Superstar Assistant [GL] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The moment Li Ziyu heard Zhou Tiantian wanted to go home, her first reaction was a sense of reluctance. For the past three months, Zhou Tiantian was arguably the most satisfactory assistant she had ever encountered. She had initially thought that when she went to school, Zhou Tiantian could continue to live in the apartment the company rented for her. This would save Zhou Tiantian on rent, and they could continue to spend time together.

However, over the past three months, Zhou Tiantian had indeed been working without a break. It was reasonable and right for her to take some time off.

Thinking about Zhou Tiantian’s family situation, Li Ziyu said to her, “When are you planning to leave? I’ll give you another 20,000 yuan bonus then.”

Zhou Tiantian was flattered and quickly said, “No need, no need. The regular salary is already very high.”

Li Ziyu smiled faintly, a hint of tenderness appearing on her highly expressive face. “This is what you deserve. You do good work, so I give you a bonus. It’s a matter of course.”

Zhou Tiantian knew that her salary was already considered very high among assistants in these three months, so she felt she shouldn’t accept the extra 20,000 yuan. After all, since starting work, she had only sent a few thousand yuan home each month, saving the rest for herself. Compared to her previous life, she already had a considerable savings.

Li Ziyu insisted on giving it to her because Li Ziyu believed Zhou Tiantian was worth it. She just felt a little reluctant to let Zhou Tiantian go, so she said, “Go home, see your family, deal with things, and come back soon.”

Anyway, Zhou Tiantian didn’t have a good relationship with her family, so it would be better for her to come back and stay with her sooner.

Zhou Tiantian agreed and then began booking her train ticket. Li Ziyu walked past her and saw the page on her phone, frowning slightly. “What are you doing?”

Zhou Tiantian said, “I’m booking a ticket home.”

Li Ziyu glared at her fiercely. “Even if I’m not a hugely popular star, the money I earn is enough to reimburse your round-trip airfare. Why are you squeezing onto a train? And a hard seat? Are you living in the 1980s!”

Zhou Tiantian instantly blushed from the fierce scolding and stammered, “I, I can’t use your money… to book a plane ticket to go home, right…”

Li Ziyu snatched the phone from her hand, lecturing her while starting to book the ticket. “You really need to change this personality of yours. Always thinking of others, being such a saint. What’s wrong with me reimbursing your round-trip travel expenses when you’ve been my assistant for over three months without a single day off? I’m not so stingy that I won’t even give you this little bit of employee benefit.”

Zhou Tiantian thought, Where are you stingy? You are the most generous boss I have met in these two lifetimes.

As she spoke, Li Ziyu asked Zhou Tiantian for her departure date, booked the plane ticket for her, and then returned the phone, saying, “Book the return flight yourself. Just deduct the cost from that card.”

Zhou Tiantian took the phone, looked up at Li Ziyu, feeling both sweet and warm inside. Even her voice was a little softer, “Thank you, Ziyu.”

Li Ziyu’s ears turned slightly red. She then scoffed, “Why are you thanking me? You’re clearly treating me like an outsider.” Although she complained, her tone was anything but complaining; it sounded like she was deliberately masking her shyness.

Zhou Tiantian smiled as she watched her climb the stairs, an expression of softness and happiness that was never seen in the previous life.

In fact, Zhou Tiantian didn’t want to go home, because, to her, that place couldn’t be called home at all; it was a prison or a cage.

The moment she boarded the plane, her mood was a little low, and she recalled what had happened during the same period in her previous life.

At that time, Zhou Tiantian was working in her hometown. Because she didn’t attend university, the job she found wasn’t very good. Her salary of two to three thousand a month was all handed over to her stepfather, and she and her mother had to constantly endure her stepfather’s anger.

Then, because her younger brother needed to attend school—and this brother was not her biological brother, but her stepfather’s son—the high tuition fees for the private high school were something their family simply couldn’t afford. So, her stepfather started having other ideas. He arranged a marriage for Zhou Tiantian and demanded an 80,000 yuan bride price from the groom’s family.

Zhou Tiantian was then married into that family, with no wedding and no dowry. Not only did she have to take care of her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law at home, but half of the money she earned working outside had to be given to her stepfather’s family, and the other half to her husband’s family.

If it were just that, Zhou Tiantian might not have been so hateful.

