Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Luo Changfang wrapped her shawl tighter around her body. “So, Brother Zhi’s home, huh?”
Jiang Zhi entered the courtyard.
“Second Aunt.” He called out in between his coughs, his tone neither cold nor heated.
Luo Changfang greeted him with a smile. “You came at the right time. A fight broke out between your granny and Wei’er, you could help us mediate their issue.”
Luo Changfang was referring to Madame Jiang’s youngest daughter. She was the final child to be conceived by the madame, so naturally, the woman was still quite young, being only four years older than Jiang Zhi. Currently, the madame had five children, but somewhere along the way, she had lost her third son and her fourth daughter. As such, her affection was funneled into this fifth daughter. Be that as it may, the relationship between this child and her mother could only be described as “rocky”.
Even from afar, the sound of two voices quarreling was audible.
“That circle is a grimy bunch! Why would you even bother mixing in with them!?”
“Regardless of how grimy they are, Brother Zhi, who isn’t someone from the ring, managed to mix in so well, so why can’t I?”
Madame Jiang popped a vein on her temple. With a voice full of rage, she scolded. “You are a lady! How can you even compare yourself to him!?”
“My decisions are mine to make.”
Short hair, an egg-shaped face, all these features of the young lady resembled that of the Old Madame. The only thing that set them apart was their height as the child had a more petite stature. She looked more like the young lady from next door who was an extremely nimble little lady. Still, in terms of her personality, she definitely wasn’t going to be awarded a “Child of the Year” plaque anytime soon.
She was the fifth child of the Jiang family, blessed with the name Jiang Wei’er. Apart from Jiang Zhi, she was the only one who dared to speak back against the Old Madame.
Madame Jiang was so enraged by her conduct that she sent a glass flying across the room.
Jiang Zhi pushed open the door as he entered. “What’s the matter now?”
Seeing the arrival of her treasured grandson, the Old Madame’s expression softened up quite a bit. “Brother Zhi, this dispute does not concern you. Your fifth aunt does not want to be bound by any rules. If I don’t restrain her now, there’s no doubt that she’ll stir up great trouble someday in the future.”
Jiang Wei’er scoffed as she rose from her seat. “I’m leaving.”
Dragging her luggage behind her, she exited the door.
The Old Madame was so angered that she flung the walking stick she was clutching to the floor. “So you’ll never listen to my words? Don’t you go running off!”
Ignoring the cries of her mother, Jiang Wei’er angrily rushed out of the house.
“Yo-”
Madame Jiang was about to boil over in rage when Jiang Zhi started coughing uncontrollably.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”
Jiang Zhi’s coughing was so bad that he was on the brink of asphyxiation, his face turning beet red.
The Old Madame was pained to see her grandson in such a state. Immediately, she stopped in her tracks before slowly walking over to her beloved grandson’s side. “What’s the matter? Are you feeling under the weather again? Ah Gui, hurry up and call Doctor Qin!”
“Understood.”
The “VIP” in the courtyard was still barking relentlessly because it sucked at recognizing its own masters. Despite Jiang Wei’er visiting the place quite a number of times in the past, it barked at her as if she was a burglar escaping with her loot.
“Winter is coming. I wonder if Brother Zhi’s body will be able to handle the cold?” Luo Changfang murmured to herself under her breath. Then, she ordered the servant standing beside her to go fetch a bowl of steaming hot soup from the kitchen.
Jiang Wei’er slowed down her footsteps and gave her a reply. “Second Sister-in-law, you don’t need to worry about that little brat. As*holes like him can live up to a millennia1.”
Luo Changfang smiled quietly.
For the next two days, Jiang Zhi remained at the old mansion where he was provided with an array of medicinal concoctions to help stabilize his condition although, to Madame Jiang’s disappointment, they had little to no effect on his health. Despite this, the old lady ordered Ah Gui to continue preparing a diet for Jiang Zhi that was full of ingredients with medicinal qualities.
There was, however, a new arc to be unveiled on Thursday night.
At 7 pm that night, Ah Wan picked Jiang Zhi up from the mansion, and halfway through their drive, they stopped at a red light underneath Bayi Bridge. It was then that his eyes caught sight of a familiar face. “Master Jiang, that screen protector girl!”
Jiang Zhi who, as usual, was catching some shut-eye in the backseat of the car, peeled his eyelids open lazily, and in a nonchalant tone, he asked, “Does she not have a name?”
Ah Wan dug through his memories for a few seconds. “Zhou, Zhou…” He simply could not recall her entire name. “…Miss Zhou is selling screen protectors underneath the bridge.”
The car window remained shut as Jiang Zhi spied on the area underneath the bridge.
There were a bunch of other stalls underneath the bridge, but somehow, Zhou Xufang stuck out like a sore thumb which was why it didn’t take too long for him to find her. As usual, she was wearing an all-black outfit and there would always be a cap pulled tightly over her head, shielding her face from prying eyes.
