Chapter 26
The hot summer always seems long, but holidays can go by in a flash.
More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Jin Chuwan was thinking about whether to pack her luggage in advance, she suddenly received a call from Yin Zhihua.
"Want to go out and have some fun?"
Jin Chuwan glanced at the bright sun outside and was a little reluctant to agree.
"Come out and have some fun. I finally managed to escape from home."
As he spoke, Yin Zhihua looked up at the Jiang family villa.
"And I'm already at your doorstep."
Jin Chuwan pushed open the door in surprise, but there was no one outside. She frowned.
"You're at my doorstep?"
"Yes, aren't you living at Jiang Chen's house?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Chuwan finally understood what he meant. She pressed her forehead and then said helplessly into the phone.
“I’ve moved out of there now, and it’s very sunny today, so I don’t want to go out.”
After Jin Chuwan finished speaking, Yin Zhihua also looked up at the sky, and it was indeed very sunny.
"Where do you live? I'll come find you."
Kim Cho-wan, who was cleaning, nearly dropped her phone when she heard this.
"...Come to my house?"
"yes."
Jin Chuwan glanced at her phone speechlessly, but finally gave her a location.
Ten minutes later, Yin Zhihua actually came looking for him.
When Jin Chuwan opened the door, she saw the boy carrying fruit and greeting her, and suddenly felt a little envious of him.
Having thick skin is a good thing.
Fortunately, no one was home today. My dad has been working with Uncle Jiang recently, and my mom went to visit relatives. My cousin Chaoyang is busy with something and doesn't come home until very late these days.
"Let me make this clear first, there's nothing fun to do at my house."
Yin Zhihua curiously looked around Jin Chuwan's new home, then his gaze was drawn to a pile of photos on the TV cabinet. He picked up a photo frame at random and looked at Jin Chuwan, who was washing fruit in the kitchen, with amusement.
"You're no different now than when you were a child; you always have this aloof and indifferent demeanor."
He waved the photo in his hand; it happened to be a picture of her and Jiang Chen when they were children.
The old photo is from ten years ago; even the colors have changed a bit.
Jin Chuwan stared blankly at Jiang Chen and herself as children. Many of her memories from that time were blurry, but the only one that stood out was when Jiang Chen's mother passed away, and Jiang Chen was hiding in the closet crying. She was the first one to find him.
She couldn't remember how she coaxed him back then at all.
Yin Zhihua noticed that Jin Chuwan was lost in thought, pursed his lips, and then put the photo frame behind his back.
"By the way, has your acceptance letter arrived yet?"
"Okay." Jin Chuwan nodded. "I'm at Tsinghua University. What about you?"
Yin Zhihua burst out laughing upon hearing this.
"I'm in the music academy at Tsinghua University, so it looks like we'll still be classmates in the future."
Jin Chuwan was somewhat surprised. She packed the washed strawberries into a bowl, then picked up the plate and returned to the living room.
"If you're going to make music, is it better to go abroad?"
Yin Zhihua followed closely behind, carrying the photo frame. "Anyway, it doesn't matter to me whether it's good or not. As long as it can occasionally provide accompaniment for my mom, that's fine."
Jin Chuwan thought about it and agreed; it's normal for rich kids to pursue hobbies.
"So, you're actually planning to go home and inherit the family business in the future?"
Jin Chuwan poked a strawberry in her mouth as she spoke. It was all brought by Yin Zhihua, and it tasted pretty good.
The two sat side by side on the sofa, a foreign comedy movie was playing on the TV, and the boy leaned on the sofa with his hands on the sofa and glanced at the girl next to him.
"Shouldn't this kind of thing happen to illegitimate children?"
Jin Chuwan paused in her action of poking the strawberry. She seemed to have finally thought of some of the settings for Yin Zhihua in the novel. The reason he was called a poor nobleman was because he often ran away from home due to his discord with his father, and was even picked up by Cheng Ya during one of his wanderings.
She looked into the boy's smiling eyes.
"...Did you run away from home today too?"
Caught off guard by the question, Yin Zhihua was taken aback. Looking at Jin Chuwan's scrutinizing gaze, he suddenly felt guilty.
"It's just... leaving home."
"I won't take you in. If you have nowhere to stay, go find Jiang Chen..."
Yin Zhihua's expression froze slightly; this was the first time he had ever been so disliked.
"We're friends, for goodness' sake, do you have to be so heartless?"
Jin Chuwan pretended not to hear, then picked up the remote and changed to a channel she liked.
Yin Zhihua hadn't originally intended to do so, but seeing Jin Chuwan like this, he simply lay down on the sofa.
"Then I'll stay here today."
"no--"
Jin Chuwan frowned as she looked at the boy lying down.
"My mom might come back tonight, and I can't explain things to her if you're here."
Yin Zhihua raised his hand to support the back of his head, but the smile on his face suddenly deepened.
"What's there to explain? Just say I'm your boyfriend."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Although she had already witnessed this guy's shamelessness, Jin Chuwan still hadn't anticipated the extent of his shamelessness.
Just as the two were at an impasse, the door to the house suddenly opened, and Jin Chuwan looked at Jin Chaoyang standing outside the door in a panic.
Jin Chaoyang also looked at the silver-haired boy who suddenly sat up from the sofa with surprise. She subconsciously opened her mouth, but then stopped. She turned her eyes to look at Jin Chuwan, who looked flustered.
"...Is this your boyfriend?"
Jin Chuwan quickly waved her hand and said "No," but Yin Zhihua suddenly laughed, causing Jin Chuwan to look up and glare at him.
