Borrow money
After the two comforted each other, Song Zhao took out several A4-sized printed materials from his bag. "These are the practice questions I made for you. They are modified from the real questions, but in a different order. Take them and do them first, then show them to me when you're done."
Nanqi was stunned. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, didn't you just say you wanted us to get into the same city and the same university?"
"yes…"
Nanqi sighed and lowered her head. After thinking for a moment, she gripped the papers tightly again.
I should study hard, for our future, and to live up to her good intentions.
That day, Nanqi was doing practice problems alone in the study room when she received a call from Li Jia. She glanced at the time; it was already 9 p.m.
"Hey, Jiajia."
"Daqi, can you lend me some money?"
Although Li Jia's family was not well-off, she and Nan Qi were both strong-willed people. The less they had, the less they wanted to show anything to outsiders, so it was extremely rare for Li Jia to borrow money.
Nanqi was taken aback. After confirming that the caller was Li Jia, she said, "Tell me, how much do you want to borrow?"
“You,” a sigh came through the phone, “how much can you lend me at most? I need a lot of money.”
What do you need the money for?
“…”
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Li Jia said in a trembling voice, "My brother gambled and owes 1 million yuan. He won't pay it back, and in a couple of days someone will come and chop him up. They also want to demolish our house."
"Your brother gambled!" Nanqi jumped up from her chair in anger. "This is such a large sum of money, even if all of us pooled our resources, we couldn't raise it."
“I know my parents are also borrowing money, and I don’t know what to do myself.”
"Does Duan Peng know?"
"I haven't told him yet, I contacted you first."
Nanqi sighed and said, "Let's meet at our usual spot after school tomorrow and talk."
"Um."
After complaining for a while, Nanqi packed her schoolbag and prepared to go home. She was walking towards the door absentmindedly when she suddenly heard a "Damn!" which startled her.
Immediately afterwards, a clear, bell-like laugh rang out, and Song Zhao looked at her with a smile in her eyes.
Nanqi composed herself, not even having time to think about how frightened she had just been, and pulled Song Zhao into her arms. Song Zhao had thought that Nanqi would banter and tease him, but she was surprised to see such a tender side of her.
"I miss you, I miss you so much." Nanqi's voice was tinged with a hint of grievance.
These words completely melted Song Zhao's heart. She hugged Nan Qi tightly and said softly, "Me too, I want to so much."
"If you had come any later, I would have left and you would never have seen me again."
"Next time I come, I'll call you in advance so you can wait a little longer for me."
"Uh-huh."
Nanqi looked at Song Zhao and asked, "Why did you come to see me today?"
"In the last math tutoring class, the teacher went through the lesson quickly and left early, so we also finished class early."
"Can you go home today?"
Song Zhao shook his head. "The school won't allow it. I have to rush back for self-study later."
Nanqi lowered her eyes and sighed, "Sigh, it's really hard work."
"I'll walk you to the school gate," Song Zhao said.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Nanqi suddenly kissed her lips, roughly invading her mouth and pressing his lips against hers.
Song Zhao opened his eyelids slightly, then closed them again, his lips licking her tongue, welcoming her advances.
After they poured out their longing through the kiss, Nanqi reluctantly pulled away and said, "Let's go."
Song Zhao linked arms with Nan Qi, walking and watching her, paying attention to her little moods.
"Don't be sad. After the monthly exam, I'll talk to the teacher and ask for a day off so we can have a good get-together."
"Was that a day? It was clearly a night," Nanqi said, pouting.
“You can get a lot done in one night,” Song Zhao said, blinking.
Nanqi twitched the corner of her mouth but did not refute her.
"What are you thinking about when you're in the classroom? You walk with your head down, not even looking where you're going."
Nanqi let out a soft sigh and said, "Brother Li Jia is gambling."
Song Zhao didn't show any surprise, he just nodded slightly.
"Don't tell anyone, Li Jia is still feeling quite upset."
Song Zhao nodded and said, "You can't help her with this."
Nanqi said, "I know. I plan to comfort her. After school tomorrow, I'll invite Duan Peng, and the three of us will have a meal and chat. Even if we can't help her, it's good to be able to talk to her."
Song Zhao lowered his head and said thoughtfully, "In fact, many times people's selfish behavior is not out of selfishness, but to save themselves. She must tear her family and her brother out of her heart, skin and flesh, in order to survive. And she can only do this by herself. No one else can help her."
Nanqi understands this principle, but for Li Jia, it wasn't just her physical labor that was exploited from childhood, but also her mind. How easy is it to abandon her family?
Seeing Nanqi's dejected look, Song Zhao comforted her, "Don't worry about her. In a little over three months, we'll all graduate. Whether she goes to university or finds a job, she'll be able to leave home. Once she enjoys her freedom, she'll eventually want to get rid of that cannibalistic home."
The two chatted as they walked to the school gate. Nanqi smiled and nodded, then hugged Song Zhao reluctantly, "Okay, you can go back now."
"Then you can't be unhappy. I'm always worried about you, and I can't study well even if I want to," Song Zhao said in a coquettish tone.
"Then I'll smile more, and I'll take some pictures of smiling faces for you when I get home."
"Um!"
"I'm leaving." Nanqi had only taken two steps after turning around when she turned back and said, "I'll miss you, and you should keep thinking about me too."
Song Zhao waved to Nan Qi, "Okay, let's go, be careful!"
Silly girl, of course I miss you. I miss you so much that I can't sleep at night.
The happiness and bitterness of being in love lies here: when you're together, you savor the sweetness, but when you're apart, you feel inexplicably sad. Even though you know you'll see each other again soon, you still cherish every minute and second you're apart.
