Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Hearing her daughter’s words, Mother Qiao felt a little guilty too. She said, “Manman, it’s not that your dad and I don’t want to give you more money, but our financial situation is what it is.
“And your grandmother was hospitalized for chemotherapy this year, which cost quite a lot. The two thousand we’re giving you is already what we managed to scrape together by cutting back on everything…”
“If you couldn’t afford to raise me, then you shouldn’t have had me!” Qiao Xueman snapped, cutting Mother Qiao off. “You brought me into this world, and now you only give me this tiny bit of spending money every month. Isn’t that the same as having me on purpose just so I could suffer?”
Seeing her daughter get angry, Mother Qiao panicked a little and hurriedly said, “Your father and I really can’t come up with any more for now. How about we raise your monthly living expenses to three thousand from now on?”
“And if I say no, what difference would it make? This is all you two are capable of earning anyway.”
With that, Qiao Xueman hung up the phone.
Listening to the busy tone on the other end, Mother Qiao looked helplessly at her husband and began discussing with him whether they could increase their daughter’s living allowance.
Father Qiao frowned. “Our salaries combined are only a little over nine thousand. Your mother still needs tens of thousands for her next round of chemotherapy. How can we raise Manman’s allowance again?”
Mother Qiao said, “How about we sell the car? Taking the subway to work would be cheaper. We can give the money we save to our daughter.”
“You really are…” Father Qiao sighed helplessly, but his stance was firm. “Manman’s living allowance cannot be increased. I’ve asked around. Based on the average spending level at their school, even if she eats pretty well, it only costs about a thousand a month. Two thousand is already more than enough for her to live on.
“She’s always spent money extravagantly. You can’t keep indulging her.”
Mother Qiao still wanted to say something, but Father Qiao made the decision. “From now on, I’ll be the one sending Manman her living allowance. Not a cent more, not a cent less. It will only be two thousand yuan.
“And don’t hide it from me and secretly slip her extra pocket money. I know exactly how much you earn every month.
“People say daughters should be raised generously, but that doesn’t mean spoiling her rotten. Otherwise, once she enters society, it’ll be hard for her to live independently.”
Mother Qiao also felt that Father Qiao had a point. After hesitating for a moment, she agreed.
Meanwhile, after Qiao Xueman waited a few minutes, the bank sent her a transfer notification.
When she saw that the transfer was only for two thousand, Qiao Xueman instantly flew into a rage.
Her mom had clearly promised just now that she would give her three thousand, yet in the end, she had only transferred two thousand. Wasn’t she just playing her for a fool?
Did they think she was an idiot just because she hadn’t thrown a fit?
Furious, Qiao Xueman was just about to call her mother back when her phone received another message, notifying her that one thousand yuan had been transferred out of her account.
The recipient was Xia Sheng.
The moment she saw that text, Qiao Xueman exploded.
She hadn’t done anything at all just now. How could one thousand yuan have been transferred to Xia Sheng?
She immediately called the bank’s customer service hotline and told them the money hadn’t been transferred by her at all, demanding that the staff transfer it back to her.
After checking her records, the customer service representative said, “Hello, ma’am. I’ve checked your transfer information. According to our system, this transfer was made by you through mobile banking two minutes ago.
“We detected that the device used for the transfer is the same device you’re currently using, so there should not be any case of account theft involved.”
After hearing the representative’s words, Qiao Xueman wanted to say that was bullshit. She hadn’t transferred any money to Xia Sheng at all.
But very quickly, she remembered something.
Today, she and Xia Sheng had signed an IOU. At the time, Xia Sheng had said the IOU was to prevent her from refusing to pay the money back.
Could her money have been transferred away for no reason because of that IOU that had been burned?
If that was really the reason, then from now on, no matter how much money she had, wouldn’t everything beyond her basic living expenses end up being transferred to Xia Sheng?
At that thought, Qiao Xueman was so furious she nearly exploded.
More than 1.6 million. Even if she graduated from college and earned over ten thousand a month, after deducting rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, and other living costs, if every penny left went to repaying Xia Sheng, it would take her at least a decade or more.
At this rate, wasn’t she going to spend nearly half her life broke and miserable?!
In her heart, Qiao Xueman cursed Xia Sheng inside and out, wishing she could tear her apart with her bare hands.
But she knew she was no match for Xia Sheng. All she could do was swallow the loss in silence and keep her tail tucked between her legs from now on.
…
When Xia Sheng got home after school, she saw Auntie Wang sitting on the living room sofa, chatting with Fang Rong.
Ever since what happened last time, Auntie Wang had often come over to talk with Fang Rong, and the two of them had grown much closer.
Noticing Xia Sheng had returned, Auntie Wang waved her over to sit. “Little Celestial Master, you’re back.
“A relative of mine sent me some fruit from the countryside. It’s really fresh, so I brought some over for your mom. Come have a taste too.”
Xia Sheng walked over, picked up a kiwi from the table, peeled it, and took a bite.
It really did taste good, much sweeter and softer than the ones sold in stores.
Auntie Wang asked, “Well? Isn’t it delicious?”
Xia Sheng nodded, then said, “Auntie Wang, you made a special trip here. Aside from bringing fruit for my mom, you must have something you want my help with, right?”
Auntie Wang was startled at first, then laughed. “You really are something, girl! I haven’t even said anything yet, and you already figured it out!”
After praising her, Auntie Wang finally got to the point. “Last time, didn’t you help my daughter figure out that scumbag had a problem?
“A distant niece of mine heard you were capable, so she asked me to invite you over and help her take a look too.”
Xia Sheng asked, “What happened to her?”
Auntie Wang said, “It’s her daughter who’s in trouble. Her daughter is four this year. Starting two months ago, she noticed that every night around midnight, the child would turn off the lights, sit on the living room sofa, and watch TV.
“At first, she just thought the child wanted to watch cartoons. Every time she found the girl up in the middle of the night watching TV, she’d only scold her a little, then carry her back to her room to keep sleeping.
“Later, she realized that no matter how many times she carried the child back to the bedroom, the child would get up again and run to the living room to watch TV. And while watching, she’d talk to the empty air beside her.
“When she asked the child who she was talking to, the child pointed at the air and said someone was there, then asked why Mommy couldn’t see them.
“My niece was scared out of her wits. She thought something unclean had entered the house, so she went to a temple and asked for Buddha Beads.
“But the Buddha Beads she spent a fortune to get didn’t do anything. Her daughter still gets up every night to watch TV and talks to whatever that thing is.
“And I don’t know if it’s because she’s been in contact with that thing so often, but her daughter’s health has been getting worse and worse lately. If it’s not a cold, it’s a fever, and they’re constantly going to the hospital.
“My niece’s husband has already passed away, and that child is her only emotional support now. Because of what’s been happening, she’s invited quite a few masters to the house to perform rituals, but none of them have been able to drive that thing away. Lately, it’s left her both physically and mentally exhausted.
“Yesterday, she brought gifts over to visit me. When she heard me mention what happened with that scumbag son-in-law of mine, she asked me to invite you over to take a look for her.”