It was summer vacation, and Ji Zhaoxi actually had a part-time job: going to the racetrack to pick up bottles with tongs.
Why say "pick up with tongs" instead of just "pick up"? Because the old lady who brought her there said that picking up bottles with your hands sounded a bit miserable, but using tongs made it look professional.
That old lady was her brother's scam-buddy, and also the one who got him into it in the first place.
But the old lady was different—her family was very wealthy. For her, scamming was just a hobby, and she only scammed her son and her relatives' cars.
The old lady had real principles. She didn't want anyone's charity money; she only wanted money she earned herself, because that kind of money gave her a sense of accomplishment.
The bottle-picking-with-tongs gig at the racetrack was initially recommended to Ji Huaichuan by the old lady, but he refused to go.
He thought there was no real difference between picking up bottles by hand and using tongs—it was just that one required bending deeper, while the other only needed a slight bow of the head.
So the job was passed down to Ji Zhaoxi.
"Brother Ye's so generous, giving away cars just like that."
"Brother Ye, did Sister Ranran come back? Let's grab a meal together sometime."
"You little punk think you can eat with Sister Ranran? Get out of here."
A few guys were gathered together, still in their racing suits. The weather was unbearably hot, so they leaned against the railing, drinking water.
Suddenly, as they chatted, they felt an intense stare.
They glanced over and saw Ji Zhaoxi watching them from a short distance away, with some sort of high-tech tool beside her.
They stared for a while, unable to figure out what the tool was, and turned back around.
The guy in the middle of the group frowned, glancing at Ji Zhaoxi with an unfriendly expression.
"Yeah, she came back yesterday," the guy said in a clear, cool voice.
"Then let's get together in the next couple of days—I'll make the arrangements," another guy said excitedly.
The guy in the middle felt uncomfortable all over, because he noticed that Ji Zhaoxi had been staring at him the whole time... at the water bottle in his hand.
When the guy noticed her staring, Ji Zhaoxi gave him a polite smile.
Guy: ...
It was that smile again.
That was the exact smile she had used to scam him last time.
Was she really planning to pull a scam here at the racetrack? She sure had guts.
Ji Zhaoxi spotted a bottle nearby and picked it up professionally with her tongs.
Zhou Chiye took a look inside that high-tech tool and saw it was packed full of bottles.
He cast a calm glance at her, then shook the bottle in his hand.
Ji Zhaoxi paused for a second, then nodded.
Zhou Chiye grabbed his jacket, walked over to her, and stuffed the bottle into the tool next to her.
"Let's go."
The other guys were confused but followed suit, tossing their bottles in too.
"Damn, I thought that thing was some kind of high-tech gadget earlier. Turns out it's just for holding bottles. I was too embarrassed to ask at first—thought you guys would make fun of me."
"The track owners must be desperate for money; why not just use a regular basket?"
Ji Zhaoxi looked at the fancy bottle-collecting contraption in front of her. The old lady was right: with a high-end tool and tongs, no one would look down on you!
The old lady had also told her: "Actually, it doesn't matter if you use a beat-up basket for collecting bottles. But you're not that age yet. When you get to be my age, if anyone dares to laugh at you, just lie down on the ground, and they'll be begging you to get back up."
By "they," the old lady meant her son.
Ji Zhaoxi took those words to heart. When she got old enough, she was definitely going to try it.
"Brother Ye, are you driving that car back today?"
"Brother Ye, why does everyone buy you whatever car you want, but my dad won't buy me one?"
"Come on, can you really compare yourself to Brother Ye?"
The guys were noisy as they walked ahead.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at the car parked at the track, lost in thought. From what those guys had said, that car was insanely expensive...
She felt a little tempted.
Wasn't this exactly the trick her senior had told her about?
So she hurried up, finished collecting all the bottles at the track, then crouched at the only road everyone had to take to leave.
Cars whizzed past one after another, but she never spotted the one she remembered.
By the time it was almost dark, she finally saw her dream car.
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated at the roadside. But these cars drove way faster than ordinary ones—wouldn't it be dangerous?
Meanwhile, Zhou Chiye, not far away: ...
So she was targeting him, huh.
The car gradually slowed down, and Ji Zhaoxi took the chance to lie down on the ground.
Car horns blared nonstop, but the girl lying on the ground didn't react at all.
Zhou Chiye let out an exasperated laugh. He slammed the car door, walked straight over to Ji Zhaoxi, and stood in front of her.
"You better get up right now, or I swear I'll run you over," he said impatiently.
He thought he'd have to argue with her a bit longer, but the next second, he saw her scramble to her feet and quickly walk away.
She was so fast he barely had time to react.
Zhou Chiye: ...
At least she valued her life.
Ji Zhaoxi knew how to read the room. Last time she stayed lying down because the driver looked really nice.
This time she got up because this guy looked like he was about to punch her at any moment.
A racing car roared past behind her, and a wave of hot air hit her face.
Ji Zhaoxi choked a little and moved closer to the side of the road.
That evening, she had to go to the library to do some homework—but really, it was to take advantage of the library's air conditioning and free water.
When she arrived, Ji Huaichuan had already been sitting there for a while, so drowsy from the library's A/C that he was nodding off.
Ji Zhaoxi quickly checked the homework on his desk. Seeing that he had written less than she had, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Ji Huaichuan, watching the whole thing, twitched his mouth.
Comparing with others at school was one thing, but now she was comparing with him at home too.
Her personality was exactly like their mother's.
Their mother, Ji Fangyun, had been forced into marrying their father.
Their father wasn't a responsible man at all. All he did every day was gamble. Ji Fangyun had to work while raising two kids.
Then one day, she just couldn't take it anymore. She left them a thousand yuan and took everything she owned, running away.
Over the years, she had sent them money inconsistently—more when she had it, nothing when times were tight.
When their father lost enough gambling and tried to ask Ji Zhaoxi for money, Ji Huaichuan beat him up a few times, and that shut him up for good.
Ji Zhaoxi and Ji Huaichuan were both extremely frugal. They were still in school, and money could run out at any moment, so every single cent had to be spent wisely.
Back when Ji Fangyun was still at home, she used to stand on the balcony, staring at the high-rises across the street, and sigh: "I should have bought him life insurance. Once he got hit by a car, we three would've gotten a huge payout."
Their father overheard her one day and was terrified. But then he remembered they never had enough money for insurance and sighed in relief.
From then on, for the first time in his life, he started following traffic rules.
After all, before that, even if a crosswalk was just a few meters away, he would still recklessly dash across the road like it was his own living room.
Ji Fangyun sighed again. If he cared at all about the family, he wouldn't use the crosswalk. He would just keep crossing the street however he wanted, like before, and eventually get himself run over.
Uncle Ji's strict adherence to traffic rules finally made Ji Fangyun lose all hope.
