Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

The next morning.

Bai Li opened her eyes, got dressed, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

After the sound of water stopped, he dried his face with a towel, pushed open the door to the master bedroom, and went downstairs.

The aroma of food wafted from the restaurant on the first floor.

Li Mengmeng walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of freshly fried eggs.

Millet porridge, steamed buns, and several dishes of cold side dishes were already laid out on the table.

Zhang Qian, Li Jiaxin, Lin Xiaoshuang, Chen Tingting, and Jiang Ruyue all sat around the dining table.

They held chopsticks in their hands, but none of them ate first; they were all waiting for Bai Li to come down and take a seat.

Bai Li walked over, pulled out the chair in the main seat, and sat down.

His gaze swept across the long table, and he noticed that one person was missing.

"Where is An Yaoyao?"

Chen Tingting bit the end of her chopsticks, looked around, and shook her head directly:

"I haven't seen him today."

Li Jiaxin picked up her water glass and took a sip:

"They're probably still sleeping."

"This girl..." Bai Li looked towards the second floor:

"Is she still not awake? Xiaoshuang, could you please go and wake her up?"

Lin Xiaoshuang put down her chopsticks, agreed, and ran upstairs to the second floor.

The remaining girls still didn't touch their chopsticks, waiting for An Yaoyao to arrive before starting their meal.

After a while, footsteps came from the stairs.

Lin Xiaoshuang walked in front, and An Yaoyao followed behind. The two of them went downstairs together.

An Yaoyao was wearing her usual black and pink striped dress.

She walked slowly, her steps were dragging, her head was down, and she looked listless.

And the reaction was a bit strange.

In the past, when faced with a table full of delicious dishes prepared by Li Mengmeng, this girl would definitely have been the first to rush over and wait at the table with chopsticks in hand.

Today, however, she stopped at the furthest spot from the table, unwilling to move closer.

Seeing her like this, Bai Li asked:

"Didn't you sleep well last night?"

An Yaoyao raised her eyelids and glanced at Bai Li.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

She then looked away and slowly walked past Bai Li.

"Come on over, breakfast is ready," Bai Li urged.

An Yaoyao stopped in her tracks.

She held onto the back of the chair and spoke softly:

"No...no."

She paused for two seconds, then looked at the floor and added:

"I'm not very hungry..."

Bai Li spoke in a neutral tone:

"You can't skip meals. You have to work this morning, don't overwork yourself."

Hearing this, An Yaoyao did not refuse again.

She pulled out the chair at the very edge and sat down obediently.

"Let's eat." Bai Li picked up her chopsticks and took out a steamed bun.

Only then did everyone start eating.

But the atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat strange.

At breakfast, Chen Tingting would always fight with Li Jiaxin for a few bites of food, Li Mengmeng would protect her favorite food, and Zhang Qian would stick close to Bai Li to put food on his plate.

Today, however, no one spoke, and not even the sound of chewing could be heard.

Everyone kept their heads down and moved very quietly, because everyone noticed that An Yaoyao was not in a good mood.

An Yaoyao took a spoon and stirred the bowl aimlessly.

She stirred the porridge until it was a mess, but didn't eat a single bite.

Jiang Ruyue held the small bowl and scooped out a large piece of steamed egg custard with a spoon, putting it into her mouth.

After swallowing, she tilted her head to look at An Yaoyao, then glanced at the remaining steamed egg custard in the middle of the table.

Jiang Ruyue's expression was serious:

"You're not going to fight me for the steamed egg custard today?"

An Yaoyao didn't react at all, continuing to stir the porridge mechanically.

Lin Xiaoshuang leaned closer to Li Mengmeng and whispered:

"It's like someone stole her man."

Upon hearing this, An Yaoyao's fingers stopped, and the spoon clattered against the edge of the porcelain bowl.

Soon, everyone had almost finished eating.

An Yaoyao stood up and stacked the empty bowls together.

She lowered her head and whispered something:

"I'll go wash the dishes."

Holding the bowl, An Yaoyao walked into the kitchen and closed the sliding door.

The sound of the faucet being turned on could be heard.

Chen Tingting looked towards the kitchen and finally couldn't hold back any longer, asking the first question:

"Big brother, what's wrong with her? She seems... strange?"

Jiang Ruyue put down her spoon and nodded in agreement:

"I also feel something's off; they didn't try to take my steamed egg custard today."

Lin Xiaoshuang whispered in response:

"Yes, I felt like I'd lost my soul first thing this morning."

Bai Li leaned back in his chair, completely bewildered.

He shrugged and said, "I don't know either."

"It was fine when I went upstairs last night."

Bai Li knew in his heart that An Yaoyao was not actually angry when he was dragged upstairs by the young woman last night.

When she's angry, she leaves silently without saying a word, just like the day she was angered and left when she first arrived, and just like today.

This silent, zombie-like state is completely out of character for her; it's as if she's suffered some kind of trauma.

But despite the doubts, the matter of making money cannot be forgotten.

Bai Li took out her phone and opened WeChat.

With a tap of his finger, he transferred 1 yuan to each of the six women.

At the same time, 500,000 yuan had already been deposited into the account.

Bai Li put away his phone, and the question returned to An Yaoyao in the kitchen.

"Could it be that they've run into some trouble?"

He sat in the chair, staring at the glass door of the kitchen in thought.

Did you encounter some urgent need for money? Or...?

He didn't mind transferring money to An Yaoyao, after all, she was an investment target recognized by the system, and her affection for him had reached over 60.

Moreover, An Yaoyao is essentially a kind and beautiful little girl.

Bai Li glanced at the six girls sitting next to her.

They were all grinning foolishly after receiving the money, and nobody paid any attention to him.

Bai Li turned her phone screen back on and found An Yaoyao's WeChat chat window.

He clicked on the transfer function and entered 5000 in the amount field.

This is a sum of money that is neither too big nor too small.

It's sufficient for emergencies if you encounter trouble.

Even if they weren't short of money, it would be reasonable to treat it as a bonus to show concern.

Click "Transfer" and enter your password.

Sent successfully.

In the kitchen.

An Yaoyao stood in front of the pool.

The tap was running, rinsing the plate in my hand.

Her mind was a complete mess.

The words "Let's get married" that she heard last night kept lingering in her mind.

Hey.

Her phone vibrated and the screen lit up.

An Yaoyao turned off the tap, wiped her hands on her skirt, and picked up her phone.

The screen displays a WeChat notification from Bai Li.

She swiped open the screen and tapped on WeChat.

On the chat interface, an orange transfer box is displayed horizontally.

Amount: 5000 yuan.

An Yaoyao stared at the 5000 yuan.

Without any prior cause or consequence, a sum of money suddenly appeared.

They just said they were getting married yesterday, and this morning they sent money. What does this mean?

Severance pay? Closing fee? Employee dismissal before marriage?

The more I think about it, the more wronged I feel, and the more my heart aches.

An indescribable sadness welled up in her chest, making it difficult for her to even breathe.

Splash!

An Yaoyao threw her phone on the table.

She ripped off her dishwashing gloves and threw them into the sink.

The kitchen sliding door was pushed open.

An Yaoyao rushed out from inside.

Her eyes were completely red, and she was still clutching a wet dishcloth in her hand.

The laughter and chatter in the restaurant stopped.

The girls all turned their heads to look at An Yaoyao, who had suddenly rushed out.

An Yaoyao strode to the dining table.

Bai Li held her phone in her hand and looked up to meet An Yaoyao's gaze.

She looked at Bai Li, her eyes welling up with tears, her voice tinged with bitterness:

"Why...why did you transfer so much money to me?"