CHAPTER 377: CHAPTER 377: ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND

Grandma Wu halted her steps, her pupils dilating, as a smile began to form on her face, "That would be a great help." As she spoke, she turned around, realizing the young girl looked even more delicate and pretty than usual.

"It’s no trouble." An Yin replied softly.

Grandma Wu turned happily, "Then follow me home to get the clothes."

"Alright."

Going down the stairs, Grandma Wu walked very slowly, and An Yin deliberately slowed down her pace.

One of Grandma Wu’s rooms was right opposite An Yin’s house. When Grandma Wu pushed open the door, a strong, unpleasant damp smell came wafting out, making An Yin feel quite uncomfortable. She discreetly held her breath.

The already narrow house was cluttered with miscellaneous items, making the pathway even a bit cramped. An Yin followed behind Grandma Wu apprehensively. As they reached the balcony, An Yin looked up to see clothes hanging densely on a long stainless steel rod above.

"These up here are all damp, taking them over would mean quite a journey." Grandma Wu feigned hesitation.

"It’s alright, I’m just at home with nothing to do today anyway." An Yin stated honestly.

"Good child." Grandma Wu praised the young girl in front of her before starting to mutter to herself, "I’ve been staying in this room for days, along with the old man. His temper is really insufferable. This morning, on the eve of the New Year, we exchanged a few words. To avoid me, he went off who knows where again."

Grandma Wu liked to chat whenever she encountered someone.

When An Yin was with Grandma Wu, she mostly just listened quietly. She knew very little about these family matters and didn’t know how to respond.

Seeing the young girl remain silent, a glint of shadow passed across Grandma Wu’s eyes, and she spoke with a face full of grievance, "It’s such a pity my room got flooded and is uninhabitable right now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be suffering so much."

The room Grandma Wu referred to was right below An Yin’s home.

"Is the flooding very serious?" An Yin asked timidly.

"Of course." Grandma Wu raised her voice as if the louder her voice, the more credible her words, "Last time your mother asked me to estimate the damage. What does an old lady like me know? Coincidentally, yesterday at the New Year’s Eve dinner with relatives, a son from my cousin’s family, who works in the renovation business, took a look at it. He said..."

Grandma Wu paused in her speech and glanced at the young girl.

"Said, said what?" An Yin felt a sense of foreboding.

"Said that my room sustained substantial water damage, and it’s best to refurbish it. He even estimated the cost, approximately fifteen thousand." Grandma Wu saw the young girl’s wide eyes, suppressing her sympathy, yet truly she was the victim.

"Fifteen thousand?" An Yin exclaimed.

Fifteen thousand? It was no small amount for An Yin.

It seemed from Grandma Wu’s words that Ms. An had already discussed compensation with her, though Grandma Wu hadn’t shared this idea with Ms. An yet.

An Yin stood there, dumbfounded, her face pale, very pale.

"Really, why am I telling you all this? Let’s move the clothes to your house first." Grandma Wu made a move to grab the pole and hand down the clothes.

"Let me do it, Grandma Wu."

Distracted, An Yin began taking down the clothes one by one. Seeing that she’d achieved her goal, Grandma Wu left a remark, "I’m boiling water in the kitchen, I’d better go check on it."

When An Yin returned home holding the clothes in both hands, Aunt Zhang was coming out of the kitchen.

"Why so many clothes? They don’t look like ours..." Aunt Zhang asked, puzzled.

"They’re Grandma Wu’s." An Yin mumbled.

"You better return them quickly, no need to bring them here."

An Yin remained where she was, unmoving.

Aunt Zhang then noticed something was amiss, "What’s going on?"

"Grandma Wu’s clothes are too damp. Our air conditioning is on, so I thought..."

Before An Yin could finish, Aunt Zhang interrupted, noticing her big, blinking eyes.

"As I recall, they have air conditioning too, there’s no need to keep them here." Aunt Zhang frowned.

Holding the clothes, An Yin struggled, a fine layer of sweat forming on her forehead.

Seeing the young girl’s soft demeanor, Aunt Zhang got an idea. Stepping forward, she took the clothes from An Yin and hung them on an iron rack against the wall, perfectly suitable for drying clothes.

After Aunt Zhang took them, An Yin turned around.

Aunt Zhang didn’t think much of it until the young girl kept bringing back more loads of clothes, even including the old lady’s intimate garments, causing Aunt Zhang’s face to gradually darken. But she couldn’t say anything in front of the young girl.

After finishing the task, An Yin was sweating heavily, and to prevent catching a cold, Aunt Zhang pushed her to take a shower.

Emerging from the bathroom, she heard murmuring coming from Ms. An’s room, but she didn’t think much of it and went directly to sit on the sofa, habitually glancing at her phone.

There were several unread messages on WeChat, each from a different sender.

Bao Shaojin had sent a New Year’s red envelope.

Shen Jingrou had sent a New Year’s red envelope.

Meng Sihan had sent a New Year’s red envelope.

For a moment, seeing Meng Sihan’s name, she was in a daze—they weren’t close, and hardly ever exchanged greetings. An Yin didn’t expect him to send a red envelope.

An Yin didn’t open this envelope. The last time at "Night Charm," the tip given by the man was too much, and she still wanted to find a chance to return it.

Then, she opened the dialogue with Bao Shaojin, and simultaneously felt a cold sensation on her ankle. She raised her foot onto the sofa.

The ankle bracelet coiled several times around her foot. During the bath, she tried to remove it but found the hidden clasp couldn’t be undone.

Bending closer for a better look, her sharp eyes noticed that the clasp seemed to hide a secret, with numbers engraved on the inside.

Could it be a combination lock? An Yin mused internally.

Surely she was overthinking—after all, the man said the anklet was cheap, how could it have something as complex as a combination lock?

An Yin reached out, touching it, feeling its coolness under her fingertips.

Even indoors, in the dim light, the anklet exuded faint glimmers, its colors shifting depending on where you stood.

As she became engrossed in looking at it, Aunt Zhang’s excited voice came from the bedroom, sounding displeased.

Coming back to her senses, An Yin looked at the red envelopes others had sent her, declining each of them, after which she sent a New Year’s text to each familiar person.

With that done, she got up, tiptoeing to Ms. An’s door, listening at the crack, trying to hear what Ms. An and Aunt Zhang were discussing, wondering why Aunt Zhang sounded so agitated.