When one ‘worked hard’, time always seemed to pass especially fast.

Yu Qian felt like she hadn’t even shaken off the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival when, in the blink of an eye, half of the second semester of her senior year had already passed.

It was the weekend again, and Yu Qian decided to relax for a bit. She rode her bicycle alone, pedaling all the way to a park.

Finally, she parked her bike beside an artificial lake and walked to the embankment, where she sat down, wearing her Bluetooth earphones while chatting with Wang Jiajia and the others.

Fang Yan said, “Qianqian, do you still remember Zhang Qiang? He’s become famous recently. Zhang Qiang stole his dad’s stash of private money and got caught red-handed. His dad gave him a beating on the spot, and then his mom walked in on the scene and beat both father and son. His screams were even worse than a pig being slaughtered. He didn’t come to class for an entire week.” Fang Yan laughed uncontrollably over the phone, mercilessly mocking Zhang Qiang’s miserable state.

The three of them kept telling Yu Qian funny stories about recent events. With the college entrance exam approaching, they all wanted her to relax a little.

Yu Qian was laughing so hard at their stories that she had tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned her head and saw an older woman.

“Aunt, do you need something?” Yu Qian turned to the other party, her eyes still glistening with laughter-induced tears.

The woman hesitated, looking cautious as she said, “Young Lady, sitting here is too dangerous. You should get up quickly.”

Yu Qian looked around, confused. Though her feet were dangling over the edge, the spot where she sat was completely safe.

“Thank you, Aunt. I’ll sit for a little longer and then leave.” Yu Qian replied politely before turning back to her conversation.

She continued chatting with her friends, laughing so hard that she felt like even her nose was about to run. Quickly, she reached into her pocket for a tissue.

As she pulled one out, her pinky accidentally caught on her phone strap, yanking the phone out with it.

The phone was about to fall. In a panic, Yu Qian reached out to grab it. She managed to catch her phone— but the next thing she knew, she was falling into the water.

Even after sitting in the police station, Yu Qian still hadn’t processed what had happened.

“I told you, I really didn’t try to commit suicide.” Yu Qian sat in a chair, looking aggrieved as the policewoman across from her patiently tried to console her.

She had fallen into the water, but since she couldn’t swim, she had been struggling desperately. Just when she thought she was done for, someone lifted her up from the water.

Barely rescued, she was about to thank her savior when she heard a familiar voice say, “Officer, I’m telling you, this young lady is having a breakdown. She’s so young, yet already thinking of suicide.”

Before Yu Qian could defend herself, the police had brought her to the station for a lecture on mental health and self-care.

“Officer, I really wasn’t trying to kill myself. I was just sitting there chatting with my friends, and my phone slipped. I fell in while trying to retrieve it.” Yu Qian tried her best to make the policewoman see the sincerity in her eyes.

The officer asked, “Then why did the lady say you were talking to yourself, crying and laughing alone?”

Yu Qian replied, “I was wearing Bluetooth earphones!” It’s just that her hair had been down, completely covering them.

The officer pressed on, “Then where are your earphones now?”

Yu Qian: “……” They fell into the water, wuuwuuwuu.

No matter how much Yu Qian explained, the policewoman continued to look at her with a gaze that said, ‘Why are you so troubled, young lady?’
For over twenty minutes, Yu Qian sat through a life lesson about cherishing life and staying optimistic. It was only after she swore, for the nth time, that she would never give up on herself and would focus on studying hard and becoming a model citizen, that the policewoman finally let her off.

However……

Why did she still need a family member to pick her up?!

Yu Qian looked at the righteous policewoman with silent despair. How could she let her mother come get her? Her mother would probably be scared sick!

As for anyone else…… The only person whose number she remembered and who could come pick her up was ‘him’.

────ρя

Please only read this translation at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m to support the translator

At the Jiang family’s house.

Jiang Zheng sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun while aimlessly playing on his phone. Suddenly, an unfamiliar landline number popped up. He frowned at it, and after letting the phone ring three times, he finally picked up.

“Hello.” Jiang Zheng answered.

“Hello, is this Jiang Zheng?” The person on the other end asked.

“Speaking.” Jiang Zheng replied.

The other party said, “Your younger sister fell into the water and was rescued. She is currently at the police station on Jinjiang Road—”

“Did she die? If not, can you please push her back in? I’d rather not have anyone competing with me for inheritance.” Jiang Zheng said cleanly and hung up the phone.

Scammers these days don’t even bother doing their homework. He only has a younger brother. Where did this supposed sister come from?

Jiang Zheng glanced at his little brother, who was playing with legos not far away, and sneered.

────ρя


At the police station, the officer who had made the call looked at Yu Qian suspiciously. “You didn’t just give us a random number, did you?”

Yu Qian, who had heard everything, was on the verge of tears. She could only weakly explain, “He’s my stepfather’s son.”

The officer immediately connected the dots. Considering the words spoken over the phone, she instantly imagined an intense battle for family inheritance and looked at Yu Qian with sympathy.

Yu Qian forced a smile and said, “Could you try calling again? This time, please tell him my name directly. He wouldn’t dare ignore me then.”

Even she felt uncertain, and she could only pray that Jiang Zheng would answer the call.

────ρя


Jiang Zheng glared at the ringing phone. Seriously? These scammers don’t know when to quit.
Irritated, he picked up, ready to curse the caller out, but before he could speak, the officer on the other end said, “Is your younger sister named Yu Qian? She’s wearing a yellow knitted dress……”

Yu Qian?!

She was indeed wearing a yellow dress when she went out today. He had seen her from upstairs and had even thought about complimenting her for looking pretty.

How had she ended up in the water? And why was she at the police station now?

Jiang Zheng panicked. He shot up from his chair, grabbed his car keys, and sprinted out the door.

────ρя


Back at the station, both Yu Qian and the officer finally let out a sigh of relief after confirming contact.

Half an hour later, a Bugatti screeched to a halt in front of the police station, drawing the attention of several officers.

Jiang Zheng jumped out of the driver’s seat and stormed inside.

“Yu Qian!” He shouted the moment he entered.

Hearing his voice, Yu Qian quickly stood up and waved at him from the entrance.

Jiang Zheng saw that, though she looked a bit of a mess, she seemed to be in good spirits. Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.