Listening to the fading footsteps, Jin Xueli lay alone on the hospital bed.
The room was so quiet she could hear her own breathing.
Although the IV drip didn’t require a long time, without Su Li there, it felt endlessly long.
Why did time pass so quickly just now when Su Li carried her down that path?
Now lying in bed, watching the medicine slowly dripping, she felt time moving far too slowly.
Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, yet there was no one to confide in.
She seemed to have many friends.
But they were all fair-weather friends.
Jin Xueli knew that if she posted her current state on her Circle of Friends, people would leave caring comments.
But they weren’t genuinely concerned—they just wanted to build a relationship with her for their own benefit.
Compared to those friends, being with Su Li was far more comfortable.
At the very least, Su Li brought her to the infirmary without asking for any payment.
If it were anyone else trying to curry favor, they would have already thought about what stake they wanted from her.
Jin Xueli had known one thing since childhood—the gifts of fate were always secretly labeled with a price.
Every kindness shown to her required her to pay a certain cost.
She looked out the window at the students’ laughter drifting in, feeling the room even emptier.
If only Su Li could stay by her side.
Why did she just let Su Li leave?
This was clearly an opportunity to build a closer relationship with Su Li.
So why did she give it up?
Jin Xueli’s fingers unconsciously gripped the corner of the blanket, replaying the scene of Su Li carrying her into the infirmary.
She hadn’t known Su Li for very long, but being by Su Li’s side just now gave her a sense of security she had never felt before.
Thinking about matters concerning Su Li, Jin Xueli felt even more lonely.
Anyway…
Even if Su Li were here right now, she wouldn’t know what to say to her.
If that’s the case, Su Li leaving didn’t matter much.
Tomorrow at noon, she could see Su Li again.
She wondered what bento the Cat Cat would prepare for tomorrow’s lunch.
Jin Xueli’s heart had already begun to look forward to it.
But when she started anticipating it, time felt even slower.
Lan Yinyun stood in the shadows along Su Li’s必经之路, clutching a sack tightly in her hands, her gaze fixed firmly on the path Su Li would take.
Her heart pounded violently—she had never done anything like this before.
Even the girls who were bullied by Jin Ke’er were mostly willing participants.
They willingly sold their bodies for money.
They willingly became Jin Ke’er’s toys.
That had nothing to do with her.
She merely provided a few people with some opportunities.
They should be grateful to her.
As for Su Li.
Su Li should be grateful to her too.
If not for her making the connection, Su Li might still be serving dishes in a restaurant like some commoner.
Or like those girls, reduced to being a plaything for that woman.
Not just selling her dignity, but selling her body too, with no way back.
Su Li should be grateful to her.
She let Su Li earn money with dignity.
Earning more in that time than others could in months or even years.
But who would have thought, that bitch Su Li.
Actually didn’t know how to repay a kindness.
She was only asking her for a small favor.
It wasn’t like she didn’t do such things regularly.
Besides, there was money to be made from it.
It was all just like before.
Why wouldn’t she agree?
Playing the whore and setting up a chastity arch?
She used to be trash herself.
She didn’t actually think that earning a little money would let her cut ties with her past, did she?
How could that be?
Once a chicken for a day, a chicken for life.
Just a whore selling herself, what’s with the fake modesty?
And she was different.
She was a high-class elite talent through her own efforts.
Someone Su Li could never hope to catch up to in her lifetime.
In Lan Yinyun’s heart, Su Li was no different from those girls who used their bodies to earn money and gain benefits.
After all, like those girls, she was a plaything earning money through her body.
If not for her charity, would Su Li be able to reject her request with that haughty look right now?
This bitch!
She definitely raised her price because she knew Lan Yinyun needed her help.
A bitch is a bitch.
Disgusting.
She squeezed the sack in her hand, getting angrier the more she thought about it.
She wasn’t wrong.
She was just giving Su Li another opportunity.
That was what Su Li wanted anyway, wasn’t it?
She was just playing aloof here.
In reality, deep down, she was already itching to serve Jin Ke’er, right?
After all, someone like her who sold her body couldn’t control her desires.
Other than her, who else could offer Su Li such an opportunity?
Where else would Su Li find such a good job?
She was Su Li’s benefactor.
This bitch showed no respect when meeting her benefactor.
Damn it, damn it!
Lan Yinyun gripped the sack tightly, growing anxious as Su Li still hadn’t appeared.
Her knuckles turned white.
Her mother’s illness, the whip sounds of Jin Ke’er striking other girls—they intertwined in her mind, making her frantic, her breathing growing faster and faster.
The screams of the girls tortured by Jin Ke’er seemed to echo in her ears, making her body tremble slightly, filled with fear.
She didn’t want to end up like them.
Her mother’s medical bills surfaced in Lan Yinyun’s mind, and she suddenly bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood.
The bloody taste mixed with hatred spread through her heart.
It was all Su Li’s fault!
It was Su Li’s fault!
She had already given Su Li a chance!
Su Li was the one who refused to cherish it!
Since Su Li wouldn’t cooperate willingly… then…
She didn’t mind using the sack to teach Su Li a harsh lesson.
Then make Su Li “willing”!
She would be grateful to her.
She was helping her make the choice.
She must have wanted to return to her original life long ago, right?
Lan Yinyun didn’t believe that anyone who had lived a wealthy life would want to go back to their poor days.
From frugality to extravagance is easy, from extravagance to frugality is hard.
It had always been so.
Su Li was definitely too embarrassed to show it directly.
After all, she didn’t want others to know she used to be a whore, working with her body.
She was helping Su Li!
Su Li would understand her good intentions!
The next moment, Lan Yinyun’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Upon seeing that familiar figure, she felt her heart violently pound, slamming hard against her chest.
Close, almost there!