ISBH - Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Fear of Loss
"Over ten thousand..."
Mo Sheng's eyes went wide. For the first time, she felt doubt toward Sister, who had always done exactly as she asked. They had earned over ten thousand in just a few days?
Mo Sheng did not even dare to imagine such a sum!
"Look at you, you little money lover..." Han Tian patted Mo Sheng on the head, yet her own eyes showed the same smile. "This is only the beginning. Trust me, there will be more and more from now on."
"Don't think about this money yet. We have work to do now. You'll have plenty of chances later to think about how to spend it..."
Han Tian searched online for several essay contest topics for primary and middle school students, wrote the topics down, and then had Mo Sheng write beside her...
After Han Tian finished her own article and sent it off, she discussed Mo Sheng's composition with her, revised it, and then sent Mo Sheng's off as well...
Only after finishing all of this did the two of them leave the internet cafe.
The next day, Mo Sheng was once again summoned to the homeroom teacher's office.
This time the homeroom teacher's tone was much sterner.
"Mo Sheng, you know your own situation well enough!" The homeroom teacher frowned impatiently. "You're already in eighth grade! Studying hard is your only way out..."
"Teacher," this time Mo Sheng did not remain silent. "I went to submit work to magazines..."
"Submit work? Mo Sheng, you know exactly what you're capable of," the homeroom teacher said with a cold laugh. "Mo Sheng, you used to be a sensible child. How have you become so confused all at once? Studying is the most important thing for you. Things like interests aren't for you to have, and you can't have them..."
"This is the second time! I've already done more than enough for you. If there's a next time, I won't bother with you anymore. Anyway, you can't even pay your tuition..."
Mo Sheng had long known that this homeroom teacher was snobbish and sycophantic by nature. She fawned over students from families that were well off and often criticized students from poor families, even hinting that those students should drop out. Mo Sheng had only avoided her notice before by being obedient enough.
That the homeroom teacher was bothering with her now clearly meant someone had reported her.
Mo Sheng had always taken studying very seriously, and in all her years this was the first time a teacher had criticized her like this. Faced with the teacher's aggressive lecture, for a moment she could not find any words to defend herself...
"Is that what a teacher should say to her students? Why would my Mo Sheng not deserve to develop her interests..." Han Tian was shaking with anger!
The professors Han Tian knew were all good people. Some paid out of their own pockets to buy equipment for students, and some tried every possible way to subsidize their student living costs. She had never imagined a teacher could look at her own students this way!
Mo Sheng discreetly hooked her finger around the hem of Han Tian's clothes and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Han Tian nearly cried from anger again. Remembering that Mo Sheng was watching her and that she had to set a good example for Mo Sheng, Han Tian barely held back her tears.
Seeing that Mo Sheng had stopped talking, the homeroom teacher lectured her for a long while before letting her go back, and ordered Mo Sheng to write a letter of apology of 500 words and read it aloud before everyone.
Han Tian had always known this homeroom teacher was a little snobbish, which was obvious from the favoritism she usually showed Wang Zhi. Still, she had not expected the teacher to bully Mo Sheng like this.
Admittedly, Mo Sheng was wrong to go to the internet cafe, but that did not mean she should be condemned outright...
"Mo Sheng, don't be afraid. I'll take you to transfer schools next term!" Han Tian floated beside Mo Sheng, puffed up with anger. "It's all right. Next term we'll be able to afford that tuition!"
Mo Sheng looked at Han Tian and shook her head. "Sister, it's not about tuition."
Mo Sheng blinked and smiled, then turned to look earnestly at Han Tian, her dark bright eyes sparkling with starlight. "I want to become better."
"Sister, I want to stand up right where I fell, just as you said. I'll use my strength to crush everyone who looks down on me..."
The luckiest thing in her life was meeting Sister, and Mo Sheng did not want to disappoint Sister.
She wanted to grow up fast and become someone as remarkable as Sister.
It was the first time Han Tian had seen Mo Sheng wear such an expression.
The way Mo Sheng looked at her was a little like coquetry, and in a daze Han Tian connected Mo Sheng with another person who had acted coquettishly with her in a car.
