Chapter 48 We started school on the same day as him...
Wen Zhi stared blankly at the scene before her, her mind still a little blank.
The last time I video-called my parents, they said they planned to come back two days before my school started, but they came back earlier than I expected.
Thinking about the trouble he had caused this summer, he felt inexplicably guilty. He slowly took a few steps forward and whispered, "Mom."
Rong Rui looked at him with a bright smile, holding Xiao Tang's hand with her left hand and reaching out to take his hand with her right: "Come in and we'll talk."
In the living room, several large suitcases were laid out on the aisle, and many exquisite gift boxes were piled up next to them, making the originally spacious living room completely blocked.
The two elders traveled to several European countries this summer and seem to have had a very fruitful trip.
Rong Rui led her two sons to the pile of dazzling items, first pointing to several gift boxes on the left, and said with a smile to Wen Zhi, "Zhi Zhi, these are all for you. Didn't you say you wanted that limited edition headset? Your dad queued for two days and bought it for you."
Wen Zhi's eyes lit up slightly when she saw the headphone box mixed in with the gift boxes.
“Xiao Tang, these are for you. Look, isn’t this little hat cute?” Rong Rui took out a bright yellow fisherman’s hat from another pile of gift boxes, helped Xiao Tang put it on, and smiled, “Oh my, it really suits you! It matches your shoes perfectly.”
At this point, Rong Rui noticed that Xiao Tang was wearing a pair of new shoes she had never seen before. She glanced down at them and casually asked, "Did Zhi Zhi buy you these new shoes?"
Xiao Tang, wearing her new hat, happily jumped around, the brim twitching as she answered crisply, "Brother Jue Lan bought it!"
"Brother Jue Lan?" Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Rong Rui turned to Wen Zhi beside her with a questioning look in her eyes.
But she saw her eldest son's eyes flicker, his long eyelashes trembled rapidly, and he quietly hid one hand behind his back.
She immediately sensed something was wrong and pressed, "Zhizhi, who is this Juelan...?"
“Strange, where did my white porcelain teapot go? I clearly remember putting it here…” Wen Lexian scratched the back of his head and walked out of the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face.
Wen Zhi immediately walked over, opened the top cabinet in the kitchen, and took out the smooth, white porcelain teapot: "It takes up too much space on the coffee table, so I've put it away."
Wen Lexian carefully took the white porcelain teapot that her eldest son always complained about and that he had to look for for a long time every time he came back, put it back on the coffee table, and then took out the English black tea she had bought and brewed a full pot.
"You all come and try it. The tea brewed in my pot tastes just different." He sat down leisurely on the sofa and invited his family over.
Wen Zhi and Rong Rui both walked to the sofa and sat down, pouring themselves a cup of steaming black tea. Xiao Tang sat obediently beside them, playing with her little hat with great affection.
Wen Lexian lowered his head and took a sip of the fragrant tea, then looked at Wen Zhi beside him: "You've worked hard these past few days, taking care of Xiao Tang all by yourself for so long."
Rong Rui smiled and chimed in, "Yes, our Zhizhi has grown up and become sensible. I knew that entrusting Xiaotang to you would be no problem."
Seeing that the previous topic had been moved on, Wen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief without showing any emotion. She used the act of lowering her eyes to drink tea, concealing her expression with the teacup: "What's so difficult about that?"
Wen Lexian and Rong Rui exchanged a glance, both seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.
Before they left, Wen Zhi looked utterly hopeless. They thought they would be scolded by Wen Zhi when they returned, but Wen Zhi's reaction was surprisingly calm.
He's so mature and sensible, he doesn't seem like their son at all.
Rong Rui suppressed her doubts and turned to pat Xiao Tang's head: "Xiao Tang, Mom saw that you also won a swimming trophy. Do you like learning to swim?"
"I love it!" Xiao Tang excitedly held up her little hat. "Brother Jue Lan said I'm a great swimmer!"
Upon hearing the name for the second time, Rong Rui's beautiful eyes flashed with obvious surprise, and she glanced thoughtfully at Wen Zhi, whose body was slightly stiff beside her.
Wen Lexian, unaware of the conversation that had just taken place, held his teacup and asked casually, "Was that your swimming coach?"
"Mmm!" Xiao Tang nodded repeatedly.
Rong Rui's surprise deepened: "He's a coach? Then why would he buy you shoes?"
