World 1. Chapter 11
“Don’t worry about this. I’ll go get your pay back for you. You just go to work. They’re only taking advantage of you because you’re easygoing and easy to push around. You don’t need to stress over that nonsense.” Upon learning that the tutoring center really hadn’t paid Li Xue, Lin Yanan volunteered to handle the matter. Li Xue couldn’t persuade her otherwise, so she just let her go ahead.
“Old lady, what are you doing? Do you realize you’re interfering with our business?” Xing Hui glared at Lin Yanan, who was sitting right at the doorway, and nearly ground her teeth to dust. This woman was like a stubborn leech—she refused to leave until she got paid, blocking the entrance day after day.
“That’s nothing yet. I haven’t even played the recording from that day. But I’ll ask one more time: are you sure you won’t pay the wages?” Lin Yanan had prepared for a long battle before coming, so this minor setback was no match for her.
“Get out of here! There’s no place for you here.” Xing Hui was furious and tried to push her out.
“Oh my, this tutoring center is bullying the elderly…” Lin Yanan took advantage of the moment to fall backward and began “wailing” right there!
“Why is there always trouble here? First you argued with a student’s parent, and now you’re arguing with an elderly person. It’s never-ending. I think I’ll send my child somewhere else! Otherwise, with all these daily dramas, who could stand it? “We’re here to learn, not to watch a show!”
“You’re absolutely right! Once our contract expires next month, we’ll switch to another tutoring center too. It’s not like they’re the only one around.”
Lin Yanan’s outburst drew the attention of some parents from the tutoring center and onlookers. Xing Hui felt anxious but dared not lay a hand on Lin Yanan again; however, she still hadn’t given in just yet. It wasn’t until Lin Yanan played the audio recording from that day, and some of the other parents had already started taking their children home, that Xing Hui finally panicked and reluctantly agreed to Lin Yanan’s demands.
Xing Hui promised to transfer the money to Li Xue’s payroll account as soon as the finance department opened, but Lin Yanan no longer trusted her and didn’t buy her excuse. The two argued back and forth until, under Lin Yanan’s threats, Xing Hui finally handed over six thousand yuan in cash. As long as Lin Yanan got the money, and whether Xing Hui used her own money or the tutoring center’s funds made no difference to her.
“That old woman of Li Xue’s again?” Lin Yanan left as soon as she got the money, and by the time the tutoring center owner arrived, he could only see her retreating figure. But he had a vivid impression of this old lady; just from her silhouette, he could guess who it was.
“It’s that damn old hag again. She’s been hanging around here for days—she’s got some nerve. If we don’t pay her, she’s impossible to get rid of.” Xing Hui was usually the one bullying others, but now that she’d been “scammed” out of a sum of money, she didn’t know where to vent her anger.
“I just covered it with my own money. Are you going to reimburse me?” The boss and Xing Hui entered a private office. Xing Hui sat directly on the boss’s lap and flashed him a seductive glance.
“You’ve taken at least a few hundred thousand from me over the years. What’s a few thousand?” The boss pinched Xing Hui’s side, his eyes dark and inscrutable. Xing Hui winced but didn’t dare show it. “I was planning to use that money to buy a new phone, but now it’s gone.” ”They’d been together for quite some time. While Xing Hui wouldn’t claim to know the boss inside out, she was certainly adept at reading his moods. When he was in a good mood, she’d ask for more; if his expression turned sour, even she wouldn’t dare say a word.
“Alright, just wait a while. I promise I’ll make you a fortune—enough to buy several new phones.” Just as Xing Hui was thinking today was a bust, the boss suddenly spoke up, giving her a moment of surprise and delight.
“Then it’s a deal. No backing out now,” Xing Hui said happily. It seemed she’d made some progress after all.
“No backing out.” Just don’t change your mind when the time comes, the boss thought to himself.
“Mom, you actually got the money back? That’s so awesome.” ” Li Xue had already written off that money as lost, so she never expected to get it back. Even though it was her own money to begin with, she felt strangely as if a windfall had fallen into her lap.
“Mom, let’s skip cooking tonight. We’re going out to eat—it’s on me.” With the money in hand, Li Xue instantly felt flush with cash and confident enough to treat everyone to a meal.
“Oh, okay! Let’s go out to eat! Mom, I want fried chicken and bubble tea!” Before Lin Yanan could even respond, Xiaotianguo happily raised her little hand, listing everything she wanted to eat.
“Sure, I’ll get you your own order.” Thinking about how her daughter hadn’t had any in over half a month, Li Xue decided to be generous for once and agreed to buy it for her.
“Mommy, you’re the best mom in the world. Xianguo loves you the most.” As soon as she heard her request would be granted, Xianguo was overjoyed, and the compliments just poured out of her mouth like they were free.
