Chapter 7: Poverty

Author’s Note:

Memory related to the game will be blocked upon entering. The female lead chose this instance herself. It was written in Chapter 1, but I’m reminding readers of the setting again.

Xiang Qingxi.

Qiong Cang lingered over the name, an unfamiliar feeling stirring in her chest.

This strange sensation was not because of the fake name, but because of the person behind the character.

The Case Analysis instance scenario was generated based on a real case from many years ago. All the characters use pseudonyms, their appearances have been drastically altered, and some backgrounds have been blurred, but the specific time period and location are still easy to infer. After all, every year, every region has different college entrance exam topics and current political hot-button issues.

This should be a virtual world from over thirty years ago.

With Xiang Qingxi’s age and circumstances, even if Sanyao had blocked Qiong Cang’s related memories to ensure game fairness, she could still easily deduce the original person behind Xiang Qingxi.

Subconsciously, Qiong Cang did not want any unsavory past to be uncovered about this beautiful woman, yet at the same time, she felt such thoughts were too naive and would cloud her judgment, preventing her from staying clear-headed. After all, she herself did not know this woman well – she could even say they were strangers – so she shouldn’t make too many preconceived judgments.

Qiong Cang rarely had such conflicted and pointless thoughts, but this person had appeared for only a brief time yet left an influence far too deep, shadowing her throughout the long years of her life, even rooting itself into a fixed mindset she had no desire to change.

No matter how smart she was, she still possessed humanity’s innate flaws.

So, even though Qiong Cang had an intuition the moment she first saw Xiang Qingxi that she would be a key NPC, she still avoided her out of instinct.

And so, when Qiong Cang happened to run into this woman who kept flashing through her mind right at the dormitory entrance, she still felt a flicker of unease.

Xiang Qingxi saw her too and quickly walked over, asking, “Dongyan, are you okay?”

Qiong Cang heard her voice for the first time in the game. Clear and soft, it fit her image perfectly. There was an urgency in her questioning that made her concern clearly felt.

She seemed like a gentle person.

Qiong Cang froze for a moment, then shook her head.

Xiang Qingxi studied her for a while, then asked, “Why didn’t you go to class today?”

Qiong Cang said, “Didn’t feel like it.”

Xiang Qingxi: “Did something happen last night? I heard a lot of noise from next door.”

Qiong Cang: “Nothing much.”

Xiang Qingxi hesitated, then added, “Is your roommate okay? You didn’t come upstairs today, so I went and asked them. They were acting really strange.”

Qiong Cang just shook her head again.

Xiang Qingxi’s brows furrowed lightly, a worried expression on her face. “Are you really okay?”

Qiong Cang’s gaze passed over her shoulder, taking a look at the security door behind her with its cute anime-style poster, and asked, “Is anyone in your dorm today?”

Xiang Qingxi: “No.”

Qiong Cang: “Then can I sleep in your dorm for a while?”

“You can…” Xiang Qingxi asked quietly, “You’re not going to class this afternoon either?”

Qiong Cang said, “I’m tired.”

Xiang Qingxi’s worried look seemed genuine. Her lips parted and closed, hesitating to speak. Finally, as if remembering something, she felt around in her side pocket and pulled out a small handful of orange-flavored hard candy.

She grabbed Qiong Cang’s hand and pressed the candies into it.

Xiang Qingxi was completely different from the person in Qiong Cang’s memories. She didn’t know if Sanyao had made major adjustments to this character’s design, or if her mother had actually been like that back then.

Yet even so, she still struggled not to connect these two figures. That other person had also always used this kind of gesture as comfort or reward, something Qiong Cang had once found perfunctory and childish.

Qiong Cang looked down at the orange-yellow candies in her palm and asked, “Do you really like this kind of candy?”

“Yeah.” Xiang Qingxi smiled. “Don’t you think this flavor is delicious? It can lift your mood when you eat it, and it’s not expensive at the school store.”

Qiong Cang closed her hand, tucked the candies into her pocket, and said, “Thanks.”

Xiang Qingxi said, “I have to go to class now. Get some good rest. If you don’t want to go back, you can stay here tonight too.”

She left the key with Qiong Cang, waved, and said, “I’m going now. Yanzi is still outside waiting for me.”

Xiang Qingxi jogged away, and the live stream room began bubbling with an unusual amount of pink bubbles at her appearance.

“What kind of little angel is this? She doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“As long as I always bet against the crowd, I’ll definitely be right. She’s the murderer!”

“This character modeling is so biased. Doesn’t anyone else deserve it? Look, even the Sanyao staff only got middle-aged weirdo appearances. The art team has no heart.”

“She’s definitely a key character, which means she probably knows something. Whether she’s the murderer or a good person isn’t certain yet.”

·

Qiong Cang held the key and entered Xiang Qingxi’s dorm.

She pulled out a chair, sat at the desk, and roughly scanned the items on the table.

Her intention had been to look for clues, but to her surprise, Xiang Qingxi’s dorm was very “clean” – it had almost no plot-related information left behind.

