Chapter 44 [Let's Go to 98 (5)]
Su Yinian only remembered that Jiang Sui had been in Xunning for a month when he received the school's notice about the National Day arrangements.
And in the past month, I've hardly spent any time with her.
But Jiang Sui never uttered a single word of complaint to her.
No matter how late she gets off work, Jiang Sui will always wait for her at home, smiling her beautiful eyes as she says goodnight and gives her a warm hug.
Her daughter seems to be born with the ability to love.
Such a life was something Su Yinian wouldn't have dared to even dream of a month ago.
Looking at Jiang Sui, who was watering the potted plants on the balcony, Su Yinian subconsciously said, "Sui Sui, we're not eating at home today."
"Huh?" Jiang Sui's mind was full of thoughts like "I absolutely can't let Mom's flowers die from overwatering" and "How much water should I give this pot?" She only caught a vague understanding of what Su Yinian said. "Are we going to Grandma Ji's house for a free meal? Sure, I like Grandma Ji's cooking."
Su Yinian: "..."
After a two-second silence, she suppressed a laugh and said to Jiang Sui, "We're not going to Grandma Ji's house for dinner; we're going out to eat alone."
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating tiny dust particles in the air. Jiang Sui stood in the dappled light, her porcelain-white skin glowing, her pink lips slightly parted in surprise. "Really?"
"Okay." Su Yinian nodded. "Besides, the seasons are changing soon, so I'll buy you a few more outfits. I noticed you only brought summer clothes..."
Her voice gradually faded.
Jiang Sui probably wouldn't wear clothes bought from outside.
Just like Jiang Yunzhao.
All of Jiang Yunzhao's clothes are custom-made for him by internationally renowned designers.
Su Yinian's monthly living expenses couldn't even buy the most ordinary button on his clothes.
Looking back now, she must have been bewitched to date and have a child with such a rich young master.
Perhaps the moment she nodded in agreement with Jiang Yunzhao, fate had already foreshadowed their tragic end.
"That's great!" Jiang Sui didn't notice Su Yinian's dazed expression. She carefully placed the water bottle on the shelf, her tone exceptionally cheerful. "I love going out with my mom. I like whatever she buys for me."
Su Yinian was somewhat taken aback: "Are you that happy?"
"certainly."
The first time they went out, it was Jiang Sui who begged for it, but this time it was Su Yinian who took the initiative to suggest it. How could this not be something to be happy about?
—
As usual, the bus wasn't crowded on the weekend.
Jiang Sui found a seat at the back.
"Shall I ask Fanfan and the others if they need anything?"
"Um."
Jiang Sui opened the group chat and let out a small "Eh".
[Jiang Sui: Who changed the group name? I almost left the group.]
Everything was fine last night, but when Jiang Sui opened WeChat today, she found that the group name had been changed to "[A Bunch of Useless People]" by someone.
On its own, "[a bunch of useless people]" does seem a bit inexplicable, but when paired with "(5)" which indicates the number of people in the group, the sarcasm is immediately amplified.
[A bunch of useless people (5)].
[Fanfanbufan: Not me.]
After eliminating Jiang Sui and Xia Fan, the suspect's identity is already obvious.
[Jiang Sui: Jiang Deyu, did you do this?]
[Fanfan Bufan: It must be him.]
[I don't want to argue: Besides me, there are two other people in the group. Why are you so sure it was me?]
[Jiang Sui: They're not that bored.]
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: ...]
[Unwilling to admit Jiang's reasoning: Okay, I did it.]
[Fanfan Bufan: Are you looking for a beating?!]
[I don't want to explain: But I didn't do it on purpose, I changed the group name by mistake. [I'm sorry.gif]]
Last night, he played games with Tong Xia and a few others. For some reason, his teammates kept dragging him down, causing him to lose every game and setting a new record for his lowest win rate.
So Jiang Deyu, in a fit of rage, changed the group name late at night.
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: It was already 4 AM when I finished the last game. I guess I was too tired and checked the wrong group.]
Both groups consist of five people, so it's understandable that they might mistake one for another.
[Fanfan Bufan: 4 AM? Jiang Deyu, are you out of your mind?!]
[Jiang Sui: Whether you value your life or not is one thing, but the key point is that you were also in the group chat, and you ended up getting yourself dragged into the mess while cursing your teammates. You're really something.]
