"You don't even know how much money is in your own bank card?"
Outside the orphanage gates, Qin Shou was still trying to get Chen An to back down and save himself from embarrassment.
"It was given to me by someone else. I never asked."
Chen An responded casually, most of his attention focused on chatting softly with Chen Xi, her hand gently held in his.
Qin Shou and the director walked ahead, while the two of them strolled unhurriedly behind.
Chen An had agreed to come along mostly because it gave him an excuse to take Chen Xi out for a walk.
A lazy afternoon stroll, especially on a day without much sun—it was actually quite nice.
"I don't like him."
That was the first thing the girl said.
Chen An knew exactly who she meant. He chuckled softly.
"Qin Shou's not a bad person. He just gets carried away with appearances. But honestly, at seventeen or eighteen, having a bit of vanity is perfectly normal."
Chen Xi shook her head.
She tightened her grip on his hand. "No."
She opened her lips as if wanting to say more, but held back.
The self-service ATM at the backstreet wasn't far. After just a few minutes of walking, they arrived.
Qin Shou, ever the impatient one, immediately dragged the director inside with him.
He pulled out his own card and slid it into the machine, quickly inputting his PIN.
The screen loaded for a moment, then with a few taps, the balance appeared—six whole digits.
Qin Shou grinned smugly.
This wasn't some paltry few hundred yuan—this was over two hundred thousand!
Practically enough to buy the whole orphanage outright.
"See, Director? I wasn't lying."
The director gave him a swat, half-laughing. "Look at you, all proud of yourself."
As he spoke, he fished around in his coat pocket and pulled out the card Chen An had given him earlier, slotting it into the machine.
The director actually felt a bit curious himself.
He knew a bit more than Qin Shou—he knew Chen An wasn't lying. The card had indeed been given to him by someone else.
But the exact amount? That was still a mystery.
After entering the PIN, the two of them stared at the screen, unblinking.
Qin Shou tapped his way to the balance display.
Then… blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Pulled the card out.
He muttered under his breath, "Did I open it wrong or something?"
He repeated the process from the top. Same steps. Same screen.
This time, they both saw it clearly.
Then they looked at each other.
And in each other's eyes, they saw the same expression—disbelief, astonishment, utter shock.
"Wait, wait…"
Qin Shou leaned his head against the machine, muttering in a daze, "I must still be dreaming… how many digits is that?"
He stared hard at the long string of numbers on the screen.
"Director, how many digits? I can't even count them all…"
…
When Qin Shou and the director walked out of the ATM booth, both of their expressions were serious.
Especially Qin Shou—his gaze toward Chen An was deeply conflicted.
He had already asked the director about it. The answer? It was a female classmate.
A female classmate? What kind of "female classmate" had this kind of money to just give away?!
Qin Shou doubted it. Then doubted it again. Then kept doubting.
Rather than believe that ridiculous excuse, he'd sooner believe Chen An had robbed a bank.
So the moment they got back to the orphanage, the two of them pulled Chen An into the office.
Qin Shou and the director sat on one side. Chen An sat alone on the other.
Between them was a square, worn wooden table.
Two bank cards lay atop it.
Qin Shou cleared his throat, took back his own card, then tapped Chen An's card with his finger.
"Brother An, be honest with us. What's going on here?"
The director also looked over with a questioning gaze.
They had no choice—this amount of money wasn't just large. It was absurd. Ridiculous.
They had assumed, at most, a couple thousand yuan. No one ever imagined it would take not just five or six zeroes to match… but maybe double that.
It dwarfed even what Qin Shou had brought by a factor of a hundred.
How could they not suspect that Chen An had done something shady?
After all, for every way there is to make big money, there's usually a matching clause in the criminal code.
"Explain what?" Chen An raised an eyebrow, then quickly figured it out.
Ah—looks like Lin Jingqiu might've been a bit too generous?
"Explain where the hell this money came from!"
Qin Shou couldn't hold it in anymore. He slammed his hands on the table, leaning forward with a raised voice.
Chen An looked up at him once, and Qin Shou promptly sat back down, looking sheepish.
He grumbled, "Brother An, I'm just worried for you, alright? What if you've gotten mixed up in something bad?"
Chen An chuckled. "Didn't I already say? It was from a girl in my class."
Qin Shou's eyes widened. "Come on, Brother An, don't feed us that. Even if something really happened, we can think of a solution together."
He slapped the table. "And this so-called female classmate—what's her name? Who the hell gives away millions just like that?!"
"That excuse is way too flimsy. I mean, come on—only the old man here would actually believe you. If what you're saying is true, I'll eat this table right now!"
He spoke with great conviction, his voice full of righteousness—right up until the director smacked him on the head again, making him look rather pitiful.
Chen An, for his part, didn't try to hide anything. He had no reason to. He had nothing to be guilty about. He hadn't stolen or robbed anyone.
So he spoke plainly, "Lin Jingqiu."
The name fell from his lips.
Across the table, Qin Shou was still clutching his head in exaggerated pain when he heard it. He muttered, "Lin Jingqiu… sounds familiar somehow…"
Then he froze.
Hands fell slowly from his head. His body leaned back in reflex.
"Brother An… if I remember right, you're going to Second High School, aren't you?"
Chen An nodded.
Qin Shou let out a long "oh…" His face twisted with an expression both complex and stunned.
Recognition dawned, mingled with a kind of helpless awe and some unnamable mix of emotion.
"Second High…"
"Lin Jingqiu…" He murmured the names under his breath. Then looked at Chen An seriously.
"Brother An—no, Big Brother An.."
"I admit it. I spoke a little too loudly earlier."
…
Meanwhile, outside the city of Qing.
Among the layered peaks and lush, emerald cliffs of Qingcheng Mountain.
On the fourth peak—considered the most picturesque of them all—a white-clad woman stood atop the summit platform.
She stood with hands clasped behind her back, gazing into the distant horizon.
From here, the sweeping beauty of the entire peak lay before her eyes.
Her long, black hair fell loosely across her shoulders like a waterfall of silk. She looked like something plucked from a painting.
She was the only female peak master among the six peaks of Qingcheng, known as Luo Cong'an.
And among all Foundation Establishment cultivators—save for the sect's Old Patriarch—she was unanimously recognized as the strongest.
But only Luo Cong'an herself knew—
She had actually broken through three days ago.
The woman stared far into the distance, her voice airy and dreamlike, as if spoken by a spirit from the shadows.
"…I've nearly found you."
"Master, this time… you won't escape."
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