More fortunate

The dim light reflected on Xu Jiaojiao's angry little face. After a burst of ridicule, she strode away resolutely without waiting for Jiang Zhizhi to speak.

Jiang Zhizhi originally didn't want to have a too deep friendship with Xu Jiaojiao in this life, but at this moment, looking at Xu Jiaojiao's back as she left, she felt uncomfortable.

She stood blankly at the entrance of the alley, looking at the bracelet that was smashed to pieces on the ground for a long time, then she pursed her lips and turned into the alley.

After entering the yard, Jiang Zhizhi walked up the stairs and saw the lights in the house.

Counting the time, today is the third day since Lu Hengshan agreed to her.

That one million should have already been deposited into my mother's account.

She took a deep breath and went out onto the terrace.

In the room, Cheng Yuping was sitting there blankly, as if thinking about something. Usually, Jiang Zhizhi could smell the fragrance of rice as soon as she went up to the terrace, but today the simple cooking table at the door was still empty.

"Mom, I'm back." Jiang Zhizhi reached the door and reminded Cheng Yuping.

Cheng Yuping finally reacted, "Zhizhi, you're back? It's already half past nine?"

"It's past nine forty, Mom, what were you thinking about just now?" Jiang Zhizhi saw that Cheng Yuping was holding a new bank card in her hand, and guessed that it was about the one million, so she asked tentatively.

Cheng Yuping let Jiang Zhizhi in and closed the door and curtains.

"Zhizhi, well, I don't know what happened. Today, when I was setting up a stall outside, there happened to be a lottery event nearby. I joined everyone in the draw, and the result was..."

"What was the result?"

"I... I won one million." Cheng Yuping held the bank card in her hand, as if she was still confused. "Did I get scammed? But those people took me to the bank next door and transferred the money to my card. Now there is really one million in this card."

"Mom, don't panic. It's just one million. Some people win 50 million in the lottery. That's just your good luck." Jiang Zhizhi comforted her.

"What should we do now? Can we really spend this one million?" Cheng Yuping still felt like she was dreaming.

"Of course you can spend it, but we have to keep a low profile and not let others know about the one million, otherwise it will definitely cause trouble." Jiang Zhizhi reminded.

Cheng Yuping nodded quickly, "Yeah, I think so too."

Jiang Zhizhi sat down next to Cheng Yuping and asked, "Mom, what are you going to do with this one million?"

"What? I don't know..."

She had never thought that she could have one million. After getting this one million, her mind was in a mess and she dared not think about anything.

"Or, let's use this money to buy a house." Jiang Zhizhi said happily.

"Buy a house?" Cheng Yuping suddenly realized, "Yes, I have to buy a house."

"After buying the house, we can settle down in Nanshi, and then I can go to high school in Nanshi." Jiang Zhizhi said.

"Ah? You can't go to high school here without settling down here?" Cheng Yuping didn't know about this.

"Yes, you must settle down in order to attend high school in this area."

Cheng Yuping suddenly became nervous, "Then, then we have to buy a house quickly."

It would be fine if she didn't have money, but now that she has money, she certainly hopes that Jiang Zhizhi can stay in the city and receive a better education.

"Mom, here's what I'm thinking. We don't need to buy a fancy house. One worth around 400,000 will be fine. Don't you want to open a bookstore? We can spend another 400,000 to buy a street-side shop and open a small bookstore. Then you won't have to go to the morning market every day to buy goods and set up a stall." Jiang Zhizhi said, "With the remaining 200,000, we can simply renovate the house and the store. What do you think?"

"Open a bookstore?" Cheng Yuping was excited for a moment, but soon became nervous and worried. "I've never run a bookstore before. What if it doesn't work out? I know it's hard to make money running a bookstore."

"It's okay. We bought the shop ourselves, so we don't have to pay rent. The monthly expenses are minimal, so just selling a little is enough." Jiang Zhizhi said with a smile, "By the way, Mom, I have some good news. Do you remember when we were in elementary school, there was a classmate who asked me to tutor him? His father came to me again today and wanted me to continue tutoring him. He said that if I paid the market price for tutoring, I might be able to make two thousand yuan a month."

"Ah? Really?" Cheng Yuping couldn't believe it. How come all the good things happened to her family all of a sudden?

Jiang Zhizhi smiled and said, "Of course it's true. With the income from your bookstore and the income from tutoring my classmates, our living expenses and my future tuition will be more than enough."

"But will this affect your studies?"

"Of course not. I can give that classmate a lecture and review what the teacher taught to consolidate his knowledge."

"That's good, that's good..." Cheng Yuping was still a little dazed. She held Jiang Zhizhi's hand, still not sure, "Zhizhi, tell me, am I dreaming?"

"Mom, I'm not dreaming, this is real! Our lives will get better and better in the future." Jiang Zhizhi hugged Cheng Yuping and said happily.

At night, Jiang Zhizhi lay in bed, thinking about what happened during the day, and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

With this one million, she no longer has to worry about things at home. As long as she works hard and studies and reads according to her plan, she should be able to raise enough money to buy medicine for her mother's illness.

What kept her awake was what Xu Jiaojiao said today.

She didn't know what choice to make.