"I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli" retracted a message.
[I don't want to talk about reason: It was my mistake, I'll change the group name back right now.]
[Jiang Sui: Don't change it back yet, I've thought of something better.]
[Jiang Sui: [Let's go to 98 (5) together]. What do you guys think?]
[Fanfan Bufan: Great, I like this, it looks auspicious.]
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: It's not good at all; just looking at it makes you feel suffocated.]
Jiang Sui pouted unhappily, "You can't breathe because you've been playing games all night. Don't try to piggyback on my group name."
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: If you ask me, Gu Ci is already a college student, it's not appropriate for him to stay in our high school group. Why don't we kick him out, then we can change the group name to [I think about this school (4)].]
The more Jiang Deyu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. 985 universities were too far out of his reach, and what he was thinking was more realistic.
[Gu Ci: [Screenshot.jpg]]
Jiang Deyu clicked on it and saw a screenshot of a conversation where he said he played games until 4 a.m.
Although he retracted the post in time, Gu Ci still managed to take a screenshot.
Gu Ci said nothing, yet his words spoke volumes.
[I don't want to tell Jiang Daoli: Bro, bro, I was wrong. Please don't send this to my dad. If he finds out I stayed up all night playing games, he'll beat me to death!]
[Unwilling to follow Jiang Daoli: [Kneeling and begging for mercy.gif]]
The bus stopped at a station midway, and an old lady got on from the back door. Jiang Sui offered her her seat while secretly thinking that Jiang Deyu was both incompetent and a flirt.
Of all people to mess with, why did they have to provoke Gu Ci, that vengeful freak?
Now look what's happened; they've given the other side such a huge handle on us.
"[Fish]" changed the group name to "Let's Go to 98 Together".
Ji Jingyu, who hadn't spoken in the group chat, directly changed the group name, thus putting an end to the discussion about the group name.
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: ???]
[I don't want to talk about Jiang Daoli: Brother Ji, you're just being biased!]
Jiang Sui ignored Jiang Deyu and instead opened the chat box with Ji Jingyu.
[Brother Ji, is the bookstore managing to keep up with the demand today?]
Seeing that Jiang Sui had to worry about the used bookstore even when she went out to play, Ji Jingyu slightly raised the corner of her mouth.
[Fish]: I can handle it. You and Teacher Su have a good time.
The foot traffic brought by the celebrity effect is gradually disappearing over time. There are not as many customers coming to the used bookstore as before, and Ji Jingyu and Grandma Ji are enough to handle it.
[Fish]: Happy second date.
Seeing this, Jiang Sui recalled that post on WeChat Moments that was only visible to two people.
She originally intended to show that post to Jiang Yunzhao, but by a twist of fate, she added Ji Jingyu as well.
So he still remembered.
Jiang Sui reopened the group chat.
"I'm almost there. Let me know if you need anything."
[Fanfan: I heard a new stationery store opened in the mall. Suisui, why don't you go check it out? I want to buy some stationery. Oh, and I also want to buy some snacks.]
[Jiang Sui: No problem, I'll take pictures and let you choose.]
[Fanfan Bufan: I knew Suisui would be the best!]
—
Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes.
We had only eaten half of it when the unexpected happened.
Su Yinian received a phone call from a parent in her class.
The student's parent sounded very agitated on the phone, and their words were incoherent. It took Su Yinian a while to understand what was going on.
"Teacher Su, I only said a few words to her, and she went crazy and said she wanted to drop out of school. What should I do?"
The parent was yelling and screaming on the other end of the phone, with the faint sound of things being smashed reaching Su Yinian's ears: "I really raised an ungrateful child! I've worried myself sick over her, and this is how she repays me!"
After a few seconds of silence, the person on the other end of the phone changed.
The man's voice was filled with helplessness and apology, "Teacher Su, we are so sorry to bother you on your rare day off, but we really have no other choice. Yi Shan is stubborn, but she can listen to what you say, so could you please come over and try to persuade her?"
Yi Shan is a repeat student in Su Yinian's class.
Because of her failure in her first college entrance exam, Su Yinian knew that she had been under a lot of pressure.
Parents too.
On the first day of school, Yi Shan's mother came to see Su Yinian, and she looked even worse than Yi Shan.
"Yi Shan's father, don't worry, I'm coming right away."
