Chapter 6: I Love Money
The sun was shining brightly, the weather was beautiful, a really nice day. But someone was really not happy.
After the competition ended, Yu Linna ran alone to a deserted park to clear her head. She had also changed her clothes, back to her usual T-shirt and shorts, nothing like her appearance on stage. But because she was beautiful, she looked good in anything.
“Hey, Linna, are you listening?”
Yu Linna answered the phone. She was sitting on a park bench, completely lifeless.
“Although it’s a bit unexpected, you have some experience now. Listen to me…”
“I was eliminated.”
“No, it’s because the opponents were too strong, not because you were too weak!”
“But I was eliminated. I worked so hard, and I got nothing… sniff…”
As Yu Linna spoke, her voice became choked with sobs, and tears rolled down uncontrollably. She wiped away the tears with her hand, but they kept falling, she couldn’t wipe them away.
Nangong Ying, who had known her for so long, knew that Yu Linna was crying. She had always been like this. No matter what she did, as long as she was sad, she wouldn’t hold it in, she would just cry.
“Linna, I…”
“Leave me alone.”
Hanging up the phone, Yu Linna took out a tissue from her pocket and wiped her tears. She had really sacrificed a lot for this competition. She hadn’t gone to class, she had turned down work, she had given up everything. But she had gotten nothing.
So, was her effort really meaningful?
“Um, are you Yu-tongxue?”
Suddenly, a girl’s voice came from behind. Yu Linna turned around.
Under the sun, a girl wearing a white sun hat stood at the entrance of the park. Her hair was braided into two pigtails, and she was wearing a pink dress. A perfect little angel.
“Are you crying?”
Yu Linna quickly turned her head and desperately wiped away her tears. She used up a whole pack of tissues.
“I’m not crying! You’re mistaken!”
“But I clearly saw…”
“I’m not listening, I’m not listening! You’re mistaken, I’m not crying!”
Although Yu Linna was a bit of a crybaby, she didn’t like being seen in a way that others didn’t know about, not at all. This was also the reason why she deliberately pretended to be cold.
If disappointment is inevitable, it’s better not to have expectations in the first place.
“Okay, okay, you’re not crying. How could Yu-tongxue possibly cry, right?”
The girl smiled and gave her a way out. She saw through it but didn’t say it. Actually, she knew everything. Yu Linna was quite grateful to her for this.
“Fang Jianing, what are you doing here?”
“It’s the weekend, can’t I go out?”
Fang Jianing had her usual smile on her face, looking at her happily. Although she and Yu Linna were just deskmates, Fang Jianing, the little angel, had been paying attention to her for a long time. Of course, her good looks were one aspect. The main reason was that Yu Linna had consistently occupied the top spot in the grade rankings, which made Fang Jianing, the little angel, very interested. After coincidentally becoming her deskmate in their senior year, she had actively approached her several times, but usually got the cold shoulder. However, over time, Fang Jianing had learned how to deal with Yu Linna. As long as she treated her to something delicious, this cold-looking beauty would immediately become compliant.
“By the way, Yu-tongxue, it’s a rare holiday, why don’t we hang out together?”
“I’m busy, go away.”
“Hmm? Are you waiting for your boyfriend?”
“Of course not!”
“If Yu-tongxue doesn’t mind, let’s go for milk tea. I’ll treat you.”
“…”
Yu Linna wavered again. It was always like this. Whenever the little angel said this, she always found it hard to resist.
So, this blonde girl wiped away her tears and immediately followed her obediently. It was free stuff, after all, so why not? Fang Jianing smiled and took her to get milk tea.
Although their relationship wasn’t particularly good, wasn’t there a saying that went something like, “Girls’ relationships deepen over milk tea”? Besides, she was very interested in this top student who was constantly praised by the homeroom teacher. If this girl could tutor her, that would be great too.
Although Fang Jianing didn’t know why Yu Linna was crying alone in the park, she didn’t ask. After all, they weren’t very close, and it was better not to ask about these private matters.
“This milk tea shop is pretty good. I’ve been here several times and always wanted to invite Yu-tongxue. You’ll like it here.”
This milk tea shop was located in a relatively remote area. You had to turn into an alley and then go around a bit, it was quite troublesome. And the decoration wasn’t particularly luxurious, it was really out of the way. But because of its good reputation, the shop’s business was pretty good.
Yu Linna had drunk milk tea from many shops, and this shop ranked in her top three. One sip, and a happy sense of satisfaction spread through her throat. Sweet but not cloying, rich in flavor, it was truly unforgettable. Most importantly, the price of this large cup of milk tea was also very affordable, only 10 yuan per cup. So cheap! But she couldn’t drink it often, after all. For Yu Linna, the cost of milk tea was still quite high. She usually mooched off Fang Jianing for milk tea.