During her several years of marriage, she suffered domestic violence and even miscarried her child. Even her death was miserable. Because of a massive hemorrhage after the miscarriage, the family was unwilling to pay for medical treatment. She eventually developed an infection and died shortly after.

Sitting on the plane, Zhou Tiantian felt the air conditioning was too cold. She shivered all over. Raising her hand to gently cover her lower abdomen, Zhou Tiantian let out a deep sigh. Her previously weak eyes had now become cold and determined.

This time, her return was to resolve the issue of her younger brother’s schooling. The money she had previously given her stepfather was enough for her brother to register, but the subsequent expenses were not just the registration fee. He not only enjoyed high living expenses but also became addicted to drugs, frequently asking his stepfather for pocket money. It was precisely because of those exorbitant expenses that her stepfather and brother’s temperaments and mentalities changed drastically, and the ultimate victims were her and her mother.

It was also because her stepfather gave most of the family’s money to her brother that Zhou Tiantian’s mother gradually ran out of money for medicine. She eventually fell ill, couldn’t afford treatment, and, coupled with years of domestic violence, passed away shortly after.

Zhou Tiantian was also forced by her stepfather to work multiple odd jobs to fund her brother’s high pocket money.

Therefore, in this life, Zhou Tiantian absolutely had to cut off the existence of this bottomless pit that was her brother.

After the plane landed, Zhou Tiantian originally planned to take a public bus home. On the way to the bus station, Li Ziyu’s face suddenly appeared in her mind. Her face was full of disdain and assertiveness, as if the moment Zhou Tiantian took the bus, she would immediately leap from City B to appear before her and scold her harshly again.

Zhou Tiantian suddenly realized that in this life, she had to live for herself, so why be so frugal? She didn’t need to hand all her money over to her stepfather like in the last life.

So, Zhou Tiantian walked toward the taxi stand, took a taxi, and asked the driver to take her to the bus stop near her home.

When she got out of the taxi, Zhou Tiantian saw a taxi driver arguing with a woman up ahead.

“What’s mobile payment? You’re dressed so well, but you’re probably a scammer. My kid told me there are a lot of scams on phones now. I don’t want your mobile payment; I want cash!” a middle-aged taxi driver in his 40s shouted loudly.

People around cast their gazes over. The woman, whose clothes looked expensive, was blushing because she hadn’t expected to encounter such a thing on her way home.

She looked around and said to a bystander, “Sister, can I exchange some money with you? I’ll transfer the money to your WeChat, and you give me cash?”

The older woman quickly shook her head and said, “No, no. I don’t believe what you scammers say!”

City Z was a very underdeveloped small city. Although many big cities had started to popularize mobile payments, people in this small city, especially middle-aged people, still didn’t quite trust electronic payments.

The woman became even more embarrassed. She suddenly turned and saw Zhou Tiantian. This was the youngest woman she had seen nearby, so she walked toward Zhou Tiantian as if grabbing a life raft.

The taxi driver saw her about to walk away, immediately stepped forward, grabbed her, and said, “Don’t run! Are you trying to skip the fare!”

She quickly explained, “No, I want to exchange some money with that young girl.”

Then she looked at Zhou Tiantian, her eyes carrying a subtle hint of pleading, “Miss, would you mind exchanging some money with me? I can transfer it to your WeChat, and I can give you a little extra.”

Zhou Tiantian walked up to her and asked softly, “How much money do you need?”

The woman finally sighed in relief and smiled gratefully at Zhou Tiantian, “How much cash do you have on you? Can you spare a little more? I lost my wallet.”

Zhou Tiantian was also accustomed to using cash. To prepare for emergencies on this trip home, she had withdrawn 3,000 yuan to carry. Looking at the woman now, she said to her, “I can give you a maximum of 1,000.”

She needed to keep the remaining 2,000 yuan for emergencies.

The woman immediately nodded in thanks. After taking the 1,000 yuan from Zhou Tiantian, she prepared to scan Zhou Tiantian’s WeChat QR code.

Just then, Zhou Tiantian caught sight of her stepfather walking over from a distance. Her expression flickered, and she quickly left the bus stop.

The woman who had just exchanged money with her looked down at her phone and found that the scan was unsuccessful. She looked up and saw Zhou Tiantian quickly walking away, unable to call her back. She suddenly felt a little panicked, but in the blink of an eye, Zhou Tiantian turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.

