The blood on the shoes had already dried.
No matter how hard she scrubbed, she couldn't restore them to their original state—faint stains always remained.
Aunt Zhang prepared a basin of aspirin solution for her, saying it was Li Mushí's instruction. Soak the shoes for a while and they'd come clean.
Jing Ge followed her advice, and sure enough, the shoes were washed spotless.
Clean to the point of being immaculate.
Jing Ge hung them out to dry on her bedroom balcony, next to that handkerchief.
One pot of porridge at breakfast still wasn't ready. Jing Ge held a fifth-grade Chinese textbook while Li Ying stood beside her, stumbling through the recitation.
No matter how many times she repeated "Yu Ge Zi," she could only remember "white egrets fly" and "mandarin fish are plump."
Jing Ge even drew her a picture to help her memorize it.
Li Ying slumped her shoulders in frustration. "Sis, why do I have to study so hard anyway?"
"Hm?" Jing Ge's lashes fluttered. "Why wouldn't you study?"
"My parents are professors," Li Ying said. "My brother got into a key university. My little uncle, my uncle, Grandpa and Grandma—don't even get me started. Even if I did nothing my whole life, I wouldn't starve…"
Then she added, "And Sis, you're not just from a key university—you skipped two grades. With all of you around, I don't really need to work that hard."
"What if those people weren't around anymore?" Jing Ge asked.
"That's impossible!" Li Ying blurted out.
"Back in my great-grandfather's generation, the Jing family and the Li family were evenly matched," Jing Ge said patiently. "That's why the engagement existed in the first place. But look at things now."
The Li family was still flourishing, while the Jing family had declined with each generation.
By the time it reached Jing Ge's grandfather, there were already signs of decay. When it came to her father, a failed investment struck at the family's lifeline.
Now, the Jing family was left with nothing but a small-to-medium ceramic factory.
They weren't even qualified to carry shoes for the Li family anymore.
"But Sis, you're so good at studying," Li Ying asked, "why is your salary only four or five thousand?"
"..."
Jing Ge felt like her heart had been stabbed to pieces.
So this was how brutally worthless a college degree could feel.
Just then, a tall shadow pressed down as someone slowly sat at the table. "That's your sister's baseline," Li Mushí said evenly. "With her learning ability, her ceiling has no limit."
Facing the most authoritative figure in the Li family, Li Ying deflated, not daring to argue.
Jing Ge patted her head, put the Chinese book away, and turned on her English listening practice.
By the time the porridge was served, Li Zhan had also come downstairs.
Four people sat at the dining table. Jing Ge and Li Ying were on one side, and aside from the background audio of English listening, the silence was eerie.
After finishing his coffee, Li Mushí left, saying he had a morning meeting.
Only three people remained at the table.
After a long moment, Li Zhan suddenly kicked Li Ying under the table. "What, did you run into a ghost?"
Li Ying snapped. "What are you doing?!"
"Suddenly working so hard," Li Zhan sneered. "Did you fail another exam?"
Li Ying instantly went quiet.
Li Zhan frowned. "There was a test? Where's the paper?"
Li Ying grabbed Jing Ge's clothes and shook her arm desperately.
"I arranged her study plan," Jing Ge said gently. "I couldn't stand seeing her so idle."
Li Ying: "."
Li Zhan, surprisingly, didn't throw any sarcastic remarks and just shut up.
The porridge was yam and red bean—thick and soft. Jing Ge used to love it, but today she didn't take a single bite.
Since last night, she couldn't even drink water.
The smell of blood lingered around her nose.
"What's wrong?" Li Zhan said irritably. "Got picky now?"
"I'm not hungry," Jing Ge answered honestly.
Li Zhan asked without thinking, "Does your company provide lunch?"
"No."
"Then you should eat more in the morning," Li Zhan said. "Otherwise you'll have to spend your own money at noon. With that salary, you can barely buy—"
Before he could finish, Li Ying suddenly lifted her face. "Brother, what do you mean by that? Are you saying Sis is staying in our house just to freeload food?"
Li Zhan's expression changed. "If you don't want your ears, I'll cut them off!"
Li Ying shot back, "If you don't want your mouth, I'll sew it shut!"
Li Zhan snarled, "I hope you get zeroes every day!"
Li Ying yelled, "I hope you never find a wife your whole life!"
"..."
The table fell into sudden silence.
After who knew how long, and after thinking of something, Li Zhan's gaze flicked between the two of them. He sneered. "Did she teach you that?"
Jing Ge set her chopsticks down.
"Do you think I have to marry you?" Li Zhan said coldly.
Jing Ge looked at him. "I've never thought that."
"People chasing me line up to the school gates," Li Zhan continued. "I can get a girlfriend anytime."
"Go ahead," Jing Ge replied.
Li Zhan ground his teeth. "You don't care?"
"If you want to find one," Jing Ge said calmly, "what does it have to do with me?"
Li Zhan stared straight at her for a long time, then suddenly kicked his chair away. "You really have no right!"
He stormed off in a rage.
Li Ying couldn't understand their relationship. When she was younger, her brother and her sister had been close—really close.
Now they couldn't even be in the same room.
Every meeting ended badly.
What hurt Li Ying the most was seeing her sister cry.
"Sis, it's all my fault," Li Ying shook her. "I was the one who provoked him. He wouldn't dare look for another girl anyway—the elders would break his legs…"
Jing Ge wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Only after calming down did she speak. "It's the engagement that wronged him. He should be with the person he likes."
Li Zhan had always been popular with girls. In elementary school, girls slipped him notes saying they wanted to marry him when they grew up. In middle school, the girls chasing him became bolder, then came high school and college…
But the Li family elders, strict about propriety and rules, kept him firmly in check.
He didn't even dare to date.
Meanwhile, his friends had girlfriends nonstop since high school.
Especially at an age like college—when one was supposed to fall in love.
Yet he couldn't resist the engagement, and Jing Ge couldn't either.
They were both victims.
Li Zhan always vented his temper on her, and Jing Ge wasn't made of clay—of course she couldn't take it forever.
"Eat up," Jing Ge said. "Afterward, the driver will take you to school. There's a flag-raising ceremony today, right?"
"What about you, Sis?" Li Ying asked.
"I'll take the bus."
"Don't," Li Ying pleaded. "Drop you off first, then me. I don't mind being late."
The girl's school and Jing Ge's company were in opposite directions. Drop one off and the other would be late—there was no way around it.
When the Li parents let Jing Ge move in, they'd hoped she and Li Zhan would grow closer. Naturally, they planned for Li Zhan to drive her to and from work.
But one rainy day, Jing Ge had been kicked out of the car.
After that, she never rode in his car again.
The bus stop was outside the villa complex—a ten-plus-minute walk, still convenient enough.
With her bag on her back, Jing Ge headed out and unexpectedly saw Li Zhan's Land Cruiser parked outside the villas.
The window was rolled all the way down, Li Zhan's sour face turned toward her.
"Get in."
Jing Ge ignored him completely and kept walking.
Behind her came the sound of a car door slamming—Li Zhan never treated his things gently, always shoving the door and letting it bounce back.
"Jing Ge! That's enough already!"
It was utterly ridiculous. Jing Ge turned back to look at him. "What did I even do?"
The sight of her calm, indifferent face made Li Zhan choke on his anger. "Do you think you're some young lady, throwing around that kind of attitude?"