Chapter 5 Are you a young lady?
The blood on the shoes had dried.
No matter how much I brush it, I can't get it back to its original state; there are always faint traces of blood left.
Aunt Zhang prepared a basin of aspirin solution for her, saying that Li Mu had instructed her to soak the shoes for a while and they would be clean.
Jingge did as instructed, and the shoes were indeed clean.
It was washed very clean.
Jingge hung the shoes out to dry on his bedroom balcony, along with the handkerchief.
There was a bowl of porridge that wasn't ready for breakfast yet. Jing Ge was holding her fifth-grade Chinese textbook, and Li Ying was standing next to her, reciting the text to her with some difficulty.
The only lines I can remember from the song "Fisherman's Song" are "White egrets fly" and "Mandarin fish are fat".
Jingge even drew a picture for her to help her remember.
Li Ying slumped her shoulders in dejection: "Sister, why do I have to study?"
"?" Jing Ge's eyelashes fluttered. "Why don't you study?"
“My parents are professors,” Li Ying said. “My brother went to a top university, and my uncles, grandparents, and other relatives are even more accomplished. I could live my whole life doing absolutely nothing and never go hungry…”
At this point, Li Ying added, "And not only did you get into a top university, you also skipped two grades. With people like you around, I don't really need to work hard."
Jing Ge: "What if these people are gone?"
Li Ying: "How is that possible!"
“In the generation of the Jing family’s great-grandfather, the Li family was evenly matched,” Jing Ge said patiently, “which is why the marriage agreement came about. But look at us now.”
The Li family remains prosperous, while the Jing family declines with each generation.
By the time of Jing Ge's grandfather, there were already signs of decline. By the time of Jing Ge's father, a mistake in an investment directly affected the Jing family's lifeline.
Nowadays, the Jing family only has one small ceramics factory left.
They're not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Li family anymore.
“But sister, you’re so good at studying,” Li Ying asked, “isn’t your salary only four or five thousand?”
"......."
Jing Ge's heart was shattered.
It's so blatant that college graduates are worthless.
As they were talking, a tall shadow loomed over them and slowly sat down at the table: "This is your older sister's bottom line. Her learning ability means that her upper limit is limitless."
Facing the most authoritative person in the Li family, Li Ying felt discouraged and dared not refute.
Jingge patted her head, put the book away, and turned on the English listening exercise for her.
When the porridge was served, Li Zhan also came down from the second floor.
There were four people at the table. Jing Ge and Li Ying sat on one side, and apart from the background noise of the English listening exercise, it was eerily quiet.
Li Mushi finished his coffee and left, saying he had a meeting in the morning.
There were only three people left at the table.
After a while, Li Zhan suddenly kicked Li Ying under the table: "Did you see a ghost?"
Li Ying got annoyed: "What?!"
Li Zhan: "Why are you suddenly working so hard? Did you fail the exam again?"
Li Ying suddenly fell silent.
Li Zhan frowned: "An exam? Where's the test paper?"
Li Ying grabbed Jing Ge's clothes with her small hand and shook her incessantly.
“I arranged a study plan for her,” Jing Ge said gently, “because I can’t stand seeing her so idle.”
Li Ying: "".
Li Zhan didn't say anything sarcastic; he simply shut up.
The porridge was made with yam and red beans, thick and soft. Jingge used to love it, but she didn't touch it today.
Since last night, she hasn't been able to drink even water.
The smell of blood always lingered at the tip of my nose.
"What?" Li Zhan asked, his tone displeased. "Getting all picky now?"
Jing Ge told the truth: "I'm not hungry."
Li Zhan asked, almost as if possessed, "Does your company provide lunch?"
"Not included."
“Then why don’t we eat more in the morning?” Li Zhan said, “so we don’t have to pay for lunch ourselves. With those two salaries, we can’t buy… anything.”
Before she could finish speaking, Li Ying suddenly raised her small face: "Brother, what do you mean? Are you saying that Sister is staying in our house just to freeload?"
Li Zhan's expression changed slightly: "If you don't want the ear, then cut it off!"
Li Ying: "If you don't want your mouth, sew it up!"
Li Zhan: "May you get zero on every exam!"
Li Ying: "I hope you never find a wife in your entire life!"
"......"
The scene suddenly fell silent.
After an unknown amount of time, and seemingly lost in thought, Li Zhan's gaze swept over the two of them, and he suddenly sneered, "Did she teach you to say that?"
Jingge put down his chopsticks.
Li Zhan: "Do you think I can't live without you?"
Jingge looked at him: "I didn't think that way."
“The line of men pursuing me stretches all the way to the school gate,” Li Zhan continued. “I can have a girlfriend anytime.”
Jing Ge: "Please go ahead."
Li Zhan ground his teeth together: "You don't mind?"
“You’re looking,” Jingge said, “is it any of my business whether you want to or not?”
Li Zhan stared intently at her for a long time before suddenly kicking the chair away: "You really aren't qualified!"
He stormed off in a huff.
Li Ying couldn't understand their relationship. When she was little, her brother and sister had a very good relationship.
And now we can't even meet.
They would end up arguing if they even touched each other.
What hurt Li Ying's heart the most was that her older sister was crying.
"Sister, it's all my fault," Li Ying shook her, "I said something that offended him. He won't dare to go to him; the elders will break his legs..."
Jing Ge wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and after calming down, he said, "It was the engagement that made him suffer. He should be with the person he loves."
Li Zhan was popular with girls from a young age. In elementary school, girls would slip him notes saying they wanted to marry him when they grew up. Those who pursued him started becoming bolder in middle school, and this continued through high school and university...
But the elders of the Li family, who value etiquette and rules, kept things in check.
He didn't even dare to date.
His friends have had girlfriends ever since high school.
Besides, university is an age when people should be dating.
He couldn't defy the marriage agreement, and neither could Jingge.
They are all victims.
Li Zhan always takes his temper out on her like this, and Jing Ge isn't made of clay, so of course she can't stand it.
“Eat quickly,” Jingge said. “After you finish eating, the driver will take you to school. We’re raising the flag today.”
Li Ying: "What about you, sister?"
Jing Ge: "I'll take the bus."
"No, please," Li Ying pleaded with her. "I'll take you first, then I'll take myself. I'm not afraid of being late."
The little girl's school is in the same direction as Jingge Company. If I send her to this place, she'll be late for that place, and vice versa.
Li's parents invited Jing Ge to stay with them so that she and Li Zhan could get to know each other better, and naturally, they planned for Li Zhan to drive her to and from get off work.
But one rainy day, Jingge was kicked off the car.
From then on, Jing Ge never rode in his car again.
The bus stop is located outside the villa, about a ten-minute walk away, which is quite convenient.
Jing Ge went out with his bag on his back and was surprised to see Li Zhan's Land Cruiser outside the villa complex.
The Land Cruiser window was lowered to the bottom, and Li Zhan was facing her with a sour face.
"Get in the car."
Jingge ignored him and walked away.
The sound of a car door opening and closing behind me. That bastard Li Zhan doesn't care about things; when he closes a car door, he shoves it hard and then lets it bounce back.
"Jing Ge! That's enough for you!"
Jing Ge was utterly bewildered and turned to look at him: "What did I do?"
Upon seeing her nonchalant face, Li Zhan felt a surge of anger rising within him: "Are you some kind of pampered young lady, throwing a tantrum like that?"
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