After paying the taxi driver, she went to the corner but couldn’t see any sign of Zhou Tiantian.

Zhou Tiantian arrived home just before her stepfather. Her mother, Han Ping, was surprised to see her and said joyfully, “Why are you back!”

For Zhou Tiantian, it hadn’t just been half a year since she last saw her mother; counting the previous lifetime, it had been three or four years. So, she was very emotional at the moment. Even though she knew the person in front of her was as weak and powerless as her former self, and she knew it would take a lot of effort to drag her mother out of this quagmire, this was still her mother. She couldn’t help but step forward and gently hug her mother, her nose feeling a little sore. “I missed you a little, so I came back.”

Han Ping, suddenly hugged like this, became even more emotional. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt like crying. Tears fell onto Zhou Tiantian’s arm, and then she felt a bit embarrassed. She quickly cried and laughed, “Look at me, really. Why did I suddenly become like this?”

Zhou Tiantian raised her head from her mother’s embrace, wiped away Han Ping’s tears, and gently said to her, “Then stop crying quickly. Uncle is about to come back.”

“Shh!” Han Ping immediately covered her mouth. “You must call him Dad. If he hears you call him Uncle, he’ll scold you again for being ungrateful.”

Zhou Tiantian nodded, “I know.”

As they spoke, Zhou Tiantian’s stepfather opened the door. The moment he saw Zhou Tiantian, he was momentarily stunned, and then his face was filled with anger. “Why are you back? Didn’t you say you were earning big money outside? What, is it too hard, so you want to come back and live off your parents?”

Zhou Tiantian quickly shook her head, putting on the timid appearance she had in her previous life, lowering her head and daring not to look at her stepfather. “No, it’s just that Mom has been sick recently, so I came back to see her.”

Her stepfather wasn’t about to let her off the hook and continued, “What, are you afraid I’m mistreating your mother? How much does your round-trip travel cost, and how much money can you earn with the time you’ve wasted? Since you know your mother is an invalid, why don’t you hurry up and earn more money to buy her medicine? Are you secretly hoping your mother dies!”

Zhou Tiantian’s gaze on the ground darkened, and then she said even more timidly, “No, the company gave me a 2,000 yuan bonus two days ago and gave me a few days off, so I took the opportunity to come back.”

Her stepfather’s expression finally softened a little. He looked at Zhou Tiantian and said, “A bonus? Where is the money?”

Zhou Tiantian quickly took out the 2,000 yuan and handed it to her stepfather. He took the money, and his expression finally improved, a hint of a smile on his face. “Tiantian is back tonight, so let’s eat something good.”

He then turned to look at Han Ping, but Han Ping looked awkward because she had no money on her.

Zhao Zhonggang saw the meaning in her eyes, and his face instantly filled with anger again. He said to her, “This wasteful woman!” Finally, he took out one hundred yuan and gave it to her.

After Zhou Tiantian took Han Ping out, the suppressed anger in her heart slowly surfaced in her eyes. She held Han Ping’s arm and, as casually as discussing the weather, said to her mother, “Mom, what do you think about divorcing him?”

Han Ping was suddenly startled by the question and immediately said, “How is that possible!”

Zhou Tiantian actually didn’t hold out much hope for this because she knew perfectly well that if Han Ping had even the slightest thought of this, she wouldn’t have lived the life she did in the previous life and met such a tragic end.

She slowly calmed herself down, turned, and looked at Han Ping, saying, “Why did Uncle know that I gave you this much money?”

Han Ping also felt sorry for her daughter at this moment. Her daughter scrimped and saved to give her money for medicine, but the money ultimately fell into Zhao Zhonggang’s hands. She sighed deeply and said to Zhou Tiantian, “I didn’t want to, but he saw that my medicine was different from before, and then… he forced me to tell him.”

Zhou Tiantian sighed and said to Han Ping, “I can give you more money every month. After you buy the medicine, just find a cheap box and put it in there, pretending it’s cheap medicine.”

Han Ping was immediately frightened: “Where do you have more money? Didn’t you already bring back all your living expenses?”

Zhou Tiantian looked at Han Ping, her light-colored eyes now seemingly burning with a spark of fire. Her previously weak face gained a certain aggressiveness due to the firmness in her gaze. She spoke to Han Ping almost coercively: “Mom, I’m telling you today that my monthly salary is actually 30,000.”

