"Jiang Qin has gone too far! It's clearly her fault that your sister got hurt, and now she's trying to force us to back down by running away from home?" Jiang Ruhai was so angry he was practically grinding his teeth.
But sitting on the couch, Jiang Rumeng looked uneasy.
She said with concern, "It's already so late… Do you think it's dangerous for my sister to be out there alone?"
"She's a female—what danger could she possibly be in?" Jiang Ruhai sneered mockingly.
"She just doesn't want to apologize to you and thinks running away will make us give in."
Jiang Yulian thought the same, which was exactly why she was so furious.
She had been spoiled by her partner all her life, never once having to bow to anyone. And now, her own child was trying to threaten her into submission? She would never allow it.
Besides, females were well protected in the interstellar federation. Jiang Qin had an auxiliary comm device with a star credit limit she had provided—she wouldn't starve.
"She just wants us to go crawling after her, begging her to come back? Absolutely not! I'll wait and see how long she thinks she can keep this up!"
"Even Rumeng isn't mad at her, and she still wants to act all pitiful? None of you are allowed to help her. I'm going to shut down her comm number right now—let's see how long she survives out there!"
None of Jiang Yulian's partners spoke up. Of course, they followed her lead without question. After all, Jiang Qin may have been Yulian's biological daughter, but she wasn't theirs.
Why would someone care more about another man's daughter than their own mate?
Even Jiang Rumeng, whom they had raised from a baby, had only received their affection as a way to please their partner.
So the three middle-aged males present all nodded without hesitation.
None of them even had Jiang Qin's comm ID—helping her wasn't an option.
The other two sons of the Jiang family had already returned to school and weren't home. As for Jiang Ruhai, he had never acknowledged Jiang Qin as his sister to begin with.
"Rumeng, I'm sorry you had to suffer. When she comes back, I'll make sure she apologizes and promises never to bully you again."
"Mom, I'm fine. She didn't mean it. She doesn't need to apologize."
Hearing such understanding words from Rumeng filled Jiang Yulian with tender affection.
Indeed, the child raised by her side was far better—so much more like her. Whereas Jiang Qin was just like her dead father: rough and unruly.
"Don't overthink things. You've just been discharged from the hospital—you need to rest. As long as I'm here, no one will ever hurt you."
Not even her own daughter.
From the bottom of her heart, Jiang Yulian truly loved this niece and had always treated her as her own daughter.
She had few siblings. The only one who shared the same father was her older brother.
But that brother had died in a ship explosion years ago. Her sister-in-law was captured by star pirates and had been missing ever since.
After so many years, it was safe to say she'd never return.
Back then, Jiang Qin had been taken away, and Rumeng—only one year old at the time—was left orphaned. So Yulian had raised her.
Back in her room, Jiang Rumeng's gentle smile vanished.
She sat silently on the edge of the bed for a long time before finally transferring 100,000 star credits to Jiang Qin's old comm ID.
She didn't leave a message.
Jiang Qin, who no longer had a comm device, never saw it. Even if she had, she wouldn't have cared.
Because in her past life, this was exactly how Jiang Rumeng had kept her hooked for two years—hurting her again and again, only to be the "only one" who ever helped her afterward.
Even after being reborn, Jiang Qin still didn't understand what Jiang Rumeng was really thinking.
The next morning, Jiang Qin woke early and headed straight to the bar.
It was daytime, so the bar wasn't open. She entered through the back, where the staff were cleaning and organizing the stockpile of suppressants.
Seeing her arrive, everyone greeted her respectfully:
"Good morning, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Qin responded with a warm smile. "Good morning, everyone."
She was still wearing the same white dress today—one of the two performance outfits Yuwei had provided for her. After all, when she left the Jiang family, she hadn't even taken a single piece of clothing with her.
So even for everyday wear, she had no choice but to wear this.
But today, her main reason for coming was to ask Yuwei for a salary advance.
Before she officially started working, she hadn't dared ask. But now that she was formally on staff, she figured even a small advance—just a few tens of thousands of credits—would help her buy some basic necessities.
"Do you know where the boss is?" she asked. Without a comm device, her only option was to find him in person.
"He should be in the security room. I just saw him go in with Brother Kang."
"Thanks."
She quickly made her way to the security room and knocked.
When Yuwei opened the door and saw it was her, he looked a bit surprised. "Miss Jiang? What brings you here so early? Is something wrong?"
Jiang Qin gripped the strap of her bag, looking slightly embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed as she asked, "Boss, could I… maybe get a small advance on my salary?"
Since Yuwei had helped her get registered as a citizen, he was well aware that she had come from a barren planet.
Upon hearing her request, he gave himself a regretful slap on the forehead.
"Ah! I meant to ask you about that earlier, but it totally slipped my mind. I'm really sorry."
"Should I transfer it to your comm ID? Or would you prefer an anonymous star credit card?"
Jiang Qin smiled. "Boss, I destroyed that comm device. I don't have one anymore—just give me the card."
Just as Yuwei was about to operate the comm system, he paused.
After a moment of thought, he didn't ask why she had destroyed her device.
Instead, he simply asked, "Would one month's advance really be enough? How about I pay you six months' salary up front so you can buy a new comm device?"
"Really? That would be amazing—thank you so much!"
"No need to thank me, Miss Jiang, you're being too polite. It's not like I'm gifting it to you—just paying your salary in advance, that's all."
Faced with such a respectful and courteous female, Yuwei found himself at a bit of a loss.
Most female beastkin, knowing they possessed spiritual power and were highly sought after by males, tended to be spoiled and dismissive of men.
But Jiang Qin not only treated him with genuine respect—she even expressed sincere gratitude from time to time.
Even as an A-class male, he couldn't help but feel a bit flattered.
Yuwei didn't think he had helped Jiang Qin all that much. After all, a spiritually gifted female was never truly short on money.
If she wanted, she could easily take on a daytime calming session.
There were plenty of C- and B-class males lining up for that chance.
So her current financial strain was probably just temporary. His assistance now was more of a friendly gesture than a life-changing act.
A little favor, nothing more.
With six months of salary in hand, Jiang Qin immediately went out and purchased a new comm device—not top of the line, but certainly not cheap either. It cost her 1.6 million star credits.
She wasted no time binding it to her temporary account and backing up the video that could prove her innocence.
Only after everything was set up did she check the trending topics on the star network.
[Offering Big Money for the Rights to These Two Songs!]
Curious, Jiang Qin tapped into the post—only to discover it was a video of her playing piano at the bar.
Below the video, the comments section was flooded with people begging for the two songs to be uploaded to music platforms.
After all, only songs officially uploaded could be downloaded.