Chapter 55: Seven Years for an Attempted Theft?

Chu Lin was feeling somewhat helpless. He could only look at Li Siyu and say, “What’s past is already past. What’s happened can’t be changed, so there’s no need for anyone to dwell on it.”

Indeed, what has happened cannot be changed. Just as he could never return to being the person who once believed in love.

Li Qian listened to Chu Lin’s words and nodded in agreement, “Sis, Qin Lin is right. You’ve won ten million—why not just enjoy your life? Yet you’re still planning to buy a house and a car for that scumbag to win him back?”

“What???” Chu Lin felt as if his CPU had suddenly crashed when he heard this.

What was going on? She won ten million? Isn’t it said that winning the lottery is impossible, all prearranged? The only chance of winning is if the lottery company deliberately releases bait, or someone happens to buy a number arranged by a high-level insider—only then is it possible to win. But that’s a probability so small it’s almost nonexistent. Could his first love really be so lucky?

And what kind of bizarre move was it to buy a house and a car? Also, what was with the expectant look she was giving him?

Chu Lin was speechless.

What was this woman expecting? That she’d use her winnings to shower him with money, to keep him?

Hell, if that was the case, he’d show her what he was really made of.

Chu Lin directly took out the pearls he’d brought and handed them to Li Qian. “Qian, this is a gift for you. See if you like it!”

“What is it?” Li Qian was immediately drawn to the exquisite gift box Chu Lin handed over. When she opened it, she saw what was inside. “Chu Lin, are these pearls?”

Chu Lin smiled and nodded. “When you have time, take these pearls to Tarski and have a pair of earrings custom-made for yourself.”

“Chu Lin, you’re so good to me.” Li Qian beamed at him, her gaze then drawn to the certificate and price tag inside the box. She asked in disbelief, “Oh my, these pearls are ten thousand each?”

Li Siyu instinctively glanced over, then looked at Chu Lin in astonishment.

Ten thousand for a single pearl, and he’d given her cousin two at once?

“By the way, is the money I gave you last time still enough? Custom earrings at Tarski aren’t cheap. I’ll transfer you some more.” As he spoke, Chu Lin already had his phone in hand and transferred another fifty-two thousand to Li Qian.

“Chu Lin, you just sent me fifty-two thousand before.” Li Qian’s face was alight with happiness.

Honestly, to her, boyfriends didn’t matter at all anymore. Where could she find someone as wonderful as Chu Lin?

Though both were scoundrels, Chu Lin was worlds better than the one her cousin had met.

Lost in her happiness, Li Qian didn’t notice her cousin sigh quietly.

Li Siyu seemed entirely dispirited.

At that moment, she understood—everything was gone, and even though she’d won ten million, Chu Lin was no longer the penniless young man he once was.

Looking at her cousin’s radiant face, her emotions were stirred.

If only he hadn’t been poor back then, or if she’d been the one to win ten million, would everything have been different?

Just then,

Chu Lin’s phone rang urgently.

He picked it up and saw the caller was Liu Fa, so he answered.

Master Liu’s anxious voice came through at once, “Mr. Chu, a thief broke into the shrimp farm and was caught by Liu Xiao, then bitten on the backside by Da Huang.”

“Now Liu Xiao, Da Huang, and the thief have all been taken to the Pingjiang District police station. The key thing is, the thief is trying to turn the tables, saying Liu Xiao intentionally injured him and that Da Huang bit him, demanding compensation.”

“What?” Chu Lin shot up from his seat, then apologized to Li Qian, “Qian, sorry, something urgent has come up—I need to go handle it right away.”

“Mm, go ahead.” Li Qian nodded sensibly.

After all, Chu Lin had already made her shine in front of her cousin today, giving her pearls worth two hundred thousand and transferring fifty-two thousand.

Li Siyu watched him leave, even as he seemed to ignore her, and sighed quietly.

Now it seemed that the only bond between her and Chu Lin was her cousin.

She subconsciously asked, “Qian, why don’t you quit the 4S dealership and partner with me to open a shop?”

…

Chu Lin left the café, his face darkening immediately.

Even if the things at the farm were stolen, others couldn’t breed them anyway, but being targeted by thieves was always unsettling.

Especially since the thief was caught by Liu Xiao and yet was demanding compensation? That was absurd.

He wondered if there was any way to teach the thief a lesson.

He’d have to consult his eldest sister, the lawyer.

With that in mind, he quickly dialed her number.

His sister’s voice came through immediately, “You finally remembered to call me, brat. What’s up?”

“Sis, here’s the situation—I set up a breeding farm…” Chu Lin quickly explained everything.

His sister paused for a moment before speaking, “Don’t worry about it. The thief entered someone’s private property to steal, knowing there was risk and choosing to do it anyway. That’s self-inflicted risk. If he was bitten by the dog, you don’t have to compensate him.”

“Forget it, come pick me up at my apartment. I’ll help you handle the matter.”

“Thank you, sis!” Chu Lin hung up and drove straight to her apartment.

When he first entered society, his sister often invited him for meals, so he knew the route well and soon arrived at her complex.

As he reached a certain building, he saw his sister already waiting for him, dressed in professional attire, her short hair framing her face.

His sister, a city lawyer, cut a truly commanding figure.

Chu Yan’s eyes brightened as she saw the Panamera pull up before her.

Although she’d heard from their father that her younger brother had bought a luxury car, seeing it for herself was still a bit of a shock.

This brother had made something of himself, and she was happy for him.

“Sis.” Chu Lin greeted her at once.

“Nice car,” Chu Yan praised as she got into the passenger seat. “Is there surveillance at the farm?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s look at the footage, then check the scene.”

Without hesitation, Chu Lin drove to the farm. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw buckets and basins knocked over everywhere.

The size of the farm impressed Chu Yan—her brother’s assets were no small matter now.

Chu Lin headed straight to the surveillance room and found Liu Xiao had already recorded the relevant footage.

So he simply played it back to see what had happened.

The thief had actually come from that car.

He’d even used the corner street surveillance before to show Liu Xiao.

Moreover, when the thief was caught, there were people in the car who drove off.

“Looks like the thief was part of a gang, maybe even hired by someone. We’ll need to report this to the police station—can’t let them get away.” Chu Yan said, instructing Chu Lin to copy the footage.

Back in the yard, she suddenly glanced at the buckets and basins scattered on the ground and asked thoughtfully, “Lin, do you have anything valuable at the farm? Something that could be damaged if left temporarily in a bucket or basin?”

Chu Lin seemed to catch her meaning. “Yes—fertilized oysters, prawns, Neptune grouper fry, blue-ringed jellyfish!”

Chu Yan was taken aback. “I meant valuables, not seafood. If you want to teach them a lesson, you need to have property worth over five thousand damaged by them—that’s the threshold for prosecution. For amounts over five thousand, it’s up to three years. For amounts over fifty thousand, it could be up to seven years.”

Chu Lin’s eyes lit up at this. “I’ve got specially fertilized oysters that were smashed—they can lay tens of millions of eggs, and each sells for two hundred.”

“There’s also Neptune grouper, four thousand each, and a bunch of fry were killed. And blue-ringed jellyfish, a hundred each; several specially fertilized ones died, and each can hatch thousands.”

“All of these were temporarily kept in those buckets and basins, and now they’re dead because of them—I’ve suffered huge losses.”

As he spoke, Chu Lin was already calculating silently.

Fifty thousand counts as a significant amount.

How many times fifty thousand was the value he’d just described?

No problem getting a seven-year sentence, right?