At this moment, behind Jin Chaoyang, a tall and handsome young man carried two boxes of paint and walked directly into the room.
The already small living room suddenly felt cramped.
When Jin Chuwan saw Jiang Chen enter with Chaoyang, she was surprised for a moment, but then breathed a sigh of relief. She then spoke directly to Yin Zhihua.
"Alright, now that your friend is here, if you have nowhere else to go, go to his house. Hurry up and go."
Jiang Chen watched as Jin Chuwan coldly dismissed him with her arms crossed, and his dark eyes seemed to soften slightly.
Jin Chaoyang, who was standing to the side, noticed the subtle expression on the boy's face and suddenly turned to look at Jin Chuwan.
However, she didn't say anything.
After Jiang Chen and Yin Zhihua left, Jin Chaoyang suddenly took the initiative to explain.
"I ran into Jiang Chen on the way, so he helped me carry my paints."
Jin Chuwan nodded, then looked curiously at the materials on the table.
"So Sister Chaoyang studies painting."
Jin Chaoyang smiled and nodded. She recalled the scene just now, as well as Jiang Chen's sudden push as he walked into the room, and a complicated look appeared in her eyes.
She gazed quietly at her younger sister, then smiled and said, "It seems you get along very well with them?"
Upon hearing this question, Jin Chuwan hesitated for a moment.
The question stumped her. Their relationship... well, it wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't bad either.
"I guess so……"
Jin Chuwan answered casually, then pushed the strawberries on the table toward the rising sun.
"Try this, it's very fresh."
As Jin Chuwan was speaking, she suddenly noticed the phone lying on the sofa. She frowned, initially intending to ignore it, but ultimately picked it up and chased after the phone.
Not long after the two left, Jin Chuwan ran outside the residential area and saw Jiang Chen and Yin Zhihua walking side by side.
It's so eye-catching.
One man, with a suit jacket draped over his wrist, remained silent, while the other, with his hands in his pockets, hummed a song and seemed quite happy.
"Yin Zhihua—"
Jin Chuwan called out from behind, and the boy seemed to have expected it, immediately turning around and waving to her with a smile.
"You're so slow! It took you so long to get here."
Upon hearing this, Jin Chuwan immediately understood; it turned out he had deliberately left the phone behind. She looked at Yin Zhihua incredulously, then at the phone in her hand, and instantly regretted running out.
Jiang Chen didn't speak; he simply glanced at the two of them. Jin Chuwan's forehead was damp with a thin layer of sweat from running all the way. Jiang Chen's gaze shifted, and he hesitated before raising his hand, only to see Yin Zhihua suddenly step forward beside him.
The boy rolled up his sleeve and haphazardly wiped the girl's forehead, completely ignoring her resistance. After wiping it, he laughed to himself.
Jin Chuwan's bangs were all askew. It was the first time she had ever felt so angry. She threw her phone directly into Yin Zhihua's arms, and then turned and left without saying goodbye to Jiang Chen.
Yin Zhihua didn't know why Jin Chuwan was so angry. He pointed to the departing figure and then looked at Jiang Chen.
"Your little sister has such a terrible temper!"
Jiang Chen remained silent, gazing quietly at Yin Zhihua before him.
He looked as calm as ever, and his eyes remained indifferent and aloof.
However, he was gripping his coat tightly.
Jiang Chen didn't answer and walked away.
Yin Zhihua, who had been given the cold shoulder by two people in a row, was completely confused about what had happened. He looked at Jiang Chen's back and hurriedly chased after him.
"Um, you have to let me stay here today..."
--
In the following days, Yin Zhihua continued to contact Jin Chuwan frequently, but Jin Chuwan mostly refused to answer.
With the start of the school year approaching, she started packing her luggage. Lily had called a few days ago to say she wanted to get together, so she was leaving for there soon.
Jin Chaoyang has been staying at home lately, and the way she looks at her lately always seems to want to say something but doesn't, so Jin Chuwan doesn't ask any further questions since she hasn't spoken.
On a bus that doesn't have air conditioning yet, Jin Chuwan, wearing a sun hat, handed the fare to the ticket seller and found a shady spot to sit down.
It was nearing noon, and there weren't many people in the car. Jin Chuwan took out her earphones, put them on, set an alarm for twenty minutes later, and then leaned back in her seat to rest with her eyes closed.
When the alarm clock rang, Jin Chuwan opened her eyes and glanced out the window. She realized that they had just crossed the river.
The view under the bridge is very open, and you can see cargo ships sailing across the river in the distance.
"The scenery is so beautiful."
Yin Zhihua rolled down the car window and glanced at Jiang Chen beside him, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Today is my birthday party, don't give me such a bad look, okay? And Jin Chuwan isn't answering my calls, can't you help me contact her?"
Unfortunately, Jiang Chen was still looking out the car window, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.
After crossing the river, the bus traveled for two more stops before Jin Chuwan got off.
It was a bit windy today. After getting out of the car, Jin Chuwan quickly adjusted her sun hat, which was being blown up by the wind. Just as she looked down, a car sped past her from behind.
Jiang Chen, who was looking out the car window, paused slightly and suddenly sat up straight. The car was still moving, and the figures in the rearview mirror were getting smaller and smaller. Jiang Chen glanced at Yin Zhihua beside him and finally just frowned.
Perhaps he misread it.
Yin Zhihua was still unable to get through to Jin Chuwan by phone. He scratched his head and sent a text message in frustration.
Today is my birthday.
After pressing send, he thought for a moment and added another message.
"Are you coming? My mom'll be there too!"
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