Jiang Lingzhi sat up from the bed, dragged her slippers along, and returned to the desk. She then took 400 yuan from her wallet and transferred it to her schoolbag.
She wanted to prove that she really wasn't a swindler.
——
Her alarm went off at six in the morning.
Jiang Lingzhi got out of bed, washed up, and made her way downstairs with her schoolbag, only to realize that Lu Yuping was already preparing breakfast in the kitchen downstairs.
She had always liked doing all the household chores herself and had never made an exception over the years.
Jiang Lingzhi arrived at the dining room and placed her schoolbag on the chair next to her. She then picked up an egg from the plate and slowly peeled it.
Lu Yuping walked out with some milk and bread, which she then placed in front of Jiang Lingzhi. She informed, "Your father is getting dressed. Wait for him for a little while."
Jiang Lingzhi peeled a boiled egg and placed it in her mouth after making sure that it was free of any broken eggshells. As she took a bite, she asked vaguely, "Didn't Daddy use to go to the office only at nine in the morning?"
Lu Yuping turned around to go to the kitchen. "He's going to send you to school before coming home to catch up on some sleep."
Jiang Lingzhi was speechless.
She thought, 'What's the point of that?'
Sullenly, Jiang Lingzhi ate the egg while her cheeks bulged.
Five minutes later, Jiang Puqing made his way down the stairs slowly, stifling a yawn and buttoning his shirt.
It had been many years since he had gotten out of bed at such an early hour. The sky outside was turning bright.
When Jiang Puqing sat down by the table, he put on his glasses and sighed. "Zhi Zhi is all grown up now. If she wants to go to school on her own, let her be.."
Hearing that her father was speaking for her, Jiang Lingzhi nodded in agreement with him. "Yeah, exactly!"
'I'm all grown up already!'
Lu Yuping stopped what she was doing and turned around to glare at Jiang Puqing scornfully.
"What did you just say? Repeat yourself."
Jiang Lingzhi turned around to look at her father with an expectant gaze.
She thought, 'That's it, Father! Show your prowess and dominance as the head of the family!'
"I said..." Jiang Puqing picked up a slice of toast, as if he didn't notice the eager gaze in Jiang Lingzhi's eyes.
He continued, "Zhi Zhi, you should be obedient, your mother is right."
'Okay, you're ruthless.'
—
When she arrived at school, her classmates in the classroom had already started the morning reading session.
Jiang Lingzhi sat down in her seat and began reading her book of English nouns.
Across the aisle, Wen Yujing placed her book in front of her to cover herself before calling out to Jiang Lingzhi. "Lingling..."
Jiang Lingzhi turned to the side to look at her before leaning forward. "What's the matter?"
Wen Yujing looked rather listless, and she had faintly pigmented circles under her eyes. "What time did you go to bed yesterday?"
Jiang Lingzhi looked at the rostrum to see that the teacher was looking down to prepare for the lesson and was not paying attention to them. She then whispered, "Almost 1 a.m."
Wen Yujing, who was intending to pour her sorrows out to Jiang Lingzhi, asked, "Why did you go to bed at an even later time than me? I went to bed at 12 a.m. Yesterday's homework was so difficult, and it took me ages to complete it..."
At this point, she paused again and looked at Jiang Lingzhi for a while. "We both stayed up late all night. Why don't you have any dark under-eye circles?"
Her skin and complexion were excellent and far like porcelain that seemed fragile, as though they would break any moment. Even though she had gone to bed later than Wen Yujing, she did not have any dark under-eye circles at all!
The more she thought about it, the more upset and bewildered she was.
The teacher pushed her glasses and looked up at the duo who quickly fell silent, sat up straight, and read the book of nouns attentively.
After the morning reading class, the subject representatives collected the student's homework one by one.
The classroom was in an uproar, and those who hadn't finished their homework were wailing.
Wen Yujing moved her chair over to Jiang Lingzhi's table and asked, "Lingling, have you heard the news? There's going to be a new transfer student in our school!"