Chapter 15 Jealousy
An Xiong put away his smile and said sternly, "You still remember that I am your father. You have caused such a big mess and I have to help you clean it up."
An Xinqing bit her lips, her knuckles turning white. She didn't expect that her father would also stand on Wen Eryu's side. She could only swallow her anger and turn her head away.
"Alright, alright, we're just kids. Just apologize and let the matter go." Pan Xiang tried to smooth things over. After all, he couldn't afford to offend either side. Both the Wen family and the An family were major shareholders of the school.
Wen Eryu: "I'm waiting for your apology."
After saying that, she left the Academic Affairs Office.
*
Another Monday.
Under An Xiong's pressure, An Xinqing apologized to Wen Eryu in front of the whole school at the flag-raising ceremony.
The farce is finally over.
After class, the campus corridor was filled with laughter. Wen Eryu was about to return to the classroom with a thermos filled with hot water. When she passed Class 1, she casually glanced at the boy sitting in the middle through the glass window.
Shen Jize was furiously writing exercises in a pile of books when a female classmate walked towards him, bent down and asked him a question.
Wen Eryu's attention was completely drawn to her. She didn't pay attention to the front and was bumped by someone the next second. She didn't hold the thermos cup firmly in her hand and it fell to the ground with a clang. She walked too fast just now and the cup lid was not completely closed, so the boiling hot water spilled on the ground.
A little splash got on her hand, and her fair skin instantly turned red.
The person who hit her was Zhao Huaiwei, the squad leader of Class 1.
"I'm sorry, classmate, I didn't mean it." Zhao Huaiwei kept apologizing to Wen Eryu.
Wen Eryu shook his head and said, "It's okay."
She felt a gaze coming from the classroom. Shen Jize and that female classmate were looking towards her.
"Chen Jize, help me get a mop." Zhao Huaiwei leaned on the window and shouted to the people inside.
Shen Jize nodded, put down his pen, stood up and walked out from the back of the classroom with a mop.
After Shen Jize came out, he glanced at her and then walked straight to Zhao Huaiwei.
Zhao Huaiwei picked up the cup and handed it to Wen Eryu, then took the mop from Shen Jize, but he refused it.
"Let me do it." Shen Jize said.
Soon, Shen Jize mopped up the water stains on the ground. He saw the back of Wen Eryu's hand, which was burned red, and asked, "Does it hurt?"
His voice is very nice, like a cup of warm cappuccino in winter. Take a sip and your cold heart will be melted instantly.
"Hmm?" Wen Eryu looked up and met his bottomless eyes.
Shen Jize pointed: "Your hand."
At this time, the preparatory bell began to ring, urging the students who were still in the corridor to hurry into the classroom to prepare for the next class.
Shen Jize turned around and took out a tube of ointment from his desk and handed it to Wen Eryu without saying a word.
"Class is about to start, hurry up."
Wen Eryu finally reacted and nodded blankly, saying, "...Okay."
After returning to the classroom, she applied the ointment that Shen Ji Ze had just given her, and the burning sensation immediately subsided a lot. She didn't expect him to be so caring...
*
During the afternoon physical education class, Wen Eryu took advantage of the free time to go to the toilet. After coming out of the teaching building, he happened to meet Shen Jize walking over with a form.
Shen Ji Ze also saw her, and then quietly hid the paper behind him.
"Hi." Wen Eryu greeted him.
He nodded: "Physical education class?"
"Yes, isn't this a math class for your class? What are you doing there?" Wen Eryu asked.
Shen Jize made up an excuse and said, "I left my math test paper in the office and am going back to the classroom now."
Wen Eryu had good eyesight. The moment she saw Shen Jize, she saw that what he was holding was not a math test paper.
"You're lying." Wen Eryu pouted, jumped behind him and took the paper from his hand.
She looked closely and the words she was about to say were instantly blocked at her lips.
This was an application form for a poor student. The signature on it was a little rubbed out. Shen Jize's name was written very neatly, but it formed a sharp contrast with his bent body.
"S-Sorry..." Wen Eryu awkwardly returned the application form to Shen Jize.
