“I know I’m not pretty. But I can still do streaming and sing!”
Jing Xi was not going to be a pretty streamer. But her voice was charming. It was not as clear as it used to be. But it was husky and sexy.
“No way! Your singing sucks. Don’t try scaring your audience!”
Jin Hua’s eyes swept her up and down while she said harshly, “I bet you won’t have a single fan if you do streaming. Your face looks as scary as Zhong Kui. How could you even think of streaming? Go sell your seafood!” [1]
Jing Xi said nothing further and went upstairs to her attic.
It was freezing in winter and steaming hot in summer. But it had been her little dwelling for two years.
No matter how harsh her foster mother or sister was on her, she had her own way to get cheered up.
She just needed to take a few deep breaths facing the vast ocean outside her window.
And keep telling herself that it was her foster father who had saved her life. Whatever she suffered now was merely paying back his kindness.
The one who endured the worst deserved the best.
Jin Xiaoxi, keep it up!
But then she was shocked when opening her drawer. It had been rummaged through.
She organized her things very well every day. But they were in a mess now.
She got nervous and reached inside for her ring.
Oh no!
Her ring was gone!
She was told that she had been wearing the cloud-shaped ring when they found her two years ago. It might be helpful to figure out who she was.
She kept it in the back corner of the drawer. How could it go missing?
Jing Xi suddenly realized something. She rushed downstairs and kicked the door open. “Sister, did you touch my things in the drawer upstairs?”
Jin Hua was putting on some lipstick when she was shocked and the line was drawn directly toward her ear. Being annoyed, she scolded, “Hey! See what you’ve done! Don’t you know how to knock? What are you talking about? How could I be interested in your rubbish? I’d never go to your attic!”
Jing Hua did seem innocent. Jing Xi ran further down and saw her worthless foster brother Jin Tiao coming in. “Brother, did you take my ring?”
The foppish Jin Tiao answered impatiently with his hands in his pockets, “Yup, so what?”
“Where is my ring now? Give it back to me!” Jing Xi shouted in rage.
Jin Tiao was already thirty-five and had never had a proper job. He indulged himself in gambling and swept the house for anything valuable whenever he was out of money.
Jing Xi tried to hide her ring so well. But he still found it.
“I already sold it and lost the money in gambling. I can’t give you nothing now!”
Jin Tiao shrugged and seemed certain that Jing Xi could do nothing to him.
Jing Xi got extremely angry and darted downstairs to kick him in the face.
Jin Tiao was caught unprepared. He was thrown into a fish waste bin on the side, and got fish blood all over him.
When he managed to get up, he cursed, “How dare you, Jin Xiaoxi! How dare you! You crazy bitch!”
“I am indeed crazy. You’d better go get my ring back. Otherwise, I’ll go after you!”
Jing Xi had never gotten into a fight with anyone in this house so far. She tried her best to put up with them. But what he did today was intolerable.
She could even have killed him for stealing her only identification.
“I’m never bringing it back to you!”
Upon saying so Jin Tiao fled as quickly as he could.
…
Endnote:
[1] Zhong Kui is the scary ghost-catching god in ancient Chinese tales.
