Chapter 24: The Flourishing White Lotus, Green Tea After the Rain

[Host, slow down, no one's chasing you!]
The fluffy creature, rattled on her shoulder, clutched at Chao Xu's clothes and complained.
Chao Xu remained impassive. "Sorry, my legs are long."
The fluff: ...
[Host, what did you just give to the driver?]
Slowing her steps, Chao Xu lazily pulled out a stack of colorful papers from her pocket.
"The steward said I should give these, but I didn't have time when I returned. They should be money."
Curious, the fluff leaned in for a closer look and then fell into a long silence.
Heavenly Bank...
If it guessed correctly, these were paper offerings yet to be burned—three seconds of silent mourning for the driver.
"Xiao Si? Is that you?"
Walking with the fluff along the corridor in the school, Chao Xu had not yet reached the classroom building where Chao Si was supposed to be when someone abruptly grabbed her arm.
Hiss, that hurt.
Which idiot dared dig their nails into her skin!
Frowning, Chao Xu was visibly annoyed.
The girl addressing her wore a white slip dress; almond-shaped eyes, wide and watery, gazed at her, worry written across her small, delicate face.

Her tone sounded concerned, but beneath it, those long-nailed fingers dug viciously into Chao Xu's flesh, as if venting anger.
"Let go of me."
Without even glancing at her, Chao Xu coldly flung the hand aside.
"Xiao Si... I'm your best friend! How could you treat me like this?"
The girl who had been pushed away looked wounded, her tearful demeanor almost made Chao Xu feel as if she were a heartless cad.
A sniff revealed the air was thick with the scent of manipulative innocence.
Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Chao Xu instinctively disliked the woman opposite her.
She wasn't sure why, but from the very first moment she saw this woman, she felt a visceral discomfort—especially in her chest, which was heavy and stifled.
Seeing Chao Xu remain silent, the girl lost interest in pretending and impatiently stormed forward, furious. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or blind, that you dare ignore me?"
What was wrong with this idiot—she hadn't come to school for days, and now that she did, she ignored her. It was infuriating!
Chao Xu looked her up and down, then said oddly, "Auntie, who are you? Do I know you? Why should I care?"
Her confidence was courtesy of Head & Shoulders.
Her courage, a gift from Liang Jingru.
But when God made her, He forgot to give her a brain.
During Yu the Great's flood control, it seems he accidentally drowned in her empty head.

The girl, enraged to the point of laughter, sneered, "Chao Si, aren't you something? A few days away and you've forgotten who you are? Do you need a beating to remember pain? Where's your money? Hand it over!"
She stretched out her hand arrogantly, as if certain Chao Xu would obediently comply.
Chao Xu lowered her eyes and silently stared at the hand.
Ah, she had misjudged.
She had expected a rare white lotus after the rain, paired with the scent of green tea, but it turned out to be just a common, aggressive delinquent girl.
Fumbling in her pocket, Chao Xu pulled out the stack of colorful papers and slapped them hard onto the girl's hand.
"Here, the money you wanted."
The slap was so forceful that the girl, for a moment, thought her hand might break.
But seeing Chao Xu obediently hand over the money, the girl didn't dwell, snorted coldly, and arrogantly snatched the bills from Chao Xu.
"That's better. Obey, and you won't suffer..."
Her words abruptly stopped as she stared at the "money" in her hand, eyes widening, anger contorting her face.
This was... hell bank notes!