Han Ping’s eyes instantly widened in disbelief because, in this small city, some people earning 30,000 a year was already considered very remarkable.

Zhou Tiantian was very satisfied with Han Ping’s surprise and continued, “The amount of money I take out for this family is entirely up to you. If you want me to give all 30,000 to him, to that younger brother, I’m willing, as long as you tell me to.”

Han Ping subconsciously shook her head: “No, you can’t give it. You must save it for yourself. You can’t give it to them!”

“Then you have to keep this secret for me.” Zhou Tiantian took a deep breath and continued to Han Ping, “I will give you all my monthly salary, minus my own food, clothing, and expenses. You help me save it. The more you can save for me, the more money I will have.”

In the past six months, Zhou Tiantian understood a principle: pitiable people must have something detestable about them. Her weakness was the detestable part of her being pitiable before. She understood this through her rebirth, and now she had to force her mother to understand this principle too. She hoped her mother could become as strong as she was. Otherwise, she believed her mother would never be able to step out of the pit that was Zhao Zhonggang, and even if she did, she might fall into another pit one day because a weak spirit can never save itself.

Han Ping immediately shook her head. “No, if you give me so much money, your father will find out. Then you’ll have nothing left. He’ll make you give him 30,000 every month. He’ll take it to gamble, to treat his friends to dinner, and for your brother to squander. You can’t give the money to me; you keep it!”

“I can only give it to you!” Zhou Tiantian didn’t back down at all. “Mom, I only have you. It’s not safe to keep the money on me.”

She lied: “Someone will steal my money. If it stays with me, it will eventually become someone else’s. Mom, I’m still so young. One day I’m going to get married. If I don’t have a dowry when I get married, I won’t have a say in my in-laws’ house. I’ll be bullied by them my whole life, bearing the heaviest chores and earning the most money for the family, yet having the lowest status.”

Han Ping’s heart suddenly trembled, as if seeing herself. Zhou Tiantian was her only child. She didn’t want her child to become as weak and incompetent as she was, living a lifetime under a man’s control and shadow.

She also envied those women who lived freely and hoped her daughter could be like them, having a certain status in the family, with a loving husband and a mother-in-law who dared not bully her.

Her softest spot was touched by Zhou Tiantian.

Zhou Tiantian also slowly softened. “Mom, I’ll give you 20,000 yuan every month, 8,000 to Uncle, and I’ll keep 2,000 for myself. Whether I can have a good life in the future depends on you.”

Han Ping followed Zhou Tiantian to the market in a daze, then used the 100 yuan Zhao Zhonggang gave her to buy some meat and vegetables, not speaking a word the entire time. When they walked downstairs, a hint of the determination that had appeared in Zhou Tiantian’s eyes slowly surfaced in Han Ping’s eyes. “Okay, you transfer the money to me. I will definitely save it well for you.”

After the two returned home, Zhao Xiaoran, Zhou Tiantian’s non-biological younger brother, also returned home and was currently sitting on the sofa playing video games. He was severely underweight, his complexion was abnormally pale, and he had heavy dark circles, clearly indicating poor health.

While playing the game, he said to Zhao Zhonggang, “Sister gave you money, so give me some. I don’t have enough money at school.”

Zhao Zhonggang said to him, “I’ve given you so much money already. Why isn’t it enough? Are you going to school or doing something else?”

Zhao Xiaoran sneered, highly impatient. “I never wanted to study in the first place. You’re the one who insisted on sending me to that noble school. Expenses at the school are huge. All my classmates have money. If you don’t give me money, I’ll be the only one eating steamed buns every day. When my classmates ask me why, I’ll just say my dad is too poor.”

Zhao Zhonggang cared about his reputation, and hearing his words, he immediately started arguing with him.

Zhou Tiantian and Han Ping went into the kitchen to start cooking, staying out of their war. After a while, they finished arguing, and Zhao Zhonggang still tossed 500 yuan to Zhao Xiaoran.

Zhao Xiaoran attending this noble private school was like a bottomless pit. Zhao Zhonggang already felt like he couldn’t afford it shortly after the semester began, but he was someone who would suffer to maintain appearances, and having sent his son there, he wasn’t going to take him back.

