He Qianjian was still holding out a glimmer of hope that the English system would appear in the afternoon, but until the end of the exam, the system did not appear again.
The old man sitting at the first table wiped his mouth and asked, "How did you do on the exam today?"
The eighth of every month is the time for a dinner at the He family's old house. Except for He Qianyang who is studying in another city and Jiang Chen who didn't come today due to special reasons, everyone in the He family is present.
As soon as the old man opened his mouth, everyone's attention shifted to the end of the table.
——Ever since Jiang Chen came to the old house for dinner for the first time, He Qianjian was pushed to the end of the table by He Qianmin's words, and he has been sitting there regularly.
He Qianjian paused as he was about to pick up some food. He suppressed the panic that had accumulated throughout the day, slowly put down his chopsticks, and looked up and said, "I felt good about the two subjects the day before yesterday, but I didn't sleep well last night, so I didn't do well in the comprehensive science and English exams today."
Mr. He lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and asked, "What do you estimate?"
He Qianjian tightened his hands on his knees, and his face looked a little pale, which complemented his words: "I estimate that my Chinese score yesterday was above 145, and my math score was full marks as expected..." He dragged out his tone, and seeing Mr. He's slightly satisfied expression, he continued: "When I took the comprehensive science test this morning, I felt dizzy and my vision was a little blurry after doing a few questions. I didn't know what I wrote at the end. The same thing happened in the afternoon, so I don't know how many points I will get in these two subjects..."
Yang Yun had long noticed that He Qianjian had been in a bad mood since noon, but by noon she had not yet recovered from the joy that Jiang Chen was closer to them than before, so she didn't think much about it and just thought that He Qianjian was having mood swings again, but she didn't expect that he might be feeling unwell.
Hearing him say this now, Yang Yun couldn't help but feel a little worried.
She asked with concern: "Are you okay? Do you have a fever? Why didn't you tell your mother at noon?"
He Qianjian's eyes flickered slightly, and he shook his head and said, "It's not that great. It's already very tiring for you and dad to wait for me outside for a whole day. I don't want to make you worry anymore."
Yang Yun was slightly stunned, and after a pause, she stood up and walked to him, touching his forehead. She found nothing unusual but was still worried, so she said, "Mom, let's ask Uncle Xiang to come over and take a look at you."
"No need, really." He Qianjian shook his head and said, "It's probably just that I didn't sleep well yesterday and caught a cold. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep tonight."
"But……"
"You should have told your mother in the morning if you were not feeling well." Mr. He said in a deep voice, "You usually know the importance of things, but why did you fail at this time? Do you know what it means to fail two exams?"
He Qianjian lowered his head and admitted his mistake sincerely: "I'm sorry."
Mr. He looked at him with disappointment, then stood up and left the table.
"Old man!" Old Madam He called out, and turned her head to look at He Qianjian, who was much thinner than before. She sighed inwardly, walked over to hold his hand, and said softly: "Dabao, don't pay attention to your grandfather, he has a bad temper."
He Qianjian raised his eyes and saw the old lady who was the only one who cared about him as always and whose attitude had never changed. The resentment and grievances accumulated during this period could not help but well up in his eyes. He called out, "Grandma."
When Mrs. He saw his red eyes, she couldn't help but feel distressed. She had seen the changes in everyone in the family during this period. In fact, how could she not know that He Qianjian might have done something wrong? He Yanjun and He Yanfeng were both her sons, and she knew them best. However, if He Qianjian hadn't really done something wrong, their change towards him wouldn't be so great.
Not only did she know, she believed her husband also knew that her sons and daughters-in-law must be hiding something from them. But even if they knew about it, they couldn't give up their feelings for their grandson without knowing what happened.
"You are confused." Mrs. He thought of the current situation at home and He Qianjian's embarrassing situation, and sighed softly: "Your poor performance in the exam this time will have a great impact on you. Your grandfather is worried because of you."
He Qianmin didn't say anything, his lowered eyes looked obedient and fragile.
If she really cared about him, she shouldn't have gotten angry at him at the dinner table. The He family was wealthy and powerful. If Jiang Chen hadn't appeared, even if he scored zero in the college entrance examination, with the He family's foundation and status, he could easily get a decent diploma. If that didn't work out in China, he could still get it abroad.
Ultimately, it’s just because he is no longer a member of the He family.
On the way back to the riverside villa, He Qianjian kept these thoughts circulating in his mind, and his eyes were dark as he looked at the backrest of the front seat.
At ten o'clock in the evening, there was still no news from the system.
He Qianjian stood on the terrace, the slightly warm night breeze blowing on his body. The fragrance of the flowers blooming in the garden mixed in the breeze, bringing warmth to him, but he was shivering slightly and biting his nails nervously.
The system will never appear again, and without the system, he will be nothing.
Power, status, money... He will lose everything. Those who he looked down upon before will come to mock and ridicule him. Those who he offended before will come to retaliate against him and attack him. Those who flattered him before will stay away from him and even add insult to injury.
He Qianjian imagined those scenes, and the anxiety and fear almost swallowed him.
The two-day college entrance examination is over, and for most senior high school students, June 9th will be a carnival.
But for Jiang Chen, this was a day he had been waiting for but not expecting, a day for which he had made countless mental preparations but for which he still had no idea.
