Chapter 85

He entered the number, paused for a few seconds, and just as everyone held their breath, he quickly tapped the key and closed his eyes: "Whether I die sooner or later, I'm going to die anyway!"

"Jian Sheng, can you take a look for me?" he said.

Jian shook her head and mimicked him, saying, "You'll discover the surprise yourself."

Chen Zhoujing slowly opened his eyes. The class was silent for a full minute until Zhong Mei spoke up: "How much?"

His tone suddenly became calm: "Seven hundred and six."

The cold voice fell, followed by silence.

He wasn't the only one stunned; the rest of the class were too.

Finally, a few simple rounds of applause brought them back to their senses.

Immediately afterwards, earth-shattering screams erupted in the computer room, accompanied by applause and cheers.

Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and met Jian Sheng's gaze.

He slowly raised his eyebrows, and the curve of his lips deepened.

Jian Sheng looked at the faint hope rising in his eyes and the relaxed brow, and couldn't help but smile.

"Holy crap, how did you do that? You're a genius!" Zhao Chengyang squeezed his shoulder. "The last month we were studying like crazy, memorizing formulas even in our dreams, and it still didn't compare to you lying around at home for two months?"

He pointed at Lin You, then at Jian Sheng.

Chen Zhoujing gripped his still trembling legs with both hands and said seriously, "You really overestimate me. I hired a private tutor, which cost a fortune."

If he hadn't insisted, Xu Weining wouldn't have given it to him. Luckily, he was shameless and went along with her, begging her for a week.

While he was preparing for the college entrance examination, she didn't say anything, but simply left two of his older brothers to keep an eye on him at the door. All he did was study, and Xu Weining couldn't control him.

But he remembered his promise to Xu Weining, and he would not let it slip for a moment.

"That's amazing!"

"Class 13 is awesome!"

"These grades are almost better than those of the students upstairs!"

"Teacher Zhong is great!!!!!!!!!"

After checking the results, Zhong Mei gave a few more instructions to the first batch of students who had filled out their college applications, and then sent them home.

Jian Sheng and Chen Zhoujing walked downstairs. She waved the report card and said, "See you later."

"Okay." Chen Zhoujing put his hands behind his back and watched Jian Sheng go upstairs, looking back every few steps.

He stood there for a while, holding the report card in his hand, staring at it for a long time, before carefully taking it home.

As Jian Sheng stepped out of the elevator, her chest was still warm.

Holding her report card, she excitedly stomped her foot at the door before finally taking out her key to open it.

The light in the entryway was off, but the living room light was on. She smiled and rushed in without closing the door, her voice slightly raised: "The results are out!"

Her smile froze on her face when she saw the person sitting in the living room, and the warmth in her chest instantly dissipated.

She instinctively took a step back, her ears ringing and her mind blank.

The person sitting in the living room was half-reclining on the sofa, wearing a dark shirt with the collar buttoned up to the top, looking very meticulous.

His suit trousers, worn smooth and shiny from years of wear, were spotless. He crossed his legs and rested them on the coffee table, chunks of yellow mud falling from the soles of his chipped leather shoes and scattering across the pristine glass.

Jian Sheng had a dry throat and constant tinnitus.

The stress made her feel nauseous.

Jian Zihua merely glanced at her and said indifferently, "Pour some water."

Jian Sheng stood there, breathing heavily, until his sharp, piercing voice came: "Are you deaf? Can't you hear me?"

"Or have you been bought off by the Jian Guangyao family?"

Jian Sheng hurriedly turned around, went to the kitchen, and started boiling water. While the water was boiling, she placed the report card inside the cookbook on the top shelf and waited for a while until the people in the living room became impatient.

The water had just boiled when Jian Zihua walked behind her, glanced at her long hair, and gently patted her head.

He could clearly feel her tremble slightly, and he smiled wryly: "Afraid of me?"

"Why didn't you say you were afraid of me when you left without a word?"

His bloodshot, scarlet pupils were half-closed. As Jian Sheng trembled, he grabbed her hair and flung her against the doorframe.

