Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

It was said that Qiao Wan’s family wasn’t originally particularly wealthy; it only started with her father’s generation. By the time Qiao Wan was born, her family had already escaped poverty.

By the time she reached elementary school, the family had become thoroughly affluent.

Father Qiao originally preferred boys, but he couldn’t resist the fact that Qiao Wan was so beautiful. Moreover, she was his only child, so he gradually became exceptionally good to her, always wanting to give her the best.

One lives according to how much money one has. In the eyes of the wealthy, that’s just how it is a thousand pieces of gold can hardly buy one’s heart’s desire, so spending thousands or tens of thousands on little gadgets was a common occurrence. But in the eyes of others, it left a bitter taste: I work my life away to earn a few thousand, wanting to enshrine it like an ancestor, and you just squander it away with a wave of your hand?

Rich people truly are wasteful and annoying.

When she realized exactly why Xia Hanyin disliked her, Qiao Wan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “One’s birth isn’t something I can decide, nor is it something you can decide. I don’t feel proud because I’m a ‘rich second-gen’ that money isn’t mine but you don’t need to feel inferior because your family is poor. This is only for now; who knows what the future will look like?”

“Yeah, who knows what the future will look like.” Looking at Xia Hanyin’s expression, it was clear she was extremely displeased, though it was unclear if it was because Qiao Wan had seen through her heart or because Qiao Wan’s words sounded like she was mocking her for being childish. “You can’t choose your birth, but you can at least choose your way of life, right? Is it so bad to be a bit thrifty like us?”

Qiao Wan: “Who said I’m not thrifty? The living expenses I ask from my father every month aren’t even enough to buy my mother a single handbag.” After a moment, she reacted, “You aren’t suggesting that I should live on a few hundred yuan a month like you guys and stop buying skincare products and such, are you?”

Judging by Xia Hanyin’s expression, she seemed to tacitly agree with Qiao Wan’s words. This made Qiao Wan a bit unhappy as well. “My family has this much money; why should I live the life of an ascetic monk with you all? Is there something wrong with my head!”

Because she was unhappy, her tone became several degrees heavier. For a moment, even Xia Hanyin, who was used to acting overbearing, shrank her neck in fear. Qiao Wan knew that blaming Xia Hanyin was ultimately futile because every “bear child” is a “bear parent,” and perhaps even an entire morbid society.

Why shouldn’t a rich person’s money be given to their own child? Was he supposed to distribute it to the people of the world instead of his own child, letting his hard-earned money serve the masses while excluding his own flesh and blood?

Qiao Wan glanced at Xia Hanyin, who was shrinking her neck like a bird playing dead, and couldn’t help but sigh: “Forget it, I don’t want to change your views, and I won’t be able to. Anyway, in a few years, when you read fewer novels, you’ll understand that the thing standing between you and the Prince definitely won’t be a Princess who looks like a better match for him and gives you a huge sense of crisis, but yourself.”

Having said that, she gave a light, self-mocking chuckle: “If, at that age, you still like the so-called Prince.”

If, past this age, you still believe in fairy tales, then one really wouldn’t know if that was your luck or your misfortune.

Perhaps because Qiao Wan’s words were too profound, her silhouette as she went to throw away the trash suddenly seemed tall in Xia Hanyin’s eyes, not just tall, but even sparkling. Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that the hallway lights had just turned on at nearly 7:00 PM.

Actually, it was still bright outside the balcony, but because the dormitory buildings were so dense, once you moved a certain distance away from the balcony, it became pitch black.

When Xia Hanyin’s roommate came out to mop the floor, she saw this silly girl squatting at the door like an over-aged child and couldn’t help but laugh: “Are you here watching the show? Why aren’t you hurrying to pack your bags? It’s almost time to assemble.”

“I’ve discovered that Qiao Wan is a very good antagonist! She told me she’s not the vicious Princess competing with me for the Prince?”

Roommate: “…”

Roommate: “????”

Antagonists, Princesses, Princes… has this child suddenly gone stupid? Just as the roommate was calculating whether it was necessary to get a leave permit from the instructor to take Xia Hanyin to the psychiatric hospital, Qi Jun, who was wiping the floor, spoke up slowly: “Xia Hanyin, can you be a bit more normal? We told you not to watch so many brainless romance novels and TV shows. Not only do you watch them, but you also insert yourself into them? Are you as brainless as the screenwriters?”

An Xiaolei added: “Exactly. You think a Prince would actually take an interest in Cinderella? He has so many beautiful girls around him who have both money and looks; why would he hang himself from a crooked-neck tree like you, who is fat and has no special features?”