Clearly the two looked nothing alike. One was gaunt and pitiful, and the other shone with dazzling starlight...
If there was anything the same, it was that both had remarkably beautiful eyes.
Watched by those beautiful eyes of Mo Sheng, Han Tian realized she had almost no resistance to Mo Sheng, just as she had none toward that certain person!
Perhaps she was born to have a bond with those surnamed 'Mo'...
Han Tian sighed inwardly.
Fortunately Mo Sheng was a sensible child, not unreasonable and pestering like that certain person!
Han Tian shook her head and once again drove that person out of her mind.
"It's good that you've made up your mind!"
Han Tian gave a dry cough, and a gratified smile came over her face. "I'm so glad to see Little Mo Sheng with such a mind of her own..."
Mo Sheng looked deeply at Han Tian, her eyes darkening for a moment, yet on the surface she looked encouraged by Han Tian and lowered her head with a shy air. "I'll surely make Sister even happier from now on!"
Sister had just spaced out again. Was she thinking of that person again?
Had that person once looked at her like this too?
Really... it made her feel utterly displeased deep down!
Because she had been reported again, Mo Sheng had no choice but to start tutoring Wang Zhi again.
"I hate even looking at Wang Zhi now!" As a top student, Han Tian had skipped grades all the way up and spent years in the laboratory, never forming deep ties with classmates, so naturally she had never experienced this kind of bullying at school. In Han Tian's memory, school was only a place to gain knowledge. She had never imagined such torment and bullying could exist there.
"So young and already up to no good! She promised not to stop you at the internet cafe, yet she reports you every time..."
Mo Sheng glanced quietly at Han Tian, the corners of her lips curving up slightly.
Actually Wang Zhi did not seem like the type to scheme behind her back, but so what. Whoever the informer was, the matter could not be separated from Wang Zhi. After all, Wang Zhi was the first to know that Mo Sheng went to the internet cafe.
When Mo Sheng arrived at Wang Zhi's home, the house was in an uproar.
Wang Zhi's father Wang Qiang had come back, and beside him stood a woman in her thirties, wearing heavy makeup.
The door was not closed, and Mo Sheng took in the scene inside at a glance.
"Zhizhi, persuade your mother to divorce me! Stay with your father, and I'll surely treat you well from now on..." Wang Qiang tugged at Wang Zhi, wearing the kindly smile Mo Sheng had seen last time.
Yet Wang Zhi showed none of her big sister swagger from school. She stood with her head lowered between her parents while Wang Zhi's mother clutched her other arm and wailed. "Zhizhi, if you urge me to divorce, you're deliberately trying to drive me to my death..."
There seemed to be tear stains on Wang Zhi's face...
Seeing Wang Zhi like this, Han Tian pulled at Mo Sheng and instinctively wanted to slip away. Yet Wang Zhi turned her head to glance outside and happened to see Mo Sheng, then immediately frowned. "What are you standing there for? Come in for tutoring..."
After seeing Mo Sheng, Wang Qiang immediately seized on the tutoring matter and started quarreling with Wang Zhi's mother again. "Look at you. All those tutors you hired before ran off! Anyone I hire at random is better than yours. What right does a woman like you have to be Zhizhi's mother..."
As soon as Mo Sheng entered, Wang Zhi dragged her into the bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang, shutting out the endless quarreling outside.
"You must be laughing at me in your heart right now, right?" Wang Zhi wiped her tears and glanced at Mo Sheng, sitting beside her with a cold face. "You have no father and no mother, so of course you wouldn't understand! But having a father isn't much better. My father is a disgusting thing..."
Facing Wang Zhi, Mo Sheng still wore that expressionless look, as if nothing Wang Zhi said could stir any reaction in her.
That was because Han Tian, floating in midair, was already glaring back on Mo Sheng's behalf like an angry mother beast guarding her cub.
Although Han Tian could only manage a few scolding words no matter how fiercely she tried, and her own eyes reddened before she could make anyone else cry, Mo Sheng found such adorably fierce Han Tian utterly lovely...
