Ruan Chen was conflicted.
She didn't know if she could still trust Duan Jingfu.
Did that person become like this because of the infection Duan Jingfu mentioned, or was Duan Jingfu himself the mastermind behind it all?
But Teacher Duan was really good to her.
Seeing that she hadn't answered for a long time, Duan Jingfu assumed she was frightened and didn't ask any more questions. He gently patted her head and said, "The brain's self-protective function will erase people's memories of fear—if you can't remember, don't think about it. It's best to forget. I'll go get the results for you. Don't wander off."
Ruan Chen looked up at his back as he hurried toward the window for the test results. Although his hair in the front was still thick and black, there were already some white strands in the back.
"It's not a big problem, you just need to rest for a while," Duan Jingfu said, bringing the results and gently comforting her. "Don't go to the lab during this time. Just rest and recuperate. You'll be going to the US in a few days, so get yourself in the right state of mind. You can do it."
Ruan Chen took the report and looked at it absentmindedly, responding with a low voice.
The lab couldn't be used tonight, but Ruan Chen didn't want to go back like this, as it would disturb Jian Zhi and her grandfather's rest. She found a hotel nearby and rested for the night, then went straight to school the next day.
When Ruan Chen woke up the next day, she was sore all over and listlessly checked out of the hotel.
As soon as she entered the classroom, she saw a bag of bread and other snacks on the table.
These are some popular imported snacks right now, and a slab of mini milk that's been trending among the girls in my class lately.
Yu Xiaoya winked at the person behind her, "Bo Nian brought this for you."
Ruan Chen was half-lying on the table copying her homework, as if she had no bones. Her handwriting was already ugly, and the way she wrote it made it even more unbearable to look at.
Bo Nian came over to collect the homework. He was relieved to see that Ruan Chen had accepted the things he had brought for her—he was quite worried that Ruan Chen would throw them back at him with a cold face.
"Thank you." Ruan Chen had already picked out a cheese stick from the things Bo Nian had given her and was sucking on it.
Bo Nian fiddled with the homework in his hands, glancing down at Ruan Chen's profile.
Her hair at her temples wasn't tied up, dangling around her delicate chin. Ruan Chen held a cheese stick between her two fair fingers, and her slightly loose sleeves slipped down to below her wrist, revealing a gold thread on her wrist.
Her complexion didn't look good; it was sickly pale.
He was staring at it, somewhat lost in thought.
After Ruan Chen finished writing, she raised her hand and slapped her homework onto the top of the stack of homework that Bo Nian was holding.
Her sudden movement aggravated the bruise on her shoulder blade from the fall last night, causing her to instinctively gasp and frown.
Are you feeling unwell?
Bo asked nervously.
“No,” Ruan Chen adjusted her collar, playing with a strand of hair between her fingers, “Bo Nian, our flight is all arranged. I’ll send you the time and location later. We’re leaving this weekend.”
"Okay, thank you for your help."
After school that evening, Ruan Chen went to the hospital and waved to Fu Jianzhi, who was sitting cross-legged on the carpet reading a book.
Fu Jianzhi came running over, and Ruan Chen reached into her backpack with one hand, pulled out a bag of snacks, and threw it to him.
"Sis, did you buy this especially for me?"
Ruan Chen met Fu Jianzhi's bright eyes.
"...Okay, go eat." She suddenly felt like she was a terrible person.
The day before they were to leave, Ye Huanhuan asked Ruan Chen to come back to the villa on the hillside to stay.
This was Ruan Yu'er's first time participating in such an international competition, and he was the only junior high school student in his group, so he felt a lot of pressure.
Ye Huanhuan said that Ruan Yu'er had been so nervous that she hadn't been eating properly for the past few days, and wanted Ruan Chen to keep her company.
Fu Jianzhi carried Ruan Chen's luggage all the way to the car sent by the Ye family to pick her up.
