90: Chapter 91 Su Xiaoxiao - I Really Need Money

Su Xiaoxiao's face flushed bright red. She opened her mouth, then closed it, and finally, in a fit of self-abandonment, grabbed the pillow from the head of the bed and clutched it to her chest: "Because I can see that you aren't a fool!"

Her voice suddenly took on a hint of a sob, "Do men like you lack beautiful women around them? What... what do I have to compete with them?"

Jiang Jing was stunned. Su Xiaoxiao's expression at this moment was like a different person compared to the effortless flirting from before.

"So you think..." Jiang Jing slowly moved closer to her, "that I would agree to such an outrageous asking price?"

"I don't know!" Su Xiaoxiao shouted suddenly, then immediately shrank her shoulders as if frightened by her own outburst, "I just... just..."

Her gaze uncontrollably swept over Jiang Jing's face—that high, straight nose bridge, the perfectly defined jawline, and those eyes that had made her heart race at the very first glance.

As a looks-obsessed person, she had seen too many greasy men who called themselves handsome, but Jiang Jing's looks would be top-tier even in the entertainment industry.

"Just what?" Jiang Jing reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her to look directly at him.

Su Xiaoxiao threw caution to the wind: "Just wanted to try, what if you happen to be into my type and agreed..."

Jiang Jing couldn't help but chuckle at Su Xiaoxiao's words, almost laughing out loud. What the hell, "into my type."

"That phone call," Jiang Jing suddenly changed the subject, "who was that from?"

Su Xiaoxiao's body stiffened, then she forced herself to remain calm: "It's... it's nothing, just a telemarketing call."

Jiang Jing's gaze fell on the phone she was clutching tightly. The screen was still lit, displaying an unread message: […Surgery fees…]

Jiang Jing only saw the words "surgery fees," but these three words alone made him keenly aware that something was wrong.

Jiang Jing's brain whirred. Combining Su Xiaoxiao's abnormal behavior and the zero charging records shown by the system, a possibility surfaced—she needed money, a lot of money, and not for luxury goods.

"Five hundred thousand..." Jiang Jing deliberately repeated the number, observing her reaction, "Are you sure that's enough?"

Su Xiaoxiao snapped her head up, a flash of surprise in her eyes: "You... how did you..."

"How did I know it wasn't enough?" Jiang Jing chuckled, "Guessed."

Su Xiaoxiao's lips trembled. She wanted to say it wasn't enough, but that would undoubtedly shatter her last glimmer of hope.

"Just five hundred thousand." Her voice was very firm.

Jiang Jing didn't answer immediately. He leisurely buttoned his shirt, his inner thoughts completely unreadable.

Su Xiaoxiao stared at Jiang Jing's face, waiting for his answer; every second of silence felt as long as a century.

"I..." She had just opened her mouth to make one final push for herself, but Jiang Jing suddenly stood up.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said briefly, turning toward the bathroom, "Think clearly about whether you really want to do this. Give me your answer when I come out."

The moment the bathroom door closed, Su Xiaoxiao collapsed onto the bed as if all her bones had been removed.

She bit her lip hard to keep from crying out. Her phone vibrated again; it was Dr. Chen again: [The latest test results are out. If the surgery isn't performed as soon as possible, the risks will be even greater.]

Su Xiaoxiao buried her face in her palms, her trembling body seemingly weeping in silence.

How was she supposed to explain? Was she supposed to tell Jiang Jing that she wasn't the type of woman who was greedy for money? That she wasn't the kind of woman who would sell herself just for money?

But... she really did approach him for money. Although Jiang Jing's looks made her feel favorably towards him, it was undeniable that her starting point was still for the money.

Su Xiaoxiao squeezed her eyes shut. In her mind, she pictured the mottled old building of the orphanage and the kind but haggard face of Director Mother.

—"Xiaoxiao, remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter in the future, you must always live with integrity." When she was little, Director Mother always taught her this.

Su Xiaoxiao was an orphan; she didn't even know who her biological parents were. She grew up in an orphanage where conditions were simple; the children's clothes were donated, and the meals were always watery and bland.