At the dinner table, Zhao Zhonggang suddenly had an idea and said to Zhou Tiantian, “Tiantian, you’re not young anymore. You’re almost the legal age for marriage, so you can start thinking about getting married.”

Zhou Tiantian’s heart sank, thinking, It’s finally here.

She lowered her head slightly and said softly to Zhao Zhonggang, “Dad, I think I’m still too young.”

Zhao Zhonggang laughed, “Where are you young? Look at the girls your age in our neighborhood; several of them have already had children. It’s about time for you, too. I know a young man who’s nice, and his family is rich. If you marry him, he can give an 80,000 yuan bride price.”

In her previous life, Zhou Tiantian was “sold” to that family by Zhao Zhonggang for this 80,000 yuan, leading to a much harder life thereafter.

But in this lifetime, Zhou Tiantian spoke with much more confidence. “But Dad, if I marry him, he’ll definitely make me work from home. You know the salary here can’t compare to those big cities, and once I get pregnant and have a child, my salary will be even lower. I can give you 8,000 yuan every month now. I can give you that 80,000 yuan bride price in ten months, and after that, I can still give you 8,000 every month. Looking at it this way, I think working outside is a better way to show filial piety to you.”

Zhao Zhonggang realized that she was right. 80,000 yuan was a lot of money in their small city. But Zhou Tiantian could give him 8,000 every month, reaching 80,000 in a year, and then continue to give him 8,000 every month after that, making it almost 100,000 yuan a year. This seemed much more cost-effective than just taking the 80,000 yuan bride price from her marriage, especially since Zhou Tiantian might even get a raise in the future!

Zhao Zhonggang nodded and said, “Hmm, you are quite smart. Fine, Dad is not as stubborn as some people. If you young people don’t want to get married so early and want to develop your career, that’s fine, but don’t forget to support your elders.”

Zhou Tiantian smirked internally, thinking, What kind of elder are you at just over 40? Even if I were to support an elder, it wouldn’t be someone with no blood relation!

But Zhou Tiantian kept these thoughts to herself.

However, Zhao Xiaoran, hearing these words, had his own idea. “Dad, Sister gives you 8,000 yuan a month, but you only give me 1,500 for living expenses a month. That’s not enough!”

Zhao Zhonggang’s expression changed again, and he started to scold Zhao Xiaoran. Zhao Xiaoran wouldn’t budge and even threatened Zhao Zhonggang again, “If you don’t give it to me, so be it. Anyway, when people ask, I’ll just say my dad is poor and has no money!”

Zhao Zhonggang cursed and argued with him for a while, finally setting Zhao Xiaoran’s living expenses at 3,000 yuan.

After dinner, Zhou Tiantian found time to talk to Zhao Xiaoran alone. She looked at Zhao Xiaoran with great care and affection and said, “Ranran, is your money not enough?”

Zhao Xiaoran looked at Zhou Tiantian and nodded, “It’s a little short. After all, the cost of living at our school is quite high.”

Zhou Tiantian knew the truth. It wasn’t the cost of living that was high; it was his drug habit. The expense of drug use was not something an ordinary person could afford.

She took out her phone from her bag and said to Zhao Xiaoran, “Then I’ll secretly give you another 300 yuan.”

Zhao Xiaoran’s eyes lit up. “Sister, you still have money!”

Zhou Tiantian looked at him timidly and said, “It’s the living expenses I set aside for myself, but I thought you didn’t have enough money at school and might be laughed at by your classmates, so I’ll spare some for you.”

Zhao Xiaoran’s heart moved, and he awkwardly touched his chin, saying, “Forget it. You gave all your salary to Dad. How much money can you keep for yourself? 3,000 a month is enough for me.”

Zhou Tiantian hadn’t expected Zhao Xiaoran to refuse because he had seemed so ruthless when asking Zhao Zhonggang for money.

But Zhou Tiantian thought about it and decided to proceed with her original plan. Zhao Xiaoran currently needed 3,000 yuan a month, but his needs would increase as his drug addiction worsened later on. Drugs ravaged his body and eroded his mind, making him increasingly unaware of what he was doing, only knowing how to leech off his family for money to satisfy his needs. He even eventually became a person with an eccentric temper. It could be said that the beatings Han Ping endured at home became more frequent later on, partly because Zhao Zhonggang was a domestic abuser, and partly because Zhao Xiaoran’s state changed Zhao Zhonggang’s entire mentality. Under the stress and frustration, he used Han Ping as his emotional punching bag.

