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墨書 Inktalez
Soon, Jono returned, bringing takeout for Qiao Chen.
"Hey, they sent Dad back to the ICU. They said the hospital fees have been settled. Did you pay for it? Where did you get the money? Why aren't you saying anything? Where did you get the money?" Qiao Chen grew increasingly anxious, but seeing Jono's lack of reaction only made her more worried as he placed the food container in front of her.
Qiao Chen couldn't eat at all; she was anxious about not having money, and even when they had some, she was still worried!
"Jono, tell me! Otherwise, I’ll pull Dad out of the ICU right now. He wouldn’t want to see you suffering because of his illness, and… and…”
"And what?" Jono snapped back to reality, his clear eyes meeting Qiao Chen's. In her eighteen-year-old brother's gaze, she saw confusion and restraint.
"Tell me, where did this money come from!" Qiao Chen's face showed an unprecedented seriousness.
The siblings stood in the break room, staring each other down as if that would lead to a conclusion.
Finally, it was Jono who spoke first. "I sold the ring." He extended his hand, revealing that the ring passed down from their mother was indeed gone.
That ring was their father's wedding gift to their mother—a token of compensation. After becoming successful, he had bought it back at a high price. Before their mother passed away, she had given it to Jono, who had worn it ever since without taking it off.
"Sis, that was Mom's..."
"Foolish child, these are just material possessions. If Mom were still here, she would have sold the ring long ago. Dad wouldn't have been kicked out of the ICU. Now we have money for his treatment, and we can even afford rent. In a couple of days, I can help you find a school and get you a new uniform..." As she spoke, Jono's eyes began to redden.
Qiao Chen thought Jono was reluctant to part with the ring. Seeing her sister in such distress made him reflect on his earlier misunderstanding, and he pulled her into his embrace.
"Sis, I was wrong. I'm sorry. If I find a school, I will study hard, stay out of trouble, and get into the best university. I will make our family better than it was before. I won’t let you suffer; I want you to be the happiest woman in the world..."
Jono cried silently in Qiao Chen's arms.
The ring now lay quietly in her pocket; she could never bring herself to sell their mother's ring, the only memento left from her.
She always found ways to make money, no matter where it came from.
In the afternoon, Jono told Qiao Chen that she had found a job. The boss understood her family's situation and allowed her to choose her own hours. She opted for evening shifts, which meant she wouldn’t have time to cook dinner for him. He would have to fend for himself and should go to bed early without waiting for her return. Even though she wasn’t attending school, she still needed to keep up with her studies and read every day.
Qiao Chen assured Jono not to worry; he wouldn’t be so thoughtless.
Then Jono went off to work.
The night shift around three or four o'clock was quiet, but once night fell, it transformed into a vibrant scene filled with bright lights and colors that dazzled the eyes.
A few days ago, Jono had applied for any job she could find. When she saw an advertisement for a waitress position with a monthly salary of over ten thousand, she followed the address without realizing it led to Qin Cheng's famous nightclub. She wanted to leave immediately; even in her dire situation, she didn’t want to earn money this way.
At that moment, the nightclub manager noticed that Jono stood out among the applicants for waitstaff and reassured her that being a waitress wasn’t a dirty job.
Jono was indeed in need of money and seemed swayed by his words. However, after trying out the job for one night, she found it unbearable. The manager didn’t force her to stay; he paid her for the day and told her that if she changed her mind, she could come back anytime.
Today, when Jono saw her father being forcibly taken out of the ICU, she thought of that night at the club and the kind-faced woman in her thirties.
She went and asked for an advance on her salary. Although it wasn't as much as Jono had hoped, it was enough to relieve her immediate financial burden.
That evening, she came to work.
She hadn't forgotten that Jin Chengyan had offered her a more tempting arrangement: four years of marriage, each getting what they needed.
But Jono refused. Thinking of Shen Fengye's infidelity, she was unwilling to trade her belief in love for something transactional. She always believed that the person she married should be the one she loved the most.
Those were convictions she held when things weren't so dire. Now, with the flames licking at her heels, how could she still care about such beliefs or cherish love so dearly?
- End of Chapter -
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