Chapter 495: Chapter 170: The 80s Drama Queen is Forced to Become a Top Student (5)

Sheng Leyun watched Ren Xingchen grinning foolishly and gave a silent, scornful laugh. She braced herself and forced down the bland food, stuffing a steamed bun into her stomach and downing a bowl of cornmeal mush.

Her stomach, long deprived of decent food, finally felt at ease.

"Yunyun, go do the dishes. Your dad and I have something to discuss." Lost in her thoughts about formally visiting the Lan Family tomorrow, Ren Xingchen completely forgot their current circumstances and ordered Sheng Leyun around with casual authority.

Sheng Leyun stood up, ignoring her mother. Instead, she looked at Xiao Xuezhen. "Where am I sleeping tonight?"

Xiao Xuezhen looked around. The apartment was only so big. Although the living room had been partitioned, the inner room had two small beds placed against the east and west walls. A long cabinet was placed in the middle with a bamboo curtain drawn across, creating what looked like two small, separate rooms—one for each child.

Xiao Hailan and Xiao Haiyang had been spoiled by the Lan Family since they were little and were very possessive. When the two of them first had to live here, they’d sulked for over two weeks.

’Now Hailan is supposed to share half her bed with Sheng Leyun. That girl will definitely sling her backpack over her shoulder and storm off to the Lan Family’s place in a huff!’

"I’ll go find an iron-frame bed later and set it up on the balcony. Hailan and Haiyang also live in the small rooms partitioned off from the living room. You’re all older now; you need to sleep separately."

Xiao Xuezhen said with a smile, "The balcony is connected to our bedroom. In the summer, if we install a screen, it’s cooler than inside the house. In the winter, we can put a stove out here, so it won’t get cold."

Sheng Leyun nodded and walked straight for the door.

"Stop," Xiao Xuezhen’s scalp prickled with dread. "Yunyun, where are you going?"

"Oh, I’m just a kid. I was thinking of asking the neighbors if an arrangement like Mr. Xiao’s is appropriate. After all, I’m Sheng Ying’s only daughter. Everyone knows me; I’m sure they’d be happy to help me weigh the options." Sheng Leyun stood at the door with a faint smile, one leg already over the threshold.

Xiao Xuezhen patiently explained, "Hailan and Haiyang were premature. Their health has been poor since they were little, so they can’t be exposed to drafts. Therefore..."

Sheng Leyun finished his sentence for him:

"Because I’m some tough country girl, it’s only right that I’m the one who has to suffer?"

"And what about you adults?"

Xiao Xuezhen was at a loss for words. The children couldn’t be moved. That meant the only ones who could make a sacrifice to resolve the conflict were the healthy adults.

’But he was the head of the household. He had worked so hard, pulling strings and using his connections, just to get this apartment. Now that he had a new wife, didn’t the pillar of the family—the one who worked tirelessly to support them—deserve a comfortable living environment?’

"Then what do you propose we do?" Xiao Xuezhen frowned. "Our apartment is only this big. After partitioning off two beds in the living room, there’s only enough space left to eat."

"The balcony could work. It’s already enclosed with glass. If you hang a curtain in the middle, it’s no different from a small room."

Sheng Leyun held out her hand. "I can live out here, but you’ll have to compensate me with money."

"After all, I’m young and I’ll be constantly exposed to drafts. Who knows what kind of toll that will take on my body? I might end up with rheumatism or chronic leg pain when I get older."

Ren Xingchen couldn’t take it anymore. She glared at Sheng Leyun, mortified and angry. "What is wrong with you? Do you have money on the brain? Why are you always holding out your hand asking for money?"

"Money doesn’t grow on trees! Back home, you were living in a drafty old storage room. Why are you getting so picky all of a sudden?"

"Besides, how much money did you get on the train? I haven’t even settled that score with you yet, and here you are asking for more?"

"What’s a little kid like you doing with so much money, anyway?"

"Give the money to me for safekeeping. School, food, clothes—don’t they all cost money?"

"Since you’re not the one managing the house, how could you possibly know the cost of living?"

As she spoke, Ren Xingchen lunged forward and started patting down Sheng Leyun’s clothes, trying to find where she had hidden the money.

Sheng Leyun angrily took two steps back. "What are you doing? This is my money! Why should I give it to you?"

"Isn’t it your duty as parents to provide for me?"

However, she still furiously turned all her pockets inside out. She even showed the couple her shoes, socks, and hat. Then she said sarcastically, "When I was abandoned in Anqing, how do you think I managed to catch the train on time?"

"It was because I gave every last penny I had to someone who helped me get out. They rushed me there on a bicycle, and I barely made it onto the train!"

"Or what, do you want to check my underwear, too?"

Ren Xingchen didn’t believe her, but there was indeed nowhere on Sheng Leyun’s person to hide anything. Resentful and heartbroken over the loss, she asked, "You really didn’t save a single cent?"

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