Financial Independence through Cracked Apps-Chapter 38: Sisters Meet

August 7, 2025, Thursday.

20℃–31℃, sunny.

[Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received a deposit of RMB 4,500 at 00:01 on August 07. Current balance: 224,500.]

Lin Shen woke up, pulled open the curtains, and discovered it was already a sunny day.

He pushed open the window, and a fresh, humid gust of air instantly rushed in, carrying with it the subtle fragrance of earth.

"WHOOSH—!"

Lin Shen couldn’t help but take a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, feeling as if his entire lungs had been completely cleansed.

It was rare to come across such good weather in Modu.

Lin Shen left the secondary bedroom and subconsciously glanced toward the master bedroom.

The door was ajar. The bed was neat and tidy, and there were even signs that the floor had been swept.

However, that lively, lovely figure was now nowhere to be seen, leaving only a note on the dining table.

[Shen! Thank you for your hospitality these past four days! I had a great time in Modu! I was so happy spending time with you!]

[I’m so sorry about what happened with my sister. I think you’re a very gentle and considerate person, so don’t be discouraged. You’re the best!]

[I bought some steamed buns and soy milk. I was afraid they’d get cold, so I left them in the steamer in the kitchen. Remember to eat them when you wake up, okay?]

[My school starts on September 4th. I hope I can see you again then. If possible, there’s a lot I want to tell you in person.]

[So that’s the plan. See you then!~]

[—From Gu Wanqing (っ´ω`c)♡]

"Pfft!"

Seeing the cute kaomoji at the end, Lin Shen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. But immediately after, his heart was slowly enveloped by a thick sense of loneliness and solitude.

He carefully folded the note, tucked it under his piggy bank, and whispered softly to himself.

"See you in a month."

*

「10:00 AM, Hongqiao Railway Station.」 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Gu Wanqing walked into a nearby KFC, suitcase in hand. She scanned her surroundings and finally spotted someone waving from a corner.

"Over here!"

Gu Wanting stood up and called out.

She was wearing a light gray, round-neck T-shirt with a white pleated skirt. White calf-high socks were paired with white sneakers, revealing her smooth thighs, giving her an overall sporty look.

The baseball cap on her head, in particular, marked her as a fashionable woman who knew how to dress.

"Qingqing!"

"Sis."

Gu Wanqing sat down across from Gu Wanting, feigning ignorance as she asked with curiosity.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Paris."

A look of disappointment crossed Gu Wanting’s face, and she let out a soft sigh.

"Don’t even ask. You have no idea how dirty it is over there!"

"The area under the Eiffel Tower is like a garbage dump! And they were even doing construction right next to it!"

"And the public safety is terrible. One time, I was just walking down the street and my phone almost got snatched! I’m never going back."

"Is that so."

Gu Wanqing’s gaze shifted to Cheng Yue, who was sitting next to Gu Wanting.

"Who’s he?"

"Cheng Yue."

Gu Wanting introduced him, tugging on the fabric of his shirt at the shoulder.

"My good friend, a classmate from college."

"Tingting, didn’t you say you’d agree to be my..."

"Hm?"

After Gu Wanting shot him a cold glare, Cheng Yue immediately lost his nerve and could only offer a sheepish, silly grin from the side.

Gu Wanqing bit her lip lightly, then asked tentatively.

"Where’s my brother-in-law?"

"Don’t mention him to me."

Gu Wanting took a big gulp of her Coke, her tone extremely impatient.

"I already broke up with Lin Shen. Don’t call him your brother-in-law anymore."

"Why?"

Gu Wanqing finally asked the question that had been troubling her for days. After all, in her eyes, Lin Shen was practically flawless.

’He’s such a perfect person, why did my sister have to break up with him?’

"I remember Lin Shen treated you really well, didn’t he?"

"How was he good to me?"

Gu Wanting seemed to harbor a deep resentment.

"All he ever did was work overtime, and he never showed any concern for me. He was like a completely different person from when he was chasing me!"

"Being with someone like that for so long, the novelty was long gone. Besides, he let his body go, got uglier and uglier, and couldn’t even make any money."

Listening to her own sister belittle and berate Lin Shen like this, Gu Wanqing clenched and unclenched her fists under the table, her emotions a tangled mess.

Seeing her fall silent, Gu Wanting quickly changed the subject.

"Did you have fun in Modu?"

"I did."

Gu Wanqing nodded and briefly described her itinerary for the past few days, making sure not to mention Lin Shen.

Hearing this, Gu Wanting propped up her chin and said with a grin.

"Oh, you went to Disneyland too! It’s the holidays, so it must have been crowded, right? The lines must have taken forever."

"Cheng Yue has a 33 VIP pass, so you can get on any ride as soon as you arrive. Next time you come to Modu, we’ll have him take us."

"Sure."

Cheng Yue placed his Mercedes-Benz keys on the table, seemingly intending to show off his wealth in front of Gu Wanqing.

But she was clearly unimpressed.

"No thanks. I already went with my friend. He bought the Premier Tour tickets, so we didn’t have to wait in line to go on lots of rides."

"Huh?"

’Premier Tour tickets?’

Gu Wanting was stunned.

"Over four thousand for one person?"

"Yep."

"Your friend bought one for you, too?"

"Mhm."

"They’re that rich?!"

Gu Wanting couldn’t help but ask curiously, the corners of her mouth curling into a smirk.

"Is your friend a guy or a girl? Don’t tell me it’s your little boyfriend?"

"Of course not!"

Although Gu Wanqing vehemently denied it, her blushing face betrayed her true feelings.

This made Gu Wanting pause. After a moment of thought, she patted Cheng Yue on the shoulder.

"Go buy Qingqing some KFC for her to eat on the high-speed train."

"Can’t I just scan the code and order..."

Before Cheng Yue could finish, he noticed Gu Wanting’s narrowed eyes, immediately understood, and stood up with an awkward smile.

"I’ll go buy something."

"..."

Once Cheng Yue was gone, Gu Wanting immediately sat down next to her sister, leaned in with a very serious expression, and asked in a low voice.

"You didn’t stay with that little boyfriend of yours, did you?"

"Of course not!"

"Good."

Because Gu Wanting knew her sister’s personality well, she was confident she wasn’t lying.

She let out a soft sigh of relief and began to lecture her nonstop.

"You must never get intimate with a guy too early, understand? Back then, I fell for Lin Shen’s spell and gave him all the best years of my youth in college. Now it’s too late for regrets!"

"You have to be careful when choosing a boyfriend. Find someone suitable, preferably a rich local from Modu, like Cheng Yue."

"Sis, isn’t he your boyfriend?"

"Not even close."

Gu Wanting glanced up at Cheng Yue’s back, then curled her lip in disdain.

"I’m just giving him a shot because he’s nice to me. Who knows if I’ll meet someone better later on."

"Sis."

At that moment, Gu Wanqing suddenly spoke with a dead-serious expression.

"I don’t think you should be so casual about this. With true love, you have to persevere to the end to be happy. Money is just an accessory; it shouldn’t be the main factor."

"Love is never a choice. It’s about cherishing what you have and holding on with unwavering conviction."