Chapter 87
When Jian Sheng woke up, he was in the hospital. Jian Qingyao was sitting by his bedside, his head down, his thoughts wandering, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
She opened her mouth, the pain from the tearing at the corner of her mouth clearing her head considerably. She glanced around, then raised her hand and tapped his arm.
Jian Qingyao looked up: "You're awake. Let me get you some water."
He pressed the call button by the bedside, poured her a glass of water, and handed it to her: "Can you drink this yourself?"
Jian Sheng didn't respond. Enduring the pain, she sat up, took the water glass, took a sip, and only asked one question: "How is Chen Zhoujing?"
Jian Qingyao didn't say anything, not even after the nurse finished her examination.
Jian Sheng asked again, "How is Chen Zhoujing?"
Jian Qingyao tried to keep his tone normal: "Nothing's wrong, he went back to Qinjin."
"He won't be coming back."
He spoke ruthlessly, even wishing that he would not return, but in his heart he was grateful to him. If it weren't for him, Jian Sheng would probably have died at Jian Zihua's hands.
However, Jian Sheng didn't react much, and then asked, "Where is he?"
He was asking Jian Zihua this question.
Jian Qingyao understood, and his eyes turned cold: "At my house."
Before Jian Sheng could ask what happened next, Jian Qingyao recounted everything: "After you fainted, an argument broke out, and Jian Zihua got cuts on his palm and forehead... Later, Chen Zhoujing lost control and hit him with a half-broken wine bottle, but Li Jing shielded your father from it, and he just had his acupuncture needles removed."
“Jian Zihua demanded 100,000 yuan in compensation for emotional distress, and also demanded 50,000 yuan in medical expenses, claiming he had heart disease.”
"Where is Chen Zhoujing?" Jian asked calmly.
Her face was pale, and her eyes were vacant.
Jian Qingyao's brow twitched a few times, and after a pause, he spoke.
"He got a cut on his head from being hit by a stool by Jian Zihua... Then Jian Zihua got a knife from somewhere and hit him in the back. When I arrived, he had already taken you and Li Jing to the hospital. I don't know about his injuries, but Jian Zihua was hiding in the room and wouldn't accept mediation. Later, Chen Zhoujing's mother went to see him personally and gave him money. He will leave in the next couple of days and won't come to Jiangzhou again."
After he finished speaking, Jian Sheng didn't say anything more. Jian Qingyao pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "The doctor said you need to recover. Get some rest. I'll stay with you."
He stepped forward, took the water glass from her hand, placed it on the side table, and then tidied her blanket.
"What do you want Jian Zihua to do? I can help you." His gaze lingered on her arm for a moment, his voice slightly low, as if he was suppressing something.
Jian Sheng closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling a few times. Jian Qingyao waited for nothing but her silence.
The curtains were drawn, and the cicadas chirped softly.
She turned slightly to the side, her back to him, and he saw tears silently streaming down her long hair.
He suddenly remembered that when Zhou Yilian came to his house before she died, she knelt down in front of Ye Hua and him, her eyes red, trying to get rid of them.
He also occasionally saw Zhou Yilian's shadow in Jian Sheng's stubborn expression.
He took a breath and sat back down in his chair: "You never told us that Jian Zihua treated you like this..."
"I'm sorry, Jian Sheng." Jian Qingyao rested his arm on the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands.
It concealed the complex emotions on his face.
He continued, "I apologize to you for my stupidity and recklessness."
When she came to visit two years ago, he was annoyed that she always hunched over, like she was afraid of people, and would shrink her head and hide in a corner whenever she saw someone.
Especially when guests come to the house, they don't go out.
They speak very little and are practically invisible.
It turns out that her situation created this reaction state for her.
He's the one who's a complete idiot, a bumpkin, a coward who knows nothing.
He also said that she wore long sleeves every day, like an idiot, but he never thought about why she always wore long sleeves in the hot weather.
When he saw Jian Zihua yesterday, he realized that it was Jian Zihua's long-term violence that had left her physically and emotionally scarred, leaving her with no choice but to wear long sleeves to protect herself.
This led her to become dependent on wearing long sleeves.
Until yesterday, he still believed that if Jian Guangyao loved him, then no matter what Jian Zihua was like, even if he didn't show his emotions, he was still like Ye Hua, stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside, loving her.
Turns out, he was the only idiot.
He's the one who knows nothing about loading cargo.
Jian Qingyao took care of her for a few days. During that time, he went home, beat up Jian Zihua, warned him never to set foot in Jiangzhou again, took the keys from him, and sent him back to Jizhou.
After that, he stayed at home, occasionally buying things and placing them in the most conspicuous position.
Jian Sheng could see his new tricks every day. She observed that Jian Qingyao would buy two of everything.
However, she didn't ask. She hadn't spoken for a long time, staying in her room every day except for eating and washing up.
Jian Qingyao didn't really care about her, but occasionally forced her to go out and watch a movie.
This state lasted for about half a month. One morning, Jian Qingyao got up as usual, intending to make breakfast before going back to sleep.
When he opened the door, Wheatfield was lying at the doorway. It barked at him and excitedly ran towards the kitchen.
He followed its direction and looked toward the kitchen.
The gas stove was turned on, and the sounds of pots and pans clattering filled the air. Jian Qingyao raised an eyebrow and walked to the kitchen doorway.
He leaned against the glass door, scratched his head, and there was still a mat imprint on one side of his cheek.
After watching for a while, Jian Sheng turned around, holding a spatula, looked at him, and said with a slight parted of her lips, "It'll be ready soon."
Jian Qingyao's mind went blank for a moment, his pupils widened, and he walked up to her, circling around her several times: "Are you possessed by a ghost?"
