Chapter – 21
Bending Over for Money!
The bell rang soon, signaling the end of class. The teacher left, and the classroom instantly came alive with chatter.
“Wow, three hundred yuan! That’s the biggest one I’ve ever gotten!”
The girl sitting next to Lin Xiaoyu exclaimed in delight, then scratched her head in confusion.
“Huh? There’s still one red envelope left. Wen Ying, why didn’t you grab it?”
That one sentence was like someone had hit the pause button — the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent for a moment, and a dozen curious glances flickered toward Wen Ying.
Wen Ying’s fingernails dug deep into her palm.
Lin Xiaoyu awkwardly tried to smooth things over.
“Hehe, Wen Ying just pays attention in class. She probably didn’t check her phone. She’ll grab it later!”
She sneaked a glance at Wen Ying’s tense profile and quietly slipped her phone back into her pocket.
At her desk, Wen Ying kept her face calm as she packed up her books. Her back was straight, and her lips curved into her usual gentle smile.
“It’s just a red envelope. I don’t need it.”
With that, she shoved her books into her bag and quickly walked out of the classroom.
Across the room, her classmates were busy thanking Pei Nian’an. Pei Nian’an basked in their gratitude, standing up with her designer bag swinging at her side.
“You’re welcome! We’re all classmates, after all!”
Then, watching Wen Ying’s retreating back, she deliberately raised her voice.
“Well, since someone looks down on my red envelopes, I guess I’ll send one less next time — more for everyone else to grab!”
She waved at Yu Zhi.
“Let’s go. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Sister Pei!” Yu Zhi smiled and waved as Pei Nian’an left. Then she packed her things and walked out of the classroom too.
When she reached the school gate and was about to call a cab, a voice called out behind her.
“Yu Zhi…”
Yu Zhi turned around.
Under a plane tree near the gate stood Wen Ying, her skirt swaying gently in the breeze.
She walked up and pressed her lips together. “Do you want to go home together?”
Yu Zhi blinked, then remembered that she and Wen Ying lived in the same urban village.
“Sure,” Yu Zhi shrugged. “But I’m taking a cab. You want to split the fare?”
“Cab?” Wen Ying frowned. “That’s expensive. The bus only costs two yuan. Let’s just take the bus together.”
Yu Zhi shook her head. “The bus takes too long. I’ll pass. You go ahead. Bye!”
She turned to leave.
“Wait!” Wen Ying jogged two steps forward to stop her, then bit her lip. “I—I’ll split it with you.”
Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow and hailed a taxi.
Inside the car, the air conditioning was blasting. Wen Ying twisted the hem of her skirt nervously.
After a long silence, she finally spoke. “Yu Zhi, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about you in front of everyone yesterday.”
Yu Zhi looked up from her phone, curious. “Said what about me?”
Wen Ying lowered her head, embarrassed.
“I called you a bootlicker…”
“Oh, that.” Yu Zhi scrolled casually. “Don’t worry about it.”
Her indifferent tone made Wen Ying snap her head up. “Aren’t you going to ask why I said that?”
“I don’t care,” Yu Zhi said without looking up. “You’re not the only one who’s said it.”
“Yu Zhi, are you really that dense? Don’t you get that I was trying to wake you up?”
Wen Ying’s voice trembled with emotion as she tried to explain herself.
“I just wanted you to realize what you’ve become! Bending over for money — is that really right?”
Yu Zhi finally looked up, her expression calm.
“You’re right. But me bending over for money… what does that have to do with you?”
Wen Ying’s breath hitched, her chest rising and falling sharply. “Because we used to be best friends! I don’t want to see you fall like this…”
“You said it yourself — used to be.” Yu Zhi’s voice stayed even. “You can afford to act like money doesn’t matter. I can’t. You, of all people, know what my family’s like.”
“But we could earn money ourselves!” Wen Ying’s voice cracked. “We could work at a convenience store on weekends, or—”
“And then what?” Yu Zhi gave a short, bitter laugh. “Stand for eight hours to earn eighty yuan? Is that enough for my dad’s booze or my mom’s medical bills?”
When Wen Ying fell silent, Yu Zhi went on.
“Let’s be real, Wen Ying. You’ve got parents who love you. When you work part-time, it’s called experience. But me? Who do I have to fall back on?”
Tears rolled down Wen Ying’s cheeks. “But you hanging around Pei Nian’an…”
Yu Zhi sighed. “Wen Ying, I’m not breaking any laws. I’m not doing anything immoral. You don’t get to use your moral standards to judge me.”
The car fell silent.
After a long while, the driver’s voice broke the stillness. “Can’t drive into that alley up ahead.”
Yu Zhi paid the fare and got out. But Wen Ying suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
“Do we really have to be like this?”
Her voice trembled. “Yu Zhi… do you remember back in elementary school, when we collected plastic bottles for half a month just to buy one ice cream to share?”
Yu Zhi’s eyelashes quivered slightly.
Those memories were still there — two little girls about the same age, digging through garbage bins under the blazing summer sun, cheering when they finally scraped together one yuan for a single ice cream.
“I remember,” Yu Zhi said softly. “It was sweet. You even gave me the last bite.”
Wen Ying’s eyes lit up. “Then why—”
“But I don’t feel touched.” Yu Zhi interrupted her and looked straight into her tearful eyes.
“I also remember your mom coming to my house and yelling at me for dragging her daughter into picking through trash.”
Wen Ying froze, her face going pale. “I—I didn’t know about that…”
Under the streetlight, Yu Zhi looked at her quietly.
“Wen Ying,” she said as she gently pulled her hand free, “you and I are just different. When it comes to money, I can’t convince you, and you can’t convince me.”
Wen Ying stood there, stunned. “So what now? Have you really forgotten? We were best friends — do we have to end up like this?”
Yu Zhi didn’t answer right away.
She wasn’t the original Yu Zhi anymore. The original girl had probably already realized that she and Wen Ying were incompatible — that their values were fundamentally different. Maybe that was why she distanced herself. But in the end, she still died tragically.
As for her — she just wanted to survive.
Yu Zhi asked quietly, “So what exactly is my crime? All I want is to live.”
Wen Ying froze.
After that, she said nothing more and turned into the dark alley, her steps unsteady.
Yu Zhi exhaled deeply as she watched Wen Ying’s fading silhouette, then turned the other way.
A few minutes later, after weaving through several alleys, Yu Zhi reached her building. A blond thug whistled at her from the roadside, but she ignored him and hurried up to the third floor.
When she pushed the door open, she almost thought she’d entered the wrong home.
For once, Yu Jianhui wasn’t passed out drunk on the couch. When he saw her come in, he even smiled and waved.
“Ah, Xiaozhi’s back! Come on, come on, let’s eat together!”
The system in her head was instantly suspicious.
【Huh? That’s weird. Why is Yu Jianhui suddenly being so nice to you?】
