"Don't you think she's dressed a bit too lightly at our home?" Qian asked Jia Xiufang.
"What exactly are you trying to say to me?" Jia Xiufang was a bit puzzled hearing her daughter talk about such a topic for the first time.
"Yesterday when I went downstairs to wash my hands, she was wandering around the house in just shorts." Whether or not she wore anything else, Qian didn't know, but she wanted to steer her mother's thoughts in that direction.
Qu Xue was staying at the store, pulling out a single bed after closing. Qian's family lived on the second floor, so if they needed to go to the bathroom or get up at night, they had to go downstairs.
"What nonsense, you're overthinking it, the weather is so hot, wearing less isn't an issue..." Jia Xiufang's voice grew softer as she recalled something.
The son is now a big boy, and a teenage boy has an awareness of these things, it seems it's necessary to pay more attention.
Qian knew her mother took it to heart and casually added another comment.
"When I went downstairs, I saw Dad going to the bathroom too."
Jia Xiufang was stunned.
"Don't talk nonsense, your father is so much older — why am I discussing this with a little girl like you, stretch out your foot, let me see."
Qu Xue is only in her twenties, while the old man at home is nearly fifty, how could it be possible, but Qian's words did stir a ripple in Jia Xiufang's heart.
Qian stretched her leg out, a large bruise, Jia Xiufang was filled with anger looking at it.
"That Ni Jianren, he left us mother and daughter behind and ran off on his own, can he be good to you in the future? What exactly did you see in him? From the beginning, I didn't like him, a pretty boy, with ulterior motives, shifty eyes, clearly with a lot on his mind."
"After experiencing a huge mental gap, one instinctively seeks a safe haven, losing the ability to think rationally, thinking that leaving home can bring happiness, but by the time they realize, they're already deep in a quagmire, many unhappy marriages are caused just like this."
After failing the college exam, she was too saddened. Her father suggested a blind date, she went along, and in a daze, ended up marrying, trying to escape a messy life, only to end up in an even messier situation.
Jia Xiufang's face turned heavy, stood up, and placed a hand on Qian's forehead.
"Is your brain not working today, why do you keep saying strange things?"
"It's nothing." Qian couldn't directly say she wouldn't marry the scumbag yet, otherwise, her mom would surely explode.
Cancelling an engagement isn't a good thing to hear among neighbors, even though Ni Jianren's behavior was scummy today, with her mother's personality, she definitely wouldn't cancel the engagement, she'd likely say something missing the point entirely.
"Tell your dad to raise the bride price, when you get married, hold onto the money, then he wouldn't dare to bully you!"
Qian rolled her eyes inside, see, just what she expected! Her mom could never get to the main point and always thought her ideas were especially brilliant!
"I'll go get herb wine to rub on it, this ankle will swell up like a pig's trotter by tomorrow."
"No need." She didn't like others touching her.
After the divorce, she felt everyone was particularly filthy, even Yu Minglang, she didn't know why, but she viewed him as the only unfilthy one and even had a daughter with him. Yet when it came to other men approaching, she still felt disgusted.
Jia Xiufang went out, and Qian sneered to herself, muttering softly.
"Ni Jianren is just a piece of shit, even if you shape it into a steak, I cannot trick myself into thinking it's really a steak, let alone pretend to eat it happily. He's just a pile of shit."
But for now, she had to keep this pile of shit, she still had use for Ni Jianren in the future.
Her foot hurt especially, Qian touched the medicated patch in her pocket, Yu Minglang's face floated into her mind.
Who would've thought that poker face would've been so handsome in his younger days...
As she peeled off the medicated patch and prepared to apply it, a feeling of unease crept in.
Look at that guy, how skillful he was at handing over the patch, he must have given it to many women, right? Whenever he saw a pretty woman, did he eagerly offer her a patch?
Throwing the medicated patch into the trash can, she hobbled to find some herbal wine, she had to stay away from that guy, in her past life he had searched for her his entire life, and it felt like sticking to that guy would mean no good days.
Different values don't allow for mutual consultation, she reincarnated to be the ultimate bad boss lady, a sunny, positive man like Yu Minglang should stay to shine on other women; she prefers growing toxic mushrooms in dark corners.
The scent of the medicated patch filled the air, the small attic was filled with this smell, no matter what Qian did, all she saw in her mind was Yu Minglang.
His way of saving her in her past life and this life overlapped.
"Annoying guy, haunting spirit." Qian suddenly felt she wanted to wash her hands again, feeling irritable.
After washing her hands, she pulled out a chair, sat at her desk, turned on the lamp, took out paper and pen, preparing to make a short-term plan.
The light in the attic wasn't great, one had to turn on the lamp by the afternoon, Qian sat at the desk, looking at the books piled high above, each one seemed worn from reading, reminding her of her past diligent study days, burning the midnight oil.
How naïve she was, thinking that as long as she studied hard, her parents would pay more attention to her, treat her better, having to help with the family business after school, washing clothes in icy water in winter, and staying up late to study by lamp light.
When helpless and broken, she chose to trust her family, but her family wasn't good to her. Eventually, blood and tears taught her that relying on others was never as safe as being independent.
Qian collected her thoughts, writing down character relationships smoothly on the paper, something psychologists do when treating patients.
Father: Favoring sons over daughters, wants dowry, has a mistress
Mother: Doesn't treat me as well as my brother, clueless, chaotic, unaware of father's mistress.
Thinking of her mother's earlier kindness, Qian drew a line through "unfair to me," adding a question mark.
She only trusts what she sees with her own eyes, this section on her mother requires continued observation.
Qu Xue: father's mistress, will eventually be promoted to main
Scumbag: Gay, fraudulent marriage, scum... can't continue writing, scumbag traits are too many to fit on one page.
Yu Ming... had just written two characters, Qian felt uneasy, scratched them out. Keep distance from him, never let him set his sights on her.
With the important figures listed, she began to write down current tasks.
1. Find the acceptance letter
2. Get the tuition fee
3. Force the scumbag to call off the engagement.
Thinking of her mother's kindness to her today, Qian added another item.
Destroy mistress Qu Xue.
"Just consider it as repayment for that bit of kindness you showed me, I'm not holding out for any maternal love from you." She maintained seriousness, keeping her set role as the bad boss lady intact.
Qian muttered to herself, drawing a connecting symbol between obtaining the tuition and forcing the scumbag to call off the engagement.
She could force the scumbag to call off the engagement while simultaneously securing her tuition, ah, life, everything is interconnected.