Chapter 16. Skip Class and Run Away.

Chen Du didn’t know why he had run up here to find Chen Jiashu, nor did he know how his folding clothes had gotten like this. 

  

He braced his hand against the bathroom wall, closed his eyes, and exhaled slowly, waiting for his physiological er*ction to go down slowly.

  

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Lin Feng sent him a message.

  

—I was scolded to death by my dad. Alas, I should have said I had gastroenteritis. What kind of appendicitis? Next time I have an appendix accident, he won’t believe me!

  

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—Nothing.

  

—You’re sneaking out of class to go on a date.

  

Chen Du didn’t reply.

  

After half a minute, he sent another message.

  

—”Holy shit, really? With who?

  

—You’re in love early! Is it with Xiang Wan? No, it was Zhuo Tingting!

  

—Our classmate chased you from kindergarten to high school and finally got the male god. This girl is so good. It’s true love. I’m optimistic about you, bro. [applause]

   

There were several “bangs,” “bangs,” and “bangs, like a barrage of cannons. Chen Du closed his eyes, inexplicably irritable. He casually returned two words and threw the phone back into his pocket on mute.

—No.

***

  

The smell of food from the kitchen downstairs wafted up to the first floor, and Wen Yun called him up the stairs to eat.

  

He looked down at his lower body, which had regained its composure, and stood at the sink. The only sound in the quiet bathroom was the column of water flowing.

  

Turning off the tap, he lifted his hand to wipe his face. A few drops of water splashed on the mirror, which slowly slid down the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

  

He took the towel and dried his hands, his eyes looking towards the mirror. After looking for a while, he put down the towel and went out with water hanging on his face.

  

Chen Jinan complimented Jiashu on her beautiful new dress, and Chen Jiashu, who was immersed in the meal across from Chen Du, froze for a moment. She was so rusty at such praise that she didn’t know how to respond, nodding, “Thank you.”

  

“Where did you buy it?” Chen Jinan asked again.

  

Chen Jiashu said the name of a brand, and Chen Jinnan let out an oh, while Wen Yun’s eyes instantly sharpened.

  

This brand was expensive.

  

An ordinary basic t-shirt would cost thousands.

  

Chen Jinan certainly did not know and Chen Jia Shu equally did not understand. Chen Du also slightly raised his eyebrows when he was checking out. So it turned out that girls’ stuff was so expensive.

  

It wasn’t that there was a lack of money. The Chen family was never short of money. What was lacking was only the share of money given to Chen Jiashu.

  

Regarding Chen Jinnan giving Chen Jiashu money from time to time, Wen Yun had always kept her eyes closed. It was not good to compare people to death, right? After all, it was his daughter. He secretly hid some private money to give to Chen Jiashu and did not give others. The amount was not much, so Wen Yun would tease a cat and a dog. Out of sight was out of mind.

  

Chen Jiashu was a person that was very measured with money, or it was not an exaggeration to say that she was stingy. She bought a bunch of clothes today. Wen Yun hadn’t looked at it carefully, but now that she had, this dress on her… Was it not the same light and luxurious dress worn by the very popular Xiaohua? The niche brand had no copycats and the price started at three words or less, at four figures. 

The anger suddenly came up. Wen Yun looked at Chen Jinnan in shock and tortured him with sharp eyes, “Well, your surname is Chen, and you have a lot of money hidden in your private property. How much did you give her to let her splurge without fear?”

  

“Chen Jinan, you are not small in ability.”

  

“What?”

  

Chen Jinnan looked up somewhat sluggishly, his expression confused, not knowing where his wife’s sudden anger was coming from again.

  

Wen Yun’s brow furrowed and her eyelids twitched. A momentary shadow flashed across her face, and her gaze skimmed over Chen Jiashu. The corners of her mouth twitched twice, “It’s nothing, let’s eat.”

  

Her voice returned to normal, soft and delicate, and she served Chen Jinan and Chen Du, the master and son, a bowl of wormwood soup each. When the bowl was brought to Chen Du, the rest of the light at the end of her eyes fell on his quiet and obedient brow. After a moment, the topic turned silently elsewhere.

