After school in the afternoon, Lu Yun said a few words to the girls and then rode off directly toward Yu Ying's house. Originally, he had promised Yu Ying to deliver the money to her during the weekend, but several unexpected events during the weekend prevented him from doing so in time. This was life-saving money, and now it had been delayed by a full day—there was no room for further delay. Yu Ying must be absolutely frantic by now. "Yu Ying姐, I'm truly sorry, but I had some matters to attend to over the weekend..." Before Lu Yun could finish speaking, Yu Ying's eyes, which had been red from emotion, suddenly brightened. She quickly shook her head and hurriedly invited Lu Yun inside the courtyard, saying, "Xiao Yun, it's no problem at all. It's all my husband's fault—he's such a lackluster man. Just knowing you've helped me already makes me so grateful." Yu Ying's words were sincere. After all, gathering so much money wasn't something that could easily be done, and although Lu Yun had been with her, their relationship remained merely that of ordinary friends. Lu Yun's willingness to assist her deeply moved her. "Yu Ying, who is that?" Just as Lu Yun had finished parking the car, a man's voice suddenly broke in. Hmm? Lu Yun was startled and immediately looked up toward the direction of the voice. There, a tall middle-aged man stood at the doorway, his eyes full of alertness, carefully observing Lu Yun. "Yu Ying姐, what is this?" Lu Yun's heart tightened as he looked at Yu Ying, puzzled. Such a sturdy man suddenly appearing in her home—was this perhaps... Before Lu Yun could even think of the unbearable situation, Yu Ying quickly explained: "This is my brother from my mother's side. On my mother's side, he's the only relative I have. After I heard my husband had been involved in trouble, I was afraid something might happen to me too, so he came to stay with me. He's been looking after my safety, and meanwhile... he's been waiting for you to bring the money so we can go to the county town to secure the release of the people held there." When speaking of the money, Yu Ying seemed hesitant. After all, as an adult with her own brother, she had placed the entire safety of her husband on one young man—Lu Yun—whose very presence felt both unexpected and burdensome. Lu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. Though Yu Ying was married, he didn't want to see another incident like Ma Cuihua's happen. With a quick glance, Lu Yun smiled warmly at the stocky middle-aged man and said, "Uncle, good morning." As soon as the word "uncle" came out, Yu Ying was momentarily stunned—what a relationship! But now wasn't the time to dwell on such details. Yu Ying took Lu Yun's hand and led him to the man, whispering, "Brother, this is Lu Yun." Although Lu Yun appeared young, the middle-aged man remained watchful, warning him, "Remember, don't treat my sister poorly." My goodness, Lu Yun silently cursed under his breath. What did they mean by "treat poorly"? Wasn't he already making a scene with her sister? If he hadn't, how would he have known that his sister-in-law had been arrested for gambling and prostitution in the county town—right now, even whether she's still alive remains uncertain! Full of resentment in his heart, Lu Yun showed no sign of displeasure on his face. Instead, Yu Ying, upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, immediately said, "Brother, Lu Yun is here to help me. How can you treat him like this?" The sturdy man remained silent, glanced at Lu Yun, and then turned to enter the house. He'd better take some time to educate his good brother-in-law. After all, with Yu Ying on his side, and the current moment wasn't the right one to fuss over such petty matters, Lu Yun didn't take much issue with the solid-built man who clearly lacked some mental sharpness. Following Yu Ying into the house, he promptly produced the ransom and handed it to her. Initially, when the tall middle-aged man first saw Lu Yun—just a child of about ten or so—wearing ordinary clothes, he hadn't paid much attention. Could such a simple young boy possibly come up with a sum of over ten thousand yuan at once? Full of suspicion, yet when he saw Lu Yun actually hand over the money to his sister, the middle-aged man's gaze shifted—surprised, almost incredulous, tinged with a fervent, almost predatory enthusiasm. Lu Yun had never particularly liked this broad-shouldered man, but now he could feel the intensity of the man's stare, as if he himself were prey to a starving wolf, with an undercurrent of unease. He turned abruptly, only to find the middle-aged man fixing him with glowing eyes, as though he were about to make some unwanted move. He'd messed up! Instinctively, Lu Yun realized that the man must have noticed the large sum of money he had produced and now harbored ill intentions. He understood the principle that money should remain hidden, but he hadn't expected that Yu Ying's brother would take a particular interest in him—what a surprise! It seemed that even when people don't intend to harm a tiger, the tiger may still devour its heart. Originally, Lu Yun had intended to skip class and go to the county town with Yu Ying to redeem his husband. But now, looking at the situation, he simply couldn't take the risk with Yu Ying's brother. Lu Yun didn't fear him, but that didn't mean he lacked full confidence in his own strength. "Ying姐, the money has been delivered. The priority is to secure the release of the man. I'll head back now—I still have classes in the afternoon," Lu Yun said, making it clear he didn't intend to stay long in this tense situation. "Xiao Yun, haven't you had lunch yet? Stay for a meal and then we'll go," Yu Ying didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She assumed Lu Yun had just arrived after class, and hadn't even had lunch. Lu Yun smiled and said, "Saving lives comes first. I'll return to school. The matter of redeeming the man will be handled by Uncle." The last sentence was directed at the sturdy middle-aged man. The sturdy middle-aged man chuckled, revealing a set of white teeth that looked rather eerie. No matter how much Yu Ying pleaded, Lu Yun had already made up his mind. Though Yu Ying posed no immediate threat to him, this sturdy, somewhat clumsy man was definitely no easy opponent. The money had been delivered, his promise fulfilled. As for the rest, it would be up to Yu Ying to handle on her own—Lu Yun had truly done his best. With Yu Ying's repeated appeals, Lu Yun pushed the cart out of her courtyard. This beautiful young woman had brought him many joys, but some unnecessary complications were better avoided. Standing at the courtyard gate, watching Lu Yun climb into the cart, Yu Ying kept urging him to come back whenever he had time. Yu Ying sighed and turned toward the kitchen. Lu Yun had hurried off, and unexpectedly, she felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.