Mrs. Zhen had initially planned to support Uncle Han’s funeral out of respect for her children.
But now? Furious about her son being beaten up, she followed her daughter’s lead and left with her son in tow!
Zhen Yu looked towards Mr. Zhen with a complex expression, "Please inform us when the funeral is set, my brother and I will attend!"
After speaking, she turned and followed Mrs. Zhen, not caring whether Mr. Zhen agreed or not, for she knew he would.
Mr. Zhen and a few aunts stood there watching Mrs. Zhen and her two children leave, each with their own thoughts.
Mrs. Zhen wanted to take Zhen Yan to the hospital, but Zhen Yu intended to bring him to the Han Family Clinic.
It was time to persuade Mrs. Zhen.
"Mom! Let’s go to Uncle Han’s place! The hospital is very expensive."
"No!" Mrs. Zhen, already fuming from Zhen Hailong’s behavior, was irritable at the mention of the Han Family.
"Mom, the Han Family isn’t just Uncle Han. I’ve heard, I’ve heard Aunt Han doesn’t like him much."
Mrs. Zhen glanced at Zhen Yu but said nothing. She wasn’t foolish; she knew her children wouldn’t completely obey her wishes, barely managing to avoid visiting the Han Family would be commendable; breaking ties completely was unnecessary.
Zhen Yu continued to persist, resorting to the final argument, "Mom, Uncle Han has treated us well, even after you divorced, he hasn’t changed."
Mrs. Zhen stopped in her tracks, turning to behold her daughter.
Zhen Yu met her mother’s gaze, expressionless and silent.
Zhen Yan looked at one, then the other, and suddenly winced in pain, "Ah, sis..."
"Let’s go!" Mrs. Zhen turned and, pulling her son along, headed straight for the place to catch transport, without saying where they were going.
But Zhen Yu secretly chuckled to herself, success.
"What happened to you?" Aunt Han turned around, and upon seeing the Zhen siblings arrive, hurried up to pull Zhen Yan straight into the clinic’s examination and treatment room.
While walking, she called out, "Old Han! Hurry, come take a look at Xiao Yan’s injuries!"
"What’s the matter?" Mr. Han rushed out upon hearing a familiar voice, and seeing Zhen Yan, was taken aback; it was clear that the boy had been beaten by someone.
Who would it be? Hitting a child and aiming for the face? It shouldn’t be Mrs. Zhen.
Putting aside his suspicions, Mr. Han firstly treated and bandaged Zhen Yan’s wounds, and when he came out, Mrs. Zhen was already engaged in conversation with Mrs. Han.
"Little sister! You haven’t come by our house in quite some time," Mrs. Han remarked. "What now? Just because they’ve had a falling out, does that mean we don’t keep in touch anymore?"
"Ah! I’ve been busy," Mrs. Zhen gave an excuse that was hardly an excuse, "Alone with two children and running a shoe store, I really don’t have much time."
"Ah, I understand. It’s not easy supporting a family single-handedly. If you need help with anything, just speak up! I’ll help with what I can," Mrs. Han said sympathetically.
"Just busy with trivial things all day! To speak of major issues, well, there really aren’t any," Mrs. Zhen answered earnestly.
Zhen Yu had been sitting quietly on the side all along, listening. Seeing Zhen Yan coming out with Mr. Han, she immediately asked, "Uncle Han! Is my brother okay?"
Mr. Han shook his head, "Nothing serious! Just that cut on his face, if not treated well, might leave a scar. He should avoid contact with water for a while at least!"
Zhen Yu anxiously examined her brother; Zhen Yan smiled, comforting her, "I’m a man, a scar doesn’t matter! Little sister, don’t worry."
Zhen Yu shot him a glance—how could she not worry? Even men need to find a wife! She then turned her gaze back to Mr. Han, "Will the scar be very noticeable?"
"Not really," Mr. Han replied with a smile. "It might be apparent at the start but your brother is still young, by the time a couple of summers pass, it will likely fade."
Zhen Yu sighed with relief, "That’s good." If it comes to it, she still has the system; she’ll figure out a way to help her brother later.
After sitting in the clinic for just a while, Mrs. Zhen insisted on paying for the medical fees, and Mr. Han symbolically accepted a small amount.
Mrs. Zhen returned to Shoe City, and Zhen Yu took her brother back home.
Because Mr. Han specifically instructed him to stay home to recuperate and reduce going out, and Zhen Yan also deeply felt embarrassed, he didn’t leave the house that afternoon.
The siblings rarely took a nap after lunch.
Previously busy with exams, Zhen Yu hadn’t opened her system for a month.
Upon summoning, the panel appeared.
Ability points/Knowledge points had become: 20/56.
All added to Analysis, which became 55 points.
Just as Zhen Yu was about to close the interface, a dazzling light flashed before her eyes, causing her to be momentarily blinded.
A long-missed voice came from her mind, "Ding! After spending one hundred ability points, the System Mall is now open!"
The System Mall? That’s great!
After the light disappeared, when Zhen Yu looked at the interface again, she indeed saw the System Mall icon had turned green and clickable, with the words ’upgradeable’ in brackets behind it.
She silently commanded to enter, and with a ’swish’, the dazzling array of the Mall interface appeared before Zhen Yu’s eyes.
The Mall was divided into four major categories: protection gear, tools, gadgets, and medicines.
Clicking into the categories, most of the items were greyed out, with only a few green clickable items.
Zhen Yu saw an icon resembling a watch and clicked to have a look.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind, "Check out the Double Learning Table! Online for one hour, study for two hours. The early bird gets the worm, winning with time. Exchange: 50 ability points, Validity: Half a year."
Oh wow! It even comes with an advertisement! Such a great item! But why is there a time limit? What a swindler!
Then she looked at the icon shaped like an alarm clock.
"Self-discipline Study Clock, check it out! Set the time, force to study, highly concentrated spirit, beneficial for habit formation. Exchange: 80 ability points, Validity: One year."
My God! This is basically the natural enemy of slackers!
I’ve only looked at the gadgets category, I haven’t even checked the other three yet! So many good items! Salivating!
Zhen Yu glanced through each category and found that the minimum exchange was for 50 ability points.
No more looking, no more looking! She has no ability points, she can’t afford it for now! Must study hard!
With the sweet dream of being able to get a tool for her brother early, so his plan to get into Qi City No.1 High School is secure, Zhen Yu sweetly drifted off to a nap.
In the afternoon, Han Mingyue came over, and was startled by Zhen Yan’s injury, but didn’t ask much about it.
Zhen Yu didn’t have any particular plans at first, but now seeing both of them here, thinking about their English grades in the final exam, a big idea popped up.
Tutoring! Must do tutoring! If they don’t catch up now, their English grades will plummet once they are in High School.
So, ignoring Zhen Yan’s pitiful pleas as he played up his injury, she pushed both him and Han Mingyue into it.
She tutored them for the entire afternoon, and as the evening approached, Han Mingyue proposed to take his leave.
After he left, Zhen Yu sat at her desk pondering.
Given her brother’s current attitude towards studying, wanting to get into First High School was going to be tough. Moreover, if he were to go to boarding school there on his own, without supervision, his grades certainly weren’t going to improve!
How could she ’help’ him? The Mall was open, she could try to save up some ability points, but she didn’t know how to choose a practical tool from the multitude of options.