Ning Meng was stunned when she heard Shu Jia Er’s words. “Little Ear, where did you get that much money?”
Shu Jia Er briefly explained what had happened over the past few days.
After listening, Ning Meng was silent for a few seconds before letting out a piercing scream.
“Oh my god, so much has happened in the past few days, and you didn’t tell me any of it!”
Shu Jia Er rubbed her forehead. “Sorry, there’s just been too much going on.”
Ning Meng screamed for a while, then cautiously asked, “Little Ear, how are you feeling about all this?”
Although suddenly becoming a wealthy young lady was like a pie falling from the sky, not everyone would be thrilled by it. When people haven’t experienced it, they might joke about how they wish they’d been born in Rome. But when it actually happens, feelings of confusion and apprehension might outweigh the excitement.
Shu Jia Er was honest, “feel okay.” The original Shu Er wasn’t close to her family, and now that it was her in this body, they were even more distant. Also, Shu Er’s mother intentionally kept her away from the rest of the Shu family, so even if it had been the original Shu Er, this answer would still be accurate.
Ning Meng let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I never thought that one day a storyline straight out of a TV drama would happen right in front of me, hahaha.”
Shu Jia Er and Ning Meng chatted for a while longer. Just before hanging up, Ning Meng said, “Little Ear, I’m guessing you haven’t checked our class group chat. They’re practically blowing up over Jiang Xici’s situation. If you’re going to lend him money, you should talk to him directly.” Ning Meng only knew about the trouble in Jiang Xici’s family because of the group chat. She knew Little Ear was on good terms with Jiang Xici; he had even made her a green tongue before. So, she thought it’d be good to fill Little Ear in.
Shu Jia Er responded with a hum, and after hanging up, she checked the group chat. The chat was filled with messages cursing Jiang Xici’s unscrupulous relatives. Jiang Xici’s family situation was already challenging, and these relatives chose this moment to demand money—it was as if they were pushing him to the edge.
After scrolling through the group chat, Shu Jia Er found Jiang Xici’s WeChat profile and sent him a message. She purposely didn’t call him, not wanting to put him in an awkward position.
[Xiao Er: Are you there?]
A few minutes passed before Jiang Xici replied.
[Jiang: I’m here.]
[Xiao Er: Send me your bank account number.]
[Jiang: ?]
To lighten the mood, Shu Jia Er sent a somewhat random message, [Xiao Er: Do you know who I am?]
Jiang Xici played along, [Jiang: You’re Shu Er, the campus goddess, Little Ear.]
Shu Jia Er smiled, [Xiao Er: Wrong. I am Shu Jia Er, the biological daughter of Chenger Technology’s head. So, I. Don’t. Lack. Money.]
Chenger Technology may not compare to the real giants in the industry, but it was fairly well-known within its field. A quick online search would yield plenty of information.
[Xiao Er: I know you must have a lot of questions, but it’s nothing big. I recently returned to my birth parents, and I also changed my name. I heard about your situation, and as classmates, it’s only right to help each other out.]
This time, Jiang Xici remained silent for a long time.
Shu Jia Er saw the “Typing…” notification pop up at the top, only for it to disappear, reappear, and disappear again. Five minutes passed, and Jiang Xici still hadn’t sent anything.
After a while, Jiang Xici finally sent a message, [Jiang: Are you okay now?] Shu Jia Er felt Jiang was truly a thoughtful classmate. Even with his troubles, he still remembered to ask how she was doing.
[Xiao Er: I’m doing great! I’m eating well, sleeping well, having fun—I’m very content with things right now.] Shu Jia Er didn’t want to talk much about herself; she was mainly here to help Jiang Xici sort out his troubles today.
[Xiao Er: My young friend, I think you have a lot of potential. I believe you’ll be someone remarkable in the future. So, lending you this money isn’t just a handout—you’ll need to pay me back someday, understood?]
Maybe because he sensed her goodwill, Jiang Xici hesitated for a while before finally replying.
[Jiang: I don’t really need it. Those people… I can just ignore them.]
[Xiao Er: But they’ll keep harassing you, disturbing your peace. You’re in Grade 11 now, and next year you’ll be a senior. That’s a crucial time for you—what if they keep bothering you then?]
Based on what Ning Meng had said, Jiang Xici’s family really did owe money. The other party had a legitimate debt claim.
Debts should be repaid; it’s only fair. Although the debt collectors were a bit unscrupulous, pressing Jiang Xici for money knowing his circumstances, perhaps they were facing difficulties of their own and needed this money as well.
Shu Jia Er guessed Jiang Xici wouldn’t refuse any longer.
Sure enough, after a while, Jiang Xici relented, [Jiang: Thank you. I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.] Shu Jia Er trusted Jiang Xici’s character. Even if, someday, he let her down, all she’d be out was a few tens of thousands of yuan.
This amount was trivial for her, and if it turned out she was wrong about him, she’d consider it a lesson learned. If she were to fall here with Jiang Xici, she’d make sure not to trust anyone so easily in the future.