“Yu-tongxue, are you free tomorrow? I want to invite you out.”
“I’m busy, I have to go to work.”
“I’ll pay for the meal.”
“…I’m not going. I’ve already taken a long leave of absence. If I don’t go back, my boss will fire me.”
Although Fang Jianing’s proposal was tempting, Yu Linna still refused. She had given up a lot for this competition, including taking time off from work, which meant she had no income, and she hadn’t achieved any results. It was better to get back to work and make up for the week she had missed.
“Yu-tongxue, you also took a leave of absence from school. Is there something going on?”
“That… it’s none of your business, don’t ask.”
“I heard you took a leave of absence with Nangong-tongxue from the next class. Are you close?”
“…We’ve known each other since our first year of high school.”
“I see.”
After drinking the milk tea, Fang Jianing, the little angel, didn’t continue to ask. As mentioned before, their relationship wasn’t very close, at most they were acquaintances. And it was Fang Jianing who had lured her here. Under normal circumstances, they weren’t even friends.
“Nangong-tongxue, she’s a special admissions student at our school. You actually know someone like that. I’m becoming more and more curious about your relationship with her.”
“It’s just that I owed her a favor when I was harassed by some thugs in our first year of high school. If you have to say we have a relationship, we’re friends.”
“That’s pretty good.”
She had heard of Nangong Ying long ago. She was quite famous in school. She was specially admitted in her first year of high school. She also represented the school in the national competition and unexpectedly won the individual championship, bringing glory to the school. And she was also beautiful, with many people pursuing her, but she never took it seriously.
Once, Fang Jianing learned through a friend that Nangong Ying was likely to receive a guaranteed admission spot through the school, meaning she might not have to take the college entrance exams to get into a good university. Even Yu Linna didn’t have this kind of treatment.
Such an outstanding person was actually Yu-tongxue’s friend. Were outstanding people always clustered together? Fang Jianing couldn’t help but think.
“Since we’ve finished the milk tea, let’s go somewhere. I want to buy some clothes, come with me.”
“I…”
“It’s okay. If you accompany me for an afternoon, I’ll give you some pocket money.”
She coaxed her like a child, but it was unexpectedly effective.
Yu Linna was an out-and-out “gold digger.” If there was a bargain to be had, she would definitely take it, never feeling ashamed. According to her, “I’m poor, so rich people should shower me with money.”
For an entire afternoon, although Yu Linna expressed no interest in those girls’ clothes, for the sake of that pathetically small amount of pocket money, she endured it. She had never gone shopping with a girl before. For her, going shopping with a girl was an unimaginable thing. In her previous life, she had died too young and hadn’t played with any girls. In this life, she was too poor and didn’t have much time to play with girls. And she had been displaced for several years, living in many places, so naturally, she hadn’t become particularly close to any girls. Because her circle kept changing, and after a while, she no longer wanted to make “new friends.”
“Yu-tongxue, I see that you usually don’t dress yourself up. Except when you wear your school uniform, you look good, but in private, you’re a mess, your clothes are super old-fashioned. How about I help you pick out some nice clothes? Girls need to dress up to be beautiful.”
With that, Fang Jianing dragged her into the specialty store area. A dazzling array of women’s clothing came into view, like entering a holy land. Yu Linna had lived as a girl for more than a dozen years, so she wasn’t overwhelmed by this. Those beautiful clothes, and those cute little skirts, although she was male, it wasn’t as if she wasn’t interested at all.
With Fang Jianing’s encouragement, she tried looking at a few pieces of clothing. She picked up a piece of clothing and examined it for a moment. Then she saw the number on the price tag: 389 RMB.
No, can’t afford it…
Yu Linna obediently put it back in its place.
“If you don’t have enough money…”
“No, no, absolutely not, forget it.”
No matter how thick-skinned Yu Linna was, she wouldn’t take things she shouldn’t. If she shamelessly asked someone to buy her such an expensive thing, she would be too ashamed to lift her head. She didn’t want that.
Yu Linna was only pursuing a life where she could eat her fill, not being a scheming bitch. No matter what, she wouldn’t do things she shouldn’t do.
Fortunately, Fang Jianing was also a sensible person and didn’t continue to force her. Instead, she picked out two pieces of clothing for herself and paid for them. For an entire afternoon, the two girls walked through the mall. As agreed, Fang Jianing gave her ten yuan as a gesture, and Yu Linna stuffed it into her pocket like a treasure. This money was enough for her to eat a boxed lunch.
“Do you need money badly?”
“I love money!”
“Hahaha.”
Right now, Yu Linna was pursuing money. She always believed that money was everything to her. Her dream was to have lots and lots of money, so she could live a good life. This idea was somewhat similar to Nangong Ying’s, but also different.
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