Mother's face

"Chu Sinian?"

"Um?"

Chu Sinian snapped out of his reverie and answered his question, "In the end, all you want is compensation."

Chen Chi's face darkened, and his tone became menacing. "You're right. Then you'll have to pay for my next meal."

"No, aren't you short of money? How about some material compensation?"

"I don't accept it."

"Do you absolutely have to take up my personal time?"

"What? Is your time so precious that you can give it to Yu Shi and Ning Zicheng, but not to me?"

Chu Sinian felt that he was being unreasonable, and when they made eye contact, he realized that Chen Chi had been staring at him the whole time.

His eyes are darker than average, with clear whites. When he focuses on someone, he often has a piercing, insightful quality, and his former oppressive aura has been suppressed.

Chu Sinian avoided eye contact. "Why do you have to fixate on a meal?"

Chen Chi stared at him and said, "I just want one meal, is that not enough?"

The words of refusal rolled through my mind several times.

Chen Chi offered very good terms, and they were very inexpensive.

It's just a meal, why can't it be?

Why is it so difficult for Chu Sinian to agree to a meal right now?

Chu Sinian has been hypocritical with so many people he dislikes, so why can't he tolerate Chen Chi?

He didn't know, and didn't want to get entangled with Chen Chi anymore.

Chu Sinian closed his eyes and agreed.

—

When Chu Sinian returned to his apartment, he tidied up the instruments that had been hastily left aside and felt for the first time that he was not smart enough.

Being unable to understand something is a very uncomfortable thing, like an unhealed scratch that itches and hurts from time to time, waiting for you to scratch it.

Chu Sinian simply stopped thinking about it and went to stay in the dormitory for a few days, joking around with Ning Zicheng and the others. The days were peaceful yet lively.

A few days later, his application for off-campus accommodation was approved again. When Chu Sinian walked out of the teachers' office, he couldn't help but sigh, "Going through the back door is still the most effective way."

He had just returned to his dormitory and opened the door when a loud bang erupted in front of him. He instinctively closed his eyes, and something light and airy landed on his head and face—it was ribbons.

He opened his eyes to Ning Zicheng's smiling face: "Congratulations to our young master Chu on successfully applying for off-campus accommodation. Aren't you happy?"

Liang Tong moved a chair over and placed it in front of him. "Congratulations! Please sit down and welcome back, Brother!"

Zhou Zhuo was blowing a small horn with colorful ribbons, and for a while, it was quite lively.

If we ignore the shouting and cursing outside—

"What the hell?! Are you guys crazy?! What are you doing in broad daylight?!"

"If you want to celebrate leaving school, do it here! What are you making such a racket for!"

"What a bunch of lunatics!"

Chu Sinian brushed the ribbon off his head, "If we have another meeting, I'll be drowned in spittle."

"Hey, haven't you been scolded enough?" Ning Zicheng winked at him, pushed him into a chair, and closed the door.

Ning Zicheng cleared his throat twice, hands on his hips, "From today onwards, even if you never live here again, you can't forget the brothers in 407!"

"right!"

"right."

Ning Zicheng shouted, "What's our slogan?!"

"The four travelers, one journey, will never be forgotten in wealth and honor!"

"The four travelers, master and disciples, will never forget their wealth and honor."

Ning Zicheng glanced at the person sitting down and said, "Speak!"

"The four travelers, master and disciples, will never forget their wealth and honor."

Ning Zicheng nodded in satisfaction, "I've already planned everything for today, I'm going to your house to play."

Chu Sinian blinked. "Did I agree?"

Liang Tong looked at him earnestly, "Brother! I agree!"

After tidying up the messy dormitory, Chu Sinian couldn't resist the three big shots' demands, and to show that he wouldn't have an easy life, he forgot their determination and took the three to his house to play.

The three of them went wild as soon as they entered the apartment. Just like Lele, who was being cooped up in a cage, they went crazy as soon as they came out.

This once quiet apartment suddenly became lively and bustling, dispelling the winter chill.

Chu Sinian invited Uncle Huang over to cook dinner, while the rest of them huddled in the living room playing mobile games.

