Chapter 8: Salary Advance

"Jiang Qin is going too far. It is clearly her fault that her sister was injured, and now she is actually using running away from home to force us to compromise!" Jiang Ruhai gritted his teeth in anger.

Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Rumeng looked somewhat uneasy. She worriedly asked, "It’s already so late. Could my sister be in danger out there by herself?"

"She’s a female; what kind of danger could she possibly be in?" Jiang Ruhai sneered. "She just doesn't want to apologize to you and is trying to force us to soften our stance by running away."

Jiang Yulian thought the same, which was why she was so furious. She had been pampered by her mates her entire life and had never yielded to anyone. Now that she was being threatened by her own offspring, she was absolutely not going to back down. Besides, females were safe from harm out in the world, and she had given Jiang Qin a credit limit on her optical computer; she wouldn't starve.

"Isn't she just trying to make us beg her to come back? Never! I’ll see just how long she can keep this up! Rumeng has already stopped blaming her, yet she still chooses to throw a tantrum. None of you are allowed to help her. I’ll deactivate her optical computer account in a moment and see how long she lasts!"

Jiang Yulian’s mates remained silent. They followed her wishes unconditionally; after all, while Jiang Qin was Jiang Yulian’s biological daughter, she was not theirs. To them, other people's daughters were far less important than their own mates. Even Jiang Rumeng, whom they had raised from childhood, was only showered with affection as a way to curry favor with their mate. Thus, the three middle-aged males present agreed naturally. They didn't even have Jiang Qin’s contact information, so there was no way to help even if they wanted to. As for Jiang Yulian’s two sons, they had already returned to school and were not there, and Jiang Ruhai had never even acknowledged Jiang Qin as his sister.

"Rumeng, I’m sorry you’ve been wronged. When she returns, I will make her apologize to you and guarantee that she never bullies you again."

"Mom, I’m not wronged. My sister didn't mean it. Let’s just forget about the apology."

Seeing Jiang Rumeng’s understanding nature, Jiang Yulian felt a surge of affection. It was true—children raised by her side were better; they were like her, whereas Jiang Qin was just like her deceased father, far too crude.

"Don't think too much about it. You just got out of the hospital, so get some rest. With me here, no one can bully you." Not even her own daughter. Jiang Yulian loved her niece from the bottom of her heart and truly treated her like her own. She had few siblings, and only one brother shared her father. That brother had died on a spaceship years ago, and his wife had been abducted by space pirates, never to be heard from again. After so many years, it was unlikely she would ever return.

Back in her room, Jiang Rumeng dropped the smile from her face. She sat silently leaning against her bed for a long time before using her optical computer to transfer 100,000 star coins to Jiang Qin’s account. She left no message.

Jiang Qin, who no longer had an optical computer, did not see the notification. Even if she had, she wouldn't have cared; in her previous life, this was exactly the tactic Jiang Rumeng had used to reel her in for two years—always playing the only person in the Jiang family to help her after hurting her. Even with a second chance at life, Jiang Qin still couldn't fathom her motives.

The next day, after waking up, Jiang Qin went straight to the bar. It was still early, so the bar wasn't open yet. She entered through the back, where staff members were cleaning and stocking up on suppressants. Seeing her, everyone greeted her respectfully, "Good morning, Miss Jiang."

Jiang Qin smiled in response, "Good morning, everyone." She was wearing the same white dress today—one of two performance outfits provided by You Wei, as she hadn't taken a single piece of clothing with her when she left the Jiang home. It was the only thing she had for daily wear.

She had come today to ask You Wei for an advance on her salary. She hadn't felt comfortable asking before, but now that she was officially working, she wanted to see if she could get a few tens of thousands of star coins to buy basic necessities.

"Do you know where the boss is?" Without an optical computer, she had to come to the bar to find him.

"He should be in the security room. I saw him and Brother Kang go in earlier."

"Thank you."

Jiang Qin hurried to the security room and knocked. Seeing it was her, You Wei was surprised. "Miss Jiang? Why are you here so early? Is something the matter?"

Jiang Qin tightened her grip on her bag strap, blushing as she asked, "Boss, is it possible for me to get an advance on my salary?"

You Wei had helped her register as a citizen, so he knew she had previously lived on a barren planet. He slapped his forehead in regret. "My apologies, Miss Jiang. I meant to ask you if you needed an advance earlier, but it slipped my mind."

"Should I transfer it to your optical computer, or would you prefer an anonymous star coin debit card?"

Jiang Qin smiled, "Boss, I destroyed that optical computer. I don't have one anymore; a card would be perfect."

You Wei, who had been about to operate his device, paused. He didn't pry into why she had destroyed it. Instead, he asked, "Would a month's advance be enough? How about I pay you six months in advance so you can buy a new optical computer?"

"Is that okay? Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it. You're too polite, Miss Jiang. This isn't a gift; it's just your own salary paid early."

Facing a female so well-mannered, You Wei felt a bit out of his depth. Most beast-folk females, relying on their spiritual power and the fact that males were expected to cater to them, were typically spoiled and dismissive of males. With Jiang Qin, he not only received respect but also sincere gratitude, which left even an A-rank male like him feeling flattered. You Wei didn't think he was doing much; after all, a female with spiritual power would never truly be short on money. If she wanted to, she could easily take a single job performing a soothing session during the day, and countless C-rank and B-rank males would be lining up at her door. Her financial struggle was only temporary, so his help was merely a small gesture of goodwill.

Having received six months' salary, Jiang Qin immediately bought a decent optical computer for 1.6 million star coins. She quickly linked her temporary account and safely stored the video evidence that would prove her innocence. Only after everything was settled did she check the trending topics on the StarNet.

[Willing to pay a fortune for the copyright of these two songs!]

Curious, Jiang Qin clicked on it, only to find a video of herself playing the piano at the bar. Below it, a flood of comments from people begging for the songs to be uploaded to a platform, as that was the only way to download them.