  

Chen Jiashu, who was at the centre of the whirlpool, remained calm, as if everything was none of her business. She ate very little, as she had done the previous days, left the table early, washed her own bowl, and went upstairs, automatically invisible, without making a sound.

  

Chen Du was equally calm, and even drank half a bowl of soup more than usual. Slowly and deliberately, he put down his bowl at Wen Yun’s hesitant gaze and drew out a tissue to wipe his mouth, “I’m going upstairs to do my homework.”

  

Of course, Wen Yun was certainly not going to embarrass Chen Du by questioning him in public, but that didn’t stop her from going back to her room after dinner and checking the accounts herself. She turned Chen Du’s supplementary card back and forth. The most recent spending record was already a month ago. Other than the uniform bill from when the school paid the book fees, the bills were few and far between; a few ordinary expenses.

  

That night, Wen Yun and Chen Jinan erupted into a sizable quarrel, with a few dull, muffled and heated arguments coming out of the soundproof bedroom door every now and then.

  

“Good for you. You have quite a small coffer, giving her tens of thousands, right? Letting her buy things like that?”

  

“I haven’t bought Jiashu new clothes in two or three years. If she buys something more expensive, so be it. It’s not like our family is short of this money, okay. Don’t be calculating. “

  

“I’m not bothered? I’ve become a cheapskate, haven’t I? Who runs the company and who makes the money at home? Why should my money go to He Canying’s daughter? Don’t talk to me about our family. I’ll have her out of here after the family photo shoot in a couple of days! “

  

“Xiao Yun”

  

“Where did you get all that money? Are you having an affair?”

  

“What are you talking about? Every day I go to and from work with you. How can I have an affair?”

  

With a cold laugh, “There is no one outside, but there is someone in your heart. Do you remember He Canying, uh, huh? Do you feel very guilty? Oh, people die now, so your conscience is found? Then I ask you, do you still have me in your heart or not? Is there this family anymore!”

  

“Wen Yun! Watch what you say!” Chen Jinan snapped in a rare fit of anger.

  

The bedroom was quiet for a while, then a rustling and faint sound of a woman crying came out. The sound was muffled and inaudible.

  

Chen Jinan immediately coaxed her again, until the crying subsided. The light in the master bedroom was turned off, and the glimmer of light coming through the door was extinguished, leaving the corridor in darkness.

  

Chen Jiashu stood in the corridor, clutching her bathrobe and pyjamas for an unknown period of time. Her eyes were blank.

  

Chen Du opened the bathroom door, naked, and was confronted by an expressionless face.

  

He was startled and scrambled to catch the towel that fell from his head, “Chen Jiashu, why have you been waiting for such a long time? Next time you can knock on the door to remind me to bathe faster.”

  

Chen Jiashu’s empty eyes had a little reflection of him in them, “It’s okay, it wasn’t very long.”

  

She carried her clothes inside, and as she passed Chen Du, he turned and called out to her, “Chen Jiashu.”

  

“Hmm.”

  

She put the bath towel and pyjamas on the shelf and reached down the back to unzip her dress. The zip was long and tight, and halfway down it was stuck in the fabric next to her.

  

Chen Du closed the door and went over to help her loosen the zip, pulling it slowly down the opening.

  

He took off her skirt and hugged her from behind, “I’m sorry.”

  

“Why are you sorry?” She tried to laugh a little absurdly, but she hooked the corner of her mouth and realised that she couldn’t.

  

“I don’t know, I just feel so sorry.”

  

He didn’t know either. Whenever he saw Chen Jiashu being wronged, it was hard for him.

  

Chen Du had been extremely well protected since he was a child, and naturally, he didn’t know about the fact that his own mother had been a mistress who had interfered in someone else’s family and nearly killed two people, nor had anyone told him.

  

What would he have done if he had known? His mother was the vixen. He was the one who should not have been born and should not exist, Chen Jiashu thought wickedly. He would be devastated. He would be mad and the world would be in chaos, right?

  

She turned her head to look in the mirror. The tall teenager was lying on her bare back. His tall, upright waist was slightly bent and his lean, trim back was highlighted, full of vitality and sunshine.

  

The glow was blindingly bright.

  

“Isn’t it alright?” She slapped his forehead backward, “Wash up and hurry out.”

TLN: Ah yes, our cold-hearted FL is falling.