Chapter 29. Heaven favors me, and I favor you. ...
When she was little, because her mother was often away from home, Chen Ci loved listening to her father talk about her mother. She had seen photos of her mother when she was in school; she was already a stunning beauty in her teens.
“My mom is very beautiful and has a cheerful personality. She’s always been popular since I was little. My dad always tells me that it took him a lot of effort to win her over.” Chen Ci smiled at Zhou Shilin, her voice lowering slightly. “But I don’t think I inherited any of my mom’s charm. I’m not as talkative as her, not as caring, and I don’t even know how to smile. To make it easier for the competition, I cut my hair very short, and many classmates laughed at me for being a tomboy, and nobody wanted to be my friend. But I didn’t really care at the time. I’m not good at socializing anyway, and being alone is fine.”
The day I won my first championship trophy, I happily thought that when my mom came back from her business trip, I would definitely give her the trophy, and she would be happy for me too. But things didn't go as I imagined. When my mom saw the trophy I handed her, she angrily smashed it on the ground. That day, she and my dad had a huge fight. She said that other kids were learning piano, dance, and math, while I was fighting with people. She also said that I had hit classmates at school, and she wouldn't have known until her teacher called her. It was also that day that I realized that although I don't laugh easily, I can cry quite easily.
That day, she cried loudly while holding the broken trophy. She hoped that her parents would stop arguing because of her, but neither of them listened to her.
“And then there were my classmates at school. They were the ones bullying me, and that's why I hit them back, but they wouldn't admit it, and even the bullied students wouldn't tell the truth. Later, my mom talked to me a lot. She said that if I can't even handle relationships at school, I'll be even less able to handle relationships in society when I grow up. She told me I should smile more, interact more with my classmates, and learn to dress myself up, because everyone likes good-looking people.” At this point, Chen Ci gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Although it's ironic, in the end, it turned out that my mom was right.”
She looked at Zhou Shilin sitting opposite her. He was the kind of handsome person that her mother had described, someone everyone liked. This handsomeness wasn't just in his facial features, but also in his clothing, demeanor, and mannerisms. Although Zhou Shilin didn't smile much, people were still drawn to his charisma.
Just like now, he's simply sitting in a small shop at the night market eating barbecue, but passersby can't help but glance at him a few more times.
“You’re so good-looking and smart, so dealing with interpersonal relationships must be a piece of cake for you. You must have never been disliked by anyone growing up, right?” Chen Ci was actually a little envious of him. “But I’m different. The night I came back from my grandfather’s house, I clearly saw the disgust in my mother’s eyes.”
Zhou Shilin looked at her, not answering her previous question, but instead asked her, "What happened that day?"
Chen Ci lowered her eyes, seemingly unwilling to recall that day: "After my mother talked to me, I tried to change, but it was really difficult. Under her arrangement, I started learning piano and art, but when she wasn't around, my father would still secretly send me to martial arts classes to continue learning. After a while, we thought we were keeping it a secret, but my grandfather still found out. He found an opportunity to invite our whole family over for dinner, and then, at the dinner table, he revealed it in front of everyone. He scolded my mother for a long time, saying that she couldn't even manage her own daughter, let alone the company."
When I got home, my mother had a breakdown. She felt that my father and I had been lying to her all along. She cried and said that my appearance must be due to my father's bad genes, and she wanted to divorce my father and have another child.
Now, Chen Ci's tone is much calmer as she says this, but that night, she clearly understood that her existence had been completely denied by her mother.
Perhaps a girl no one likes should never have existed in the first place.
“I was afraid my mother would really abandon me, and I was also afraid they would really divorce because of me, so I started to pretend. At first it wasn’t easy, but gradually my smile became more and more natural, my hair gradually grew longer, and I had more and more beautiful clothes in my wardrobe. One day I suddenly realized that I no longer needed to make an effort to reach out to others; people would take the initiative to befriend me.” She looked up at Zhou Shilin across from her and smiled. “Someone like you, who has been favored by God since childhood, probably doesn’t know that when you go out, it’s a completely different world between when everyone likes you and when no one likes you.”