“I love Grandma the most, too.” After the mother and daughter had their fill of hugs and kisses, Xianguo turned to Lin Yanan and planted a wet kiss on her.
Since the decision was made, Li Xue sent a text to Qin Feng, telling him to pick them up and take them straight to the restaurant when he got back. While they waited, Li Xue used a group-buying app to order eight dishes for 200 yuan—mostly meat dishes, which was quite a bargain.
Perhaps because she was in such a good mood today, Li Xue snapped a photo of the meal and posted it on her social media, earning a wave of likes.
“You guys are eating so well at home, and no one even asks how I’m doing or if I’m okay?” As soon as Li Xue posted the photo, Qin Huan saw it. Looking at the lavish spread in the picture and comparing it to his own steaming bowl of instant noodles, he instantly lost his appetite, and a wave of resentment welled up inside him.
“In that case, I won’t hold back.” After forcing down her instant noodles, Qin Huan sent Li Xue a message: “Sis-in-law, I’m running low on living expenses. Could you transfer me some more?”
Seeing the message, Li Xue couldn’t help but think to herself: You really shouldn’t show off—otherwise, you’ll get what’s coming to you. Just look—here it is!
“Who texted you?” Qin Feng asked, noticing that Li Xue had been staring at her phone for a while.
“It’s a colleague asking me to compile a list of parents.” In front of Lin Yanan, Li Xue didn’t tell the truth. She still remembered that last month, Qin Huan had called Qin Feng asking for money, only to be turned down by Lin Yanan—making it clear she didn’t want to keep sending money to Qin Huan this semester. Li Xue was actually in quite a dilemma, but she was afraid Qin Huan might truly be broke. If that were the case and he did something reckless, Li Xue certainly didn’t want to see that happen.
So, she went ahead and transferred two thousand yuan to Qin Huan: “Huanhuan, I just quit my job not long ago and don’t have much money on hand. This is all I’ve got—use this for now.”
As soon as she saw the transfer, Qin Huan immediately clicked “accept.” Upon reading Li Xue’s message, she snorted derisively. Playing the victim? Who doesn’t know how to do that? “If you were broke, would you be eating at restaurants? You’re just burning through your money.”
Of course, even though that’s what she was thinking, her reply certainly wasn’t like that: “I knew you were the best to me, Sis. My brother and mom don’t look out for me—you’re the only one who does. Once I get a job, I’ll be the one giving you money. We’ll go shopping together, and I’ll pick up the tab.” “Who doesn’t know how to say nice things?”
“Honey, that wasn’t a message from a coworker just now—it was from Qin Huan. She said she’s out of living expenses, so I transferred her two thousand yuan. I didn’t dare say anything in front of Mom just now.”
Looking at Qin Huan’s message, Li Xue let out a wry smile. She’d received messages like this countless times before and knew full well that Qin Huan was just making empty promises. She didn’t believe it, but she was worried that if she refused, Qin Huan would keep asking for money in the future—leaving her torn over whether to give in or not.
To be honest, just covering Qin Huan’s regular tuition and living expenses was already a struggle—let alone these kinds of extra expenses. After mulling it over, Li Xue decided to tell Qin Feng about it and ask for his opinion.
“Xiao Huan’s asking you for money again? This definitely isn’t a normal expense. I’ve asked our colleague about his daughter’s college costs—they’re less than half of what Xiao Huan spends, and she’s doing just fine.
Here’s what we’ll do: if she texts or calls you asking for money again, just hand your phone over to me or Mom. Don’t pay her any mind. If we let her keep asking for money, how are we supposed to make ends meet?” Hearing that Qin Huan was asking for money again, Qin Feng was absolutely livid.
He supported Li Xue’s decision to take the civil service exam, but there was no denying that the family’s income was indeed dwindling. Just when their mother had finally stopped causing trouble, his own younger sister was starting to stir up trouble again. She was always thinking about asking them for money, but had she ever asked where that money came from? Didn’t she realize how hard they were working? All she ever did was spout empty platitudes—what good did that do? If she really wanted them to have a better life, she shouldn’t keep asking them for money over and over again.
“But won’t our sister get upset if we do that? What if she goes and tells Mom on us…” After hearing Qin Feng’s words, Li Xue breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt a little worried.
“Let Qin Huan get upset if she wants to. She’s so far away from us—getting upset won’t do her any good. As for Mom, she’s even stricter than we are about this! The only reason Qin Huan asks you instead of us is because you’re easy to talk to. Don’t worry—just pass it on to me when the time comes and tell her I won’t give you any money.”
Qin Feng’s words put Li Xue’s mind at ease; she no longer had to live in fear and could finally relax.