Chapter 6, Sister, when did you become so familiar with him...?
The popular restaurant was packed with people.
Fortunately, Yan Qingli had booked a quiet private room online in advance.
Wen He pushed open the door and went in first. He caught a glimpse of someone inside, quickly apologized, and then went back out.
Wen Ling almost had her foot stepped on by him, and looked at him in confusion: "What... is wrong?"
Wen He felt increasingly uneasy. He thought the figure inside looked familiar, so he secretly opened the door a crack to peek. Sure enough, it was Shang Chen, leisurely drinking tea. As if he had expected this, Shang Chen glanced at him and then slammed the door shut.
I was really annoyed; I could run into someone even while having a meal.
He said, "I went to the wrong room. Did you remember the room number wrong?"
Yan Qingli knew that the two of them were inexplicably incompatible. If she hadn't grown up in the same circle as Shang Chen and was familiar with his personality, she probably would have disliked Shang Chen too. He was too arrogant and had no human touch at all.
Under the watchful eyes of the siblings, Yan Qingli smiled and forced a smile, saying, "You didn't go to the wrong place. The guy inside... he's like a half-brother to me. I don't know what's gotten into him today, he insisted on coming over to freeload off this meal..."
"Since we're from the same school, let's just consider it making a new friend, right?"
Wen He stood there, silent.
Wen Ling was thinking, "Are there other people coming to eat with us?" She really regretted agreeing now. If she had known there were other people, she shouldn't have been so soft-hearted.
With a somewhat complicated expression, Yan Qingli pushed the door open and ushered the siblings inside, saying, "Oh, we're all the same age, we can play together."
Suddenly pushed inside, Wen Ling instinctively grabbed Wen He's sleeve for a sense of security. As soon as she regained her footing, she was met with a familiar pair of eyes. He smiled, holding a cup of tea in his hand, and tilted his head to look at her.
"...It's you?"
Shang Chen smiled and said, "What a coincidence."
Wen Ling felt a little disoriented. She had been going around in circles, only to find that everyone she knew was familiar. She looked slightly embarrassed and said, "What a coincidence."
The unusually amicable way the two greeted each other made Wen He's brows furrow so deeply they could have trapped several mosquitoes. He stepped forward, blocking Wen Ling's view, and turned back to ask her in a low voice, "Sister, when did you become so familiar with him? Have you forgotten what I said before?"
Wen Ling said, "...We're not very familiar with each other."
They weren't even that close yet, but Shang Chen's eyes were practically glued to his sister. He wasn't even pretending; was he deliberately provoking her?
Wen He didn't understand, but being wary of Shang Chen was definitely the right thing to do.
So he took the initiative and sat down opposite Shang Chen, pulled out the chair next to him, and patted it, saying, "Sis, sit here."
Although Yan Qingli was also a little envious of that position, she knew what was more important.
She sat down next to Shang Chen, still quite angry at his sudden free meal. She glared at him and said irritably, "What kind of expensive meals haven't you, young master, eaten? Why do you have to compete with us common folk for food?"
Shang Chen gave her a cool glance: "Can one meal bankrupt you?"
See? Shang Chen always talks like that; it's infuriating.
Yan Qingli gritted her teeth and remained silent, inwardly grumbling. She could have used this opportunity to get to know Wen He better, but with Shang Chen here, she was too embarrassed to ask, afraid he would ruin her chance.
The meal was quiet and awkward, the air thick with silence. Every bite was a struggle, and the so-called delicacies tasted bland and unpalatable.
Wen Ling ate quietly.
Wen He, though her younger brother, took on the role of caring for her, frequently picking up food that had been placed far away and putting it in her bowl.
Or you could quietly ask her which food she likes, and then give her more of that food.
Shang Chen narrowed his eyes, unsure where the swelling in his chest came from. He just felt that the relationship between the siblings was too good. Was Wen He being a little too clingy to Wen Ling?
At the quiet dinner table.
He broke the silence with a single question: "You two siblings have a very good relationship, are you blood siblings?"
Wen He glanced at him, as if she had seen a ghost: "Who are you talking to?"
When Wen Ling looked up, Shang Chen had already lowered his head. He was scooping up the seafood soup in his bowl and taking small sips. For some reason, she could see a hint of loneliness in his eyes.
Was it Wen He's tone that hurt him?
Yan Qingli replied matter-of-factly, "They both have the surname Wen, so they must be biological children, right? Are they twins?"
Wen Ling shook her head, and Wen He said, "No, our fathers are brothers."
Yan Qingli was slightly surprised: "My relationship with my own brother isn't as good as yours."
Wen Ling smiled and quietly continued eating.
Wen He didn't seem to want to talk about this topic, probably because he felt that there was no need to explain such a question.
This conversation opened up a topic for Yan Qingli. She knew that Wen He might not have the patience to chat with her, so she usually talked to Wen Ling, but it was still Wen He who answered her questions.
Yan Qingli's questioning of his hometown and its attractions led to a conversation that became increasingly engaging. After a few topics, Wen He clicked his tongue and said, "Why do you have so many questions? If you want to know, just search it online."
"..."
Wen Ling nudged him with her leg under the table.
Wen He was startled, awkwardly touched his nose, and whispered, "What?"
Wen Ling glared at him, worried about his emotional intelligence. If it weren't for his good looks, he would probably have been scolded to death long ago. The world is always more tolerant of good-looking people.
Wen Ling said, "I'm sorry, he... he..."
Perhaps sensing Shang Chen's intense gaze, Wen Ling nervously stammered, repeatedly uttering his name, her face flushed. Even Yan Qingli forgot her sadness, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes as she looked at her.
"Sister Wenling, you..."