Zhou Shilin's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, somewhat touched by her words. He had indeed been outstanding since childhood, and even if some people around him disliked him, it was only because of jealousy.
If there's any childhood trauma he might have, it's probably his younger brother who always lost to him in the family.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, please order the beef, pork belly, and chicken cartilage." The waiter came over and served them the dishes. Chen Ci had ordered a lot of things, so they only grilled these parts first.
Seeing the food, Chen Ci's mood improved significantly. She picked up a skewer of beef and handed it to Zhou Shilin, saying, "Try it, it's especially delicious when it's freshly grilled."
"Hmm." Zhou Shilin took the beef from her hand, blew on it, and said, "It's still a little hot, so don't eat it yet."
As he said this, Chen Ci had already impatiently taken a bite of beef. While fanning herself with her hand, she mumbled, "It's still a little hot, hurry it up a bit."
"..." Zhou Shilin got up, took a bottle of soda from the store's freezer, opened it with a bottle opener, and handed it to her, "Have something cold to drink."
"Thank you." Chen Ci took the soda, took a sip, and exhaled. "Soda and barbecue, I'll live forever."
"...Who told you that?"
"Didn't you notice? My words rhyme. Rhyming words always make sense."
"..."
Chen Ci took another sip of soda, but felt it wasn't enough. She put down the soda and tentatively asked Zhou Shilin, "Would you like some beer?"
Zhou Shilin looked up at her: "Gout package?"
"...Hey, gout isn't that easy to get." Chen Ci stood up briskly, took a few bottles of chilled beer from the freezer, and placed them on the table. "So much has happened today, I have to have some beer."
Zhou Shilin said, "Tomorrow is Monday, I advise you to restrain yourself."
Chen Ci opened her mouth, about to say something, when Zhou Shilin continued, "My words also rhyme."
Chen Ci: "..."
Chen Ci didn't want to restrain herself today; she just wanted to indulge herself: "I can always take the day off tomorrow."
"I have to remind you that you still have 110,000 yuan in debt to pay."
"..." Chen Ci curled her lips and gave him a fake smile, "If you bring this up, then I have to drink it even more."
She picked up a beer and took a swig, feeling completely refreshed: "Summer is all about barbecue and beer! So refreshing!"
Zhou Shilin: "..."
You'll know when you wake up with a headache tomorrow.
"You should drink too!" Chen Ci had drunk most of a bottle of beer and was starting to feel a little tipsy, so she was already urging Zhou Shilin to drink more.
Normally, no one would dare to make him drink like that at a dinner party.
Zhou Shilin took the beer bottle from her hand and put it aside: "I won't drink it. One of us has to stay sober."
"Hey, I can hold my liquor really well, this little bit of beer is nothing!"
"..." It's really impossible to tell at all.
"If you're not drinking, then eat more! The beef and pork belly here are grilled really well!" Chen Ci pushed the barbecue in front of her toward Zhou Shilin. "It's my treat today, so eat as much as you want."
"Then I won't be polite." Zhou Shilin picked up another skewer of pork belly. This barbecue restaurant slow-grilled raw meat, which tasted much better than barbecue that was deep-fried in advance. It has to be said that after eating another piece, Chen Ci really did have some talent.
Before the two of them finished the meat on the table, the waiter came and served them another dish. This time, in addition to meat, there were vegetables and even two bowls of pig brains.
"This pig brain is one of their signature dishes; you absolutely have to try it," Chen Ci said, starting to eat first. "A capitalist like you shouldn't be afraid to eat pig brain, right?"
"..." Zhou Shilin smiled at her, "Yeah, when we're hungry we just eat people."
Chen Ci: "..."
No, it seems like I'm really starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.
Knowing that she might say even more shocking things if she kept drinking, Chen Ci couldn't control herself. The last time she drank like this was when she graduated from university: "Speaking of university, did you have any relationships in college?"
Zhou Shilin: "..."
