"Stupid brother!" Jiang Chuling was so angry she wanted to pinch someone. Just then, the elevator door opened, and Jiang Linzhi strode out quickly, getting into his car in the underground garage nearby. "Go to bed early, little one. Kids who don't sleep won't grow tall."
"What about you?" Jiang Chuling asked urgently.
"I have things to do tomorrow, so of course I'm not going back."
Watching her brother's car drive away, Jiang Chuling pouted and got into her own car, muttering, "Let's see what big thing you're up to."
Before getting in, Jiang Chuling asked, "Sister Xiaoqiu, did you give him the money?"
"It's on the tissue box on the coffee table. The Eldest Young Master is sure to see it soon enough."
The tissue box was light yellow, a bit similar to kraft paper in color, not too noticeable at first glance, but anyone reaching for a tissue would spot it immediately—a perfect spot.
"Good."
Qiuyun added promptly, "I just scheduled a withdrawal on mobile banking. I'll deliver the cash to the Eldest Young Master tomorrow."
Jiang Chuling nodded. "I'm going hiking with Mom tomorrow, so I'll leave it to you. Thanks for your trouble."
"Miss Jiang, you're too kind. It's my duty."
The next day.
Madam Jiang and Miss Jiang left early in the morning. Qiuyun got up at her usual time, helped Fang and Yuan with some housework, then took her bank card and headed out.
Qiuyun took the inner loop shuttle to the estate's side gate, then switched to the outer loop shuttle to reach the main road.
Having come to this new world over a month ago, this was her first time going out alone, seeing firsthand this modern society of towering skyscrapers and bustling traffic.
It really was vastly different.
Before taking care of business, Qiuyun found a dessert shop nearby and ordered a few beautifully presented little cakes, eating them quietly.
Before long, a young man rushed over, drenched in sweat and his clothes dusty.
"Sis, where have you been all this time? I was so worried!"
The boy had been doing some kind of manual labor, tanned much darker than in her memory, but he also looked leaner, with a bit of muscle starting to form.
"I found a pretty good job. What about you? Why are you all messy?" Qiuyun pushed the half-eaten desserts toward him.
Qiu Ze was fifteen this year, just graduated from middle school, at that age where a growing boy eats like a horse. He took the treats his sister offered and wolfed them down.
"I'm hauling bricks at a construction site! Sis, you said you liked this perfume last time, so I bought it for you." Excitedly, Qiu Ze pulled a perfume box out of his bag.
Qiuyun took the perfume and sighed.
This was exactly why she had blocked their parents but kept this silly younger brother in her life.
If the feudal mindset of the Jiang family patriarch was comparable to a scholar-official, strict in ritual and propriety, then the parents of the Qiu family were like ancient tenant farmers.
They didn't favor sons over daughters—they were purely selfish.
The original Qiuyun had been a beauty since childhood. Her parents had long planned to use their daughter for a bride price, thinking her beauty would snag a wealthy man. They nagged her daily on how to latch onto a rich suitor, which unsurprisingly turned her into a vain, materialistic person.
As for their usual preference for a son, it was all about face. Having a son at home was like a nuclear deterrent—enough just to have one. As for how to raise him? Should a fifteen-year-old still be in school? That wasn't important.
Thus, with a beautiful daughter like the original Qiuyun, they taught their son from a young age to be good to his sister, so that later he could feast off his brother-in-law, use his brother-in-law's resources, and take his brother-in-law's money to support his in-laws—old-age security through the son.
But little did they know, young Qiu Ze had no understanding of "brother-in-law" or "in-laws." He only remembered to be good to his sister.
Rushing over on a hot day, the perfume had slightly evaporated in the heat—even through the sealed plastic bag, the packaging box, and the glass bottle, a faint floral scent could be smelled.
Seeing he seemed very hungry and that desserts weren't filling, Qiuyun took him to a nearby Chinese restaurant instead.
"I thought you should be in school. Why are out hauling bricks?" she asked.
At this, Qiu Ze flushed red. After taking a deep breath, he said through gritted teeth, "Mom and Dad set me up with some woman and said they want me to give them a grandson!"
"...What?" Qiuyun was dumbfounded.
Qiu Ze fumed, "It was Auntie from my father's eldest brother and Auntie from his second brother. They told Mom and Dad that since the first try failed, they should start a new one. They couldn't have one themselves, so they want me to do it!"
A fifteen-year-old boy—back in her original time, that would be early. Most people didn't start matchmaking until after seventeen or eighteen, and many married in their early twenties.
Those who married young usually did so for reasons like ritual somber affairs or fulfilling promises. In more refined families, even after marriage, the young pair would be kept separate until they reached a proper age to consummate, to avoid harm and disturbance.
"Don't pay it any mind," Qiuyun said darkly. "The law sets the minimum marriage age for men at twenty-two, and it forbids arranged and mercenary marriages, and any interference in marital freedom."
Ha, girls sold for bride prices and boys for continuing the family line—the purpose of having children was very clear for those parents.
Qiu Ze's eyes sparkled, and he unconsciously acted spoiled with his sister. "I knew you'd definitely help me! You're on my side!"
Seeing her brother's smiling, curved eyes, Qiuyun summed him up in modern internet slang as a "sister-con."
"Quit the brick-hauling job. You're too young. There are plenty of other things you could do," Qiuyun said with a frown.
Qiu Ze hesitated ruefully, "But sis, I ran away from home without telling them. I don't have much money... and I'm not eighteen yet. I don't know where I can go besides the construction site."
"Go to school."
Qiu Ze's face fell, and he whined, "Give me a break, sis. You know I'm not even as good as you at school."
"..." Qiuyun rubbed her forehead.
She had forgotten—the original Qiuyun and her brother had perfectly inherited their parents' genes: a pair of dimwits.
Qiuyun steadied herself. Since her soul had accidentally taken over the body of the deceased original, she might as well show some kindness and help the only one in this world who thought of her and missed her—her foolish little brother.
—A minor out of school, what job could he do?
Qiuyun opened her phone and started asking on various platforms.
On Baidu, suggestions said he could become an apprentice in cooking, auto repair, hairdressing, baking, or other trades.
Qiuyun checked the wages. Too low, and they required years of commitment and talent.
She switched to Weibo, which offered both offline options and online skill monetization—learning graphic design, short video editing, and so on.
But thinking about her brother, who could barely get through nine years of compulsory education, such technically demanding work was out.
Switching to another platform, which had a lot of female idol fans, the first result was "become a rapper."
Right, there was an advantage in low education—college grads who became rappers were already at a cultural disadvantage. High pay—a single music festival could bring in six-figure income.
The job content was simple and easy: eat, drink, enjoy life, and sing a few songs.
Qiuyun stroked her chin. She remembered that Qiu Ze sang pretty well.
At the end of the post, there was a little tip: though good-looking guys usually become idols; it's only the ugly or older ones who stick around as rappers.
