Chapter : 16
Song Ling remained unmoved, still staring straight out of the window.
At that moment, the traffic light turned red, and Jiao Zuo stopped the car. A young couple nearby was actually pointing at his car while talking.
Jiao Zuo was about to curse at them, but when he looked closely, he realized the taller person looked somewhat familiar.
But their topic was a bit explosive—they were discussing “selling.”
Jiao Zuo: “What the hell! Isn’t that Zhou Qingluo!”
He recognized him and immediately became agitated.
So he hadn’t come to look for Song Ling—he went off to “sell” instead?
Jiao Zuo: “He’s done that before?”
He was so agitated that his voice even changed pitch.
Jiao Zuo suddenly felt that Song Ling was kind of miserable. His “white moonlight” was going abroad, and even the substitute was half-hearted and unreliable—was this some kind of new-era scumbag hunter situation?
Jiao Zuo resentfully said, “Looks like anyone who resembles Jiang Shiyan isn’t anything good.”
Song Ling could no longer endure it. Grinding his teeth, he said his first sentence of the night: “They’re selling cakes, you idiot.”
For a brief moment, Jiao Zuo didn’t even know who Song Ling was defending.
Song Ling rubbed his still faintly painful abdomen, annoyed, and closed the car window. With a dark face, he turned away and coldly said his second sentence of the night: “Not even close.”
Jiao Zuo froze. It wasn’t his imagination—Song Ling looked a little… stifled.
Song Ling glanced out the window again and let out a cold laugh. “So this is what ‘living well’ looks like?”
Jiao Zuo couldn’t believe it. This, this, this…
Was Song Ling developing a survival instinct?
Tomorrow, he really needed to have a proper talk with the psychologist about this.
A few days later, Zhou Qingmu was about to go abroad. Zhou Shoulin checked the old almanac, and among all the days before and after, only today was considered auspicious. Coincidentally, Zhou Qingluo had the day off, perfect for a celebration.
Early in the morning, Zhou Shoulin went to the market and cooked a large table full of dishes. Zhou Qingluo, who had worked until midnight the night before, slept until late morning. When he woke up, the entire house was filled with the smell of food.
When the family sat down to eat, Zhou Qingmu suddenly said, “Dad, I don’t want to study abroad anymore. I want to work.”
Zhou Shoulin was serving chicken soup for both children, smiling as he said, “You’ll have plenty of time to work later. The more you can study now, the better.”
Zhou Qingmu said, “Mingde Hospital has already decided to officially hire me. I want to go work there.”
Zhou Shoulin replied, “Go study first.”
“I’m not going.”
Zhou Shoulin grew anxious. “You child! That opportunity is so rare! You’re the only one in the whole school who got it. They even gave you a full scholarship—tuition is covered. Dad can still afford your living expenses.”
“I’m not going!”
The atmosphere immediately turned cold.
Of course, Zhou Qingluo understood what Zhou Qingmu was thinking. She didn’t want to spend money—she wanted to save it for him to study painting.
Zhou Qingluo sighed slowly and said pitifully, “Does anyone hear me? I have a bunch of good news to announce.”
Both of them turned to look at him at the same time.
Zhou Qingluo pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“This is my extra income from food delivery this month—18,000 yuan!”
The shock value of real cash was obvious. Both of them stared wide-eyed.
Then Zhou Qingluo pulled out another small stack and slapped it onto the table. “This is my manuscript fee from submitting to a comic magazine—2,000 yuan.”
Zhou Qingmu found it unbelievable. “You don’t even know how to draw. How are you making money from drawing?”
Zhou Qingluo laughed it off. “I said I can’t draw murals. I can draw comics.”
Then he said, “Last piece of good news—I’ve signed a contract with Star Original Comics!”
Zhou Qingmu was stunned.
Star Original Comics had its own publishing division and was one of the most popular original comic platforms in the market. Many well-known artists and members of art associations had grown from there. Being signed there basically meant you were a professional-level artist.
For example, her favorite manga genius, “Oath.”
Zhou Qingmu asked excitedly, “Really? Don’t lie to me!”
Zhou Qingluo said proudly, “Absolutely genuine.”
Zhou Shoulin didn’t understand what they were talking about and asked, “If you sign with that website, do they provide social insurance and housing fund?”
“That’s a small matter,” Zhou Qingluo said enthusiastically, pointing at the stack of cash. “If I draw well, I can earn this much for a single page. Once it gets published, the income will be even better. Then a big apartment, off-road vehicle—it’ll all be something we can just buy. We can travel wherever we want across the country.”
Zhou Qingluo smiled as he described the life from his previous world.
Zhou Qingmu’s eyes lit up. “That genius Oath reportedly earns millions from each published comic. It’s just that he hasn’t been drawing much lately.”
Zhou Qingluo patted his chest. “A rising mysterious superstar is about to emerge on Star Original Comics.”
Money quickly dispersed the gloomy atmosphere. Even Zhou Shoulin became eager. “My health has improved recently. I should buy another electric bike and go deliver food too.”
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Qingluo said seriously, “Dad, don’t deliver food anymore. Your cooking is so good—why not livestream cooking instead?”
Zhou Shoulin quickly waved his hands. “No, no! I’m too old for that. It would be embarrassing!”
Zhou Qingluo successfully lifted the mood, then turned to Zhou Qingmu and smiled.
“Zhou Qingmu, I’m already making 20,000 a month and my future is limitless. What are you worried about? Life is short—if you have a dream, why hesitate? Besides, being a doctor is about saving lives. Studying more is good for both you and your patients.”
Zhou Qingmu paused, then lowered her head. Her eyes grew sore, and tears began to fall drop by drop. As she cried, she also smiled.
Zhou Qingluo raised his glass. “To Zhou Qingmu’s success in her studies—cheers!”
Although 20,000 yuan was still just a drop in the bucket for a difficult life, Zhou Qingluo knew they had finally seen hope rising from the swamp.
Zhou Qingluo rested for a day and then resumed food delivery.
Strangely, the delivery platform was under maintenance and upgrade, and orders could not be accepted.
The usually quiet courier group chat suddenly exploded.
It was said that during routine system maintenance that morning, programmers discovered traces of a hacker attack on the backend. However, they couldn’t trace the hacker at all. Strangely, the website itself had suffered no damage.