With a loud bang, she slammed her back against the glass door, her eyes lowered, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "Don't touch me!"

Jian Zihua seemed incredulous, and let out a mocking "Oh!": "You dare to resist?"

"Got some backing now? Got some guts? Dared to defy me?" He looked her up and down, teasingly adding, "Your family's really been good to you, huh?"

"Who did you think you were when you came in?"

"Jian Guangyao? Or his gay son?"

Jian Sheng raised his eyes, his gaze chilling.

Jian Zihua found it amusing, raised his hand and twirled it over the gold ring that was covered in dirt and scratches, then bent down: "You didn't know, did you?"

"The house you're living in is a lie told by Jian Guangyao and Gu Shu. You think they're good to you? What a joke! They're only doing it for my sake. Who are you? You were already dead when Zhou Yilian died." His voice grew increasingly agitated. "For over two years, you haven't called me once!"

"My mother died, and I, her own son, didn't even know!"

"Do you want me to die along with them too?!"

"You do it..." Jian Sheng hadn't finished speaking when he slapped her so hard that she turned her head to the side, her cheek instantly turning red.

Her mouth tasted of rust, and tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the metallic taste of blood.

Jian Zihua's smile was ferocious, and his neatly combed hair split open with his rough movements.

Jian Sheng couldn't suppress his anger. He grabbed the rolling pin from the side shelf and swung it mercilessly at Jian Zihua as she swung her hand over.

Jian Zihua cried out in pain a few times: "You son of a bitch, you dare to fight back!"

The gurgling sound of boiling water echoed between the two.

Jian Sheng gripped the rolling pin tightly, and as he picked up the kettle, he turned and ran towards the door.

However, Jian Zihua was very fast, and the scalding hot water still splashed onto her back.

Jian Sheng endured the pain and ran outside. Jian Zihua threw down the kettle, took a few steps forward, grabbed her, and dragged her into the living room.

"Let me go! Don't touch me!" Her cries of agony did not evoke any pity in Jian Zihua; instead, they excited him even more.

He almost pathologically dragged her and threw her onto the sofa: "You've got guts now, Jian Sheng, you dare to hit me."

"You son of a bitch, don't forget you're my son. I haven't even had a chance to take care of you in your old age, and you're already thinking of killing me first, huh?"

"How come I never realized before that you could talk and laugh?"

"So Zhou Yilian's indifference has been passed down to you."

He was panting heavily when he slapped her twice more. Jian Sheng covered her face and curled up on the sofa.

Her phone kept vibrating in her pocket, but she remained unmoved, her eyes staring blankly at the crook of her arm.

Not satisfied, Jian Zihua picked up the remote control and threw it at her: "You worthless thing, you have no right to challenge me. What do you think you are?"

"You fucking deserve to die, you deserve to die."

"you........."

With a bang, the iron gate was kicked and knocked askew. Jian Zihua stepped aside, and a person strode in through the entrance hall.

Chen Zhoujing tossed the gift in his hand onto the cabinet in the entryway, then his gaze sharpened when he saw Jian Sheng on the sofa: "What have you done?"

His voice was flat and monotone, like a freezing cellar, exuding a chilling aura, and his pupils were sinister and frightening.

He approached, stood in front of Jian Sheng, and blocked Jian Zihua.

Jian Zihua glanced at him, her gaze lingering on him for a few moments, then on the watch on his wrist, before she let out a strange laugh.

"You're a man?" he asked in a low voice.

His emotions had calmed down, and he was no longer irritable. He walked to the sofa and sat down, and in front of Chen Zhoujing, he seemed to have returned to normal.

He pointed to Jian Sheng on the sofa to the side: "You like it?"

"You like this kind of spineless coward?"

"What's going on? High school students? Early romance?"

"You're dating before you've even graduated? Did she seduce you or...?" Before Jian Zihua could finish speaking, Chen Zhoujing had already thrown the fruit knife in his hand.

Jian Zihua dodged to the side: "Are you crazy?"