Because of that, Mo Sheng did not even want to hold Wang Zhi's insults against her.
She loved seeing Sister stand up for her like this.
Yet Mo Sheng's calm expression gave Wang Zhi a certain sense of safety. Mo Sheng had no friends, so she did not have to fear that Mo Sheng would tell others about her family matters...
Holding this thought in her heart, while Mo Sheng marked key points for her to review, Wang Zhi did not know what came over her. By the time she realized it, she was already sobbing out her past. "My father started bringing women home when I was ten. They all blame me for my grades dropping after I turned ten. If not for them, how would I have turned out like this..."
Mo Sheng pressed her lips tightly together and focused on marking the key points, not caring at all what Wang Zhi said. Yet Han Tian beside them seemed to take it in, and her gaze toward Wang Zhi held a trace of pity...
Watching Han Tian's expression, alarm rose in Mo Sheng's heart at once.
"This is your homework for today." Mo Sheng kept a straight face as she pushed the work in front of Wang Zhi. "The midterm exam is next week. I've marked all the key points the teacher taught. Prepare yourself."
Interrupted by Mo Sheng, Wang Zhi's domineering temper flared up at once. She shoved the notebook to the floor and glared coldly at Mo Sheng. "I'm talking to you. Can you listen properly?"
Mo Sheng lowered her head.
Han Tian had grown up in too sheltered an environment. She had felt a little sorry for Wang Zhi because of her story, but the moment she saw her own girl being bullied, she immediately stood by Mo Sheng and glared at Wang Zhi. "A bad childhood is no reason for you to bully my Mo Sheng! You eat well and you look pretty. My Mo Sheng has it so much harder than you. Why should she be bullied by you..."
Mo Sheng kept her head down as she picked up the notebook, yet a flicker of a smile flashed quickly through her lowered eyes.
Sister still cared for her most.
Wang Zhi caught sight of Mo Sheng's calm face and, thinking of something she could not name, her gaze suddenly wavered. She raised a fist at Mo Sheng with a look that seemed almost remorseful. "I'll study, all right? But you can't tell anyone at school about my family, or I'll beat you to death..."
Before long Wang Zhi's mother came in and threw her arms around Wang Zhi and started crying...
With things like this, tutoring clearly could not go on.
Mo Sheng packed her schoolbag and left the Wang home.
Han Tian floated beside Mo Sheng, and only now did she realize even more how precious Mo Sheng's character was. People could not be compared. Mo Sheng's circumstances were so much harsher than Wang Zhi's, yet Mo Sheng had grown into such a fine young girl...
Mo Sheng saw the ache in Han Tian's eyes, and her own gaze deepened again.
Her mouth sweetly called out "Sister," yet in her heart it felt as if a huge hollow had suddenly opened up, one that could not be filled no matter what...
She did not want Sister to ache for others or to think of others. She only wanted Sister's beautiful eyes to be filled with her alone.
This thought came out of nowhere, without warning, and Mo Sheng used all her strength not to show anything strange.
To fully occupy Sister's gaze, she could only become outstanding beyond compare!
Mo Sheng bit down hard on her lower lip.
A week quickly passed.
This week Mo Sheng dutifully went to tutor Wang Zhi every day, and perhaps because Wang Zhi had kept too many words buried in her heart over the years, and now that Mo Sheng had seen her at her most wretched, Wang Zhi began pouring out her heart to Mo Sheng every day, entirely on her own...
Wang Zhi herself found it very strange. She felt most at ease in front of Mo Sheng, more at ease than when she went out with crowds of people. She loved watching Mo Sheng bend over her exercises. It quieted her whole heart...
Wang Zhi did not know what kind of feeling this was.
Soon the midterm exam arrived!
Wang Zhi had originally planned to hand in a blank paper as usual, but thinking of how Mo Sheng had looked while tutoring her during this time, Wang Zhi knitted her brows and still picked up the test paper...
She still wanted Mo Sheng to keep tutoring her next term, so she had to do a little better.