"Hey hey hey, there's someone behind me! There's someone behind me!"

"Okay, okay, stop yelling! I'm coming!"

"Holy crap, he's got an AK! I've lost half my health!"

"I told you to jump into the military base, ahhh, Chu Sinian, where are you?"

Chu Sinian was frowning and searching for a gun on the ground when he heard this. He quickly grabbed his pistol and went to provide support, walking with the agility of a human machine and displaying the bravery of a human machine.

Until he saw the enemy and his teammates crawling all over the ground, he stood there imposingly, firing without moving, ignoring his teammates' heart-wrenching cries of "Help me! Help me!", almost blinding the enemy.

The enemy remained motionless, watching the bullets relentlessly strike his fragile level 3 armor, before finally turning on his full mic: "Bro, who are you insulting?"

Chu Sinian wondered where the voice was coming from while quickly tapping the screen, "Who spoke?"

"Damn it, that guy over there."

Chu Sinian looked up and saw Ning Zicheng opposite him, saying, "This isn't your voice."

Ning Zicheng burst into a deafening laugh, pointing at the screen and exclaiming, "Damn it! It's the person on the other end of your phone!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the enemy punched Chu Sinian to death.

"I'm not playing anymore," Chu Sinian said.

Ning Zicheng immediately grabbed his clothes, "Don't be angry, I'll carry you to victory next time."

Chu Sinian was cold-blooded and ruthless: "I'm not playing."

"No, let's do it together~" Ning Zicheng nudged his shoulder, "Brother Si Nian is so amazing! Brother Si Nian is the best!"

Liang Tong: "Ugh!"

Chu Sinian laughed and took a few steps back. "Are you gay?"

"Holy shit!" Ning Zicheng seemed to have encountered some key word, and reflexively jumped up, lifted his shirt, revealing his muscular body.

He pointed to his abs, "You call this gay?" He pointed to his arms, striking a bodybuilding pose, "You call this gay?"

Chu Sinian closed his eyes immediately.

Liang Tong said disdainfully, "You're even more gay like that. What little girl would like your type? You're like a bear."

Ning Zicheng broke down upon hearing the last sentence, "You, what did you say?"

"Bear?! I'll beat you into submission today!"

Ning Zicheng pressed down on Liang Tong's arm and punched him. Liang Tong defended and dodged at the same time. Chu Sinian silently moved away from the attack circle. Zhou Zhuo, who was standing to the side, was grabbed by the back of the neck by Liang Tong. "Come on, come on!"

"My neck is going to break," Zhou Zhuo said blankly.

Uncle Huang brought over plates of food, and Chu Sinian said they had worked hard and invited them to eat, "Let's eat, stop fooling around, Uncle Huang's cooking is very good."

The group immediately fell silent and rushed to sit down at the table, eager to start eating.

"Uncle Huang, please sit down and eat first," he said, handing him his chopsticks.

Uncle Huang smiled and nodded, taking the first bite of food before the others followed suit.

"So delicious! It's really good!" Ning Zicheng's eyes lit up.

Liang Tong didn't even want to say a word, and just ate his rice like crazy.

Zhou Zhuo also enjoyed the meal, exclaiming, "It tastes even better than what you get in restaurants!"

Chu Sinian looked at Uncle Huang and said, "Everyone is praising you."

Uncle Huang blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed. "When my husband was a child, he never liked to eat, so I used all my skills to improve my cooking, and later he was able to cook very well."

"This is a bad habit of yours. If you start exercising, your diet will become even more restrictive."

Liang Tong finally managed to swallow his food. "No wonder you're so skinny, I feel like I could knock you down with one punch."

Chu Sinian was not happy to hear this. "It's not that exaggerated. He's a normal adult, after all. He has some strength."

“That’s not right,” Ning Zicheng interjected. “You didn’t see him guarding the planet during the thunderstorm. It was incredibly dangerous and brutal. The wind was so strong, it felt like knives hitting my face. I was freezing in my tent, and he was still standing outside in his protective suit, his face red. It was really thrilling. I was afraid that lightning would strike him and kill him.”

Chu Sinian scoffed, "It's not that exaggerated."

