Chapter 29 The Ungrateful Childhood Sweetheart

Upon hearing his sister's words, Brother Ji couldn't help but sob.

"Why are they so biased? It's not just my brother's responsibility to take care of his parents in their old age."

The older sister turned her head and said, "They're so useless. It's not like they've been biased for just the first time. Back when my second brother was alive, the three of us siblings slept in one room, while my eldest brother slept in a whole big room by himself."

“I told my mom that I’m developing now and can’t share a room with you anymore, and she refused outright.”

"At that time, I knew that our family's preference for elders over younger ones was hopeless."

Upon hearing this, Brother Ji cried even harder: "Sister, I'm so sad."

"What's the use of being sad? Look at Second Brother, he doesn't cry, he just runs away." The older sister found it funny to think about how angry they were when they came back.

"They must have suffered a loss at the hands of the second brother."

When the younger brother fell silent, the older sister called his name.

“Little brother, we are twins, a boy and a girl. We’ve been together since we were cells.”

"We are the closest people in the world, you know that?"

My brother gave a soft "hmm".

The older sister lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling: "Do you know why I just told you to listen to Mom and Dad?"

Brother Ji pricked up his ears.

Then the older sister continued, "Because they chose easy paths for our eldest brother. I heard today that he wants to go to the provincial capital, but Mom and Dad won't allow it."

"The implication was that it took some effort to get him to learn this skill."

“Although it’s an opportunity that your older brother doesn’t want, I think you should take it. You’ll understand when you make something of yourself in the future.”

"Then I'll go, I'll definitely study hard." Although he often quarreled and had conflicts with his sister, he knew that his sister was the one who would never harm him.

“You not only need to study hard, but you also need to please Mom and Dad. Your older brother isn’t home right now.” The older sister’s words were more sober than the two of them.

"You must take this opportunity to make your parents think that you are more successful and more filial than your older brother."

"If they won't let me study, you must help me."

Brother Ji: "I will, sister."

~

Jiang Xiaomei dreamed of the time before she left home.

After she dropped out of school, her older brother Huaizhi ignored her. She took on all the household chores by herself, and she would be beaten if her younger brother was naughty.

She didn't seem like a member of the Jiang family; she seemed more like a long-term servant.

The first child is worthless, especially if it's a girl; she's practically a farmhand in the household.

She had actually forgotten about these things.

But when they came to the provincial capital this time, she remembered it again.

When he woke up, it was raining outside, but Ji Huaizhi was still sleeping.

I stood by the window for a while before turning around to tidy up.

Her parents' disturbance at the school was like a sudden, unexpected episode in her life, reminding her that she had escaped this kind of life.

While Jiang Xiaomei was typing away at the computer, Wan Jie came to see her with some things in her hands:

"Have you missed me? It's been so long!" He put the food aside and said, "Here you go."

She was in the same class as Ji Huaizhi and had overheard some things. When she came to the library to see her, she was told that Ji Huaizhi had taken several days off.

She only replied to my QQ message today, and I only realized she was back at work when I saw that the chat page was logged in on a computer.

"Thank you, I miss you."

After chatting for a while, Wan Jie left.

She continued typing away on the computer, and after get off work, she would write and draw in her notebook.

Ji Huaizhi continued to busy himself with campus food delivery. The two didn't say anything, but they had the same goal: to stay in the provincial capital and buy a house there after graduation.

When Jiang Xiaomei published her first novel, she thought she was a prodigy.

He could make so much money from writing novels that he couldn't keep up with the royalties.

But in reality, during the first PK, it directly pierced through the Earth.

I couldn't continue writing when I reached 200,000 words, so I forced it to end, earning a total of 300 yuan.

When Ji Huaizhi found out, he didn't say anything, but simply bought a cake and a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Jiang Xiaomei receiving her first royalties.

When she saw the cream cake and flowers, Jiang Xiaomei's disappointment was replaced by joy.

