WBSGVS Chapter 137 V1

After that, the Xia parents never reached out to Qingli again.

Qingli stayed at school to continue her graduate studies. The original owner of this body had been a bright young woman—despite having little parental support in her education and coming from an area without particularly strong academic resources, she had worked hard to gain admission to the best law school in the country.

Qingli didn’t want to waste that talent. She took her time with her studies, without rushing. After all, she only had herself to support—there was no pressure.

As for her parents?

They were capable of having a second child; surely, they could manage to survive.

Weren’t they still young?

Qingli continued working as a tutor to make money. By her senior year, with fewer classes on her schedule, she was earning even more. Her teaching was effective—over the past two years, her three students had all shown significant improvement. Their parents were so impressed that they voluntarily increased her pay and even referred new clients to her, fearing she might be short on money and hoping she would keep teaching their children.

Because of this, Qingli had no financial worries about her graduate studies. She had saved enough to rent an apartment off-campus, providing a better environment for her studies.

This time, she no longer exhausted herself trying to make as much money as possible. Her life slowed down compared to her past life.

As long as she had enough money to live comfortably and a decent place to stay, that was enough. With her remaining free time, besides tutoring and school, she had plenty of opportunities to work out, play video games, meet up with gaming friends in real life, and even start dating.

Life was easy and enjoyable. Every day felt lighthearted.

Meanwhile, her roommates, who had chosen not to pursue graduate school, had already entered the workforce. They were constantly overwhelmed by their jobs, working late into the night. When they heard about Qingli’s situation, they couldn’t help but envy her.

“Ahhh! Qingli, how are you so amazing?!”

“Ugh, this just proves that having a specialized skill is important. I wanted to tutor for extra cash too, but last time, my boss brought her son to me for help with his homework, and I nearly lost my mind!”

“Hahaha… Teaching kids isn’t that easy. Qingli gets those kids to sit still and behave. I can’t even handle my five-year-old cousin!”

Qingli laughed and typed back: “I think the most important thing is to enjoy life. We only get one, after all. I don’t want to grow old and look back only to realize my entire life was spent working non-stop just to make money.”

The original owner of this body had never truly lived for herself. She had been shackled by family expectations and later by marriage. The happiest part of her life had been the first twenty years, but even then, she was financially dependent and still in school, unable to fully experience life.

She had ended up in that miserable fate simply because no one had ever told her she had other choices.

Even though she was now gone, she could still sense things—such as Qingli’s current state. Somewhere deep inside, there was a quiet sense of joy.

Though, for a while, that joy had been tinged with bitterness—especially after hearing what her father, Xia Yong, had said.

Qingli’s words left her roommates momentarily silent, but then they all agreed with her sentiment.

Still, she advised them that the first two years after graduation were critical. It was better to focus on work now and enjoy life later.

The momentary enthusiasm died down, and her roommates, resigned, returned to their work with sighs and groans.

Seeing that the chat had quieted, Qingli smiled and opened her game, settling in for a relaxing session.

Four years flew by. Qingli had now completed her graduate studies and landed a job at one of the top ten law firms in the industry.

Even as a trainee lawyer, her monthly salary was 10,000 yuan. However, that came with a workload much heavier than at an average law firm.

She could handle the pressure well, but keeping up with tutoring on the side would have been too much, so she gave up her tutoring job to focus entirely on her career.

By her third month on the job, thanks to her outstanding performance, she was promoted to a full-fledged lawyer ahead of schedule. It was September.

In those four years, Qingli never once returned to the Xia family home.

However, as their daughter, she still made a phone call home every month, checking in on their health. If she heard that Yang Qing wasn’t feeling well, she would send over supplements. Every month, she also purchased health products specifically for middle-aged and elderly people, spending about 2,000 yuan on them—her own way of contributing to their retirement.

But from start to finish, she never once acknowledged her younger brother.

That didn’t stop Xia Zhihao from trying. Whenever Qingli was on the phone with Yang Qing, he would deliberately call out to her, trying to get on her good side. Yang Qing also made attempts to bridge the gap between them.

But every time Xia Zhihao appeared, within three sentences, Qingli would hang up, making it clear how little she cared for him.

Eventually, Yang Qing gave up. By then, she had grown used to it.

Xia Yong, on the other hand, was furious. But with hundreds of kilometers separating them, there was nothing he could do about his daughter. He could only watch helplessly.

They had given birth to a daughter who refused to be controlled.

And just like they had to accept the son they had raised, they had no choice but to accept this too.

Xia Yong assumed that was the end of it. Their son was now seven and a half years old, just starting elementary school that September. Preschool had been expensive, but with primary school being part of the public education system, their financial burden had eased somewhat. By the time he finished high school, they should have saved enough for his future down payment on a house.

But barely two months into school, Xia Zhihao came home making demands.

“All my classmates take extracurricular classes! The girls learn dance, and the boys learn instruments! I don’t know anything!” Xia Zhihao tilted his head back, full of hope. “Being good at academics isn’t enough! I can’t even sing properly! The teacher wants me to perform for National Day, but I don’t know how!”

Education has changed over the years. Unlike a decade ago, children are now expected to be well-rounded. Even in their small town, most kids had been learning extracurricular skills.

In his past life, Xia Zhihao had never cared about this. He had thought not learning a talent was a good thing—it saved time.

But when he grew up, he realized how much of a difference it made.

If no one had those skills, like in Xia Qingli’s generation, then it wouldn’t matter.

But when everyone else had talents, and he was the only one who didn’t, it became glaringly obvious. Even as an adult with high test scores, he still felt humiliated by it—unable to even match up to a child.

But learning an instrument was expensive.

The Xia family simply couldn’t afford it.

Yang Qing tried to comfort him. “It’s tiring. You see them looking good on stage, but behind the scenes, it’s tough. We don’t want you to suffer. Ballet dancers even get deformed feet…”

But Xia Zhihao was no longer a child who could be fooled so easily. He shook his head firmly. “I don’t care! Mom, let me learn the piano! I want to!”

Yang Qing hesitated, forcing a strained smile. She nodded reluctantly, though her heart ached at the thought. “Alright, I’ll talk to your dad about it.”

Xia Zhihao wanted to protest—what was there to discuss? It was just a few thousand yuan a month, hardly a big deal.

But when he looked at his mother’s expression, his heart suddenly sank.

Something was off.

He had been reborn. His parents were healthier than in his previous life.

But their financial situation seemed worse.

He vaguely remembered that in his past life, after his sister got married, her dowry had been 500,000 yuan. Most of it had gone toward his father’s medical bills since they hadn’t had insurance. The remainder had allowed them to live comfortably.

But now… where was that money going to come from?

Although they had relied on the brother-in-law in the past, neither he nor his parents had ever truly experienced financial hardship. He never imagined that simply wanting to learn a new skill would put his mother in such a difficult position.

A bad feeling crept into his mind as he recalled the family’s financial situation since his rebirth. He hadn’t paid much attention before since he had always been well-fed and comfortable, but now that he thought about it carefully, he started noticing the details.