Luo Tiantian couldn’t help but burst out laughing, but the tickle in her throat made her cough.
“Cough, cough… Su Xiao, what… what are you doing…” she laughed while coughing.
Su Xiao felt her own actions were childishly ridiculous, but seeing Luo Tiantian laugh made her anger fade. Instead, she felt a bit smug.
“She was the one who started the provocation.”
“Alright, alright, let’s go back. Why pick a fight with a drunkard?” Luo Tiantian pulled Su Xiao along, hurrying from the rooftop back to the stairwell and closing the iron door.
Back in the rental room, Luo Tiantian wrapped herself in the blanket again. Su Xiao spread the blankets she had brought back over a chair to air them out, then sat back down on the small stool by the bed, looking at Luo Tiantian. “Are you feeling better? Are you still uncomfortable?”
“Much better.” Luo Tiantian smiled, then couldn’t help but let out a small sneeze. Her nose crinkled, making her look quite adorable.
Suddenly, Su Xiao noticed that Luo Tiantian was still wearing that men’s hoodie, and her brow furrowed.
This piece of clothing… no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like something a guy would wear. The style was old, too. Why was she wearing this at home?
“Luo Tiantian, why are you wearing this at home too? Is this your boyfriend’s? Where are your own clothes?”
Luo Tiantian mumbled vaguely, “Um… I only have a few pieces. They’re still wet from being washed, so I just grabbed one of his to wear.”
Su Xiao’s gaze swept across the room. Everything was visible at a glance, and she didn’t see any laundry hanging to dry, especially since Luo Tiantian had just mentioned that all clothes needed to be dried on the roof.
“Where are they hanging? We just went to get the blankets, and I didn’t see any other clothes.”
“Uh…” Luo Tiantian was at a loss for words.
Seeing her shifting gaze, Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the old wardrobe in the room.
“What are you doing?” Luo Tiantian gasped in surprise.
The wardrobe door opened.
The inside was empty.
There really were only a few items.
Clearly, they were old men’s T-shirts and a faded plaid shirt.
There were no dresses, no women’s tops, no pants, and not even a decent set of underwear.
It didn’t look like the closet of a young girl at all.
Su Xiao was stunned.
Although she had guessed that Luo Tiantian’s life might be tight, she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
She didn’t even have the most basic clothing of her own? Did Tiantian wear her boyfriend’s old clothes every day?
She whipped around to look at Luo Tiantian, who had buried half her face in the blanket out of embarrassment. A wave of bitterness and anger surged in Su Xiao’s heart.
“You… you only have these clothes? You usually wear his? Do you… do you even… even have underwear?”
Su Xiao found it difficult to ask the last few words, but most of her anger was directed at that boyfriend she had never met!
How could he treat his girlfriend like this? Leaving a sick young girl without even a piece of well-fitting, warm, clean clothing?
Luo Tiantian wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.
‘I can’t exactly say, “I am Luo Tiantian, I just turned into a girl and haven’t had time to buy anything, plus I’m dirt poor.”‘
Su Xiao walked back to the bed and crouched down, meeting Luo Tiantian’s dodging eyes.
“Tiantian, tell me the truth. Is your boyfriend treating you badly? Did you guys have a fight? Did he throw all your things away?”
Luo Tiantian covered her face.
It was so awkward.
“No, he hasn’t treated me badly. It’s just… for some reason, all my previous things are gone. I just haven’t had the chance to buy new ones yet…”
Nobody would believe that.
Looking at the loose collar of the old hoodie on Luo Tiantian, which exposed a small portion of her collarbone, Su Xiao’s chest felt tight with distress.
She remembered that even while sick, Luo Tiantian was still thinking about that boyfriend who was also ill. Yet she lived in such a shabby place and didn’t even have decent clothes.
She took out her phone.
A “ding” notification for a transfer sounded from Luo Tiantian’s phone.
She moved her hands away from her face and saw the screen:
**[Su Xiao has transferred: 1,000 yuan to you]**
“This…”
“It’s not a gift; it’s a loan. Hurry up and buy some well-fitting clothes. And make sure to buy underwear and whatever else you need! How can a girl not even have those… Anyway, you’ve had the soup and the medicine. Get some rest once you feel better. I… I should head back now.”
Su Xiao waved her hand, her cheeks turning slightly red.
“…Thank you, Su Xiao.” Luo Tiantian felt a surge of emotion.
‘I’ve only met her three times in total.’
Why was she so good to her?
“Remember to take your medicine on time and drink plenty of hot water. If you still feel bad tomorrow, don’t push yourself. Go to the hospital. And remember to buy clothes.”
“Okay.”
Only then did Su Xiao open the door and leave. She leaned against the door outside for a moment, looking at the ceiling.
She could be this kind to a pretty, cute girl, but she couldn’t bring herself to do the same for her mother.
“…”
When her mother came home today, her expression seemed a bit off, as if she were in pain.
‘I should ask her about it when I get back.’
Su Xiao sighed.
She turned and left.
—
Listening to the sound of Su Xiao’s footsteps fading down the stairwell, Luo Tiantian lay slumped on the bed for a while longer.
‘I can’t just lie here… I still need to earn money.’
**[Welcome back to “Divine Realm of Huaxia.” Current Character: Baosi]**
**[Special Status: Pure Love in effect]**
She appeared inside her sleeping quarters. Outside the hall, the night was deep. It was unclear if it was nighttime within the game or if it was reflecting the time in the real world.
“My Lady, you’re finally back!”
A familiar, tearful voice rang out. Xiao Tao rushed in from outside the hall, her face filled with anxiety.
“Xiao Tao, what’s wrong? What happened?” Luo Tiantian instinctively thought that Consort Zheng was looking for trouble again.
Xiao Tao rushed to her side and grabbed her sleeve, her voice trembling. “It’s… something happened on Lady Si’s side!”
“My mother? What happened to her?” Luo Tiantian’s heart instantly leaped into her throat.
“During the evening, a corner near the back wall of the house where Lady Si was staying suddenly collapsed! Bricks and stones tumbled down, dust flew everywhere, and then the entire house came crashing down!”
“What?!”
“Where is my mother? Is she hurt?” Luo Tiantian’s face turned pale with fear.
“Fortunately, Lady Si was only startled and suffered a few scratches. It’s nothing serious. Little Cui, the maid serving her, reacted quickly and pulled her away. They’ve been temporarily placed in a vacant storage room nearby, but it’s small and cold. It’s no place for a person to live.”
Xiao Tao was also filled with righteous indignation. “My Lady, this was clearly someone’s deliberate sabotage. The King had just ordered that house to be repaired. How could a corner suddenly collapse for no reason? It must be the work of those jealous petty people who see that Lady Si has My Lady’s favor.”
Luo Tiantian felt her anger boiling over.
Consort Zheng. It had to be her! She had just threatened them during the day, and she made her move by nightfall. She truly couldn’t wait!
“Take me there!” Luo Tiantian lifted her skirt and started walking out.
“My Lady, it’s late and cold outside. Put on a cloak…” Xiao Tao hurried to pick up an outer garment and followed her.
Before long, they arrived at the so-called storage room.
It was actually just a tiny cubicle for storing cleaning tools and waste. It didn’t even have a proper window, only a rickety wooden door.
A dim oil lamp flickered inside, casting a glow on the thin figure of Lady Si curled up on a straw mat in the corner. Beside her stood Little Cui, her face still streaked with tears.