prison. It was the kind with limited legal authority and a hidden profit-seeking model.

In such a place, the bosses from the gray areas of Bin City could always find countless ways to torment ordinary people without backgrounds.

That tycoon did not die; he was saved after staying in the ICU for a few days.

But knowing that Ji Chuli had a fierce temper, he feigned an opportunity for them to resolve the matter, telling them to find lawyers for a lawsuit. Luo Huai emptied his savings, accompanied Ji Chuli in finding lawyers, filing appeals, and attending court hearings.

In the end, due to human interference, it was not a fair judicial process at all.

The two of them, having no power or influence, were crushed by overwhelming forces and ground into the dirt, with no hope of turning the tables.

Ji Chuli was sentenced to twenty years in prison for intentional injury.

Twenty years.

It was too heavy. It would consume the best twenty years of Ji Chuli’s life and did not conform to legal regulations, but it happened nonetheless. It was clearly a vendetta, carried out with the intent of destroying her.

However, sitting in that prison was not their only option. After making inquiries everywhere, Luo Huai found an opportunity. A prison warden sent someone to tell him that for ten million, he could have free visitation; for thirty million, he could reduce the sentence; and for fifty million, he could get parole.

As it happened, on the very day he received this news, Luo Huai received his admission letter from Bin University. He sat on the edge of his bed in his rented room, staring at that paper for a long, long time before tucking it into a book and hiding it under his pillow.

He decided not to attend school.

He had to work to earn money.

Although he had been incredibly decisive when making that decision, the weight of the despair in Luo Huai’s heart was like a mountain.

He knew that with his own strength, it would be impossible to earn that much money in several lifetimes.

Yet, what other choice did he have? He could not bring himself to attend university, fall in love, and work while leaving Ji Chuli alone in that kind of place.

Consequently, he worked desperately, holding three jobs a day. He would wake up at 4:00 AM and only sleep at 2:00 AM. He lost a lot of weight, and the dark circles under his eyes never faded.

He lived like that for two years. He was once so desperate that he wanted to give up on himself, but he forced himself to stay strong, constantly brainwashing himself with Ji Chuli’s optimistic spirit.

Then, heaven had eyes, and he was found by the Luo family, landing him a marriage with a dowry of 18.88 million.

When that astronomical figure was reported to him, he found it ironic. So, people from wealthy families could get so much money just by marrying someone off.

Therefore, he clung tightly to this ray of irony.

Including the gift money, the dowry certificates, and the money he had gradually acquired from the Luo family and Lin Yuhe, Luo Huai reviewed these figures in his mind once more, confirming they were correct.

However, he did not just want visitation and a sentence reduction. He wanted parole first, and then to overturn the case. Ji Chuli had acted in self-defense; she should not be in prison, not for a single day.

His phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.

Luo Huai looked down. A message popped up on the screen from an unsaved number: “Is the money ready? I am almost there.”

Luo Huai’s finger paused on the screen for a second, then he slowly typed: “It is ready.”

He placed his phone face down on the table, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside.

The person who entered was a man around thirty years old, of medium build, wearing a dark blue jacket, a black baseball cap, and a black face mask, revealing only eyes with more whites than pupils.

The man did not rush to sit down after entering. His gaze scanned the room first, and only after confirming there was nothing unusual did he pull out a chair and sit opposite Luo Huai.

The two sat facing each other, neither speaking first.

The man pulled an envelope from his inner jacket pocket, placed it on the table, and slid it toward Luo Huai.

“Where is the money?” the man’s voice was very low, as if he were deliberately suppressing his throat to speak.

Luo Huai bent down, picked up the case from beside his feet, and placed it heavily on the table. He pulled the zipper open and turned it to face the man.

The man leaned in to look, reached out to flip through the contents to confirm everything was there, and nodded.

Luo Huai slammed the case shut, pressed his hand on it, and asked coldly, “This is ten million. You promised me free visitation and the ability to pass items. Can you do it?”

“This is the acceptance receipt for the visitation application.” The man was very impatient and reached out toward Luo Huai. “The warden has already been briefed. Within a week at most after this is done, you will be able to see her immediately. Hurry, give it to me.”

Luo Huai lowered his eyes to look at the envelope, his fingers pressing down on the case tightening slightly.

“And what about the sentence reduction?” he asked with a cold gaze.

“Tsk, the price has not changed.” The man frowned and held up a finger. “How much is this? It is not nearly enough.”

Luo Huai took a deep breath. “I will collect enough. It is just a matter of time.”

The man nodded and was about to say something when his phone suddenly vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID and stood up. “Wait a moment. I am going out to take a call.”

Luo Huai did not stop him.

The man carried his phone out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Luo Huai could vaguely hear muffled talking in the corridor, but he could not make out the content.

He stared at the envelope on the table, his heart beating a little fast.

Ten million in total.

He had saved a significant amount since returning to the Luo family, but some of the funds were temporarily inaccessible due to various procedures. He could only take what he had for now and proceed step by step.

In the corridor, the man held his phone and spoke in a hushed tone.

“I have counted both the cash and the certificates. The amount is correct.”

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before a flat voice replied.

“Almost no one can meet such harsh conditions. Only twenty years old, and he collected this much in two years? He must still have value that has not been squeezed dry.”

The man’s footsteps halted.

“What do you mean by that?”