Chapter 8: Rumors – I Heard You Two Are Dating~

Lacking energy for school and playing basketball, Fang Chuning’s dejected state these past few days was evident to everyone at school. Even the teacher called her to the office for a loving inquiry, but unfortunately couldn’t get a word out of her.

Once again missing a shot, Fang Chuning stared blankly at one spot, oblivious to her surroundings.

It wasn’t until someone called her name that she snapped back to reality, then walked off the court to sit and continue zoning out.

The gentle touch of a towel on her forehead startled her. Fang Chuning turned her head, dazed, to look at the boy wiping her sweat. Jiang Luoyu’s face was slightly red, but he stubbornly continued to wipe the beads of sweat from her face, softly explaining, “Your face is sweaty. If you don’t wipe it off, you’ll easily catch a cold.”

Fang Chuning didn’t make a sound. Jiang Luoyu thought she had accepted his gesture, and his heart bloomed with joy. His cheeks flushed red as he continued to wipe her sweat with a shy smile.

Fang Chuning was completely unaware of the young man’s budding feelings. After school, she drifted back to the villa like a wandering soul, floating past everyone to her room, and finally collapsing face-down on her bed, her mind adrift.

These past few days, the two questions that occupied her thoughts the most were “Fang Hong is having an affair” and “What will happen to Dad?”

As she calmed down, Fang Chuning finally chose to face reality. The impact of this situation was too great for her. She never imagined that despite her parents’ seemingly good relationship, her mother would have someone on the side.

Was it because of age that she sought some excitement?

Her subconscious told her that her mother wasn’t that kind of person, but there was no way to explain what she had seen that day. After all, she had witnessed it with her own eyes.

Thinking about this, Fang Chuning began to make plans for the future. Not only would her father not forgive such an affair if he knew, but she also wouldn’t allow her father to continue living with such a scumbag woman.

Fang Chuning suddenly sprang up from the bed, her expression resolute.

Yes!

That’s right!

This matter couldn’t be kept from her father. She had to find the right opportunity to expose Fang Hong’s false affection, and then have her father divorce her! She would take her father and leave the Fang family. By then, she would no longer be the young lady of the Fang family. She and her father would live in an ordinary civilian house, and she would have to drop out of Xinxing due to inability to pay tuition fees. To make a living and support her father, she would need to work two jobs! Living a life that was hard but simple and happy.

Excited by these thoughts, Fang Chuning couldn’t help but pace back and forth in her room. At this moment, she was completely immersed in her imagined future of a tough but flavorful happy life, completely forgetting that even if her parents divorced, her father’s family would still have inexhaustible wealth.

She felt that she needed to make preparations in advance to avoid being unprepared when the time came.

So Fang Chuning happily dialed Gao Qiong’s number, “Hey, Old Qiong, find me a job for tomorrow.”

Hearing the girl’s voice that seemed reborn, Gao Qiong on the other end of the phone was stunned and instinctively asked, “Did your family go bankrupt?”

…

Although Gao Qiong wasn’t usually very serious, she was quite efficient when it came to getting things done. Early the next morning, she brought news.

“This job is as a cashier in a small supermarket. The boss said it’s very easy, just standing there and collecting money, simple and easy to understand.”

It did sound simple. Fang Chuning nodded, “Then how is the salary calculated?”

“Of course it’s monthly. This isn’t like getting pocket money from home that can be given daily. You’re just going to work as a cashier for a few hours after school, it can only be considered part-time. You’ll be paid for the hours you work.”

“When can I start?”

“You can go this afternoon after school.”

Following her instructions, Fang Chuning went there after school. The small supermarket had two cashiers in total, and besides her, there was also a boy who said he was there for temporary work.

“You just stand here, when someone comes, you scan their items here and then collect the money…” The boy explained the process to her with a red face and ears. Fang Chuning listened attentively and finally nodded in understanding.

This supermarket had a good location, and many people came in the afternoon. Fang Chuning was a bit overwhelmed. There were two places for customers to line up to pay, but the boy’s side only had one or two occasional customers, while her line was long, almost all teenage boys.

When checking out, problems like these weren’t uncommon:

“Little sister, can I get your contact information?”

“No.”

Or deliberately making things difficult:

“I only have one item, no need to scan it. How much is it? I’ll just give you the money directly.”

“It must be scanned.”

“Why are you so stubborn? I said there’s no need to scan, just let brother give you the money directly.”

“It must be scanned.”

“……”

Some even lingered around staring at her after paying. Fang Chuning wasn’t affected at all. At around ten o’clock, she happily finished work and headed home.

The boy who finished work with her was also named Xu Yue.

“Where are you taking the bus to? There’s only one stop ahead, is there one to your home?”

Fang Chuning looked at the bus stop, “I’m taking a taxi back.”

“Oh, I see,” Xu Yue smiled shyly, “Then forget it, we’re not going the same way. But taxis are quite expensive here. Is your home nearby? If it’s too far, a day’s wages from this part-time job might not even be enough for the taxi fare.”

Fang Chuning felt this was indeed a problem. She couldn’t take a taxi every day in the future.

“Then I’ll just take the bus with you.”

“Mm.”

Fang Chuning remembered there was a bus stop not too far from her home, she could walk back from there. On the bus ride together, Fang Chuning discovered that the boy was surprisingly… talkative. Even when she didn’t respond, he could keep talking for a long time. It was the first time Fang Chuning had met someone so chatty, and he was about her age.

After doing this job for a few days, Fang Chuning was a bit dissatisfied. After all, she was going to work two jobs in the future, and this job was too easy. If things got tough later, she would still have trouble adapting.

