Chapter 182: Qin Lianzhu Calls

Qin Miaoyu never expected that after Qin Shengyi contacted her, Qin Lianzhu would call her as well!

Upon seeing Qin Lianzhu's name, Qin Miaoyu's first thought was that nothing good ever came of a visit from her cousin—she was only calling because she needed something.

Back when they still maintained a cordial sisterly relationship, Qin Lianzhu would never call her without reason, and now, it was even less likely!

However, this time, Qin Lianzhu seemed to have grown a bit craftier.

"Sister, it's been so long! I've missed you so much!"

Qin Miaoyu's expression turned indescribably subtle. In the past, she had only ever heard Qin Lianzhu act spoiled like this with Su Yaqing. Toward her—a sister with whom she didn't have a very good relationship—Qin Lianzhu was usually cold, distant, or downright confrontational.

This was the first time she had ever heard Qin Lianzhu say she missed her!

She felt not a single shred of warmth at this; instead, she just wanted to laugh.

Qin Miaoyu cut straight to the chase: "Spit it out. What do you want? Stop beating around the bush."

The emotions Qin Lianzhu had spent a long time brewing instantly stalled and collapsed.

If it were in the past, she would have definitely started a fight with Qin Miaoyu right then and there. But since she currently needed Qin Miaoyu's help, she naturally forced that temper down.

"Sister, can't I just call to chat with you? We grew up together as sisters, after all!"

Qin Miaoyu replied unceremoniously, "Didn't we grow up shouting at each other instead?"

The age gap between the two sisters wasn't very large, so they had indeed grown up together.

However, back then, Qin Miaoyu had their grandmother's partiality, while Qin Lianzhu had the favoritism of Qin Shengyi and Su Yaqing. Whenever they fought, both had backers, and neither would yield an inch.

Later, after their grandmother passed away, Qin Miaoyu craved parental affection and began to concede three points to Qin Lianzhu out of compromise.

Yet those were only three points. It didn't mean they wouldn't keep fighting. Whenever a conflict grew too large for Qin Miaoyu to back down, the two of them would still descend into chaotic rows, which would ultimately end with Su Yaqing taking Qin Lianzhu's side.

This dynamic had lasted for several years. By the time Qin Miaoyu reached high school and university, her interactions with Qin Lianzhu grew fewer and farther between, and strangely enough, she had even begun to feel a slight twinge of affection for her younger sister.

Even that trace of affection, however, had long since vanished, worn away by Qin Lianzhu's own antics!

Qin Lianzhu stalled out once more. She felt that she simply shouldn't have sought out Qin Miaoyu today, but remembering her mother's stern instructions, she had no choice but to push on.

"Sister, even if we did fight, didn't we still share genuine, flesh-and-blood affection? Why must you talk like that?"

"Tell me, who put you up to saying these things?"

Qin Miaoyu certainly didn't believe Qin Lianzhu could come up with such phrasing on her own. Su Yaqing had raised Qin Lianzhu to be "innocent and simple," which most directly manifested in her speech—she said whatever was on her mind, exceptionally blunt and straightforward.

Qin Lianzhu gave up. The script her mother had taught her was utterly useless!

She bit her lower lip and decided to speak the truth: "Sister, I want you to help me. Dad wants to force me to marry the Second Young Master Wang. I..."

"Are you talking about that Second Young Master Wang from the year before last?" Qin Miaoyu asked.

"Yes."

Qin Miaoyu sneered. "Didn't you say back then that Second Young Master Wang was a wonderful marriage prospect? Why are you suddenly unwilling now?"

Qin Miaoyu still remembered the advice Qin Lianzhu had tried to push on her back then, and she never expected the tables to turn on Qin Lianzhu herself.

Qin Lianzhu quickly admitted her mistake. "Sister, I didn't know what kind of person Second Young Master Wang really was back then. If I had known, I certainly wouldn't have advised you that way! Sister, I just want you to help me now, to make Dad drop this idea."

