The road ahead is bright and promising.
Ning Zicheng kept a close eye on Chu Sinian, skipping classes every day to accompany him. He even hired ten bodyguards to act as students and follow him around. Whenever Chu Sinian was surrounded and squeezed into the classroom, he couldn't help but blush.
It's so shameful, so incredibly shameful.
Chu Sinian never liked ostentatious behavior, and he never expected that he would have this day.
Every time he goes out, he has to endure curious stares from all directions. He feels like he's become a rare animal, someone who can come and see him just by getting a ticket.
When he expressed his dissatisfaction, Ning Zicheng would say, "For your own safety, just bear with it."
Chu Sinian had no choice but to secretly push forward the investigation in the capital.
During this time, he received countless threatening text messages, with people saying they would break his legs or kill him at the drop of a hat.
When Chu Sinian returned to his dormitory to prepare for writing his thesis, he saw several more threatening messages.
He skillfully blocked and deleted her, then called Yi Rou.
How are you doing? Are you settling in well?
"Mr. Chu, I can now communicate normally with strangers!"
Hearing the cheerful tone on the other end, Chu Sinian couldn't help but smile. It wasn't all for nothing. "You're recovering very quickly. It looks like you'll be able to enroll this month."
Yi Rou said happily, "Yes, sir, the doctor said so too. I've been reviewing my old lessons lately, and I even took a mock exam for myself. Guess what my total score was?"
Chu Sinian thought for a moment, "540?"
"No, it's 575!"
Chu Sinian felt inexplicably gratified, "It seems that with another month of review, I can get over 700."
"Maybe!" Yi Rou said proudly, without any modesty.
"Study hard, have you thought about where you want to go to college?"
"I want to be a lawyer, and I want to go to Renmin University."
You will definitely pass the exam.
Yi Rou then said somewhat shyly, "Really? Actually, I also think I can pass the exam because I'm very strong."
Hearing her uncertain tone, Chu Sinian reaffirmed, "Yes, you are very strong, Yi Rou. This strength will take you to all the places you want to go."
"The past is dark and cannot be retrieved, but the future is bright and promising. Congratulations in advance."
"Okay." Yi Rou wiped away the tears in her eyes and said with a smile, "May everything go well for you, sir."
Chu Sinian hung up the phone.
A news article suddenly popped up on my phone screen: On December 29, 2020, police successfully cracked a heinous case. A criminal gang, under the guise of a charity project, was illegally trading underage girls. Currently, several suspects have been criminally detained according to law, and the case will soon be submitted to the procuratorate for review and prosecution.
Chu Sinian lowered his eyes, the not-so-warm winter sunlight shining through the window onto his long eyelashes. He blinked, and with a slight tremor, the light gradually spread to the cold electronic device, giving it a warm golden edge.
It's been almost a month, and everything is as usual.
Suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder. Chu Sinian turned around and saw Ning Zicheng's bright and sunny smile. "What are you daydreaming about? Come on, let's go eat."
He smiled, his eyes crinkling, the warm sunlight reflecting off the dark blue sea. He said, "Let's go."
The moment the two left the dormitory, the ten tall and burly "students" split in two, with one half walking in front and the other half behind.
Chu Sinian wasn't used to it yet, so he walked with his eyes slightly lowered.
Ning Zicheng kept nagging from the side: "The commotion in Beijing is too big, you should close the net, otherwise your dad will end up in jail too?"
Chu Sinian's expression remained unchanged, still displaying his usual nonchalant and charming demeanor. "He should be punished for his wrongdoings. Under the law, would I protect him?"
Ning Zicheng clicked her tongue in surprise, "Are you serious? I thought you were just trying to bait people by revealing your family's stuff. But that's your dad! Even though you two don't keep in touch much and your family ties are weak, he's still your biological father."
Biological father.
Chu Sinian lingered on his tongue, "The affairs of the Chu family are more complicated than you think."
Ning Zicheng moved here with his family when he was in high school. Although we were high school classmates, I didn't know much about his family.
Chu Sinian had no intention of talking about it, and those around him never dared to mention the troubles of that year. He always acted normally, and apart from not contacting his family, no one could tell that his family situation was in dire straits.
Ning Zicheng had shown curiosity, but since he didn't want to bring it up, she didn't ask any further.
The two went to the cafeteria together.
As soon as they sat down, all the seats around them were immediately taken up, and Chu Sinian had an urge to cover his face.
Even though he was used to being pampered and adored since childhood, he never imagined having ten bodyguards by his side every step of the way.
Ning Zicheng ordered two bowls of Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles and handed them to Chu Sinian with chopsticks. "By the way, how's Xiao Yu?"
"Nothing serious, he's in jail now."
Chu Sinian was happy to see such a person go to jail.
He had only been imprisoned for a few days when Prince Xiao, who had never experienced the hardships of ordinary people, was terrified and confessed everything, begging to be released to go home.
Unexpectedly, this born bad boy's first thought when faced with difficulties was to go home and find his father.
This surprised Chu Sinian, but upon reflection, it made sense.
When children in ordinary families are wronged, don't they immediately go home and complain?
At the time, he just wanted to hand over the evidence to the police, but he didn't even want to release the person so quickly.
We have no way of knowing what sunny days those girls, including Yi Rou, had their wings broken and were imprisoned in.
No one knows how long he was imprisoned.
Sometimes Chu Sinian even wanted Yi Rou to decide Xiao Yu's fate, but he felt that Yi Rou didn't want to.