So she asked Gao Qiong to find her another job. This time, Gao Qiong wasn’t as efficient, and it wasn’t until the next day that she brought news.

Fang Chuning looked at the recruitment advertisement in her hand. It was for a ranch, and it clearly stated what needed to be done: Only two hours of work time required, just clean up the manure. Requirements: Not afraid of dirt or smell.

Fang Chuning smiled kindly, “You want me to shovel manure?”

“I searched for a long time to find this one. The working hours are short, and the ranch owner said that as long as you go to work, they’ll send you a bottle of fresh milk every day. You’ll save money on buying milk, isn’t that great!”

Seeing her being so “considerate”, Fang Chuning couldn’t help but shed “moved” tears, “Old Qiong, you’re really too—— good to me.”

Gao Qiong put her arm around her shoulders, patting her chest quite loyally, “We’ve been friends for so many years, how could I stand by and do nothing when you’re in trouble? This is what sisters should do!”

Fang Chuning kicked her away and turned to leave with an expressionless face.

A few days later, when Fang Hong was leaving the company after work, Fang Chuning dragged Gao Qiong to secretly follow her. Sure enough, they saw that man with her again, the two walking arm in arm, looking very intimate.

“What are you going to do?” Gao Qiong asked in a low voice.

“What else?” Fang Chuning sneered coldly, “Of course, catch them in the act.”

“Even if you catch them, what can you do? Don’t waste your energy, let’s go back and play games.”

Fang Chuning covered her mouth, signaling her to be quiet.

The two stealthily followed behind, watching as they reluctantly parted ways outside a villa area. Fang Chuning seized the opportunity and rushed forward, “Fang Hong, how can you face me and dad?”

Fang Hong clearly didn’t expect her to appear here. After a moment of surprise, she frowned, “What did you call me?”

Fang Chuning waved her hand arrogantly, “Never mind what I call you! I’m telling you, I will take dad and leave the Fang family to live outside. Even if life is hard, I will work to support dad. I won’t let dad suffer any grievances, living a simple and happy life away from you, though it may be difficult!”

Gao Qiong, hiding in the distance and watching, felt like she was watching an exaggerated stage play, one about emotional entanglements.

Getting a bit excited, Fang Chuning accidentally revealed her ambitions. Seeing Fang Hong’s face gradually darken, she felt even more satisfied.

“Ning Ning?” The man standing next to Fang Hong suddenly called out to her.

Fang Chuning glanced at him sideways, ignoring him.

The man suddenly reached out as if to pat her head. Fang Chuning quickly stepped back two big steps, “What are you doing!?”

The man revealed a nostalgic smile and said kindly, “Ning Ning, don’t you remember me? I’m your Aunt Nian.”

Fang Chuning’s expression turned strange: “Catfish? What catfish, I don’t know you, don’t try to get familiar.”

The “man” lifted his bangs and smiled: “You don’t remember me? I even helped you pee when you were little.”

Under the “man’s” bangs, a birthmark about the size of a thumb was clearly visible. Fang Chuning’s eyelids twitched violently, feeling her heart go cold.

The “man” she had misunderstood was actually a woman, and moreover, she was an old friend who had grown up with Fang Hong. Fang Chuning never imagined this. She didn’t dare to look at Fang Hong’s face and could only force an awkward smile: “Aunt Nian, so it’s you…”

“Who else did you think it was?” Fang Hong’s voice was cold.

Nian Yao brushed her short hair and smiled, “It’s been too long since we’ve met, so you didn’t recognize me at first, right?”

It wasn’t just not recognizing her at first glance. If she hadn’t explained and shown her birthmark, Fang Chuning would never have recognized her. “Aunt Nian… why are you dressed like this?”

“This androgynous style is popular now. Does it look good?”

“Hehe, yeah.”

Androgynous is one thing, but the key is that these two were acting like a couple. Isn’t this misleading people?

While the two adults were chatting, Fang Chuning shrunk to the side and sneakily looked back, frantically signaling for help to Gao Qiong, who was licking an ice pop and watching the show.

Misunderstanding her signals, Gao Qiong happily raised her ice pop and waved at her.

Fang Chuning’s expression froze. At this moment, her mind was filled with images of herself being hung up and beaten. The more arrogant she had been a moment ago, the more miserable she felt now.

After the woman entered the villa, only the mother and daughter were left. Fang Hong put her hands behind her back and smiled kindly at her, “You were quite ambitious just now.”

In front of Fang Hong, even explanations were unnecessary for her. She simply acted as if nothing had happened, lowering her head and staring blankly at her leather shoes.

In the end, even though she pretended to be obedient and pure, she couldn’t escape a beating with a rattan cane.

Even the next day at school, her back still stung painfully. However, she wasn’t as listless as before. As soon as she entered the classroom and put down her backpack, Fang Chuning felt something was a bit off.

The gazes in the classroom seemed even more focused and intense than usual, with an atmosphere of gossip permeating the air.

Until Gao Qiong came over mysteriously and said to her: “Do you know what’s being spread about you in the school now?”

Fang Chuning was drinking hot water. Hearing this, she glanced at her sideways, indicating for her to speak if she had something to say.

Gao Qiong glanced at the blushing boy sitting at the desk behind, deliberately raising her voice, “The whole school is saying that you and classmate Jiang Luoyu are dating~”

The gazes in the classroom instantly gathered towards them.

Jiang Luoyu, sitting two desks behind the girls, also became the focus. He lowered his eyelids, his face a patch of red, his hand gripping a pen and drawing circles on his book.

Fang Chuning, who was halfway through drinking her water, almost choked to death.