From afar, Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei spotted Ye Linchen standing alone in front of the newspaper stand.

Under the dim streetlights, her shadow was stretched long, appearing particularly thin in the winter night.

It's not even eight o'clock yet, but it's already completely dark.

The howling north wind stung my face like a knife.

Even though Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei were wrapped in thick winter clothes, wearing hats and scarves, they still felt chilly.

Ye Linchen was only wearing a thin, old cotton-padded coat, his back ramrod straight, as if he didn't feel the cold.

She would occasionally lower her head and then raise it again, as if she were copying something from the newspaper.

"What is she doing?" Ye Linnan nudged Ye Linbei.

"Let's go take a look."

Ye Linbei was also very curious and nodded at Ye Linnan.

The two of them tiptoed closer to Ye Linchen.

Although they were younger than Ye Linchen, they were a head taller than her.

Through her shoulder, the two could clearly see that she was copying job advertisements into a small notebook.

Is she looking for a job?

Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei exchanged a glance.

Wasn't she making a fuss about wanting to study and take the college entrance exam? Why is she looking for a job now?

Even if she wanted to look for it, she should have asked her father to help her, not look for it in the newspaper.

The two were confused.

Ye Linchen was indeed copying job postings.

She wrote down the company name, address, and contact information in her notebook.

By this time, a page had been filled with dense notes.

Actually, she wasn't satisfied with these job postings.

Most of the positions are for sales clerks in department stores, and the requirements are that they be young women with at least a junior high school education.

There are also restaurants hiring female waitresses, with meals and accommodation provided. Requirements include good looks, height of 1.65 meters or above, and salary negotiable.

Besides that, there are just some small, scattered advertisements, such as moving companies hiring workers and housekeeping companies hiring cleaners.

These jobs pay low wages, have long working hours, and do not require high educational qualifications, but they are not suitable for Ye Linchen.

Ye Linchen's most important task now is to study; getting into university is the only way out.

But she still carefully copied down all the contact numbers on it.

If you can't find a suitable job, it's still worth a try; it's better than nothing.

After Ye Linchen finished copying down the last phone number, he put the notebook and pen into his pocket, blew on his hands which were red from the cold, and was about to turn around and leave when he was surprised to find two dark figures standing behind him.

She was startled and took a step back, staring at them warily.

"Sister, what are you doing?" one of the dark figures asked.

"Ye Linnan? Ye Linbei?"

Ye Linchen then realized that the people standing in front of him were his two younger brothers.

Her tense nerves relaxed slightly, but her face still showed signs of shock.

When did these two brothers get behind her? How come she didn't notice at all?

Before Ye Linchen could answer Ye Linnan's question, Ye Linbei glanced at her, his tone reproachful.

"Sis, do you know how worried Mom and Dad were about you! We even went to the police station to report you! You've turned the house upside down, and you've got the nerve to read the newspaper!"

Ye Linchen chuckled.

These two younger brothers were just as she remembered them: selfish and indifferent, never putting themselves in her shoes.

They only saw the trouble her running away from home caused, but they couldn't see the reasons why she did it.

She straightened her back and coldly retorted, "Since I've caused chaos at home, I shouldn't go back. Isn't it better for me to stay outside?"

Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei were speechless at her question. They looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

Ye Linbei's eyes flickered as he said, "Sister, don't say that. Mom and Dad are really worried about you, all alone out there..."

Ye Linchen interrupted him bluntly: "They're not worried about me! They're just upset that the blood packs they got are gone!"

Ye Linnan was furious and raised his voice, calling her by her name.

"Ye Linchen, how can you be so narrow-minded, thinking so badly of everyone!"

"Isn't that right?" Ye Linchen raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Go out and ask around. Which parent of a child with good grades doesn't work hard to support their education? What kind of parent would stop their child from studying and instead make them work to earn money? Meng Xueyun is capable and strong. If she wants to support her niece, why doesn't she go and earn money herself? Just because she's lazy and afraid of hardship, does that mean she has to sacrifice my future?"

Ye Linnan said excitedly, "How could you say that about Mom? She's your elder. Don't you have any respect for her?"

Ye Linbei stopped him and explained to Ye Linchen.

“You’ve really misunderstood your mother. I just think you’re not doing well in school. You’re from the countryside, and you can’t keep up with the city’s educational pace…”

"Can't keep up?" Ye Linchen interrupted him. "Do you even know me? Do you know that I'm always among the top students in the whole school in every exam? Is that what you call not keeping up? I took the placement test and got 83 points. Teacher Li said that even the top students in the advanced class can only get that many points. Is that what you call not keeping up?"

Ye Linbei opened his mouth, then stopped dwelling on the issue and smoothed things over, saying, "It's because you've been separated from us for too long, and Mom didn't know about these things. She really didn't mean to wrong you; she's already apologized to Dad..."

"Heh, how ridiculous!"

Ye Linchen laughed out loud as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, his laughter full of sarcasm.

"I was the one who was wrongly accused and beaten, so why should she apologize to Ye Zhenghua?"

She didn't want to waste any more breath arguing with them; she was worried they would stall her and then notify her parents to take her back.

Ye Linbei has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and she doesn't want him to ruin her independent career.

Ye Linchen turned and left, saying as he went, "I don't care if you're willing to be Meng Zihan's blood bag or a sacrifice. But to sacrifice my future for her is absolutely impossible!"

She took a few steps, stopped, and looked back at her two younger brothers who were still standing in the same spot.

"Tell them I won't go back, and tell them to stop looking for me. Just pretend they never had a daughter like me!" she said resolutely. "I've already repaid Meng Xueyun for giving me life!"

Ye Linnan and Ye Linbei wanted to refute Ye Linchen.

But when they thought about how Meng Xueyun had sacrificed their milk for Meng Zihan's tutoring, the two brothers fell silent without prior agreement.

Previously, Meng Zihan was always given the best food and toys at home, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

After all, Meng Zihan is a girl, and she lost her parents at such a young age, which is quite pitiful.

It's only right that Meng Xueyun, as her aunt, should show more affection.

However, several things that happened after Ye Linchen returned made them gradually realize that something was wrong.

Meng Zihan seems to hold a higher place in Meng Xueyun's heart than the two brothers.

For Meng Xueyun, Meng Zihan is the most important person.

This is just the beginning; what else will they be asked to sacrifice in the future?