Therefore, Zhou Tiantian had to solve the problem of Zhao Xiaoran. She had to eliminate this hidden danger from the family. This was her primary purpose for returning, and it was the first step for her and her mother to escape the tragic fate of their previous life.

Zhou Tiantian finally steeled herself and said to Zhao Xiaoran, “I know the expenses at your school must be high, and I can’t give you more money. Just take this 300 yuan for now.”

Then, she took Zhao Xiaoran’s phone, added his WeChat, and transferred 300 yuan to him.

Zhao Xiaoran immediately smiled at Zhou Tiantian, “Sister, you’re so nice. Thank you, Sister.”

Zhou Tiantian also smiled and shook her head. “Actually, although I only keep my living expenses, I still earn some extra money on the side. For example, during mealtime, when my colleagues don’t want to go out to buy food, I’ll help them bring it back. I charge an extra one or two yuan for each meal. This adds up, and I can earn a lot. Now, I can often cover the cost of my meals through this method.”

Zhao Xiaoran nodded carelessly, but then suddenly froze. He remembered the intense discomfort he felt when his addiction flared up because he didn’t have money for drugs recently. Suddenly, he picked up on some information from Zhou Tiantian’s words. He could also be like Zhou Tiantian, helping people buy things and earning a commission. Maybe he could secure enough money for his drug habit that way!

That night, Zhao Xiaoran left home and didn’t return all night. The next day, he went to school early.

This private high school was a boarding school, requiring students to stay on campus from Monday to Friday. For students with heavy addictions, the days from Monday to Friday could be quite miserable if they didn’t have any supply stocked up. Zhao Xiaoran decided to become their procurement agent.

Although Zhao Xiaoran’s school was a private noble school, it also had a very dark subculture. They were involved in everything from fighting, smoking, drinking, to drug use. Some girls in that group had already had several abortions.

Many of them came from wealthy families but lacked parental supervision, making them very poor at self-reliance. When Zhao Xiaoran proposed that he could sneak out on Monday and Friday to help them procure drugs, many people were tempted.

Drugs were expensive, and if they were to stock up on a sufficient amount at once, they would need a large sum of money. Some people simply couldn’t afford to take out that much money at once. It would be much easier for them if they could buy the amount they needed with a smaller sum of money when the craving hit. So, as soon as Zhao Xiaoran proposed this idea, many people responded favorably, willing to let him help them procure, even if the price was slightly higher.

All of this was observed by Zhou Tiantian.

Zhou Tiantian should have left on the third day after returning home, but although she told Zhao Zhonggang and Han Ping she was leaving, she actually found a small hotel in a secluded part of City Z and monitored Zhao Xiaoran’s movements constantly. When she saw Zhao Xiaoran receive a large bag of white powder from someone one night, she knew the time was approaching.

Zhao Xiaoran returned to school in high spirits. After climbing over the wall, he went to each dorm to distribute the items they needed. Then he returned to his own dorm, counted the money in his hand, and found that his money was growing more and more. The satisfaction of earning money made him feel even better than being high.

He became somewhat immersed in this illicit profit, gradually taking on more and more deals, even enticing certain classmates to use drugs with him to expand his business chain.

In just half a month, he had 60,000 yuan in his hand, up from the original 3,000 yuan. This was because he had found another better channel a week earlier, with lower purchasing prices, allowing him to earn more. He was now on the same level as the people he used to buy from.

However, on the day he let his guard down, he converted all the money in his hand into goods. Just as he was preparing to return to school, several plainclothes officers suddenly lunged at him and arrested him and the others. His expression was dazed. It wasn’t until the handcuffs clicked onto his wrists that he belatedly started to feel afraid.

He realized he had committed a crime.

If it were just drug use, he would be sent to a drug rehabilitation center and wouldn’t go to jail. But drug trafficking was a violation of criminal law, and since Zhao Xiaoran was already 16, drug trafficking was punishable by imprisonment.

Zhou Tiantian hid in the corner of the alley, watching Zhao Xiaoran being taken away by the police with a blank look. The stone in her heart finally dropped.

