Jiang Cheng wasn’t idle either. She casually cooked a bowl of noodles, carried it over, and sat down beside Little Tang, lowering her head to eat.
The noodles were a bit salty. She frowned but kept shoveling them into her mouth.
She’d been tired all night, and now she was both sleepy and hungry. She couldn’t afford to be picky.
Little Tang had already finished. She washed her bowl, sat back down, and quietly watched her older sister eat the noodles.
The original owner’s neglect wasn’t completely useless. At least Little Tang could wash dishes by herself now, and she washed them quite cleanly. If the original owner had always spoiled her, Jiang Cheng felt she might have ended up with an extra adult-sized baby to take care of.
Hmm, thinking of it that way, the original owner wasn’t too much of a pitfall.
Being stared at while eating was always a bit uncomfortable. Jiang Cheng sped up her slurping, finishing the noodles in a few quick bites. She tossed the bowl into the sink and finally had time to take a good look at this sister of hers.
One meter forty-five.
Jiang Cheng mentally compared. She was a little taller than White Snow in her loli form, but for a middle school girl, this height was indeed a bit short.
Her hair had been washed, damp and draped over her shoulders with a bit of shine, but it still wasn’t very smooth, with some split ends at the tips. Her frame was small too; the blue dress hung loosely on her, like an underfed kitten.
Only her eyes held a bit of light.
Because her older sister was looking at her.
Jiang Cheng felt a bit guilty under that gaze and turned her face away.
Even though Little Tang wasn’t her sister, and strictly speaking, wasn’t the original owner’s biological sister either, being stared at by such a pitiful little creature was bound to stir up sympathy.
Especially since this little creature didn’t bite.
Well, at least not yet.
“Let’s go,” she stood up, crooking a finger.
“We’re going out.”
Little Tang didn’t ask where, obediently jumping down from her seat and following behind her.
It was now ten o’clock. Jiang Cheng planned to find Xu Mengyao around six or seven in the afternoon, so there was still plenty of time.
While Jiang Cheng was changing shoes at the door, Little Tang had already squatted down and neatly arranged her own little leather shoes.
Jiang Cheng was taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered.
“I’ll do it myself,” she said.
Little Tang’s hand withdrew. She nodded but didn’t speak.
Once outside, Jiang Cheng took out her phone to navigate. The nearest Clothing Store was only about a ten-minute walk.
Choosing the direction, she walked in front, with Little Tang following behind, always maintaining a distance of one or two steps.
There weren’t many people on the road. The morning sunlight fell limply on the sidewalk. A few sparrows were pecking for food near a trash can, chirping noisily.
Jiang Cheng walked a bit faster; the footsteps behind her quickened too. She slowed down; the footsteps slowed down as well.
Jiang Cheng felt a bit like laughing.
She suddenly stopped and turned around. Little Tang almost bumped into her, hastily stopping and looking up, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
“Walk beside me,” Jiang Cheng said.
Little Tang was stunned for a second.
“Don’t always follow behind; it makes me feel like I’m walking a puppy.”
The corner of Little Tang’s mouth twitched, as if holding back a smile. She shuffled her steps to Jiang Cheng’s side, and the two walked side by side. After a while, Jiang Cheng felt the corner of her clothes being gently grasped.
It was Jiang Xiaotang.
Jiang Cheng didn’t shake it off.
***
The Clothing Store was at the corner of the Commercial Street. The storefront wasn’t large, with a few mannequins in the display window wearing the latest seasonal styles. Jiang Cheng pushed the door open, and a wave of cool air-conditioning hit her face.
The store was quiet in the morning, with only a few parents with children picking out clothes.
Well, strictly speaking, Jiang Cheng belonged to that category too.
The clerk at the checkout counter was looking down at her phone. Hearing the door, she looked up, and her eyes lit up the moment she saw Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng was all too familiar with that look. In her previous life, when visiting Cosplay Conventions, the people holding cameras had that exact same look.
“No photos, no ads, no promotions,” she raised a hand to stop the approaching clerk.
“Just here to buy clothes for my little sister.”
The clerk’s smile noticeably faltered a notch, but she maintained her politeness.
“Then… little sister, shall I take you to try some on?”
Little Tang looked up at her older sister.
