Chapter 240: Chapter 240 My Sister Should Not Be Bullied Like This
The group of six were lively.
Jiang Nanshu didn’t pay attention to them anymore.
An afternoon’s time, her whole worldview was shattered; now it had to be reshaped.
As it happened, Ji Ze called her.
She thought something had happened to Mrs. Ji, so she answered, “Is it a problem with Mom’s treatment?”
Leukemia is hard to treat, but recovery is possible, and she had been helping Mrs. Ji find a compatible bone marrow transplant. As long as the transplant was successful and there was no recurrence, Mrs. Ji could be discharged.
Ji Ze sounded somewhat nervous on the other end of the line; he seldom called Jiang Nanshu.
He was afraid of annoying her.
But the Jiang Nanshu he had interacted with recently made him unable to resist the urge to get closer, so he had become much bolder, daring to call her.
The hand holding his phone tightened, “It’s not about Mom, it’s my thing… Sister, the parent-teacher meeting next Monday at noon…”
Jiang Nanshu sighed, unable to hide a laugh in her voice, “Ji Ze, this is the third time you’ve reminded me. I will do what I promised, don’t worry, okay?”
A pleased smile curved Ji Ze’s lips, “Thank you, Sister. You go ahead with what you’re doing; I won’t bother you anymore.”
The call ended.
Only then did he take a deep breath and, looking at the three little brothers who acknowledged him as their boss, boasted to the troublemaker boy, “My sister agreed to come to my parent-teacher meeting.”
The troublemaker boy’s eyes lit up, excitedly grabbing Ji Ze’s hand, “I get to see our sister again? Can she teach me a few moves? Just like that, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, and I’m knocked down.”
The troublemaker boy made several movements.
He still remembered when Jiang Nanshu pinned him against the wall and beat him.
He was used to being tough in school; he had never been treated this way.
And Jiang Nanshu was only a few years older than them, yet she was so formidable.
He never resented the strong, instead blaming himself for not being stronger.
Ji Ze rolled his eyes, correcting, “It’s my sister! Not yours.”
The troublemaker boy grinned, “It’s all the same, isn’t it? Your sister is my sister. Next week, I’ll take her as my master!”
Ji Ze: “…”
“Pfft, bumpkin,” a voice full of mockery came from behind.
Ji Ze turned to see a young man leading the group with delicate features, grey-dyed hair, and earrings, with a blue butterfly tattoo behind his ear, giving off the impression of a bad boy.
Ji Ze looked at him indifferently.
“Jiang Nanshu? She’s just a dog of the Jiang Family.”
Ji Ze clenched his fists, “Song Yichen, shut your filthy mouth.”
Disdain and malice were evident in Song Yichen’s eyes. Thinking of the truckload of grasshoppers Jiang Nanshu had sent, he felt like killing her.
But the humble figure of Jiang Nanshu of the past was still imprinted in his heart; this minor “disrespect” wasn’t as intense as the humiliations he remembered from the old Jiang Nanshu.
He sneered, “Not only is she the Jiang Family’s dog, she’s also the Song Family’s dog. I tell her to go east she doesn’t dare go west, I tell her to kneel and she doesn’t dare stand. Thinking about her humble pandering makes me feel sick. By the way, your newfound good sister, she’s been kicked out of the house by my aunt.”
As he continued, Song Yichen’s voice became smug, “That’s the price of provoking me. It’s better she starves to death outside. If she’s willing to kneel and apologize in front of the Song Family’s door, I might be magnanimous enough to give her a few steamed buns.”
In Song Yichen’s eyes, Jiang Nanshu was someone he could call on demand. To curry favor with the Song Family, she would do any foolish thing, lacking dignity and intelligence. Her heart, however, was venomous, always targeting Jiang Leyi. He had heard enough of her ridiculous actions that made people laugh.
So his contempt for Jiang Nanshu grew; the more he saw her, the more he bullied her. She wasn’t upset but would happily think herself close to him, nearly making him die of laughter.
Ji Ze took a step forward, and the troublemaker boy quickly held him back. If they fought with the young master of the Song Family, something like this wasn’t something Ji Ze from an average family could afford to compensate for.