With the paper in hand, Wang Zhi frowned as she looked it over and found it did not seem as hard to write as usual...
And when Mo Sheng answered, her pen moved as if aided by heaven. She found the questions so easy they were almost boring!
But listening to the other students discuss the results, Mo Sheng knew it was not that the paper was easy. She herself had grown stronger...
Han Tian spent the whole exam sprawled asleep over an empty desk at the back of the classroom, and only after the last subject ended two days later did she slowly sit up and glance at Mo Sheng.
"How did it go?" Han Tian yawned.
"I can take first place." Mo Sheng smiled, her eyes fixed on Han Tian without blinking.
With such an air of asking for praise...
Han Tian laughed inwardly, yet still patted Mo Sheng's head encouragingly. "Mo Sheng is wonderful."
She loved this confident little look on Mo Sheng.
After finishing the last subject, Mo Sheng went to the internet cafe again.
"It's Liang Juan."
Han Tian noticed the sneaky figure following behind Mo Sheng, yet Mo Sheng pretended not to care at all.
The first thing Han Tian did after turning on the computer was log into the email!
She had not logged in for a week, and only now did Han Tian learn that the other side had approved the final draft and already sent the money.
And just as Han Tian had expected, the middle school magazine Mo Sheng had submitted to also sent Mo Sheng proof of acceptance and said it had sent 100 yuan in manuscript fees to Mo Sheng.
"Mo Sheng is wonderful!" Han Tian was delighted and hugged Mo Sheng lightly. "See, knowledge and ability can both turn into wealth!"
Rather than giving Mo Sheng fish, Han Tian preferred to teach her how to fish. That way, if she ever left one day, Mo Sheng would have learned how to survive on her own.
She earned far less than Sister, yet Sister was still this happy...
Watching Han Tian smile, Mo Sheng found herself smiling too without realizing it. "Sister, I'll earn much more money from now on and provide for you!"
"Silly child," Han Tian did not take the little girl's words seriously, but so as not to dampen Mo Sheng's enthusiasm, she still smiled and patted Mo Sheng's head. "All right! I'll wait for you to provide for me..."
Han Tian felt deeply gratified. In the past month, Mo Sheng had visibly become more cheerful.
She had grown taller, her cheeks had filled out, and she looked much more spirited.
This time Han Tian paid for extra time online. She finished writing her newly conceived article, then submitted several articles Mo Sheng had written during this time once more.
Mo Sheng found a nearby ATM and checked the balance on her bank card, then stared with wide eyes!
That evening, urged by Han Tian, the two went shopping again, and Mo Sheng bought several outfits all at once.
That night Mo Sheng hardly dared to sleep, afraid it was all a dream.
Yet Han Tian's lullaby, which was off key, seemed to hold great magic for her, and Han Tian herself did not even know when she fell asleep.
At noon the next day, Han Tian hurried Mo Sheng out of the school gates again.
Han Tian first had Mo Sheng go to the phone service center to get a SIM card.
The service center usually required a guardian to be present. Since Mo Sheng had no family left, Mo Sheng could only bring her household register.
After getting the SIM card, Han Tian had Mo Sheng buy a mobile phone right there in the service center.
Han Tian had long made up her mind. Mo Sheng lived alone, so a tool for communicating with the outside world was indispensable.
Mo Sheng felt reluctant to spend the money, but meeting Han Tian's gaze, Mo Sheng still went to the phone counter.
Mo Sheng picked for a long time and bought the cheapest model, a phone that cost 700 yuan and could only make calls and send texts.
Han Tian knew Mo Sheng begrudged the expense, but she did not force Mo Sheng to switch to another model. After all, phones were replaced far too quickly in this era. She could start with a cheap one and switch again once she was used to it.
By then, when they earned more money, Mo Sheng surely would not pinch pennies the way she did now.
After getting the phone, Han Tian set up a shortcut key for calling the police.
That way, if anything unexpected happened, Mo Sheng could reach the police at once.
