Hana frowned. "You want to take his place in battle?"
Song Qi shook her head. To Hana's shock, she knelt down in front of her. "Please, let him go." Her voice was almost robotic, with a hint of desperation. Her hands were clenched tightly.
"Yes, let her take my place!" Song Lin yelped. He shoved his sister forward. "This little bitch will entertain you well. You can have all the fun with her."
Hana glared at him "Shut up."
She looked at the Song Qi with a complicated gaze. She was physically small and skinny, like a weak flower. Yet she was brave enough to confront someone like her.
However, it seemed like Song Lin didn't appreciate it.
What a bastard.
"Hana," Renae appeared on the arena as well. She looked at Song Qi with flicker of pity. "Normally I would say we should send this bastard to the hospital, but can we let this rest here?"
Hana raised her eyes. "Really?"
Renae nodded.
Hana shrugged. "Fine, let's go."
Song Lin immediately dragged himself off the stage without another look at his sister.
The referee coughed awkwardly. "The winner of this duel is Hana Zhao!" Then, he vanished as well, seemingly going to the head office. The crowd exploded into yells and excitement.
Song Qi got up. "I will remember this favor." She said quietly, meeting Hana's eyes, before walking away.
Eventually, after the last lessons, Renae dragged Hana out to a quiet coffee shop.
"Aren't you going to ask me about Song Qi?" Renae asked.
Hana shrugged. "I trust your judgement. There must have been a good reason."
Renae scratched her head awkwardly. "It's not like I want to gossip, but her situation is really pitiful." She swirled her coffee. "Song Qi has a good healing ability. However, the Song family seems to prefer Song Lin to enter a good university." Renae paused, then lowered her voice even more. "I think they hit her."
Hana frowned. "Why haven't you alerted the authorities?"
Renae's eyes shadowed. "I don't know why, but Song Qi goes along with it. She heals her wounds every time they beat her, so no evidence is visible. If I hadn't stumbled on them pushing her one night, I wouldn't have even known. I think even Song Lin is in on it. I even spoke to her about it, but she denied everything."
"It's disgusting. Song Qi is talented, but it's wasted on them. But then again, it really isn't my business." She lowered her head. "I won't save someone doesn't want to save themselves."
Hana tapped her fingers. "It is definitely concerning, but I'm afraid Song Qi has her own agenda." She recalled the emotion in the girl's eyes. In contrary to her appearance, it was full of anger and resolution.
Definitely not the eyes of a meek person."She definitely won't take it any longer."
Renae waved her hand. "It's not like I know her much anyway. If she doesn't want me to butt in, then I won't. It's just unsettling." She patted her cheeks. "Let's not talk about this anymore. How about I join you for dinner again?"
Hana nodded. "Sure! What do you want to eat?"
Renae grinned. "Fruit!"
Hana pondered. "Then how about pineapple fried rice? And we can make mango sticky rice and lamb."
"Sounds great!" The two chatted as they walked back to Hana's apartment.
Renae played games in the living room while Hana busied herself in the kitchen
A fresh pineapple was cut and hollowed out. Hana added the pineapples to chopped veggies and rice, along with a myriad of spices. A mouth-watering sweet and sour scent filled the air. Hana salted the sides of the pineapple, before filling it with rice and sealing it. She put the whole thing in the toaster oven and set the timer.
Next came simple dishes of spicy cumin lamb chops and mangos paired with sticky rice covered in a slightly salty coconut cream sauce.
Once Rina came returned from school, the three sat down for a delicious meal.
Renae sighed in happiness. "If I eat here everyday, I will become fat with no regrets!" She munched happily on her lamb. "Oh yeah, Rina, did you take your exams already? Is your studying going well?"
Although Rina was 12, she was taking the exams for high school already. A little genius.
Rina deadpanned. "We took exams weeks ago. The results are out today."
Renae choked. "Really?" Hey, it wasn't her fault that she didn't know ok, she rarely tracked the middle school deadlines. "What did you get?"
Hana was also curious. She didn't know that Rina's scores had came either.
Rina tapped the watch Hana gave her. The holographic image of her results popped up.
Renae dropped her chopsticks. She blurt out the number in shock."1200!"
My god, this score could give one a heart attack. Middle schoolers only had 12 subject exams, so Rina had gotten a perfect score. Renae herself 's score in middle school was a mere 987 ah! TT
Hana laughed, ruffling her hair. "Nice job little sister." She knew Rina was inituitive and worked really hard. She deserved this score.
Rina's face reddened. "It was nothing."
Renae pounced on the tiny girl. "Rina, you little genius!" She squeezed her into a hug. "So soft and cuddly." Her eyes lit up. "We should have cake to celebrate!" Rina's eyes also sparkled.
In the end, Hana used her cake card again to appease the two.
. . . . . . . .
Floor 70 — Zhao Residence
Crash! Within a large bedroom, a vase was flung onto the floor.
"My darling Lily, please calm down." A tall woman decked out in makeup and jewelry tried to hold her daughter back. The teenager shrugged her off.
"Mom, please give me some space to think!"
The woman pouted. "But darling, don't you want to hear about the clothes I bought today? Don't let the news of those lowly peasants affect you."
"Get out!" Lily yelled. Chasing out her mother, Lily Zhao slammed the door shut.
She stalked over to the computer again, staring at the accursed numbers on the screen. "Why must you go against me?" She muttered agitatedly.
The temperature in the room dropped as frost spread over the furniture.
Lily slammed her laptop shut. Why did the damn girl have to score so high? More importantly, it had caught the attention of Su Mei Hua, her hated rival. That damn bitch spread the news all over the school.
Now everyone knew she was the daughter of a mistress. It wasn't like it was really hidden before, but few cared due to her astounding achievements. But now the girl showed that she had some ability.
Lily screamed in frustration. Why must she be born illegitimate? Her father loved her mother the most. He married her legitimately so why? She was so talented, so why was her life so hard? She tried so hard to hide the matter so why is it blowing up now?!
She threw her laptop at the mirror, shattering it in a shower of glass and ice. Watching the destruction calmed her down.
The raging demeanor melted away into focused eyes.
No, she would fix this. It would blow over soon just like last time. As long as she outscored the other one on the high school exams, it would be fine.
Lily grabbed her books, and snapped them open. Her eyes burned with fervor.
She must trample this half-sister of hers.