Nanqi got into the car and stared blankly out the window. She really wished time would pass faster, even faster. She wished tomorrow was the monthly exam. As long as she could be with Song Zhao, she would do whatever Song Zhao wanted to her.
The next day after school, Nanqi, Li Jia, and Duan Peng went to their usual restaurant.
Li Jia really wanted to try the wine, but Duan Peng and Nan Qi stopped her, refusing to let her.
Nanqi was helpless. She didn't have much money, and the few bills she managed to save were ultimately Song Zhao's money.
Duan Peng did manage to scrape together 500 yuan, but it was ultimately a drop in the ocean and didn't make much of a difference.
"Sister Jia, to be blunt, your parents are really something, making you, a child, borrow money. Isn't that putting you in a difficult position?"
Li Jia looked at Nan Qi, opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Nanqi said, "You know I'm Moonlight..."
Li Jia pursed her lips and finally spoke, "Could you help me borrow some money from Song Zhao? I... I'll pay her back. You can write an IOU if you want."
Nanqi noticed her embarrassment; she was even stammering when she spoke.
“She is richer than the rest of us, but it's all her parents' money. She only has a small allowance each month, not much at all. We can't expect her to borrow money from her parents…”
"Is it that she doesn't want to?" Li Jia pressed for an answer.
Nanqi was stunned, unsure how to answer. "I didn't tell her."
Li Jia nodded with a wry smile, "I understand, none of you want to make things difficult for others."
She took a deep breath. "I know it's impossible to raise that number. To be honest, I just want to give my parents an explanation. I can't stand the way they look at me with such indebtedness. I really don't understand why raising me is a loss, why I'm an ingrate if I can't meet their demands, as if I'm the one who only takes and never gives in this family... It's me, only me!!"
Li Jia was pounding her chest and stamping her feet as she spoke, her emotions running high. Nan Qi and Duan Peng saw this and knew that no amount of comforting words would help. They could neither relieve her immediate crisis nor help her escape her family of origin.
“Why don’t you call the police? Gambling is illegal. If those debt collectors dare to mess with you, have the police arrest them all,” Nanqi said.
“It’s no use. They have IOUs. My brother borrowed money to gamble. They said they set him up, but he still had to be willing to go for it.”
"Your brother is so stupid, he's a disgrace to men!" Duan Peng said sullenly.
The three talked for nearly an hour, each with a heavy heart. They barely ate any of the food on the table. Li Jia didn't like to show her emotions, but this time, she really couldn't process it all on her own.
Nanqi, swallowing her pride, called Song Zhao. She didn't have anything else to say, just wanted to borrow money. Song Zhao guessed what she meant and told Nanqi to just withdraw the money from that card. Although Song Zhao wasn't short of money, it was still her money, and Nanqi really didn't want to use her boyfriend's money to curry favor with him.
Moreover, she knew that Song Zhao was a rational person, and she would not have helped that gambler if she hadn't asked her.
Nanqi took 2,000 yuan from Song Zhao's card and gave it to Li Jia so that she could explain things to her family.
A few days later, Nanqi created a group at school where she sold small trinkets or took on odd jobs, such as delivering food or fruit. This kind of life made her feel more fulfilled, and waiting for Song Zhao became less unbearable.
Less than two weeks later, Li Jia returned the money. She said her brother had run away, and the other party was no longer making things difficult for them. The money wasn't enough to repay the debt, and it hadn't been of any use anyway.
Nanqi hugged her and said, "After we graduate, you should leave home. The world is vast, you can go anywhere."
Li Jia forced a smile, then said sadly, "That's what I think too. Staying at home is really boring."
After Li Jia's matter was over, Nan Qi was in a great mood and did her test papers more carefully than usual.
"Not bad, an improvement over last time," Song Zhao said, grading the papers.
"Tomorrow is the monthly exam. I've been waiting for this day for ages!" Nanqi said with anticipation.
Aunt Fang will be home tomorrow night.
"If you're home, then I'll talk to you a little longer."
“What I mean is…” Song Zhao looked at her meaningfully, then wrote down the hotel’s information on the test paper.
"The two of us are getting a room?!" Nanqi exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening in astonishment.
Shh!!! We're all adults, we can get in.
Nanqi looked around and said softly, "But how am I supposed to tell my mom?"
"Auntie has already agreed."
"My mom agreed?"
“I called your aunt and told her that your grades have been stagnant lately. I happen to be free tomorrow night, so I can give you some extra help. You can stay at my place tonight.”
As Song Zhao spoke, he raised an eyebrow smugly.
Nanqi subconsciously zipped her clothes all the way up, and Song Zhao's wolfish expression seemed to want to devour her alive.
After the monthly exam, the temperature outside rose, and the two walked hand in hand to the hotel. Nanqi's hands were sore from the exam, so Song Zhao held her right hand in his palm and massaged her sore and red joints with his thumb.
On the way, they chatted. Nanqi talked about what was happening in the class: who was under a lot of pressure and cried loudly in the corridor, and some had torn up their books and then picked them up again. Of course, there were also students who didn't like to study, and the teacher had given up on them, letting them sleep at their desks.
Somehow, as they chatted, Nanqi found herself talking about Li Jia again and told Song Zhao about their last conversation.
Song Zhao ignored her words and asked calmly, "Why did you take 2,000 yuan from my card and then deposit it back in?"
"Li Jia said she didn't need it anymore, so I saved it back."
Song Zhao took her hand and said, "I heard you've been quite busy lately."
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