Hu Qiaozhen was demanding too much; she wasn’t considering the situation their family was in.
Feng Yichen was suddenly irritated and brushed her off. “I know. I’m trying my best.”
“You have to help us!” Hu Qiaozhen cried out before she was led back inside. The next person to come out was her father, Feng Guodong. His hair had also turned white, and his rotund body was now whittled down to a pole, making him appear even more aged.
“Yichen, we were screwed over by your uncle’s family. They only went bankrupt, but your mother and I now face jail time! Don’t let them off the hook! Demand our money! Have them get us out of here! Otherwise, I’ll get them back once I’m out of here!” Feng Guodong balled his hands into fists and swung them around, upset and half crazed. Feng Yichen knee that she couldn’t and wouldn’t erate her uncle’s family, so she only gave Feng Guodong some superficial assurance.
The last person to come out was her sister, Feng Yixi. Feng Yichen already felt exhausted. She perked up and looked at her waxy and sallow faced sister sitting across from her.
“How are you, Yixi?”
Today was Feng Yixi’s last day at the detention center. Tomorrow, she would be transferred to the Northeast Labour Camp for a year of community service.
“Yichen! You have to save me! Save me! I don’t want to go to the labour camp! Look, my nails have all cracked, my hair has split ends, and my skin is dry. Did you bring me any face masks and hair masks? I haven’t done my nails in so long.” Feng Yixi was sobbing. Although she knew these luxuries were already beyond her reach now, she needed to let out her complaints somehow.
“Yixi, don’t be like this. You only have a year, you’ll make it through.” Feng Yixi said listlessly. “Father and Mother’s lawsuit will use up a lot of money, and so I can’t take care of you right now.”
“Yichen, you can’t leave me alone!” Feng Yixi sprawled on the table and used her sleeve to wipe her tears. She suddenly grit her teeth. “Yichen, I have to ask you one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“What happened to the little b*tch, Gu Nianzhi?”
Feng Yichen was surprised, she straightened in her seat and looked around vigilantly. “Why are you asking about her? Aren’t you in enough trouble as it is?”
Feng Yixi had only been charged with the use and possession of large amounts of illegal substances. But if the incident with Gu Nianzhi were to come to light, Feng Yichen knew it would be even more disastrous;Feng Yixi wouldn’t simply shipped off to a labour camp. That was also why she hadn’t revealed the truth behind Gu Nianzhi’s one week of “sick leave” at school. If the truth came out, Gu Nianzhi would certainly humiliated, but Feng Yichen couldn’t distance herself from it and the clues would point back to her. She couldn’t have the whole family incarcerated.
However, Feng Yixi stiffened her neck and glared, unable to let go. “Did she get admitted as He Zhichu’s post-grad student? Is it true?!”
“How did you know?” Feng Yichen’s jaw dropped. She herself had only found out l not too long ago. Feng Yixi had been locked up here the whole time, so how did she find out?
“That’s not the point, just tell me if it’s true or not!”
“Yes…she was admitted as He Zhichu’s post-grad student. The Faculty posted the admissions memo already.” Feng Yichen sighed deeply, “Don’t dwell on it, just let it go, ok?”
“Of course it’s not ok!” Feng Yixi’s face was contorted with rage, she braced herself against the table and leaned forward, her eyes shooting daggers. “Why the h*ll am I am sentenced to community service, but she can happily go be He Zhichu’s post-grad student?! It was supposed to be mine! Mine! It was all mine! Who does she think she is? A lowly beggar like her doesn’t deserve it!”
Feng Yichen quickly gestured to her, “Sit down! Hurry! Someone’s watching.”
The two female officers had been glaring at them for some time. Feng Yixi came to her senses and sat in the chair, then held her head in her hands and bawled. This time she wasn’t throwing a fit like before, but sobbing quietly—she was devastated and unable to release her grief fully.
Feng Yichen bit her lower lip as she watched her, too scared to even say a word. Feng Yixi slumped after she finished crying. The person she was most jealous of and looked down on the most, had taken what she desired most of all. It was all useless now, despite how she hard she had tried to prevent and sabotage her. This knowledge completely destroyed Feng Yixi’s confidence and will.
Feng Yichen’s hatred for Gu Nianzhi had began to arise when she saw her beautiful and intelligent sister reduced into this ghoul-like creature. Why did her sister have to lose everything, while Gu Nianzhi had shamelessly slept with multiple men and still had the gall to put up a pure and innocent facade? She even got the jackpot of all boyfriends and walked around with him like they were a lovesick couple for everyone to see. Feng Yichen couldn’t bear to think about Gu Nianzhi being admitted by He Zhichu, it felt like a dagger stabbing her through the heart. Nobody deserved to get the things her sister wasn’t able to attain. Her family was bankrupt anyway, what more did she have to lose? She had fallen from grace too, and a fallen phoenix was more lowly than a chicken.1 Wasn’t she a wh*re now?
“Don’t worry, Yixi. I’ll try my best to help you.” Feng Yichen spoke through the pane of glass at the visitation room and nodded to Feng Yixi. This was a detention center, so she couldn’t speak anymore. She hadn’t lost her mind to the point where she would choose this place to discuss how they were going to make Gu Nianzhi’s life miserable. Everything was under surveillance here. Who knew the reason behind why their family was destroyed? Feng Yichen did not understand even now what her family had done wrong, but she agreed with the message she had received from a mysterious sender: she too believed that they had messed with the wrong person. But, even now she didn’t have a clue as to whom this may be. She dared not go after the big shots, so she could only take it out on a nobody like Gu Nianzhi. She firmly believed that Gu Nianzhi was “seriously ill” for a week because she had fallen into Feng Yixi’s trap and had needed to recoup for a week after getting worn out by multiple men. Gu Nianzhi was merely an orphan with no one backing her. Who would cry for justice if something were to happen to her? The distant relative that was her guardian in title would probably thank Feng Yichen for getting rid of his burden.
Feng Yichen left the detention center and got in Brother Bin’s car. She was silent the whole trip. Once they arrived back to his apartment, she uncharacteristically initiated things with Brother Bin. Pulling out all the stops that night, she could barely get out of bed the next day after “serving” Brother Bin. Brother Bin completely trusted Feng Yichen after this and took her into his inner circle; it was an wild gang full of criminals. Feng Yichen was gorgeous and highly educated, so none of the bottom feeder criminals could resist her charms when she was friendly with them. Also, she had Brother Bin backing her and thus she was able to earn a seat in the inner circle very quickly. However, she was careful to tread the line between the illegal and legal, and never broke the law. She played the edge ball and never dirtied her hands. After scheming for a few days, her luck finally came.