A young man in a green military uniform stood at the doorway.
His skin was tanned dark from the sun, and his brow carried the hard-edged bearing of a soldier.
Qiao Rongkang had just returned from the army.
When he first woke up, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him.
Lying on his bunk in the barracks, he replayed the events of the previous night, his memories so vivid they couldn’t have been an illusion.
It took him a while before he could bring himself to believe it was real.
The first thought that sprang to his mind was—
By now, Sister Wanwan must be getting bullied by Qiao Qingyan.
His heart clenched. Without a second thought, he immediately applied for family leave and rushed back as fast as he could.
Train to bus, bus to walking—he traveled without rest the entire way.
The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, sure enough, he saw Qiao Qingyan holding a knife at Qiao Rongze and Bai Wanwan.
The instant Bai Wanwan spotted him, she latched on like he was her lifeline. Tears came on cue as she rushed over, sobbing her grievances.
“Rongkang, you’re back! Please, talk some sense into Sister Qingyan! She’s trying to chop us up with that knife! No matter what we say, she won’t listen—I’m scared out of my wits…”
Her voice trembled, the words spilling out rapid-fire.
She delivered her account in a frantic, pitiful rush, neatly shifting all the blame squarely onto Qiao Qingyan’s shoulders.
Every one of her actions was dressed up as a desperate act of survival.
The moment Qiao Rongkang heard this, his face darkened like the bottom of a burnt pot. He glared at Qiao Qingyan with undisguised disgust.
“Qiao Qingyan! Have you lost your mind? That’s your own brother! You’re threatening him with a knife? Put it down right now!”
In his eyes, Qiao Qingyan was no longer the eldest sister who had once held the family together.
She was nothing but a madwoman who’d lost control of her emotions.
Qiao Qingyan watched him take sides without even hearing the full story, and a flash of the moment before her death seared through her mind.
She had knelt and begged him to save their mother.
Rage surged through her as every old grievance came flooding back.
The image in her memory was terrifyingly clear.
That day, cold rain had fallen. She knelt in the mud, her throat raw from crying.
But he stood on the steps, uniform crisp, expression icy.
He’d tossed out a single sentence, then turned and walked away.
Their mother had died that freezing night, never even getting to see him one last time.
Back then, if she hadn’t kowtowed to every person she could find, pulled every connection she had—
to stuff that clueless greenhorn into the military—would he have the uniform on his back today?
Would he be standing here, all high and mighty, yelling at her?
But not once had he ever mentioned any of that debt.
No, he didn’t spare a single thought for her sacrifices. Instead, he turned around and pointed his finger at her, cursing her out!
Now, whenever anything happened at home, he’d jump out and come at her with fists and weapons.
Qiao Qingyan gripped the knife, standing perfectly still, her heart frozen solid.
She stared straight at him.
“Who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you? Go ask your precious brother and sister-in-law why I picked up this knife! They’ve thrown away all shame, trying to steal the jade pendant my mother left me—and I’m not supposed to fight back? Where’s the justice in that?”
“Nonsense! Sister Qingyan, how can you slander us like this!”
Bai Wanwan sniffled and sobbed, gasping for breath between cries.
“It’s Rongze who got into trouble—he owes money to some people outside, and they’re threatening to break his arm. They’re squeezing him too hard…”
“We were truly at our wit’s end, that’s when we thought of your jade pendant. We figured it might fetch enough to tide us over. It’s not stealing, not robbing—it’s borrowing! We wanted to ask you before taking it, but you started cursing the moment we opened our mouths and raised a knife to cut us down…”
In truth, she had already calculated Qiao Rongkang’s temperament perfectly.
Qiao Rongze quickly nodded, putting on a wounded expression as he picked up the thread.
“Yeah, big brother! I just wanted to discuss it with big sister—pawn the pendant for now, and once I make something of myself, I’ll pay her back tenfold! But she grabbed a knife and came at me without a word—who could put up with that?”
Qiao Qingyan let out a cold laugh.