But even so, Director Mother had never mistreated any of the children.

She remembered when she was ten, she had a high fever and was delirious. The orphanage didn't have enough money to send her to a big hospital, so Director Mother stayed by her bedside all night, wiping her body over and over with cold towels until her fever went down.

"Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid, Mother is here." Back then, she really thought the director was her mother.

But later, when she grew up, she realized that Director Mother had never married and didn't have any children of her own. She had dedicated her entire life to these homeless children.

Su Xiaoxiao wasn't cut out for studying; she started working after graduating from high school. She had been a waitress, handed out flyers, and even worked as an online store model, but the money she earned was barely enough to support herself.

It wasn't until later that she discovered her figure was popular in the live-streaming industry, and she finally had a stable income.

It wasn't that she hadn't thought about finding a proper job, but she had no education, no background, and rarely even got the chance for an interview. Although live-streaming was looked down upon, at least it allowed her to save money and occasionally send some back to the orphanage.

She had originally thought that life would just continue on in this dull way. Until— "Sister Xiaoxiao, Director Mother... is sick." That day, she received a call from a child at the orphanage, whose voice was filled with sobs. "The doctor said... it's a malignant tumor..."

Her world collapsed in that instant.

When Su Xiaoxiao arrived at the hospital, Director Mother was lying on the hospital bed, her face terrifyingly pale. She had lost a lot of weight, her eye sockets were sunken, and she had lost more than half of her hair due to chemotherapy. But when she saw Su Xiaoxiao come in, she still tried hard to squeeze out a smile. "Xiaoxiao, why are you here? Isn't work busy?"

Su Xiaoxiao's tears fell immediately. "Mother..." she called out with a sob, rushing to the bedside and gripping Director Mother's hand tightly.

Although Director Mother's expression was quite haggard, she still tried to squeeze out a smile, not wanting to worry Su Xiaoxiao. But her pale face only stung Su Xiaoxiao's heart even more.

Su Xiaoxiao told Director Mother to focus on treatment, but the medical expenses weighed on her like a mountain. Chemotherapy, targeted drugs, hospitalization fees... the money she had saved over the years was gone in less than two months.

She begged everyone she knew, but some of the children she had grown up with simply blocked her, some perfunctorily said "wait a bit longer," and some even mocked her: "She has no children of her own, why do you care so much?"

Su Xiaoxiao was trembling with rage. By the hospital bed, Su Xiaoxiao comforted Director Mother: "Mother, don't worry about the money, I'll find a way."

She gritted her teeth and took out her last bit of savings. But the doctor told her that chemotherapy alone wasn't enough; she had to have surgery as soon as possible, otherwise... "The surgery fee will be at least five hundred thousand."

Five hundred thousand. Where could she get five hundred thousand? That night, she sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, crying her heart out. She hated herself for being useless, hated that she couldn't earn enough money, and hated that she couldn't save the person she respected most.

Until... she saw Jiang Jing's live-streaming donation records online. "Spent a million in one night..." She stared fixedly at the phone screen, her fingers trembling slightly. She constantly calculated the feasibility of her plan in her mind.

She knew what she was doing. She knew that she was currently like those "gold diggers" who were despised by others, using her body to trade for money. But... she really had no other choice.

"Mother, just wait for me a little longer..." She wiped away her tears, adjusted her mindset, and took the initiative to contact Jiang Jing...

In her plan, if Jiang Jing was truly rich but ugly, Su Xiaoxiao would propose a plan where Jiang Jing spent 500,000 and she would accompany him for a few days. If Jiang Jing was young and wealthy, she would propose that Jiang Jing keep her as a mistress, but the money had to be paid in full at once; after all, she really needed the money.

She just hadn't expected Jiang Jing's appearance to completely hit the mark for Su Xiaoxiao, causing her to almost forget what her ultimate goal was. If it hadn't been for the doctor's message pulling her back to reality, she would still have been lost in desire, unable to pull herself out.