I Am the Only Fertile Woman in the Game-Chapter 213: Severing Ties

"My God, what’s going on, since when do fathers kneel before their daughters?"

"She’s dressed quite nicely, look at how shabby her dad is, reeking of poverty. Never realized she was so good at pretending normally."

"What should we do, should we call the instructor?"

Qiao Suisui heard the volume of the surrounding discussions grow louder, her eyebrows not twitching in the slightest.

She looked indifferently at the kneeling man, as if he were a stranger. She had thought she would feel embarrassed, panicky, or even sad, but she found herself devoid of any emotion.

If Qiao Songfan had approached her in private, politely asking for her help, she might have considered. But she knew this timid yet cunning man all too well. He thought that by putting on this public display of kneeling he could pressure her into taking him to see Guan Weizhi directly.

Qiao Suisui let out a cold laugh.

From the back of the crowd, Gu Mengze saw what was happening, frowned, and made his way to the front, using his hand to block a classmate’s phone that was recording.

"What are you filming? Is it that entertaining?"

Although Gu Mengze was a handsome guy, he appeared unapproachable with a stern face, which caused several classmates to quietly put away their phones.

Qiao Songfan kept kowtowing to Qiao Suisui, as devout as praying to the Goddess of Mercy. Each bow was extremely sincere. It was so heart-wrenchingly pitiful that many people overflowed with sympathy, saying to Qiao Suisui, "Quickly help your dad up."

"Yeah, are you just going to stand there and watch?"

Some even stood on a moral high ground to question her, "He is your dad after all, how can you be like this?"

Qiao Suisui watched coldly, undaunted by his kowtowing, ignoring the surrounding questions.

She calmly asked, "Have you bowed enough?"

Qiao Songfan was taken aback, then continued to feign pity, "Suisui, you haven’t been home for a long time, I’m worried about you. Come home with dad."

As soon as these words left his mouth, they misled everyone, making it seem as if it were a bitter father pleading with his rebellious and ignorant daughter to come home.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted into discussion, even Gu Mengze hesitated with a frown.

Qiao Suisui calmly waited for the buzz to subside, then summoned her emotions, and tears came forth on cue.

She cast her eyes downward, her face carrying a helpless, tragic smile, and spoke in a volume clear for everyone to hear, "When you stop gambling, come find me then."

’Whoosh—’

The crowd was abuzz once again.

Those who had been speaking righteously without any stake in the situation quickly changed sides, saying, "Wow, he’s a real gambling dog."

"My goodness, to be stuck with such a father, what a cruel fate."

A look of pity crossed Gu Mengze’s eyes.

Qiao Suisui didn’t give Qiao Songfan a chance to open his mouth, and continued with a sobbing voice, "I can’t go home yet because I need to work part-time after my classes. Please go, don’t come looking for money from me again..." As she spoke, she stepped back and pretended to clutch her purse, crying like rain on pear blossoms, "I don’t have any money... I wouldn’t give it to you even if I did... This is all for Mom’s medical and drug expenses, and my little brother’s tuition fees. I really can’t give it to you."

"No, you..."

Before Qiao Songfan could finish speaking, someone in the crowd who couldn’t stand it anymore shouted out, "Call security!"

College students are an easily stirred and exploited group because at this age, they have not seen much of society’s evils, their sense of right and wrong is clear, they have not been beaten down by society yet, and they are filled with a sense of righteousness.

So the classmates who had been questioning Qiao Suisui just moments before were now standing hand in hand to form a barrier in front of her.

Gu Mengze walked over, grabbed her wrist, and led her out through the back door. Qiao Songfan frantically tried to explain, but he was already encircled by a group of students, unable to keep up with them.

The two ran out of the teaching building and hid in the shade behind the school’s sports field.

"Are you okay?" Gu Mengze asked.

Qiao Suisui shook her head, pulling her hand back, and thanked him.

Gu Mengze responded, his eyes glancing elsewhere one moment and at her the next, his limbs seemingly unsure of where to go.