He got up early and went to the vegetable market with his mother. At noon, the family of three prepared a sumptuous lunch together.
After dinner, Yang Si went to the room to coax Jiang Ran to take a nap. Jiang Zhuo and Jiang Chen washed the dishes in the kitchen together, and then went to the balcony together.
Jiang Zhuo lit a cigarette, sighed softly, and asked Jiang Chen: "Have you thought about how to tell your mother?"
Jiang Chen leaned on the railing, the wind blowing against his face. His hair, which he hadn't had time to cut, had grown a little longer. The black hair was draped over his forehead and was blown up by the wind. He sounded a little nervous, "I haven't thought about it yet."
Jiang Zhuo asked: "Did you not think about this? Or did you not think about how to deal with your mother's reaction?"
"Both." Jiang Chen turned his head and said, "Dad, what do you think my mom would do if she knew about this..."
"I can't imagine it." Jiang Zhuo shook his head: "But I have to warn you in advance, your mother might go crazy if she knew about this."
Jiang Chen could imagine.
From childhood to adulthood, Yang Si has devoted almost all her energy to him, but for his growth, this love has always been positive and restrained. She supports him and encourages him but never spoils him. However, this does not mean that this maternal love is less than that of other families. On the contrary, it is deeper, because everything she does is truly from his perspective and thinking about his growth.
This was the kind of love that only a mother could give, and Yang Si gave it to him without reservation.
Now, he wanted to tell her that he was not her biological son.
After learning the truth, it must be hard for her to accept it.
"But no matter what, your mother must know about this." Jiang Zhuonianmie took a puff of his cigarette and put his hand on Jiang Chen's shoulder: "No matter how your mother reacts after she finds out about this, you must forgive her. She loves you too much..."
Jiang Chen nodded: "I know."
Jiang Zhuo smiled and said, "Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'm your dad here, right?"
"What are you two talking about?" Yang Si came out of the room and saw her husband and son standing on the balcony. She walked over and opened the glass door. She smelled the cigarette smell that had not yet dissipated. She frowned and looked at her husband: "Why are you still smoking? How long have you not smoked?"
"I just took a puff." Jiang Zhuo pointed to the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray. After proving it, he glanced at Jiang Chen, walked forward and put his arm around his wife's shoulders: "Let's go to the living room. My son and I have something to talk to you about."
Yang Si turned to look at Jiang Chen: "What did you say?"
Jiang Chen met his mother's curious and puzzled gaze, paused, stood still, lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze for a moment, then raised his eyes and faced her without flinching.
"Actually, I'm not your biological son."
Jiang Zhuo stopped and saw Yang Si's stunned expression. He felt anxious. This kid was usually very smart, but why was he so aggressive today? He just said what he wanted to say without any preparation.
"What did you say?" Yang Si turned around, a little unsure of what he had just heard: "You and your father colluded on the balcony to deceive me?"
Jiang Chen pursed his lips. His hands at his sides were already sweating. The wind from the balcony blew in from behind, passing through the hall, and his T-shirt stuck to his back.
"Last October, my biological parents came to me with a paternity test, proving that I was actually their biological son. They wanted to take me back."
Jiang Chen spoke in a low and slow voice, and every word was clearly heard by Yang Si. With every extra word he said, her expression changed a little.
"At that time, I had just learned about your pregnancy, and I was worried about your body and that you couldn't handle the stress, so I discussed with them to keep it a secret from you until you had your sister and were out of confinement. The end of the college entrance examination was the final date I agreed with them. After today—"
"What will happen after today?!" Yang Si interrupted Jiang Chen with a trembling voice, her voice was sharper than ever before: "After today they will snatch you away! Take you away! Take away the child I raised with so much effort, right!"
Jiang Chen looked up and found that Yang Si was already in tears.
He was at a loss: "I, it's not, Mom..."
Jiang Zhuo immediately took two steps forward and hugged his wife, comforting her: "Chenchen didn't mean that. He didn't tell you before because he didn't want it..."
"Let me go!" Yang Si struggled to break free from Jiang Zhuo, her hair messy as she moved. She looked at him with wide eyes: "Jiang Zhuo, you knew about this a long time ago, didn't you? You and your son worked together to hide it from me. Do you want to take advantage of others and not have the child, right?"
Jiang Zhuo was anxious and didn't pay attention to the meaning of his wife's words. He explained: "How could I not want Chenchen? It's just that he can't do anything about this matter. This is the truth. He kept it from you before for your own good. He was afraid that you would worry. The child is already so sensible, you..."
"You want to go with them? You don't want me and your father anymore, right?" Yang Si didn't listen to Jiang Zhuo at all. She walked to Jiang Chen in two steps, her eyes red. She grabbed his hand so hard that veins popped out: "You don't want me and your father anymore. Are you going to leave us with the He family?"
Jiang Chen let her hold him, and comforted her with a swearing tone: "Mom, I will never leave you. I will always be your son."
"So that means the He family is threatening you, right? They're threatening you to leave us and go back with them, right?"
Jiang Chen suddenly reacted and raised his eyes to meet Jiang Zhuo's gaze. Jiang Zhuo shook his head.
——"Mom, how do you know... it's the He family?"
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