The troublemaker boy glared at Song Yichen, “Shut up. Without the Song Family, you’re nothing. Ji Ze’s sister is not like the rumors; she’s not incompetent. I advise you to mind your own business, or you won’t even know how to cry when trouble finds you.”
Song Yichen laughed, “Trouble? Just wait until I see Jiang Nanshu; you’ll see. I’ll make her pay for her mistakes.”
The troublemaker boy pulled Ji Ze away.
He whispered a warning, “Don’t stoop to argue with an idiot; his sense of superiority is effed up.”
Ji Ze walked away in silence, while behind him, Song Yichen’s taunts toward Jiang Nanshu continued.
Biting his lip so hard that he tasted blood, he finally wiped away his tears with his sleeve, “Am I, am I too useless? They insulted my sister and I…” His voice choked up as his eyes reddened, “I couldn’t even retort. It hurts so much. Why am I so cowardly? I can’t do anything right.”
“Sigh, you can’t blame yourself, you’re still so young. And with your family’s situation, clashing with them would be like an egg hitting a stone. It’s right to avoid their sharp edges for now.”
The punk was right, but for the first time, Ji Ze felt himself too weak.
The sense of disparity between the commoners and the privileged class felt as wide as a chasm to him.
If he hit Song Yichen for his own satisfaction, it would bring trouble to his family, and also cause problems for Jiang Nanshu.
Her life at the Jiang Family didn’t seem to be easy.
“Jiang Family’s third brother is a liar,” Ji Ze’s eyes glinted fiercely, “He promised to take good care of my sister, so why was she thrown out of the house? They’re bullies.”
The youth’s resentment surged from that moment, turning into a silent sea, waiting for the wind to bring the waves, to form a massive tsunami that would engulf everything.
“Sooner or later, I will take her away to a better life.” Ji Ze’s voice was very soft and low, “My sister shouldn’t have to suffer this kind of bullying.”
The punk thought he was just venting.
Patting his shoulder in an attempt to console him, “No worries. We’ll ask around on Monday. If she’s really been wronged, even if I have to get a sackcloth bag, I will give that grandson Song Yichen a good hiding.”
“And there they are, the ‘scholarly family.’ How come when it gets to him, he’s like a petty hoodlum? He’s not smart enough to study to begin with, just relies on being favored in the Song Family, a bunch of hypocritical scoundrels. The Song Family will collapse sooner or later.”
Ji Ze just listened silently.
All he wanted now was to find a way out. They couldn’t always depend on Jiang Nanshu to bail them out, this decadent household.
“Punk, lend me twenty thousand, I’ll pay you back after the New Year,” Ji Ze said.
The punk looked at him in shock, “No way, big brother, what do you need so much money for?”
“It’s useful.”
“First, tell me what it’s for.”
“In one sentence, will you lend it or not? If not, I’ll just go get a loan.”
Punk: “…”
Loans aren’t given to minors either.
He didn’t voice the criticism.
His family had newly acquired wealth and didn’t lack money.
Seeing that Ji Ze was determined, he gritted his teeth, “Fine! Let me make it clear first, you can’t do anything illegal. Otherwise, if you end up in the slammer, I’ll cry myself to death on the outside.”
Feeling the punk’s concern,
Ji Ze smiled and patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I will definitely pay you back after the New Year.”
…
Jiang Nanshu returned to the villa he had purchased.
The money had already been transferred to the owner.
The fridge was stocked with fresh vegetables and fruit, obviously done by Lu Qingyan.
Jiang Nanshu washed an apple and boiled a packet of frozen dumplings to eat.
After binge-watching Jiang Leyi’s campus drama, the evening passed.
While she was deep asleep, the sounds of a woman pleading in pain and a child crying out in desperation emerged from next door.
Jiang Nanshu sat up and looked at the time.
One in the morning.
She had only been asleep for two hours, and next door had started up again.
Jiang Nanshu felt that, if this continued for too long, she might meet her sudden death here.
So she threw back the covers, her dark eyes somber, slipped into her slippers, bent over to pick up the large wrench from under the bed, and headed straight for the neighboring villa.