Stop messing around. Go play over there.
“Of course it hurts!” Jiang Quqi glared at Mrs. Qin. “From now on, Qin Jiao lives with me. He has nothing to do with you anymore. If you come bothering us again, I’ll call the police and have you all arrested!”
Seeing Jiang Quqi shielding Qin Jiao like a mother hen protecting her chick, Mrs. Qin truly believed that some relative of Qin Jiao had come to claim him. Thinking about how she had treated him before, she shrank back in fear and didn’t dare to say another word.
Jiang Quqi took Qin Jiao to the clinic. The doctor was an elderly man wearing reading glasses. One look at the boy’s injuries and he knew exactly what had happened. He looked up at Jiang Quqi with a sarcastic expression, rolling his eyes so hard they almost disappeared. It took a great deal of explaining on her part to clear herself of the suspicion of child abuse.
The wounds weren’t serious; they just applied some alcohol and told him to walk less and keep them dry. So Jiang Quqi ended up carrying him out again. Although Qin Jiao was reluctant, she insisted that he follow the doctor’s orders.
Looking at the busy street, Jiang Quqi suddenly remembered something very important.
“Oh right! I forgot to ask if you actually want to live with me. So… what do you think?”
Qin Jiao remained silent. Jiang Quqi started to panic and quickly added, “I’m way better than those people! You don’t actually want to go back there, do you?”
“Look, first of all, I don’t abuse people. I might not be perfect in every way, but I’m a law-abiding citizen with a normal mind.”
“Secondly, I’m richer than them. I can definitely provide you with food, clothes, and a good education without any problem.”
“And last but not least… I… I am very pretty.”
Realizing what she had just said, Jiang Quqi felt so awkward that she could have dug a hole with her toes. She forced herself to continue, “I mean… I look good! It’s better to look at me than those people, right? Didn’t the internet say that looking at beautiful people makes you beautiful too? And…”
Dear, you can stop talking now.
The system couldn’t bear to listen any longer and popped up to interrupt.
Jiang Quqi awkwardly swallowed her words and asked tentatively, “So… young man, what do you say?”
Ugh, what kind of weird way to address him was that?
A short laugh came from behind her. The boy’s soft hair brushed against her neck, tickling her slightly. “Sister, let’s go home.”
“Huh? Oh right! Home!”
“I’ll take you to see our new place. I bought it this morning. It’s a three-bedroom apartment with great lighting. It’s really close to your school, only about a ten-minute walk.”
“Oh, and we might not have everything we need yet, but don’t worry. There’s a supermarket downstairs, so we can buy the essentials first. I’ll go shopping for the rest another day.”
…
Jiang Quqi spoke cheerfully, her steps light and happy. Qin Jiao looked up at her, his expression unreadable, calm like still water.
He stared thoughtfully at the swirl of hair on top of her head, the corners of his lips curving into a faint smile.
If Jiang Quqi had seen it, she would definitely have cursed—”What a fake smile.”
Typical polite smile that didn’t reach the eyes.
The system finally went online again.
Ding! Calculating mission rewards…
Ding! Congratulations, dear! You have completed Phase Mission Two. Reward: 500 Yuan in cash.
Calculation complete. Please check your reward. Continue your efforts, Host.
Five hundred yuan cash. That’s so little. She could probably get that much just from the interest on her thirty million in the bank after a few days.
Hearing her thoughts, the system felt a heart attack coming and scolded her furiously.
Just yesterday you were complaining that a 12 Yuan meal at the cafeteria was expensive! Now you’re saying 500 Yuan is too little?! Dear, you’ve changed!
Jiang Quqi hummed a tune and forcibly logged the system off.
So noisy.
“That’s the kitchen over there, those are the bedrooms, and the one furthest down is yours. I just bought the place, so it’s empty right now, but don’t worry! I’ll get everything ready by tonight. If not, we might have to stay in a hotel, but I really hate hotels.”
“Okay, here’s some water. It might be a bit hot, so be careful when you drink it.” Jiang Quqi stuffed the TV remote into his hand. “Find whatever you want to watch. Be good, I’ll be right back.”
Qin Jiao nodded. As soon as the door closed, his face turned cold and he put the remote aside. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door unlocking again. He quickly grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
Hearing the familiar voice of Peppa Pig coming from the screen, Jiang Quqi stood there in shock, her pupils trembling as she looked at Qin Jiao. He opened his mouth to explain, but she accepted it gracefully before he could say a word. She poked her head in and said seriously, “I have something very important to tell you.”
Qin Jiao looked at her attentively.
“Don’t open the door just because someone knocks. And don’t go with strangers. Good thing I’m not a bad person, or you would have been sold already, you know!”
“Okay, I think that’s all. Got it?”
Qin Jiao nodded obediently.
“Good~” She clapped her hands. “Bye bye~ Keep watching, this episode is actually pretty good.”
“I—”
The word “I” got stuck in his throat. Like the wind, Jiang Quqi had already closed the door and left.
The room dimmed as she turned off the light on her way out. Qin Jiao didn’t turn it back on. He looked at Peppa Pig making pig noises on the screen, found it unbearable to watch, and turned off the TV.
Silence returned. Perfect.
One of the best things about having money is that the shopping experience is amazing. Jiang Quqi pushed a cart, and it was full in no time. She grabbed another one, filled it up, then another… She never wanted to go back to the original owner’s house, so she was buying everything new. Fortunately, the previous owner had left some things behind, many of which were brand new or barely used, so they could still be used.