Shen Jize didn't get angry, he took it calmly, folded it in half and put it in his pocket.
"Wait." Wen Eryu stopped him.
Shen Jize subconsciously turned his face away.
But he still couldn't escape Wen Eryu's sharp eyes: "What's wrong with your face?"
"It's nothing, you saw it wrong." He was a little nervous, after all, the swelling on this half of his face had not completely subsided.
Wen Eryu said: "Someone is bullying you."
It's a statement, not a question.
Shen Jize: “No.”
"If you don't tell me, I'll go ask Li Wei." She said angrily with a pout.
"I just accidentally fell." Shen Jize explained, "It didn't hurt much."
Wen Eryu asked doubtfully, "Is it really just a wrestling incident, not a fight?"
Shen Jize replied: "It was really just a fall."
"All right."
"I'm going to class." He didn't look at her guiltily and went straight upstairs.
Wen Eryu looked at his back, her lips opened and slowly closed.
On the way home from school, she kept thinking about it.
Lin Cheng noticed something was wrong with her and asked, "What are you thinking about? Why do you look so serious?"
Wen Eryu came back to his senses, thought about it and decided to tell Lin Cheng: "I saw Shen Jize's application form for poor students today."
"Chen Jize?" Lin Cheng was stunned and said, "Now that you mention it, I remember a piece of gossip I heard a few days ago."
"Tell me quickly." Wen Eryu stopped and looked at the people passing by. She pulled Lin Cheng to a corner where there were few people.
Lin Cheng cleared his throat and jokingly said, "I didn't say it was about Shen Jize. When did you care about him so much?"
Wen Er was at a loss for words: "I, I didn't."
"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore." Lin Cheng said, "I heard from Li Wei that Shen Jize was previously a sponsored student by An Xinqing's father, but the day before yesterday he suddenly paid back An Xinqing's father's money and cut off contact with An Xinqing."
"Shen Jize's mother ran away from home when he was young, and his father didn't care about him, so he could only live with his aunt, but I heard that his aunt treated Shen Jize very well."
Wen Eryu was silent, but according to her previous speculation, Shen Jize's family must be in financial difficulty, otherwise, who would work three jobs during the holidays and have such a pitiful salary because he was not yet an adult.
"Are you listening?" Lin Cheng waved in front of her.
Wen Eryu nodded: "Yeah, I just didn't expect that he and An Xinqing had such a relationship."
"I just found out a few days ago." Lin Cheng sighed, "I didn't expect Shen Jize to be so handsome, and his life story is so tragic. It really makes people feel distressed."
"No, he's not miserable." Wen Eryu interrupted her, "I think it's amazing that he repaid the An family's favor through his own efforts. He has a family who loves him and friends at school. He's... amazing."
Wen Eryu paused, thinking of what happened to Hu Nao in the hospital last time. She didn't expect that he could continue to go to school and have such good grades in such a family. Although Shen Jize always liked to force her in her previous life, he didn't seem to have any bad intentions.
"That's true." Lin Cheng thought it made sense.
When they left the corner, a figure walked out from behind the tree.
Shen Jize stared at Wen Eryu's back with calm eyes, and his clenched hands suddenly loosened.
Anyone who knows his background will feel pity for him.
But what he hated most was their self-proclaimed compassionate and kind eyes. They said nice things but actually looked down on him behind his back.
To this day, Wen Eryu still says this: He is very powerful.
Those four simple words pierced Shen Jize's heart deeply. For years, no one had ever thought he was that powerful. It was like someone, on a stormy night, climbing over snowy mountains and traversing frozen rivers, knocking on his door, handing him a blazing fire, and telling him—you'll never suffer the cold alone again.
He looked at the figure that had long disappeared, with undercurrents in his eyes.
*
After parting with Lin Cheng at the intersection, Wen Eryu was suddenly knocked to the ground by an electric scooter at the corner.
The woman on the electric scooter hurried down to check on her injuries.
Fortunately, Wen Eryu only had some scrapes on his arm and nothing else was serious.
The woman, speaking in a northern accent, helped Wen Eryu up and asked, "Are you okay, little girl?"