"Help you? How? Qin Shengyi won't listen to my arrangements anyway. You're just wasting your time coming to me!"

"No, he will, he really will!" Qin Lianzhu blurted out anxiously. "Sister, I already know the news that your brother-in-law is Lu Qian. The family is in a difficult financial situation right now, which is why Dad wants to force me into this marriage with Second Young Master Wang. As long as you and brother-in-law speak up and help the family weather this crisis, Dad definitely won't force me to marry him anymore!"

Qin Miaoyu leaned back against the sofa cushions.

"Then you're thinking too much. Not only do you know who Lu Qian is, but don't you also know that we are already divorced? So, I can't help you with this favor!"

Qin Lianzhu refused to believe it. "Even if you're divorced, you must have walked away with a considerable amount of assets, right? You just need to hand a portion of it over to the family, and everything will be resolved!"

Qin Miaoyu hadn't expected that they were already eyeing her nonexistent "divorce settlement."

Originally, Lu Qian had intended to divide a portion of the assets and give them to her, but Qin Miaoyu had flatly refused.

Although she wasn't exceptionally wealthy right now, she could at least eat and drink well without having to worry.

Earlier, her maternal family had left her a portion of assets, and later she had invested some money into her second brother's company. As things had developed up to the present, all she had to do was sit back and wait for the annual dividends.

Buying expensive items posed zero pressure for her either. But why on earth should she use her own money to plug the bottomless pit of the Qin family?

Furthermore, Qin Lianzhu's train of thought left her somewhat speechless. At a time like this, she was actually still expecting her to inject capital so the Qin family's company could return to its previous standing?

Qin Miaoyu couldn't help but ask, "Qin Lianzhu, have you forgotten? Qin Shengyi has an illegitimate son. No matter how well the Qin family does, it doesn't have a single cent to do with you!"

If the Qin family truly returned to its former glory or even climbed to even greater heights, it still wouldn't have anything to do with Qin Lianzhu, because Qin Shengyi would never let Qin Lianzhu take over the family's businesses. In the end, after all of Qin Lianzhu's hard work, it would only benefit someone else!

However, Qin Lianzhu didn't see it that way.

"As long as the Qin family doesn't collapse right now, I won't have to marry Second Young Master Wang, and my life can go back to how it was before. Isn't that a good thing?"

Qin Miaoyu let out a soft sigh and, much like the advice she had given Qin Shengyi last time, said, "I truly don't have the ability to help you now. But hasn't Liang Sixuan already taken control of the Su family? Why don't you go find her? Having her help you will be much more effective."

The voice on the other end of the line instantly turned harsh and grating: "I refuse to go see her and ask her for help! This whole thing was her idea in the first place. If she hadn't brought it up, Dad wouldn't have even thought of this direction!"

Qin Miaoyu offered another suggestion instead: "I have one more method, but you probably won't like it."

"What method? Tell me!"

"Stop caring about what happens to the Qin family, and learn to stand on your own two feet. Earn your own money to eat. Once you no longer need to rely on the Qin family to survive, you'll naturally have the confidence to reject Qin Shengyi's proposal straight to his face!"

Just as Qin Miaoyu had anticipated, Qin Lianzhu resisted this suggestion even more fiercely.

"I haven't even graduated yet; how am I supposed to support myself? Besides, every single thing I wear and use costs money. How could I possibly afford it on my own?"

Qin Miaoyu thought to herself: that means letting go of all those high-end luxuries!

Back then, once she started earning her own money, she had gradually transitioned to living solely off what she made herself.

She had no choice; after all, Qin Shengyi and Su Yaqing had tried to use her living expenses to force her into submission.

Therefore, she had forced herself to grow accustomed to affordable clothing, food, and daily necessities while working as hard as she could to earn money, ensuring that the moment she stepped out into society, she would immediately have savings to sustain her life.