"That..." he began, organizing his words, trying to offer comfort, "Don’t be too heartbroken. If your dad bothers you again, you can call me."

Qiao Suisui gave him a curious look, her eyes twinkling before she glanced down with a smile.

"You want to give me your phone number?"

"No, that’s not what I mean. I really want to help..." Gu Mengze explained, then seeming to think it wasn’t such a bad idea, he paused for a moment, unlocked his phone, brought up the dial pad, and handed it to Qiao Suisui, while his eyes looked away.

He said, "Enter your number."

Qiao Suisui couldn’t help but laugh, thinking to herself that good-looking guys like him really were awkward when it came to pursuing girls.

She pushed his phone back without entering her number and sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your concern, but I can handle it myself."

Her straightforward and proper refusal left Gu Mengze startled. He looked at the slender girl in front of him, not understanding why she was different from other girls. Had it been anyone else, they would have either been excitedly shouting or bashfully complying. But she simply rejected him calmly and openly... this gave him an indescribable feeling of loss in his heart.

"What... what will you do if your dad bothers you again in the future?"

Qiao Suisui corrected him, "He isn’t my dad." Then she brushed some leaves off her skirt and stood up with grace and poise, saying, "And there won’t be a next time."

Because she wouldn’t let such a situation happen again.

Some things, it was time for her to put an end to.

That evening, Qiao Suisui returned to the Qiao Family home.

Without a word of superfluous conversation, she slammed a bank card and a contract onto the table.

The bank card contained her earnings from part-time jobs over the years, which had initially been saved for her tuition fees. Now that she had received an investment from Zhonghe Fund, she was no longer financially strained. So she decided to take out this money as repayment for the Qiao Family’s upbringing.

"There is a total of thirty thousand in here. It’s not much, but I will continue to deposit money, as appreciation for your years of upbringing, until the debt is paid off."

Next, she tapped her fingertips on the contract on the table and spoke to Qiao Songfan, "You want an investment, right? I will explain your situation to Guan Weizhi, but I can’t guarantee that it will surely help you."

Qiao Songfan’s face lit up with joy, and he moved to grab her hand in thanks, but Qiao Suisui dodged mercilessly, while Mother Qiao gave Qiao Songfan a disparaging glance.

"You’re thanking me too early. I haven’t finished speaking yet. You can use me to reach Guan Weizhi, but I have one condition. Sign this commitment statement, and from then on, I will have nothing to do with the Qiao Family. If you become wealthy, I won’t come asking for a penny, and likewise, if you come to ruin, I won’t offer help. Let’s not intersect in life or death."

Qiao Jiming looked up at her, his face unable to hide his glee.

Mother Qiao, however, turned pale with shock, her voice filled with disbelief as she blurted out, "Are you insane? What nonsense are you talking about? We are a family. Do you hear yourself?"

Qiao Suisui laughed, her response plunging Mother Qiao into the depths of a cold abyss. "Mom, for all these years you’ve ’played’ the role in the Qiao Family, have they ever truly accepted you?"

"Whether you want to continue acting it out, I don’t care, but I refuse to play this ’family’ game with you all any longer." Her tone was very light, as if she was discussing a perfectly ordinary, trivial matter.

For a moment, the entire living room fell silent.

Qiao Jiming stepped forward, handing a pen to Qiao Songfan, and said, "Sign it. Haven’t you always wanted the company more than us three?"

Qiao Songfan’s face turned red as if a silent slap had landed on his cheek. He glanced at Mother Qiao, who was still in a daze, then gritting his teeth, he took the pen and signed.

With the last stroke of the pen, it signified that Qiao Suisui was truly free from the family.

She gathered her things and tossed out, "I’ll inform you about the Guan Weizhi matter later," then turned and left. As she walked out of the apartment building, Qiao Jiming followed her down.

"Sister, I have something to tell you."

Qiao Suisui turned around, about to ask what it was when, upon seeing the familiar silhouette behind Qiao Jiming, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she instinctively called out:

"Lanze?"