She bought so much stuff it was ridiculous. In the end, she waved her hand and paid for delivery.
The breeze was cool and pleasant—it was September, after all. Tired out, Jiang Quqi plopped down on the steps, waiting for the delivery truck, her mind wandering.
Suddenly, her attention was caught by two people walking towards her.
The man was quite handsome and tall.
The woman was very beautiful and elegant.
But she had a strange feeling that they were looking for her—or rather, the original owner!
The woman was holding the man’s arm, and they walked straight towards her with clear purpose.
As they got closer, Jiang Quqi looked at the woman’s face. For a moment, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but when she blinked again, it was gone.
“Hello, my name is Song Qinglan.”
Song… Qinglan!
Jiang Quqi’s pupils shrank slightly. She froze, unable to move.
Song Qinglan! The male lead’s white moonlight in the book. On the surface she was gentle and kind, but in reality she was ruthless and would do anything to achieve her goals.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Song Qinglan was the main culprit behind the original owner’s tragedy. From the day Jiang Yan met her, she had one foot already in hell.
Organ theft, spreading rumors, framing, humiliation… The list went on and on. Back when she read the book, Jiang Quqi was so furious she almost choked on blood. She kept flipping pages anxiously until the female lead finally stood up and slapped this villainess in the face.
Jiang Quqi pulled back the hand she had unconsciously raised to shake hers. She stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and prepared to leave.
She was a villainess, alright. If she couldn’t fight her, she could at least avoid her! She had no interest in playing these deadly games.
“Sister Jiang, are you looking down on me? Or are you targeting me? Won’t you even say a word to me?” Song Qinglan cried out from behind, her eyes reddening, looking like a delicate flower battered by rain.
Jiang Quqi looked in disbelief at how fast the tears were falling. “System, I didn’t even do anything to her, right?”
The system was also speechless. It replied clearly, Correct.
“So she’s just determined to come and cause trouble for me?”
Uh… Good luck, dear.
Jiang Quqi was ready to run, but someone grabbed her wrist. She followed the arm up and saw the face of the man standing next to Song Qinglan.
This must be the male lead, the heir of the Jiang family, Jiang Huairui.
Jiang Quqi pressed her lips together. “Let go.”
“Apologize,” he demanded stubbornly.
“Apologize my ass,” Jiang Quqi said incredulously.
Jiang Huairui frowned deeply, his face darkening. “You made Qinglan sad! shouldn’t you apologize!?”
“She’s the one with issues imagining things! What does that have to do with me? Not even professional street actors are this dramatic!” Jiang Quqi glared at him. She grabbed his wrist with her other hand and squeezed with all her might.
Jiang Huairui winced in pain, but she didn’t let up. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and shoved her away.
“Jiang Yan! Are you crazy!?”
“You’re the one who’s sick, Jiang Huairui!”
“You dare call me sick!?”
“Of course I do! You’re just a useless, spineless jerk who helps evil doers!”
“If you don’t know how to use your eyes, donate them to someone who needs them! Were you given eyes just to cosplay a blind man!?”
“Even Erlang Shen has three eyes, do you want me to get you another one to put on your forehead? Who do you think you are, anyway?”
…
Song Qinglan watched as Jiang Quqi tore into Jiang Huairui like he was nothing, and slowly realized something was wrong.
Bitch! She’s just using this method to get Brother Jiang’s attention!
Song Qinglan glared fiercely at Jiang Quqi, who was busy scolding and didn’t know the sky was high or the earth was thick. Then she weakly tugged on Jiang Huairui’s sleeve. “Brother Jiang, don’t fight with Sister Jiang because of me… Wuwuwu…”
“Wait a second,” Jiang Quqi raised her hand to cut her off. “Stop calling me ‘sister’ every two seconds. It sounds like an insult coming out of your mouth. We’ve never met before today, so don’t try to act like we’re close.”
“And if I remember correctly, you’re twenty-six this year, right? That’s six years older than—”
One year! Jiang Yan is twenty-five!
“—six-six-six! And you still call me sister? That’s just weird.”
Seeing the delivery truck had arrived, Jiang Quqi gestured for the workers to load the items. She threw them a line, “Hope you two stay locked together forever,” and drove off, leaving them in the dust.
Song Qinglan was grinding her teeth in anger. She tugged gently on Jiang Huairui’s sleeve and swayed coquettishly. “Did I say something wrong again? Is that why Sister Jiang is so angry…?”
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, the corners turning red perfectly. A beauty in tears was a sight anyone would pity.
She timed it perfectly, ready to let the tears fall the moment she looked up. But when she lifted her head, she found he wasn’t even looking at her. She called “Brother Jiang” twice in disbelief before he finally snapped back to reality. “Huh? What did you say just now?”
Song Qinglan froze. Her hand holding his sleeve slowly loosened. Her eyes went blank for a second before she whispered, “Nothing.”
Jiang Yan! Jiang Yan! It’s all that woman’s fault!!!
Before, Brother Jiang would never ignore her like this. She already took thirty million from her mother, yet she still dares to seduce Brother Jiang!
Song Qinglan’s eyes gradually turned cold and vicious.
“Brother Jiang, I want to invite Sister Jiang to my birthday party next month. Maybe we can improve our relationship.”
“Your party, you decide the guest list.”
“Okay~” Song Qinglan smiled sweetly again.