Chapter 2: Resuming an Old Profession

Si Chenli appeared completely unfazed, his face not reddening nor his heart skipping a beat as he lied, "No."

Sang Qiao: "?" That can't be right. This man looks to be, rounding up, only thirty years old. No Alipay is one thing, but not even a bank card???

Her grandmother in her sixties had one!

Just as Sang Qiao was racking her brain about how to repay the money without letting him find out that the person he saved was the ungrateful wretch from back then.

Suddenly, a figure walked away from the entrance of the ward, "Is the little girl awake? Brother Li, aren't we going back?"

"Do you know him?" Sang Qiao's eyes lit up as if she had seen hope.

This young man looked quite young. He couldn't possibly be without Alipay, could he?

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do you have Alipay?"

"Yes, I do."

"That's great. I'll transfer the medical expenses to you, and then you can transfer them to your friend," Sang Qiao said straightforwardly.

Si Jing was just about to nod in agreement when he felt the cold air constantly emanating from his side. Turning his head, he met Brother Li's intimidating gaze.

He blurted out in a hurry, "No... no good! My Alipay is broken, it can't receive money!"

"Alipay can break too?" Sang Qiao's mouth twitched slightly, hearing this absurd manner of refusal for the first time.

"…Anyway, it's just not possible. You guys work it out yourselves, I'll wait outside," Si Jing dropped this remark and went bustling out the door, heading far from this land of trouble.

He realized that as long as Sang Qiao was around, he couldn't be. Otherwise, he'd be done for.

"Does your friend have some kind of unspeakable secret?" Sang Qiao's expression spoke volumes.

"He has issues." Seeing the little girl's distressed face, Si Chenli couldn't help but let out a low chuckle, tapping his temple with his long fingers.

Si Jing, sneaking peeks at the doorway: "…"

Seeing it was about time, Si Chenli did not tease the little girl any longer and stated his intention, "Leave your phone number. I'll contact you when I'm free."

"Sure." Sang Qiao nodded. The phone number was a good idea. Why hadn't she thought of it at the start? She had never had any contact with Si Chenli through this number.

Once she had repaid the money, there would be no further contact between them. Even if she was recognized, it wouldn't matter!

If Si Chenli was ever in trouble in the future, she would also step forward from the shadows to repay him for saving her life!

But as for recognition, let's forget about that; after all, their "past" wasn't so sweet.

After saving her number, the man turned and walked out the door, leaving the hospital.

His steps abruptly paused, then he turned and instructed, "Have the servants deliver meals three times a day, let the nurse give them to her, and arrange for several nurses to take care of her. Don't let her notice anything is off until she is fully recovered and discharged."

"...No problem." After the Alipay incident just now, Si Jing was no longer surprised by Brother Li's concern for Sang Qiao.

He knew well that talking too much often led to trouble.

Better he kept his mouth shut.

-

-

Sang Qiao stayed in the hospital for over ten days. The Sang Family never came to visit, not even a phone call or text message, but as soon as her grandmother learned of her car accident, she hurried over to take care of her.

Seeing an elderly person toil for her, Sang Qiao was moved.

On the day of her discharge, her grandmother heaved a long sigh. "I know about the Sang Family's situation. It will be hard for you if you go back. If you think it through, you might as well come stay with me. Don't feel embarrassed; I'm old and don't know how much longer I have. I enjoy having my children around me. Besides, if you live beside me, I can look after you if anything happens."

"Grandma, I'll go back with you." Sang Qiao knew the situation at her grandmother's home. Her grandmother's son and daughter-in-law were busy with work all day and hardly ever came home.

The only granddaughter who rebelled and refused to be controlled often gave her grandmother headaches, who had to search for her late at night.

"Good, good, good, that's a good child."

The two took a cab back to the Su Family's place, which had a very luxurious villa, but it still fell a bit short compared to the Sang Family's estate.

A delinquent girl sat on the sofa, her face heavily made up with smoky makeup, sporting green hair and a large floral tattoo on her arm, her clothes decidedly non-mainstream.

"Xingxing, this is your cousin, she'll be living with us from now on, you two should get along well."

"Oh, I'm heading out." Su Nuanying hastily applied her double eyelid stickers, seeming indifferent about everything, and then, grabbing her mesh bag, she left the house.

"Xingxing, where are you off to again? Aren't you going to school?" the grandmother called after her retreating figure.

Su Nuanying walked away without turning her head, and no one knew if she hadn't heard or simply didn't care to respond.

"Ah, this child is just like this, it's not that she's unwelcoming to you, she's the same with her dad and mom, probably just adolescent rebelliousness," the grandmother said with a heavy sigh.

She couldn't control this child, and her son and daughter-in-law weren't coming back, their eyes only on their jobs.

What use was an old woman guarding such a large home?

"I understand, Grandma, don't think too much about it, everyone has a time in their lives when things don't make sense, once Xingxing figures it out, she'll stop rebelling."

Sang Qiao said to comfort her, the latter part of her statement referring not just to Xingxing, but to herself as well…

"Madam, the room you asked me to clean up is ready, Miss Sang Qiao can move in right away."

"Okay, ask the kitchen to prepare some delicious food, we need to take good care of Qiaoqiao's health."

"Alright."

After Aunt Li headed off to the kitchen, the granddaughter and grandmother sat on the sofa, one watching TV and the other playing with a phone.

Sang Qiao opened her agent's WeChat and sent over a "rose for the beauty" sticker.

Ah He: "Qiao, are you thinking of getting back into the old game?"

"Yes!"

Ah He: "Can you take a call right now?"

"I can."

She had just finished replying when the agent's call came straight through, "Sang Qiao, back when I tried so hard to persuade you to focus on your acting you wouldn't listen, when you quit the industry you were almost criticized by the whole internet, now thinking you can get good scripts so easily is naïve."

Sang Qiao pondered for a moment; at the height of her career, she had taken the blame for Sang Jiao due to her brothers' advice, which earned her a barrage of public scorn and eventually, they persuaded her to leave the industry.

They said that there was no need for a Sang Family heiress to be an actress and embarrass herself.

In contrast, Sang Jiao took advantage of the younger Sang Qiao's fame, and with significant backing from the elder brother's entertainment company and a torrent of resources, she finally gained some recognition.

She couldn't help but want to laugh—was it she who embarrassed herself by acting, or was it that they feared Sang Jiao would always be one step behind her?

Mind you, Sang Jiao's face was sculpted to look just like hers.

"I know, but I've never lacked the courage to start over."

Hearing her confident words, Ah He didn't pour cold water on her plans, knowing full well that Sang Qiao always had the talent but was too swayed by family ties before.

"Alright, I'll help you, but you have to understand that without fame the company might not be interested in signing you again."

"I'm planning to start my own entertainment company and sign myself," Sang Qiao said with composure.

"Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how much money it takes to start a company!!!"

"I know, but I do have a bit of money."

"…Sang Qiao, could it be that you're not the biological daughter of the Sang Family, which is why they treat you so badly, not giving you a dime, and your real biological parents might be from some place even wealthier than the Sang Family?"