Chapter 15: A Foiled Scheme
After coming out of the space, Su Ruizhe returned to the kitchen and continued cooking the meal that had been abruptly interrupted earlier. Lunch ended up being delayed into dinner.
Just as he had originally planned, he made a plate of steamed flounder, a dish of shredded pork stir-fried with green peppers, and a fragrant potato and pork rib soup.
Two dishes and one soup, accompanied by steaming white rice—both of them ate their fill and were thoroughly satisfied.
The next day, Su Ruizhe took the household registration booklet and the bank card and prepared to head to the neighborhood office together with Zhan Yun.
Before leaving, Su Ruizhe showed the household booklet and bank card to Zhan Yun.
Zhan Yun wasn’t surprised that Su Ruizhe was listed as the head of household. Back then, there had only been two people on the booklet—Su Ruizhe and his grandfather. After Grandpa Su passed away, Su Ruizhe, who was already over sixteen and had full civil capacity, naturally became the head of the household.
The three extra names on the booklet were a bit of an eyesore, but considering that they brought Su Ruizhe an extra three hundred thousand yuan in compensation, Zhan Yun decided to tolerate it for now.
However, when he saw the bank card, Zhan Yun frowned slightly.
“This card isn’t yours, is it?”
“It’s my grandpa’s.”
Grandpa Su was old, and his eyesight and memory weren’t very good, so the bank card had always been kept by Su Ruizhe. Whenever money was needed, Su Ruizhe would go to the ATM to withdraw it. Over time, he got used to using it and thought it would be fine to have the developer transfer the compensation to this card.
“But your grandfather has already passed away…”
Su Ruizhe blinked, not quite understanding what his grandfather’s death had to do with the bank card. After all, he had only ever used ATMs for deposits and withdrawals and had never encountered any problems.
“Silly kid.” Knowing that Su Ruizhe was suffering from a lack of social experience, Zhan Yun sighed and patted his head.
Using a deceased person’s bank card at an ATM wasn’t much of an issue, but once it involved counter services, it would become very troublesome. The cardholder’s ID would be required—and Grandpa Su’s ID had already been confiscated by the police.
If, when signing the demolition compensation agreement, Su Ruizhe requested that the money be transferred to Grandpa Su’s card, Chen Huizhen would very likely point out that Grandpa Su had already passed away. In that case, according to regulations, the developer definitely wouldn’t transfer the money to that card.
On top of that, Su Ruizhe was still under eighteen. To open a bank card in his own name, he would need to be accompanied by his legal guardian. His legal guardian was his mother. Although she had run off with someone else years ago and never came back, and although Grandpa Su, out of a desire not to air family scandals, had never told anyone about it, legally speaking, she was still alive and still Su Ruizhe’s legal guardian.
But this legal guardian might as well not exist. No one knew where that woman was now, and there was no hope of her appearing to accompany Su Ruizhe to open a bank account.
At that point, as long as Chen Huizhen calmly produced her son’s bank card, all that money could end up in her hands. And once that happened, it would be extremely difficult for Su Ruizhe to get it back…
“Th-then… can we use your card?” Su Ruizhe asked anxiously after hearing all this. Chen Huizhen was so selfish that there was practically nothing shameless she wouldn’t do—she really might pull something like that!
“I can’t. Using the bank card of an unrelated person isn’t allowed.”
“Then what do we do…?” Su Ruizhe asked dejectedly.
Seeing Su Ruizhe’s pitiful expression—his big dark eyes already starting to glisten like a little puppy that had been badly bullied—he looked unbearably adorable.
“Heh, don’t forget what I do for a living. Isn’t it just opening a bank card?” Zhan Yun ruffled Su Ruizhe’s fluffy hair.
“Really?!”
Zhan Yun raised an eyebrow. “Of course. A piece of cake.”
“Brother Yun! You’re amazing!” Overjoyed, Su Ruizhe threw himself straight into Zhan Yun’s arms, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist and rubbing against him like an excited puppy.
With the person he liked throwing himself into his embrace, Zhan Yun naturally didn’t refuse. He wrapped an arm around him, his tall frame enveloping Su Ruizhe completely.
Gradually, Su Ruizhe calmed down from his excitement and grew shy again. His fair face flushed pink, making him look even more adorable.
Unable to resist, Zhan Yun lowered his head and kissed his soft lips.
When their lips met, Zhan Yun extended his tongue and lightly licked the seam of Su Ruizhe’s lips. Su Ruizhe widened his eyes in surprise. Not wanting to scare the cute little guy too much, Zhan Yun was about to pull back—but just as he did, Su Ruizhe suddenly closed his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and clumsily copied him, giving Zhan Yun’s lips a tentative lick in return.
Su Ruizhe’s little tongue was soft, warm, and trembling slightly, making Zhan Yun’s heart soften all at once. He gently entwined that quivering tongue and shared a tender yet lingering kiss with him.
After they finally parted, Su Ruizhe stammered out an excuse about being thirsty and ran off into the courtyard.
Zhan Yun smiled as he took out his phone and made a few calls.
After leaving the house, the two of them went to the bank, where everything went very smoothly and a bank card was successfully opened in Su Ruizhe’s name. Zhan Yun’s secret-police status was still extremely useful.
Later, when they arrived at the subdistrict office, Chen Huizhen and her son Su Qiang were already waiting there.
Chen Huizhen looked at Su Ruizhe with obvious displeasure. “You child! Why are you so late?! And who is this person?”
This big guy was tall and sturdy at first glance—not someone easy to deal with. Why had Su Ruizhe brought him along?
“My friend,” Su Ruizhe replied indifferently. “Shall we go in?”
Hearing this, Chen Huizhen could only suppress her dissatisfaction for the time being and follow behind Su Ruizhe into the special demolition office set up by the subdistrict.
When the developer’s staff heard that they were the property owners there to sign the contract, they were naturally delighted. After checking the household registration booklet and confirming everything was correct, they took out the contract, and Su Ruizhe, as the head of household, signed his name.
“Now just let me make a copy of your bank card, and we’ll transfer the money to you as soon as possible.”
“Little Zhe, whose card is that?” Chen Huizhen asked casually when Su Ruizhe took out the bank card. “A deceased old man’s card can’t be used, you know.”
“It’s not my grandpa’s card.”
“Then… a card belonging to someone who isn’t on the household register can’t be used either,” Chen Huizhen said pointedly, glancing at Zhan Yun.
“Auntie, there’s no need to worry. This card is mine.”
“What?! Aren’t you still a minor?!”
“Yes, but before Grandpa passed away, he accompanied me to get one done. He said I’d need my own bank card anyway—it would be more convenient.”
Chen Huizhen’s scheme fell flat, and her expression immediately turned ugly. Su Ruizhe, however, paid her no mind and smiled at the staff member instead. “If you’re concerned, you can verify the identity information when making the transfer.”
“Mm, we will,” the staff member replied. He could tell that there were some internal conflicts in this family, but he had no intention of getting involved—handling things according to the regulations was enough.
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