It's not that I can't bear it, nor that I don't hate it.
But she is already living in broad daylight, so how can she be imprisoned by the past?
She was a timid yet proud girl.
Chu Sinian slurped up a mouthful of rice noodles. "It tastes good."
Ning Zicheng raised an eyebrow at him, "Of course, they were carefully selected."
"But we're going to eat our way through this cafeteria, I wonder when we'll be able to get out."
Chu Sinian glanced at him and said, "You can leave whenever you want. They're not looking for you."
"That won't do! I won't feel at ease if I don't keep an eye on you."
Chu Sinian quipped, "With all that dead muscle, what use is it other than being a meat shield?"
"Dead muscle?!"
Ning Zicheng stood up in shock. "What do you mean by 'dead muscle'? I lift weights like crazy every day, and you call me dead muscle?!"
The loud voice silenced the noisy cafeteria for a moment as everyone looked over.
Chu Sinian immediately put down his chopsticks and covered his face, "Can you please sit down quickly?"
Ning Zicheng sat down indignantly, "Tch, I'll arrange for a boxing coach right away, and I'll amaze you in a while!"
Chu Sinian sneered, "We'll talk about that when you catch up with Xiaobai."
—
The business storm in Beijing had been going on for a long time. Upon hearing the news, Yu Shi, who was far away in Germany, immediately dropped everything and rushed over.
Chu Sinian received the news early and prepared to go to the airport to wait for him, but he was stopped by his bodyguards again and again, which made him so angry that he wanted to fire them all.
But when he remembered that they were Ning Zicheng's people, he could only tell the bodyguards that he had compromised and allowed five people to go with him.
It's been almost two months since he last saw Yu Shi. They barely contacted each other when he was busy recently, but now that he has some free time, he sends her a few messages from time to time.
Yu Shi did not continue his studies in Germany. Instead, he chose to take over his mother's business and gradually manage it. The two of them were so busy that they could not keep in touch.
Chu Sinian glanced at the time, turned off his phone, and sat quietly at the airport waiting for Yu Shi.
Chu Sinian stared blankly at the arrivals area, and an image of a perpetually gloomy face involuntarily surfaced in his mind, as if it contained all the sorrow and loneliness in the world, yet its sharp bones made it impossible to pity him.
"Brother Sinian!"
Chu Sinian suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, stood up, and smiled at the person who had come.
The young man had gained some weight, his skin glowed with a healthy sheen under the light, his cheeks were fuller than before, and his eyes, though still round and bright, were incredibly expressive.
He walked over, dressed in appropriate casual clothes, with a light and steady gait.
Even though she's gained weight, her face is slowly becoming more bony.
It's matured.
This was Chu Sinian's first thought. He smiled and hugged Yu Shi, saying, "How come you've grown up without getting any taller?"
Yu Shi gently punched his shoulder. "I can't grow any taller." He looked at his height, which was half a hand shorter than Chu Sinian's. "I'm not short at all. I'm already quite tall for a southerner."
Chu Sinian didn't refute, "175 is indeed acceptable." He patted Yu Shi, gesturing for him to walk forward, "Let's go back to the apartment for dinner, Kong Boning and Zicheng are both there."
"Huh?" Yu Shi was a little surprised. "What a coincidence, everyone's gathered together today." He thought for a moment and then said, "No, there's one person missing."
Yu Shi glanced at Chu Sinian and smiled slightly, "Chen Chi is missing."
Upon suddenly hearing this name, all the memories of him flashed through Chu Sinian's mind. He tapped Yu Shi on the head and said, "You talk too much. Let's go."
The two chatted enthusiastically as they returned home. As soon as they opened the door, Kong Boning and Zi Cheng were both standing at the door waiting for them.
Ning Zicheng looked Yu Shi up and down, "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you look like a human being."
"I heard you've taken up your new post at the German headquarters. Congratulations," Kong Bo said politely.
Yu Shi nodded in reply, "I've only been in office for a short time, and there are still many things I don't understand. I might need to ask you for advice later." He smiled sheepishly.
Ning Zicheng pulled him into the house, saying, "Why be so polite with him? Aren't you and Chu Sinian his childhood friends? What, does he think he can turn his back on you?"
Before Kong Bo could react, Chu Sinian spoke up, "With your outspoken nature, your father will have a lot of headaches when you inherit the family business." As he spoke, he led Kong Bo into the house.
The kitchen was bustling with activity as people cooked. When Uncle Huang saw them come in, he said kindly, "It's been a long time since I've seen the house so lively."
Ning Zicheng turned around and replied, "That's because I wasn't there. I was doing the work of three people!"
"Your voice is definitely louder than three people's," Kong Bo said with a mocking laugh.
Seeing that Ning Zicheng was about to get angry, Yu Shi immediately began to persuade her.
The owner of the house over there took a bottle of wine from the cabinet.
This isn't an apartment, there aren't any precious artifacts on a single wall, and I wonder how long I'll have to live this life of hiding and dodging.
Chu Sinian smiled.
The year before last seemed to be the year he drank the most heavily. He traveled all over the world, searching everywhere, buying and collecting wine while participating in scientific research. These are all treasures he collected.
In the first half of the year, his body was depleted due to alcoholism, and it took him a long time to recover. Once he entered university, he dared not act recklessly like before, after all, he didn't know if his body could withstand a second bout of such behavior.
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