Chapter 20
While Liang Yue eagerly awaited the fried skewers, Ji Shuyi went to the nearest pharmacy.
When I came back, I gave her a bottle of sleep aid spray.
"If you can't sleep, you can spray two pumps onto your pillow. The salesperson said it has some effect. Don't spray too much, or the strong smell will make it even harder to sleep."
"oh."
Liang Yue stroked the unopened plastic film. Although Ji Shuyi was a bit old-fashioned, like someone who had never been online, she would take small things to heart, like the insomnia she casually mentioned caused by playing on her phone before bed. And then there was the time she mentioned that she didn't like doing homework because she didn't have a suitable pen; the next day, Ji Shuyi ran all over the district, buying almost all the most famous stationery brands on the market, including but not limited to several foreign brands—a regular ballpoint pen cost eight or nine yuan.
But in reality, these are all just excuses Liang Yue made up to spout nonsense.
Ji Shuyi knew, of course, that no one could fail to get good grades just because they didn't have a good pen—it wasn't a magic pen that could complete the exam on its own. Nevertheless, he was still willing to do it.
"Ji Shuyi".
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
"You're really annoying."
Ji Shuyi pondered for a while, then said seriously, "Because I didn't ask you to buy the fruit tea with additives from the open area at the school gate the day before yesterday?"
He explained, "It's not that I don't want you to drink it, it's just that there are cars coming and going all the time, and who knows how many bacteria have gotten into those stainless steel buckets. If you drink it, you'll definitely get diarrhea."
"more than."
Liang Yue said sullenly, "Anyway, you're annoying."
After a moment of silence, Ji Shuyi put down his schoolbag, took out a carton of red Want Want milk, and asked sincerely, "Can you forgive me now?"
"Barely," Liang Yue pushed it to him, "help me cut open that plastic seal."
Ji Shuyi borrowed a pair of scissors from the shopkeeper and cut open the outermost plastic shell. "Want to drink it now?"
Liang Yue nodded.
Ji Shuyi also helped her insert a bottle. He was very skillful, just like a milk tea shop employee, so his hand didn't touch the straw tip that was in her mouth.
Then, he pulled an authentic plush toy keychain from his bag. "Now? Still barely enough?"
Liang Yue asked in surprise, "Where did you buy it?"
“Some of my classmates went on a trip to a neighboring country during the summer vacation, and I asked him to bring some back for me.”
It was originally intended as a reward for Liang Yue's exam next week.
"Hehe, now I not only don't find you annoying, I actually like you a lot."
These words are truly from Liang Yue, that opportunistic bastard, just empty flattery. Moreover, her mind is entirely on that doll, and she doesn't even know what she's saying.
Ji Shuyi was stunned by these words and stood there, speechless. After stammering for a long time, he finally managed to say, "If you like it, that's fine."
It felt as if a rock band had taken up residence inside my chest, relentlessly pounding out heavy metal music, day and night, deafeningly loud.
"Some things shouldn't be said carelessly."
"Huh?" Liang Yue looked up, a smile on his face, and asked, "What did you say?"
"nothing."
"Is number 48 here?" the shop assistant called out, carrying a package of fried skewers. "Number 48's skewers are ready."
“Oh, oh,” Liang Yue flipped over the round card he had received, “Number forty-eight is here.”
The shop assistant took back the round token and handed the item to Liang Yue.
"Let's go," she said, carefully tucking the doll into her pocket, as if afraid of getting it even a little dirty. "I'll go back first, you should go back and rest early."
"Um."
As soon as the two stepped outside, they encountered a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, and dyed hair.
Liang Yue stepped aside, careful not to get the smell of cigarette ash on him. Just as he took a step, he heard the middle-aged woman in her forties start cursing, "I knew it! You've been away from home lately. You've been spending all your money on this woman, haven't you?"
This woman?
Then Liang Yue heard Ji Shuyi say sternly, "You'd better watch your mouth. She's my classmate. What are you talking about, this girl or that girl?"
Jiang Ying sized up Liang Yue, "Just like your father, he'll fawn over any woman he sees."
"mom!"
Ji Shuyi stepped in front of Liang Yue and said gently, "Go back first. If you can't finish that food, just forget about it, understand?"
He pushed Liang Yue a couple of steps, then Liang Yue turned around and stopped.
She saw the so-called 'mom' Ji Shuyi was talking about, and she punched him repeatedly, muttering that he was a spineless bastard who didn't even care about his own mother and spent all his money on outsiders. She said he was just as heartless as his father, unable to take his eyes off any woman.
Ji Shuyi offered no resistance whatsoever.
He let Jiang Ying beat and scold him without defending himself. He had long been used to Jiang Ying's insults regardless of time, place, or occasion. Whenever she was angry, she would definitely find someone to vent her anger on, and that person was Ji Shuyi.
Jiang Ying never asked for explanations or apologized for her actions. In her eyes, everything Ji Shuyi did was wrong. His good grades were wrong; they were evidence of his attempt to "climb the social ladder." His superior looks were dismissed as mere empty shells; his underdeveloped features as a child were called plain-looking, even less attractive than the other members of the Ji family. His thin physique was attributed to Jiang Ying's deliberate act, to show everyone how despicable and shameless his mother was; his recent weight gain was then used as an excuse to get revenge on her and beat her later…
Jiang Ying felt that everything that happened to Ji Shuyi was detrimental to her. She hated Ji Shuyi and his extremely despicable father.