Jian Sheng glanced at him, said nothing, bent down to get two bowls, and started picking up noodles.
His lips twitched, but a look of joy appeared on his brow: "Are you serious?"
"No, I thought you'd gone mad. You don't talk to me all day, just stay in your room with red eyes..."
“I thought there was no Chen…” Jian Qingyao was stunned and subconsciously looked at her face, but she just curved her lips into a smile.
He leaned closer, frowning as he looked at the curve of her lips: "Are you crazy?"
Jian Sheng gave him a push and handed him the noodles: "Hurry up!"
Jian Qingyao's gaze froze for a moment, then he stiffly took the bowl, exclaiming, "Holy crap..."
Jian Sheng ladled out another bowl of noodles, then walked to the table and began to eat quietly.
He watched her stuff the noodles into her mouth, one bite at a time. Her face was pale, but no longer as bloodless as when she had just returned from the hospital.
Jian Qingyao picked up a piece of noodles, took a bite, and felt the scalding heat spread throughout his mouth. He swirled it around in his mouth before swallowing.
"Are you really alright?" He was a little scared.
Jian Sheng shook his head: "It's nothing."
"?" Jian Qingyao's mouth was open, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how.
"Thank you, Jian Qingyao." She suddenly looked up and said very seriously, "I found a job and I'll start work tomorrow morning."
"Go back if you're alright, don't keep Brother Yang Shao waiting too long." Her tone was normal, and when she said this, her eyes showed gratitude and a slight sense of relaxation.
Jian Qingyao's eyes flashed with surprise when he heard Yang Shao's name, but he didn't respond. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and asked, "What kind of work?"
“I can support you, I have money.” He added, “I can pay for your tuition and living expenses, you don’t need to go out to work.”
Jian Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly and pursed her lips: "I've already troubled you a lot, and I'm an adult now. I should be taking care of these things myself."
"Thank you, Jian Qingyao." She thanked him again, "The card Grandma gave me has enough money for four years of university tuition, you don't need to give me any... I know our family actually owes you a lot..."
“You don’t owe us anything. It’s Jian Zihua who owes us. He owes us not only, but also you and your mother.” Jian Qingyao interrupted her, looking at her lowered brows. “I know that no one can change your mind once you’ve made up your mind. You can go to work if you want, but you must be careful. I’ll stay with you this summer. Don’t even think about kicking me out, or else… well, no way!”
“Simply put it, we are family,” he said.
He remained silent for a long time, then said with remorse, "Can you just pretend I was ignorant when I said those stupid things before?"
Jian Sheng lowered her head, her eyes stinging. They had agreed not to cry, but she couldn't bear it once Jian Qingyao opened his mouth.
Before she could respond, Jian Qingyao sighed and said, "It's okay, no need to forgive me. I was the idiot to begin with."
"Send me the address later. My car has been sitting idle lately, and if I don't drive it soon it will get worn out and I'll have to take it in for repairs. Anyway, I don't have much to do during the summer vacation, so I can pick you up and drop you off."
Jian Sheng nodded, holding back her tears, and finished the last few bites of noodles.
Until she received her acceptance letter, she deliberately kept herself busy. In addition to the classes she had found, Jian Qingyao would occasionally take her out to play on holidays, and Lin You would also occasionally ask her out.
She used her salary to buy herself a set of art supplies, and saved the rest in a separate bank card.
On the day she received her acceptance letter, she locked herself in her room for a whole day and night.
She opened the file folder, took out the admission notice, and lingered her fingers on the words "Huai'an University" for a long time.
Her phone was lit up on one side, and she lay there all night.
But I didn't have the courage to text him.
*
Chen Zhoujing received his admission notice a week later; it was delivered to him by Li Jing.
He stood outside his house for a whole day before Chen Zhoujing finally broke free from the people his mother had arranged to watch over him.
He rushed downstairs, grabbed the man's collar, saw the scar on his neck, said nothing, and led him to the shade of a tree.
Li Jing smiled and said, "Congratulations."
He handed him the acceptance letter: "Why are you looking so gloomy? Cheer up."
"I'm sorry," Chen Zhou said in a low voice, offering a sincere apology.
His complexion was poor, with deep dark circles under his eyes, and his eye sockets were becoming increasingly prominent. His thinness made him look listless.
"No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong." Li Jing glanced at his face, holding the admission notice that he hadn't taken, and pretended to throw it away, "If you don't want it, I'll throw it away."
Chen Zhoujing quickly took it, carefully flipped through it again and again, and finally tucked it behind his back.
Seeing that he wasn't very happy, Li Jing frowned slightly: "Your score of 706 didn't convince your mother?"
"Or is it that your mother has changed her mind about this?"
Every word he uttered hit Chen Zhoujing right where it hurt, but one thing he was very reluctant to admit was that he was useless.
"Still want to go abroad?" Li Jing's lips curled into a smile.
Chen Zhou lowered his eyes in shock and said, "I...I...I lost control and stabbed her father..."
Li Jing paused for a moment: "You stabbed me, the wound is on my body."
"When I repay you for the knife you took for me before."
"..." Chen Zhou shook his head in shock, his voice trembling, "I couldn't control myself at the time. If you hadn't blocked it, it would have slashed his neck."
"And his hands..."
"Your back injury must be more serious than his hand injury, right? If someone hadn't called the police and they hadn't arrived, he would have stabbed you in the chest with the knife, Chen Zhoujing."
"But he is her father."
"How can such a beast be a father?" Li Jing pursed his lips and said indifferently, "He took a lot of money from your mother, and he has already returned to Jeju."
“You don’t need to feel guilty. I’m sure it won’t be long before he gambles away all his money and has to beg.”
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