Chapter 37 - 37: Younger Brother
Upon recognizing him, Qiao Yin let out a sigh of relief.
She then furrowed her brows and asked, “What were you doing under my office building in the middle of the night, Qiao Jiasen? You nearly scared me to death.”
Qiao Jiasen took out a wad of cash from his pocket and stuffed it into Qiao Yin’s hand: “I’m here to pay you back.”
Qiao Yin was stunned, she looked down at the crumpled bills in her hand and asked incredulously, “Did you earn this by yourself?”
Qiao Jiasen nodded: “Yes, I got a job.”
Qiao Yin was both angry and anxious: “You’re only sixteen, just started high school. Instead of focusing on your studies, you’re working? Go back to school right now!”
“Working doesn’t interfere with my studies. I know very well that our family is bankrupt and neither mom nor dad has any money.”
“But dad suddenly had money yesterday. He paid my tuition fee and also gave me two hundred thousand for living expenses. This money, is it from you?”
“I’m planning to go to a public high school. I’ll ask the school to refund the tuition fee, and also the living expenses, I’ll give them back to you.”
Saying this, Qiao Jiasen forcefully stuffed a bank card into Qiao Yin’s hand.
Looking at her younger brother who seemed to have grown up overnight, Qiao Yin felt a sour feeling in her heart.
This half-brother of hers had always been flamboyant in the past, always wanting the best of everything. His pride was immense, to the point where he would not even address her as his older sister. As if calling her ‘sister’ would make him appear inferior by a head’s length.
To her surprise, he had gone to work. No wonder he looked so dirty.
“What happened to your head? Who hit you?”
“It’s nothing, it was just…”
“Why are you eating compressed biscuits? It has no nutrition, stop eating it.”
“Oh, I…”
“Why are you riding a bike? Where’s your Porsche?”
“It…”
“It was your grandmother’s dowry to you. Did you sell it to pay my tuition?”
Looking up at her younger brother who was now six foot tall, Qiao Yin finally smiled, “That’s right, I sold the car to pay your tuition. But it doesn’t matter. When I start making more money, I’ll buy a new one.”
She patted the back seat of the bicycle: “Get on. I’ll take you home. Look at how dirty you are. Hurry up and go home to wash up.”
But Qiao Jiasen moved her hand away, sat on the bike seat, and said in a mature voice that sounded especially deep in the night, “I’ll take you. You’re so skinny; you won’t be able handle my weight.”
Not wanting to argue with him, Qiao Yin got on the back seat, and directed him, “Go straight, make a right at the first intersection. It’s getting late. You can just stay at my place for the night. If you go home now, you’ll get scolded.” “Alright.”
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Qiao Yin cheerfully said, “You’ve grown up. You give quite a sense of security.”
“I wish to grow up sooner.”
“Qiao Jiasen.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t worry about money. You go back to school tomorrow, and you’re not allowed to work anymore. There’s no need to switch schools either; I can afford it.”
“Do you even have money left? Stop acting tough.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I make quite a bit of money now. You just focus on studying. If you don’t get into a good university, wait and see how I’ll deal with you!”
“You went to a public high school and still ended up at the top ranked Hua University. I can do the same. I don’t need to be in an international school. Besides, I don’t plan to study abroad.”
Qiao Yin agitatedly hit him, “Why don’t you listen? You attend the school I tell you to, you don’t pay tuition every day, it’s only once every six months, it’s bearable!”
Before, she had fought with their father about wanting to send her brother to a public high school.
But now that he’s being so sensible, she can’t bear to make him downgrade.
Going from a good international school to a public high school might make him the subject of his classmates’ gossip and ridicule. At sixteen, boys are at the peak of caring about appearances.
Qiao Jiasen didn’t say a word when she hit him, he just rode with her back to her apartment.
After returning and making sure that Qiao Yin indeed no longer lived with Lu Lingche, he finally asked, “Is Lu Lingche planning to divorce you?”