Chapter 16: The Allure of Easy Money

The shopping store was a chaotic aftermath, as if a storm had swept through it, causing Qian Surou to press a hand to her forehead.

She lamented her lack of a proper familial attitude and resolved to throw herself into the fray from then on.

While the discounted fresh produce section yielded nothing, the high-end food counter temporarily satisfied her needs.

Gritting her teeth at the exorbitant prices, Qian Surou snatched up some overpriced beef and began her tour, pushing a small cart.

Time was precious.

Donning her apron, Qian Surou began processing the ingredients with uncanny ease, each step so ingrained in her memory that she moved swiftly, like a seasoned chef who had wielded a spatula for years.

As she stir-fried the beef, she did not forget to flip the emoji-shaped carrot, corn, and egg pancakes she had prepared.

The salmon, hastily seasoned due to insufficient marinating time, was quickly shoved into the oven.

Each dish was prepared in generous portions, and the aroma made her involuntarily swallow.

“Sister’s cooking is still as wonderful as ever.”

Drawn out by the enticing scent, Qian Xidong opened the sliding glass door to the kitchen, a puff of steam-like heat wafting out to greet her.

As she reached out to help carry dishes and retrieve bowls and chopsticks, Qian Surou, who was ladling out mung bean soup, stopped her.

Strands of hair, damp with sweat, clung to Qian Surou’s forehead and delicate white neck, and Qian Xidong found her gaze unwilling to stray.

‘An inexplicable sultriness,’ Qian Xidong mused.

“Xidong, just go sit at the dining table! Look, you’re already getting a runny nose from inhaling the smoke.”

With a gloved finger, Qian Surou pointed towards the glass door, firmly ushering out a sniffling, unwell-looking Qian Xidong.

Before serving the meal, she retrieved an insulated food container and meticulously arranged a balanced assortment of dishes within it.

After all, they shared the same blood, and Qian Surou, fearing her father might drink himself to stomach perforation, intended to send him some healthy food.

“Xidong, I’m going out for a bit.”

Qian Xidong, who had just set down her chopsticks and was about to sit at the table, saw the food container and immediately interjected,

“No! If you’re sending food, let me go. You’re not allowed! Wasn’t last time enough? He practically tried to kill you!” she cried out, suddenly agitated.

Qian Surou, a little troubled, smoothed her bangs.

Her sister had witnessed their father grabbing her hair and choking her in the villa that day, which had strained their relationship considerably.

“Xidong, you’re overthinking it! Don’t worry, I won’t just passively accept whatever comes my way. Your sister isn’t some soft dough to be molded and kneaded at will.

A mere drunkard, and I’ll knock him down in an instant. Have you forgotten I’m a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu green belt?”

Qian Surou recalled a few basic moves from the depths of her memory.

Her skill level was merely passable, perhaps useful against an amateur.

However, Qian Xidong pulled out a tissue and blew her nose—

“You mean the green belt that children under sixteen get, which isn’t much better than a beginner’s?”

With a feigned calm expression, she applied a joint lock to her sister.

As Qian Xidong reveled in the wonderful warmth of her sister’s body, she made sure Qian Surou couldn’t move.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“Foul! That’s a sneak attack! Bullying a kind sister who was completely defenseless against you is dishonorable!”

“You were caught, anyway.”

“Hmph! If you weren’t sick, I’d show you a back throw.”

“Braggart.”

‘Why did she have to act so deliberately cute?’

Qian Xidong twisted her body, flipping Qian Surou onto the low, armless sofa.

She lowered her head, inhaling the scent wafting from Qian Surou’s hair—a blend of a young girl’s fragrance and the aroma of dinner.

Despite knowing it was a terrible position, she couldn’t bring herself to separate, wishing she could do something rough to her sister right then.

Then, as if chastising herself, she released her hand from Qian Surou’s soft joint and spoke with difficulty:

“I’ll go with you.

My fever isn’t that serious; my ability to subdue you right now is proof.”

“Alright.”

Qian Surou stood up and straightened her appearance, quickly regaining her elegant, young lady demeanor after the disheveled moment, sitting with a straight back.

She then retrieved a trench coat from her wardrobe, draped it over Qian Xidong’s T-shirt, and used her phone to book a car.

When the driver called, she clearly but calmly recited the precise address.

Her efficient and orderly handling of things made Qian Xidong glance at her, thinking how perfectly charming her sister was at all times.

Stuffing only her wallet, phone, and key pouch into a small waist bag, she carried the insulated food container in one hand, discussing with the driver how to handle rebellious teenage girls along the way.

During their conversation, Qian Xidong, feeling subtly targeted by the implication, reached out a mischievous hand towards Qian Surou’s waist.

Getting out of the car in front of a cramped alley in the urban village instantly brought them back to the reality that many places in the world were still very poor.

The stench of sewage and stale smoke was overpoweringly real, and the puddles on the uneven ground made one wonder what kind of liquid they contained.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t bother with him.”

‘He treats me, his stepdaughter, with a smile, and even gives gifts on holidays, so I can’t say I’ve been mistreated in any way.’

‘Yet, he is incredibly harsh towards his own daughter; when the family gathers, he alone ignores Sister, as if she were a ghost living in the villa.’

“He just doesn’t love me, but he hasn’t wronged me.

I can hate him, but I can’t abandon him.”

‘That sounds rather cool,’ Qian Surou thought.

Occasionally employing a downward comparison, one would realize how truly fortunate they were.

Walking deeper along the faded gray walls and crisscrossing clotheslines, until the spherical landmark building became visible in the sky, Qian Surou stepped into one of the narrow stairwells, arriving at the lead-green anti-theft door at the end.

Qian Surou had no expectation that a drunkard would politely open the door, so she used her key.

Amidst a reek of alcohol and stale sweat, she switched on the old lightbulb.

In the darkness, a middle-aged man lying on the sofa, clutching an empty liquor bottle, rose.

His unkempt beard clung to his chin like a broom, and after glancing at the two sisters, he said nothing.

Qian Surou placed the food container on the coffee table.

Maintaining the same silence, she began tidying the room, her movements as light and slow as possible.

After gathering the trash, the image of her sister gritting her teeth in suppressed anger was seared into her mind.

As if to reassure her, Qian Surou gently squeezed Qian Xidong’s palm, then smiled and placed her index finger to her lips, shaking her head, using her expression to convey that she was not unhappy.

This way, her sister couldn’t possibly step forward to defend her.

The food container had a standard note attached, with some words of concern.

After tidying up, Qian Surou did not linger.

On the way back, Qian Surou bought a hot cocoa from a beverage shop and handed it to Qian Xidong.

Timing it perfectly for the moment Qian Xidong sucked down the cocoa in one gulp, she secretly checked her phone messages on her thigh—

“—Schedule—”

‘Huh, why are there so many clients requesting newcomers?’

Another point that surprised Qian Surou was that her rates had increased.

She could earn over 1,000 in a single day, which explained why so many young people went astray.

Even with the confidence to avoid the pitfalls of consumerism, it was difficult to escape the allure of easy money and the emptiness that followed such a vast disparity.

The thought of quitting before school started became increasingly firm.

Qian Surou was grateful for her previous family circumstances, which had given her the ability to resist temptation.

“What job did you find this time?”

Her sister had noticed.

Qian Xidong peered over from the right seat, catching only a fleeting glimpse of the screensaver—a photo of Qian Surou with Ji Yushu.

“Ah, nothing, really.

Mother gave me her card, and it has 1.5 million on it.

I’m thinking if I should quit my part-time server job… I have to attend a banquet event, and the commission is quite high.”