She recognized the brand of the shoes; they weren't cheap. Besides, it didn't seem reasonable for a coach to give shoes to a student for no reason.
Xiao Tang grinned, revealing her little white teeth: "Brother Jue Lan said that he... um!"
A slender, fair hand reached out from the side and quickly covered his small mouth.
Both Wen's parents looked at their eldest son, whose expression seemed unnatural, with confusion.
Wen Zhi's eyes darted around, avoiding eye contact with her parents, and she offered a plausible explanation: "That was a reward for outstanding students."
Rong Rui's gaze fell on Wen Zhi's wrist, on the exquisite bracelet she had noticed earlier, and she asked hesitantly, "Then this bracelet..."
Surely it's not a reward for the parents of outstanding students?
Xiao Tang opened her round eyes, looked left and right, then leaned close to Wen Zhi's ear and whispered, "Zhi Zhi, do we have to keep the things Brother Jue Lan buys a secret?"
Mr. and Mrs. Wen, who heard it all clearly, were speechless.
Wen Zhi: "..."
Sensing that something was amiss, Wen Lexian put down his teacup and stood up, intending to take Xiaotang away first to give the two of them some space to talk: "Xiaotang, do you see the toys we bought for you? Daddy will teach you how to play with them."
He led Xiaotang away from the sofa, walked to the carpet in the corner of the living room, sat down, and began to study the toys intently.
Rong Rui moved closer to Wen Zhi and asked softly, "Zhi Zhi, what's going on between you and that swimming coach?"
If that person had only given Xiaotang shoes, it would have been understandable, but since that person also gave Wenzhi a bracelet, it's clear that their relationship wasn't that simple.
Wen Zhi was surprised that his parents would find out about his relationship with Song Juelan so quickly. His back stiffened slightly, and he didn't know where to begin.
Or rather, he simply couldn't tell his parents about his complicated relationship with Song Juelan. The only person he dared to tell about such an outrageous thing was his childhood friend.
Rong Rui carefully observed Wen Zhi's changing expression, guessed what was going on, and tentatively asked, "Are you and him... getting together?"
Wen Zhi's heart skipped a beat. She didn't know whether to answer yes or no, so she could only mumble a "hmm".
Rong Rui was taken aback for a moment, her first reaction being surprise.
For more than 20 years, countless people have liked her eldest son, but Wen Zhi has never responded to anyone. How come he suddenly got together with a swimming coach in just one summer vacation?
Immediately, a deep sense of worry arose in her heart.
The man was a swimming coach, which means he wasn't a student like Wen Zhi and had more social experience than her. It's unclear whether he used some means to deceive Wen Zhi.
“Our Zhizhi has someone she likes now,” Rong Rui said, suppressing her worries and giving a relaxed smile. “When can you bring him home so we can meet him?”
Wen Zhi's fingers curled up on her lap, and she stammered, "Isn't it too early..."
He and Song Juelan hadn't confirmed their relationship yet, and Song Juelan even had misunderstandings about Xiao Tang's identity. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly dare to bring Song Juelan back?
“Okay, then—” Rong Rui stared at the ripples in her teacup, thought for a moment, and was still a little worried. “Isn’t Xiao Tang going to her swimming lesson tomorrow? I’ll take her there and just catch a glimpse of her from afar, how about that?”
Just imagining Song Juelan seeing Rong Rui taking Xiao Tang to class made Wen Zhi's hands and feet go cold. She immediately shook her head: "No need...! No need for that trouble. If there's a chance next time, I'll bring him back to see you."
Rong Rui agreed with some regret: "Okay."
She actually trusted Wen Zhi's judgment. Although the man was just a swimming coach and his salary was probably not high, the job was still respectable, and compared to those other jobs, character was the most important thing.
Wen's parents had just finished a long journey and were quite tired, so they went to their room to sleep early that night.
Wen Zhi returned to her room, took out her phone, and saw several messages from Song Juelan on the screen.
First, she asked him if he had arrived home, but when he didn't reply for a long time, she sent him an adorable puppy emoji every half hour.
Wen Zhi lay down on the soft bedding, picked up her phone, and slowly typed a reply.
Wen Zhi: [I'm home. I didn't check my phone earlier.]
The other party seemed to be constantly glued to their phone, replying almost instantly.
