Chi Qingya heard her younger sister’s words, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.
She didn’t know if following Chi Qingyao’s advice would change her past life at all.
At the time, she simply couldn’t understand her sister.
She couldn’t comprehend why someone would spend so much money on a game.
Almost twenty thousand yuan, just to collect skins in a game.
With that much money, buying tools alone would probably last a lifetime.
If she bought learning materials, it would be enough for several years.
She didn’t understand her sister, nor the suggestion she made.
It wasn’t until she arrived in S City that she realized her sister had a point.
Having money did make it easier to make friends.
At least after she showed off her sister’s game account, some classmates added her as a friend, wanting to play together.
But back then, she didn’t enjoy gaming.
It was only after she started living with Su Li and getting to know Cai Xiangxiang and the others that Chi Qingya slowly began to explore the games she had never touched before, discovering a whole new world opening up before her.
She gradually understood why her sister and others liked spending money in games.
Spending money in games really could help you make friends.
“Chi Qingya, what are you spacing out for? I’m starving!”
“If I’m not happy in S City, I’ll go back and tell Mom and Dad that you’re not studying properly in university and drinking every day.”
“Mom and Dad work so hard to earn all that money, and you’re here enjoying yourself.”
Chi Qingyao threatened, watching Chi Qingya’s dazed expression.
“Sorry, Yao Yao.”
Chi Qingya snapped back to reality, looking at Chi Qingyao, who was standing in front of her with her hands on her hips.
She felt that she really wasn’t as clear-headed as Chi Qingyao.
At least, even in their backward small mountain village, Chi Qingyao’s behavior was far ahead of its time.
If Chi Qingyao came to S City, she would definitely make a lot of good friends.
Just like at school.
There were always many people gathered around Chi Qingyao, with a group of girls looking up to her.
But she was always alone, with no one willing to get close to her.
Some people even couldn’t understand why she was Chi Qingyao’s older sister.
Chi Qingya took a taxi with Chi Qingyao, remembering that she had arranged to have dinner with Cai Xiangxiang and the others.
Only then did she notice the messages in the sister group.
“Su Li…”
Seeing the obviously irritated tone of the messages.
Chi Qingya didn’t know what kind of conflict Su Li had gotten into with Cai Xiangxiang this time.
Seeing that they wanted her to stand up for Cai Xiangxiang, she glanced at the friend request Su Li still hadn’t accepted.
She couldn’t do anything for Cai Xiangxiang right now.
Su Li hadn’t even accepted her friend request.
If Su Li didn’t want to see her, there was no way for her to meet her.
The light in Chi Qingya’s eyes gradually faded.
Chi Qingyao pressed her entire face against the car window.
The neon light spots were like a spilled paint box, reds and blues splashing across the glass, sliding down the tip of her nose to the corner of her mouth.
As the taxi turned, the fluorescent green of a convenience store sign landed on her canine tooth, glowing so brightly it looked like she was biting a piece of luminous candy.
She poked small holes in the foggy glass with her finger, her eyelashes brushing against those translucent circles.
A beverage advertisement was playing on the giant screen of the shopping mall across the street, an orange juice waterfall pouring down from thirty stories high.
She instinctively shrank her neck, the plastic carp pendant on her canvas bag clattering against the window.
When the tires rolled over a speed bump, the entire sea of neon lights swayed in her eyes.
Models on the billboards blinked, streetlights formed flowing golden chains, and the white light from the convenience store was like a butter knife cutting through the darkness.
She pressed her burning forehead against the glass, her exhaled breath adding another layer of frosted glass to the world.
“Chi Qingya, are you still being bullied even while studying here?”
“Didn’t you say that once you left our small village, things would get better?”
“Didn’t you think that people in big cities had better manners than in our backward small mountain village?”
“How come I feel like you haven’t changed at all from before? You’re still so miserable?”
Chi Qingyao sat up straight from where she was lying against the window, looking at Chi Qingya, who was staring down with a dim expression.
“I told you a long time ago, running away isn’t the answer.”
“You always try to retreat into your comfort zone, avoiding everything in reality. Look now, can’t escape, can you?”
Chi Qingya lowered her head, silent and didn’t speak.
She didn’t like what her sister was saying to her.
Her sister simply didn’t understand her.
Without having gone through the painful experiences she had, how could she possibly understand?
She was just talking without having been through it herself.
“Yao Yao, you just don’t get it.”
“When I get to your age, I’ll understand, right?
But before, you always thought Mom and Dad didn’t understand you, that I didn’t understand you.
But even at your age, I haven’t lived the life you’ve lived.
I told you a long time ago, Chi Qingya.
If someone wants to bully you, just bully them back. Smash their heads with a chair.
Once you’ve scared them enough, they won’t dare to bully you anymore.”
Chi Qingyao said casually, and even the taxi driver in the front seat was startled for a moment by the girls’ conversation.
But he quickly composed himself.
“Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused Mom and Dad?”
Chi Qingya heard her sister speaking to her in a fierce tone and lowered her head, her voice gradually softening.
“Chi Qingya, you don’t actually think you’ve caused Mom and Dad less trouble than me, do you?”
“If it weren’t for you, would I have fought with those people who came looking for me?”
“It’s because of your constant weakness that you’ve brought me so much trouble.”
“If I were like you, would I have been hiding and crying by now?”
Chi Qingyao crossed her legs, no longer looking at the scenery outside, but instead staring at Chi Qingya, who was hunched over like an ostrich, and said in a cold tone:
“Do you really think people outside will treat you as well as your family does?”
“Wake up, will you?”
Chi Qingya said nothing. She knew her sister was right.
It was all because of her weakness that she had caused Yao Yao so much trouble.
“I’m sorry.”
“‘I’m sorry’ again, ‘I’m sorry’ again. Besides saying sorry all day, what else can you do?
Do you only have a mouth? Chi Qingya?”
Chi Qingyao crossed her arms, looking at Chi Qingya with dissatisfaction, and said:
“Who likes hearing your apologies?”
“What are your hands for?”
“People won’t judge you by what you say, but by what you do.”
“This principle—you’re already a college student, do I really have to teach you that?”