Chapter 3: Number One in the World

After sending Lan Xu back to her neighborhood, it was already 10:30. The pedestrians on the streets outside had thinned out even more, and everything had grown quieter.

The two hadn’t chatted much along the way. Instead, they tacitly slowed their steps, taking a full half hour to cover a distance that normally took less than twenty minutes.

“Text me when you get home.” Lan Xu let go of Lu Wuqi’s hand first. Her thumb gently rubbed the knuckle of her index finger, as if it still held the warmth of the other’s touch.

“Alright, then I’m off?” Lu Wuqi took a step back, raised her hand, and waved. A warm breeze blew by, cooling the dampness in her palm.

“Mm, be safe on the road.” Lan Xu stood at the entrance to her building and said. After hearing Lu Wuqi nod in acknowledgment, she turned crisply and headed up the stairs without a hint of reluctance.

Lan Xu lived in an old neighborhood with a maximum of six floors, so there was no elevator. She had to climb the stairs one flight at a time. Fortunately, it had motion-sensor lights installed from the start, making it convenient to go up and down at night.

At the landing between the first and second floors, Lan Xu couldn’t help but pause. She peered down through the stairwell window.

Then Lan Xu met Lu Wuqi’s eyes, which shone especially bright under the streetlight. Lu Wuqi hadn’t left the building entrance. When she noticed Lan Xu looking, she raised her hand and waved again, flashing a brilliant smile.

“Idiot.” Lan Xu muttered under her breath, but the corners of her mouth curved up uncontrollably.

Lu Wuqi was as dumb as ever, insisting on watching her pass three stairwell turns before leaving.

Seriously, she was already an adult. How could something happen just from climbing a few stairs?

Lan Xu grumbled inwardly, but her steps lightened. She climbed to the fourth floor in one go without feeling tired.

Only after seeing the familiar figure pass the third-floor stairwell window did Lu Wuqi finally look away. She held a small flashlight in one hand and kept the other in her pocket as she headed home.

–

Lu Wuqi also lived in an old neighborhood—one that had been built more than a decade earlier than Lan Xu’s.

The distance between the two neighborhoods wasn’t far—just a fifteen-minute walk. But to outsiders, the difference in their quality was stark.

The people living in Lan Xu’s neighborhood were mostly from stable government jobs—civil servants or teachers, respectable folks.

The residents of Lu Wuqi’s neighborhood were more ordinary: blue-collar workers and day laborers. Owners and renters split about evenly.

Five years ago, Lu Wuqi’s family had still been owners in the neighborhood. But now, they were quarterly tenants paying rent and utilities—for their own former house, no less.

Five years back, Lu Father, who worked as a cement mixer on a construction site, had an accident. His right hand got caught in a machine. Even though his coworkers rushed him to the hospital in time and his condition was critical, he barely survived thanks to a timely amputation.

Work injury medical bills were supposed to be covered by the site, but the contractor was no good. Not only did he refuse to pay the medical fees or compensation, he absconded with the funds, leaving half a year’s wages unpaid to all the workers.

With wages gone and compensation vanished, the medical bills still loomed. To prevent Lu Father from suffering further complications, they sold their rundown old house in the neighborhood.

Luckily, the buyer intended it as a fixed asset, waiting for the neighborhood’s eventual demolition to cash in. After handling the paperwork, they rented it right back to the Lu family—a real lifeline.

After discharge, Lu Father couldn’t find work due to his missing hand. No one would hire him even for odd jobs, leaving him idle every day.

The first two years were manageable; he just smoked more. But in the last two, he’d picked up drinking and gambling. Sometimes he’d vanish for half the day, heading out in the morning and stumbling home drunk at night.

Before Lu Father lost Lu Wuqi’s student loan money gambling, both mother and daughter thought his losses were minor—just tens of yuan a day. Deeming life barely tolerable, Mother Lu turned a blind eye.

But after Lu Wuqi discovered her student loan funds missing, the truth Lu Father had hidden came out.

Not only had he gambled away the last few tens of thousands from the house sale long ago, he’d racked up an additional debt of thirty-six thousand yuan from his addiction.

He claimed taking Lu Wuqi’s tuition money to gamble was to double it and win big—enough to clear his old debts and leave extra for her school supplies.

–

Lu Wuqi didn’t dawdle on the way home. She covered the fifteen-minute route in just twelve.

She pulled the key from her crossbody bag, unlocked the rusty security door, then pushed open the solid wood door freshly painted not long ago.

This was Lu Father’s handiwork before his debts came to light—refurbished with cheap paint for a few dozen yuan.