Qi Jun added the final blow: “Haven’t you noticed that the way Yuan Tianci looks at Qiao Wan is much gentler than the way he looks at you? Why? Because Qiao Wan has money and beauty. An Xiaolei, don’t just sit there; hurry up and get the small stool and luggage from under the bed. We don’t have much time; we have to assemble soon.”

An Xiaolei picked her ear impatiently and squatted down lazily: “It’s just a small matter, and it requires me, the Eldest Miss An, to take action? You young people should be a bit more calm. Always ‘yadda yadda yadda.’ Even the snacks Hanyin brought can’t plug your mouth. Even if we’re a minute or two late, so what? Is he going to beat me to death?”

A moment later, her cold snort came from under the bed: “My dad beats me once every three days and can’t kill me, let alone some instructor. If they kill me, they have to pay compensation, right? That would make our family even richer and solve the problem of a bastard who squanders money. How wonderful.”

Now, no one dared to speak.

Speaking of which, there were actually quite a few “rich second-gens” in the class. Qiao Wan was one, Yuan Tianci was another, and so was Ao Manshan those were the famous ones. But few people knew that the school’s biggest female delinquent, An Xiaolei, was actually also a rich second-gen. It was just that the old man of the An family rarely mentioned his disappointing daughter to the outside world.

If An Xiaolei hadn’t originally had some talent in studying to the point where she could maintain a mid-level rank in class and get into Longting First Middle School despite fighting every day and sleeping through classes Old Man An probably wouldn’t have been able to lower his face to beg for a spot at the school for her.

He had always been unable to lower his face; even when An Xiaolei was as excellent as Qi Jun, he was ashamed to mention this daughter. Not to mention later, when An Xiaolei gave up on herself and personally sank into an unsightly abyss, the old man was even less likely to mention An Xiaolei in front of outsiders.

So, although An Xiaolei was a rich second-gen, she lived much like Xia Hanyin and Qi Jun, often finding herself short of cash.

In truth, it wasn’t that the old man didn’t give her money; it was just that as soon as the old man’s money hit her hands, she would take her group of delinquent friends out to feast and drink until it was all gone, or until only a tiny bit was left just enough to keep her from starving.

In her words: Life is only a few short decades; why live as restricted as Qiao Wan or Ao Manshan?

One should eat when there’s food and drink when there’s drink; once these decades are over, that’s it. Anyway, even if the sky falls, there are people like Ao Manshan to hold it up.

She was the dregs of society, while someone like Ao Manshan was clearly destined to be a pillar of society when she grew up. A so-called social elite.

Even her father often told her: “Don’t hang around Ao Manshan all the time. You aren’t the same kind of person; don’t lead her down a wicked path too.” Unfortunately, the old man was destined for disappointment; since she happened to be an “An,” she just happened to be seated right next to Ao Manshan.

She would plague this person for another three years.

When high school graduation came, they would go their separate ways Ao Manshan to her broad, sunlit road, and she to her own single-plank bridge.

She’d continue fighting, eating, and drinking.

When she passed away a hundred years later, who would care how others judged her?

Everyone knew the relationship between the An father and daughter was discordant, especially Xia Hanyin and Qi Jun, so as soon as An Xiaolei mentioned her father, they tactfully shut their mouths.

Originally, Xia Hanyin wasn’t supposed to stay in this dormitory, but a girl had fallen ill at the last minute even producing a rare and difficult-to-get “hospital certificate” so the teacher had no choice but to let it go. Xia Hanyin applied to fill the vacant spot.

In this way, Xia Hanyin successfully joined her best friends.

It was good, but the problem of talking at night probably couldn’t be solved. These three had been best friends for a long time; when they got together, they had endless nonsense to say. When it came time to sleep at night, Room 202 would likely get the entire class’s points deducted.

After a moment of silence, they heard the instructor’s whistle from downstairs. Some of the hot-tempered ones had already started shouting “Everyone get down here! What are you dawdling for! I’m giving you three minutes; anyone who can’t make it runs 800 meters!”

The 800 meters was like an inescapable nightmare. Almost the moment the instructor’s words fell, the sound of people gasping for air could be heard from all directions, vaguely mixed with whispered curses like “Holy crap” or “That’s brutal.”

At this moment, the true efficiency of the girls was revealed. Under the threat of the 800 meters, the girls who usually couldn’t get out the door in under twenty minutes finished getting ready in a single minute.

Xiaolei, who had just said “So what if we’re a minute or two late,” was actually the fastest of them all.

However, Xia Hanyin and the others didn’t find it strange. A girl like An Xiaolei was just harsh with her face and tongue; in reality, her heart was still quite pure. Otherwise, why would she come to school every day to lie there and sleep? If a person truly fell into ruin, why would they bother coming to school?