dinner
Shen Yingchang, standing in the corridor, glanced back at the door; the playful expression on his face had vanished.
His phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a text message from Hannah:
"Tao Chu is upright at heart and has his own ideas about how to do things. Try to tone down your unique style."
He raised an eyebrow, thinking about the video Hannah had forwarded before, and touched his ear.
It was late at night on campus. Tao Chu was wearing a mask and standing alone on the stage, with glaring lights above her head.
Despite the constant jeers and insults in English from the audience, she seemed oblivious, continuing to articulate her stance clearly and deliberately through the megaphone.
The students swarmed forward, grabbed the loudspeaker, shoved and drove Tao Chu away, and loudly proclaimed their violent resistance against the police.
Several people who were defending Tao Chu rushed onto the stage to argue their case, and the verbal dispute escalated into a physical fight.
More people surged onto the stage, and the police, with limited manpower, were unable to stop them.
Although it was already autumn, the place was still humid and sultry, and the background noise seemed to include the chirping of cicadas, until a few screams pierced the night sky.
Tao Chu was swallowed up by the crowd, surrounded by students who shouted slogans and responded in unison.
Fists, legs, and sharp blades all came rushing towards her.
The streetlights shone overhead, but they couldn't illuminate the various faces of the people.
When a large number of police officers arrived, Tao Chu was lying on top of his friend, covered in red paint that had spilled all over the ground, a shocking sight.
Tao Chu struggled to her feet and slowly got up. Hannah rushed over to help her up—her back was covered in paint, and her front was stained with her friend's blood.
At the end of the video, the camera was so close that you could even see her long hair, which was covered in clumps of paint, partially obscuring her wide, doe-like eyes.
The red reflected in his eyes was hard to tell—was it paint, blood, or surging anger?
Shen Yingchang tossed a coin into the air, caught it in mid-air, but didn't look at heads or tails; he simply rubbed its edges with his thumb.
Tao Chu now harbors no less anger and hatred than he did back then.
Shen Yingchang thought of a volcano with churning lava, and he could almost smell the sulfurous stench before an eruption.
He slowly deleted the "I understand" he was about to reply with, and replaced it with "There's no reason to cover the volcano, I'll help it breathe."
Hannah replied instantly with two words – “Nonsense”, and Shen Yingchang laughed twice and pressed the elevator button.
The moment the door opened, he saw a lingering smile on his face in the mirror opposite him, but it couldn't hide the fierceness emanating from his brows and eyes.
He leaned closer, pressed his index finger down on the end of his eyebrow, and then curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a gentle and kind face once again.
After finishing her phone call with Cen Le, Tao Chu calmed down.
Although Shen Yingchang doesn't seem very reliable, having his help is better than going it alone.
After all, Cen Le could only contact him secretly, unlike Shen Yingchang who could be by her side at any time under the guise of being her boyfriend.
Now she just needs to figure out how to clean up the mess—this boyfriend suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and she has to give an explanation to both Tao Guohua and Wen Yunsheng, especially Wen Yunsheng.
Although Shen Yingchang's speech was joking, it was not without reason. Wen Yunsheng was indeed the most crucial person she could currently contact.
She casually ate a couple of bites of bread, and while putting on makeup, she made a phone call to brush off Tao Guohua.
Tao Guohua recited scriptures for a long time, saying things like "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and "sacrifice the individual for the greater good," sometimes hinting and sometimes using moral blackmail, but in the end it all boiled down to one key point—she had to dig up valuable clues!
Whether it's hooking up with Wen Yunsheng or boarding the "Sea Chaser," they can't return to Jianglin empty-handed.
"Chuchu, your father has taught you the principles of being a good person. You should be smart when you need to protect yourself, but you can't be cowardly and selfish all the time!"
"I don't care about your own little love affairs, but you need to think about this: your mother was murdered. How can we live on in disgrace? Besides us, who else will help her seek justice?!"
Upon hearing these words, Tao Chu stopped drawing her eyebrows.
She looked at herself in the mirror, half-done with makeup. To cover the dark circles under her eyes, she focused on applying concealer, and her face, without blush, looked bloodless.
The person in the mirror picked up a tube of lipstick, twisted out a rich, bright red lipstick, and used the pad of their little finger to apply it to their lips, intensifying the color over and over again.
Wiping away a trace of red from the corner of her mouth, she looked down at her phone on the table and said, "I understand, Dad. I'll go see Wen Yunsheng tonight."
After receiving Tao Chu's call, Wen Yunsheng didn't want to wait a moment longer. He rushed downstairs through the emergency exit, ran to her door, and only rang the doorbell after catching his breath.
When the door opened, he didn't see Tao Chu, but heard her say from inside, "Come in first and help me see which pair of earrings would be more suitable."
He pushed open the door and went inside, where he saw Tao Chu trying on earrings in front of the mirror.
She wore a black velvet dress with a soft, bright sheen, and delicate diamonds at the waist accentuated her curves.
The skirt reached halfway down to her calves, and his gaze followed the sheer black stockings down to the sharp, seven-centimeter-high stiletto heels.
Tao Chu turned her head and looked up at him. Her thick eyebrows, alluring eyes, fair skin, and red lips were completely different from the delicate makeup she wore last night.
After the midday incident, Wen Yunsheng understood perfectly what her elaborate dressing up meant.
He suddenly felt that it was ridiculous and unnecessary to ask his secretary to investigate her boyfriend's background. The emotional ups and downs he had experienced over the past few hours had become the darkness worth waiting for before dawn.
With a victor's smile, he slowly approached her: "Colored gemstones are a bit too flashy; diamonds suit you better."