Right after, the two rushed to the bank. Mo Sheng changed the home landline that had long lain unused and was tied to her bank card to her own mobile number, and, wincing at the cost, activated text alerts, so that any money sent in the future would automatically trigger a message to Mo Sheng's phone.
Mo Sheng had thought this was already enough, but when Han Tian saw a small street ad for a vocal teacher and told Mo Sheng to call and sign up, Mo Sheng felt completely undone!
"Over three thousand for one term!" Mo Sheng shook her head vigorously like a toy rattle. "Sister, it's too expensive..."
"I said I'd give you the best," Han Tian patted Mo Sheng's head again and smiled with curved eyes. "Mo Sheng, listen to Sister..."
What Mo Sheng could least resist was Han Tian using this gentle tone. Even though she was truly reluctant inside, in the end she pressed her lips together and enrolled.
The two finally slipped into the classroom on the bell. Looking at Han Tian asleep beside her, Mo Sheng felt as if she spent the whole day walking on clouds...
Was this really not a dream?
If it was a dream, Mo Sheng hoped she would never have to wake up!
In the afternoon, just as Mo Sheng had expected, the homeroom teacher strode angrily to the classroom door and told Mo Sheng to come to her office.
The homeroom teacher looked coldly at Mo Sheng. "So you think you're capable now, is that it? You went to the internet cafe again after the exam yesterday! Since you don't take my words to heart, when this term ends you need not..."
Just then the grade director happened to come over with the report cards for the whole grade. Seeing the homeroom teacher, she beamed and patted her on the shoulder. "Teacher Wang, a dark horse has emerged in your class! She actually took first in the whole school..."
In past years, the best the top student in Mo Sheng's class had managed was the top ten in the school.
The homeroom teacher's eyes went wide in an instant, and she hurriedly snatched up the report to look!
And behind the homeroom teacher, Han Tian was already grinning at Mo Sheng and raising her thumb toward Mo Sheng. "Mo Sheng! You're first in the whole school!"
"Wonderful! I knew Mo Sheng could do it!"
After seeing the name at the top of the list clearly, the homeroom teacher stared, glancing in disbelief from Mo Sheng to the list and back, and finally squeezed out a smile with difficulty. "Mo Sheng, look at you. Even though your grades have improved, you must not grow proud..."
Mo Sheng smiled obediently and lowered her head as she handed the homeroom teacher a certificate, a printed proof that her article had been accepted by a magazine.
"Teacher, you know about my family situation, so I planned to earn money by submitting work. Because submissions must be made by computer, I went to the internet cafe..."
The grade director glanced at the proof in Mo Sheng's hand, then looked deeply at Mo Sheng and praised her aloud. "Young student, to know how to earn money by submitting work at such a young age is truly admirable! It's not easy to get accepted by this magazine..."
"Teacher Wang, for your class to produce such a student is all thanks to your excellent teaching..."
The homeroom teacher was left speechless.
She could only smile stiffly and pat Mo Sheng on the shoulder with effort. "You must study hard from now on and never let your grades slip..."
Mo Sheng nodded obediently. Watching Han Tian behind the homeroom teacher mouthing "Look at her ugly face," she barely held back the smile tugging at her lips.
Sister had not been wrong. The feeling of slapping the face of someone who despised her in public was truly exhilarating!
After leaving the office, Mo Sheng went to the internet cafe.
The next day the whole class results came out. During class, the homeroom teacher glanced at Mo Sheng and made a point of praising Mo Sheng's grades, saying nothing else.
After praising Mo Sheng, the homeroom teacher also praised Wang Zhi.
Although Wang Zhi's exam performance this time was not especially outstanding, she miraculously passed every subject!
After the results came out, Wang Zhi shot several smug glances at Mo Sheng.
For the first time, Mo Sheng turned back and met her gaze.
Wang Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and for some reason she quickly turned her head away.
"Hey," Wang Zhi did not know what she felt. After class she sidled up to Mo Sheng. "I passed!"
Mo Sheng looked up at Wang Zhi and hummed softly in reply. "I was just looking for you. Since your grades have come up, and I happen to have things to do, I won't tutor you anymore."