But based on what she knew of Jiang Xici, she didn’t think he’d disappoint her.
Using online banking, Shu Jia Er transferred him eighty thousand yuan. She didn’t purposely give him too much, nor was there any need to; as long as it alleviated his burden, that was enough.
[Xiao Er: No rush. Your main focus now should be on studying hard so you can earn big in the future. By the way, the extra thirty thousand I lent you is also something you’ll have to pay back.]
With this additional thirty thousand, Jiang Xici’s life should become much easier.
After repeating the “Typing…” and “Cancel” pattern several times, Jiang Xici finally replied with a simple, [Thank you.] So much was conveyed in those two words.
With one issue resolved, Shu Jia Er put down her phone, feeling reassured.
After her nap, she appeared before Huo Chao once again, clearly in a good mood.
Huo Chao immediately noticed Shu Jia Er’s good mood and curled his lips slightly. “What’s up? Good news?”
Shu Jia Er chuckled, “Good news… I guess. I did a good deed.”
“Oh?” Huo Chao’s interest was piqued. “What good deed?”
Shu Jia Er didn’t plan to hide anything from him, so she responded with a bright smile, “There’s a boy in our class whose family is having some difficulties, so I transferred him some money to help him through it.”
Huo Chao’s faint smile faded gradually after hearing this.
For some reason, the moment he heard the word “boy”, his first thought was of the tall, thin guy they’d encountered at the DIY ice cream shop. That boy appeared to come from a less fortunate family, but he always held his head high, his expression carrying a hint of pride, as if no hardship could ever crush him.
Even though this person seemed trapped in the depths of life’s challenges, there was a gut feeling that he would one day soar above it all.
Recalling the boy’s name, Huo Chao asked, “Is it… Jiang Xici?”
Shu Jia Er exclaimed, with a look of surprise, “Brother, you know him?”
Hmph, it wasn’t the first time he’d heard the name Jiang Xici from her. It had come up enough times that he’d remembered it without even trying.
He hadn’t expected it to actually be him.
“How much did you lend him?”
Shu Jia Er answered without much thought, “Not much, just eighty thousand.”
Huo Chao let out a short laugh. Eighty thousand is not a lot for her?
Given that boy’s financial situation, there was no way he could pay back such a large amount any time soon. So essentially, Shu Jia Er was just helping him out.
If it had been someone else, Huo Chao might not have cared this much. But since it was Jiang Xici, he couldn’t help but mind.
If it were someone else, would Shu Jia Er still lend this kind of money?
Probably not.
And even if she did, it wouldn’t be eighty thousand, right?
Shu Jia Er had a hunch that Huo Chao was angry. But she was spending her own money, so what was there for him to be angry about? She was a “little rich girl” now, after all.
Her instinct wasn’t wrong.
In the afternoon, the two of them strolled around County B for a while, bought some local specialties, and then returned to the hotel to pack up and head back to the city.
The entire way, Huo Chao barely spoke.
Whenever Shu Jia Er tries to talk to him, he barely replies, until she finally becomes frustrated.
She grabbed his sleeve and complained, “Brother, what’s wrong with you? If you keep acting like this, I’m going to get mad.”
Huo Chao pinched his brow, feeling irritated. He wasn’t sure what was going on. It felt like there was a fire smoldering in his chest, and the longer he held it in, the stronger it burned—until it was close to consuming him.
“Huo Chao, speak up!” Shu Jia Er called him by his name this time, abandoning the usual “brother”.
Huo Chao pressed his index finger firmly to his chest. “Here. It’s burning. Like there’s a fire in me.”
“Oh,” Shu Jia Er responded, looking as though she’d suddenly understood. “I get it! Brother, you’re just overheated. Drink some chrysanthemum tea, or maybe have some crushed ice to cool down?”
At this age, boys are bound to be hot-tempered, she thought.
Huo Chao nearly laughed from exasperation. He took her hand and pressed it against his chest. “I said, there’s a fire burning here.”
A fire sparked by jealousy.
It wasn’t about the eighty thousand yuan. It was her money—she could spend it however she liked.
But just knowing that she spent it on another boy… It made him uncomfortable.
He’d never had that kind of attention from her.
Not long ago, he’d been bothered by the thought of the young boy from her past, the one she’d risked her life to save. But that situation had ended with a twist, as the boy turned out to be him, sparing him from pointless jealousy.
But Jiang Xici was different. He is Shu Jia Er’s classmate, a boy who existed in the present, someone she could see every day.
Suddenly, Huo Chao said, “The fire—it’s burning stronger.”
Shu Jia Er looked at him, puzzled, watching as he placed a hand over his chest. What was going on? Couldn’t he just say what he wanted directly?
“So, what should we do? Maybe we should try cooling you down?”
“Yeah.”
Yeah? What was that supposed to mean?
Shu Jia Er pressed her lips together. “Brother, so… how do we cool you down?”
The next moment, her words were swallowed up as his lips met hers.
GET THE WHOLE NOVEL HERE!
