Chapter 18
Shen Jianye was a little surprised, but Jiang Rong looked normal, just turning her head aside silently, as if nothing had happened, as if as long as she didn't care, she could pretend not to hear Shen Jianye's answer.
And the old woman continued to chatter: "Oh, don't let such a good person like Manager Shen be deceived by her."
"She's a jinx! You don't know how good Old Zhou was, but she gave him lung cancer. I tried to persuade her but she wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened! You have to be careful too!"
Jiang Rong originally thought that as long as she played deaf and dumb, she could pretend that she knew nothing, but she still overestimated her ability to accept. Just listening to the old woman’s output, knowing that it was Shen Jianye standing opposite her, Jiang Rong found that she could not continue to listen at all.
And she didn’t want Shen Jianye to be away from others, he still had a coffee shop, and he was so nice.
The girl walked forward, as if the two of them had just walked together, and it was just a coincidence that she stopped because she happened to hear someone saying something bad. She didn't want to cause trouble for Shen Jianye.
That's it.
The man behind her sighed softly, then smiled and put his arm around Jiang Rong's shoulders, pulling her back to him. He replied calmly, "It's okay. I'm not afraid. I'm also very lucky."
Jiang Rong was pulled by him and bumped gently into the man's front. It didn't hurt, and she even felt warm. This was the first time she felt someone protecting her from behind. Even Lin Yao, who used to play with her, couldn't help but distance himself after noticing the gazes of these grandmothers. Finally, he had to tell himself: "You know, they will go to my mother and tell her about it..."
While Jiang Rong was stunned, the old woman showed an expression of deep sorrow, as if she had seen someone go astray. "You, you were deceived by her appearance. Be careful of your parents and your family."
Probably because Shen Jianye couldn't make sense, so he looked at Jiang Rong and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't come out and harass others again."
Shen Jianye didn’t know what he remembered, a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes, but he was still smiling on his face: “I’m sorry, Auntie, I may not have told you that I don’t have a good relationship with my family. If something happens to them, then she will be my little lucky star.”
Although Jiang Rong had heard this explanation before, her ears still blushed. The old woman was speechless for a moment and just kept repeating, "Young man, don't take it lightly now..."
Shen Jianye smiled, but there was not much warmth in this smile: "Auntie, to me, she is just a little girl who needs help. But you are so malicious towards a little girl. Is it really just because of her physique?"
A trace of embarrassment of being exposed flashed across the old woman's face. He was obviously a new tenant who had just moved in. The old woman wanted to say something, but she saw the undisguised disgust and coldness in the man's eyes. She subconsciously took a step back and said, "Believe it or not, I don't dare to go to your coffee shop anyway." After that, she left quickly.
Shen Jianye didn't say anything, but just took a step forward. Looking at Jiang Rong who was hesitant to move, he sighed, then pulled Jiang Rong to continue walking forward. The hand that was originally on her shoulder was completely put down, and turned into a palm clasped together. Jiang Rong was completely led forward by him. The light lit up with the sound of footsteps, and Jiang Rong had not yet come to her senses.
His warm palms kept conveying warmth. Jiang Rong couldn't help but think of the scene she had seen when she was a child, where a brother and sister walked hand in hand on the road. She curved her eyes and smiled. It was no longer Shen Jianye who walked in front to lead her, she was also trying hard to keep up.
It wasn’t until they reached the door that Shen Jianye let go of his hand. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he seemed to come to his senses suddenly and explained uncomfortably: “Because I saw you didn’t leave.”
"But is this always the case at home and at school?"
Shen Jianye was clearly asking a question, but Jiang Rong subconsciously apologized: “I’m sorry, it’s me who made you lose this customer!”
Shen Jianye smiled, opened the door, turned his head and looked at Jiang Rong against the light: "If it is a customer who can sit from day to night just for a glass of lemonade, then I have to thank you for driving her away for me."
Jiang Rong was still a little worried: "But that grandma has a good relationship with the other grandmas. Maybe they won't come to your place anymore..."
Shen Jianye felt somewhat helpless, the original bit of charm had completely dissipated. He took a step back, signaling Jiang Rong to go into the house first. Noticing Jiang Rong's retreat, he gently pushed the girl's shoulder and said soothingly, "Do you think those old ladies can still eat coffee and high-sugar cakes?"
Jiang Rong stood under the warm light, followed Shen Jianye's movements and sat on the sofa, and soon there was a cup of steaming milk in her hand.
This was the first time she was favored so blatantly, and even his answer, Jiang Rong couldn’t refute it for a moment, she just held the milk and said: “Shen Jianye, you are such a good person.”
Shen Jianye smiled. This was the first time he had been told this in his life. Looking at Jiang Rong, who was obviously suffering from prejudice but still had a warm heart, he tapped his fingers on the armrest of the sofa.
Jiang Rong drank some milk and hurried to cook, but then she remembered something else: "Oh, by the way, a message popped up on my phone this morning. This is the number you gave me, brother. It should be looking for you, right?"
Shen Jianye took the phone, glanced at the message, then closed his eyes and took a breath. No one knew what he was thinking in those few seconds. They only knew that he opened his eyes, walked to the kitchen door, half leaned on the door frame, listened to the sound of the range hood, and looked at Jiang Rong's face and said, "How about this, I'll invest in you, and you study hard."
