Chapter 31: We’re Rich!
“Xiao Ling, why are you so late?” Su Wan asked, her tone scolding but her expression happy.
“School kept us late for an extra class,” Luo Ling replied as she put down her backpack.
“Alright, listen to your teachers and study hard,” Su Wan said with a satisfied smile, helping Luo Ling take off her school uniform. “You must be starving. Come, come, eat more…”
Her sister had prepared a table full of dishes, all of Luo Ling’s favorites.
However…
The half-eaten bag of pickled vegetables, carefully wrapped and hidden in the kitchen, revealed the kind of life Su Wan had been living while Luo Ling was away.
Her sister had suffered so much for her…
A pang of heartache flashed through Luo Ling’s face, but she quickly hid it.
She took out a few hundred-yuan bills, held them up to her sister, and said with a cheerful expression,
“Sister, this is for you. It’s… my scholarship, from school.”
Liu Songyi had given Luo Ling over 30,000 yuan. Although Luo Ling wanted to give it all to her sister, she couldn’t explain where the money came from.
After careful consideration, she decided to give her sister a small amount at a time, gradually improving their living conditions so her sister wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
“Scholarship?” Su Wan was surprised. She took the money from Luo Ling, counted it carefully several times, and exclaimed, “Five hundred yuan!”
“Mm-hmm,” Luo Ling nodded vigorously. “It’s all for you, Sister.”
“This…” Su Wan hesitated, wanting to return the money to Luo Ling. “You keep it, Xiao Ling. Sister… doesn’t need it.”
“Nonsense!” Luo Ling deliberately put on a dissatisfied expression. “Sister, your clothes haven’t been changed in years, and you’ve lost so much weight recently. You must not be eating well… Although five hundred yuan isn’t much, it’s better than nothing.”
Su Wan still wanted to refuse, so Luo Ling continued,
“You said that when I earn money, you can enjoy life. I’ve earned five hundred yuan now! And I’ll earn even more in the future! Don’t you want to use it?”
Hearing this, Su Wan’s hand froze in mid-air, as if she didn’t know what to do.
“Sister, I feel the same way about you as you do about me. Would you bear to see me suffer? I can’t bear to see you like this…”
Luo Ling’s eyes started to water.
“Alright, alright, I’ll take it,” Su Wan sighed, putting the five hundred yuan into her pocket. A look of relief and gratitude appeared on her face, and she ruffled Luo Ling’s hair. “I can’t believe Xiao Ling has grown up so fast and is earning money now.”
“And I’ll earn even more,” Luo Ling whispered, lowering her head slightly.
“Good, then our family will be rich,” Su Wan said softly, a gentle smile on her lips. “It’s all thanks to you, Xiao Ling.”
“Mm!”
Luo Ling nodded vigorously.
“Let’s eat. The food will get cold,” Su Wan took Luo Ling’s hand but turned away.
Luo Ling seemed to see her sister’s shoulders trembling slightly. Her expression softened, and her resolve strengthened.
Whether it was for her sister or for the trapped Ji Ying, she had to continue on this path.
Although the name of the Awakened One organization was a bit strange, they were certainly generous. The 30,000 yuan they had casually given her was more than she could earn from manual labor.
More importantly… there was the Puppet Ballad.
Luo Ling remembered what Ji Ying had said to her before she was captured.
Only she could truly kill the Puppet Ballad.
Luo Ling hadn’t understood before, but now she seemed to have a glimmer of understanding.
Perhaps, only she, who also possessed the Puppet Ballad’s ability, could confront the Grotesquery that would bring devastation upon awakening…
But putting aside these worries about the future, this was the happiest meal Luo Ling and Su Wan had had in a long time.
Because they both believed that from now on, everything would be alright.
…
The next morning, a rare weekend, Luo Ling didn’t stay in her room as usual. After helping Su Wan clean the house, the two sisters went out together to buy some things for the home.
At Luo Ling’s insistence, Su Wan used some of the money to buy herself new clothes.
Seeing the joy on her sister’s face as she picked out new clothes at the clothing store, Luo Ling couldn’t help but smile.
Thinking about it, her sister was only twenty-eight years old, still a “girl” in many people’s eyes, but because of her, she had prematurely entered the ranks of middle-aged women.
But from now on… her sister wouldn’t have to work so hard. The thought made Luo Ling happy.
In the end, including the extra groceries they bought for lunch, they had spent four hundred out of the five hundred yuan.
Luo Ling wanted her sister to spend it all, but Su Wan refused to spend the last hundred-yuan bill, insisting on keeping it as a memento. Luo Ling could only give up.
“This is the first money Xiao Ling earned. Even if you earn more in the future, the first time is always special.”
Su Wan solemnly put the hundred-yuan bill into her inner pocket, carefully tucking it away.
After a long-awaited, hearty lunch, it was time for Su Wan to go to work. She had taken a lot of leave and had been working extra shifts to catch up.
And Luo Ling had her own things to do. The tall criminal investigator had invited her to attend the exchange meeting at Qingshan Hospital and meet the other members of the group.
However, Luo Ling still hadn’t bought a new phone. SIM cards now required real-name registration, and Luo Ling was cautious about maintaining her two identities.
If she couldn’t solve this problem, she would rather use Spores to communicate.
Soon, after changing into her “Bai” form and disguising herself, Luo Ling arrived at Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital again.
On a Sunday afternoon, the psychiatric hospital finally looked a bit more like a “hospital.” Entering the main hall, she saw a few medical staff scattered around.
As Luo Ling observed them, wondering if they were also Awakened Ones, she suddenly heard a voice calling out to her softly.
“Little girl! Little girl!”
“Hmm?”
Luo Ling turned and saw a man in a hospital gown, acting nervously.
…Was he a member of the Patient Exchange Group?
The man bent down, looking at Luo Ling with a serious expression, his voice deliberately low.
“Little girl, don’t go in yet. Come, I’ll tell you a secret.”
Seeing Luo Ling didn’t move, the man became anxious.
“Hurry up, or… it’ll be too late. They’ll catch me!”
Luo Ling frowned but approached slightly, still keeping a safe distance.
The man looked around nervously, then whispered,
“This hospital… has a problem!”
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