That night, the enormous estate finally fell quiet again.
Little Zhezhi once more picked up the painting her mother had ignored during the day. Gathering her courage, she ran to her parents' bedroom door. But just before knocking, she suddenly heard their conversation from inside.
"Did you know? That painting sold for four hundred thousand shell credits today. With this money, that suspended order can continue again."
"Oh right, the paintings we need to deliver to the clients this weekend should already be finished, right?"
"Not yet. Two days ago, Zhezhi told me she wanted to go watch a play. Honestly... all she thinks about is having fun. She's completely unwilling to contribute to this family..."
"Still, if she can latch onto the Magistrate's son, that's not a bad path either."
"Forget that for now. Let's focus on what's in front of us first..."
Standing outside the door, little Zhezhi lowered her head to look at the happy family of three painted on the paper. At this moment, their smiling faces looked unbearably glaring.
Her grip on the painting gradually tightened until the paper crumpled, twisting the faces of her parents.
It was the first time she had ever hated her own ability so deeply.
As time passed, Zhezhi gradually realized that her paintings seemed to have drifted away from her original intentions.
She had only wanted to use her art to preserve beautiful things.
Yet because of her Resonance Ability, the people who bought her paintings began using them either to escape reality or to bully others.
As her paintings repeatedly spiraled out of control, another emotion besides hatred began growing toward her Resonance Ability.
Fear.
Zhezhi understood very clearly that the things she painted were ultimately nothing more than illusions.
They were dazzling and beautiful, seeming a thousand, ten thousand times better than reality itself.
But fake things were still fake in the end.
What her Resonance Ability created was merely an insignificant fleeting dream.
Even a young girl could understand that much.
Yet somehow adults could not.
And so, Zhezhi decided she would no longer use her Resonance Ability while painting.
"Zhezhi! How many times have I told you already? This kind of useless trash paper isn't worth a single shell credit!"
Her mother screamed as she snatched away the painting Zhezhi had just completed and tore it into pieces.
"But, Mother..."
Zhezhi tried to explain herself, only to be kicked to the ground by her father, who had hurried over.
The intense pain nearly made the family's so-called "precious jewel" scream out loud.
But she didn't dare.
"Damn it, are you trying to hurt Zhezhi? If her hands get injured, she won't be able to paint anymore!"
"And you've got the nerve to blame me? If you hadn't spoiled her all this time, how would she dare defy me like this!?"
———
The fierce argument made the girl curl up instinctively into a tiny ball.
Fear and sadness surged together onto her face, dripping onto the torn fragments scattered before her and blurring the gentle smiling faces of her parents painted on them.
When it rains, it pours.
After their business failed, her parents blamed everything on the innocent girl.
The young girl was thrown out of the house.
Looking at the pile of miscellaneous belongings tossed into the courtyard, she finally realized that, just like them, she too had been discarded there.
The homeless girl instinctively searched for places that once felt familiar and safe.
Yet the warm smiles of people who used to treat her kindly vanished the moment they learned about her situation. All they did was point her toward a dilapidated inn at the corner of the street.
The damp hallway was filled with arguments and fights she had never encountered before.
Sitting on the bed, the girl wrapped herself tightly in the moldy blanket, nervously staring at the thin wooden door she had barricaded with a table.
She buried her head under the blanket, but the rotten sour stench still forced its way into her nose.
She wanted to fall asleep, hoping that once she woke up, all of this would prove to be nothing more than a nightmare.
But she didn't dare sleep.
Because she feared that the moment she closed her eyes, that wooden door would shatter into pieces.
She endured the entire night like that.
The next day, the girl picked up her paintbrush and began painting.
Although life had become harder, she had finally escaped her parents' control. She could freely paint the things she truly liked. With her skill, supporting herself was no problem.
Very quickly, the once-famous genius painter once again returned to the public eye.
And Zhezhi felt that if things continued like this forever, it actually wouldn't be so bad.
———
The slightly older girl trembled as she picked up the debt notice someone had tossed at her feet. The man's words still echoed beside her ears.
"Your parents... disappeared?"
The only thing that dark, cramped childhood had left her was a mountain of debt in her hands.
The dim light flickered on and off inside the windowless room, making the astronomical numbers listed on the repayment sheet seem to twitch restlessly.
Old bandages wrapped around the hands she used for painting. Even though her fingers had already begun trembling slightly, Zhezhi, who had spent two days and nights painting nonstop, remained focused on the canvas without daring to stop.
Once she finished this huge commission, as long as she completed it, she could pay off a large portion of the debt.
She might even have enough leftover money to buy herself some sweets she liked...
The loud shouting in the middle of the night sounded especially harsh.
Zhezhi, who had unknowingly fallen asleep on the table, was jolted awake by violent pounding on the door.
Panicked, she hurried to open it, only to trip over freezing water that had already risen past her knees.
A burst pipe had torn open in the plumbing of the room she rented, and cold water came crashing down violently.
Soaked from head to toe, the girl stood uneasily in front of her furious neighbor, apologizing over and over again.
The biting cold seeped through her drenched clothes and pierced her thin body.
Even through the walls, the neighbor's complaints continued echoing endlessly in the icy water.
But Zhezhi had no energy left to care about any of that.
She quietly looked toward the painting on the table.
The artwork she had spent countless days and nights creating had been completely destroyed by the water.
Only a thin debt slip floated lightly on the surface, drifting and circling with the ripples...
A heavy sigh echoed through the dim room, gradually squeezing out the already thin air, nearly crushing those narrow shoulders beneath its weight.
The exhausted figure stood there silently for a very long time.
She had no idea how much time passed before the noisy complaints around her gradually faded away.
Then, a faint light flickered on inside the cramped room.
Thankfully, at least this terminal still worked.
How could an ordinary household terminal possibly survive being soaked in icy water?
Of course, Zhezhi had no time to think about that right now.
Her battered hands moved laboriously across the terminal.
"First shut off the water valve... then replace the damaged section..."
Out of habit, she searched up situations she had never encountered before, constantly learning about all the things in life she had never faced.
"I think I understand now... let's try it..."
———
The next day, the exhausted and busy girl forced herself to stay awake and went to her neighbor's door.
Gathering her courage, she knocked.
"Hello... I'm really sorry about last night. Please tell me if anything was damaged. I'll compensate you for everything."
Looking at the strained smile on the girl's face, the neighbor couldn't bear it and let out a long sigh.
"Last night, someone already paid the compensation for you. He said he was your older brother. I assume you know him."
"Older brother?"
The girl blinked, and a figure suddenly flashed through her mind.
It was a bright afternoon.
The white-haired boy held her hand as they ran through the streets and alleyways.
Clear laughter echoed beneath the sunlight, warm and comforting.
Now, besides the terminal, there was still someone silently staying by her side.
———
"You're back?"
Jinhsi crossed her arms and stared directly at Zane, who had quietly returned.
"Why did you lose your Pangu Terminal again? How many times have I told you already? Stop throwing your terminal around like it's a weapon!"