Tao Chu readily complied, handing him the pair of diamond earrings, slightly raising her chin, and bringing one ear close to his.
Wen Yunsheng caught a faint, sweet scent of roses and lychees, and only then did he realize how close he was to her.
He took a deep, greedy breath, took out the earring, and put it on her.
His heart tightened the moment the ear needle pierced through.
Does it hurt every time you put on earrings?
Tao Chu chuckled softly and turned to look at him: "Is this the first time you've put earrings on a girl?"
He watched her eyes sparkle and couldn't help but gently stroke her earlobe:
"Have you forgotten? When you graduated from junior high school, you kept saying you wanted to get your ears pierced. Afraid that your family wouldn't agree, you dragged me along to go with you, and it got infected for a long time."
His fingers landed on her thin earlobe, and he lifted it with his fingertips: "I'm afraid you'll still be in pain."
Tao Chu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but turn her head away—was it because his memory was too good, or because she was too forgetful?
How can he remember all these things, big and small, so clearly?
It made her acutely aware of her own cruelty.
Wen Yunsheng thought she was still avoiding and struggling, so he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and leaned his head against her neck.
The cool diamond earrings touched the tip of his nose, and he whispered, "Will you stay with me? We'll never be apart again."
"But……"
"Don't mention him—no matter what your past is, it can't compare to our relationship. If it weren't for what happened eight years ago, we would have been together long ago..."
“But what happened eight years ago and my mother’s car accident really happened. You know my temper, I won’t lie to myself.”
Her tone suddenly turned cold, and Wen Yunsheng tightened his arms in fear, wanting to keep her in his embrace.
"What do you want me to do? What should I do? They did something wrong, but I'm innocent, Chuchu, look at me—"
He moved closer to her, leaning down to look at her: "I don't want to, and I won't, become like them. I will do everything in my power to protect you. Please... don't abandon me because of them again..."
Listening to his confession and plea, Tao Chu suppressed the dull pain in her heart and said, "Then take me away—France or anywhere else, I don't want to go back to Jianglin."
She saw a light ignite in his eyes, bursting forth with the joy of fulfillment that transformed into a tight embrace that almost overwhelmed her.
Her face, resting on his shoulder, held no smile.
The two walked side by side to Chef Jin Cui's restaurant and sat down at a window seat with a view.
After ordering the food, Wen Yunsheng picked out a bottle of wine and asked Tao Chu if she wanted to have a couple of drinks.
Li Yue suddenly appeared, accompanied by Cen Le.
Cen Lechong gave Tao Chu a look, and Li Yue dragged over a chair and sat down casually.
Tao Chu looked down at her phone and, sure enough, found that Cen Le had sent a message ten minutes earlier: "He's going to threaten you with your grandma."
Li Yue tapped the table, interrupting Wen Yunsheng who was about to speak: "Don't rush, I'll just say a few words and then leave."
After saying that, he took a toffee out of his suit pocket and placed it in front of Tao Chu.
"I heard that Miss Tao loves sweets."
It's the same brand as the candy in my grandma's house.
Fortunately, Cen Le had given them a heads-up in advance. Although Tao Chu only saw the news a dozen seconds earlier, he wasn't caught off guard.
She didn't reach out to touch the candy, but instead smiled and changed the subject: "Mr. Li is treating me like a child."
She turned her head away, took a sip of lemonade, and stopped looking at Li Yue.
Li Yue wasn't sure if she didn't understand his intention or was just pretending, so he pushed the candy towards her again.
"Only old people love to coax children. I heard that Miss Tao's grandmother is a highly educated intellectual. No wonder Miss Tao has such an elegant demeanor."
Even Wen Yunsheng could sense the threat in the words. He grabbed the toffee, threw it back at Li Yue, and stood up, saying:
"Don't try those underhanded tricks, they won't work on me."
The commotion was quite loud, and all the surrounding guests turned to look.
Li Yue wasn't angry. He just glanced at his phone and said, "President Wen, since you're not answering the phone, Mayor Wen is calling me."
He lifted his eyelids to look at Wen Yunsheng, a smug smile on his face.
Wen Yunsheng glanced at Tao Chu first; she pursed her lips, her eyes filled with unease.
Li Yue held the phone screen up to Wen Yunsheng, who snatched it, hung up, and said to Li Yue:
"We're about to have dinner, don't come here and spoil our appetite."
"Wow, quite the show of force, Mr. Wen." Li Yue took the phone and waved it at him. "I've delivered the message. You'll bear the consequences."
He looked at Wen Yunsheng, whose face was ashen, and laughed even more heartily. He got up, put his arm around Cen Le's shoulder, and left.
After they walked away, Tao Chu asked in a low voice, "You haven't been answering your phone. Is that really okay?"
Wen Yunsheng knew that running away was not the solution, but he was even more afraid of losing Tao Chu after breaking his promise.
He gently cupped her hand on the table and said with a smile, "It's alright—if you're worried about Grandma, I'll have my secretary go check on her."
Tao Chu nodded. Wen Yunsheng was about to contact his secretary when he received a message.
"You and Tao Chu come together."
He is the father.
He replied with a single word: "No."
“Zhou already knows that Tao Chu will be on board. If you don’t bring him, the Li family will.”
Zhou Bingcheng... wants to see Tao Chu?
Wen Yunsheng's heart pounded wildly; this almost certainly confirmed the theory that Tao Chu's mother had been in a car accident...
He didn't dare look Tao Chu in the eye, and though he wanted to type, his hands were trembling.
Tao Chu noticed his unusual expression, sighed silently to herself, and quietly sent a message to Shen Yingchang:
"Partner, we need to get on the boat."
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