August 31, 2016.
In Jincheng, on the outskirts of the inner ring road, there is an old multi-story building without an elevator, and a light is still on in one of its windows at midnight.
The lingering heat of late summer remains stubbornly in place, with temperatures still exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, forcing everyone to keep their windows tightly shut and rely on air conditioning.
Only on the brightly lit balcony was one window open. Beside it, a slender woman with a melancholy and weary face sat lost in thought, fanning herself. That was Yang Yajing, 36 years old, single.
In this sweltering heat, she dared not turn on the air conditioning to save money. The meager salary provided by her job as a university teaching assistant barely covered rent, food, and transportation, leaving her with very little.
My mother's exorbitant medical expenses are being covered by a credit card overdraft, and I don't know when we'll be able to pay off the principal and interest.
Although poor, the little house was cozy and charming at first glance.
Yang Yajing is a person who knows how to enjoy life.
This is a rooftop rental apartment where all you can see outside the window is the elevated highway. When you sit quietly, you can feel the slight vibrations as the subway passes by underground.
The lush green plants on the balcony, carefully tended, are a beautiful sight in this idyllic paradise.
Yang Yajing was in a bad mood that day.
The hospital issued a critical condition notice to her mother, who had late-stage liver cancer and had less than a week to live.
However, Jiang Xuanxuan inappropriately invited her to her tenth wedding anniversary party.
Wow! This Jiang Xuanxuan, whom she once thought was her best friend when she was young, turned out to be the biggest plastic lotus flower in her life!
Ten years ago, her mother collapsed and was diagnosed with early-stage liver cancer. Her father had passed away early, and in order not to lose her mother, she sought help from Jiang Xuanxuan, a wealthy woman.
However, the place Jiang Xuanxuan arranged to meet her was a high-end formal wear club.
As soon as she entered the club, dressed simply, she was stopped by the arrogant receptionist. Jiang Xuanxuan's phone was inexplicably busy, so she reluctantly sent a text message.
But Jiang Xuanxuan didn't come out for a long time. Just when the receptionist thought she was a fraud and pushed her out the door, someone finally called her name.
It wasn't Jiang Xuanxuan who came out, but Jiang Xuanxuan's "rich best friend" Li Yan. Yang Yajing's expression turned cold; she didn't like this person.
But now she needs someone's help, so she has to put up with it no matter how much she dislikes it. As a child, she was too outspoken and didn't understand social etiquette, which led to her being rude a few times; now she's much more low-key.
"Does Miss Jiang really have such a poor friend?" The receptionist asked with a hint of skepticism.
"Rich people always have a few greedy people clinging to them!"
Li Yan's eyes were filled with obvious mockery as she looked at Yang Yajing, which made the receptionist look down on Yang Yajing even more. As she let go, she didn't forget to remind her, "Don't touch the things carelessly! You can't afford to pay for them if you get them dirty!"
Upon arriving at the VIP room, Yang Yajing saw Jiang Xuanxuan and gave her a friendly smile, but the smile couldn't hide her melancholy.
"Yangyang, Auntie needs to have surgery? Will it be dangerous?" Jiang Xuanxuan asked with a worried expression when she saw Yang Yajing. "How much will the surgery cost?"
"150,000," Yang Yajing said softly, her head lowered.
Over the years, she had never asked Jiang Xuanxuan for money. She would not have asked to borrow money if there was really no one else around who could come up with that much.
"So many?" Jiang Xuanxuan looked troubled.
"Hey! You poor bastard! Don't try to take advantage of me, okay? Xuanxuan isn't your ATM!" Before Jiang Xuanxuan could say anything, Li Yan was already unhappy.
"I will definitely pay it back! I didn't..."
Before Yang Yajing could finish speaking, Li Yan interrupted her again: "How are you going to pay it back? Besides, Xuanxuan is short on money these days, where would she get spare cash to feed the dog?"
“You…” Yang Yajing stared at Li Yan.
What are you glaring at me for!
“Yang Yang…” Jiang Xuanxuan, who had been silent until now, smiled and spoke up, “Don’t blame Yan Yan, she’s just short-tempered and outspoken, and she can’t stand to see me suffer.”
"You can't hit someone who's smiling at you," she said. Yang Yajing didn't know how to respond, but she didn't feel comfortable about it.
"To be honest, it's really unfortunate that Auntie got sick; I've really spent a lot of money these past few days," Jiang Xuanxuan said hesitantly. "Should I return the bag?"
"Return what?!" Li Yan blocked Jiang Xuanxuan's way. "The Jiang family's summer gala is full of wealthy people. How can you, the host's daughter, be so shameless as to only carry an old bag worth a few hundred thousand?"
"Xuanxuan, I really need your help, my mom..." She only got halfway through her sentence before Li Yan interrupted her again.
"Is this how you beg for help?" Li Yan pointed at her knees. "Don't you have to kneel down and swear to be a slave when you need to beg for help?"
"Li Yan! Don't go too far!" Yang Yajing frowned.
"Yan Yan!" Jiang Xuanxuan pulled Li Yan away. "Yang Yang is also my best friend. How can you make her kneel? She has dignity too. Where does this leave my face?"
"Dignity? What dignity do you have to ask for when you're asking for money?" Li Yan scoffed.
"Alright, alright, don't be so blunt!" Jiang Xuanxuan nudged Li Yan. "If I help her now, who knows, maybe I'll need her help someday too?"
"What help can a poor wretch like her be?" Li Yan scoffed. But just as she looked at Jiang Xuanxuan, she saw her give her a wink.
On a sudden inspiration, Li Yan thought of something: "I can definitely help! How about I get her to give you that pretty boy?"
"Yan Yan! Brother Pengfei is not a gigolo!" Jiang Xuanxuan said shyly.
"Zhou Pengfei?" Yang Yajing's heart skipped a beat. "He's a person, not a commodity!"
"I didn't ask you to sell him!" Li Yan rolled her eyes. "Just trade him for your handwritten letters!"
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