Jiang Rong paused in her cooking and uttered a slow "Ah?", completely unaware of what had happened. Shen Jianye continued, "Given your current environment, you probably don't have the heart to study. You used to work to earn money, so why..."
He changed the subject and continued, "Anyway, I have two bedrooms at home. You can stay here until the debt collectors leave. You don't have to worry about food and tuition fees. I don't ask for much. Just show me your grades and study hard. That's what you should do at your age."
"How about it?"
Shen Jianye felt that what he said was quite tempting. If his parents had both passed away, he was usually too hungry to eat, and had to work after school to earn money to support himself, he would definitely agree.
Jiang Rong licked her lips and hesitated subconsciously: "But...but...I...that..."
She stuttered for a long time but couldn't make any sense, but what she didn't say clearly meant she wanted to refuse. It sounded like she was just thinking about how to refuse in a decent way.
Shen Jianye looked at her like this and raised his eyebrows slightly. Although he didn't quite understand in his heart, wondering which of his conditions was not tempting enough, he still looked like he was waiting patiently until Jiang Rong said cautiously: "No, that's not necessary."
The man then asked, "Why?"
"It's definitely not safe for you to go home now, and you don't have to worry about money anymore. You just need to study hard."
He knows too well that a penny can make a hero fall.
Jiang Rong pursed her lips. Of course, she also knew that it was nice to go to school well without having to look for part-time jobs for money, but Shen Jianye had already treated her very well.
She couldn't help but muster up the courage to continue refusing: "But I really don't want your money. I can live well on my own."
She knew that Shen Jianye was a good person, but she didn’t want to disappoint Shen Jianye.
Shen Jianye subconsciously wanted to sneer, where do you get the money, but looking at the girl's stubborn expression, he realized that children of this age have the strongest self-esteem, so he tapped the side of the phone with his fingers and threw down a sentence: "You cook first."
He closed the glass door, and Jiang Rong continued to busy herself in the kitchen, but Jiang Rong became a little nervous. She thought that Shen Jianye was so good to her, but she had been rejecting his kindness. But with her grades, why should Shen Jianye help her?
Jiang Rong was afraid that if she showed her results, she would see a hint of disgust in Shen Jianye’s eyes.
And thinking of the misunderstanding of Shen Jianye by other people at the school gate, just like what the old lady said, even if Shen Jianye didn't care, could she just let herself indulge in it?
The knife in his hand slipped, and his finger suddenly felt a sharp pain. Before he could react, Shen Jianye had already walked over and took the knife away: “Why can’t you concentrate on cutting vegetables?”
Jiang Rong smiled awkwardly while holding her hands: "Sorry, I'll wash it and continue cooking."
But Shen Jianye pulled her to the sofa, took out the medicine box from the drawer, wiped her with iodine, stuck a band-aid on her, and said helplessly: "I see there are already two dishes, no need to cook, I'll just cook some instant noodles."
Jiang Rong looked at Shen Jianye who was busy in the kitchen, holding her hands and feeling more and more guilty. It was obvious that cooking was the reward for living here, but she couldn't even do this little thing well.
While he was dazed and feeling guilty, Shen Jianye had already put all the dishes on the table and started to invite Jiang Rong to come over for dinner. He looked helpless: "Is the proposal I mentioned so scary?"
"After the debt collectors leave, you can stay at your house afterwards. I'm not a pervert."
Jiang Rong's eyes widened: "Did you hear that?"
Shen Jianye smiled and asked, “What did you hear?”
Jiang Rong smiled awkwardly and quickly shook her head: "No, no, try it quickly. It won't taste good if it's cold."
Shen Jianye picked up the chopsticks to stir-fry, his eyes narrowed slightly, Jiang Rong did not notice, but Shen Jianye had already put down the chopsticks, he changed the way he said:
"It's rare for me to go home so early, and I really need someone to cook for me tonight. Your food tastes very good, and I know nothing about old factories. It sounds like you have lived here for many years. I also need you to help me find something about my family."
"Besides, I happen to need to sponsor students. Rather than meeting someone I don't know well and who might be ungrateful, I might as well choose you."
He raised the corner of his mouth slightly, without any more politeness, and directly stated all his needs in detail, and finally added:
"Besides, didn't you say before that you could tell me if you needed anything?"
These words immediately stopped Jiang Rong.
Jiang Rong was very aware of her terrible grades, and she was a little afraid to let the man in front of her know.
Although I know he won't laugh at me, I can't tell the person who wants to sponsor my studies that I am actually a poor student.
But from his tone, it seemed that he also had an unknown past. Jiang Rong didn't want to pry too much, she just pursed her lips and couldn't help but whispered: "The main thing is, even if you don't support me, I will help you."
"Besides, this meal is actually cooked by you. Otherwise, how about I give you the money?"
Seeing Jiang Rong's attitude soften, Shen Jianye knew she was embarrassed, so he explained helplessly: "I don't mean to threaten you, it's just that you live here, and you and I will see each other every day anyway. If you don't want to, forget it, but I definitely won't take the money. After all, I am an adult and I don't have any thoughts about a little girl's money."
Jiang Rong’s whole face turned red again, she pursed her lips embarrassedly, her eyes slightly red, she knew that Shen Jianye was a good person!
So she also relented, but she was still a little hesitant: "It's not that I don't want to, but you don't have to be so nice to me..."
"And why are you so nice to me?"
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