Pampered By My Fake Boyfriend's Brother
Chapter 122: The Cost?

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: The Cost?

Shi Qing reached out her hand and trembled as she wiped the dust off the photo with two fingers.

As she wiped more and more cleanly, Shi Chu’s photo gradually became clearer.

The girl in the photo had a simple ponytail, and there seemed to be a hint of subtle melancholy between her brows. The corners of her mouth lifted into a slight smile. Although the photo showed Shi Chu smiling, upon closer inspection, one could feel that her smile was merely perfunctory, not truly happy from the heart.

In Shi Qing’s memory, Shi Chu was sometimes warm, sometimes quiet...

Shi Qing grew up under the careful care of her sister.

As for her parents, Shi Qing had little affection for them. When Shi Qing was still young, they became addicted to gambling. They argued about money for most of their lives. After Shi Qing’s father passed away, Shi Qing’s mother became even more unscrupulous with gambling, often borrowing money outside. At a young age, Shi Chu took on the burden of the family. Despite her excellent grades, she was forced by her mother to work and pay off gambling debts right after high school.

At that time, Shi Qing was boarding at school and wasn’t very clear about many things at home. She only found out later that her sister hadn’t gone to college.

Shi Qing remembered the year she took the college entrance exams; many classmates’ parents would bring nutritional supplements to their children after school. Shi Qing knew her family wasn’t well-off, and her mother didn’t care about her. When she envied others, Shi Chu would, without fail, bring pork rib and corn soup, or chicken soup, to school every week during her sister’s final high school year... From then on, Shi Qing never envied others again, and her lost heart was instantly filled by her sister.

Later, through her own efforts, Shi Qing finally got into T University.

Shi Qing’s mother wanted to repeat the process, forcing Shi Qing to give up her studies and make her work to earn money. Shi Qing, still young, was immersed in her studies every day. Her mother suddenly forbade her from studying, causing Shi Qing to feel unprecedented fear and confusion. It was at this time that Shi Chu stood up. Shi Chu took her mother to the bedroom for a private talk, and when they came out, Shi Qing stood by the dining table in the living room, her eyelashes trembling as she awaited her mother’s decision. Unexpectedly, her selfish mother agreed to let Shi Qing continue her university studies.

Shi Qing still doesn’t know how her sister convinced their mother, but she is sure that her sister must have paid some kind of price to make their mother compromise.

Ever since her sister died, only her mother knows the truth of the matter. Shi Qing once asked her, but got no answers.

Drawing away from her memories, Shi Qing leaned her head against the tombstone. The cold touch didn’t make her move away, but instead, she felt a trace of warmth, as if that way she could be a little closer to her sister.

"Sister, was living in this family very tiring for you?"

The answer she received was a clear sky, a gentle breeze, and silence!

"Perhaps, for us, dying is happier than living!"

Just as Shi Qing despairingly uttered this sentence, a gust of breeze swept by, blowing ashes from the ground into Shi Qing’s eyes, blurring her vision and making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Shi Qing reached out to rub her eyes, feeling slightly better afterward.

In the next moment, she sat up straight, maintaining a kneeling posture, gazing intently at the photo on the tombstone, and murmured, "Sister, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned death. You definitely want me to live well, don’t you?" That’s why you turned into the wind and clouded my eyes!

After she finished speaking, the surroundings returned to their quietness, as if that breeze had never blown.

The affairs of the world are sometimes so miraculous.

"Sister, I will continue to strive to live..."

"Will you wait for me in heaven? I want to reincarnate with you in the next life. I’ll be your sister next time, to protect you well!"

Shi Qing, unable to hold back her tears, bowed down, propped her hands on the cement ground, feeling the stinging pain in her palms. She had no reaction, and only left when she was too exhausted from crying.

Exiting the cemetery, standing at the gate, the familiar car was still parked there. The driver got out, opened the rear car door directly, respectfully yet politely saying, "Please get in!" He said with a blank expression.

Shi Qing adjusted her emotions, her tear-red eyes were obscured by glasses, making it hard to see clearly, yet the aura of despondency around her was striking.

Standing three meters away, Shi Qing looked at the unfamiliar driver. She slowly walked forward, "Thank you." Then she got into the car.

Upon hearing her words, the driver nodded slightly and quickly went to the driver’s seat.

"Please take me to Qingyun Road." Before the driver could speak, Shi Qing already stated the destination.

"Alright."

Along the way, Shi Qing’s eyes gradually became clear.

Arriving at Qingyun Road, Shi Qing looked at the driver before getting out, "Thank your boss for me."

The driver nodded.

Shi Qing stood at the roadside, watching the driver drive away gradually, before retracting her gaze.

What exactly is An Yin’s relationship with the driver’s "boss"? Shi Qing wasn’t curious; she only understood one thing, An Yin is as pure and kind as her sister!

With heavy steps, she walked slowly towards home.

Over the years, she rarely went home, preferring to work outside during holidays to make money rather than return to this heartless home.

Traversing the bumpy cement roads, passing through narrow alleys, she reached the edge of the city. A small, two-story dilapidated building was her home.

Her home was originally large, but after her parents became addicted to gambling, they sold half the house. Later, they sold it again, until only a small portion remained that couldn’t fetch a high price, only then did her parents stop.

Reaching downstairs, she took out the house key from under the mud-stained carpet at the entrance.

Shi Qing had known since childhood where her mother hid the keys.

Opening the rusty iron door, it was dark inside. If it wasn’t for the light filtering through the door, Shi Qing wouldn’t have been able to see anything inside.

In the center was a wooden dining table, covered with lots of instant noodle boxes, tissues, cigarette boxes...

The floor she stepped on had originally been white tiles but had now turned earth-colored. Various types of garbage were piled up in the corners.

Shi Qing withdrew her gaze and reached out to flip the switch, but the light didn’t turn on.

Without thinking, Shi Qing could guess there was no electricity. Closing the front door of the house, she walked inside the dim room, confidently heading to the staircase and went upstairs.

Arriving at her mother’s bedroom door, she stood outside and reached out to knock.

Inside, Shi Mama was sleeping soundly. Hearing the knocking, she turned over the thin quilt with displeasure, wearing only a flimsy nightgown. Sitting up, she seemed to perform a face change, pulling a smile on her face. Then, towards the door, in an overly coquettish voice, she said, "Hey you, since when did you become so polite, knocking on the door, pretending for whom..."