31. On the way back (Part 1)
During her first semester of senior year, Chi Jin barely attended classes. Her grades were top-notch, and her patience and dedication were universally acknowledged by all her teachers. She knew getting into a top university wouldn't be a problem.
That October, before lunch break was over, the dorm manager, along with the homeroom teacher and the police, suddenly knocked on the door. Chi Jin was dazed and woken up. The police called out her father's name, and she instantly regained consciousness. Seventeen-year-old Chi Jin was the only one who could identify her father, who lay cold on the morgue, facing her mother, who had cried herself unconscious.
When she returned to school after winter break, her grades hadn't dropped significantly, but her spirits had plummeted. Her homeroom teacher smelled the bitter aroma of beer from her thermos and, upon opening her palm, found it covered in scratches, deep and shallow, old and new, stained with blood. After three earnest talks a week, she volunteered to study at home, not returning to school until the end of April.
Although his college entrance exam scores weren't peak, they were still among the best, good enough for admission to a prestigious university. However, seeing his mother's increasingly haggard and shaky mental state, Chi Jin chose the teachers' university in his city.
Now Chi Jin has graduated with a master's degree. Although his work has not been going well in the past few months, his income is still considerable. Relatives always say that Chi's mother has worked hard and Chi Jin has made great achievements. Chi's father can finally rest in peace in his grave.
Nine years had flown by, and it was the anniversary of her father's death. At dawn, Chi Jin accompanied her mother to the grave to pay her respects. Afterward, she had to rush back to Jing City, as tomorrow would be a workday.
The morning mist was cool, and paper ashes curled in the air. Mother and daughter sat in silence. After visiting the grave, Chi Jin walked her mother home first. When they arrived at the downstairs of their apartment building, they were surprised to see Chen Yisheng's car parked there.
Chi Jin glanced at his watch: just after eight. Their agreed time was half past eight.
The rearview mirror reflected two faces, their eye sockets and noses tinged with red. Chen Yisheng's heart trembled slightly, but he remained expressionless. He neither got out of the car to greet them nor rolled down the window. Chi Jin, however, felt a touch of embarrassment and walked over first.
"Why are you here so early?" Chi Jin lowered his voice.
Before Chen Yisheng could answer, Chi's mother spoke first: "Who is this?"
"Oh, this is Master Chen, the driver returning to Jing City. I am the first customer he picked up." Chi Jin introduced.
"Hello, Auntie." Master Chen greeted. "I came a little early because I was worried about the traffic."
Mother Chi nodded a little doubtfully. After all, Chen Yisheng didn't look like a sports car driver.
Chi Jin also felt that this identity was a bit fake, so he made up for it by saying, "Master Chen also works in Jing City. This is a ride, but he didn't get a shared car."
"Don't worry, Auntie," Chen Yisheng said, "I always give people a ride on my way back and forth, and I've been driving for a long time, so safety is no problem."
Mother Chi responded while glancing inside the car, urging Chi Jin to go upstairs to get the luggage, while she waited downstairs.
After Chi Jin disappeared, she turned to Chen Yisheng and asked, "What does Master Chen do for a living?"
She asked directly.
"He runs an internet cafe."
He answered swiftly and clearly.
"I really can't tell, Master Chen looks like a cultured person."
Chen Yisheng just curled his lips slightly and did not comment.
"How many people are carrying this car today?"
"Besides Miss Chi, there is another one."
"How much?"
Chen Yisheng paused slightly, then continued in his usual tone, "Two hundred per person, delivered to your door."
Mother Chi nodded: "She hasn't had breakfast yet, so she might have low blood sugar. Please let her sit in the front row."
"good."
As he was speaking, Chi Jin had already come down with a suitcase and a large bundle of cakes.
"Eat more yourself, but remember to share with your colleagues and friends." Mother Chi reminded him again, "Once we're safely home, give Chef Chen a box of snacks too. He's sure to get used to them."
"Don't worry, Mom, just go upstairs. I'll call you when we get there."
