You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Jiang Che stepped inside, but after just a couple of glances, his brows furrowed instantly.

Is this a place where people live?

The small cubicle, less than ten square meters in size, didn't even have a window. It was like a sealed coffin, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.

He reached out and turned on the light. The bulb above his head lit up and emitted a strange buzzing sound.

By the dim light of the bulb, Jiang Che could barely make out the furnishings in the room.

A small wooden bed, less than a meter wide, looked like it was made from some discarded door panel. The mattress on it was a pale yellow and as thin as paper.

The remaining space was filled with all sorts of random clutter.

Broken cardboard boxes, chairs with broken legs, old appliances that haven't been thrown away yet...

The trash completely surrounded the small bed, leaving only a narrow gap for one person to squeeze through sideways.

Jiang Che stared motionlessly at the objects in front of him, his hands, which were hanging at his sides, had already clenched into fists without him even realizing it.

On the other hand, Su Qinghe had been afraid of Jiang Che's reaction after seeing her room the whole way, but now that she had actually brought Jiang Che in, she relaxed a lot.

Hmm... she couldn't explain why, but she just felt that Jiang Che wouldn't dislike her, so her nervousness dissipated.

She groped her way around the clutter on the ground and sat down on the bed.

Hearing footsteps beside him, Jiang Che came back to his senses and looked at the obedient girl sitting on the edge of the bed. He felt a tightness in his chest, accompanied by a sharp pain and sourness.

Although the Su family is not a particularly large family in Lincheng, they are still a respectable family. Yet, they let their daughter live in such a place that is worse than a pig or a dog's.

Even if you keep a dog, you should at least give it a doghouse with a window so it can bask in the sun, right?

There aren't even any windows. A normal person would go crazy from being cooped up in this dark room every day, let alone a sensitive girl like Su Qinghe.

Jiang Che really couldn't imagine that Su Qinghe had actually lived in such an environment for eighteen years.

"Jiang Che?"

Hearing that Jiang Che hadn't moved for a while, Su Qinghe called out anxiously, "Are you still there?"

"exist."

Jiang Che took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, and then walked over and sat down next to her.

He reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "This is where you've lived for over ten years?"

"Um."

Su Qinghe nodded, not feeling anything was wrong. "Actually, it's alright. Although this place is small, it's very quiet. They... they usually don't remember this place, so I don't have to get beaten up."

Jiang Che paused for a moment, feeling both helpless and heartbroken.

This silly girl, she's been bullied like this, and she still thinks this is a safe haven.

He didn't say anything more, but just quietly looked at Su Qinghe.

Su Qinghe rubbed her hands together with great enjoyment, then seemed to remember something and bent down to pull out a rusty tin box of cookies from under the bed.

Jiang Che curiously leaned over to take a look. The tin box looked quite old; the patterns on it were worn away, and the edges were dented and pitted.

But Su Qinghe acted as if she were holding some rare treasure, carefully placing the iron box on her lap, patting off the dust with her hand, and gently opening the lid.

Jiang Che looked inside as she lifted the lid.

It was full of worthless trinkets.

Several glass beads of different colors, a hair clip that is broken in half, a crumpled candy wrapper, a slightly wrinkled old photograph, and a small pendant made of red string with a crescent-shaped stone hanging on it.

These things, if you threw them on the street, probably no one would pick them up.

But Su Qinghe treated them like treasures, arranging them neatly in a box.

"What's this?" Jiang Che pointed to the broken hair clip.

Su Qinghe reached out and touched the hair clip, a slight smile curving her lips.

"My mom bought this for me a while ago."

She picked up the hair clip and gently rubbed it in her palm. "That time I got a perfect score on my test, and my mom rewarded me with it. Later, my younger brother accidentally stepped on it and broke it. I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I secretly picked it up."

Jiang Che didn't say anything, he just stared at the cheap plastic hair clip.

Even after it was stepped on and broken, you still secretly pick it up.

Because this was the only remaining thought she had of maternal love.

"And this?" Jiang Che pointed to the candy wrapper again.

"This one..."

Su Qinghe followed Jiang Che's finger and touched the candy wrapper. She then recalled, "It was one year for my birthday. I bought myself a candy, and after I finished eating it, I thought the wrapper was pretty, so I kept it."

No one remembered her birthday, and no one bought her a cake.

She could only save the few cents she had left over from grocery shopping to secretly buy herself the cheapest candy and celebrate her birthday alone in this dark room.

As for the photo, Jiang Che didn't ask about it again. He could tell it was a family photo, and its existence proved how much that girl longed for family love.

"And this too." Su Qinghe took out the small pendant from the bottom of the box.

The red rope was worn black and frayed, looking quite old.

The pendant has a strange shape, looking like some kind of totem. It is made of neither gold nor jade, and is dark in color. If you don't look closely, it looks a bit like a stone you picked up randomly on the roadside.

"What is this?"

Jiang Che reached out and picked up the pendant to examine it. It was icy cold to the touch and, despite its small size, was quite heavy.

"Hmm...it should just be a regular pendant."

Su Qinghe shook her head, her fingers gently stroking the pendant. "I've been wearing it since I can remember."

"Maybe my parents thought this was just a worthless rock, so they left it to me."

Jiang Che held the pendant up to his eyes and examined it carefully in the light from the doorway.

This thing looks unremarkable, but the patterns on it are deeply and finely engraved, unlike any handicraft you can buy at any street stall.

He stared at the pendant thoughtfully for a while, but quickly snapped out of his reverie.

Regardless of what this thing is, since Su Qinghe has worn it since she was a child, it is more precious than anything else.

"It looks pretty good."

Jiang Che put the pendant back in the box and then helped her close the metal box.

These things may not be valuable, but for Su Qinghe, they were one of the few bright spots in her dark days.

"Um!"

Su Qinghe nodded vigorously, closed the box, and hugged it tightly to her chest.

Jiang Che stood up and glanced around the room. "Is there anything else you need to bring?"