“Wuqi, you’re back? Why so late today?” Mother Lu, who had been dozing on the living room sofa, rubbed her eyes and stood up.

“How was work today? Smooth?” Mother Lu asked softly, her eyes full of concern as she looked at Lu Wuqi.

“Mm, pretty smooth. The shop was busy today, so I stayed a bit longer.” Lu Wuqi forced a smile. “Mom, you should rest early. No need to wait up for me.”

“No way. You work so late every day. How can I relax without seeing you home safe?” Mother Lu looked her daughter up and down. When she spotted the stark tan line on her arms, a flicker of heartache passed through her eyes.

“Don’t worry. I talked to the supermarket boss. I can help in the warehouse. She’ll advance me three months’ pay—that’ll cover your tuition.”

“Oh, right—there’s a bowl of pear soup in the kitchen. Drink it before bed.” Mother Lu said, starting toward the kitchen to fetch it for Lu Wuqi. “I put it in the fridge; it should be nicely chilled now.”

“Got it, thanks Mom.” Lu Wuqi replied. “I’ll grab it myself. You go to bed.”

Mother Lu agreed, took two steps, then turned back. “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? Buns and fritters, or porridge?”

Without thinking, Lu Wuqi blurted, “Anything’s fine—whatever’s easy.”

“Then porridge it is. I’ll get up early and make your favorite preserved egg and lean pork congee.” Mother Lu said as she headed to the master bedroom.

Lu Wuqi hummed in response, watching her mother enter the bedroom before heading to the kitchen herself.

She took the cling-wrapped bowl of pear soup from the fridge and sat at the table, sipping it slowly.

Was this mother’s love? Waiting up after her shift, saving pear soup, asking about tomorrow’s breakfast?

It felt so ordinary.

But for the one being cared for, it was wonderfully warm.

This was something Lu Wuqi had never experienced in the old Lu family.

Had she ever? Lu Wuqi zoned out briefly, subconsciously searching her memories.

Nope, nothing. It seemed she hadn’t felt any warmth from the Lu family back then.

【Host, friendly reminder: You have only twenty-two days left. Your current savings: 539 yuan.】 The Redemption System reminded her.

【Want to tutor one-on-one? If Host works ten hours a day, you could earn five hundred daily—eleven thousand in twenty-two days.】

【Plus, student loans can be repaid in installments. If Host manages it, the current crisis can be resolved.】

Lu Wuqi sipped the mildly sweet pear soup. “Are you a brand-new system straight out of the factory?”

【H-How did you know?】

“One-on-one tutoring for ten hours a day? Impossible. Even ideally—two hours morning, afternoon, evening—you’d be lucky to make three hundred.”

The pears were stewed soft. Lu Wuqi just pressed her tongue against them, and they turned to mush.

“Besides, I have daily expenses. Eating out three meals starts at thirty yuan. Mornings, I buy ingredients to ease the burden at home.”

【Then netting two hundred a day?】

“I’m not doing tutoring. There are plenty of ways to make money.” Lu Wuqi tilted her head back and drained the last bit from the bowl.

“You’ve seen my money-making skills. Worry about anything else—just not cash.” Lu Wuqi stood, rinsed the ceramic bowl under water several times, and stowed it in the cabinet.

–

Summer sun was brutal. It woke Lu Wuqi at exactly seven without an alarm.

To cut costs, she hadn’t run the AC at night—just a small fan. As the sun rose, the room heated up fast, sweating her awake.

She touched the beads of sweat on her forehead and sighed softly.

Last night’s shower was wasted. To head out fresh, she’d need another rinse this morning.

At 7:30, Lu Wuqi—now in clean clothes—appeared in the kitchen. She saw Lu Father and Mother Lu at the table with their porridge.

Lu Wuqi pressed her lips together, said good morning, then ladled herself a bowl and sat to eat.

“Ahem. Heard that contractor who skipped town got nabbed. If the court’s ruling goes through, I might get a decent payout.” Lu Father said uncomfortably. “I won’t hold up your schooling, you…”

“Mom, I’m full. Heading out to work.” Lu Wuqi ignored Lu Father entirely.

She’d heard variations of this for a week and knew the truth from the lies.

The contractor’s arrest was real, but wages and compensation? Forget it. He was bankrupt. Any money he had went first to banks and creditors—no scraps for Lu Father.

“Alright, be careful out there. Come home early if you can.” Mother Lu also ignored Lu Father, just reminding Lu Wuqi.

Lu Wuqi agreed. After Mother Lu stuffed her with a bottle of chrysanthemum “tea,” she made it to the street.

She scanned around, patted her crossbody bag, and fixed her gaze on a nearby internet cafe.

Time to make money!