Song Juelan: [Okay, I understand]
Wen Zhi recalled what had happened tonight, pursed her lips, and sent another message.
Wen Zhi: [Don't come to my house for a while.]
Song Juelan: [Why?]
Song Juelan's reply popped up quickly, accompanied by a pitiful puppy emoji.
Wen Zhi's gaze lingered on the puppy for a moment, her heart softening.
Who taught Song Juelan to use emojis? That's too unfair!
Wen Zhi: [I'll talk to you about it tomorrow.]
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before a "OK" was sent.
Wen Zhi turned off her phone, threw it aside, and rolled around on the bed a few times while hugging the blanket.
He decided to tell Song Juelan everything tomorrow; things couldn't go on like this any longer.
If Song Juelan can accept it, perhaps her parents can meet with her before the start of the school year.
If Song Juelan cannot accept it...
Wen Zhi buried her face deep in the blanket, instinctively wanting to escape this possibility.
The next morning, a rich aroma of food wafted in from outside, along with the warm laughter of a family.
Wen Zhi groggily opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling for a while, and then remembered that her parents had returned last night.
He lingered in bed for a while longer before getting up to wash and go outside.
In the kitchen, Rong Rui was wearing an apron and taking freshly baked croissants out of the oven, while Wen Lexian was making milk tea for his two sons with the English black tea he had brought back from afar.
Because their trip ended a few days early, the couple still had a few days of vacation left and could rest at home for a few more days.
After the family finished breakfast in a happy atmosphere, they started packing their large suitcases and finding a place to put all the things they had bought.
In the afternoon, as it approached swimming class time, Wen Zhi took Xiao Tang out on time, just like usual.
Mr. and Mrs. Wen stood at the door, watching their eldest son skillfully pack his bath towel and kettle, then take Xiaotang's hand and leave. They were both very pleased.
When Wen Zhi arrived at the swimming pool, she immediately spotted a familiar figure standing by the pool. Song Juelan was tilting her head slightly, listening to Zhu Zhenghao say something beside her.
The two seemed to be discussing something, their expressions focused, and neither noticed Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang who had just walked in.
It wasn't until Song Juelan habitually looked up at the door that he saw Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang had arrived and were waiting not far away.
He immediately abandoned Zhu Zhenghao, who was halfway through his sentence, and strode over to Wen Zhi, his eyes brightening slightly: "You're here so early today."
Wen Zhi gave a soft "Mmm" and glanced behind him: "You two still have something to say, right?"
Zhu Zhenghao quickly followed and explained with a smile, "We were just discussing how to hold a farewell party. Brother Song is about to start school, and I was thinking that we have several summer workers at the swimming pool, so why don't we all get together?"
"I see." Wen Zhi was slightly taken aback, her gaze falling on Song Juelan's slightly tense face. "You're starting school?"
"Hmm." Song Juelan's voice was somewhat muffled, and her jawline tightened even more as she told him her school start date.
The familiar date startled Wen Zhi once again.
It turns out they started school on the same day.
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Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who watered my nutrient solution!
Yun Muqing 108 bottles; Wen Weiyan 100 bottles; A plum spirit 40 bottles; Yunyun a little fat 30 bottles; Shan Xi Xin Yue, 9246 20 bottles; Huang Qi 15 bottles; This beaver 13 bottles; Dao Tie 1, Zhi Wei Yan Xin Dong, Xie Lan 10 bottles; Feng Yan 8 bottles; Kuai Kuai Kuai Kuai 7 bottles; Babi Bu Bu 6 bottles; Zhuo Zhi Yu, Tao Hua Xia Jiu, Wan Feng Chui Xing Zhou 5 bottles; Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Kuang Bao De Shou Ying 3 bottles; Thank you Xie Xie Xie Xie, Cha Cha, Mao Bu Mao Mao 2 bottles; Zheng Yu, Chuan Feng Yi Zhi Mao, Li Yu, Jiang, Qing, Xiao Qi Xiao Qi We Like You, Yu, Qi Lv Zhao Ma Kan Hua Ben, yyyyyyyu, Qi Si Li's Little Dog, Don't Wrinkle and Shed Tears, Da, Xi Yan, Shizuku, Jill, Don't Want to Go to Work, Ji Kang, Doesn't Eat Cilantro? ?, Xia Yu Jin, I Can Still Watch! 1 bottle of Hehe and Jiangjing
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