166: Hardworking brother

Huang Yuqing's heart was pounding.

A text message notification, bright and clear, displayed a string of numbers she had counted several times.

Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions... one point five million!

Her fingertips were white from gripping, and her breathing became rapid.

She wished she could go to the 4S store right now and pick up the car.

Once that thought emerged, she couldn't suppress it anymore.

She could even imagine the scene of her 'sisters' in her circle envying her after she picked up the car.

Huang Yuqing took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She subtly turned off her phone screen and placed it face down on the coffee table with a checkered tablecloth.

Her resolve to please Xu Zimo grew even stronger.

However, now was not the time to get carried away.

"Sigh..."

A long sigh pulled Huang Yuqing's thoughts back to reality.

Across from her, Wang Pingping was listlessly stirring the already cold latte in her cup with a small silver spoon, the coffee and milk foam churned into a murky mess, just like her mood at the moment.

Even her exquisitely made-up face couldn't hide the sorrow and fatigue in her brows.

The faint bluish dark circles under her eyes indicated that her sleep quality hadn't been good recently.

"What's wrong, Pingping? You went to relax, but why do you still look so dispirited?" Huang Yuqing asked with feigned concern.

Her tone was perfectly calibrated, showing both the intimacy of Best Friends and a touch of appropriate worry.

As she asked, she considerately pushed the Black Forest cake in front of her, which was almost untouched: "Try this. Eating something sweet often helps when you're feeling down."

Wang Pingping raised her eyelids and glanced at her, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying: "It's nothing, just a bit tired."

She wasn't tired; she was clearly annoyed.

This trip was originally meant to escape the gloom in her heart and incidentally show off her "carefree single noblewoman" life in her friend circle.

On the second day of her trip, Wang Qiang's call came through.

"Sis, I recently enrolled in a crash course, and the teacher said the internal materials are very important. They cost eight hundred yuan, can you transfer it to me first?"

Although Wang Pingping was displeased, thinking her younger brother was motivated to pass the civil service exam, she still transferred the money.

On the fourth day, Wang Qiang's call came again.

"Sis, I'm having dinner with some friends who are also preparing for the exam to build connections. They're all future contacts, you know? Today I said I'd treat, so can you support me with a thousand first?"

Wang Pingping's brows had already furrowed.

On the fifth day, Wang Qiang's call rang again. This time the excuse was to give a gift to his "future mentor," and he asked for two thousand... Such excuses were endless.

In the end, she even had to budget carefully for her return flight.

What relaxation? It was a tribulation.

"It's all because of my good-for-nothing younger brother!" Wang Pingping finally couldn't hold back, putting the spoon down heavily on the table with a crisp 'clink' that made people at the next table look over.

She lowered her voice and complained with a belly full of grievances: "You say he's twenty-four years old, graduated from university two years ago, and he's been staying at home every day saying he wants to take the civil service exam. I'm not against him taking the civil service exam, but have you ever seen anyone study for it like this?"

"He works three days and rests two, but he spends money faster than anyone! This time when I went on a trip, his calls never stopped. Today it's material fees, tomorrow it's relationship expenses. All my money went into his bottomless pit!"

"I didn't have much money to begin with. The last time I borrowed money from Ma Baba, and now I don't even have enough money to eat."

Huang Yuqing listened quietly.

She was, of course, aware of Wang Qiang's situation. He had even tried to pursue her before, which was simply wishful thinking, a toad wanting to eat swan meat. If it weren't for Xu Zimo's request, she would have blocked him long ago.

"Don't get too angry, after all, he's your own younger brother, and he's also working hard for his future now, isn't he?" Huang Yuqing consoled her insincerely.

But in her heart, she was sneering.

Working hard?

Did Wang Qiang even deserve to call that effort?

"Working hard my foot!"

Wang Pingping retorted excitedly: "He's such a big person, doesn't he know to find a job first, at least to have some income? He even used to complain that his brother-in-law was useless, yet he himself hasn't earned a single cent..."

Thinking of Xu Zimo, her emotions immediately plummeted again.

It was a complex mix of regret, resentment, jealousy, and a hint of longing.

Before the divorce, Xu Zimo, in her eyes, was a good-for-nothing who earned a meager ten thousand yuan a month, had no sense of romance, and drove a beat-up car.

She despised him for being poor and for being incompetent.

But who would have thought that after the divorce, this good-for-nothing in her eyes would become so rich?

The contrast was too great, so great that Wang Pingping couldn't sleep every night, filled with bitter regret.

She began to frantically miss the past, missing the Xu Zimo who, though not rich, was always obedient to her.

She tried to please Xu Zimo's parents, bringing fruit baskets and tonics to the old couple's house every other day, hoping to take the "indirect route to save the country," but Xu Zimo didn't give her the chance at all.

She called him and was blocked, sent WeChat messages and was deleted, and couldn't even enter his residential complex.

This man seemed determined to draw a clear line with her.

The more he acted this way, the more Wang Pingping felt like her heart was being clawed at.

She didn't believe Xu Zimo could have no feelings for her at all; she thought he was just angry with her, punishing her.

"Yuqing (Nickname/Shortened name for Huang Yuqing)..."

Wang Pingping, as if grasping at a last straw, clasped her hands together, looking at her Best Friend with an almost pleading gaze, "Tell me, what should I do now?"

She treated Huang Yuqing as her only strategist.

Huang Yuqing looked at her pitiful appearance, feeling no sympathy at all.

She slowly picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and then unhurriedly spoke, her voice gentle yet with an undeniable analytical tone: "Pingping, don't rush. We need to first analyze the current situation."

"Mhm, mhm, you speak, I'll listen." Wang Pingping nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Firstly, you can't keep trying to corner him or pester him like before," Huang Yuqing said. "Men are creatures who run faster the more you chase them. Especially men of Xu Zimo's current status, they're never short of women throwing themselves at them. Doing that will only make him think you're cheap and look down on you even more."

Wang Pingping's face paled. Although the words were harsh, she knew they were true.

"Secondly, you need to understand what your biggest advantage is," Huang Yuqing patiently explained. "Your advantage isn't your looks, nor your figure, but the marriage you once had, your former status as his wife, and the only daughter-in-law his parents ever acknowledged."

These words were like a ray of light, instantly illuminating Wang Pingping's dim heart.

That's right!

She was the legitimate ex-wife!

What were those seductive hussies outside?