"Auntie," Liang Yue rushed out like a little bull, pushing Jiang Ying aside, and Jiang Ying's next punch landed on Liang Yue's shoulder.
Her hastily tied bun was undone, and her shoulder-length hair fell loose. Liang Yue said proudly, "Auntie, that's not right of you. Ji Shuyi earned money to pay off all your debts. Now that you're debt-free, you're saying he spent all his money on outsiders. Do you think you're being dishonest?"
"What's it to you?!"
Jiang Ying threw a tantrum, yelling and cursing, "Who are you, Ji Shuyi? You didn't get any favors from him to speak up for him, did you?"
"Mom," Ji Shuyi said with a grim face, pulling Liang Yue back behind him. "You can talk to me about this when we get back. There's really no need to shout in the street. This girl is one of my tutors. Her family invited me to dinner, so it's only right that I make sure she gets home safely first, isn't it?"
"They invited you to stay for dinner. Have I ever missed out on food for you since I was a child?"
Liang Yue popped out from behind Ji Shuyi and spat, "You, as her mother, have the nerve to say that? I've been to your house every time, and every time I've been there, I've seen Ji Shuyi eating cold rice and dishes. Hot dishes are always given to you first, and they even send them to the mahjong parlor for you. You know very well how much money Ji Shuyi earns each month, and he spends more than half of it on mahjong."
A crowd of onlookers began to gather around the three of them, and some whispered among themselves. The wind at the alley entrance seemed to carry the whispers into their ears.
“Auntie, Ji Shuyi’s filial piety is well-known in this neighborhood, but we can’t just let you treat him like this,” Liang Yue said in a clear voice, every word of which was indignant on Ji Shuyi’s behalf. “You may not like Ji Shuyi, but plenty of others do. He’s good at his studies, good-looking, and has a good personality. He’s very popular at school. You may not like him, but my family loves him. My grandparents would love to treat him like their own grandson. Why don’t you be kind and let us have him? We’ll make sure you treat him well.”
As soon as Liang Yue finished speaking, Jiang Ying was furious. She had never been 'humiliated' in public before. She raised her hand to teach Liang Yue a lesson, but the taciturn Ji Shuyi grabbed her wrist.
He gently lowered his mother's wrist. "I don't know what upset you tonight. Let me take her home first, and then you can tell me about your troubles, okay?"
Jiang Ying suddenly jumped up, pointed at Liang Yue behind Ji Shuyi, and cursed, "Bitch, you just let her humiliate me like this?"
Ji Shuyi's eyes darkened, but his voice remained steady and calm. "Mom, she didn't ridicule you. Isn't everything she said true? You often humiliate me in public, and now you get red in the face from just a few words from this little girl. Why didn't you think about me back then?"
Jiang Ying was panting heavily and trembling all over. She understood that if she said the woman behind him was no good, Ji Shuyi would definitely protect her. So, let's talk about Ji Shuyi instead.
Jiang Ying paused for a moment, then snorted coldly, "Ji Shuyi, I think you're not thinking straight. Think about it carefully. In this world, besides me, who else cares about you? That girl, to put it bluntly, is just someone whose parents gave you some money, making you have the illusion that you're valuable. In reality, you're nothing, and no one will like you..."
"No!" Liang Yue grabbed Ji Shuyi's trembling hand, which was hidden behind his back, and interrupted Jiang Ying loudly, "Auntie, I genuinely like Ji Shuyi, the teachers at school genuinely like him, and even the security guards in the community often greet him. You should wake up, you're the only one who doesn't like him."
Jiang Ying seemed to have lost some of her strength, and staggered back half a step.
“Let’s go,” Liang Yue said, taking Ji Shuyi’s arm. “Let’s go home. From now on, my home is your home, and my family is your family. We don’t care about her cheap affection.”
A night breeze swept by, and a few withered leaves twirled and fell, as the crowd gradually dispersed.
Ji Shuyi looked down at his hands, which were tightly clasped together with Liang Yue's. His eyes seemed to hold a turbulent storm, crashing against the rocks.
It's exhilarating.
Liang Yue was right, he thought, Jiang Ying's love was worthless.
-
When Ji Shuyi's grandparents saw that he had returned, they explained the whole story and said repeatedly, "Don't go back, Shuyi, stay with us."
Ji Shuyi said in a low voice, "Sorry to bother you today. My mom doesn't usually go back. I'll go back to sleep tomorrow."
"Oh dear," Grandma said with heartache as she made Ji Shuyi's bed, "poor child, to have such a mother."
After Liang Yue helped Ji Shuyi tidy up the bed, he took him to the living room to eat some slightly cold fried skewers.
"Don't take your mother's words to heart. She's just talking nonsense, you know?"
"Hmm," Ji Shuyi took out a tissue and wiped the oil stains off Liang Yue's wrist. "I know, it's almost eleven o'clock now, let's eat the rest tomorrow, okay?"
Liang Yue was puzzled. Why would Ji Shuyi care about such trivial things as how much she ate at a time like this?
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