"Ling Ning, let treat you to lunch today." Sun Jie stood by Ling Ning's desk, speaking gently.
The mont Ling Ning heard Sun Jie's voice, she felt her head start to throb. She couldn't understand what had gotten into Sun Jie lately—he'd been coming by the classroom every day, fussing over her like she was so kind of delicate flower. Free lunch was certainly tempting, but Ling Ning had firmly decided never to accept a al from a guy. If she were to freeload, it would only be off of girls. After all, logically speaking, eating a girl's free al shouldn't even count as freeloading, right?
"Sorry, but Ling Ning already has plans with for lunch today."
Before Ling Ning could respond, Xu Qing jumped in, declaring that Ling Ning was already spoken for.
Sun Jie frowned as he looked at Xu Qing. Not just her—Xia You was there too. Every ti he invited Ling Ning to lunch, these two would cut in and take her away. Seriously, what were they thinking? They were just two girls; did they really need to compete with him, a grown man? Were they... were they both into girls?
Hearing there was a free lunch involved, Ling Ning's eyes lit up. Suddenly, she realized that maybe Sun Jie wasn't so bad after all—at least, every ti he showed up, she got a free lunch out of it.
"Tch."
Sun Jie shot Xu Qing a look. If she weren't a girl, and quite a pretty one at that, he would've had his underlings teach her a lesson by now. Every ti he tried to get close to Ling Ning, Xu Qing would interfere. Was it possible she liked him? Wait! Sun Jie suddenly thought of sothing.
Every ti he ca over to pursue Ling Ning, Xu Qing would jump in and sabotage him. There were only two possibilities here: either Xu Qing was into girls, or... she actually liked him!
Sun Jie weighed the pros and cons in his mind and concluded that the second scenario seed more plausible.
This was getting interesting.
To be honest, Xu Qing was quite attractive, with a great figure to match, and her lively personality had won her the admiration of many of the boys at school. Maybe pursuing her wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Sun Jie carefully considered his next move. Xu Qing was close friends with Ling Ning, and if he managed to win her over, he'd gain a lot of inside information about Ling Ning—massively improving his chances with her.
Then there was Xia You, who was always sticking close to Ling Ning. The two were inseparable. If he could get together with Ling Ning, maybe getting Xia You would also be within reach?
But to achieve this plan, the key was to first win over Xu Qing. Sun Jie decided to shift his focus from Ling Ning to Xu Qing, at least for now.
As Xu Qing was discussing lunch plans with Ling Ning, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She looked around, focusing particularly on Xia You, but saw that Xia You was only looking at Ling Ning—not at her.
It was strange. Usually, that unsettling feeling ca from Xia You, but this ti it wasn't her. Maybe she needed to go ho and pray to her deity for protection—yes, that was it. A little extra divine intervention couldn't hurt.
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Li Si walked along the street, but today he wasn't going ho with Ling Ning. Instead, he had co to a busy shopping area nearby. As for why he was there?
He needed money, and not just a small amount—a huge sum. It was enough to make him resort to his old ways. Even with his forr skills, gathering the needed money was going to be tough.
It was rush hour, and the street was packed with people. Li Si moved past a well-dressed, overweight man who looked like so kind of boss. In the blink of an eye, a wallet appeared in his hand. His deft movents were that of an experienced thief, and he made sure to strike in the blind spots of security caras, leaving no evidence behind.
Finding a quiet corner, Li Si opened the wallet. It contained only a few hundred in cash, though there were several cards. Not that they were of any use to him.
"Sigh..."
Li Si let out a resigned sigh. People these days weren't like they used to be. All anyone needed was a phone and maybe a card for ergencies—barely anyone carried cash anymore.
He took the cash, tossed the wallet into a nearby trash can, and continued scouting for his next target.
Before long, Li Si's eyes fell on a man in a suit—soone who looked successful. Just as he was about to make his move, he heard a familiar voice.
"Ye Ye, did you listen to your teacher today at school?"
"Don't worry, I did!"
"And what about Sirou? Did you listen well to your teacher too?"
"Sirou is always the best~"
There was no mistaking it—that was Ling Ning with the two little ones. Lately, Ling Ning had made a point of picking them up every day after school.
"Hey, isn't this Li Si? Fancy running into you here," Ling Ning called out, spotting him.
"Uh... I just wanted to pick up a few study guides from the bookstore nearby, so I ca over this way." Li Si had been planning to quietly slip away, but Ling Ning's sharp eyes had caught him imdiately.
"Oh, perfect timing! I was just about to head to the bookstore to get so books for these two little ones. Co with us."
Faced with Ling Ning's invitation, Li Si hesitated for a mont before replying, "No, that's alright. I just checked, and they don't have the books I need. I have so other errands to run, so I'll get going." With that, Li Si turned and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Ling Ning watched him go, sothing nagging at her. Li Si seed... off today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
Ling Ye looked up at her mommy, tugging on her skirt to signal her impatience. She had waited long enough—it was ti to go.
"Alright, alright, I get it. We're going, we're going," Ling Ning said, snapping out of her thoughts.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
At the hospital, in a certain room.
"How are you feeling, brother?"
Li Si sat by the bed, his face etched with worry. Lying there, of course, was his brother, Zhang San.
"I'm tough as nails; you know that. I feel fine. Just get discharged—I've been stuck here so long, I'm growing mold," Zhang San said dismissively.
Zhang San had always suffered from headaches. He'd thought it was just a minor illness, like a fever, until a few days ago when he fainted while cooking. Though he woke up soon after, Li Si hadn't been reassured. He insisted on taking Zhang San to the hospital for a check-up. The diagnosis? A brain tumor.
Thankfully, it was benign and could be surgically removed, but the cost of the surgery and post-op care was well beyond what the two brothers could afford. With no other options, Li Si had returned to his old trade—pickpocketing.
"You're staying here until you're cleared for discharge. I'll figure out the money," Li Si said firmly.
"Don't go back to stealing. It's not right. I'll do as you say—I won't resort to robbing anymore, alright?"
Li Si hesitated before replying, his voice hoarse. "Alright."
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Author's Note:
All just the ramblings of a salted fish—don’t sweat the details...
Finally filling in Li Si's storyline~
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