Xu Jiaojiao certainly has shortcomings. She is not good at studying, has a mixed bag of friends, and is sometimes a little selfish. She has a bad temper and is moody, and cannot bring stable emotional value.

However, Xu Jiaojiao also has her strengths.

She is very nice to her friends. Although she has some flaws in her character, she is not a bad person by nature. She is loyal and usually very generous. She doesn't have much pocket money, but she is often willing to share it all with her friends.

To be honest, Jiang Zhizhi didn't hate her.

The reason she wanted to stay away was just an adult weighing the pros and cons.

But is this really right?

Just when Jiang Zhizhi was feeling conflicted and uneasy, she suddenly heard a low laugh beside her ear.

She was startled, but soon realized that it was the laughter of the gentle man in the system.

"I have a way to help you solve this problem," he said.

"What method?" Jiang Zhizhi asked in her heart.

"Just think about it. A long, long time from now, when you think of this person and this moment, will you regret it? Will you feel guilty?"

This question made Jiang Zhizhi's heart tremble.

She thought about it and the result was actually obvious.

She will feel guilty.

Because today Xu Jiaojiao came with gifts and her love for her.

No matter what happens in the future, Xu Jiaojiao was sincere at that moment.

Jiang Zhizhi was indeed very cold towards Xu Jiaojiao during this period and did not respond to her friendship.

"If you want to make the most of your life this time, try not to regret it." The system said in a gentle voice.

"I see."

Jiang Zhizhi suddenly understood.

She got out of bed, ran out, and came to the entrance of the alley.

Fortunately, the shattered bracelet was still there.

She picked up the broken bracelet and went home to restrung it. Fortunately, the knot on the bracelet was elastic, so she was still able to wear it after restrung, but it didn't look as beautiful as before.

Jiang Zhizhi wore the bracelet and fell asleep contentedly.

*

Xu Jiaojiao and her family rented a house on the second floor of a house in Lujiang Village. Early in the morning, she was about to go downstairs with a basin of dirty clothes when she suddenly saw Jiang Zhizhi standing in the alley reading a book.

She was stunned for a moment, suspecting that she had seen it wrong.

"Jiang Zhizhi?" Xu Jiaojiao stood halfway up the stairs, looking out the alley. She double-checked that it was Jiang Zhizhi, "Why are you here?"

Jiang Zhizhi held up her bracelet to show her, and said with a smile, "Weren't you angry yesterday? I came to see if you've calmed down. I really like the bracelet you gave me, and I repaired it yesterday."

Hearing Jiang Zhizhi's words, Xu Jiaojiao's eyes suddenly turned red, "You...how did you get here?"

"I walked here."

"Walking from the stadium? How long did you walk?"

"It's not far, just over half an hour."

Xu Jiaojiao looked and saw that it was only 6:20, which meant that Jiang Zhizhi had left home to look for her before dawn.

"Wait a minute, I'll go back and get my schoolbag."

As she said this, she ran upstairs again with the basin of dirty clothes.

As soon as she entered the room, Jiang Zhizhi heard sharp scolding coming from inside.

"Didn't I tell you to go wash the clothes? Why are you bringing them back again?"

"I'll wash it this afternoon after school."

"If you wash it tonight, will it be completely dry by tomorrow morning? Are you going to let your brother wear wet clothes to school tomorrow?"

Before the sharp words fell, Xu Jiaojiao ran out of the house with her schoolbag.

"Damn it, if you have the guts, don't come back today. I'll break your legs if you come back!"

Xu Jiaojiao's mother came out of the house and pointed at her and cursed at her.

Xu Jiaojiao ignored him and ran out of the house in one breath. She grabbed Jiang Zhizhi's hand and ran out, "Let's go."

Jiang Zhizhi couldn't help but look back.

Xu Jiaojiao's mother had a mean look on her face and was cursing at people with all kinds of nasty words.

"Is it not scary?" After running a little further away, Xu Jiaojiao laughed at Jiang Zhizhi, as if she didn't take her mother's curse seriously at all.

Jiang Zhizhi asked worriedly, "When you go home tonight, your mother won't really beat you, right?"

"A couple of hits is no big deal. I won't die. I'm used to it. Anyway, they won't beat me to death. Otherwise, who will do the housework? Haha." She said jokingly.

Jiang Zhizhi knew Xu Jiaojiao's family background. She was the eldest sister in the family and had two younger brothers and sisters.

Her parents don't like girls and dote on their only son.

In her previous life, Jiang Zhizhi had seen Xu Jiaojiao being beaten by her younger brother, and her parents scolded her for being ignorant and unable to raise her younger brother well.

In fact, her fate is very similar to Xu Jiaojiao's.

It’s just that in her previous life, she was inferior and timid and had few friends, while Xu Jiaojiao was unbridled and outspoken, and accidentally went astray.

Perhaps, she is luckier than Xu Jiaojiao.

She has a mother who loves her.

Now that she is reborn, she can live again.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"not yet."

"Come on, I'll treat you to some fried dough sticks from the shop up ahead. The fried dough sticks and wontons there are especially delicious."

Jiang Zhizhi held her back and said, "This time, I'll treat you to a meal."