Perhaps she was oblivious about it but her actions made it clear to the people around her that she didn’t particularly enjoy human contact, and yet, she was working jobs in nearly every corner of the capital.
Weirdo.
“Looking from afar, she looks similar to my little sister. Although, my little sis is still studying in university.” Ah Wan thought out loud. “So far, we’ve seen her selling screen protectors, acting part-time, and delivering orders around the city. I wonder if she still looking for another job?”
Such a pitiful young lady. She must’ve hailed from an impoverished family. Perhaps she still had tiny mouths to feed back home… Ah Wan was prevented by Jiang Zhi from drifting off with a kick to the back of the driver’s seat. “Watch the road.”
The light had already turned green.
“Oh.” Ah Wan hurriedly shifted his car into gear.
Just as they went past the intersection…
“Stop at the curb.” Jiang Zhi lazily ordered.
The young master was acting strange today. Perhaps his “Yin” and “Yang” balance had really been upended. Anyhow, Ah Wan carried out his master’s order without further questions.
The young master was still listlessly toying with his glass marshmallow box when he asked, “Does your phone have a screen protector on it?”
The glass box had just been refilled by Ah Wan this morning. Because the young master loved that specific brand of marshmallows and yet it had been discontinued recently, it had taken him quite a bit of effort to buy up what remained of the tattered confectionery factory. From now on, that factory would be producing the marshmallows solely for the young master’s consumption.
A rich boy’s power was truly a force to be reckoned with.
Ah Wan replied, “Nope.”
Jiang Zhi opened up the glass box and picked a random piece before popping it into his mouth. Then, he licked his lips where the powdered sugar coating on the marshmallow had brushed off. “Go down there and get yourself one before you get back into this car.”
“Huh?” Ah Wan didn’t have enough time to comprehend what Jiang Zhi had just said.
“Get yourself a screen protector.”
With a stunned expression, Ah Wan finally mumbled a response. “Oh.”
Ah Wan unfastened his seat belt and just as he was about to exit the car, another order came from behind. “Buy a phone case too.” Jiang Zhi coughed, which filled the car with the artificial, sickly-sweet smell of marshmallows. “Your phone’s too ugly.”
“Oh,” Ah Wan mumbled yet again.
And so, Ah Wan went down and did as Jiang Zhi ordered. In fact, he spent a great deal of time picking the coolest looking phone cover before returning. It was then that he witnessed Jiang Zhi staring into blank space in the backseat as if he was thinking deeply about something.
Ah Wan handed his new phone cover over to the young master proudly. “Master Jiang, I think you’re being really nice to Miss Zhou.” He knew just how much the young master despised women, however, Miss Zhou was an exception to that sort of treatment. Not only did Jiang Zhi accept her gift, he even tried supporting her business from the dark.
Jiang Zhi did not respond to Ah Wan’s statement. His fingers which were fumbling about in the box of marshmallows, however, paused for a few seconds before giving his command. “Drive.”
Through the rearview mirror, Ah Wan could see that the person in the backseat had his brows furrowed. The young master was churning his brains over something. Something which himself would never be able to wrap his head around.
At 8 pm, a full moon hung high up in the night sky. Zhou Xufang once again received a message on her phone from the Group Leader who was recruiting mass actors. She registered herself immediately and sat in front of the computer screen eating her takeout dinner. On the corner of the table was a can of milk.
The computer beeped and booted itself up. The picture of Spongebob filled the screen, followed by a new message from Shuang Jiang. “There’s a high schooler. Offering 50k. Looking for someone to complete his homework. Accept?”
At this time and age, there were still people looking for others to do their homework in their stead. Zhou Xufang shook her head. Rejected.
A line of words came popping up on Zhou Xufang’s screen. “Is the reward too low?”
The chopsticks in her hands froze for a second, followed by a period of dead silence. Then, she glanced up and replied verbally, “I don’t know which level I studied up to.”
Shuang Jiang sent yet another text over.
Pop!
Zhou Xufang pulled open the can of milk. Taking a sip, her mood returned to its status quo, which was the nonexistence of a mood at all. “I was taken to a laboratory. They injected me with a bunch of medicine. Whatever came before that I have already forgotten.”
It was after those injections that she had turned into an abnormal girl. She was even branded around her neck, where her name was found, but apart from that, she knew virtually nothing about herself.
Pursing her lips, she downed the can of milk in one go.
Shuang Jiang did probe her further about her personal matters. “In that case, I can do the homework. Is it alright if I take up the job? The rewards will be proportioned as per usual, you get 70% while I get 30%.”
“No need to divide a portion for me.”
Pop!
Zhou Xufang opened yet another can of milk. She was not an avid fan of the beverage previously, but when she had bought the specific brand of milk for Jiang Zhi, she’d ordered an extra box for herself, and it was then that she had fallen in love with its taste.