Wen Ling finally stopped making those stammering sounds, pursed her lips, and looked down at the food on her plate. Her mind was blank, and her hand holding the chopsticks froze on the table.
"I'm sorry." Wen He's face was pale, drawing attention to him. "I didn't mean that. Please continue asking."
A sour feeling welled up in Wen Ling's nose. She gripped the chopsticks tightly in her hand, her heart pounding. Several times, she wanted to explain that she had a stutter, but when she thought of Shang Chen and Yan Qingli's reactions when she stammered, even if they didn't laugh, but were just confused, doubtful, or perhaps a little heartache, it was still enough to sting her.
She was quite optimistic when she was in junior high school. Even though she had a slight stutter, she was still very sunny and lively because she was loved by her family. Even if she stuttered when she spoke fast or was nervous, she was still willing to actively express her thoughts.
At that time, Wen He was not so dependent on her.
Furthermore, because they were both children of the Wen family, when she made a mistake, the elders in the family would fuss over her, worrying that she might be frightened, while they would beat and scold Wen He.
Wen He was jealous of her back then, so jealous that even though they went to the same school, he didn't want to ride in the same car with her to school.
So Wen Ling usually played with her classmates back then.
But from some point onwards, her classmates became increasingly hostile towards her. Perhaps they were no longer willing to act, and this included, but was not limited to, maliciously imitating her stuttering or directly calling her a stutterer, which was very disrespectful.
"Oh, you mean that stutterer?"
"How could you like that stutterer? Don't you think she looks ugly when she stutters? I really want to slap her."
"Who would like that stutterer? It's ridiculous. I'm afraid I'll catch it if I sit next to her."
"If it weren't for the fact that her family is somewhat wealthy, who would want to follow her around every day? She even drools when she talks, it's disgusting."
"..."
There are many, many more instances of such malicious intent.
Wen Ling gradually became less and less talkative. She would rather be called a mute than be ridiculed for being a stutterer or called disgusting.
…
The second half of the dinner was spent in silence.
Afterwards, the group walked to the door. Wen He knew that Wen Ling definitely didn't want to go back to school with them, so he had already sent a message to Xiao Wu, asking him to drive over in his newly bought car. The car had arrived and was already standing at the car door, greeting them: "Miss Wen, Young Master Wen!"
Wen He told Wen Ling to go up first.
Wen Ling's eyes were still a little red. She looked up at Shang Chenyan and Qingli, nodded apologetically to them, and then took a step.
"Sister Wen Ling..." Yan Qingli wanted to step forward, but stopped in her tracks under Wen He's disapproving gaze. "Can't I go back to school with you?"
Wen He wanted to speak, but Wen Ling grabbed his arm and moved her lips. She explained softly, "I'm sorry, I... I want to be alone right now, to sort out my emotions."
Seeing her almost broken expression, Yan Qingli guessed that she must have recalled some bad things, and couldn't say anything more.
Shang Chen, who had remained silent, simply stood aside, watching her quietly. His throat tightened; he didn't even have the right to show his concern.
Wen He's phone suddenly rang.
Wen Ling paused, then stopped in her tracks, listening as he answered, "Teacher Xu?"
After hearing what was said on the other end, Wen He's expression turned serious: "Understood, I'll be right there."
Before Wen Ling could say anything, Yan Qingli asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen He was also quite puzzled: "I don't know, she just told me to go to her office right away."
-
In the office on the fourth floor of the administration building.
Xu Ming had a terrible headache. Sitting in front of her was a couple who were the parents of Jia Xinquan, the art department counselor next door, whom she hadn't been able to contact for a long time. She had thought it was just that the student was being rebellious and the parents were busy, and that they just happened not to answer her calls.
Unexpectedly, the reason he didn't answer the phone was because Jia Xinquan had been admitted to the ICU and had been in a coma for several days. He only regained some consciousness today and explained who had caused his condition. After that, Jia Xinquan's parents came to the school to seek justice for their son.
Xu Ming simply couldn't believe that Wen He would do such a thing to someone. Normally, although Wen He was mischievous, he had his own bottom line. He would let minor squabbles go, but when it came to serious matters, Wen He would simply ignore them and wouldn't bother with such a challenge.
But Jia Xinquan's parents insisted that their son had just escaped death and would not joke about such a thing.
Wang Siyang, Jia Xinquan's counselor, was also having a headache. She could roughly guess that Jia Xinquan had concealed the truth about his injury from his parents, and that Wen He was just a scapegoat.
There was a knock at the door.
Xu Ming said, "Come in."
Wen He walked ahead, accompanied by Wen Ling, who was worried about him.
Wang Siyang asked in surprise, "Wen Ling, what brings you here? Do you need to see the teacher?"
Wen Ling was a little nervous and licked her lips. Wen He explained, "Teacher, this is my sister. She was worried about me, so she came in with me to find out what's going on."
Standing in the half-open doorway were Shang Chen and Yan Qingli, who had come together. She was very anxious: "Why can't we go in! If something really happens, we can still help."
Shang Chen simply said coldly, "In what capacity will you go in?"
Yan Qingli: "..."
She was frustrated and slammed her back against the wall: "So annoying."
The moment the words left his mouth, a crisp slapping sound came from inside. The two exchanged a glance; something was amiss.
Yan Qingli was about to rush in immediately.
Shang Chen gripped her arm tightly, his expression unusually broken: "Yan Qingli, calm down! Isn't things chaotic enough already?"
"That's still better than standing here doing nothing! Let me go!" she protested in a low voice.
Shang Chen took a deep breath: "That's none of your business. Calm down and stay put. If you keep making noise, I'm calling your brother."
"..."
Yan Qingli shook off his hand, squatted down on the ground, and said with extreme grievance, "So annoying."
A note from the author:
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