As long as Zhao Xiaoran, this ticking time bomb, was gone, Zhao Zhonggang would have 8,000 yuan a month to spend. He definitely wouldn’t be as cruel and violent to her mother as he was in the previous life. He also wouldn’t force her to marry anyone, because she was now the most important ATM in Zhao Zhonggang’s life.

And this, for Zhou Tiantian, was an opportunity—an opportunity for her to buffer the situation and for Han Ping to become stronger.

Sure enough, the next morning, Zhou Tiantian received a call from Zhao Zhonggang. “Tiantian, can you ask your company for a salary advance? I need the money to pay people off.”

The rage and frustration in his tone made Zhou Tiantian curl her lips, but her voice was timid, “Dad, our company doesn’t allow salary advances. Besides, if I get an advance now, the amount I can give you every month later will be reduced.”

Zhao Zhonggang cursed a few times in a fit of anger.

Zhou Tiantian quickly pretended not to know anything and asked him, “Dad, did something happen?”

Zhao Zhonggang told Zhou Tiantian about Zhao Xiaoran being caught trafficking drugs and proceeded to curse Zhao Xiaoran again.

Zhou Tiantian quickly panicked and said, “I’ll ask for leave and come back immediately.”

After that, she rested well in the hotel for a day. The next day, she returned home looking exhausted and travel-worn.

Zhao Zhonggang was sitting on the sofa smoking at the time. Seeing Zhou Tiantian return, he said to her, “Did you bring the money back?”

Just as Zhou Tiantian was about to say something, a group of people suddenly burst into the house. They were holding long wooden sticks. They looked around the house and glared fiercely at Zhao Zhonggang. “You’re Zhao Zhonggang, aren’t you!”

Zhao Zhonggang suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. He stood up, trembling, attempting to deny it, but the person had already confirmed he was Zhao Zhonggang and immediately said to him, “Damn it, it’s all your son’s doing! He got our Brother Wang’s son addicted to drugs, and now he’s in rehab!” As he finished speaking, he swung the stick at Zhao Zhonggang!

Zhou Tiantian quickly led Han Ping into the room and closed the door. Luckily, those people were only looking for Zhao Zhonggang and didn’t pay attention to Han Ping and Zhou Tiantian hiding.

Zhou Tiantian heard Zhao Zhonggang’s screams outside the door and suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in her heart. “So he gets beaten too! So he screams too!”

Half an hour later, the people finally left. Zhou Tiantian opened the door to go out, but Han Ping grabbed her hand, afraid to let her open the door. She couldn’t imagine how Zhao Zhonggang, after being beaten, would take out his anger on her.

Zhou Tiantian, however, held Han Ping’s hand and looked at her mother, saying, “Mom, we must go out immediately, and we need to be very ‘concerned’ about him.”

The next second, Zhou Tiantian opened the door and rushed to Zhao Zhonggang’s side. Tears instantly fell as she cried, “Dad, are you okay! Dad, are you badly hurt? Let’s go to the hospital right away!”

Zhao Zhonggang was in agonizing pain, but he glared viciously at Zhou Tiantian and said, “I got beaten outside, and you two hid inside! I’m going to beat you to death and let you know how much pain I’m in!”

Zhou Tiantian quickly said to Zhao Zhonggang, “Dad, don’t worry. I’ll go back right away and talk to our boss, saying Mom is sick and needs money, begging the boss to give me an advance to bail out Brother. But if I get an advance now, the monthly salary will be less in the future.”

Zhao Zhonggang instantly felt a sharp pain in his wallet. He was already very reluctant to give Zhao Xiaoran 3,000 yuan a month. If he advanced his salary now, Zhao Xiaoran would continue to ask him for 3,000 every month after getting out and returning to school, which would leave him with much less money for himself. In the past half month, he had lived a very comfortable life because he had money. It was difficult for him to switch back from luxury to frugality, and he had just taken a beating because of his son, making him selfishly unwilling to spend money to bail him out.

Zhou Tiantian had originally planned that if Zhao Zhonggang wanted to spend money to bail out Zhao Xiaoran, she would spend money to ensure Zhao Zhonggang’s efforts were fruitless, preventing Zhao Xiaoran from having another chance to harm her mother.

She hadn’t expected Zhao Zhonggang to immediately decide against bailing out Zhao Xiaoran. His anger was very smoothly redirected to Zhao Xiaoran. “Since he committed a crime, let the country properly educate him. I can’t teach him when he’s out.”