Jiang Cheng nodded, and only then did she step out from behind and timidly follow the clerk.
The clerk bent down, her smile more sincere than before.
“What color does little sister like?”
Little Tang didn’t speak, looking back at Jiang Cheng.
“Gray,” Jiang Cheng said.
“It hides dirt.”
The clerk nodded, took two Gray Hoodies from the rack, and led Little Tang towards the fitting room.
Jiang Cheng waited in the store, idly flipping through the tags on the clothes racks. One hoodie: one hundred fifty. One dress: two hundred eighty. One jacket: over four hundred.
So expensive!
One had to remember, besides the twenty thousand in her card, she only had a couple thousand in savings and one Old Unit Building.
Well, actually, she also had eight million, but it was negative eight million.
She sighed.
Poor before the Transmigration, poor after the Transmigration… then didn’t I transmigrate for nothing?
But…
Jiang Cheng secretly glanced at her reflection in the shop window glass—white hair smooth and soft, a slender yet cute figure, and rare sky-blue eyes.
Hmm, maybe not completely for nothing.
Forget it. If she really couldn’t pay back the money by the end of the month, she’d just sell herself to Xu Mengyao.
Though troublesome, it was better than living under an Underpass with Little Tang.
While her thoughts wandered, the fitting room door opened. Little Tang walked out wearing the new clothes. The gray hoodie was a bit big, the sleeves too long, covering her fingers.
She stood in front of the mirror, a bit at a loss, her two hands twisting together.
“How is it?”
Jiang Cheng asked.
Little Tang didn’t speak, just nodded.
“Then these two.”
“Two pieces, three hundred yuan.”
Jiang Cheng took the card from her pocket and was about to hand it over when her clothes were tugged.
She looked down. Little Tang was looking up at her, her voice very low.
“Older sister… it’s too expensive.”
“Card,” Jiang Cheng ignored her, handing the card to the clerk.
“Wrap them up.”
Little Tang fell silent. She let go of the clothes she was clutching and stood quietly to the side, watching the clerk fold the clothes and put them into a bag.
After paying, Jiang Cheng picked up the bag and turned to leave—
She suddenly stopped.
Little Tang couldn’t brake in time, her face bumping into Jiang Cheng’s back with a muffled “Mmph.”
“Sorry, older sister, I—”
“Shh.”
Jiang Cheng bent over, her whole body shrinking as she hid behind a row of clothes racks. She gestured with her chin towards the sofa area.
Little Tang followed her gaze.
A woman was sitting on the sofa. She wore an outfit that looked very expensive, all black, with black hair cascading down. Her makeup was impeccable, but her complexion wasn’t great. She sat with her legs crossed, a red high-heel under black stockings resting on a girl’s shoulder.
That girl was kneeling on the ground, wearing a School Uniform, head bowed, expression unclear.
Little Tang blinked.
That uniform… it was the same as the one in her older sister’s closet…
Hmm, older sister suddenly had an extra hundred thousand this morning…
Little Tang’s mind started turning.
The kind of things her classmates secretly discussed, she had actually overheard—they said some rich people liked this, giving money and then bullying people. The prettier the girl, the more likely they were to be targeted.
So that woman in black was…
She looked down at herself.
Thin, small, scrawny.
Sleeves too long, covering her fingers. Clothes too big, hanging loosely on her.
No substance at all…
If only she were cuter.
Then she could be with her older sister, help her share half the burden…
Then her older sister wouldn’t have to do that kind of thing alone.
She stared at the girl being stepped on for a while, suddenly feeling that girl’s profile wasn’t even that pretty.
—Not as pretty as her older sister, not even as pretty as herself.
So why could she, but I can’t?
When this thought popped up, Little Tang herself was startled.
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Cheng grabbed her hand and crouched low, sneaking towards the door.
Little Tang was pulled along, her mind still whirling.
Secretly…
Hmm, Little Tang didn’t mind secretly.
She stole a glance at her older sister.
From here, she could see her older sister’s long eyelashes and pursed lips.
So this is how her older sister looks when she’s nervous.
…It seems, it’s a bit thrilling?
The tips of her ears felt a little warm. Jiang Xiaotang hurriedly lowered her head, hiding her smiling face.
Thankfully, her older sister hadn’t noticed.