The homework and practice books left in the dorm were few in number, with clear handwriting and stable grades. Items were arranged very neatly, and all were daily necessities. The clothes in the wardrobe were all generic styles, carrying a faint scent of soap. Inside the drawers were the most ordinary hair ties, with no expensive accessories.

All the details matched her persona as an impoverished student, leaving no sense of contradiction.

Qiong Cang picked up her own bag and sat earnestly at the desk, eating snacks.

With results like this, even she couldn’t help but start to suspect that Xiang Qingxi was just a simple NPC.

Qiong Cang took out her phone to check the time. She had searched quickly, but it was now 3 PM in game time.

The next clue in the dormitory building would probably have to wait until evening to appear. Qiong Cang was hesitating over whether to go check out the classroom when a twisting sound suddenly came from the keyhole in the door. A moment later, a female student walked in.

When the other girl saw her in the room, a brief look of surprise crossed her face, then quickly disappeared.

A line of small text floated beside her.

“Xu Manyan, Class 2 student, former classmate before class division, poverty student.”

Qiong Cang licked the cookie crumbs from the corner of her mouth and nodded to her in greeting.

Xu Manyan asked, “Dongyan? What are you doing here? I heard from Xiaoxi that you skipped class this morning?”

Qiong Cang said slowly, “Didn’t feel like going.”

“Is it because of Xu You?” Xu Manyan rolled her eyes and sneered. “If he’s still causing trouble, I’ll find someone to teach him a lesson for you! This has gone on long enough!”

Qiong Cang said, “No need. I just didn’t want to go to class. What about you? Class isn’t over yet, is it?”

Xu Manyan: “PE class, free period.”

She set one of the bags aside and placed it on Xiang Qingxi’s desk. Qiong Cang watched and asked, “What’s that?”

“This month’s poverty subsidy. I picked it up for her on my way.” Xu Manyan looked at her doubtfully and asked, “Are you really okay?”

Qiong Cang: “I’m fine.”

Xu Manyan muttered something under her breath, then stepped forward and patted her shoulder, comforting her. “Just let it go. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t listen to whatever they say.”

Qiong Cang looked up at her and said, “They might actually have a point.”

“Have a point? What the hell are you…” This seemed to hit a nerve with Xu Manyan, her expression instantly flaring up, but she forced it back down mid-sentence.

She pressed her lips together, steadied herself, and just said, “I’m leaving. The teacher will take attendance soon.”

Qiong Cang: “Okay.”

Xu Manyan walked to the door and glanced back at her before closing the door behind her and leaving.

Qiong Cang opened the bag and took inventory of its contents.

A red envelope.

Qiong Cang opened it and counted the money inside – one thousand yuan in cash.

A mall shopping card. Judging by the face value on the card, it was five hundred yuan.

A stack of cafeteria vouchers. A rough estimate put the total somewhere between six hundred and seven hundred.

Two seasonal outfits, both from fast-fashion brands. Not too expensive, but the fabric felt comfortable.

A few books. They looked old but were fairly well-preserved, with almost no damage.

Qiong Cang picked up her phone, spun it twice in her palm, unlocked the screen, and sent He Jueyun a text.

Qiong Cang: “First High’s poverty subsidies are pretty generous.”

He Jueyun: “Generous enough to get rich off of? That kind of aid basically just covers food and necessities.”

Qiong Cang listed everything in the bag and sent it over.

He Jueyun was shocked after reading it.

This was way more than what an average high school student would spend on living expenses.

He Jueyun: “Is that for a whole semester? I think A City’s official poverty subsidy for high schoolers is 1,500 per academic year.”

Qiong Cang: “The person who gave it said it’s for this month. There are similar bags stored behind the cabinet in the dorm, so it probably is monthly.”

He Jueyun: “How is that possible?”

He Jueyun: “The shopkeeper at the school store said that Tian Yun often buys stuff that’s about to expire to save money, and sometimes she has to rely on Zhou Nansong to treat her to meals. If her subsidy was this much, she wouldn’t need to do that.”

Qiong Cang: “So the subsidies at First High are tiered, and the difference between tiers is huge? What’s the criteria? Grades? Personal preference?”

He Jueyun went quiet for a moment.

He Jueyun: “Just got off a call.”

He Jueyun: “Since you mentioned before that both Tian Yun and Xiang Qingxi are poverty students¹, I looked into it when I got back.”

Qiong Cang: “Are there a lot of poverty students at this school?”

He Jueyun: “A lot. In response to the call, First High took in a special group of poverty students. The school ran a bunch of ad campaigns, and the Education Bureau used them as positive examples, so they got a lot of benefits. 【Image · News】”

He Jueyun: “First High is a pretty good school in A City. It has guaranteed admission² partnerships with several universities. In the last couple of years, they’ve secured a few extra guaranteed admission slots for poverty students. Last year and the year before, some poverty students got into top universities through these slots. It even attracted a good amount of charitable donations from the community.”

Qiong Cang: “And this year? The guaranteed admission slots should be out by now, right?”

He Jueyun: “I just called someone at the Education Bureau to ask. I’ll let you know once I get the results.”

Translator’s Notes