That afternoon, Zhou Tiantian went to the detention center and said to Zhao Xiaoran, who had not yet been publicly tried and sentenced, “Dad said it would cost too much money to pay people off, and this time, you did something wrong, so he’s letting you reflect properly inside.”

Zhao Xiaoran knew his father well and sneered immediately, “Don’t I know him? He’s just reluctant to spend the money. He’s afraid I’ll use his money, lower his standard of living, and embarrass him in front of his friends!”

Then, an unconcealable disappointment surfaced in his eyes. “He’s just that selfish. I knew it all along. I never expected him to bail me out. I’m prepared to go to jail. At most, I’ll be a hero again in a few years!”

As he spoke, his tears slowly fell, completely beyond his control.

“Do you want to come out?” Seeing Zhao Xiaoran like this in this life, Zhou Tiantian suddenly realized that his wickedness didn’t seem to be inherent from the start, and she felt a moment of compassion.

Zhao Xiaoran shook his head. “No, I’m not coming out. What for? To go back to that useless school and study? Zhao Zhonggang better not spend money to bail me out. If he brings me back, I’ll make him regret it for the rest of his life!”

Zhou Tiantian didn’t know if his words were sincere or spoken out of spite, but she didn’t dare to think about getting him out anymore. Zhou Tiantian was a little afraid that he would retaliate indiscriminately if he got out. After all, he did commit many bad deeds in the previous life.

Visiting time was almost over. Zhou Tiantian stood up and said goodbye to Zhao Xiaoran, but Zhao Xiaoran called out to her, his eyes twinkling with a hint of hope. “Sister, can you come and see me sometimes in the future?”

He was still a 16-year-old child after all. Although he had just put on a very tough facade, he was still afraid inside.

Zhou Tiantian looked at his current state, thought for a moment, and finally said to him, “I will come to see you when I have time. If I’m too busy, I will write you letters and send you some things.”

She thought that she might be able to change this 16-year-old Zhao Xiaoran. And a few years later, Zhou Tiantian truly didn’t regret her current decision.

Zhao Xiaoran was eventually sentenced to three years in prison. Zhao Zhonggang was in a bad mood for a few days, but when the new month arrived and Zhou Tiantian gave him 8,000 yuan, he seemed to forget that he had a son in jail and resumed his comfortable life.

And Zhou Tiantian, as she had promised, set up a new bank card for Han Ping and deposited 20,000 yuan into it. She repeatedly and seriously reminded Han Ping of the importance of this card to both her and Han Ping.

By the time Zhou Tiantian returned to City B, almost a month had passed. She originally only had half a month of vacation, and the extra time was arranged by Li Ziyu.

The night she returned to Li Ziyu’s apartment, Li Ziyu grabbed her shoulders, pinned her against the entrance hall wall, and said fiercely, “I thought you weren’t coming back to work! Next time you dare to leave for such a long time, I’ll fire you directly, understand!”

The moment Zhou Tiantian saw Li Ziyu, she softened both physically and mentally. She nodded obediently to Li Ziyu and said, “I won’t take such a long leave again.”

Hearing her promise, Li Ziyu remembered how Zhou Tiantian had taken care of her when she joined the production crew a while ago. She felt a little soft-hearted and let go of Zhou Tiantian. “I’m not saying you can’t take leave, but don’t go this long without contacting me! I thought you were missing! You can tell me anything that happens in the future. You don’t have connections or resources yourself, so dealing with these matters is definitely not as easy for you as it is for me. If you tell me, it might even save you time.”

In fact, Li Ziyu was still a little unhappy that Zhou Tiantian hadn’t told her what she was going home to do. She felt that Zhou Tiantian wasn’t treating her as a friend, but as an outsider.

After putting her luggage in the room, Zhou Tiantian returned to the living room and began discussing the upcoming schedule with Li Ziyu.

“…schedule.”

Li Ziyu raised her eyebrow slightly and said with a hint of pride, “I haven’t skipped a single class this month.”

Zhou Tiantian’s eyes immediately lit up. “That’s wonderful! Then your acting skills must have improved!”

Li Ziyu scoffed dismissively, “My acting skills were good to begin with!”

But she was unaware that her haughty, yet clearly pleased-to-be-praised expression was fully seen by Zhou Tiantian.