After a reluctant farewell, the car finally drove away. Chen Yisheng didn't ask about her red nose and red eyes from crying, but simply asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
"I ate it." She answered subconsciously.
Chen Yisheng started the engine: "I haven't eaten yet, come with me to eat something."
Chi Jin didn't think much about it. The highway was free at the end of the holiday and he had plenty of time, so he pointed to an old store with a good reputation near his home.
"Why don't you just say I'm your colleague?"
"I don't want her to think too much. The more she knows, the more she'll worry. Why bother?"
"Are you not afraid that I'll kidnap you?"
"You think my worthless life is worth a damn?"
"Why is it a cheap life?" Chen Yisheng said in a steady voice, "I think it's great."
The sun is rising from the west? Chi Jin didn't dare to believe Chen Yisheng's kind words and waved his hands repeatedly: "The more you say that, the more I think you are trying to kidnap me."
Chen Yisheng smiled and said, "You and your daughter have such a good relationship. If I lost you, wouldn't Auntie fight me to the death?"
Yue Shuangshuang could do it, and Chi Jin felt scared just thinking about it.
"So it's better for my mom to not interfere with my social circle, otherwise I'll feel uncomfortable."
"Auntie is very strict with you?"
Chi Jin didn't want to talk about it further and just evaded the question: "Why? Are you waiting to find fault with me and tell my parents, King Chen?"
Chen Yisheng's lips curved even deeper, with a hint of helpless doting: "I helped you to cover up your lie, so we should be considered 'accomplices' now. Why do you always want to draw a line between us and create opposition?"
Who dares to tell his boss that he is an "accomplice"? Chi Jin muttered softly.
After eating a simple meal and seeing that the redness in Chi Jin's eyes had faded a little, Chen Yisheng quietly turned on the air conditioner and adjusted it to a comfortable temperature.
"It's a bit congested." Chen Yisheng checked the navigation. "It's about a six-hour drive. We'll have a two-hour break at a service area. I'll get you home before four in the afternoon, is that okay?"
Chi Jin nodded: "We can take turns driving. I've been on the highway a few times."
"There are a lot of people on the highway after the holiday, so I'll take over. You can just play with your phone in the passenger seat."
"How can that be? I know one of the responsibilities of a co-pilot on a long-distance trip is to make sure the driver doesn't get sleepy. Let me chat with you."
"I'm a rather boring person and probably won't find topics other than work to talk about."
"It's okay," Chi Jin smiled, and his smile finally relaxed a little, "I'll just be responsible for the words."
In the closed carriage, Chen Yisheng could smell a faint scent of perfume on her, but no trace of makeup. Clearly, she wasn't trying to please herself, and considering she looked like she'd been crying, something must have happened.
If she wants to speak, she will speak naturally.
Chen Yisheng had no intention of prying into her privacy. He turned on the car's Bluetooth and said, "What do you like to listen to? Play it on your phone."
Chi Jin smiled and said, "That's a good topic. I liked listening to folk songs when I was in school, but now I like listening to music with a fast tempo. It helps me write and type faster that way. How about you?"
As she spoke, she connected the Bluetooth and clicked on a screened "decent playlist", which was full of safe and harmless music - she didn't want her boss to know her true musical taste, some songs were really... not convenient to show to others.
"I listen to whatever's on the music station."
"Ah. I thought you'd have more taste and be more particular about these things."
"Am I so difficult to get along with?"
"No. If he was difficult to get along with, why would he be so kind as to send me back?"
"Don't you call me the Living King of Hell?"
Chi Jin was startled: "Ah...haha, that was because I was young and ignorant. Hasn't it been a long time since I last called you?"
Chi Jin clenched his phone tightly. All his notes to Chen Yisheng were about the living devil.
"That's not a big deal." Chen Yisheng's tone was actually a bit introspective. "I'm indeed... not particularly reasonable."
In fact, Chi Jin also felt so at the beginning, but the more he got to know her, the more he could see the gentleness and delicacy that Chen Yisheng did not show easily.