Chen Zhoujing remained expressionless: "You can throw 100-degree Celsius water on someone without a second thought, but you're afraid of a fruit knife with a lid on?"

Jian Zihua was taken aback. He glanced down at the plastic fruit knife with its lid on beside his thigh, then looked at the kettle that was still leaking water at his feet. White steam was rising onto his legs, and the small area was covered by the steam, which made him pull his legs back. He got up and moved to another spot.

Chen Zhoujing didn't say much. He gently pulled Jian Sheng's arm, held her in his arms, and walked towards the door.

As Jian Zihua stared at him, about to speak, he said calmly, "The college entrance exam results were just released today. The total score was 750, and she scored 677. This year, 300,000 people registered for the college entrance exam in Huai'an Province, and her score ranked within the top 4,000."

"She could have gone to a very good university. She is hardworking and excellent, not the good-for-nothing you described."

"Also, we're just good friends... I had plans to celebrate with her and some of my classmates, sorry."

After saying that, he led her downstairs, Jian Sheng keeping her head down the whole time.

Chen Zhoujing led her to the foot of Building 13 and, without saying a word, led her upstairs.

Jian Sheng was led into the house by him. She sat on the sofa, clasped her hands behind her neck, buried her head and sobbed.

When Chen Zhoujing came out with the iodine swabs, he saw her looking like this.

A dull pain shot through my chest.

He walked up to her, knelt on the carpet, took one of her hands, and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

Then, he silently unscrewed the iodine bottle, dipped a cotton swab in a small amount, and asked, "Can you look up?"

Jian Sheng nodded and then slightly raised his chin.

Her whole face was numb, and there was a bluish-purple bruise at the corner of her mouth, with blood still flowing.

Chen Zhoujing clenched his teeth and raised his hand to wipe her mouth: "Your father?"

Jian Sheng hummed in agreement: "You saw it, isn't it embarrassing?"

He denied it: "It's not shameful, he's the one who should be ashamed."

“This is what you told me. The ones who should be ashamed are the perpetrators, not me or you.”

"Is this the experience you never told me about before?"

"He treated you like that, and you're still asking me if it hurts...?"

Applying medicine to the corner of his mouth, Chen Zhou frowned in surprise: "Your back... I'll get you a mirror..."

"No need, it only splashed a few drops, I'm wearing thick clothes..." Jian Sheng waved his hand.

Chen Zhou was worried, but she insisted that nothing was wrong, so he didn't say anything more.

Silence.

Jian Sheng blinked, and tears, unable to hold back, still fell.

She slid to the ground, covered her eyes, and sobbed softly.

Jian Zihua's sudden appearance caused her to break down.

She has clearly moved on, she is clearly eating well, living well, and facing the future she once avoided.

Why do dark clouds always suddenly appear when the sun is shining?

When it fell on her, it was a torrential downpour.

Chen Zhoujing placed the iodine on the table, threw away the cotton swab, straightened up, and stepped forward to hug her.

I waited until she finished crying and her emotions stabilized.

“You stay at my place, I’ll move out,” he said.

Jian Sheng looked at him with red, tear-filled eyes. He placed his hands on her cheeks, gently rubbing the corners of her eyes with his thumbs.

Chen Zhoujing watched her cry, his eyes stinging, but as her father, he couldn't say anything harsh.

He stayed with her for a while, and later that evening, he ordered takeout.

After we finished eating together, we started watching a movie.

It wasn't until 8 p.m. that Jian Sheng insisted on going back, and he saw her to the door.

Standing outside the iron gate, separated by only a wall.

He remained silent for a while; there was no sound from inside.

He had just reached the top of the stairs when he sat down on the steps and took out his phone, which had been ringing all afternoon.

When Jian Sheng entered, Jian Zihua was not inside. The floor and walls were covered with tea water that he had spilled, the furniture was crooked, and the tables and chairs were overturned on the ground.

She painstakingly cleaned away the grime, leaving the living room in a terrible mess. It took her an hour to barely restore it to its original state.