Hearing Su Yinian say that, the other person became even more embarrassed. "Teacher Su, where do you live? Let me come pick you up."
"No need, I happen to be nearby. You stay home and comfort Yi Shan and her mother, and make sure nothing happens."
After hanging up the phone, Su Yinian looked at Jiang Sui with a face full of guilt, "Sui Sui, I..."
Jiang Sui buried her head in the food that Su Yinian had put on her plate earlier, saying, "I heard everything. Finish your meal before you leave."
No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't really stop Su Yinian from going, and she certainly didn't want her to go on an empty stomach to persuade someone.
Jiang Sui kept her head down, and Su Yinian couldn't see her expression, but she knew Jiang Sui was definitely unhappy. "How about I take you home first?"
"It's really okay, Mom." Jiang Sui forced a smile. "I can go home by myself."
"Sui Sui, I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay, we can go out and play again during the National Day holiday."
When the time comes, the first thing to do is turn off her phone, and see who dares to bother them then.
Jiang Sui thought to herself.
The seats opposite are already empty.
Jiang Sui puffed out her cheeks and angrily fiddled with the vegetables in the porcelain plate. If she had known things would turn out this way, she would have preferred to go to Grandma Ji's house for a meal. At least Ji Jingyu would have stayed with her until the end and wouldn't have left her sitting here all alone.
Looking at the WeChat message Ji Jingyu sent her, Jiang Sui suddenly felt very wronged.
Actually, I lied to her; I don't like her job at all.
I don't even have much time to spend with my mom myself, and they're always trying to take her away from me.
This time was even worse than last time; at least last time I was called away on the way back.
Ji Jingyu turned off her phone. "Grandma, I'm going out for a bit."
Grandma Ji didn't ask him where he was going, and smiled, "Go ahead. Anyway, your mother is home, I'll call her over to help."
—
Jiang Sui didn't expect to see Lu Shuhe again so soon.
It's in the newly opened stationery store in the mall.
Lu Shuhe looked even thinner, making her long sleeves look loose and baggy.
She was still carrying that large canvas bag, and the zipper on the bag was already open.
Having learned from her previous experience at the used bookstore, Jiang Sui could roughly guess what she wanted to do.
Lu Shuhe's audacity was simply a bit too much.
This stationery store is newly opened, and because business is good, it has four or five employees. Apart from the cashier, the other employees are constantly walking around the store to provide services to customers.
In addition, cameras were installed in all four corners of the store.
Jiang Sui couldn't understand where Lu Shuhe got her confidence from, believing that she could escape unscathed from such a place.
"Kleptomania is a mental disorder in which patients steal because of negative emotions such as unease, anxiety, and frustration."
The psychologist Xu found explained using the same language Jiang Sui could understand: "The patient's purpose in stealing is not to obtain money, but for the thrill of the theft and the psychological satisfaction of succeeding. That's why there are cases where people from well-off families steal frequently, and the stolen items are often not of much value."
Right now, Lu Shuhe's target is an ordinary mechanical pencil priced at two yuan.
Lu Shuhe's fingers, hanging by her sides, gripped her trouser leg tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.
Jiang Sui suspected that she had grabbed her thigh, because her face looked terrible and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Lu Shuhe's unusual behavior finally alerted the shop assistants.
Jiang Sui noticed that the shop assistant closest to them was staring intently at Lu Shuhe.
Lu Shuhe, with her back to the shop assistant, was completely unaware.
Jiang Sui was absolutely certain that as long as Lu Shuhe dared to reach out, he would be caught red-handed.
Thinking of this, she quickly walked towards Lu Shuhe and patted her shoulder affectionately, "What a coincidence, I actually ran into you here."
Lu Shuhe seemed to be greatly frightened, and her whole body trembled violently.
Jiang Sui steadied her and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry I startled you, but there are staff watching you."
Lu Shuhe abruptly turned to look at Jiang Sui, and upon seeing her face clearly, her pupils dilated and her lips twitched slightly, "You..."
Jiang Sui interrupted her, who was about to speak, "Don't say anything, let's leave this place first."
Ignoring the suspicious looks from the shop assistants, Jiang Sui pulled Lu Shuhe and quickly left the stationery store.
Author's note: The information about kleptomania was referenced from Baidu Encyclopedia.
I'm late, so here's a red envelope!
Thank you so much for the nutrient solution you provided!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