Just as he was about to respond, the fast-paced rap suddenly stopped. The car was suddenly interrupted by a sharp ringing sound—Chi Jin's Bluetooth playback was interrupted, and the words "Sun Ting" clearly appeared on the car screen.
Neither of them moved. Chi Jin looked at the name, feeling a little embarrassed.
Chen Yisheng said, "If it's inconvenient, just turn off Bluetooth."
Chi Jin thought that Sun Ting was a decent man who knew how to speak in moderation, and that their relationship was clean, so he answered the call directly.
"Chi Jin, are you free at noon today? I've been too busy lately. Would you mind my invitation to dinner? It's at the barbecue restaurant in front of our No. 2 Middle School. It's absolutely authentic. No one who graduated from No. 2 Middle School wouldn't crave it!"
"I'm on my way back to Jing City." She declined the invitation concisely.
"Huh? So early? I thought you bought the afternoon high-speed train."
"I didn't get a spot on the high-speed train, so I took a ride back with a colleague."
"Ah? Your boss? Isn't he leaving with his wife and kids?"
At this moment, in Sun Ting's eyes, her relationship with her "married" boss was really too close.
Chi Jin's breath hitched, her knuckles turning pale as she gripped the phone. She subconsciously glanced at Chen Yisheng. Chen Yisheng remained focused on driving, his profile stern and his lips tightly pursed. He showed no expression, as if he hadn't heard the harsh question at all.
Chen Yisheng simply felt uncomfortable speaking. He felt this man was quite scheming. If he really wanted to treat her to a meal, he should have confirmed the time and place in advance, instead of rashly calling her on the last day of her holiday, knowing she was on her way.
"No. Another colleague."
Chi Jin still lied and gave Chen Yisheng a look that said "I'm really sorry."
"Haha, is that so?"
He didn't believe it at all.
"Then drive carefully. I'll go to Jing City in two days, and then we'll get together again!"
"Okay. I'll treat you when you come to Jing City."
"Then I'll keep it in mind. Okay, I won't bother you anymore. I'll hang up first. When you get home, tell Auntie you're safe. Bye."
"goodbye."
The phone hung up and the music started again.
Chi Jin took the initiative to lower the volume of the music and said, "I'm sorry, Editor-in-Chief Chen, I didn't mean to lie to him, and I certainly don't think we have a shady relationship. It's just that I'm not very familiar with him, and explaining it would only add unnecessary complications, so I just brushed it off."
"It's a good thing to protect your boundaries. But you don't have to be so careful with every word you say. Put your own feelings first."
She was startled for a moment, then lowered her lashes to hide the turmoil in her eyes. Putting her own feelings first? To her, that seemed like a distant thought. Her mother's feelings, the pressure of work, the opinions of others... layer upon layer, it had already completely enveloped her true feelings.
"Well, I'll try." She replied softly, her voice as light as a feather.
Perhaps it was the comfortable temperature inside the car, perhaps it was the carbon monoxide sickness from breakfast, perhaps it was the early morning rush, or perhaps it was the tension she'd felt for days finally relaxing in the relative safety of the cabin, but a wave of exhaustion washed over her. Her eyelids grew heavier, her consciousness gradually blurred, her head unconsciously tilted toward the window, her breathing becoming even and long.
Chen Yisheng looked to the right. She had a slightly furrowed brow, and she seemed unable to completely relax even in her sleep. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes, and there was still a hint of red on the tip of her nose, and her lips were a little pale.
Looks pitiful.
His eyes were filled with tenderness. Almost without making a sound, he raised his hand and completely turned off the music, which had already been turned down very low. The world instantly fell into a gentle silence, with only her shallow breathing remaining. Then, he reached out and turned the air conditioner to the lowest setting.
The car was completely silent. Chen Yisheng drove intently, occasionally checking on her. She was stiff, her body slightly hunched, with a subconscious sense of defense, but she was finally asleep.
He slowed down the car and tried to make it run more smoothly while ensuring safety, avoiding potholes that might cause bumps.
Time flows in silence.
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