Seeing Wan Chu’er leave so quickly, An Lian felt a tinge of regret; he had originally hoped that An Gang could spend so quality ti getting along with Wan Chu’er.
His son, An Gang, attended university in Beijing, and given Wan Chu’er’s current academic performance, she was bound to go to Beijing in a couple of years.
When both were away from ho, they could look out for each other.
Seeing his dad’s disappointed face, An Gang couldn’t help but ask, "Have you and Aunt Bai made any progress? I rember Wan Chu’er used to be quite resistant to you, didn’t she? How co she still ca to visit you during the New Year’s holiday?"
An Lian gave a wry smile and said, "There’s nothing going on between your Aunt Bai and , don’t think too much into it."
He had long realized that Bai Zhixi wasn’t interested in him. She wasn’t interested back when they were studying, and that hadn’t changed up to now. Although she hadn’t said anything cruel to reject him outright, his understanding of her told him everything he needed to know.
Well, at this age, he no longer harbored any extravagant hopes for an outco; he just thought that being able to help Bai Zhixi in any way was good enough.
But now, it seems that Bai Zhixi’s pickles business is only getting better and better, and she no longer needs his assistance.
The only help he could offer to her and her daughter was to teach Wan Chu’er a trick or two. Wan Chu’er was insightful, and could grasp the essence of what she was taught after a demonstration or two. She was diligent in her daily practice, and he thought that perhaps after another sester, she wouldn’t need his guidance anymore.
Thinking this, An Lian felt sowhat disheartened and said,
"Chuchu has changed a lot now, she’s beco much more sensible than before."
"Whoa," An Gang teased, "Chuchu? You’re calling her so fondly, looks like you get along really well with her and her mother."
An Lian gave his son a smack and said, "Stop daydreaming all day. In two years, Chuchu might go to university in Beijing, and you should look after her then."
An Gang chuckled dryly and said, "You saw how Wan Chu’er acted just now, polite yet distant, standing as straight as a poplar tree, the epito of a strong, independent woman. She doesn’t seem like soone who needs my care. Besides, by the ti she gets to Beijing, I’ll be graduating and looking for a job, where would I find the ti? And she’s good-looking; when she’s in university, there’ll be a host of people catering to her..."
An Lian glared at his son, "Are you also the one courting pretty girls at school!?"
Caught off guard and becoming the subject himself, An Gang laughed it off and quickly changed the subject: "It’s the New Year, why talk about these things? Let’s drink instead, let’s just drink."
Northerners are known for their wild and hearty nature, every man prides himself on his drinking abilities.
Once An Gang got into university, An Lian started treating him as an adult and did not restrict his drinking.
#
It was only after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that restaurants and shops in the county town began to open for business, and Bai Zhixi beca busy once again.
Wan Chu’er also started the new school term.
After a relaxing winter break, the classroom was once again buzzing with laughter and chatter among the students.
Wan Chu’er seed oblivious to the noise around her and focused on reading her book.
Many noticed Wan Chu’er’s distinctive presence; while everyone else was engaged in light-hearted banter, she sat quietly engrossed in her studies.
So people sneered, but no one dared to say anything, nor did anyone dare to strike up a conversation with her.
Thus began the new sester.
Wan Chu’er noticed that Liu Li did not return this sester. After listening to the classroom gossip, she learned that Liu Li had taken up work at Heavenly World.
She curled her lips slightly, the pent-up frustrations of twenty years finally dissolving.
However, the peaceful days didn’t last long before a rumor started circulating in the school.
The rumor mill of Class Four was abuzz with the scandalous news that Wan Chu’er was being kept by a man, and not just any man, but the owner of Heavenly World.
After last sester’s broadcast room incident, Wan Chu’er had beco a notorious figure at school. Upon hearing such explosive gossip, regardless of its truth, the whole school was imdiately set abuzz, with nearly everyone discussing the rumor during their free ti.
In no ti, the tale of Wan Chu’er being kept spread like wildfire, described in vivid detail, with so even claiming to have seen her and a man hugging and flirting openly in the street.
In 1997, for a high schooler to be kept by soone was shocking news, let alone a college student.
Curiosity led many from other classes to make a special trip to Class 4 of the second year during breaks, pressing against the glass just to catch a glimpse of Wan Chu’er, wondering what kind of girl could be kept by a man.
The students of her own class dared not discuss Wan Chu’er too loudly in her presence, but they couldn’t help starting to ostracize her, casting looks of disdain her way when she wasn’t looking.
One noon on her way ho, a boy mustered the courage to block Wan Chu’er’s path.
Wan Chu’er frowned at the familiar-looking boy before her, recalling that she had once hit him with a pen.
So she suppressed her displeasure and asked indifferently, "Can I help you with sothing?"
Hearing Wan Chu’er’s clear voice, the already nervous boy beca even more so, stumbling over his words, "I an, you haven’t been... kept by soone, have you? I can’t believe you’re that kind of person!"
After finally managing to get his words out, he looked at Wan Chu’er with hopeful, flushed cheeks.
What a ss. Kept? Wan Chu’er thought the boy had mistaken her for soone else, and upon seeing his weak and bullied deanor, she couldn’t help looking down on him.
A man should be upright and confident, with a loud voice and an air of authority. Unconsciously, she thought of Jiang Kechu.
With a single glance, she had no desire to be entangled with the boy before her, casting him a cold "You’ve got the wrong person" before walking away towards her own ho.
The boy stood frozen in place behind her, feeling a wave of disappointnt and sadness.
Soon, Wan Chu’er cast this encounter to the back of her mind, going on with her business as if it had never concerned her in the first place.
Zhuo Yao, who was still struggling to raise her head after the previous scandal, felt a sense of schadenfreude upon hearing the rumors about Wan Chu’er being kept, thinking, "Wan Chu’er, now it’s your turn!"
Being kept by soone was far more serious than her own scandal!
After school, Zhuo Yao, hunched and sneaky, would hide around the corner to spy on Wan Chu’er, eager to see her looking like a pariah. But each ti, she saw Wan Chu’er still carrying herself with an air of indifference and haughtiness, unaffected.
Why isn’t she crying?
Why isn’t she cowering?
Why isn’t she avoiding everyone?
Why does she still dare to show her face?
Zhuo Yao’s eyes blazed with anger. She wanted to confront Wan Chu’er, asking her if she was blind to the fact that everyone was avoiding her like a plague and pointing fingers.
Is your skin that thick?!
However, recalling her own past experience and Wan Chu’er’s threat, "See you once, hit you once," she didn’t dare to act on her impulse.
Unwilling to accept that Wan Chu’er was unaffected, Zhuo Yao thought hard and then wrote a pile of humiliating words on a piece of paper, asking a familiar face from Class Four to place it on Wan Chu’er’s desk once again.
Now that Wan Chu’er was excelling academically, leaving everyone else behind, and behaving so cold and holier-than-thou, not to ntion indulging in such a disgraceful affair, many in Class 4 of the second year were only too eager to see her downfall. They didn’t hesitate to put the note on her desk. Inspired, others followed suit, leaving piles of notes on her desk. So bolder individuals even wrote the words "Shaless!" on the blackboard.
Reviews
All reviews (0)