"Alright, let's go back," Ruan Chen said, somewhat amused and exasperated by his expression. "When I get back, I'll go to the Fu family to find you, okay?"
The driver came over and took the suitcase, and Fu Jianzhi stuffed Ruan Chen's schoolbag into her hands.
Ruan Chen took the schoolbag and was about to throw it on her shoulder when Fu Jianzhi suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.
The boy's palm was hot as it pressed against Ruan Chen's slightly cool skin. His gaze was fixed on Ruan Chen's eyes, as if he had many unspoken words.
Ruan Chen suddenly remembered the scene she had "seen" in the laboratory last night.
"Jianzhi, have you heard of...?"
She wanted to ask Fu Jianzhi about Zhanlu's name, because she wanted to know if everything she "saw" last night had actually happened in some other time and space.
She didn't sleep a wink at the hotel yesterday, reflecting on two completely different life trajectories. It seems the key point was when she was twelve years old, whether Cao De died or not.
"What?" The boy's voice was slightly hoarse as he looked at her intently.
“It’s nothing,” Ruan Chen said, subtly covering up her doubts. “I wanted to ask if you’ve heard of any fun places in the US. I’d like to go check them out.”
"I'll go back and put together a guide and send it to you."
The boy finally let go.
Ruan Chen looked down and saw that his hand had gripped her so tightly that her skin was red.
What's wrong with this kid?
Fu Jianzhi seemed completely unaware of what he had done, calmly helping Ruan Chen straighten her collar, which had been wrinkled by the backpack strap.
His warm fingertips brushed against Ruan Chen's earlobe as if by accident, and he whispered, "Sister, be careful. Remember to let me know when you get there, or I'll worry."
Ruan Chen hasn't been back to the villa on the hillside for a long time.
As soon as she entered the room, Ruan Yu'er threw herself into her arms, "Sister, what should I do? I'm not prepared at all. My group asked me to do the summary report, and I'm so nervous! What if I say something wrong? What if I forget my lines?"
"How could I have such a cowardly sister like you? You treat them all like they're nothing special?" A deep, magnetic male voice came from behind. Ruan Luo grabbed Ruan Yu'er by the collar and pulled her off Ruan Chen. "Wash your hands and let's eat."
Ruan Chen discovered that he had actually grown taller again.
He looks to be over 1.9 meters tall, a little taller than Tao Ran.
Ruan Luo happened to have some free time recently, so she contacted the film crew and arranged to go to the United States together, which would be a good opportunity for the whole family to have a vacation and relax.
"Brother Luo," Ruan Chen greeted him, "you've been doing quite well in the entertainment industry lately. Is your company planning to put you on the leading role? They've been doing a lot of publicity for you lately, and your new drama has been generating buzz for almost a month."
Ruan Luo was surprised that Ruan Chen cared about this, and waved her hand with some distress, "No, I don't know which gossip leaked my background to the company's higher-ups. The company wanted to curry favor with the Ruan family to attract investment, so they pushed me out. It's really annoying. To be honest, I don't think my acting skills are up to that level yet."
"Don't underestimate yourself like that. Tao Ran said you have great potential."
"Really?" Ruan Luo knew that her sister had a good relationship with Tao Yingdi, so she was skeptical.
“It’s true, he said you can endure hardship and are a good prospect. You guys have a lot of promotional events for your new drama lately, right? He asked me to remind you to remember to establish a persona, the kind that young girls like these days,” Ruan Chen helped Ye Huanhuan set the table and instructed Ruan Luo, “What are you standing there empty-handed for? Go and serve the dishes.”
Ruan Luo absentmindedly carried the dishes out of the kitchen, pondering Tao Ran's words, "Remember to establish a persona," without noticing a pair of slender hands reaching out to take the dishes she was carrying.
Ruan Yunhan's voice was so soft it was almost dripping with water, "Little brother, if there's anything you need in this house, just tell me. Why do you have to do it all yourself? What's the point of having me as your older sister?"
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