This summer was hotter than any summer before.
Xiao Die was successfully admitted to A University, but she was still worried about tuition and living expenses.
Lu Na's uncle paid her wages for this month. To save money, Xiao Die ate pickled vegetables and steamed buns every day.
Sometimes she envied her best friend Lu Na, who never had to worry about survival. Right now, her best friend was vacationing in Bali with her boyfriend.
She had once been her parents' little princess, too.
She remembered how, no matter how hard her father worked, he would always come home and cook a big meal for her. And every birthday, her mother would personally bake an exquisite birthday cake for her.
When she was little, Xiao Die would sit in front of the television watching anime.
She loved Digimon. Her wish was to grow up and become a refined office worker, and to raise a blue cat even cuter than a Digimon.
Just as she was sinking into her memories, a burst of knocking shattered the quiet of the night.
"It's so late. Who is it?"
"It's me, Auntie Li."
"Auntie Li, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow. It's not safe this late."
"I've come to bring you money. A relative of yours said she could only have the tuition delivered to you late at night."
Xiao Die opened the door. Auntie Li stood there in her pajamas, holding a bank card.
"Auntie Li, are you sure you haven't run into a scammer? How could some relative of mine be giving me money?"
"Xiao Die, this relative of yours was helped by your father years ago. She said she absolutely must repay your father's kindness, so she asked me to give you this bank card. If you think it's a scam, you can verify it yourself. My only job was to deliver the card. Whether you report it to the police or look into it, that's up to you."
"Alright, leave it with me. I'll look into it tomorrow."
Xiao Die accepted the card—not because she was greedy, but because everything that had happened recently had forced her to re-examine her own life.
Her job at the bubble tea shop had come to an end. After breakfast, Xiao Die went to the bank. First, she used the ATM to check the card's balance with the password written on a note attached to it.
She had braced herself, but when she saw the number on the screen, she was still stunned. The bank card Auntie Li had given her held a full ten million in cash.
Xiao Die hurried to the counter to verify. The clerk said it was indeed her bank card—both her identity information and name matched.
This is truly strange. Could this be some new kind of scam?
Xiao Die decided to report it to the police, but just then her phone rang.
"Xiao Die, did you receive the bank card?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm your mother. Your biological mother. Su Yue, chairwoman of BR Group."
"If you and Wen Nan are trying to set me up, then everything makes sense now. You're a banker—why would you do something so despicable!"
"Xiao Die, I'm your mother. How could I ever harm you? I heard my daughter was working herself to the bone outside, and that she'd gotten into A University but had no money for tuition or living expenses. I just want to take care of my own daughter."
"Don't make me sick. Nobody wants to be the daughter of someone like you—except that despicable Wen Nan."
"Xiao Die, I know losing you when you were little was my fault. But I've been living with that guilt for so many years. Now that I've finally found you, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to my little princess."
"If you really want to make it up to me, then take this card back. I don't need charity from someone like you. I can find my own way to pay for tuition and living expenses."
"Xiao Die, I'll come see you tonight."