“You have the nerve to talk about paying it back? You can’t even afford your own meals—you live off other people’s charity, loafing around all day. What are you going to pay with? Last month, Old Li’s son came to collect a debt, and you admitted yourself you owed eight hundred. Now you’re after this pendant too? A few sweet words and you think you can just walk off with it? I’ve seen this act too many times.”
“Qiao Qingyan!”
Qiao Rongkang shot to his feet, the stool legs scraping a harsh screech across the dirt floor.
“Watch your mouth! Rongze is your own brother! Family sticks together through hard times—what’s wrong with lending a hand? Can a lifeless object be more precious than a person’s life? Your brother’s arm is about to get chopped off, and you can stand there looking on coldly—is your heart made of stone?”
He swept his gaze around the courtyard, hoping someone would step up and speak on his behalf.
But everyone in the yard kept their heads down. No one dared to say a word.
Qiao Qingyan watched him calmly, a faint, icy smile curling at the corner of her lips.
“Oh? So you’re all about family bonds, are you? Fine then—Rongze owes that thousand-yuan debt. You pay it for him.”
“Th-Thousand?”
Qiao Rongkang’s pupils contracted as the words slipped out, his bluster crumbling in an instant.
His monthly salary was only sixty yuan.
A thousand?
That would take over a decade of not eating or drinking!
“You owe a thousand? Where did that hole come from? Tell me! Did you gamble again?”
He ground his teeth, his eyes blazing red.
This had never happened in his previous life!
His head was buzzing.
Back then, the debt had only been a few hundred, and in the end, their parents had scraped together the money to pay it off.
Why were there suddenly so many more this lifetime?
Qiao Rongze’s lips trembled, his eyes darting around, not daring to meet his eldest brother’s gaze.
Qiao Qingyan caught sight of this and sneered even harder inwardly.
“What’s the matter? Weren’t you just full of big talk a moment ago? Why is your tongue tied now? It’s only a thousand yuan, not much, right? Helping your own biological brother—what’s the big deal? Will it make you lose a layer of skin? Will it put you out on the street? Why aren’t you still spouting your grand principles?”
“You…”
Qiao Rongkang was choked speechless, his face flushed bright red.
He wanted to curse but couldn’t open his mouth.
The courtyard fell into a terrifying silence.
Everyone held their breath, afraid of drawing trouble onto themselves.
At that moment, Bai Wanwan, who had been shrinking in the corner, stepped forward wiping her tears and gently broke the silence.
She glanced at Qiao Qingyan first, then turned to Qiao Rongkang, her voice soft and gentle.
“Rongkang, don’t blame Qingyan sister too much. She’s been holding this family together all by herself—it hasn’t been easy.”
“But I remember that the family’s money has always been managed by Qingyan sister. She’s always been frugal, splitting every cent in half before spending it. Even without touching the jade pendant, she should have saved up quite a bit over the years. Taking some out now to tide things over—saving Rongze should be the priority…”
The moment those words landed, Qiao Rongze immediately chimed in: “Right! The family definitely has money!”
Qiao Rongkang also snapped back to his senses, his face darkening as his piercing gaze shot toward Qiao Qingyan.
“Then tell me—what about the money I’ve been sending back every month? Sixty yuan might seem like little, but month after month, year after year, it adds up to no small sum! Where did that money go? What did you spend it on?”
The room fell silent once more.
Qiao Rongze immediately joined in with a shout, but this time he switched tactics, putting on a pitiful, wronged act.
He folded his hands over his chest, let his shoulders slump slightly, and deliberately made his eyes redden.
“Sis, I really know I was wrong. Just do me a favor and give me a hand! From now on, I’ll listen to everything you say—I won’t dare go against you again!”
That heartless bitch Qiao Qingyan.
Once I get through this, when I make something of myself in the future, I’ll make you regret stabbing me in the back today!
But for now, circumstances were stronger than he was, so he could only lower his head and play the obedient fool.
At worst, he’d put on a good show on the surface from now on—consider it repaying this debt of gratitude.