However, every time he went to observe the planets, it was almost like going through a tribulation. Whether it was cold, extremely hot, or a snowstorm, he had to stay in place and quietly observe the celestial phenomena.

Sometimes he would live more comfortably in places with better conditions, and he would make do in places with worse conditions. All the spoiled spirit he had in his childhood had been worn away.

“Some astronomers lock themselves in their labs, while others travel all over the world!” Liang Tong couldn’t help but exclaim.

“We computer science students aren’t much better off; I feel like I’m about to get cervical spondylosis,” Ning Zicheng said, scratching his head.

"I went to the hospital for a checkup before you did. The doctor said there's nothing wrong, except that my eyesight has deteriorated." Liang Tong put some food in his bowl. "I even ran into an acquaintance at the hospital."

Who is it?

Liang Tong looked at him mysteriously, "Guess what, you know him too."

"Chen Chi?"

Chu Sinian paused slightly as he picked up some food with his chopsticks.

"It wasn't him, it was Zhao Jiechao!"

Ning Zicheng suddenly looked up at him, her eyes darting around a few times, "Are you kidding me?"

"It's him!"

Ning Zicheng said, "You must have seen wrong."

Liang Tong wiped his mouth. "He's also here to see about his cervical spine, but it seems to be quite serious for him. He's holding an X-ray and looks worried."

Ning Zicheng said, "It seems he's been working quite hard. I wonder if he's still thinking about getting revenge on Chen Chi."

Liang Tong said, "Probably not. The national competition ended a long time ago. We've already made a fuss and argued, so what's there to fight over?"

After dinner, Ning Zicheng dragged them to play several more games, until Zhou Zhuo finally said, "We're going to be home late."

Ning Zicheng and Liang Tongcai sat bolt upright in shock, grabbing their phones and rushing outside. "Damn these damn leaders! They're cracking down on latecomers so strictly! If anyone gets caught, they'll be publicly shamed throughout the school. Fifty faces wouldn't be enough to cover their shame!"

Chu Sinian followed them out to see them off, saying, "Alright, I'll have Uncle Huang drive you back to school quickly, you'll definitely make it in time."

Goodbye, goodbye!

"Sir, go to bed early."

Chu Sinian nodded and watched them get off the elevator, and the noisy noise gradually faded away.

Chu Sinian's smile faded, he turned around and closed the door, locking Leng Qing out.

He looked at the newly tidied house and took a bottle of brandy out of the refrigerator.

Chu Si was busy for a while before the New Year and didn't have time to drink. These past few days, he's had some free time and almost forgot about drinking.

It's better to be busy.

Chu Sinian held a glass of wine in one hand and made a phone call in the other, "Now that Xunguang is under our control, we can start preparations. We'll gradually cut off Chuzhuang's cooperation with the outside world, and if we do it discreetly, he won't find out."

"Yes, sir,"

"Once internal problems erupt, prepare defenses and release information," Chu Sinian said, outlining several key points, which his assistant immediately put into action.

After hanging up the phone, Chu Sinian raised his eyebrows and drank nearly half of the wine.

The rich fruity aroma mixed with vanilla as he swallowed brought him immense pleasure and ease.

Perhaps he was born a bad seed, having planned early on to send his own father to prison.

Chu Sinian felt very happy. He was so happy at the thought of the turmoil that Chu Zhuang was about to face that he wanted to jump off the building and fly up into the sky to ask God if he had done anything wrong.

Thinking about it, he felt a strange emptiness.

He leaned back in the soft chair, the cushions gently enveloping him, as if he were in a cotton dream, a dream filled with the scent of grass and the fragrance of fruit in the air.

The dim light in the living room gently caressed his delicate features, while the winter wind blew in from the window, ruffling his hair. Chu Sinian frowned slightly, leaned back, and fell onto the sofa.

The chair landed with a soft thud, and through his hazy, half-closed eyes, he saw the source of the light.

In a daze, he heard someone calling him.

Speaking of these past years, don't be afraid.

As the years go by, we grow up slowly.

As he spoke of those years, he closed his eyes, his soul carried by the winter wind back to many years ago, to the face of Zhong Lin, who was in his prime.