When Shi Qing arrived, Feng Shuangshuang was the only one in the dessert shop. He Xiaohua hadn’t arrived yet.
Oh, that’s right—she had gone to class and probably wouldn’t be out until noon after school ended.
The rent for the house He Xiaohua’s family had rented in the county town still had a month left before the lease expired. Unwilling to refund the rent and deposit to Feng Shuangshuang, the family shamelessly continued living there, refusing to move out.
“Shi Qing, I just got some good news.”
Feng Shuangshuang gestured for Shi Qing to sit down, a carefree smile spreading across her face. Even though she had been furious just yesterday, she now seemed completely unfazed.
“What good news?”
“Hehe, I have He Xiaohua’s homeroom teacher’s phone number, right? She just contacted me and said He Xiaohua’s been acting a bit off these past couple of days. This morning, she took a test, and the teacher just finished grading it. Turns out, He Xiaohua only scored at an average level…”
He Xiaohua’s grades had always been top-notch at school, so scoring so poorly all of a sudden naturally worried her homeroom teacher.
But this was only the beginning. He Xiaohua’s achievements had never been her own to begin with—they were entirely due to her grandfather transferring the luck of one bright child after another onto her.
With that borrowed luck, He Xiaohua could slack off and still excel academically.
But now, with the transferred luck released, she was bound to revert to her original, true state.
As the two were talking, He Xiaohua pushed open the door of the dessert shop, her expression gloomy.
“Feng Shuangshuang, why did you ask me to come here?”
He Xiaohua’s tone was filled with resentment.
Given their relationship as sponsor and sponsored, even if Feng Shuangshuang had reported the matter to the police, the authorities couldn’t easily intervene. In the end, He Xiaohua had only received a stern warning.
As for the curse, no one would believe it even if it were reported. Besides, it was Old He who had killed those children—no matter how the police investigated, they wouldn’t find any evidence linking it to He Xiaohua.
Now that the two had torn off all pretenses, He Xiaohua saw no reason to keep up the act.
“Sit down.”
Feng Shuangshuang’s expression turned cold as well. She pushed a cup of milk tea toward He Xiaohua and let out a long sigh.
“He Xiaohua, there’s just one thing I really can’t understand. In the past, you had no means to attend school, so I sponsored you all the way until now. I gave you everything you wanted—I rented a place for you, gave you pocket money, bought you clothes, sent you treats…”
“I’ve done so much for you. I just want to ask you, why did you treat me this way? It’s one thing to cheat me out of money, but why did you want my life?”
This was the question Feng Shuangshuang had been wanting to ask all along.
What had she done wrong?
To her surprise, He Xiaohua showed not a hint of remorse upon hearing this. Instead, she let out a scornful laugh.
“Heh heh heh, so you think just because you sponsored me, I should be grateful to you? Feng Shuangshuang, do you know what I hate most about you? I hate how you look down on me, handing things over with that condescending, charitable attitude.”
“Do you have any idea how it feels every time I have to ask you for money? It’s like a knife twisting in my heart over and over. Why do you always make me beg for it? Do you enjoy watching me grovel like some pitiful dog…?”
He Xiaohua grew increasingly agitated, hurling one accusation after another at Feng Shuangshuang.She hated Feng Shuangshuang. Wasn’t it just because Feng came from a better family? Why did she have to disguise her charity as financial aid, treating her like some stray dog!
In her view, Feng Shuangshuang shouldn’t have handed her the money so casually. Instead, she should have knelt down and presented it to her with both hands.
“He Xiaohua, I never imagined you’d think this way. The financial aid and rent money have been transferred to you regularly every month, while the extra cash you asked for was purely discretionary spending. Even shamelessness has its limits…”
Feng Shuangshuang’s eyes were filled with mockery.
Back when He Xiaohua kept calling her “Sister” so sweetly, coyly asking for pocket money, she never would have guessed the girl harbored such deep resentment.
To feel humiliated yet still come begging for money—what hypocrisy.
He Xiaohua remained unfazed. If her grandfather hadn’t helped her become cleverer, why would Feng Shuangshuang have sponsored her in the first place?
Weren’t the wealthy all the same? Disgusting creatures hiding behind condescending pity.
Listening to their exchange, Shi Qing curled her lips in disdain.
“Is she insane? Getting free money without any strings attached, yet she still complains? Does she think she’s some kind of royalty? Even a stray dog would wag its tail for a scrap of food.”
“Enough. I’ve heard all I needed to hear, He Xiaohua. Consider all the past money as charity for a stray dog. From today onward, I’m canceling all your financial support.”
Feng Shuangshuang stood up to leave, but He Xiaohua panicked.
“Feng Shuangshuang! You promised to support me until I graduated from university! How dare you cancel it just like that? How dare you treat me this—”
Before He Xiaohua could finish, Feng Shuangshuang slapped her across the face.
“I’ve seen shameless people before, but never anyone as brazen as you. Disgusting!”
Feng Shuangshuang nearly laughed in exasperation. Had He Xiaohua been kicked in the head by a donkey? How could she possibly think the sponsorship would continue after everything she’d done? The fact that Feng hadn’t killed her already showed remarkable restraint!
“Feng Shuangshuang! You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret it!”
He Xiaohua screamed hysterically.
Feng Shuangshuang responded with another backhanded slap before leaning in close and sneering in a low voice, “Regret? Is it because you’re so sure I’ll die soon? Don’t worry—I’ll outlive you by decades.”
He Xiaohua still didn’t know the curse on Feng Shuangshuang had been broken. She naively believed she could still siphon Feng’s luck and become wealthy herself.
At Feng’s words, He Xiaohua’s face turned pale. “H-How did you know?”
Her grandfather had clearly told her the curse was irreversible and fatal—even he couldn’t undo it. How could Feng Shuangshuang be unharmed? Impossible… utterly impossible…
Seeing He Xiaohua’s unraveling state, Feng Shuangshuang ignored her and walked out of the milk tea shop with Shi Qing.
“I thought you’d take revenge on her.”
Though Feng Shuangshuang’s temperament was somewhat gentle, she’d fight back when bullied—unless she was outmatched.
“Revenge? Oh, I certainly will.”
Feng Shuangshuang grinned and pulled a voice recorder from her bag, waving it in front of Shi Qing.
“He Xiaohua’s mother is the type who favors sons over daughters. The only reason I sponsored He Xiaohua initially was because I pitied her—being forced by her mother to do endless chores without even getting fed.””I thought that by sponsoring her education and giving her a monthly allowance, she might eventually escape that kind of life.”
“Now that I think about it, I was just being sentimental. Someone like He Xiaohua deserves to live in hell.”
Feng Shuangshuang had no intention of exposing anything with this voice recorder. She was merely preparing for the worst—the He family was entirely unreasonable, and if they ever tried emotional blackmail in the future, she would be ready to respond.
As for He Xiaohua, Feng Shuangshuang didn’t need to lift a finger to seek revenge. Her “good fortune” was yet to come.
Without Feng Shuangshuang’s financial support, the He family would never be willing to spend money renting a place in the county town, let alone pay He Xiaohua’s tuition fees. After all, they never wanted her to go to school in the first place.