So where did we get to the university earlier?
"Difficult to answer?" Chen Ci looked at him probingly. "Have we talked about it too much?"
"……No."
"Didn't talk much? How many times did you talk?"
“…” Zhou Shilin glanced at her, “We’ve never dated.”
"Huh?" Chen Ci was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "You must be lying to me. How could you not have dated?"
When she interviewed Zhou Shilin last time, she actually wanted to ask these questions, but Tian Xu wouldn't let her ask about his privacy... Tian Xu isn't here today!
Zhou Shilin glanced at her: "So you've talked to her many times?"
"I, cough cough, I do have quite a few people who like me, but I don't like any of them."
"Oh, you have pretty high standards."
“Of course.” Chen Ci rested her chin on her hands, smiling as she looked at Zhou Shilin across from her. “I like someone like President Zhou.”
"..." Zhou Shilin had been confessed to many times since he was a child, but this was the first time he had ever been confessed to like Chen Ci. "You really have drunk too much."
"I'm not drunk. Beer can't intoxicate like Mr. Zhou."
"..."
Zhou Shilin picked up the spoon from her bowl and handed it to her: "Hurry up and eat your brain, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
“…Oh, right.” Chen Ci finally remembered that there was something more important to do, and immediately picked up her spoon to start eating the pig brain. Seeing that she was behaving herself, Zhou Shilin also tasted the pig brain in his bowl. It was roasted very fresh, not greasy at all, and the sauce was also very flavorful, blending well with the pig brain.
"What about high school? Did anyone try to date you in high school?" Chen Ci asked, taking a moment out of her busy schedule.
"..." Zhou Shilin was speechless.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Chen Ci looked up at him. "I've told you all my secrets today, so it's not too much to ask you to tell me yours too, is it?"
"...we never talked about elementary school, middle school, high school, or university."
Chen Ci paused, her hand holding the spoon pausing, a hint of surprise in her voice: "Could it be the kindergarten..."
No, not at all.
“…Oh.” Chen Ci nodded blankly. “But why?”
She assumed that someone like Zhou Shilin, even if not highly experienced, must have some experience.
Zhou Shilin said, "Because I love learning."
"..." Thinking that Zhou Shilin went to university at the age of sixteen and was indeed very studious, "I remember now, you went to university at the age of sixteen and were still a minor, so you really shouldn't be dating."
As she said this, her face was full of regret: "I missed out on the beauty of Zhou Shilin at sixteen, sob sob sob."
Zhou Shilin: "..."
They're not even letting a sixteen-year-old go; it's gotten to the point where we should call the police and have her arrested.
That night, Chen Ci not only finished all the barbecue she ordered, but also drank all the beer she took from the freezer by herself. While sitting in Zhou Shilin's car, she was still rambling on and on about her parents' love story: "Don't look at my dad like that, he actually loves my mom very much. He can't live without my mom. If my mom really divorces him, he definitely won't be able to live."
"Um……"
"Back then, half of the reason was for my dad. He and my mom were very loving. If it weren't for me..." Chen Ci paused, then sighed deeply, "Alas—although I was young at the time, I still shouldered everything for my family."
"……Um."
"By the way, would you like to see a picture of my mother when she was young? I look just like her."
"Then I'll take care of you."
“…That makes sense.” Chen Ci paused for two seconds before speaking again, “But I’ve moved out of my family home now and don’t contact them much anymore. What I used to want most was my mother’s approval, but now that I’m older, I don’t care anymore.”
Zhou Shilin grabbed her hand, which was gesturing in mid-air, without saying a word.
Chen Ci felt the warmth from her palm and turned her head to look at Zhou Shilin beside her. Although he was always cold, his hands were so warm.
"Zhou Shilin," she called out to him, "Why are you so good to me?"
He listened to her rambling on and on about nonsense all night without showing the slightest impatience. A capitalist like him, surely his time is very precious, right?
Zhou Shilin paused for a moment, then looked at her and said, "Heaven favors me, and I favor you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