Wen Eryu was in so much pain that she couldn't speak.
The woman was young, but her hair was full of white. Wen Eryu wanted to argue with her, but gave up the idea.
She shook her head: "I'm fine."
Xue Fenghua was probably frightened, his lips turned pale and he kept asking Wen Eryu if she was okay.
"I'm really fine, Auntie." Wen Eryu comforted.
Then, to prove that she was fine, she turned around twice.
Xue Fenghua finally felt relieved: "I'm sorry, little girl. I should have slowed down when I turned just now, but I have children at home waiting for me to go back and cook. I got off work late today, so I was a little anxious."
Wen Eryu understood her feelings and didn't intend to pursue anything. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Xue Fenghua limping and pushing an electric bike.
She thought about it and said, "Auntie, where is your home? I'll help you push it back."
Wen Eryu took the electric scooter from her.
Xue Fenghua had no choice. She had just sprained her ankle and couldn't go back alone.
"Thank you, little girl. My home is not far away. It's just at the next intersection."
"OK."
It was a five-minute journey, and Wen Eryu pushed the electric scooter to the downstairs of Xue Fenghua's community.
The community is located in the old city area. The walls of the residential buildings have become pitch black due to years of wind and sun. As it approaches dinner time, the smell of cooking smoke wafts out from every household.
"If you don't mind, why don't you come to your aunt's house for dinner before leaving?" Xue Fenghua wanted to compensate her, but this was all he could do given his financial situation.
Wen Eryu was about to refuse, but Xue Fenghua had already pushed her to the doorstep.
As soon as the door opened, a little boy rushed out and hugged Xue Fenghua's thighs, drooling and shouting, "Mom, why are you back so late today?"
Xue Fenghua picked him up, but put him down because of his injured foot: "We have guests coming to our house for dinner today. Be good, dear, and go wash some fruit for your sister."
The boy was about five or six years old. He took Wen Eryu's hand and asked her to come in.
"Sister, sit down." He patted the sofa with his little hands.
Wen Eryu was stunned by the boy's cuteness: "What's your name?"
The boy smirked, "My name is Xia Da."
Before Wen Eryu could chat with Dada for a few words, footsteps were heard at the door, and the next second, it was opened with a "click".
Shen Jize walked in carrying a bag of snacks.
He changed into slippers at the entrance and before he turned around, he called out, "Dada, brother bought you some snacks."
After hearing this, Dada happily jumped to Shen Jize's side: "That's great, I want to share it with Sister Wen."
Shen Jize was stunned, and when he turned sideways, he saw Wen Eryu sitting quietly on the sofa looking at him.
He asked, "Why are you here?"
Wen Eryu chuckled, "...It's a long story."
At this time, Xue Fenghua came out of the kitchen with a plate of stir-fried meat. When she saw Shen Jize coming back, she said, "Xiao Ze, someone is coming home. Please greet them for me. We can have dinner with three more dishes."
Shen Jize hummed, then walked to the living room and poured the snacks in the bag into the fruit bowl.
"Whatever you want to eat, just take it." Shen Jize said.
Wen Eryu nodded. She didn't expect to end up in Shen Jize's house by accident. Listening to their conversation just now, Xue Fenghua should be Shen Jize's aunt.
Dada took a bag of potato chips and stuffed it into Wen Eryu's hand: "Sister Wen, these potato chips are the best. They are for you."
Children of this age group think potato chips are the most delicious snacks. Dada gave his favorite to Wen Eryu.
Wen Eryu felt like her heart was about to melt at this moment.
She touched Dada's head and said, "You are so cute. Thank you, Dada."
Dada shyly covered her little face with the pillow.
Shen Jize sat opposite Wen Eryu. Dada took an Ultraman toy and wanted to play with him, but he took it away.
Shen Jize refused: "Not playing now."
"Why!" Dada asked, "Didn't you like playing Ultraman with me the most before?"
"I don't like playing."
"Then I'll go play with Sister Wen."
"no."
"Why?" Dada threw a tantrum.
Shen Jize pulled him aside, made sure Wen Eryu couldn't hear, and whispered, "She can only play with me."
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