He Yuan's cold expression finally softened. He looked at He Jing with warmth in his eyes and said, "Alright, I'll be careful."
He Jing continued, "Also, I didn't bring anything back from the Cheng family. If it's clothes, I don't want to wear Cheng Yi's. Could you do me a favor and buy a few outfits for me, Big Brother?"
"This is what I should do."
Hence, He Yuan left the room and considerately closed the door for her.
He Jing stayed alone in the small bedroom. She did not sleep but wandered around casually.
The bedsheet was newly changed., though washed until it was white, it still had a sun-dried scent. The peeling bedside table was free of dust.
Many of the skincare products on the dressing table were used up and empty bottles were left behind. A few cheap stickers were stuck on the table with words like "Keep going" written on them. It seemed that Cheng Yi had followed the same path as Lu Xiaokui in the He family.
There were two large boxes of things in the cardboard box next to the dressing table. When she opened them, they were all cheap gifts. There were plush toys and plastic Barbies. He Jing's eyes welled up when she saw them. Although she did not have to worry about food and clothing before she transmigrated, no one had ever given her such things.
A feeling of envy rose faintly.
Just as she was thinking about this, she suddenly heard very low and hushed conversations from outside the room. Obviously, someone was trying to avoid someone else, but because the house was too small, they couldn't avoid being heard clearly by He Jing.
"Our family is so poor that we can barely make ends meet. Big Brother pays his own tuition fee through hard work. Xiao Ning's grades are so outstanding, so he definitely can't drop out of school. Let's talk to Xiao Jing about this. After all, we are all family."
"No, it's too soon after Xiao Jing's return. If we talk to her about this, won't it hurt her feelings? Let's think of another solution, so we won't bother her."
"Mom, let's think of another way. At most, I'll go out and find a part-time job."
"Xiao Yuan, you're already busy enough. How are you going to find a part-time job? It's my uselessness and can't afford to raise you guys."
...
Who would have thought that she would give birth to quintuplets in one go?
Other than the eldest brother, He Yuan, the second to sixth brothers were all born at the same time.
Originally, they had hoped for a daughter, so they gritted their teeth and gave birth to He Jing. However, they didn't expect that after taking contraceptive measures, they still got pregnant by accident and gave birth to their youngest child, He Xiaoguo.
Amidst the babble of voices, a clear and cold voice rang out. It was He Ning. "Enough, I'm not going to school anymore. I''' go to work."
He was scolded by their father, "Don't talk nonsense. What future is there in working?"
But then, the door banged, and someone left the house.
The entire living room fell into silence as if it had entered winter. Unable to bear it, He Jing opened the door and walked out. She saw her parents and three brothers looking at her in unison. They were miserable and worried.
Then, she heard the fourth brother, He Sui, said sarcastically, "If Xiao Yi was still here, there wouldn't be so many problems."
The eldest brother, He Yuan, immediately stopped him with a stern shout, "Xiao Sui, watch your words!"
The current situation was not something that Cheng Yi could solve with her presence. Poverty was a long-term disaster for the family. Whoever joined would only be unfortunate.
However, He Sui was not convinced. He mumbled, "That's true. We've already agreed with Xiao Yi. As long as she drops out of school for a year and wait for you to graduate and work, we would send her to a better high school. But now we have an idle person in the family, studying in an elite school. We are so poor, how can we afford it?"
He Yuan's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. He actually had no way to refute his words.
Suddenly, He Jing let out a "pfft" laugh. Her beautiful eyes curved, and they were as black as grapes.
This laugh made He Sui angry, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His eyes spewed fire as he said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"