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墨書 Inktalez
"Maybe I can't wait any longer and should just leave!" Qin Yi irresponsibly guessed.
"Let's make a call and see what's going on!" Jiang Yizhou said. For the past three to four months, he had been communicating with his family through letters. If it were a normal matter, sending letters was simple and cost-effective, albeit slow. The fact that it was his sister calling instead of their parents made him feel a bit strange.
The phone rang twice before someone picked up on the other end. "Who is it?"
"This is Jiang Yizhou. I think my sister called this number before, so I'm calling to confirm!" Jiang Yizhou said clearly.
A bald man shouted at the girl sitting on her bicycle outside the store, who had been waiting motionless for quite some time, "Miss, don't wait anymore; your brother is on the phone! Answer it; I charge twenty cents per minute, so keep an eye on the time!"
Jiang Xiaoya heard someone calling her name and immediately perked up, looking in the direction of the voice. It was her older brother calling back.
She jumped off her bicycle without caring that it fell to the ground. "Brother~"
With a tearful voice on the line, Jiang Xiaoya suddenly choked up, tears streaming down her face.
"Xiao Ya, what's wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?" Jiang Yizhou asked with concern, cherishing his role as an older brother.
"Brother, sob sob... I... I didn't do well on my exam and didn't get into Town High School. Mom won't let me continue studying, sob sob..." After waiting for three hours, going from high hopes to utter disappointment, and then to a twist of fate, this connection between people felt especially precious in an era where it's easy to lose touch.
"Xiao Ya, stop crying. Be good and tell me what happened," Jiang Yizhou understood that it was likely about money and figured it shouldn't be a big problem.
Many difficult situations arise from a lack of money; even refugee resettlement can be hindered by financial issues as it has become an industry in itself.
Thus, financial freedom is the foundation of everything—whether it's about realizing one's dreams or humanity's aspirations. He had been pursuing these four words in his previous life but had never achieved them.
"I had a fever during my Zhongkao exams and didn't do well. As a result, I didn't even meet the admission score for Town High School, sob sob..." At this point, Jiang Xiaoya was genuinely pleading. If she wanted to enroll in high school next semester, the fees might take her brother two years to save up. She knew this would delay him, but she couldn't accept it...
Really, she felt incredibly unwilling!
"I see. You don't need to worry about money; just talk to Mom and Dad. I'll cover the expenses!" Jiang Yizhou said with some emotion.
Sometimes money truly is a life-and-death issue; it forced his confident and stubborn sister into such a state. He didn't know how Xiao Ya had managed during this time originally, but now it seemed like it wasn't too big of a problem.
Then Jiang Yizhou chatted with his sister for a while longer and finally promised to send money back promptly, which made her smile through her tears.
"What happened? You looked serious at first but now you're smiling?" Qin Yi asked playfully as he changed into his clothes to go out during Jiang Yizhou's phone call.
"Nothing much, it's just my sister. I come from a rural background, and my family is quite poor. Plus, my mom has a preference for boys and refuses to support my sister's education," Jiang Yizhou explained helplessly. "And my sister has been underperforming, plus she has to pay a sponsorship fee to attend high school. In short, it's all about money!"
"That's really strange. It's ironic to hear that your mother prefers boys," Qin Yi pointed out. "In my family, it's just me and my sister; my parents didn't have any more children, and it feels pretty good."
"No, let's go out first. You wait for me outside; I'll change my clothes and come out," Jiang Yizhou said without much concern.
Qin Yi walked out of the room, waiting for Jiang Yizhou.
"Hello, this is the third floor, room 0, right?" Qin Yi turned around to see a girl about her age, looking as alert as a wary squirrel.
"Yes, this is room 0. May I ask... who are you looking for?" Qin Yi immediately had a guess in her mind.
"Qin Yi, who's outside?" Jiang Yizhou had changed into clean clothes and walked to the door. When he stepped outside, he felt a bit awkward—not in the way of being caught cheating; he clearly remembered the kind of flag Ding Zhengnan had raised, which put him at ease.
"What are you doing here?" He didn't act surprised but asked normally, "Why didn't you let me know you were coming? Didn't I tell you over the phone?"
Ding Zhengnan was dressed neatly in a fluffy checkered skirt and sandals, with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.
"Why didn't you tell me you were sharing an apartment? And... with... a... girl!" Ding Zhengnan put her hands on her hips and puffed up her cheeks.
"Eh~~" Jiang Yizhou looked surprised. "Aren't you the one who wanted someone even more impressive than your father? I think I'm pretty ordinary, so I just gave up!"
Qin Yi awkwardly smiled. "Sister, we're not in that kind of relationship; we're just normal roommates. We live together mainly because the landlord tricked us!"
"Oh really!" Ding Zhengnan was noncommittal about Jiang Yizhou's explanation and muttered, "That's still quite strange, isn't it?"
Jiang Yizhou sighed. "What exactly are you here for?"
"I'm just here to find out your address; there's nothing else!"
...
"Forget it; let's just cook noodles at home today!" Jiang Yizhou sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples in frustration.
After getting her address, Ding Zhengnan hurriedly left, and the two of them completely lost their mood to go out for dinner.
Jiang Yizhou collapsed on the sofa for a while before heading to the kitchen to grab some noodles. "Qin Yi, how much do you want to eat?"
In the living room, Qin Yi's voice came over, "A bowl... half is about right."
"Got it!" Hearing the amount, Jiang Yizhou pulled out an appropriate amount of noodles and put them into the pot of boiling water. Unfortunately, there were no marinated eggs at home, just some greens and radishes, so he could only add a bit of leafy greens.
"Who is that girl to you?" Qin Yi asked curiously while slurping up the noodles.
Jiang Yizhou also slurped his noodles, thinking for a moment, "Well? She's a really good friend. For various reasons, we haven't taken it further."
He spoke in a questioning tone as well.
"Eh~~ Aren't you two just a couple of fools?" Qin Yi thought to himself.
"What are those reasons?"
"How would I know what she's thinking? But for me, I guess I just don't believe in this kind of thing!" Jiang Yizhou suddenly felt like a very old-fashioned person.
"Marriage seems natural, but I've never felt that dating is necessary. When I see others in relationships, I feel envious and jealous, but I just think it's unrealistic."
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