Chapter 119: Su Jiao Was Expelled from School

Chapter 119: Su Jiao Was Expelled from School

"Waaah, Mom, I... I was expelled... Boo-hoo..."

Su Jiao couldn't stop crying, feeling like her world had come crashing down. She had worked so hard to build her reputation at school, and both teachers and classmates liked her.

Recently, she had even become a popular figure at school, with classmates flattering her and even teachers treating her with respect.

But in the blink of an eye, she had fallen from grace, crashing hard to the ground.

The huge disparity left her on the brink of collapse.

Ji Qingqing was both worried and heartbroken, quickly pulling Su Jiao into her arms. "What happened? How could you be expelled just like that?"

"Last time you came back, didn't you say the teacher thought highly of you?"

Su Jiao thought of the teacher who had turned against her and the classmates who had mocked and pointed fingers at her, crying so hard she couldn't speak.

After a long while, with Ji Qingqing's comforting words, she finally managed to sob out, "Someone reported me... someone reported me to the education bureau that I stole Su An's chance to continue her studies. The bureau investigated and even went to our previous school to verify."

"Waaah, Mom, you've ruined me. You have no idea how everyone laughed at me. You don't know how the teacher looked at me with such disdain, as if I were some filthy thing. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Boo-hoo, I'm done, my life is ruined."

"Waaah, Mom, why didn't you just pay that 600 yuan back then? I wasn't that far off from the passing score. Boo-hoo, now I can never continue my studies. Even if I were willing to pay, no school would accept a student with bad character now..."

Ji Qingqing was both furious and anxious. "Who was the nosy busybody who did this?"

"Who said I didn't pay the 600 yuan?!"

Just earlier, she had sent away her sister-in-law who had come over for tea and made sarcastic remarks. Thinking of the frustration she had endured while forcing a smile, Ji Qingqing was now truly red-eyed with anger, filled with bitterness.

"It had to be the Zhao family!"

"Before, they threatened us, demanding we return the entire dowry. I thought, even if you paid, it would only be 600 yuan. Why should we return over a thousand? It's like we raised Su An for nothing and just handed her over to them?"

Ji Qingqing gritted her teeth. "They actually dared to do this!!!!"

Su Jiao looked up from Ji Qingqing's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, did you give them the money?"

Seeing Ji Qingqing nod, Su Jiao suddenly raised her voice, screaming in despair.

"Waaah, then why didn't you just return all the money to them? What am I supposed to do now? How can I face anyone? Boo-hoo, because of those few hundred yuan, my life is ruined. What am I supposed to do now?"

"I can't go back to school, I can't go back. What do I do now? Stay at home and help you glue matchboxes? Or like Su An, just find some random guy to marry, have kids, and live like that for the rest of my life?"

Su Jiao wiped her tears, glaring at Ji Qingqing. "You don't even have a job. If you had one, I could take over for you. What am I supposed to do now? Everyone will laugh at me. I can't take it anymore, ahhhh!!"

Ji Qingqing felt a chill in her heart at Su Jiao's accusing tone, but before she could react, Su Jiao covered her ears and started wailing.

After all, this was the daughter she had loved and cherished for over a decade, and her affection outweighed the slight discomfort in her heart.

"Jiao Jiao, stop crying, stop crying. Your crying is breaking my heart. Sigh~ I didn't know things would turn out like this. You don't know how hard things are at home. That 600 yuan last time was only because your dad and I swallowed our pride and went out to borrow it. Where would we get the money now? Just as you came back, I had to send away someone who came to collect a debt!"

Ji Qingqing's tone became fierce as she spoke about the family's situation. "From now on, our family won't have the good days we used to have. You don't even know how much has happened at home recently!"

"If I had the money, would I gamble with your future? Besides, we didn't know the Zhao family would be so greedy!"

"Alright, alright, stop crying. Crying won't solve anything. Only the weak cry. Instead of wasting time crying, we should think about how to fix this situation!"

With Ji Qingqing's comforting words, Su Jiao finally managed to calm down.

Looking up at her mother, Su Jiao noticed that Ji Qingqing seemed to have aged significantly in just half a month.

She looked haggard, her complexion no longer fair and rosy as it once was. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were more pronounced, and there were even a few strands of white hair at her temples.

Tears welling up, Su Jiao reached out and touched Ji Qingqing's cheek, "Mom, you... you've aged so much?"

"You said a lot has happened at home recently..."

Hearing Su Jiao's question, Ji Qingqing finally had a place to pour out her grievances.

"It's all because of those two ungrateful brats. I always said they were full of bad intentions, and I wasn't wrong."

"You have no idea, Su An and Su Ping, those two ungrateful brats, used the Zhao family as a pretext and moved their household registration out of our home."

Ji Qingqing gritted her teeth, "Hmph, moving out doesn't mean they're no longer part of the Su family, does it? Does that mean they don't have to support their parents anymore? Ungrateful brats, sneaking around behind our backs to pull such shady stunts, they're truly bad apples from the countryside, full of unsavory habits!"

Su Jiao was startled and immediately grasped the key point, "Mom, what about... what about the money Su Ping sends home every month?"

Ji Qingqing's face darkened, "We didn't get last month's payment. Your dad went to the mine to find him, but he's no longer working there. It seems he's hiding from us on purpose. That ungrateful jerk, no wonder he's such a fool. Heaven knows how rotten he is inside; it's karma!"

Su Jiao stood up abruptly, "Then, what about the family, in the future?"

She knew very well that the reason their family had been living so well all these years was because of Su Ping, who had been tirelessly sending money home like an old ox. If that income were to stop, then the family would...

Ji Qingqing knew what Su Jiao was asking and nodded absentmindedly, "Yes, from now on, the family will have to depend solely on your father's salary. They say money troubles bring a hundred problems, and lately, the house has been a mess."

"Jiao Jiao, now that you're back, you need to tread carefully and not upset him," Ji Qingqing said, stroking Su Jiao's hair, her eyes filled with worry.

Su Jiao noticed the bruise near Ji Qingqing's earlobe and her pupils contracted, "Mom, did he... did he hit you?"

Ji Qingqing lowered her eyes, hiding the complexity within them. It wasn't just hitting; now, it seemed that Su Jianjun was no longer falling for her usual tricks.

Ever since the Zhao family came and caused a scene last time, no matter how gentle and affectionate she was, Su Jianjun hadn't touched her again.