Chapter 70 Rumors circulated around the boy...
A few cheering whistles came from around the boys, sweeping away the serious and dull atmosphere from before.
A boy in front of them stood up, clinging to the back of a chair: "Brother Meng, do you have someone you like? Who is it? Who is it?"
Meng He raised his hand to block him, rolling his eyes: "Go away, don't interrupt me!"
After saying that, he continued to stare at Shen Li on the stage.
Shen Li subconsciously looked at Jiang Huaichuan sitting in the front row and saw that he was also looking at her with great interest. Her fingers holding the microphone tightened, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"With a face like that, does he even need to chase after anyone? If a guy this handsome pursued me, I'd say yes on the spot, hahaha."
Meng He instantly exploded, yelling at the classmate who had spoken up, "What's wrong? Is my face not good enough?"
Meng He was not bad-looking, standing at 1.8 meters tall. Although he looked carefree, he was fair-skinned and had sharp features, the kind of looks that would make him popular throughout the school during his student days.
"Sit down right now!" The dean of students, having had enough, exclaimed. "Look at your terrible grades! Do you think you can even get into the same university as them? They'll meet people ten or a hundred times better than you in college. How are you going to win them over? Huh?!"
Meng He's expression remained unchanged, but the light in his eyes gradually dimmed. He glanced furtively to his left front, then quickly looked away, as if he were acting guilty.
Shen Li saw it clearly from the stage. His gaze fell on the person Meng He was looking at. It was the girl who had asked him how to relieve fatigue during the final sprint. The girl had a cute baby face, short hair, and the hair in front of her forehead was clipped back with a star-shaped clip. At this moment, she was lowering her head slightly and biting her lip.
Um?
Shen Li blinked, then looked back at the boy.
like……
Shen Li understood and smiled knowingly.
Indeed, teenage crushes are always innocent and naive, like a chaotic dream where every step is crucial to success or failure.
Shen Li: "This is just a small suggestion of mine, to shorten the gap between us and try to have more interaction in our future work and life."
——
"Let's try to cross paths in our future work and life, hehe~"
Ever since the lecture ended, Jiang Huaichuan has been humming and hawing like a child holding a candy.
Shen Li's ears were already bright red. Seeing that Jiang Huaichuan was still muttering even after they had left the school gate, she quickly reached out and covered his mouth, saying helplessly, "Stop humming, it's just what you're thinking."
Jiang Huaichuan: "So you chose finance really for me?"
“Yes.” Shen Li sighed helplessly. “What can I do? The Jiang Group is particularly fond of graduates from the Finance Department of University A. In order to get closer to you, I had no choice but to resort to this tactic.”
Jiang Huaichuan's lips curled up in a pleased smile. He pressed his forehead against Chen Li's and gently rubbed it twice: "But meeting you was my best course of action."
Walking along the path outside the campus, retracing Shen Li's school route from his student days, eight years have passed and K City has changed dramatically. The path that was once hidden opposite the campus is no longer there, but has been transformed into a small walking park.
The two bypassed the small park and walked along the road.
"This used to be a small shop."
As he walked forward, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Shen Li's eyes, and his fingers traced the iron bars on the wall: "This is my junior high school."
The orphanage was about two kilometers away from K City No. 1 Middle School, and Shen Li made the daily round trip for three years.
The orphanage has been renovated; the old, dilapidated gray building has been rebuilt and its exterior walls are painted with colorful paint.
The orphanage was small, consisting of a small gate, a building, and a small courtyard where people could barely move around. There was a slide in the courtyard, and two children were playing on it.
Shen Li did not go in. The old director had passed away two years ago, and there were no familiar faces in the orphanage.
That's good. Everyone has gone out, and the old director is resting too.
Sunlight shone on her body, and Shen Li squinted as she looked up, letting the summer breeze gently caress her face.
After a long while, Shen Li said, "Let's go."
Just as I turned around, a surprised shout suddenly came from behind me.
"Hey? Mr. Jiang?"
Shen Li paused, subconsciously turning her head to look. She saw a man in a suit, about fifty years old, jogging over and opening the door warmly.
Shen Li's gaze trembled. He stared blankly at the other person's smooth head and chubby face, seemingly incredulous.
"Mr. Jiang, what brings you here?" The man placed his hand on the door, gesturing for him to come in. "Please come in. Why didn't you let me know you were coming? How has Madam Jiang been feeling lately?"
Jiang Huaichuan nodded: "Great, I just happened to be passing by and decided to come and take a look."
Jiang Huaichuan gently touched Shen Li's lower back, his eyes questioning.
Should we go in and take a look?
The man had already noticed the person standing next to Jiang Huaichuan. As an employee of Jiang's company, even if he wasn't at headquarters, he would still pay attention to things related to his boss.
For example, his other half.
The man smiled at Shen Li: "Hello Mr. Shen, I am Guan Wu, the person in charge of Jiang's K City branch."
Guan Wu.
Looking at the man's spirited face, Shen Li suddenly smiled and reached out to shake his hand: "Hello, Mr. Guan."
