"Who says I'll regret it? I'll sign it!" Ye Yuzhe said defiantly, taking the pen and signing his name.
"Alright, press your thumbprint too," Ye Zhi handed him the ink pad again.
Ye Yuzhe didn't hesitate to press his thumbprint. However, after doing so, he inexplicably felt as though he had signed a contract of servitude.
"Done," Ye Zhi put the contract away. "If you dare to go back on your word, I'll take this contract to court!"
"You..." Ye Yuzhe was furious. He felt something was wrong but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Ye Yongxian looked on with a strange expression but said nothing more.
"What are you still waiting for? Go back to your room and pack a few changes of clothes. I'll take you to the construction site right away," Ye Zhi urged.
Ye Yuzhe snorted and turned to go upstairs to pack.
Seeing him leave, Ye Yongxian couldn't help but say, "This contract won't hold up in court."
"I know," Ye Zhi smiled slightly. "It's enough to fool Ye Yuzhe, this little legal illiterate."
Ye Yongxian: ...Indeed.
"Are you really going for a whole month?" Liu Lingyu asked with concern. "But Yuzhe's senior year of high school starts in half a month. Won't this affect his studies?"
"Mom, look at him. He has no interest in studying right now. Even if you tied him to a desk, could he focus?" Ye Zhi reasoned. "It's better to let him experience some hardship. Maybe it will help him settle down and change his ways."
"I don't object to him enduring hardship," Ye Yongxian frowned. "But will this method really work?"
"It will," Ye Zhi said with certainty. "Dad, Yuzhe is young and likes to play, but he's actually quite responsible."
Otherwise, in the original story, when Ye Yuzhe hit rock bottom, he could have just given up. After all, life would be life no matter how he lived it. Yet, he desperately climbed out of the mire and repeatedly attacked Ou Minghan like a moth to a flame in his pursuit of revenge.
So, this child's disposition is still good, but he needs to be taught.
"What if..." Ye Yongxian said hesitantly, "What if he really endures the month and still doesn't repent? If he wins the bet, can we really let him have his way?"
"Dad, if he really wins, wouldn't that be great?" Ye Zhi smiled faintly. "Think about it. He's always been pampered. If he can persevere in such a starkly different environment, then no matter what he chooses to do in the future, will you still need to worry?"
Her words made Ye Yongxian and Liu Lingyu nod repeatedly. Both of them were convinced.
Not long after, Ye Yuzhe came downstairs, dragging a large suitcase.
Ye Zhi's lips twitched. She said speechlessly, "Stop right there! Do you think you're going on vacation? Leave all that stuff behind!"
"These are necessities!" Ye Yuzhe instinctively hid the suitcase behind him.
"Other than changes of clothes, nothing else is a necessity!" Ye Zhi said coldly. "This is all from the Ye family. If you're a man, put your things down!"
"Fine, I'll put it down!" Ye Yuzhe angrily threw the suitcase aside.
Finally, Liu Lingyu helped Ye Yuzhe pack a few changes of clothes and some toiletries into his schoolbag for him to take.
"Is this okay now?" Ye Yuzhe said indignantly.
"Wait!" Ye Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Give me the backpack."
Ye Yuzhe handed over the backpack, puzzled. Ye Zhi opened the side pocket of the backpack and pulled out a roll of cash.
"Mom, too much kindness spoils the child!" Ye Zhi said helplessly.
Ye Yongxian immediately looked at Liu Lingyu with reproach. Liu Lingyu covered her face in shame.
Ye Zhi put the several hundred yuan into her own pocket. Then, she took Ye Yuzhe in the car to the Feng Le Ju construction site.
Upon arriving at the construction site, Ye Zhi asked Ye Yuzhe to wait in the car while she went to meet Yu Ji.
Yu Ji was immediately on high alert, surprised that Ye Zhi would come so late. After all, Ye Zhi was much more difficult to please than Ye Yongxian. In fact, every time Ye Zhi visited, he had to think carefully about whether he had done anything wrong.
"Ms. Ye, why are you here so late?" Yu Ji asked with a fawning smile.
"Director Yu, I'm sending someone over tonight. He'll be working here for a month. Please take good care of him for me," Ye Zhi said.
Yu Ji paused and tentatively asked, "Ms. Ye, when you say 'take care,' do you mean take good care of him, or take bad care of him?"
Ye Zhi: ...
This is a construction site, why did he make it sound like some strange place?
"He's my brother," Ye Zhi explained. "In terms of workload, you don't need to go easy on him. He should do as much work as everyone else. As for his living situation, you don't need to manage it. Just treat him like any other worker. However, please keep an eye on him and don't let him be bullied, especially by people who sneak in from outside the site."
Ye Yuzhe's entourage had already been infiltrated by Ou Minghan's people. Ye Zhi didn't think that those people would give up just because she sent Ye Yuzhe to the construction site. They would definitely continue to look for opportunities.
Yu Ji's expression turned serious, and he immediately assured her, "Don't worry, Ms. Ye. It's my responsibility."
Afterward, the two of them met Ye Yuzhe. Ye Zhi told him to follow Yu Ji, and then she drove away without looking back.
Yu Ji led Ye Yuzhe to the temporary buildings at the construction site. He pushed open the door to one of the dorm rooms and said, "Old Zhang, don't you have an empty bed in this room? Let this kid have it."
"Alright, alright," a man agreed. The people in the dorm immediately cleared off one of the beds.
"Go on in," Yu Ji patted Ye Yuzhe's shoulder.
As soon as Ye Yuzhe entered, he nearly gagged.
He had truly never seen such a small space, and there were five bunk beds. The entire room reeked of sweat and smoke, and there was a lot of trash on the floor. Several simply dressed men were looking at him curiously. They sat casually on the beds, lifting their T-shirts to reveal their bulging bellies.
Ye Yuzhe had never experienced such a shock. He almost turned around and left.
"Young man, come here. This bed is by the window!" a kind-faced man called out to Ye Yuzhe with a smile. "We're all rough fellows, we smoke and drink, and we smell of sweat. If you sleep by the window, you won't be bothered by our fumes."
Ye Yuzhe forced himself to walk over. He sat down on the bed by the window, clutching his backpack nervously.
"Young man, what's your name?" the same man asked kindly. "Oh, right, my surname is Zhang. You can call me Old Zhang."
"Hello, Uncle Zhang," Ye Yuzhe said politely.