Jiang Chan understood perfectly well how malicious people could be. Sometimes, however, special circumstances called for special measures. If she had been afraid of gossip alone, she would never have intervened in the first place. Some people’s minds were simply too dark. She had done a good deed, only to get dragged into trouble. People like that would not get far in life, and Jiang Chan could not be bothered to waste any more words on them. She would have little to do with them in the future anyway.
“I’m going to take a picture and upload it to the forum. That should shut those people up.” Yang Liuqing was brimming with enthusiasm. More than anything, she could not swallow her anger.
Jiang Chan raised an eyebrow. “Do as you like, as long as it makes you happy.”
“All right, let’s go out for a good meal tonight. First, to celebrate Xiao Chan getting her medical license, and second, to congratulate her on making it into the provincial finals!”
Wen Jing clapped her hands and made a suggestion. Naturally, Jiang Chan would not refuse. In fact, apart from studying, getting together with friends and enjoying life had its own pleasures.
They only had a few hours off on Sunday afternoon, so the roommates did not go far. There happened to be a buffet restaurant near the school, and they ate and drank there.
Wen Jing even boldly drank two bottles of beer. In her words, the beer there was no different from fruit juice. After two bottles, her face was not red and her breathing was perfectly steady. She looked just as she normally did.
Only after lying down on her dormitory bed did Jiang Chan relax a little. She had been extremely busy lately, keeping up with her schoolwork, preparing for the competition, and studying for the licensing examination. Fortunately, her mental strength was powerful now. An ordinary person would have been unable to manage it all long ago.
Perhaps she was simply destined to keep busy. Now that she had suddenly relaxed, Jiang Chan felt she had nothing to do. She could read, but she could not muster the energy for it at the moment. Why not take on a mission and broaden her horizons? For the coming period, all she needed to do was focus on preparing for the competition.
As for schoolwork, Jiang Chan was not worried at all. She had attended high school several times already. Handling her final year would be a breeze!
Taking the familiar route to the mission hall, Jiang Chan sat cross-legged against a pillar of light and casually summoned one of the glowing spheres before her. A woman in a wheelchair then appeared in front of her.
The woman was only twenty-three or twenty-four, yet her face was pale and she could not walk properly. Jiang Chan lightly touched the sphere with a finger, and all the client’s memories appeared before her.
After quickly reviewing the original owner’s memories, Jiang Chan’s lips curved slightly. “I’ve seen what you went through. What wishes do you have?”
Tears streamed down the woman’s face. “I no longer have any hopes for them. I only want to get as far away from them as possible. If they want to play the loving parents and dutiful children, let them put on that performance themselves.”
“What else?” Jiang Chan’s lips curved. If this woman wanted her to fight for her parents’ affection, she certainly would not accept the mission. Anything that could be taken away was never truly hers. Jiang Chan firmly believed that. Since something was destined not to belong to her, she disdained fighting over it.
“If there’s anything else, then I want to work hard to get out and build a career.” The woman looked up, as though she could see the outside world through that cramped patch of sky.
“All right. I’ll accept your mission.” Jiang Chan was decisive, and then she disappeared from the hall.
“Ah Jin, today is your first day of your second year of high school. Dad doesn’t have much to give you. Here’s a hundred yuan to celebrate our Ah Jin moving up to her second year.”
“You’re always spoiling her. How much can a girl possibly need to spend?” A gentle voice chided the man for spending too freely, though it was full of laughter.
“Our Ah Jin is a young lady now. She’ll have plenty of things to spend money on. It’s good for a girl to have a little money on hand.” The man scratched his head and smiled with an honest, simple expression.
“Dad, Auntie, aren’t you spoiling her too much? I’m right here, you know. My classes start today too. It’s the start of my senior year of university. Shouldn’t you give me something too?”
A male voice rang out, full of teasing.
The man lowered his voice. “Go on with you. What does a brat like you need so much money for? Your younger sister needs to buy school supplies. You’re about to start an internship, yet you’re still asking the family for money?”
The woman chided him. “Yanbin is all grown up now and about to enter society. He’ll inevitably have social obligations. How can he manage without money? If your dad won’t give you any, Auntie will. Is a thousand enough? If it isn’t, I’ll give you some more.”
“That’s enough, that’s enough. Auntie treats me best.”
“Mom, you’re playing favorites! You treat my brother better than me. I only got a hundred.” The girl’s voice rose in dissatisfaction.
“That isn’t favoritism. Your money came from your dad, not me.” The woman teased her, and the living room filled with laughter.
In her room, Jiang Chan listened silently to the exchange. If she had been an outsider, she would surely have marveled at what a loving family they were. But considering the original owner’s place in it, Jiang Chan only found the scene deeply ironic.
Jiang Chan pulled the door open with a clatter, and the living room immediately fell silent. Seeing her expression, Lian Shuguo frowned. “Your brother and sister are already up. Why are you only getting up now? Do you expect everyone to wait for you?”
Jiang Chan’s face was expressionless. “If you’re tired of waiting, you can leave first. I didn’t ask you to wait for me. Also, my first year of high school starts today. Where’s my tuition money?”
Lian Shuguo glared. “Is that how you speak to your parents? Look at your brother and sister!”
Wu Xiuzhen also looked at Jiang Chan disapprovingly, as though she had committed some unforgivable crime. Jiang Chan could not be bothered to say more. Talking to a family this biased was simply a waste of time.
“I’m going to wash up. When I come out, I hope to see my tuition money.” Without looking at the family of four, Jiang Chan headed toward the bathroom in the original owner’s memories.
Watching her retreating figure, Lian Shuguo grew red in the face with anger. “What kind of attitude is that? She’s so young, yet she already has no respect for anyone!”
Wu Xiuzhen and Wu Jin hurried to comfort him. Jiang Chan paid no attention to the farce outside. Standing before the mirror, she studied this fifteen-year-old girl.
The girl had thick bangs that almost completely hid her eyes. Her hair was in poor condition too, with dry, yellowed ends. Clearly, she was not getting enough nutrition.
Then there were her hands, small and thin like chicken claws. Her clothes were old too, as though she had worn them for several years. Yet the clothes Jiang Chan had just seen on Lian Yanbin and Wu Jin in the living room were quite new and of good quality.
It was clear just how far these parents’ favoritism went. Jiang Chan sighed silently for the pitiful original owner.
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