2 It's Not That I Don't Care

"How dare you talk back?!"

The more Hou Manrong spoke, the angrier she got. She pointed at her youngest daughter and hurled all kinds of insults at her. Brother Po had driven her mad with anger but she didn't dare to talk back to him. But now, her youngest daughter came home at this very moment and kept asking her questions.

How was she supposed to answer all these questions? She was so irritated.

As she soaked in Hou Manrong's rage, the honest Qiao Lingxiang slowly understood one thing. She hadn't said anything wrong, done anything wrong, or asked anything she shouldn't have.

She just coincidentally appeared when her mother was in a bad mood. Hence, she naturally became the one who served as an outlet for her mother's anger.

When she realized this, Qiao Lingxiang felt as though a huge hole formed in her heart. Cold air kept pumping into her heart. She stopped retaliating.

She never talked back when Hou Manrong scolded her.

Based on her past experiences, the moment she talked back, a more powerful storm would await her. Since that was the case, she would rather live with the scolding. Until she could live independently, dealing with Hou Manrong's harsh words would allow her to live her life without any worries.

Thus, Qiao Lingxiang lowered her head quietly and looked at her extra-large tennis shoes. There was a hole in them. Tears started to fill her eyes silently.

She always managed to endure her mother's words but they still hurt.

People always judged her figure unconsciously. They would laugh and mock her without restraint as though she didn't care about their words. At times, she didn't even know what she'd done wrong. She would just get home and greet her mother but would then get scolded.

Pig, dinosaur, pig food… People blurted out these words so easily and viewed it as a matter of common practice. They didn't see anything wrong with it but they never thought about how she would feel when she heard these words. She had a heart and she cared too. She could also sense the disdain, derision, and ridicule from them.

It wasn't that she didn't care. She cared but it was useless.

Tears started pouring down from Qiao Lingxiang's eyes. But her round body and her fat and oily face caused her to look extremely ugly even when she cried. It was an eyesore.

"Why did you come back? I'm asking you—why did you come back?"

Hou Manrong got angrier as she continued scolding her daughter. She charged in front of Qiao Lingxiang and questioned her furiously.

"You don't help with anything at home. Your sister is in imminent danger so why did you still come back? There's nothing for you to eat at home. Nothing!"

"I didn't come back for food."

Qiao Lingxiang suppressed her hunger and explained in a soft voice. Many people thought that others became fat when they ate too much. However, they didn't know that some people's body makeup enabled them to accumulate fat more easily.

She hadn't been full for a long time but she could gain weight just by drinking water. Even if she didn't eat a single grain of rice for a few days and only drank water, she could gain a few kilograms. It was a miracle.

Actually, Hou Manrong knew this. Their living standard now was quite poor so the family couldn't afford to let Qiao Lingxiang eat well. But she was angered by Brother Po and didn't know how to deal with her anger. That was why she said this on purpose.

Anyway, most people believed people turned fat because they were content with life. Qiao Lingxiang was fat and she was ugly. Nobody really liked her but she had a good temper. No matter how angrily Hou Manrong scolded her, Qiao Lingxiang wouldn't take it to heart.

At least this was what Hou Manrong thought.

As expected, when she viciously attacked Qiao Lingxiang with her words, Qiao Lingxiang just explained that she hadn't come back for food and lowered her head after. She didn't say anything else and allowed Hou Manrong to scold her to her heart's content.

After Hou Manrong depleted all her energy, Qiao Lingxiang silently took out a piece of paper from her pocket and passed it to Hou Manrong dejectedly.

"What is this?"

Hou Manrong returned to the hallway after drinking some water. She angrily picked up the piece of paper Qiao Lingxiang was holding.

It was a notice letter about day students.

She frowned and asked, "You're going to be a day student? Why?"

"Everyone at school has to get this signed. From today onwards, the students who can't produce energy coupons will become day students."

Qiao Lingxiang was in her third year at junior high. The world started breaking down last year. Every single media outlet said that the apocalypse was coming and all resources were in short supply. Mutated animals started appearing on the city outskirts.

They caused everyone to be jittery.

Many students stopped going to school at her age and dropped out of school. However, Qiao Lingxiang's father, Qiao Pengfei, still hoped that his daughters could complete their studies. The harsher the environment, the more urban management authorities needed highly educated individuals.

Qiao Pengfei's perspective was farsighted. He would rather go out and complete missions for energy stones to earn money than allow his daughters to drop out of school.

However, the energy supply at school was running low too. Winter was coming. The students would consume a lot of energy and water if they lived at the boarding school. Now, water, electricity, and food could only be bought with coupons. Resources were slowly being controlled, one by one. You might not be able to afford it even if you had the money.

Hence, the school decided to send back the students without energy coupons. This would reduce the schools' energy expenditure.

When Hou Manrong heard this, her flames of anger that had subsided lit up again. She immediately threw the notice letter in her hand back at Qiao Lingxiang and said angrily," "Coupon, coupon, coupon. Does everything revolve around coupons now? Coupon this, coupon that. I've already paid money to the school. Why are they still asking for coupons? All they know is how to beg parents for coupons. I'm not signing this. I've given money to your school so why can't you stay at the boarding school? If you come back home, I'll have to feed you. The family can't afford to feed you!"

She looked and shouted at Qiao Lingxiang who remained silent.

"Hurry up and go back to school. I don't think the school will really kick you out if I don't sign this."

Qiao Lingxiang, who was holding the letter in her hands, felt her heart dropping as though there was a steel bar attached to it. She really wanted to tell her mother that the school was serious this time. All the students who didn't give them energy coupons would have to stay at home. There was no point in arguing with the school.

This was what the world was like. The school had a hard time sustaining itself so administration was trying to offload some of their burden. They probably hoped that their below-average students would stop studying.

If Qiao Lingxiang couldn't hand over any energy coupons, she might really be kicked out of school.

However, judging by Hou Manrong's attitude, she knew that her mother wouldn't listen to her explanations. Her mother always thought that things would slowly get better. She thought the administrators of this city would create solutions to allow its citizens to return to their previous standard of living.

In Hou Manrong's opinion, the school's request was unreasonable. It was like a compulsory education before an apocalypse. The families who were struggling wouldn't be able to pay the tuition fees. Could the school stop students from studying?

But in this society, everyone was struggling, including the schools.

Qiao Lingxiang lowered her head. Her large head and big ears made her unsightly. She murmured with difficulty, "Mom, this time, the school…"