I'm a junior in college this year, and I've linked my fishing check-in system.

"Losing money?"

Dai Zhenli's mind went blank, as if struck by lightning.

"What money are you going to pay?"

She instinctively asked, "What happened to my brother?"

She could almost guess that something had happened to her brother again.

Otherwise, given her parents' personalities, they wouldn't have asked her for money...

The voice on the other end of the phone carried a hint of expected anxiety: "What else could have happened? I was driving carelessly and scraped against someone else's car."

"It wasn't a big deal originally, but you know your brother's temper. He's young and hot-blooded, and he got into a fight with someone."

"They refused to settle out of court and called the police."

Dai Zhenli fell silent for a moment—

If the things my family says are ten times more serious, there's basically no problem. I asked, "What about the money they asked me for to pay for insurance?"

"Commercial insurance, compulsory traffic accident liability insurance, and accident insurance—no one died, so how could the compensation be insufficient?"

The person on the other end was taken aback. "What kind of commercial insurance?"

"We only paid for mandatory traffic accident liability insurance; we didn't think anything would happen with the other insurances..."

Dai Zhenli gritted her teeth. "I only had five thousand yuan back then... You took four thousand, and now you're telling me you only paid for the mandatory traffic accident insurance?"

"And then something went wrong, and they asked me to pay compensation?"

Her mother sighed, "Your brother had a bad attitude, and the car owner was shameless and insisted on pursuing the matter to the end."

"In the end, the traffic police ruled that I had to pay 140,000 yuan in compensation."

"140,000?!"

Dai Zhenli's voice rose uncontrollably; the number weighed on her heart like a mountain.

140,000!

This would be an astronomical price for anyone!

"How can there be so many? What kind of car was he driving, and what kind of car did he crash into?"

"That's right, the car we bought for him before, it crashed into someone else's nice car."

The mother's tone was full of complaints, "Who knows? People these days are just so unreasonable, they won't let it go even if they're right."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. What's done is done."

"My family scraped together all our savings and managed to raise 40,000 yuan."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then, the words that Dai Zhenli feared most came.

"Zhenli, over there... take out 100,000 to fill this hole first."

"……mom."

Dai Zhenli felt as if her throat was blocked, and even breathing became difficult.

"What did you say?"

I said, you need to come up with 100,000 yuan first.

The mother's tone brooked no argument, "You're his sister. Given the family's current situation, if you don't help him, who will?"

"One hundred thousand..."

Dai Zhenli muttered to herself, feeling all her strength drain away, "Where am I supposed to find you 100,000 yuan?"

"I used student loans to pay for my college education, and my current living expenses are all from the money I earned when I sold projects during my junior year."

"If I give you 100,000 yuan, what am I supposed to eat?"

"How much money could you possibly have?"

Her mother's tone turned sharp, "You're a college graduate from a 211 university, and after all these years out there, you can't even come up with 100,000 yuan?"

"Your brother is the only remaining member of our family!"

"If he doesn't get up, what will happen to the Dai family? Are you expecting something as worthless as you?"

Dai Zhenli listened to the voice on the other end of the phone and remained silent for a long time.

The words "money-losing goods" reminded her of her childhood.

Back when she was a child, before she had a younger brother, her family was unwilling to spend money on her, and the things she needed for school were always old.

She was born in the 00s, but her material conditions are like those of someone born in the 80s.

After her younger brother was born, her parents happily went to pay the fine for having more children than allowed, feeling that the money was well worth it!

Even after paying, they went out for a big meal, which cost them the textbook fees they had been hesitating over for a week!

Back then, her family was completely unwilling to pay for her high school tuition!

Because my younger brother needs to attend a tutoring class for the high school entrance exam!

However, high school tuition is only two thousand, while tutoring classes cost tens of thousands. My family feels that we should pay for tutoring classes that cost tens of thousands, while it is more reliable to learn a skill in vocational school than to spend two thousand on high school!

The year she got into university, her family was devastated. "We won't pay for it! What's the point of a girl going to school? What good is it?"

She secretly ran away to apply for a student loan so that she could go to school.

Thinking of this, Dai Zhenli finally stopped daydreaming. Listening to the continued rant and rave from the other end, she retorted:

"Mom, I have no money."

Dai Zhenli's voice was as cold as ice, "Not a single penny."

The person on the other end seemed to have anticipated her answer and said, "That's not a problem either."

"You know Old Zhang from next door, right?"

"He's actually quite handsome, and..."

Dai Zhenli almost guessed what he was going to say next, "Impossible!"

"I don't want to!"

The other side finally lost their temper, shouting, "Dai Zhenli!"

"How could you be so selfish! So cold-blooded!"

"That's your own brother!"

"Are you really going to watch your brother go to jail for your own unrealistic dreams?"

Dai Zhenli sneered, "You're willing to sell your daughter for a younger brother?"

"Isn't your daughter your son?"

She hung up the phone, finally unable to hold back her stubbornness any longer.

She couldn't cry, and walked into the elevator like a zombie. She wanted to cry, but couldn't. Inside the elevator, the screen played a happy family tune, but she wasn't happy.

She opened the door.

An orange-yellow giant fish, gradually taking shape, charged towards her!

Dai Zhenli was taken aback when the cat boss jumped into her arms, meowing.

"Meow!"

Dai Zhenli didn't know what Boss Cat wanted to do, but she also knew that Jiang Qian had already come.

But when she entered the kitchen, she saw Jiang Qian.

Jiang Qian saw her and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong?"

"This won't do..." Jiang Qian thought to himself, "Senior seems to be in a bad mood, I wonder why..."

Oh my god, senior, please don't do this! I'm just a Xiao Chunan too...

What should I do about this? Bean bun? Gemini? GPT? Claude? Dear gods and spirits, is there anyone who can teach me how to handle this situation as a girl?!

Even though Jiang Qian felt like a million curses were running through his mind, he thought about it and decided to sincerely solve the problem, asking:

"What happened?"

Dai Zhenli looked at her and fell silent.

Jiang Qian looked at her and said, "...It's okay. Since you're unhappy, let's eat first."

Let's eat first, that should be fine!

Eating more carbohydrates is good for your mental well-being...

"Nothing is more important than eating."

"Come on, come on, I've prepared several fish today, a whole fish feast..."

Dai Zhenli looked at Jiang Qian, then at the rice in front of her, and finally couldn't hold back her emotions.