It's been a long time.
As Shen Li entered the room, she was greeted by the current dean who had received the news. She was not very familiar with Jiang Huaichuan, but she was very familiar with Shen Li.
She stood in front of Shen Li, her gaze sweeping over his face, and asked gently, "Why did you come in person?"
"I happen to be in K City on some business."
"Have you had lunch yet? If not, please feel free to eat here."
The group ate lunch in the orphanage's small kitchen.
After the meal, the dean said to Shen Li, "Would you like to go upstairs to the small room? There are gifts that the children made for you there."
Shen Li was taken aback.
The dean walked ahead and said, "You send money to the academy every year. The children all know there is a Brother Shen, but they have never seen him. This year, the primary school organized a few teachers to come and give the children Spring Festival gifts. They also learned to make some handicrafts, all of which were made for you."
The director pushed open the door. The small room contained several large wooden cabinets, filled with the children's small creations. The director led Shen Li to the innermost part of the first row of cabinets, where she took down a small, colorful box.
——
On the way to the airport, Shen Li held the colorful little box the whole time, taking out the contents and looking at them over and over again.
There were delicate yet brightly colored oil paintings, as well as paper tigers and rabbits, and many letters. The children hadn't even learned all the characters yet, but they had written a whole page using pinyin.
At the bottom of the box was a blue amulet wrapped in a plastic bag.
The dean handed the small box to Shen Li: "There is a talisman inside. It was made by one of the older children in the academy. She spent almost half a month making it and secretly slipped it in, thinking I didn't know."
At the beginning of this year, you suddenly transferred a large sum of money to the hospital. I tried to contact you but couldn't reach you. I remembered what the old director told me before he passed away: that you were not in good health. At that time, I felt a little uneasy, afraid that you were preparing for the future.
I took the liberty of contacting your mother through your roster. She said you were going to have surgery. That child is so thoughtful; perhaps she overheard me on the phone. She imitated what she read in a book, tearing off a piece of her little skirt and haphazardly sewing a "peace and health" design.
As her fingertips traced the rough, bulging stitches, the edges crookedly sewn together, tears welled up in Shen Li's eyes and suddenly fell, splashing onto the back of her hand.
On the return flight, Shen Li tucked the amulet into Jiang Huaichuan's arms and fell asleep. His fluctuating emotions made his sleep restless, and he would wake up every now and then. Jiang Huaichuan patiently patted his back gently to coax him back to sleep.
Two hours after the plane took off, Shen Li fell into a deep sleep, a thin gray blanket covering his lower abdomen. Jiang Huaichuan's gaze fell on his left hand with a red string, and a corner of a blue amulet was visible in his tightly clenched palm.
The long-standing, unreal feeling finally became real, and with a surge of emotion, Jiang Huaichuan's eyes stung. He carefully placed a light kiss on Shen Li's brow, pulled her closer to his chest, and felt a strong, steady heartbeat beneath their pressed chests.
It was already dark when he got home. Shen Li reluctantly placed the box on the cabinet in his study. He had bought a moisture-proof, airtight box and would put it in when it arrived.
Lying in bed, Shen Li finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
"What's the situation with Mr. Guan?"
Jiang Huaichuan's gaze, which was fixed on the tablet, fell on Shen Li's face: "He used to work in another branch company. He's quite capable, has a keen eye, and is decisive but principled. At the time, Song An suggested transferring him to headquarters. There happened to be a small project in K City that was about to start, and he volunteered to go there after learning about it."
Jiang Huaichuan smiled and stroked Shen Li's long eyelashes: "I didn't know why he gave up such a promising future before, but today when I saw you staring at him blankly, I think I know now. He's from K City, right?"
"Yes, he used to be an amusement park owner..."
Shen Li leaned against Shen Li with a relaxed expression, and softly recounted the buried past from her distant memories.
Shen Li dozed off halfway through his story, a gentle smile on his lips as he slept.
In her dream, Shen Li seemed to have returned to her childhood, surrounded by a young and kind old director, clean and comfortable good friends, and Uncle Paradise, who wore a tie and looked spirited but played with them.
Laughter and cheerful voices echoed in his ears when someone suddenly called his name from behind. Shen Li turned around instinctively and met a pair of smiling dark eyes. He ran forward a few steps and threw himself into the man's arms.
Jiang Huaichuan lay on his back on the bed, his peach blossom eyes slightly upturned, with a joyful smile at the corners of his eyes. In his arms, Chen Li held his neck tightly with both hands, her fluffy head rubbing against his chest.
Soft strands of hair brushed against his chin, and the refreshing scent of lemon filled his nostrils. Jiang Huaichuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and his chest trembled slightly. "Wife~ If you keep rubbing against me like this, I'll be late today."
"Um...that won't do..." Shen Li mumbled groggily, slowly pulling away from Jiang Huaichuan's embrace, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction, "It's clearly your lack of self-control..."
Jiang Huaichuan chuckled helplessly, unable to refute a single point.
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