Wang Zhi froze on the spot.
She had not expected Mo Sheng to make such a request!
"No!" Wang Zhi refused instinctively.
"Why not?" Mo Sheng did not get angry. She raised a brow and looked calmly at Wang Zhi.
"You say no more tutoring and that's it? Where does that leave my pride..." Wang Zhi stared at Mo Sheng with rounded eyes, feeling boundless anger in her heart, and mixed within that anger a sadness she herself could not explain...
"Wang Zhi, I've never forgotten what you did to me," Mo Sheng said quietly as she gazed at Wang Zhi. "You can beat me again if you want, but this time the school will surely not stand by and do nothing."
The top student in the grade could enter the elite class in high school and was a key focus of the school. Naturally the school would no longer tolerate Wang Zhi beating Mo Sheng at will.
Actually Mo Sheng would rather have used what she had heard about the Wang family to threaten Wang Zhi, but with Han Tian here, Mo Sheng could only act harmless and innocent.
After all, Mo Sheng understood. Han Tian liked to see her striving and outstanding. She could show weakness in front of Han Tian, but she could not show any dark feelings in front of Han Tian.
"Who do you think cares about you!" Wang Zhi said this even as she glared fiercely at Mo Sheng, yet there was not the slightest care in Mo Sheng's eyes, and there was even a hint of obvious disgust hidden there.
Wang Zhi suddenly found herself speechless.
Only now did she remember that from start to finish Mo Sheng had never promised her anything. It had always been her own conceit. She had thought Mo Sheng was only an ugly little nobody with no background for others to bully, someone she could toy with however she pleased. She had never imagined Mo Sheng could have such a dazzling day.
For the first time, a trace of regret rose in Wang Zhi's heart. Perhaps she should not have bullied Mo Sheng like that before.
Yet it was too late for everything now.
Mo Sheng did not know what Wang Zhi was thinking, nor did she care. From then on, her visits to the internet cafe were effectively out in the open with the homeroom teacher.
The two had found the path of manuscript fees, and Han Tian even submitted the workbook she had previously compiled for Mo Sheng for publication as a study guide.
The numbers on Mo Sheng's bank card grew larger and larger...
At the same time, Mo Sheng's food and clothing kept improving.
The once thin little girl bloomed swiftly like a budding flower shooting upward. Her height climbed little by little, and after one term Mo Sheng had grown to over 1.5 meters, and her skin had gradually turned much fairer.
This was the most comfortable winter Mo Sheng had ever spent.
Mo Sheng slept under a thick quilt with several bottles of hot water tucked inside, warm beyond compare inside the bedding.
At Han Tian's strong insistence, Mo Sheng bought several more padded winter coats. Whatever clothes the other children in class had, Mo Sheng began to have too...
Mo Sheng no longer had to skip breakfast for fear of not having enough money. Every morning she could eat whatever she wanted.
Besides attending school, she also took music lessons and learned vocal music and guitar, becoming famous in one stroke at the gala held at the end of the school year.
More and more classmates came to seek out Mo Sheng to play.
When Han Tian was with her, Mo Sheng acted extremely gentle and was popular with her classmates. But whenever Han Tian did not follow her to school, Mo Sheng seemed utterly distant, as if separated from everyone by a transparent barrier...
Han Tian was unaware of this change in Mo Sheng.
Han Tian had originally planned to have Mo Sheng rent another place to live, but renting was not as simple as getting a SIM card. Most places required a guardian to be present, and Han Tian did not dare rent the few places that did not require a guardian.
Moreover, Mo Sheng's old family house was not far from the middle school and the high school, so Mo Sheng had no plans to move. She only hired someone to renovate it a little.
The changes in Mo Sheng's home naturally could not be hidden from her former relatives, yet Mo Sheng insisted that relatives from her mother's side were helping her. Those cruel relatives were suspicious, and some planned to force their way in, only to get a nasty electric shock from the device Han Tian had designed to stop thieves. After that, no one dared to act rashly again...
In such an atmosphere, Mo Sheng greeted the final exams and once again took first in the whole school.
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