"Li Chen, do you have anything else to say?" He Qiaomin asked, her face no longer showing the initial warmth and enthusiasm, clearly discontented with Ah Chen interfering in the Tan Family’s affairs.

"Tan Ruifeng just broke Tan Sui’s things, shouldn’t he compensate for it? You misunderstood Tan Sui and scolded her for a long time. Even if it’s for the parents, when you make a mistake, you should seriously apologize to her. Admitting mistakes and apologizing sets an example for the children."

Of course, most parents can’t do this, as admitting mistakes to their own children seems like something difficult to talk about, and they just gloss over it.

The couple’s faces were sullen; they never thought about apologizing, nor did they plan to compensate for Tan Sui’s belongings.

In their view, it was all because Tan Sui didn’t make things clear. If she had told them earlier about secretly earning money, could they have misunderstood her? It was Tan Sui who kept silent. If she had spoken a few more words, none of this would have happened, and Ruirui and Yaoyao wouldn’t have been scared.

"If Tan Sui had told us sooner, this wouldn’t have happened," He Qiaomin said, "That girl is such a quiet bolt, reluctant to say even a couple of words."

"If the stuff is broken, let it be, our family doesn’t really lack that money. It’s not that we can’t buy it for you, but since you’re still a student, you should focus on your studies and not on making money." Tan Ruifeng said, "If you can get into a university, any university, I’ll reward you by getting all the equipment you need. You can do whatever you want then."

Everyone was speechless. What kind of parents are these?

Calling it a reward, when they’re the ones who broke Tan Sui’s things, and it’s not like they bought it for her—Tan Sui earned the money herself. Compensation is deserved. If it were a stranger, this could even warrant reporting to the police.

Ah Chen didn’t bother with how others thought, but instead, held Tan Sui’s hand: "Do you want them to compensate? Do you want the truth to come out?"

"Why are you helping me?" Tan Sui was puzzled and whispered, "If they throw you out, it could cause trouble for you."

"Just felt like helping," Ah Chen smiled, "Besides, don’t you know a lot of little punks? They must be great at fighting, right? If we’re bullied when we go out, you could call those punks to help us out. After all, I’m getting kicked out because I helped you."

"They’re actually all students, my classmates, not really bad people." Tan Sui bowed her head, "Although they are pretty good at fighting."

"Thank you, Sister Chenchen."

"Thanks for your help, they will never admit their mistake," Tan Sui said with some sadness and despair on her face, but the hope in her eyes did not fade as she whispered, "I will no longer choose to do what I did before, you don’t have to worry."

"At worst, I’ll just wait a couple more years."

She was able to earn her first set of equipment, she can earn a second set.

She’s realized that some people’s approval is impossible to obtain. There’s no need to despair and give up on yourself because of this. Longing for attention from those who don’t care about her is a dead-end.

She wants to go out into the world, to meet more people. Because not everyone dislikes her; many people are willing to help her.

Like those punk classmates—others see them as bad kids, but they’re different from some bad-behaviors punks; they’re just a bit rebellious and haven’t done anything wrong, and they’re very loyal. Originally, she borrowed their phones to play games and make money, and in return, she helped them level up their accounts.

They were genuinely great.

They not only helped her but cared about her feelings.

And then there’s Sister Chenchen right in front of her, who believed in her from the start and wanted to seek justice for her.

That’s why she must leave here, to meet more people.

There’s no need to give up life for the people here.

"Alright." Ah Chen said, "Since this is your choice, I will respect it."

"Thank you." Tan Sui leaned closer to Ah Chen’s ear and whispered, "It’s Tan Rui, actually, I think they probably know, which is why they’re avoiding it. They don’t want outsiders to know that the child they hold in the highest regard stole something. But in private, they won’t let this go and will definitely confront Tan Rui about it."

"Sister Chenchen, I’ll take you to see in a bit."

Ah Chen glanced at Tan Sui; this girl was very smart.

The one who cut the carpet was Tan Rui, the one who smashed the ornaments was Tan Rui, and the one who picked flowers was Tan Yao; Tan Sui knew it all. But she also knew that insisting on this issue wouldn’t result in anything good.

They said she was well-behaved in the countryside and turned bad after moving to the city. She just wanted to be the good child that her parents praised. But the good child gets bullied; even the servants subconsciously ignored her, and she had no presence there at all.

By doing this, even if it makes them unhappy, at least she wouldn’t be forgotten by the family members here.

But she will definitely leave here, this home that doesn’t belong to her.

"You guys go ahead." Tan Sui said.

Tan Ruifeng and He Qiaomin seemed very anxious about something and left in a hurry without saying more.

As soon as they left, Tan Sui went to the steward to ask for a car key, handed it to Ah Chen: "Sister Chenchen, do you know how to drive?"

"Yes."

"Great, I’ll take you to see."

Ah Chen asked everyone, "Are you going to follow, or stay at the villa?"

"I’ll go with you," Wei Wenlan quickly said.

"I’m going too," said Bai Xingwen.

Before the others could respond, Ah Chen spoke up: "There’s probably only room for a few of us in the car, right?" Upon getting a nod from Tan Sui, she told Huo Jingchen and the others, "Then you wait in the villa."

The three of them were curious, but not keen on the idea of venturing outside.

They got in the car, and following Tan Sui’s directions, Ah Chen drove towards an elementary school.

In no time, the surroundings turned bustling, just like real city streets.

"What is Li Chen up to? What if something happens, even if it doesn’t matter to her, but if it implicates others?" In the room, Wei Yao finally couldn’t help but complain, "If they die here, when we meet monsters in the next round, won’t the difficulty level increase?"

Huo Jingchen said, "That shouldn’t happen since we’re not together with her."

Wei Yao felt slightly relieved but muttered, "Still, she’s taking too much risk. Everything here is pre-set, not real. Acting like a saint at this point—and who knows how many more stages there are, we might not even know how we’ll die."

Huo Jingchen didn’t reply, but Wei Yao’s words made sense.

In the car, Ah Chen glanced at a pendant hanging from the rear-view mirror—it’s a bamboo leaf and a decoration, a fake cactus.

"Bro, they really went out. It’s the first time someone has been taken out by Sister Sui." said Xiao Pan, disguised as a fake cactus, "I’m so excited, this feels a bit different. I have a feeling Sister Sui’s domain is about to upgrade."

The bamboo leaf pendant, needless to say, was Bai Chao. He said, "Stay alert, you’re a fake cactus now, don’t get too excited and give it away, you might scare them."

At the school gate, Ah Chen was about to get out of the car when she suddenly saw Tan Ruifeng and He Qiaomin at the gate, bringing the supposedly school-bound Tan Rui into the car. Tan Rui’s eyes were red.

"Sister Chenchen, let me take you closer to listen." Tan Sui pulled Ah Chen’s hand, leading them to hide behind the car, without being noticed, listening as the voices of Tan Ruifeng and He Qiaomin came from inside.