Yes, this is her first payment for writing.

What's wrong with 300 yuan?

She could earn three thousand, thirty thousand, or even more in the future.

I cheered myself up again and polished the beginning of the story by tens of thousands of words while at work. I then contacted my previous editor again to start a fantasy monster novel.

While Ji Huaizhi was engrossed in writing, the campus food delivery business expanded further.

He and Zhou Peng created a software and a public account together, and the students no longer place orders in the group.

When he came out for his internship, Zhou Peng didn't want to work, so he worked with Ji Huaizhi instead.

Ji Huaizhi did not treat him unfairly; he directly sold him some of his original shares, which meant that in addition to his salary, he also received dividends.

When Ji Huaizhi was almost halfway through his senior year internship, he looked at the numbers in his bank account.

When they returned to the rented room, Jiang Xiaomei had already prepared dinner.

As soon as I entered the house, the aroma of food filled the air, and there was almost no room left on the table.

There was fish, shrimp, and pork ribs, and two wine glasses were placed next to it. Ji Huaizhi raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Xiaomei who brought out the soup.

"Looks like you have good news to tell me too."

Jiang Xiaomei put down the casserole: "Come quickly, come quickly."

After washing his hands, Ji Huaizhi went straight downstairs and picked up the wine bottle: "It's red wine again?"

“I don’t know much about this wine, I just bought it for the two of us to try.” Jiang Xiaomei took the glass and gestured for him to open the cork and pour the wine.

Ji Huaizhi didn't mention that the wine needed to be decanted; he opened it and poured in the bright red liquid.

"Let me go first," Jiang Xiaomei said, raising her wine glass. "Now that you're no longer attending classes at school, I'm planning to resign from my job at the library."

Ji Huaizhi nodded: "Okay."

Jiang Xiaomei chuckled; she no longer had any rustic air about her.

Just like those college students, pure, bright, and flamboyant.

“I earned 300 yuan from my first book. You bought me a small cake to celebrate. My second book had an average order value of 1,000 yuan, and my monthly income was about 3,000 to 4,000 yuan.”

"Now my third book has over two thousand subscriptions per month, and sometimes I can earn over ten thousand yuan in royalties. I'm so happy, brother."

"I'm slowly getting better, and I'm growing."

Ji Huaizhi also raised his glass: "Congratulations."

Jiang Xiaomei swallowed all the wine in her glass in one gulp, and then, while laughing, she started to cry.

"I think I've found some value in my existence. I don't have to hold you back like I used to."

She put a lot of pressure on herself.

When she started working at the school library, she realized the gap between herself and her brother Huaizhi.

Ji Huaizhi raised his eyes: "Don't forget, when we first came to the provincial capital, without you, there would be no me now."

"You have never held anyone back."

Jiang Xiaomei was both crying and laughing, hugging Ji Huaizhi's neck and sobbing as she said, "Without you, there would be no me."

After she calmed down, Ji Huaizhi took out his bank card and said, "Tomorrow I'll hand everything over to Zhou Peng, and we can go look at houses."

Jiang Xiaomei froze, tears still clinging to her eyelashes: "You mean, we're going to have our own house in the provincial capital?"

Seeing Ji Huaizhi nod, he suddenly stood up.

She ran to her room and took out her savings book: "Besides my usual salary, there's also the money you gave me that I haven't used up. It's like the money in here is only going in and not going out."

"You can use it to buy furniture or for home renovations."

Ji Huaizhi picked it up and was somewhat surprised to see the balance: "This money is for you. You've been saving it all?"

“I don’t need that much. You’re usually very generous to me and buy me things. I’ve saved all this money since I don’t need it.”

Jiang Xiaomei opened her eyes and asked softly, "Including this, how much is our down payment in total?"

She usually didn't ask how much Huaizhi earned in a month, since he had to pay so many salaries to his subordinates and the money he gave her each month added up to a lot of expenses.